Introduction

Hello everybody. My name is Tim Starman. I'm part of a class at my high school called "Options". This is a class you take in order to get credits from your own interests. In my opinion Options is a great way to express who you are and explore your interests. As much as I'd love sitting in a hot classroom listening to a lecture, I'd rather be journaling like I'm doing now. Options is a great way to get high school credits, while studying and learning about your own interests. This class has helped me narrow down my options for possible career paths.

My Options journey started at the beginning of my senior year in high school. I didn't know what to expect because my friends of mine had mixed reviews. At the beginning of Options everybody spends a few months creating your personal portfolio. This is a long and drooling process but it is definitely worth it. The portfolio is composed of an intro, resume, tests, activities page, and a letter of recommendation. With more things added this becomes your portfolio. After your hard copy is completed you have will transfer all the information on to an online portfolio (kind of like a blog). The portfolio is an amazing way to "show off" who you are. This came in handy for me because I'm a senior, and applying to colleges. I just added my online portfolio link to my college essays. If you are not a senior it's a great way to get jobs, and it's important and useful for the future. There are many reasons why the portfolio is a great asset to have.

After my portfolio project I got involved with a workshop called "mentorship". Mentorship is basically getting out of class to follow or shadow a professional. Generally this is for a senior who has a career idea in mind. My favorite aspect of mentorship is that you are able to get a taste of what this career is really like. Instead of spending years of time, and thousands of dollars on a career you don't like, you can do mentorship and sort of "test run" the profession. I decided to do a  mentorship at Mayo Clinic Health Systems for nursing. At the time I was very interested in nursing and health care. Thankfully after this experience, I know its not for me. I shadowed nurses, talked to doctors and got a feel of the industry. I learned so much through this experience.

My next project in Options is to write this blog. I want to explore the world of journalism and how to incorpurate my love for French, the language of love, to it.  Throughout this blog I want to share writing samples from my French class, as well as my exploration of writing in general. Of course I will always share fun things I find and my life with all of you. I'm using this blog not only for an educational purpose, but also for a place that I can escape and run away too. I want to express my emotions and let everything go. This blog will be my mental punching bag.

Thank you so much for even spending a fraction of your life reading my blog. I think I'm humorous and have a laid back way with my words, and I want to share that with the world. I hope you enjoy all these black spots, even if you don't know one word of French! So sip your latté, cover yourself up with a cozy blanket, munch on a baguette, and enjoy my words of self exploration.