Monday, August 21, 2017

Introduction to a Waco Girl That Doesn't Sic 'Em

Hello! My name is Hannah Virnau and I am a junior from Waco, Texas. No, I did not want to go to Baylor. I chose to come to OU because I wanted to experience life in a new place and I am loving it here. I am studying English education at the moment. I love the idea of being an English teacher because of the way it allows students to express themselves through writing and to find their own creative outlet. However, being a teacher is not my end goal. When all is said and done, it would be a dream come true to me to become a school counselor. I love helping people and think that high school is such a formative time so I plan on pursuing a masters degree to become certified to do so in this area. I have taken some really cool classes here at OU but my favorite would have to be my Educational Psychology class that I took last semester. It was so fascinating to me to learn how to construct lessons and things for the classroom in a way that really reached my students while also learning some of the things that might make my students who they are outside of the biological factors that play into this.

Something else interesting about me is that I LOVE to travel. More specifically, I love to cruise. Since my first one in 2010, I have been on 7 of them. It is something that I have gotten to do with my family and I truly wouldn't trade the experience for the world. On that note, my family is also incredibly important to me. My mom is a 3rd grade teacher, my dad an accountant, and I have 2 sisters that are still in high school. Since being in college, it has been hard to be away from them at times but we are all still just as close as ever. We also have a sweet havanese puppy named Forest, the most spoiled little guy that you will ever meet. He is the only dog I have ever seen that will literally not let you eat a cookie unless you share with him first.
Personal photo of my family's dog, Forest.
Last, but certainly not least, I love to spend time outside and hanging with my friends and family on the rare occurrence that I actually stumble upon some free time. I love to hike, watch the sunset, go to the lake, swim, and anything of that sort. 

That's just a little bit about me. I can't wait to meet you!

33 comments:

  1. I know you must be thinking about friends and family in Texas right now, Hannah! I've honestly been kind of distracted all day thinking about that. I hope there will be better news and some relief from the dreadful weather in the days to come.

    And it sounds like this will be such a great class for you: I am also very interested in education and especially how to teach writing (please let me know what you think about that as you get into the writing aspects of the class; teaching writing is such a challenge, and also so important!), and of course you can also use the reading as a way to travel the world, at least in your imagination. Not as good as a real cruise, but it is something to do in-between cruises anyway!

    And your dog Forest is such a cutie: maybe he will make an appearance in your storytelling this semester too!

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  2. Hey Hannah! If you love English and writing I'm sure this is the class for you! I think being a school Counselor is a really worthwhile and noble career. I like traveling too! I have only been on one cruise though, and I got sea sick! I am fine on smaller boats, but that big ole' boat slowly rocking really got me. Oh, and all dogs deserve to be spoiled! Good luck!

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  3. Hi Hannah! I love that you are studying English. My mom was an English major and teaches both mythology and English to middle schoolers. She is always sending me some of the things they come up with and it's so cool to see the creativity kids have. By the sounds of this introduction and how passionate you are you are going to be great! I am jealous of how many cruises you have been on. That is definitely something I want to do after graduation. Best wishes to you this year! Oh, and cute dog :)

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  4. Hi Hannah! First of all, Forest is so cute! I wanted to try living in a new place for college too, so I think it's cool you were willing to move away. I know it's hard being away from family though! I really admire your reasons for pursuing teaching and counseling; high schoolers definitely need people who want to be there for them like you do. I hope you have a great semester!

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  5. Hi Hannah!
    I applaud you for majoring in English, it is absolutely not my best subject. Being a teacher or school counselor is such a respectable career and I hope you excel in it. I would also like to say that Forest is adorable and I could see how he would be spoiled. I have never been on a cruise before but they sound like an interesting experience.
    Hope you have a great semester!

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  6. Hi Hannah! That's really cool that you enjoy teaching! There really aren't enough teachers out there who genuinely love teaching. I hope that you are able to keep that enthusiasm through your years of training! I will never be someone who enjoys or pretends to understand English grammar, so I am very impressed that you chose to use it as your career! I hope you get your dream job! Good luck with your studies!!

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  7. Hi Hannah! I think your passion for English education is wonderful. The world needs awesome English teachers. One of my favorite teachers in high school was my English teacher. She taught me the most on how to take on college. Good luck with your future career! You’ll be great! It can be hard to be away from family, but I think it’s a great experience to be on your own. I think you’ll have so many more adventures and experiences here at OU!

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  8. Hello Hannah! This must be a fun class for you, being an English major. My grandma and aunt are both English teachers, so I have grown up with a great respect for literature and a love of reading. Being a high school guidance counselor is a great goal! Students at that age often need a lot of coaching and it is great that there are people like you who are passionate about it.

    I have always wanted to take a cruise. It is amazing that you get to experience that with your family. Also, your family dog is adorable! Forrest is a great name and it really suits him.

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  9. Hi Hannah!
    I think it’s so cool that you want to be an English teacher and a school counselor. My cousin is a high school counselor and she loves it! Also, I love to travel too. I have actually never been on a cruise but you make them sound so much fun. Perhaps my next vacation will be a cruise to the Bahamas. I hope you are having a good semester and I look forward to reading your stories!

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  10. Hi Hannah!
    It's so awesome that you want to be a school counselor in the future. I think that is one of the most important, but sometimes overlooked, jobs in education. Personally, my high school counselor is a person who stands out in my past for helping me get to where I am today. I love to travel also! I think it's one of the most important things to do when you're young. I've never been on a cruise, but I would really like to sometime! Forest is so adorable. I absolutely love dogs. I have a black and white Shih Tzu and he looks similar to her. She's also spoiled. Good luck, and I'm excited to see more posts!

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  11. Hi Hannah! Nice to meet you! It is so awesome that you have gottent he opportunity to go on so many cruises! I am also a big traveler but have only been on a few cruises, it really is such a cool way to get to see the world and can really help you discover places that you would never have thought to visit! That's great that you want to be a school counselor and help students! Education jobs are so stinking important right now and I think it's awesome that you're pursuing that! Also your dog is an angel please let me know asap if you need someone to watch her! Have a great day!

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  12. Hey Hannah! I could most likely use some help from you if you are an English Education major. English, lets just say, is not my strong suit at all haha. But that's great! Although it was my least favorite subject, some of my most favorite teachers have been English teachers. I am very jealous of your cruise experiences as well! I have never been out to sea like that but I hear from my friends that do it religiously that it is so worth it and very addictive!

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  13. Hi Hannah,
    Wow, you've got some great ambitions! To become a teacher and a counselor is such a wonderful plan. I guess you're following your mom's steps into education; that's awesome! Good luck with everything! I have a Psychology minor, and Educational Psychology seems really interesting! I'll have to look into that!

    Also, oh my goodness, Forest is sooo cute!!!

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  14. Hi Hannah!
    You sound so amazing! I love how down to earth you are for wanting to be a creative outlet for others and help others as a counselor. That’s so cool that you’ve been on so many cruises, I have never been on one because I have really bad motion sickness but I would love to try it one day. Your dog is too adorable!

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  15. Hi Hannah! I totally understand not wanting to go to the college in your hometown! I live about an hour away from A&M and it just really wasn't for me. I'm a psychology major so I'm really glad you liked Educational Psychology and want to be a counselor! We really need more people who are truly passionate about the kids and wanting to help them. You're dog is so cute and I can't wait to get to know you better throughout the semester!

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  16. Well talk about super good timing! The randomizer brought me to your storybook in the previous assignment, so I got to read all about that and comment on it, and now I get to read the introduction to you! It's so nice to meet ya! Maybe you got to go down to Waco this weekend to see family and friends and brag how you most definitely chose the better school? If not, you still have time! Haha. I am excited to read more of your work!

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  17. Hey again, Hannah!

    I am happy that you made the decision to leave home and join our great University! I think it takes a lot of courage to leave a familiar place and go somewhere new. I think that your desire to become a counselor is really awesome! My high school counselor helped me a lot back in the day! I think that every high school student needs a good counselor to help guide them in life. I definitely benefited from mine. I wish you the best of luck this semester!

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  18. Hi Hannah!

    I find it fitting that the randomizer gave me your name this weekend, for OU played Baylor! I am glad we are on the same team!
    I also love to travel! Wonderlust is a blessing and a curse for me. I see that you love cruises! I just went on my first cruise this past January! My family went on a Disney cruise and I had a blast! It stormed for a few days and we didn't get to do a whole lot outside, but then the last 3 days were beautiful! I think I would do it again!

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  19. Hi Hannah!
    Wow, I love that you enjoy traveling! I think everyone has their own favorite means of traveling, and it's cool that you enjoy cruises! My family tends to fly a lot, so I really like that. It's nice to see that you have your future aspirations all planned out, and I think being a counselor is so important! That is a time in life where a lot of us are still trying to figure out who we are and what we want to do, so it's important that we have adult figures in our lives that will help us get there. Kudos to you! Can't wait to know you better and read your stories this semester! Nice to meet you again.

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  20. Hi Hannah!
    Wow, 7 cruises...that is amazing! I've done a lot of traveling, but I haven't gone on a cruise before. You have now inspired me to try one. I admire your goal of teaching and becoming a counselor. I have a lot of teachers, and one school counselor, in my family so I know how dedicated that they are. They work really hard to inspire and help their students achieve their goals. I could never do it, so I have a lot of respect for those that do. Also, your dog is just precious! Good luck, and I'm looking forward to reading your work!

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  21. Hi Hannah, thanks for the clarification about Baylor, you obviously picked the right school. I think it is great how you want to become a school counselor so you can help kids. That is a really admirable goal to have. Going on seven cruises is crazy to me since I have never been on one, but I am sure I will go on one in the future. Lastly, I love that picture of your dog.

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  22. Hey Hannah!
    I have to say, good choice in picking OU! Going on so many cruises sounds awesome! I love the water and a nice vacation to different beaches definitely sounds really nice! I think it is really cool that you want to be a school counselor. You are totally right, high school is such an important developmental time for kids and it is really important for them to have positive adult role models in their lives, and that could be you! I think it is awesome that you feel led to a career that truly has the potential to change a lot of kids lives! Also your dog is actually the cutest :)

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  23. Hey, Hannah! Your pup Forest is adorable. I'm a sucker for a good dog picture. I think it is awesome that you chose to come to OU instead of staying in your hometown to go to school. A change is good sometimes. 7 cruises, wow. I've always wanted to go on a cruise, but I haven't been yet. One of my buddies worked on a cruise ship and talks about how cool it was all the time. I am an English major with a focus on writing so we have probably studied some of the same things. I have thought about teaching off and on throughout the years - I may follow my mom's footsteps and teach at the university level someday. I hope your semester is going well!

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  24. Hannah, it is so cool that you are an English education major! I recently applied for a TESOL Master's program at OU, so it is nice to meet someone with similar interests! You seem to be really passionate about helping people, and people with personalities like yours always seem to go far. They always have a lot of people supporting them. It is great that you are so close to your family, but also that you are loving your time here at OU. I'm looking forward to reading more of your work in the future!

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  25. Hi Hannah!
    That's awesome that you're an english major. This class is perfect for you to really utilize your creativity which is awesome! Like you, I LOVE to travel. I wish that I could travel all the time. It truly is the best thing to experience new places and all that they entail.
    Thank you so much for sharing! I look forward to reading your story.

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  26. Hello Hannah! I have taken some psychology classes and absolutely love them. I think Psychology is such an interesting subject that I will never get bore learning about it. I am glad that the courses you have taken allow you to think about what kind of classrooms you want to construct for you students. It is nice to meet you and good luck with the rest of the semester.

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  27. Hi Hannah!

    Let me start this out by saying your dog, Forest, is so cute. I would have a heart attack if my dog sat on the dishwasher because they are all huge but when your little guy does it is adorable. It is so cool that you want to be a teacher and eventually a counselor. I wish you luck.

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  28. Hi Hannah!! It's great to see you're in this class — I believe we were in Phi Lamb together? Loved learning a little more about you here. It's so great that you have a heart for high schoolers and for teaching — that's a really unique and incredible combo. And that's amazing that you get to travel so much — what's the best place you've ever visited on a cruise? It was great to hear a little about you, and I hope you have a wonderful semester.

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  29. Hi Hannah!

    I think it’s so cool that you’re so passionate about your major and helping high school students! I love cruising too!! I’m going on my fifth cruise this summer! It’s also something my family does. It’s usually the only time I get to see all of them together, so I love them! It was so nice to meet you!

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  30. Hey there Hannah!
    That's awesome that you want to be a teacher! While it wasn't an English teacher that has inspired me in school, I have had teachers in Chemical Engineering that have greatly and positively impacted my life. Teachers are incredibly important and learning proper English is incredibly important! Also I love your dog! I have two little dogs like that even though I would rather have big dogs. Have a great semester!

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  31. Hannah your dog is AWESOME!!! My dad's allergic to most dogs so that's basicaly the only breed of dog I've had my whole life! Anyways it's really cool that you want to be a teacher. I've been on so many cruises my family usually goes on one every two years or so. This coming summer though is my grad celebration so instead of a cruise I decided on Disney World. It was that, Vegas or a cruise. Glad to see you chose OU over Baylor, I did as well! Although my acceptance to Baylor was back in 2012 and my acceptance here was in 2015 haha. But I still chose NOT Baylor. Best of luck this semester.

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  32. Hannah,
    My mother is actually a high school English teacher and she loves her job. Even though teacher do not make that much in Oklahoma, her students love for learning and involvement have kept her in the education field. She also went on to get her master while she was teaching and it was easy for her because of the flexibility teachers have in their schedules. You have a great career path in front of you! Good luck with classes this semester and becoming a teacher and then a school counselor.

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  33. Hi Hannah!
    That's so awesome that you want to become a teacher! A lot of people enjoy that profession since you get to shape kids' lives at a more personal level. English wasn't my best or even favorite subject growing up, but it's nice that you find a passion in it. Your dog is very much adorable! When I get a place of my own I want to own a dog like that!

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