So!
Hello there.
Whoever you are...
I have been so. Incredibly. Busy. Everyone is busy, so I feel like this is a cop-out. But it's just true. I've been taking a full load of courses with TONS of reading. I tried to work in independent sales for a spell. Oops. I still love the company, but it just didn't work out. I've also spent what little time I have left taking care of my lil self; yoga, sleep, eating food that's not terrible for me, ya know. A little bit of social time, a dash of sleep here and there, and I am burning out.
But I need to do this. Write, I mean. Because I've discovered something terrifying: I am not as passionate and creative as I once was. I used to be able to pull stories from thin air, draw, crochet, sing, bake... essentially, I was a grandma, but still, I had talents that I cultivated and utilized purely for enjoyment. But nowadays? It's like casting a bucket into a well and just scraping a bit of muddy water from the bottom. I keep tossing the bucket down to help with essays and such, and it's just... dry. I'M dry. And that just will not do. I will not become middle-aged and burned-out before my time.
I'm not going to change everything about myself just because of this. I'm still not going to drink, even though "everyone does it," because A) that is a blatant myth, and B) I would find it terrifying to look back on a night and not remember it. We only get a finite number of nights. Why would I ever toss an entire night into a bottle of vodka? Because "that's what college kids do"? Pshhh, I don't buy into those kinds of generalizations.
I have to change something. All of these crazy deadlines and papers and articles on the evolution of the apple (don't ask, you're not ready (hardy har, name that series!) ), they are draining me of life before it's begun. I deeply enjoy research and scholarly work, but I find myself absorbed for weeks on end in topics that hold less enjoyment for me than they should.
SO! I have a camera. I'm committed to learning about myself, as cheesy as that sounds. Hey, stop rolling your eyes! Not my fault that I'm addicted to Oprah's Life Class. I am going to document my deathly boring life for y'all. Buckle up, because it's going to be a wild ride! Well, only if you consider those little kiddie roller coasters wild. But I do, so let's go! Insert catchy catchphrase from television/movie here!
(PS: I am sitting in the library. Someone threw a snowball at the window and made me jump about 20 feet. I turn around, and they stare back awkwardly before running away. They clearly mistook me for someone else. Cue bedtime.)
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
So Why I Write, aka MY Belle Letres
Frankly, I enjoy writing for writing's sake.
But I'm here because I love the idea of carving out my own little corner of cyberspace.
I'm a college student who loves blogs, especially lifestyle. It's a way for me to gaze into the future and think about where I want to go. Especially for someone who loves reading? It makes my life easier if I flip through sites and read something delightful... possibly during a dry lecture. Heh. Sorry. What they know won't know won't hurt them!
But when I looked up, "blogs written by college students," diddly squat! Not really. Maybe two or three written by graduate students (Hannah at Student Life, can we share chocolate and watch Grey's sometime? K thanks), or university-sponsored blogs with random pieces of advice. But other than that, slim pickins.
Well, then I thought, "Why don't I write a lifestyle blog now?"
Answer: college lifestyle isn't very glamorous. It involves dorm food (the least photogenic of all foods), dorm design (cramped, smelly and vaguely seventies, coated in air freshener and tacky glue) and frugality. I haven't bought a shirt for more than $20, and my new makeup addiction is suffering because I have NOWHERE TO PUT IT. Making my own dinner involves microwave chicken, a slightly bruised apple, and a cheese stick. There's a dirth of silence and reflection. Expression and art for its own sake seems nonexistent, possibly worthless.
College is one of those crucial times where expression and reflection keeps me more than sane (relatively). It allows me to step back from the growing chaos, remember what I really want and where I want to go.
There is something, I suppose, to be said for the experience of dorm life, as a right of passage or an initiation. It's like a training bra for adulthood. Some days, I slosh around campus in a mechanical fog: class, lunch, library, Netflix, repeat.
But staying in that mechanical fog isn't good enough for me. I want to revel in life, not just endure it. I am experiencing college life. I have nursed several friends as they puked jungle juice/Thai food for hours... let's just say you can't come back from that smell. Just ask my stuffed bunny, Barney. He still has some dried vomit on his ear that his mommy is scared to touch. From last year. Sorry Barney. I've been involved with Greek life on my campus, dressing up in fun but absurd costumes.
That being said, I don't want to brand myself as the Dear Abby of collegiate life. I'm not just a college kid. I love yummy, interesting food, interesting clothes, movies... I'm a young woman, just trying, like so many of us, to find my way. To take joy in reading, writing, food, exercise, friends, love, laughter...
I'm getting sappy and rambly trying to avoid midterm work. Point? College life may not always be glamorous, but that's a few very important years to fill with sunshine, beauty and smiles.
(Reblogged from Bianca's Tumblr, original clip from the movie Mean Girls. If you don't know it... I love you. You're like a Martian. :) )
I had to do it! It was getting more saccharine that the blue milk left over from Lucky Charms.
Life Collegiate
But I'm here because I love the idea of carving out my own little corner of cyberspace.
I'm a college student who loves blogs, especially lifestyle. It's a way for me to gaze into the future and think about where I want to go. Especially for someone who loves reading? It makes my life easier if I flip through sites and read something delightful... possibly during a dry lecture. Heh. Sorry. What they know won't know won't hurt them!
But when I looked up, "blogs written by college students," diddly squat! Not really. Maybe two or three written by graduate students (Hannah at Student Life, can we share chocolate and watch Grey's sometime? K thanks), or university-sponsored blogs with random pieces of advice. But other than that, slim pickins.
Well, then I thought, "Why don't I write a lifestyle blog now?"
Answer: college lifestyle isn't very glamorous. It involves dorm food (the least photogenic of all foods), dorm design (cramped, smelly and vaguely seventies, coated in air freshener and tacky glue) and frugality. I haven't bought a shirt for more than $20, and my new makeup addiction is suffering because I have NOWHERE TO PUT IT. Making my own dinner involves microwave chicken, a slightly bruised apple, and a cheese stick. There's a dirth of silence and reflection. Expression and art for its own sake seems nonexistent, possibly worthless.
College is one of those crucial times where expression and reflection keeps me more than sane (relatively). It allows me to step back from the growing chaos, remember what I really want and where I want to go.
There is something, I suppose, to be said for the experience of dorm life, as a right of passage or an initiation. It's like a training bra for adulthood. Some days, I slosh around campus in a mechanical fog: class, lunch, library, Netflix, repeat.
But staying in that mechanical fog isn't good enough for me. I want to revel in life, not just endure it. I am experiencing college life. I have nursed several friends as they puked jungle juice/Thai food for hours... let's just say you can't come back from that smell. Just ask my stuffed bunny, Barney. He still has some dried vomit on his ear that his mommy is scared to touch. From last year. Sorry Barney. I've been involved with Greek life on my campus, dressing up in fun but absurd costumes.
That being said, I don't want to brand myself as the Dear Abby of collegiate life. I'm not just a college kid. I love yummy, interesting food, interesting clothes, movies... I'm a young woman, just trying, like so many of us, to find my way. To take joy in reading, writing, food, exercise, friends, love, laughter...
I'm getting sappy and rambly trying to avoid midterm work. Point? College life may not always be glamorous, but that's a few very important years to fill with sunshine, beauty and smiles.
I had to do it! It was getting more saccharine that the blue milk left over from Lucky Charms.
Life Collegiate
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