My name is Gabriela, I am a sophomore speech pathology major and have my minor in psychology. I want to be able to use my degree to work with kids with autism and help them with their speech impediments. I have always been interested in mythology and have been wanting to take the class for a few years now, so I am very excited to finally be able to take this class. A little fun fact about me is that I was born in Bogota, Colombia and we moved here when I was five years old. I am a complete workaholic and when I am not at school or doing schoolwork then I am more than likely at work.
Last month for Christmas break my family and I went on vacation to Washington DC and it was such a fun trip. I am a complete history nerd and getting to see all of the monuments and go to several museums in the National Mall. My favorite part was getting to go to Mount Vernon. We got to see George Washington's house on the Potomac River and it was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. They had slave burials and we also got to see Martha and George Washington's tomb. The tour of the inside of the house was also lots of fun and I was amazed at how well they have preserved it.
George Washington's estate on Mount Vernon in West Virginia.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
I also love dogs. I go crazy when I see any kind of dog, but I am completely and utterly obsessed with my two Shih Tzus. I only had one up until 3 days ago when I decided that my dog needed a friend, so I had to go get another one. These dogs are my whole life and by far the most important thing to me. My oldest is one year old and his name is Skye. The newest addition to the family is Mylo and he is 11 weeks old. They love to play and are extremely spoiled. I am completely in love with my two baby boys. To be honest, my camera roll is filled with more pictures of my dogs than pictures with me in them.
Personal photo of my oldest dog Skye;
photo from January 2020.
Personal photo of Skye and Mylo;
photo from January 2020.
Personal photo of the Mylo the day we got him;
photo from January 2020.
Hi Gabriela!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to meet you! I'm a mechanical engineering senior here at OU! I appreciate how you already know how you want to use your degree to help children with autism. Similarly, I already plan to use my degree in mechanical engineering to work in the automotive field, making new vehicles safer for future generations. I also love dogs almost as much as you! My family has eight dogs that are all rescues that people abandoned nearby in the woods.
Anyways, best wishes and have a great semester!
Hello Gabriela! Its awesome you have a passion to help kids who have autism and others who struggle with their speech impediments! MY boyfriends mom is a speech pathologist and I can truly see how she helps the kids around her. Also your pups are so stinking adorable! I have a great dane and a German Shepherd and I love them completely. My great dane is named Belle and Sam is the German Shepherd. They are complete opposites so its fun to see them together! Hope you have an amazing semester and I wish you the best in all your future endeavors!
ReplyDeleteHey Gabriela! I would love to make the trip up northeast to see all the monuments and rich history! It really is interesting to see and learn about it! I have a cousin that is a speech pathologist and she loves it! You're going to help many people out there! My wife and I are looking for a dog and Im thinking about surprising her with one on her birthday! Who knows! I hope you do good in this class and good luck on your studies!
ReplyDeleteHi Gabriela!
ReplyDeleteI went on a trip to Washington DC during spring break of my freshman year with my roommate, and I enjoyed it as well! We did not visit George Washington's home, but my personal favorite parts were the Lincoln Memorial and seeing the real Declaration of Independence and Constitution at the National Archives. Anyway, your dogs look so sweet, and good luck with your journey toward a career as a speech pathologist!
Hey!
ReplyDeleteAs a current dog mom myself, I totally understand how you feel! I rescued a little mix that I named Bucky, and I love him to death. We definitely can bond over that.
It was a few years ago, but I also went to Washington D.C. I agree, it's such a fun experience! I didn't get to see Mount Vernon though, so I'm hoping I can go back sometime this upcoming summer and see it!
Wow, there are people from so many different countries in the class this semester, Gabby! That is so cool! One of my friends in college was from Colombia, but I don't think there has been a student from Colombia in this class before.
ReplyDeleteAnd speech pathology is such a great field; I had a really extreme lisp when I was little and they sent me to a speech therapist who helped me with all kinds of fun games. Working with her was actually way more fun than regular school, ha ha.
And about George Washington, I have to share this AMAZING story that I read last year; it's online... and it is so powerful: The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington
by Phenderson Djèlí Clark, online at Fireside magazine.
Yay for the adorable dogs; that picture of Skye and Mylo together is so totally cute. Puppy energy is one of the most powerful energies in the known universe: I hope you and Skye both enjoy all of Mylo's puppy goodness this year. How wonderful!
Hola Gabriela! I love what you want to do for work, I think it is such an important labor and we don't have enough speech therapists focusing on kids with special needs. I'm a psych major so I understand your passion for this! I love your dogs, they are adorable! I am also super obsessed with dogs, honestly whenever I see one on the south oval I HAVE to stay and pet them. Hope this class was what you were looking for and that you will enjoy it. Best of luck with the semester!
ReplyDeleteBuenos dias Gabriela!
ReplyDeleteA pleasure to see another Hispanic in this class. Your dogs are adorable. Given I'm biased in my thinking that any doggo is adorable.
I worked in DC last summer, it was really stressful yet extremely fun. I hope to go back as a tourist soon.
I hope you are enjoying life at OU.
Kind regards.
Hi Gabriela!
ReplyDeleteI went to DC a while ago... I think I was 10 or 11 at the time. My grandparents and I would take summer trips around the U.S. to see the national parks and learn about history. It was one of my favorite trips. It was sooo exhausting though. I also really enjoyed Mount Vernon. I am a huge dog person as well! Your little guys are cuties! I have four and it makes life a little crazy! Best of luck in the rest of your semester, we're halfway there!
Saludos, Gabriela!
ReplyDeleteI actually almost ended up working in Colombia! I was looking at positions in Latin America with the Peace Corps, and I saw they had some on Colombia (and having written my undergrad dissertation about the FARC, I kind of wanted to go), but they didn't have any positions that I would be qualified for, so now I'm going to Paraguay instead. I think your area of study and your career goals are really impressive and say a lot about who you are as a person. Speech pathology is definitely a field that doesn't get as much respect as it deserves; there's this woman on Instagram who's a speech pathologist, and she taught her dog to communicate with her via some buttons that produce simple words. The dog even forms sentences! You should look it up. Speaking of dogs, me encantan tus cachorros. They're precious, especially baby Mylo. Anyways, I hope you have a great semester! Abrazos.
Hello Gabriela,
ReplyDeleteI would like to start off by saying that you did an amazing job writing this post. Also I love the pictures of your dogs and they are so cute. I have always wanted to go Washington DC. It is very neat that you were born in Colombia. Best luck to you for the rest of the semester.
Hi Gabriela. First off, your dogs are just too adorable!!! I can see why you spoil them. I've never been to Mount Vernon. That time in history is really fascinating. Speaking of mythology, the myths that have grow up around George Washington are pretty crazy. It's amazing that so many of the things people were taught about him for years were absolutely fabricated. Good luck with your major! It sounds like you are going to do some very important work and help a lot of kids.
ReplyDeleteHi Gabriela! I love your dogs so much! I have one myself, and I cannot wait to get more. I am super jealous that you got to go to D.C.! How cool! I used to really want to go into speech language pathology, I did not realize that OU offered that degree! Neat!It is super great to meet you, I look forward to reading more of your posts.
ReplyDeleteHi Gabriela! I love your dogs and that you titled yourself as a dog mom! I did the same thing in my introduction! Your dogs are so cute and little! My dog is around 80 pounds right now. Hopefully she stops growing sometime soon! I love D.C., it's one of my favorite places to visit. I'm glad you got to go!
ReplyDeleteHave an awesome semester!
Tricia
Hi Gabriela!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your introduction and getting to know more about you. It's so cool that you are from Columbia, I've never been there but I've wanted to. I also LOVE your two puppers! They are literally so cute, seeing these pictures made me so happy. I also love Washington, D.C., I've been there twice and both times just left me in awe. I love all the monuments and museums, the Lincoln Memorial is definitely my favorite, especially looking out at the Washington monument. So beautiful. Anyway, congrats on finishing the semester and good luck with the rest of your OU career!