Life currently + news!

This will be *another* quick post, because suddenly my life hit warp speed and I am too much in denial of that fact to document it.

Also, I took a bunch of pictures, but they are on my camera, which is far away from me...

Yes. It HAS gotten to that point.

Over the past year and a half of this blog, I have taken many photos of myself (thank you Mac) in the midst of some kind of major moment of procrastination. Or just some kind of insanity.

Like these...

(This is the part where you seriously start questioning why you decided to read this post. I know. You don't have to hide it.)

And this one, from today:

Thank you Starbucks, for making my smart thoughts come out.

I have a research paper to complete.

Tonight.

So that's why I am doing this instead.

It's due in two days, but tomorrow is reserved for fun things.

Somehow that is motivating me more than a deadline, and I think that's probably a bad thing.

I had a real reason for choosing to start a post....

Oh, the news part!

In two weeks I move in with my boyfriend and his family, and a few weeks after that we both start our big kid jobs.

So much happening all at once!

This weird nesting thing has kicked in, though. Apparently it's not just for people growing a baby, because all of a sudden I can't stop buying plants. 

I only have four, but I will buy twelve more if I'm allowed.

And I want to spend my days on Pinterest, looking at pretty libraries and gardens and planning out nonexistent homes in my mind.

Is this adulthood?

I also have to start researching insurance, and I am insanely excited to make a spreadsheet budget.

I even went to this site: click here! to find free lectures on economics and psychology and all kinds of stuff because I'm scared of not having school anymore.

I love school. Always have. I can't bear the thought of it being done, but I am in no way prepared to head off to grad school just for the heck of it.

So what all this means is....I am sad about my stint as editor of the newspaper being over, freaked out about graduation, and trying to cope with it all via organization tactics and virtual interior decorating.

So things are going well.

How are all you soon to be graduates coping?

Are you losing your minds, too?!

Maybe it's just me. It's often just me.

Happy Tuesday!

My goodbye

I am just here to say that I have officially finished my time as editor of the campus newspaper.

And that is a weird feeling indeed.

If you are interested, here is my goodbye column:

Read me!

Other than that, it is Friday, it is gorgeous outside, and I'm feeling pretty happy with all that.

Home stretch, now! Can't wait for all the fun!

Have a lovely weekend.

Song for today: Youth, by Daughter

I think Google killed my sense of faith.

Source: thegirlswithglasses.com via Annette on Pinterest 

I am not going to tell you just how many times a day I consult Google.

For everything.

"How long do canned artichokes keep in the fridge?"

"Is this skin cancer?"

"What are my odds of dying from (insert wildest imagined fate here)?"

Since I have been able to Google anything and everything, I stop trying things on good faith.

Trial and error are things of the past, because I now I can ask the wonderful world of Google for all of its deepest, darkest (and pretty awful) wisdom.

I no longer take leaps of faith. Not that I ever did, really. But it's even worse now.

Because now I like to look at the odds, and put some weight behind them.

"What are the odds of getting murdered?"

"What are the odds of getting divorced?"

"What are the odds of getting cancer?"

But the odds don't help, because no matter how small they are, someone, somewhere, is that one in one million. Could that be me?

Of all the awful things in the world, one of them is bound to happen to me, right?

Additionally, sometimes I make the mistake of...asking for advice from strangers online.

I've done it on this blog. I do it on forums every now and again.

Trust me, NEVER do that. 

TruckerBabe8 doesn't actually know you, 

and what's right for her is not right for you. (Or probably anyone...)

See also: Stay away from news story comment sections.

The thing I often fail to remember is that when bad things do happen, I survive.

I get on with my life, just like everyone else, and I overcome whatever it may be.

Typically, the things I freak out the most about are the things that exist only in my mind.

Those mysterious sirens known as the "what-ifs."

But real life? I take it in stride, just like everyone else.

Because, well, what choice do we have?

We have friends and family so that when the *stuff* hits the fan, someone is there to crack a joke about it, or cry with you. Or tell you to stop being stupid. Or to freak out with you, so YOU can see how dumb it sounds.

I can't guarantee I will avoid Google the next time I find a mysterious mark,

but I can consciously swear to chill the heck out.

And as for the odds, screw 'em. 

I operate a vehicle every day, and here I am, surviving to tell the tale.

Now, onto class.

I'm not even going to check the weather before I head out.

And it seems Mother Nature has been in a confused, drunken stupor lately.

Just a light jacket. Now that's living on the edge.

-H

Why I chose journalism.

My undergraduate studies are winding down, and as such, I have thought endlessly about the future and all the possibilities it holds.

What I haven't given much thought to is the past four years. 

I'm afraid that once I start, I will have to face the fact that I am leaving. That the very thing I have planned my entire life for (seriously, since I was five) is coming to an end.

But I will need to write a goodbye column for the newspaper next week, and so I have been looking back at my journalism degree, and all it has done for me. But specifically, what being part of the campus newspaper has done for me.

Me, circa last year, when the office was still blue. And had a horrifying futon that you sat on at your own risk.

Being the editor-in-chief for the past two years has had some very, very trying moments.

It challenged skills I did not yet have, and made me question what I wanted to do in life.

I am not going to be a journalist.

But I am absolutely, completely confident in my journalism background.

There are a few moments that really emphasize that for me.

Tonight, I had one of those moments.

I also had a moment like that last year, when I interviewed a former alum who had been at the Pentagon on 9/11. He told me his story so poignantly, so vividly, that it was hard to keep my emotions together while he spoke. And all I wanted was to be the medium from him to someone else, anyone else, and for them to feel what I was feeling.

Tonight, I got to interview a recent grad who participated in the Boston Marathon. To actually hear what it was like from someone who was there and experienced it was incredible. Sometimes news stories feel so far removed.

But to hear from someone, in their own words, about how they were so grateful to be ok in the end...that is why I am in journalism. 

Because I get to do that. 

I get to translate people's feelings and experiences into concrete stories, and allow someone else to feel what I felt.

People have stories, and my job is to make sure they're told.

I will miss that. But I don't intend on stopping.

Sometimes you know when you're doing exactly what you're meant to do, and for me, that's when I'm telling someone's story.

Whether it's the tale of someone fictional, historical, unknown, or even myself.

Telling our stories is important, which is why I started this blog in the first place.

People are interesting. Even the most mundane lives have some fascinating nugget of a story buried somewhere.

Somebody has to tell them. 

Why not me?

For Boston

A couple months ago I was watching "House Hunters: International," where a couple was looking for a home in Ireland.

The man was an American and his fiance was Irish. They had met a few years before at the Boston Marathon.

Sporting events can truly unify, across oceans, across cultures.

Relationships are fostered.

Causes fought for.

And I wondered if that couple returned, year after year, to that stretch of pavement that started it all for them.

So for someone to attack that and poison it with death, violence and ugliness is horrific.

The sick irony to me is that some of those runners, who may have been training for a significant portion of their lives, could be in a wheelchair forever. Could have lost a limb. Could have lost a child. Their shining moment, the pinnacle of their journeys, was shattered. 

And then, in an instant, someone stole that moment. And it will never be quite the same again.

Every marathon is a battle.

Those 26 miles take focus and persistence. 

I have only ever done 5k races, and I can assure you, it takes plenty of strength to even get that far.

Runners are resilient. And regardless of what the environment challenges them with, they will find a way to move forward, one step at a time.

There will forever be shadowed moments in humanity, but the light perseveres. 

And that gives me hope. 

My thoughts are with you, Boston.

<3

Weekend adventures + good news!

Ah, Monday. Here again in all its tax day glory.

This was a marvelous weekend. The weather was lovely, there was lots to do, and I ate heaps and heaps of deliciously unhealthy foods!

Also, for the "good news" part of this entry...I am employed after graduation! Tom and I have both been hired into post grad big kid jobs, and we are incredibly grateful for that because we know firsthand how difficult it is to get a job right now. 

Thankfully, this justifies the work clothes shopping spree I had last weekend. Sort of.

Also, I have officially started the process of moving stuff out of my apartment and into Tom's parents' basement where we will be living while we pay off some loans and save up for a house. 

(Yep, a house. Now I feel old.)

And let me tell you, it is a process.

I take every item down, stare at it for awhile, sigh to myself because I know I'll miss my room, and then  throw whatever it is away because I don't have the patience to move it. Right now it's just decorative stuff, but my walls are looking awfully bare. And the more desolate my room becomes, the more crowded our basement room becomes.

I think I have more decorative towels and holiday figurines than clothes. (Thanks, Grandma!)

There's so much changing so quickly, and while I am relishing in the adventure, sometimes I need to take a minute to breathe and remember I still have three weeks left of real school, and I want to enjoy every moment.

Except for all the papers and projects I have due by the end of April...none of that excites me at all. I see a lot of caffeine and all-nighters in my future.

This weekend in photos:

My family has been spoiling me rotten with all kinds of end-of-college gifts! This is a gift basket filled-FILLED-with tea. I swear I was on an adrenaline rush while I sorted through it all.

The inside of a silo during cocktail hour at a wedding I attended as my roomie's date.

Tom on a tiny bike.

Riley :)

We went hiking with Tom's friend and his girlfriend, and Tom's sister and her boyfriend. 

Yep, still looks like Joseph Gordon-Levitt. We just celebrated 23 months together! <3

That would be a bridge up there...that we actually walked across...

Simba?

Have a wonderful week!

On aging.

I was reading an excerpt from Oprah Magazine this morning, and the very last page caught my eye.

(Yes, I have been reading housewife magazines since I was 18.)

It was a letter from Oprah about age and getting older, and how most American women treat their age like a four-letter word. It's taboo. 

I have a young mother; she was in her early 20s when I was born. She worked in the beauty industry for many, many years, and aging is just not allowed. You have to be eternally 25 to thrive, it seems.

I grew up watching my mother and her clients discuss getting older and beauty remedies to keep them looking and feeling like they hadn't hit thirty. And to this day, I don't understand the problem.

Maybe it's because I'm too young yet to actually feel "old," but I do have friends even now who have a hard time hitting 20, 21, 22. 

For me, I have always loved aging. I love the potential of a brand new year, a brand new decade. All the trials and joys that time will bring, and all the things I will learn. I have absolutely no desire to hit 25 and stagnate there. 

I hope to enjoy every age that I acquire for what it has to offer. And I never, ever trust people who say "High school was the best time in my life" or "Everything is downhill after college."

That's a cop-out, people. If your life goes downhill, then find a new hill to conquer. None of that has-been nonsense.

As someone about to enter an entirely new phase of life, I don't fear it or long to be a college freshman again. I don't miss being 18 or 21. I want to see what's next. 

I want to appreciate the time that passes instead of getting hung up on the aesthetic. Of course, it's vital to keep your body strong and healthy, but I am in no way expecting to botox the history out of my face.

When I'm 50, I want to look 50. And I want to be okay with that.

My bones might ache from all that my body has traveled and experienced,

my vision may get duller from all it has seen,

and my hair might lose its luster.

But I will still feel beautiful from all I have seen and done, and I have become.

And I will never, EVER lie about my age, unless it's because I'm just a year or two shy of the senior breakfast deal at Denny's.

(Happy Saturday!)

:)

Are you an adrenaline junkie?

So last week, in a fit of some kind of weird determination, I decided I would apply to be the student speaker at graduation. 

For about 18 hours, I was all about it. I created topics, sent in my resume to be considered, gave a mini speech to the shower head and watched Youtube videos of various college grad speeches.

And then, the next day, I backed out of it. And my rational side is one hundred percent happy with that decision.

I often sign up or apply for things that terrify me:

In high school, though I was very shy, I auditioned for plays and got a supporting lead once. To this day, that is one of my proudest accomplishments.

Two years ago, I applied to the be the editor of the school paper even though I was just a sophomore, and I got it. Again, pretty terrifying.

I agreed to model in a hair show in Chicago for my mother with REAL models and nearly fell off the stage. That's an exaggeration, but the potential was definitely there.

Last year, I agreed to be the student moderator for a democratic congressional debate. That one definitely gave me a panic attack the day of.

Considering all of these things stressed me out nearly to the breaking point, why would I continue doing them?

WELL, I will have you know, I am an adrenaline junkie, and you might be one too!

See, I don't like roller coasters. Or bungee jumping. Or tumbling through fire. Or any of those usual culprits.

I also tend to wait til the last minute to do things because I love the rush of it, and if I have a free, dull moment in my schedule, I kind of freak out.

This article laid it out pretty well, I thought.

So what do you think? Are you hooked on adrenaline?

I am going to try to be a little more relaxed eventually. (Hopefully I will learn from my laid back boyfriend when I move in with him! More on that soon...)

But as I near the end of my final semester, you can bet I have done almost everything in  my power to make this last month pretty crazy. And I kind of secretly enjoy that.

Happy Tuesday!

Ireland, Part 1! (pre-event.)

Hello!

I finally have some photos from my Ireland excursion for you, since I got back a week ago and haven't really talked about it much.

I am breaking this trip into two parts; pre-event, and post-event.

(More on the "event" later. To give you a hint, Tom and I embarked on our own journey halfway through.)

Some things I learned in Ireland:

-Doors there are weird. Really weird. All kinds of locks and random knobs in weird places and a million keys.

-It is perfectly acceptable to wear tights (TIGHTS!!) as pants. In thirty degree weather.

-The sheriff drives around in a stretch limo.

-Irish coffee, complete with whiskey, is an acceptable breakfast drink.

-"Bacon" is actually ham. And it's delicious.

-Tea, everywhere, all the time.

-You could spot an American from a mile away.

-Tax is outrageous, but it's built into the prices, so you know ahead of time what you're paying. I appreciated that, thank you Ireland.

-Tuesday night is an appropriate holiday to head to the pubs.

-Lots of chocolate! Candy shoppes, sweet stores, chocolate bars...heaven.

-TV allows a whoooole lot more swearing and nudity than American television. 

-There is a UK version of Jersey Shore called Geordie Shores. Just...watch. Trust me.

Aaaanddd onto the part you actually wanted to see, the pictures!

***Be prepared for a lot of pictures of me resembling a soaked dog.***

In the limo to the airport

Just before takeoff (Happy first plane ride, Tom!)

Tom, me, brother and cousin.

Dublin

It's hard to tell, but that is one SERIOUSLY flat tire. Ours, specifically. Shout out to the Irish mechanic who stopped to help.

And then we arrived in Cork...

And visited the Blarney Castle.

It was raining that day, hence all the orb-like floating lights in my photos. Not ghosts.

The pouring rain made it all the more ominous and castle-like!

The kitchen, where they used to throw boiling oil on unwelcome visitors. Crafty, my medieval friends.

Then we kissed the Blarney stone! Let me tell you, that took some serious acrobatics...

So later that night, something happened that completely derailed our plans and sent Tom and me packing in the middle of the night and heading out on our own in a foreign country, while the rest of my family went on with the trip as planned.

We hopped a three hour bus ride, got to Dublin, and SLEPT. But then we had a few more days to sightsee, and I will post those in part 2!