Goodbye, graduation year!

One of my favorite pictures :) Olivia, Sarah, Megan

Yesterday on stumbleupon.com (a really cool website that brings you to different, interesting things!) I found something that was a sort of 30 Day Challenge. One of the questions to answer during a certain day was, "What is something you hate about yourself?" Now I wouldn't go so far as to say that I hate anything about myself, but one of my flaws is certainly that I can't let go of things. Whether that includes memories, people, bitterness, anger, or any combination of those things, I struggle with the action of letting go. While I'm in college now, I can still say that I "just graduated" high school (because it was only 6 months ago!). But soon it will be 2011, and what kind of number is that? I've been looking it as just 2010 + 1. I graduated in 2010, so this year is just the follow-up, etc.

On Thursday morning, yesterday, Sarah picked me up and we went to Olivia's house to say goodbye to her which was really fun. I realized that I really want to go on a plane again, too! It seemed weird to me because she's waited so long to leave and go to school, and then all of a sudden she's jumping in her car with 5 suitcases, ready to go somewhere completely different. Maybe I'm just being nostalgic, because that has certainly been a reoccurring mood for me as this year draws to a close, but I'm reminded of how I shouldn't be dwelling on a simple date of an important event in my life. Rather, I should be looking forward to 2011 with excitement and relief that this is an opportunity to start over. To celebrate this, I've already deleted a few Facebook friends that I don't mind losing. New year's resolution? Continue with my realization that people change, and I can't linger on what has-been. In this manner, I hope to start fresh and focus on the people I love, opportunities I've been blessed with, and focusing on what's positive in my life. 

Just a few things that are going well: 

- My first semester grade report was posted, and my brand new gpa is a 3.83 :)

- I've been working this week, and now I should have a few extra dollars. Yahoo!

- I think I might start playing the guitar again

- I have the next 19 days to work on scholarships (not fun, but at least I have time)

- Next semester I have Intro to Creative Writing!!!!!!!!

- I went tubing with Sarah yesterday and played board games with Victoria & Amy

- I decorated my room with Christmas lights and paper snowflakes (still slight obsession here)

- I have randomly been writing poems (these should be classified as "rants" because that's what they resemble)

- My fish tank has stayed clean this week

- I just made an omelette and it was delicious 

- Michael and I recently had Photo Booth modeling session

- Michael also downloaded a bunch of free iPod touch applications for me

- Tonight I'm hanging out with Amy and we're having a sleepover (like old times)

- My pal Anna posted THE BEST Christmas card/movie on my wall yesterday, while resulted in me having intense stomach cramps from laughing so hard

Letters to Juliet

For Christmas, my mom got my sister and I the movie Letters to Juliet. We watched it today and it was so wonderful! I had never known that there was such a wall where people from all over the world write to "Juliet of Verona." They ask her for advice on love (and almost 5,000 letters are sent/posted every year!). These letters are read and then a group of people, her "secretaries," answer these letters.

I would love to see this! I've been thinking about where I want to study abroad during my junior year, and I think it would be so amazing to go to Italy. I'm impressed that these women volunteer their time to honestly answer anyone who is heartbroken, questioning, or simply devastated and have no one to turn to but the name of Juliet. I realized that I wish I could give advice (not that I'm a real expert) to others who are searching for love or are trying to choose between one life and another. Anyways, this is where I want to go:

Juliet's balcony in Verona, Italy

May all your troubles soon be gone, oh Christmas lights keep shining on

I have been listening to this song on repeat for the past few days. No longer do I have a snowflake obsession, but I am now addicted to Coldplay. It is just so good! Unfortunately, I just realized you'll have to scroll all the way to the bottom of this page to turn of my music. Lame.

Happy days

My favorite things that have happened since I've been home:

1. I ate lunch at Grammie and Papa's house and it was delicious. I also got to see their $40 Christmas tree and the one that they got out of the backyard (Charlie Brown Christmas tree but about 10 ft tall)

Best meal I've had since the field hockey banquet

2. Rocket did not run away from me when I arrived, but rather he jumped into my arms (well, he meowed at me from a distance. Same thing)

3. At dinner, my dad asked me if I fed my fish yet and I said yes (which was a complete lie but I wanted to seem like a good pet owner). Then later that night I happened to look in the tank AND THERE WERE TWO FISH IN THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I already had Wayne (one of the fish Andrew and I bought on Valentine's day 2 years ago), and my family got me another one that looks just like him! Wayne is black and bug-eyed, and so is this new one. They call him "Bugs." Original, I know...... But I wasn't about to complain.

4. I watched You've Got Mail, Wedding Crashers, and other various movies in my bed Thursday night. And I didn't have to think about doing work AT ALL. It was so wonderful.

5. On Friday, I hung out with my best friends Sarah and Olivia! We made snowflakes and watched this 30 minute Christmas show called "Prep and Landing." Whenever Olivia told me what we were going to watch, I thought she was saying something like "prepinlandy." It was really cute and hilarious... then we watched this movie about an annoying little girl who finds this reindeer (very funny, also).

6. I went to my sister's high school basketball game and she was so awesome!!!! (I also saw Heather here, which was also very exciting!)

7. I went to Monique's house Friday night. We went to DD, TJMaxx, Walmart, and then watched Family Guy which was ALSO funny! I saw so many friends on Friday, I'm not sure who I'll see the rest of the vacation.

8. I ate 2 bowls of Kix, fed Rocket for the tenth time, and talked to Andrew for a while :)

I just love being home.

Home sweet home

So it seems that I forget about this blog but then when I decide to post something, I have to do at least 2 or 3 posts in one day! This was an important day though. I had my Great Conversation final presentation (blah), said bye to Mindy/Malorie/Anna/Julie, packed, said bye to my dearest roommate Rachel, and headed out the door! Well, I left Gordon. Grammie and Papa came to pick me up--on our way out I ran into the Bennett Center to drop off some paper snowflakes for my coach. These were leftover from my serious 2 day obsession with making paper snowflakes. From this incident I gained some serious blisters, lost a few friends, and was left with about a million beautiful creations. My coach was nice enough to accept them and put them up in his office though :)

Nice, huh?

Like I said, it was an obsession

1 semester down, 7 to go! ~ Papa

I am no longer a baby freshman. Actually, I still am... but I have successfully completed (well, mostly) the Great Conversation, Examined Life, Old Testament, and Historical Perspectives. Now I have 4 of my core classes completed, with only 14233562 more to go! I would say that they are all successful, but philosophy was not enjoyable. Except for that one time I made a scene (look to my previous post). Instead of taking useful notes, I did manage to jot down a few things my professor said. Perhaps they are his personal opinions, but perhaps not:

- Even the amoeba is doing the best he can in this world
- Augustine's main concern: he doesn't want God to be just another "domesticated Joe"
- All his friends are brainy guys but he's a super brainy guy
- Our God doesn't sleep around
- God has left us to tend the garden
- I find him in my drawers, in my brain (what...?)
- Trust your medicines!
- Animals that turn the other cheek DIE

Now this was over the span of the semester, and I certainly didn't get everything down. But as you can see by my "what?" I did not know what was going on in this class. But I did know that I would be going back to my room to take a 2 hour nap once in ended.
Anyways, I'm excited for next semester. Unfortunately, I'm taking 3 more required classes (New Testament, Microeconomics, Intro to Human Movement). But I'll also have Intro to Creative Writing!

Seriously, I love my bed. The best place to take a nap (and I did... every Tues/Thurs at 10am after Examind Life was over!