The life of Geena Hadjiconstantinou
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Hi, I'm Geena! I was born in El Paso, Texas but grew up in Tuttle, OK all my life. For those of you who have never heard of Tuttle ( most people haven't) it is a small country/farm town. My principal would often drive his tractor to school so that should give you a good picture of where I grew up. The school was extremely small as well, I graduated with 99 and it was primarily an all white school. I started at OU when I was a freshman and have been here all 4.5 years of my college career. I must say the transition from small town country life to an actual city that had more than just one street light was a bit much. It was almost like slight culture shock to me. I managed to figure out a lot of things on my own and grow an immense amount my freshman year. I continually thank OU because I would be a completely different person with different outlooks if I had not attended school here. I am studying to become a licensed drug and alcohol counselor. I changed my major and career choice multiple times and believe I have finally chosen what I want to pursue in life and I am excited to be ending my undergrad in December and start my masters program in August. I am ready to embark on a new life and opportunities once I am completely finished with school and can finally start helping people who need help the most!
Aside from school, I work at Midfirst Bank on campus corner part time. If you happen to bank there, come by and say Hi!! I enjoy some of the most basic hobbies, going to the mall, getting my nails done, dancing and going to the bars. I danced competitively for 13 years. I wanted a fresh start and was starting to get burnt out on dance so I stopped dancing when I came to college. My ultimate favorite place to go out on the weekend is "Groovy's"!!! It's a dance club (funny dancing not like grinding...) and it is amazing. They play like 70's-90's music and glitter falls from the ceiling whenever a katy perry song comes on. Its quite magical. I enjoy traveling as well and am in the process of planning a European backpacking adventure for this summer before I get tied down with graduate school and a career. If you have ever been backpacking in Europe of have a favorite country / city please let me know!!!
There is a brief intro for me and I plan on adding more so stay tuned!
This video is an actual representation of my life: She wants to take a nap
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This video is an actual representation of my life: She wants to take a nap
What a great career path, Geena! I hope this class can be useful to you: there are lots of storytelling elements in therapy, and some therapies are all about helping people to journal and write creatively, and other therapies use archetypes to help people understand the world in terms of stories. Maybe you will want to do a project like that in this class and/or explore therapy as a storytelling style! Or you could do a project about dancing... there are so many stories and legends about dancing. Do you know the fairy tale about The Twelve Dancing Princesses? That is just one of many stories you can find in the UnTextbook that have dancing as a theme... sometimes real-world dancing, but sometimes with a supernatural dimension! Anyway, you can see what grabs your attention most as you read and explore the possibilities... And you should be comments here too next week when you can get a reading/story post thing going on.
ReplyDeleteGeena, I grew up in Blanchard so I know both where Tuttle is and how it feels to transition from a small town to a large city. My last two years of high school, I transferred to a boarding school in the heart of Oklahoma City and it was especially stressful. If you get the chance during your backpacking trip, go on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, it starts in Pamplona and goes all the way to Santiago de Compostela. It is a moderately easy tack, but it is so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGeena! I just found out you were in this class, so cool. This is Christine, Lauren's friend! It was so fun to read this introduction post and find out more about you. Drug and alcohol counseling sounds like such a great thing to do. It's so nice that you'll be helping people. Backpacking sounds really exciting as well. I went to Ireland last summer, and it's an awesome place to visit. We stayed in a city called Cork, and I loved it there.
ReplyDeleteGeena,
ReplyDeleteI also went to a very small high school, my graduating class was 101 people. However, we weren't quite as "country" as your high school. I find it hard to imagine experiencing a culture shock in the state you grew up in, it is certainly a unique experience. Thanks so much for sharing, good luck with the rest of this semester.
Andrew
I graduated with six people in my class and coming to OU was the greatest culture shock of my life. I agree with you though, it definitely helped shape me and I'm grateful for my time here. I think your career choice is awesome. It takes a special person to council people and it's really great that you feel like that is where you should be in life. So nice to meet you.
ReplyDeleteI graduated from a really small school. I believe there were 120 people in my graduating class and it was only that high because there was a military base nearby and all the military kids came to that high school. The actual town was really tiny and surrounded by corn. I don't think anyone ever drove a tractor to school though! That's pretty funny. As far as traveling goes, my best suggestion would be to go to pretty much anywhere in Bavaria, Germany. It's absolutely beautiful and my family used to take winter vacations there when we lived in Germany. Most of the people are really kind and its not super hard to find English speakers but I think the forests and mountains and cute little towns are absolutely perfect if you're not looking for a big city. If you are looking for a big city, Paris is pretty rad but don't eat their "American food" it's hilariously awful.
ReplyDeleteHello Geena,
ReplyDeleteYour career choice is very inspiring. The drug epedemic is devastating so many lives, especially the children of those who are addicted. I admire young people who come to college and are away from everything they call home. I actually do know where Tuttle is. I lived in Minco, which is just to the west of Tuttle. My daughters graduating class was made up of 38 students. I grew up in Tahlequah , Oklahoma. We moved here when I was in junior high and the city was extremely different for me as well. I hope you enjoy your trip to Europe. I have always wanted to go. Maybe someday I will be able to. Good luck in graduate school. I just applied to law school and I am waiting to hear if I got accepted. I look forward to reading some of your writing.
Hi Geena!
ReplyDeleteI'm like you and changed my major many times. At times I feel like I still don't know what I want to do, but I'm confident that I will figure it out. Coming from a small town to a town like Norman must be a pretty big change. I find that it usually changes someone for the better, though. There is so much of the world to be explored and so many cultures to learn from. It's nice to meet you!
Hey Geena!
ReplyDeleteI think its super cool that you grew up in Tuttle and how much coming to OU has changed you as a person. Im from Tulsa so I never really had the small town vibe, but I think its pretty interesting how much of a change it is coming from Tuttle to norman. I think being a counselor is a super special job and I think its awesome that that is what you wanna do, I bet youll do great! Im glad I got to know you a little better and wish you good luck with the rest of your school!
Hi Genna,
ReplyDeletewow it sound like you have a lot of stuff you want to do! I have been to Europe twice. I was younger though. But I do remember Sicily in Italy! It was beautiful...it was the most experience place we went to though. As well of Assisi in Italy, the church there was amazing!
What kind of dance did you do? I did tap and jazz for 14 years. Also I've been here 4.5 years also and have never heard of groovy. I totally need to go there!
Good luck on the rest of the semester!
Hi Geena! I had the opposite experience – I graduated with almost 800 people so I did not grow up in a small town! I too, am graduating in December but am planning on finding a job following graduation. I think that what you want to do as a career is really incredible and I am glad you have a passion for something like that! Anyways, I am glad I got to read a little bit about you and I am excited to read more of your posts in the future!
ReplyDeleteHey Geena! I went to a very small high school and graduated with only 75 people. I am from Fort Worth and when I tell most people this they ask me if I rode my horse to school. Of course I didn't, but I always tell them that it is not rare to see people ride their horses through sonic so I definitely understand where you're coming from. I was a gymnast/cheerleader my whole life so I love to dance as well. Groovy's sounds like an awesome place that my roommates and I need to check out sometime soon!
ReplyDeleteHi Geena! This was so interesting to read. I like hearing about your perspective of growing up in a small town. I grew up in the Dallas suburbs (just like 95% of the OU population haha) and so it was an easier transition. That is awesome that you graduate so soon! Good luck with your Masters! You are going to do some amazing things!
ReplyDeleteHey Geena!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way. I am so thankful I chose to attend OU because I feel like I would be a different person. I have learned so much here academically and socially. I have met so many people that have become great friends. I’m also graduating in December so I’m very excited about that. I think your major is great and you will definitely be helping so many people. You seem like a really fun person! It’s so great to meet you and I’m looking forward to read your stories!
Nice to meet you Geena!
ReplyDeleteI think it awesome that you want to go into counseling! I completely agree with what you had to say about OU! I love that fact that we go to a school with so many opportunities and activities! What has been your favorite experience at OU so far? I hope you get to go on your backpacking trip and hopefully it will inspire you to write more stories! I look forward to reading your work!
Wow, congrats on your graduation this December. Isn’t it exciting? I am graduating in the upcoming spring so I understand how you feel. What kind of dance to know do? I’m always envious of people who dance because I become very awkward when I dance. The only dance I know is the contra dance, which I learned in my world music class. It sounds like you have a wonderful plan during the break between now and grad school. Backpacking adventure sounds very fun.
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome that you came here and that you were able to get out of your comfort zone a little. My experience was almost the opposite because I am from the suburbs of Chicago. Definitely still a culture shock though! Groovy’s sounds like a really cool place. That is awesome that you want to get out there and help those people. Good luck this summer! Maybe sometime soon I’ll be able to do the same thing and backpack through Europe!
ReplyDeleteHey Geena! So happy for you that you get to graduate this December. I graduate next spring and as a gift to myself, I am spending a month in Europe next summer. I hear that Amsterdam is beautiful. I personally am looking forward to Venice. I have been to Italy but I didn't get to go to Venice. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi Geena! Nice to (finally) meet you! You’re so close to graduating. Congratulations! As someone who graduated with a class of 160, I get the whole Norman-is-NOT-a-small-town thing. Also, haha that dance place sounds like a blast. I want a built in glitter dispenser in my fans! (Actually, that’s probably a horrible idea.) I hope that you have a wonderful time backpacking in Europe. Best of luck with all of the future stuff!
ReplyDelete