Once an RA...

... but never again!

No, I truly did enjoy the experience, and I relish the lessons I've learned, but I'm happier with the freedom I have. I'll need it, too, since I've chosen an intense way to end my college career - I'm aiming to leave with a bang, not a whimper.
One decision I made during spring quarter was to minor in History. I've always regretted not minoring in anything, but for the last 2.75 years, I'd spent so much time doing extracurriculars and enjoying a healthy social life that I hadn't given much thought to my degree. Now that my time at UCSD is drawing to a close, however, I was suddenly struck by all that I didn't do, and in the beginning of spring, I was overwhelmed by this incredible desire to continue learning.
For the past three years, I've only ever taken three classes a quarter (except once, when I took dance as a fourth. That didn't really count). Now I regret that I wasted so much time, even if I spent it being very involved in Sixth College. I could have found the time to do both, plus work; now, I regret that I didn't take so many classes that the Communications Department offers. I did decide to add on a minor, though, because it will be relatively easy for me to complete History; I wish I had the time to take courses beyond the paltry necessities, but alas, I was a fool. With my AP scores, plus a class I took as a G.E., I'll be able to complete the History requirements without too much stress.
It's the Communications courses that I didn't take, however, that I regret the most. UCSD offers a lot of extremely intriguing courses, from cultural analysis to media production, that I want to have taken advantage, but time is running out. I've thought about it, but I don't want to take a fifth year; I'm ready to graduate.
However - and this is truly odd - I am seriously considering grad school. I've declared time and time again that I don't need grad school for my chosen career - I need experience. I've recognized, however, that my chosen career may not be what I actually want to pursue, now that I've had three years to think about it, and even if I finish my fourth year and decide that I would still like to be a journalist, grad school won't hurt. There are classes I still need to take and writing experience I need to gain before I can even begin to take myself seriously, let alone others.
Grad school, of course, means that I'll need to get strong grades this year. I'll also need to strengthen bonds with the Comm Department's faculty, as well; luckily, I have a budding mentorship with one of my TAs, and I've grown attached to a professor as well - I took a class of his in Winter, loved it, took another class in Spring, loved it even more, and am signed up for a class in Fall.
The mentorship I mentioned is what I really meant to discuss in this post, however. For a week in August, I will be a mentor to Girl Scouts attending a film camp put on by the San Diego Women's Film Foundation; I'll oversee a group of girls taking a course on film production taught by my TA, Lauren. My technical skills aren't something to boast about (a course on which I should take before I graduate. *sigh*), but they're good enough for me to serve as an overseer. I'm really supposed to act as a role model, who might also be able to answer some technical questions along the way. I'm encouraged to suggest ideas for activities - icebreakers, guest lecturers - and I'm supposed to stimulate confidence and encourage personal expression through the medium of film.
Which goes back to the title of my post. I don't know that I'll ever outgrow the "leader" tendency - the habit of throwing myself into positions that expect me to demonstrate positive mentorship and leadership. It's not that I mind (or else I wouldn't be doing these types of extracurriculars), but I'd been expecting to take a break.
Ah hell, who am I kidding? Summer's been a bore, without work; I'll be excited to get my girls and have some sort of task to accomplish. Plus, I'm working with a new age group, and they're all female. This is similar to positions I've held in the past, which is comforting, but on a completely different playing field, which is excitingly challenging. I'm looking forward to it. :D
I still need a job, though, especially since this will only last a week. It'll be full-time, 9:30am to 4:30pm, but it will still only be for a week. I've beautified my resume (thanks for the help, DJ!) with my m4d Microsoft Word skillz, but I haven't heard from any of the people I contacted, and I'm running out of appealing offers.
I may have to crawl back to LJS&C. :\

Oh, and I became a member of University City's branch of the San Diego Public Library! I adore being a part of a library; it's been keeping me sane, the past few days. I go, I check out a couple of books, read them within the day (since I have nothing else to do - I really need a job), and return them the following day, only to check out more. I always do a lot of reading during the summer, though, which is nice. I just want something to do on top of it all - work during the day, and read just one book a night. That's reasonable, isn't it?