Hello, Nerd.

Welcome to the primary year of what could be the shortest blog ever if I win the lottery or decide to quit school. I'm one half of the blog duo that makes up Nice STEMs, a literary masterpiece about the journey of going back to school for mechanical engineering. For the sake of those who don't personally know me(or those who where thinking about the next episode of Gossip Girl when I was talking), here's an obligatory introduction(totally not brief):

I wasn't one of those kids who knew what the heck they wanted to be when they grew up. For a few years of my youth, this didn't faze me but by the time I was 12 years old I started stressing. Most of my early career choices revolved around being a teacher which I quickly ruled out since I couldn't quite envision myself teaching the very types of kids that made my life shall we say, less than pleasant.

In high school I took a denial approach and fell back on music as a career choice which worked up until senior year when I actually had to apply to college. I realized that a music major would land me right back in school as a music teacher leading some American Idol reject chorus(funny note, American Idol wasn't around when I was in HS). I needed a real job, so I went into radio.
--insert laugh here--

After completing almost 1.5 years at a liberal arts school, my parents pulled the plug. In short, they didn't feel like paying tuition for an arts major. Of course I was crushed. I completed my associate degree at a local community college and went on to demand much larger salaries as a result(har har).

A few years later, I was bitten by the automotive bug. Looking back it's pretty evident that I was into cars at a young age. I was always considered a tomboy; I played with Hot Wheels and begged to be taken to the go-kart track.

When I was 8 years old I remember my teacher asking the class, "If you could choose to stay the age you are forever would you and why?" I reasoned that I would want to get just old enough to get my driver's license. Then I could drive at the adult karting track that required them.

For whatever reason *cough* I'm a girl *cough* I was never encouraged to learn about cars. Attempts to convince my father that I wanted to learn how to drive stick shift or restore a GTO were brushed by the wayside.

That is, until I made friends with a car dude. My friend taught me how to drive stick and how to change tires among other tasks. Together we progressed (read:jumped head first) into a car project and actually emerged triumphant at the finale.

Long story short(er), I ended up going to a technical school(that shall remain nameless because it was a waste of $20K). I worked at dealerships for about 5 years in parts and service. And I always wanted to go back to school, but I was making pretty good money and didn't want to risk quitting my job.

Then I got laid off. School was calling. At first I decided to just go back for Journalism so I could become a respectable writer, not one of these internet know-it-alls called "bloggers". But the curriculum looked boring. The last thing I wanted to do was go sit with a bunch of 18 year olds in some lame Mass Communications class. I wanted a freakin challenge. However, I was(am) lazy and considered myself weak at mathematics.

At some point I grabbed my confidence and decided to pursue my passion. This was no short order given that everyone around me was negative about mechanical engineering, not the least of all, my parents who didn't hesitate to challenge my goal. Let me tell you, when you aren't personally 100% convinced of a particular path and you have little to no support, it's hard to commit. In short, it's discouraging(more on this later).

So now I'm in class part-time and set to go back full-time in the fall. It feels awesome(which I'm sure will change once I get into my 1st physics class). I can say that I'd like to be the next "Honda" in the future, but for now I'm just taking it one step at a time. Welcome to our engineering journey.