Hmmmm… what to do four years from now?

Hmmmm… what to do four years from now?

**The following is the second of eight parts of an essay that Chiquitita wrote when she was 19 years old.**

Exactly four years from December 1, 1999 I will be 22 years, 284 days old.  That is a hypothetical statement for I do not know if I will be around then (I sure hope!). By that time I hope that my undergraduate days are over, and hope that my graduate years be on their way.  Or I might find myself working as a simple programmer in order to get the adequate experience to become a program analyst (for that is my under graduate preparation).

Exactly a year ago, I was an education major who did not know where would she be a year from now (let alone four years).   My options were very broad, colorful and so different from one another. But neither seemed to be something that I wanted to do for the next three years. But thanks to what I call “Divine Inspiration” I decided to try for what I swore one day I’ll never be: a business student.  After carefully analyzing all my options, reading several ads in the newspaper and being introduced to the wonderful world of the World Wide Web, I decided to go for a BBA in Computer Information Systems. 

To this day I have not regretted it and I don’t think I ever will, on the contrary, I have that to this day I have plenty of things to be grateful because of that decision.  One of them is my emerging desire to teach at the university level and my fondness for mathematics.

Nevertheless, during the course of this investigation various people, including my recently acquired role models, putted my newborn aspirations to the test. Some of them, out of good faith, pointed me to other ways and made me think twice about the main objective of this investigation: “ finding out what does it take to be a college professor of mathematics or a related field”

Is future that big of a deal?…I dare to say so

**I'll start by posting an old writing.  The following is the first of eight parts of an essay that Chiquitita wrote when she was 19 years old.**

          “Our path is the one that looks like the most to our dreams, to our reality, to our truth”…this anonymous quote gives us the way for finding our path in life: by discovering who we truly are, by searching within ourselves to find what we want and can do.  I was recently forced to “think ahead”, to foresee how do I see myself four years from now.  That’s something constantly asked to business students; to think ahead of time, to be in the present but live the future, to plan for the years to come, to be careful when it comes to making decisions that will or might affect the rest of their lives.  A friend of mine once told me that Life hands us a set of cards; they might be full of queens, kings, Aces or just plain numbers.  In other words, you can be handed plenty or little gifts, weaknesses and strengths… And I can’t help but wonder what kind of cards it handed me, but in order to find that out I have to be honest and look inside myself. Only then will I be capable to say out loud, without regretting it, all my dreams, my fears, my aspirations, my faith…so world be prepared for here I come!  And although I’m still “under construction”, my mind is already made up, God’s plan with me is been carried out.  I’ll “grow” to be what society wants me to be and needs: a woman who’s responsible, and willing to work and fight for what she believes in. 

          I plan to evolve in the business world as a programmer or some kind of mathematician and later on become a professor, either way I’ll give it my best shot.  I know it will not be easy, but I know that my skills, faith and aspirations will help me overcome any obstacles that I might face.  My communication skills will help me face proposals, memorandums, letters etc.   For other situations, my mathematical skills will help me carry out effective analysis.  I also master both English and Spanish, but I can only identify with one culture.  Hence I might face intercultural communication problems.  Interest and hobbies will also help.  But, what will I will tell a Red Sox fan when he or she starts insulting my Yanks? Or how a Jew will feel by working with a catholic? And what if I face a Harvard PhD in philosophy, what will happen when he starts talking about Seneca and I start talking about theorems? …Who knows?

         A kid from the past, the young woman from the present, a Mrs. of the future…The kid is gone, the young woman is in process, but what should we expect from the Mrs. of the future?  Probably a great mom, or at least one that tries to be one, who’ll try to cooperate with society by providing the world terrific citizens, citizens with the desire to do what “the kid” and “the young woman” once tried: be helpful, be happy, and most of all be worth it.  

This is the story of a girl...

I'll start by publishing small extracts of the life of a girl that we'll call "Chiquitita".  Her life experiences helped her to gain a wisdom that exceeds the one that's usually acquired at the age of 32 (her current age).  Just today, she was told she was being selfish because all this wisdom was secretly kept inside her.  The person that told her that urged her to share her life experiences with others.  Following this friend's advice, Chiquitita will start to share her life experiences with others.  I hope the reader finds usefulness and meaning to these gifts that have been given to Chiquitita.


The following picture shows our Chiquitita.  She reflects the determination and persistence that has always distinguish Chiquitita: