A Scavenger Hunt, a Dance, Finals, My Birthday, Old Salem, A Museum, Final Grades, and Upcoming Christmas.... The Readers Digest Version!

Hey everyone! Since my last update, I've attended a winter formal (dance), taken my finals, been sent back home for Christmas break, celebrated my 19th birthday, gone to Old Salem, gone to Reynolda House Museum, and gotten my final grades for the semester.

The formal was a lot of fun, as was the manner in which Jonathon asked me to it! I basically was sent on a cross campus scavenger hunt down memory lane, and it was pretty amazing :). Each clue was attached to a memory that he and I shared, and it was so wonderful reliving all of those good times at once! I also had to climb a tree for the first time in years, which was fun! We had a great time at the dance--even though Jonathon and I were dates, we still went with our group of friends, and we all had dinner together before we attended the formal. I wore my prom dress (some of you may remember it--very colorful), as did some of my friends, and one friend's sister curled my hair. Here's a pic of Jonathon and I from before the dance:


And here's a few candids:





In the weeks following formal, I had to prepare for and take my final exams. I actually did really well on my finals (95 in one, which required two essays to be written by hand in 2.5 hours… the scariest thing in the world for me xD), but even a 95 couldn't make up for the fact that I didn't finish half of my work on time… but more on that later.
Right now, I'm writing from NC, back at my parents house. I got a ride from another NC student at my college, who we met at a Charlotte summer send off party. Coming home from break filled me with apprehension, and I'm still a bit stressed to be here. Generally speaking, I'm looking forward to going HOME home--back to my residence hall. I am, however, enjoying some of my time here quite a bit, thanks to my sister. First off, we celebrated my birthday at Concord Mills (a mall, for those who aren't NC residents), and my brother and sis in law wound up meeting us there after a while. My facebook status from that night sums up what we did pretty well:



So that was my December 18th :). The 19th was a long day at the house (where I seem to be automatically discontented… need to work on that), but on the 20th Sarah and I went to Old Salem, and that night she let me sleep over at my brother's house (where she lives). When we got up on the 21st, Sarah asked if I wanted to hit an art museum, and naturally I said heck yes! :D. We went to the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, which had an exhibit on loan from the Smithsonian called Modern Masters. One of the pieces I liked:



Back to my grades--they suck this semester. I got one F (for an online course I repeatedly forgot about until I just gave up on catching up), one NC (for an ENGLISH course, which are typically my easiest courses… because I didn't turn in drafts for the second to last project, or the project itself, which were huge parts of the final grade. Everything I turned in I got great scores on), two D's (for my biology lab and for my liberal arts course, which I love), and one B (biology). Why are my grades so bad? Because I didn't complete half of the homework… I don't know how to explain, and don't want to make excuses, but I need to seriously reorganize my mind and stop with the perfectionism crap. I know I've posted it before, that I've got perfectionism issues, but they've never had these kinds of consequences before. I've always been able to keep myself under control and force myself to get crap done, and have always had straight As as a result… so this is kind of hard to digest. But next semester I'm determined to do better--largely because I know, if I don't, I could lose my scholarship and be stuck back in this house for much longer :/.


So, what's next? CHRISTMAS!! :D :D :D. I've done the majority of my shopping online, and am worried that gifts won't arrive before I head back to college (when I'm planning on giving my friends their gifts), but a few things have arrived and been wrapped :). I've already received two very thoughtful gifts from friends, and it's making me even more excited to GIVE gifts! I want to make people as happy as those made me :). My sister and brother and his wife will be coming over Christmas eve to celebrate, and I'm really looking forward to it. Well, I think I'm finally caught up… my goal was to be posting about Christmas BY Christmas, and there you have it. I hope that your holidays all go fantastically, and that you're able to spend time with those you love. That's what really matters in the end, anyway… the people you love, the relationships you have with them, and what you really mean to eachother. I've been so blessed to make such wonderful friends at school, and am looking forward to spending time with my 'family' again. I've also been blessed to have the siblings I do, and in a certain way I'm blessed to have my parents as well. They have, after all, helped shape me into who I am, made me stronger… and for that I'm grateful. There's a lot for me to be grateful for this holiday season, and I betcha there's a lot for you to be grateful for too--if you only take the time to think about it. Merry Christmas everyone, and God bless,

When My Sibs Came to Town...

So a couple weekends ago, my brother, sister, and sister in law all came to visit me at college. My roommate was gone, and they brought an inflatable mattress and crashed in my room. Before their arrival, I was a nervous wreck, and was running around cleaning like a mad person. When I was finished cleaning, Jonathon came and gave me peanut butter and pretzels and tried to calm me down. Eventually they arrived, and I ran at them in the parking lot and attacked them with hugs. The first thing my brother said to me was 'you wear hats now!' xD. The first night they were here, we went to see the engineering college's presentation of Reduced Shakespeare Company, which was HYSTERICAL, with Jonathon and per his recommendation. They all had a fantastic time :). After that, we crashed in my room for a while, then went to dinner on the strip. When we came back, my brother and his wife went to sleep, and my sister and I headed up to 'the family room'--the study room where my friends and I all hang out. Most of the 'family' was in there, and it was so much fun to share them with my sister. Over the course of the evening, she broke up with her boyfriend, which wasn't easy for her. I think that being 9 hours away from him and having the support of myself and my friends really was the ideal situation for this to happen, and I'm grateful that she had the strength to do what she needed to do. Here is my brother crashed on the floor xD:

The next day I treated my sibs to dining hall food and gave them a bit of a walking tour, including the basement of the library and around the football stadium.

My brother kept playing with the lights in the basement, and I was running around turning them back on. In the afternoon, they went to Wal-Mart with a grocery list to do my shopping for me while I tried to do homework, and while they were gone I wound up napping, then being woken with a phone call from Jonathon, who wound up throwing rocks at my window. When they got back, they came with LOADS of food, as well as college gear for themselves :).

In the evening, a friend named Cody(who was of great help to my sister) accompanied us on a walk to a local park, which turned into an extremely long walk off campus and eventually to an amazing restaurant, where I had pecan fried catfish, half of a burger, and some gouda grits :D. It was fun to eat with my sibs and my friend, and they got along great, which really made my night. The next day my sibs and I had breakfast at IHOP, which was fun, and then went to Wal-Mart together and got a couple more things, and I returned some junk jewelry I'd gotten for Halloween and didn't use. After Wal-Mart, we said our goodbyes, and my siblings left… it was so hard to see them go. Here's a pic of us four right before they left:

Luckily, I got to see my sister again during Thanksgiving break… which will be covered in my next post :). Until then,

After the Storm

Hey everyone! I can't believe it's been a week since the last time I posted... so much has happened! I got to hang out with my neighbor again, and then I spent another day at my brother's house, chilling with my sister and sister-in-law at their pool :). Then that evening I went to play ultimate Frisbee with some friends, hung out at McDonald's afterward, and picked up a graduation gift from a really good friend. After being dropped off back at my car, I went back to my brother's house to spend the night, and then realized I didn't have my graduation gift with me, so I checked the car, had my sister check the car, had my earlier ride check HIS car, another friend and his mom checked the parking lot where I'd been parked, and then after a very restless night my sister-in-law and I checked the parking lot ourselves and couldn't find the gift anywhere. The theory is that I left if on top of my car--in fact, I'm pretty certain that's what I did. But it's long gone now :/. After scouring the parking lot for a long time, I went back to my brother's house and took a shower, then grabbed all my crap and drove home, where I talked with my dad for a while then took a short nap. When I woke up I had to get ready for a party a couple hours away, a party for all of the NC students going to the college I'm headed to in the fall. Attending that was fun, though I'm not really one for making small talk with strangers.

That night, at about midnight, my mom and I hit walmart to buy me a bicycle. Then the next day, I had a job as an extra again--this time for a show called Homeland, starring Claire Danes. I was a 'girl on bike', hence the midnight bike run. It was an okay experience... but nothing as amazing as The Hunger Games. It's a paying job, though, and my new bike rocks, so I'm glad I did it :). So yeah, I've been really busy the last several days, and haven't been home much at all. Today I'm going whitewater rafting with my sister, and tomorrow she, my dad, and I all leave for Georgia... so it looks like I'm going to be busy for a while yet. But I know that eventually this insanity will calm down, and I'll be able to breathe, and all I have to do until then is not panic! A long while back, our area experienced a HORRIBLE storm... there were tornadoes nearby and severe thunderstorms and wind. Then, it just stopped... and the next day I took this picture:

 

I love this picture, because to me it means, when things are rough, 'this too shall pass'... there may always be a calm before the storm, but there's always a calm after one too--it's just the way life works out, depending how you choose to look at it. This storm isn't over yet, but when it is I'm sure the sun will shine and the flowers will smile up at it :). Anyway, now I'm rambling... just wanted to say I love you guys, and I'm sorry for not reading and commenting on your blogs. I hope to catch up more soon! :/. Thanks so much to Lia and Raisa for commenting on my last post, even though it wasn't much of one and I've been an unfaithful blogger. I really appreciate it :). Until next time,