Sunnyside Up or Sunnyside Down?

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Ugh, after years of saying that I hate blogs and blogging, here I  am writing one. :-/ I guess it was only a matter of time, but it still feels a little like a defeat. 

Oh well, I guess this is where I put an introduction...

Hey Everyone!

My name is Shawna, and this is my blog dedicated to my preparation and eventual departure for JAPAN! :D Graduation is creeping up on me (only two months to go for the diploma!), and after five years of struggling through classes, transferring to different colleges, and that whole messy ex-boyfriend business, it looks like things might be falling into place after all. 

Back in March, I drove down to Atlanta, GA with my mom to interview with Amity, the children's branch of AEON (one of the leading English education corporations in Japan). I've been planning on going to Japan to teach for most of the time I've been in college, but this was the first time I had applied, let alone interviewed for a position. I'll write a post later about the interview process, but for now let's just say that I got an offer of employment that will eventually turn into an actual school-placement once I mail them my diploma. In the mean time, I'm finishing up my last few college classes and reading everything I can get my hands on about Japan.

It's actually been relatively difficult to find other bloggers who have worked for Amity, so details on what to expect over there are slim so far. But what has concerned me the most are the number of EXTREMELY negative blogs about teaching in Japan at all. The guy who writes "Japan it Up" (one of the ones I do enjoy) said it best in one of his posts: "Although there are a handful of great “foreigner in Japan” blogs out there, I found a lot of people talking as if Japan sucks, the world is against them, and there’s nothing they can do about it besides complain and have a pity party."

This is basically what I've found online too. It seems like almost everyone who writes a blog about their experiences in Japan use it as a way to vent every little bad thing that happens to them, and it's really discouraging to read. I'm not saying that we should only post happy, "japan-is-the-best" type blogs, but that we should balance both the positive and the negative experiences. After all, life is made up of both, right?

I live by the philosophy, "you get what you concentrate upon," meaning that whatever you focus on will be actualized in your daily life. I want to love my experience in Japan as a whole, so I want to bring positivity into whatever circumstances I encounter, even if some are "bad." In every post, I will write a balanced account of my experiences, with positive ones being "Sunnyside Up" and less-positive ones as "Sunnyside Down." This way, I can focus not only on the sucky experiences, but also on the awesome ones. :)

Anyway, that's all for my introduction. Time for our first Sunnyside Report (and yes, you must love my happy smiley eggs)!

Sunnyside Up: It's a 3-day weekend for the Fourth of July! I have time to study AND have fun watching movies and playing minecraft. I get to go see my mom and my sister preform at the Ohio Historical Society tomorrow, and apparently there will be free Jeni's ice cream (if you've never had it, you are missing out)!!!

Sunnyside Down: Midterms are coming up on Tuesday, which worry me a little bit. I've done some studying this weekend, but procrastination is soooo easy...

Future Eggs (things I'm looking forward to):

-End of classes July 20th!
-Buying my Amity suits    
-Going to Japan!              

See you next time! (Isn't that what the Reading Rainbow guy used to say?)