Even Dragons Have Their Endings

'So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings' - J.R.R. Tolkien
And so, two years after my first blog post, my time here with the Student Telecouncillor Center comes to an end. When I was first approached for this position by Megan Allen I was initially told about the fact we (the student employees) got to manage our own blogs and our own content. My heart was a'flutter with the possibilities.

 As I got to work with the different students who came into the fold of our department, I got a better and better sense about what being a student was. I was a part of one of the smaller majors on our campus and I did not frequently interact with many of my classmates. I had routinely taken up projects that allowed me to work with other heads of departments and student groups, but other students? Those chances were ironically few and far between. 
  
When I was an employee of the UTT English Department I was blessed because I was an undergraduate who got to work with graduate students. When I took up this job I then became lucky because I eventually became a graduate student who got to work with so many awesome undergraduates. In my experience, everybody can learn from those in different positions and  I was lucky to have learned from two distinct groups on two awesome jobs.

So, in this final blog, what else can I possibly say that I have not already said before?Learn the difference between a job and a career.

Jobs are fleeting. Jobs are temporary. A job is something that has a temporary implication, ie: 'I took a job for the summer' or 'can you do this job for me?' Many jobs are designed to be short-term, they are something that needs to be filled temporarily. A career is something that can include many kinds of jobs, however you only take jobs with a certain focus. A person making a career in the area of History might require you to take on jobs as a librarian, a museum employee, etc... So long as your different jobs contain one focus, that is the foundation of a career. A career is long in construction but it has the best chance of lasting long, long into your future.

I have been so happy to get to write for the University of Texas at Tyler. I have been so happy to have made connections here in this job that lead to work elsewhere. I have been so happy to have been able to, I believe, help incoming students learn how to eventually make their own careers. I have been lucky to have been able to learn how to make the most use of different, diversified WEB 2.0 medias. In the end, this position and this blog have not been a job. They have been one part of a diversified career path.

I hope that whatever things you, dear reader, pursue that it is something that adds to your life and your joy. It has been my job to write for you, to talk to students, to interact with my co-workers and my supervisors, and to be a part of the UTT family.

The following are some of the blogs I have been the most proud of over my two years here ...
Sounding Off – Finding Love & Support on UT Tyler's CampusThe Batman Principle, or: How Students Can Learn From Anything

A Student's Letter To Parents

Malala 

Alternative Adaptation Avoidance

Game of Prose

Learning Through Images and Media 

Sexualization in Fantasy & Games Part 1

Sexualization in Fantasy & Games Part 2

Statistics, Spaghetti, and Squid at UTT Tyler