Me turn tricks

I cringe at other bloggers when they point out how long it's been since they updated (if anyone was even keeping track). But the blog-o-sphere Interpol are going to send out a warrant for egregious digital negligence on my part for abandoning this site. I'm way overdue for a post. And, to add to that, I feel a little like the U.S. mom who tried to "return" her Russian adopted son -- because I'm thinking about leaving Blogger for the blog hosting site Weebly. It looks more legit, not to add any compliment to the content I put up on this site, and my journalism portfolio website on Weebly was created in a jiffy using their layouts: www.jenniferherseim.weebly.com

But, I'm not willing to transfer to it just yet.

A lot has happened since I last wrote. I graduated

college - a feat that recalled for me the momentous occasion of graduating from high school where I realized how much more opportunity and advantage, which you need in this country, I've been given to get through

school in the first place, and then, the prompt doomfilled insecurities about the future that follow. People talk about how college represents the final severing from child to parent. It's not true.

I joined a roller derby team. Something I've been

wanting to do for a long time - maybe

since I picked up a pair of vintage $3 skates at a thrift store a few years back and they felt like they had been formed from a cast-mold of my feet: the left slightly larger, the right cushioned where the ball of

my foot usually gets worn out. Skating seemed like a good fit too. Not till I started blocking, hitting, cutting and sliding in and out between a pack of tough players did I find myself hooked. It swiftly rose through my list of things I'll miss when I leave the states, out pacing Mexican food, just behind family and friends. Coincidentally, my roller derby teammates belong in those categories, also. My derby name is Peace Corpse - more on that below.

AND, I've joined the Peace Corps. A decision not made lightly. Though I've been nominated for a community development position working in girls education and women's empowerment groups in a french-speaking African country, I haven't been given an invitation yet, so things could still change. Trying not to get too excited since this was my ideal placement.