Good Job, Everyone!

I was very impressed today when I came online and noticed 124 entries already for the super awesome designer soap giveaway by KreatedbyKarina. So I thought I'd give you all a thumbs up for entering. *Thumbs Up To The Awesome Peeps!*

I really love having giveaways on this blog for my fellow Etsians, and I know you all love to win free stuff and find out about cool shops and good things for your life. So if you have a shop and you want to run a giveaway here, please let me know. Note that I *AM* selective about who I promote here. If I don't think my readers will find the shop worth visiting, I will actually turn you down.

However, I'd be happy to give you feedback on what I think would make your shop more attractive to the readers here. I'm not a pro by any means, but I can offer my opinion. I would also recommend asking other Etsians for advice and feedback. Some of them really are seasoned professionals in selling and buying online.
That's another thing - you'd be surprised how much you can learn about how to improve your own shop by buying online. You'll find out pretty quickly what impresses you and what disappoints you when you receive a package in the mail, and you can compare it to what you are doing in your shop to see if you can improve.

As an update to what's going on with me this past week, I've been a busy school gal. My teacher accepted my application into his course, so I am officially registered for his Human Anatomy and Physiology class. It's a lot of work and there's tons to memorize, but I am really enjoying the subject. He's also a really good teacher. He doesn't go too fast, and he has lots of interesting tidbits to share.
The laboratory portion is also surprisingly fun and I am learning so much! A lot of the first week was a review of first year Biology, but it still took me a bit to remember it all and to get into the groove of things. I have discovered that I love learning slowly but thoroughly. It means that I really understand the topic, and I can teach it to others! I spent most of my laboratory time teaching the students seated around me how to do what I had just learned. I felt so helpful, and they actually appreciated that I took the time out to help them out. Maybe I'll make it a habit to stick around the lab and help other lost people out.

I'm still trying to figure out if I should become a nurse. I met a doctor at school and we somehow got into the topic of what I should do with my career. After I had described my situation to him, he asked me to consider whether it would be better for me to spend 5 years to become a newbie nurse, or to invest 5 years into upgrading my current education/training in digital art and animation. The answer in a practical sense was to invest in my art training, but when we added the factor of meaningful work and the need to help people, the answer became clouded.

My new attempt is to find a career path that combines my art education with helping people. Things that I am considering are art therapy (but I will need a LOT of psychology/counselling education), rehabilitation therapy (because I'd get to move around and maybe do some art projects), and motion capture in medical care and analysis (because I know some medical facilities use motion capture, and it would be cool if I could figure out how to get involved with that since I know mocap so well).
I'm also reconsidering teaching in some capacity. As I mentioned in regards to lab, I have a natural tendency to teach what I know to others. It might be why I write so many gardening and art tutorials on this blog. I also wrote training documents in my previous job, and trained my outsourcing team online and in-person. I would bet that you could ask me to teach you something, and if it was a topic I was familiar with, I would happily teach/tell you about it.

That's something I have rolling at the back of my mind. Part of why I want to become a nurse is so I can become a nurse trainer or nurse teacher. Ironic, eh? But SOMEONE has got to teach the subject! Why not me?
So this week will include my first quiz for Human Anatomy and Physiology, and lots of applying for various volunteer positions. Hopefully I can teach some art or visit some fine elderly folk. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Good luck with all your endeavors!