New blog title!

Well, as you may have noticed, I decided to change the title of my blog. The last title just felt a little silly to me, so I decided to change it.

Well, I guess that's all

Memories

You know those moments when you are just going about your day, and then suddenly you are reminded of something or someone? You could be walking a long a path and suddenly smell the honeysuckle growing in the distance and immediately a memory floods into your mind. It can feel as if you are instantly transported back to that particular memory, and for a moment, you feel as if you are reliving that event again. It is as if you are back in that time and place.


I was walking back to my apartment today when suddenly this smell filled my nose. I can't exactly describe it, but I immediately had the feeling of being back at my great grandparents house. I remember the feeling of running around outside, catching grasshoppers, and watching the cows as they grazed. When I woke up in the mornings my great grandmother would be in the kitchen making breakfast, and she would always let me cut out the biscuits. I was very young at this time, and it always made me feel grownup when she let me help.
There was a swing on the front porch that held about three people, and I remember sitting on that swing in the late afternoon with my family all gathered outside while we talked and watched as the day went by. One summer a stray cat had a litter of kittens under that porch and my cousins and I spent all summer watching and playing with them.


Even though I was young when all of this happened, the memories are still clear in my mind. I loved that house. It was old, nothing fancy, but it held the personality and love of all of my family that entered it. A few years back some of my family and I went back to that house, it was sold after my great grandmother had passed away. It wasn't the same house in the way it looked. The previous owners had let the house fall by the wayside. The grass was overgrown, the paint of the house was peeling, the wood damaged, but it still brought back all of those wonderful memories. The barn, while not in the best of shape, was still off in the distance from the house. I miss those summers. I had some great times in that old house that I would not trade for the world. 


So, as I walked back home today, my mind was filled with these wonderful memories. Maybe I will make a trip back to that house some day soon. It's been far too long. 

 I stumbled on this video and I thought it was pretty funny.

And just encase you don't know what he's talking about, here is the song/video he is referencing.

That Summer...

So, in less than an hour, it will be my final day of my MayMester class. It was an exceedingly interesting class, but I have to say that I am glad to see it come to an end. However, after that my summer officially starts! Now, I don't really have too many concrete plans this summer other than work, just a few things here and there, so I am in the process of finding some things to fill up my extra time. Other than moving in to my apartment in a little over a week, I know I will start training to run a 5K, attempt to learn how to cook, and catch up on A LOT of reading that I did not have time for during the semester. I really love to read so I always hate when I can't do all the recreational reading I would like. BUT that's all I've got so far.I do have some craft projects that I want to do, and I might chronicle those here. I want to try and blog more this summer too, along with the other things. However, while I do have all of the projects and such that I would like to do, I can't help but think about all of the places I would like to travel to this summer.

The majority of my summers have been mediocre, nothing special really. The thing about that though, is that I haven't really noticed until now. I was thinking about it today, and I have never really had a summer where I can look back and say "Wow, that was great"! And maybe I'm thinking about it now because I don't know where I will be next summer, or if I will have the opportunity again to have one of those movie worthy summers. I want to have a summer that I can look back on and say that it was one of the best times of my life...

 I want to have that one summer to define all summers. The summer that is the epitome of adventure, and one where I feel like I really lived. The summer that made me feel so alive, that I could die knowing that, at least one time in my life that, I took full advantage of what life had to offer. I want that summer that, if I wrote it all down, would be a novel of sunshine and breezes, of laughter and stars, of waves and friends, of road maps and tress, of love and life. That summer that makes your heart race with excitement just to remember. It might be a summer of dreams, one that could only be accomplished in a state of sleep, but why not try? I want to go on the road trip I have always dreamed of. The one that goes across country, and stops at all the sites that I've wanted to see, and explore all those places that don't come with a brochure. I want to walk along the shore of an ocean with crystal blue water; the kind of blue that is so beautiful that you wonder if it's real. I want to climb mountains, and spend the night among the trees, crickets, and stars. I want to do something so terrifying, so exhilarating, that it feels like your heart might stop from pure excitement. That summer that inspires so many inside jokes, you would need a notebook to remember them all. The summer that your cheeks hurt everyday from laughter so hard that you cry. That summer, where rainy days are days to sit on the porch and read a book, or to curl up next to someone you care about. Or hell, the days that you make out with your significant other in the rain like no one is watching. I want to meet the people that you only thought existed in books, and the people that, with one conversation, can change the way you see the world. I want that summer that where I am surrounded by those I care about the most.

       I want a summer where I can really learn, live, and love.

                             I want that summer.

Oh the times, they are a changin'...

Well, it's the last week of the semester. To be precise, I have 3 more days until the last day of classes, and 5 days until my last day of work, and it's all kind of bitter sweet.

I more than welcome the end of this semester in the sense that this year has been rough. A lot of changes happened this year, and while all of these changes were not all bad (some were extremely welcomed) they definitely tested me. I have had a good few hurtles to overcome, but they have made me stronger in the end. I know now that I can handle much more than I had once thought, and that is a welcomed realization. On the flip side, I am MORE than ready for a break. I am ready for things to settle down a bit. I do have a Maymester class that will start in a little over a week, but after that no classes for the rest of the summer! After this summer then I will officially start my last semester of my undergraduate career! It's both exciting and... slightly terrifying. I do not feel like I am old enough to be graduating ( I'm only 21! ...22 on June 5th). It seems that college has flown by, and part of me is wondering where I was while it was happening. In ways, I am not ready to graduate, but in others I welcome it with open arms. I actually would have graduated this semester, but I was put back by some changes that happened with my department. So, I will be going to graduation this year, but it will be to support my friends that made it through. One friend in particular I have known since 9th grade, and she was also my freshman year roommate. It will be bitter sweet to see her graduate, but I am so happy that I will be able to be there for her.

 I also will be starting my new job in May which I'm happy about. It's not a super fancy job or anything, but it will be something to pay for gas to put in my car. It will be weird not returning in the fall as an RA. I've done it for a while now (this will conclude my 3rd year) and it has become very familiar to me. I know that I might not always sound like I enjoy my job, but I really have learned so much from it. I've met some really great people, and some not so great people. However, there are some that I feel really lucky to have met, and I hope to keep these friendships in the long term.

To boot with all of this, I signed my first lease! I'm excited to have an apartment, but I know it will be weird too. In all of my college career, I have never had my own bathroom, or a kitchen at that. I'm excited to start cooking more, and having some kick ass movie nights. I will be moving in at the beginning of June, and overall I'm pretty excited.

So, things are changing...let's see what this new adventure has in store!

I've decided that I'm going to make putting videos at the end of each post a thing....yeah, it's a thing now.

The Cinematic Orchestra- To Build A Home

Spring Daydreams

Well, it's a pretty Sunday afternoon (oh, Happy Easter to those who celebrate) and I am confined to my room doing homework, as I have been this entire weekend. This is the unfortunate side effect of the end of the school semester. It's that time were all of the professors realize that we only have about two full weeks to complete everything, so they give you about 3 assignments a piece to finish in that amount of time. Thus, ciaos ensues.

The hardest thing about these next few weeks will not necessarily be the amount of work I will have to complete, but suppressing the consistent daydreams and the urge to spend my time outside in the wonderful spring weather. It's currently 77 degrees, and sunny, which makes it particularly hard to focus on the work I still have to complete.

It's been a pretty even fight today between my homework and my daydreams. I've opened my blinds to let the sunlight in and help my orchids bloom. I have been watching one of my orchid buds slowly open today, which has been fun to watch while working. I have also been on a kick of listening to the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Steve Martin, and Nickel Creek. This definitely has not helped suppress my daydreams today. I keep thinking about spending the day outside, going on a nice road trip to a destination unknown. Something vast, and open, untouched by industry, and little interaction with human alteration. I want to lay in tall grass and absorb the sun and sky. If I had a dog, he (or she) would be by my side, running freely. Or, spending the day next to a flowing stream, or slow moving river. Sitting a rock, while sliding my feet into the water. With the influence of my music choices today, if i could play the banjo or mandolin, an instrument would be present, playing softly. I also imagine myself writing letters to my loved ones, on handmade stationary. I would say in this place all through the morning and afternoon, and into the night. I would watch as the sun set, and welcome its descent, for I know it will rise again in the morning. I would stay even after the sun has gone, and wait for the lightning bugs to appear. I would watch as their lights would dance against the dark, and indulge in my childish desires and catch one or two just to see the light up close, and then release them so that they could continue dancing. After a while, I would then reluctantly take my leave from this place, and let it rest for the evening, but hope that I would return soon.

So, that is just part of the many daydreams I have been having today. I hope to be able enjoy this wonderful weather soon, and absorb a bit of spring.


Because I always have to share videos:

This is a really great song by Steve Martin. He talks a bit before the song starts, so if you just want to hear the song, just skip to about 2:20

The Vespers- Just heard this song today, but the banjo playing in it is pretty good.

So, I stumbled across this video some time ago, and I thought it was pretty awesome. I have never rock climbed before, but wow...she makes it look so effortless. It's amazing to see the amount of strength this takes, and she's only 18.