Springing forward

I am back home from college until September, which feels like such a relief. No more 10 page research papers or roommates (to a certain extent). I have time to read. It seems like such a novel concept as I practically inhale books when I get the chance.

Over the past two days, I have read three YA books. One, North of Beautiful, was an exceptionally good book. Justina Chen Headley is an excellent writer and I look forward to reading more books written by her. Because I am now back to working at the local libary, I can get whatever books I want! For instance, I just began City of Bones from The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare. I am not usually one for science-fiction or fantasy literature combinations, but I have heard from various, reliable sources that it is worth a try. Unlike the Twilight series, this appears to have a bit more depth and the writing is clearly better.

So between reading and babysitting and working at the library, I’ve just been gallivanting around home with our new kitten, Sully. We adopted him from a neighbor about a month or so ago. He’s black, grey, and has white ‘painted’ feet. Sully thinks that he is part dog and chases our other cat, Dublin, and dog, Jake, around the house. He is very sweet though, and loves to watch me type on the computer and snuggle.

Thus far, it’s been a pretty good start to the summer. Even though it is not actually summer yet. More like the precursor to it. Either way, I am excited to not have to stress out over school for a few months-though, in actuality, I know that will not be the case. One can dream though…

“We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter’s evening. Some of us let our dreams die, but others nourish and protect them, nurse them through the bad days til they bring them to sunshine and light.”-Woodrow T. Wilson (28th President of the United States)

Springing ahead,

mimi

Thirteen

Thirteen Reasons Why I Need Summer Vacation:

1. I want to be able to read something that isn’t Shakespeare (as much as I love the Bard, I’ve had enough) or things from the British Literature II selected canon that drives me crazy.

2. I miss my best friend, SMA. Last summer, if you check old posts, we decided to learn how to cook some basic, dorm friendly things. This summer we are setting our sights on creating beautiful, delicious meals for everyone. She is going to teach me how to cook tofu and I will teach her, well….I am not sure yet, but I’m certain the process will be hilarious.

3. Being able to go to bed whenever I want with the light off-this is a rarity when you sleep in a room with 2 other girls.

4. Seeing my family and pets. We have a new kitten at my house. His name is Sully and he is adorable and mischievous. I am training him and the other cat, Dublin, to get along. It’s going to be a long process.

5. The beach, sand, and surf are such a big part of my life that I miss it when I am away at school. I am naturally drawn to the ocean. It sounds so cliche, but when you grow up on the ocean, it does become a part of you. I love the City, but being by the water grounds me in a way that nothing else can.

6. Mom food. Enough said.

7. Free laundry service! (Again, thanks Mom!)

8. No elevator lines that take you ten minutes to even get into the elevator. I swear I am not being lazy,  but when you have a class on the 6th floor of a huge building at 9:30 in the morning, it is worth the wait.

9. Babysitting my little kids every week. I miss being around children because I get to act like a little kid when I see them.

10. Not sharing a bathroom with 8 other young women. We run out of soap and toilet paper quite frequently.

11. Watching movies, taking pictures, getting tan, and eating ice cream all need to commence ASAP.

12. Taking a much needed break from 8 page research papers that damn near kill me every week.

13. Because I survived one of the coldest winters ever at one of the world’s hardest universities and need a break.

Thirteen more days of school. And when they are over, I will be a junior in college. Scary, scary thoughts. I just turned 20 and if that wasn’t enough of a shock, I don’t know what is.

“The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”-Eden Phillpotts (English science-fiction writer)

Pushing forward,

mimi

It’s been a long time coming…

I feel that since starting college in the City I have been stifled creatively and cut off from the world. This is very strange considering I live in the City that never sleeps and is the mecca for information, fashion, movies, celebs…everything. Everything is here, yet I feel so disconnected. I try to gather information about world happenings from random newspapers, clips on the computer, and other things. We don’t have a common television here in the Brothel (the nickname for my dorm) so I can’t even catch the nightly news on a daily basis. This is highly upsetting and I am looking forward to going home for the summer for the sheer fact that I can read the paper everyday….among other things.

Despite all of this, I still love being here. Living with 7 other girls has proved to be challenging, but not impossible. I’ve had a steady workload of papers and tests and projects this semester and have been mentally stimulated by my courses far more than I could have ever imagined. And, somehow, in the midst of all of it, I’ve made a solid group of friends. This was proven last Friday when I turned 20 (scary, I know!) and gallivanted around the West Village and Union Square with a bunch of people that I have met this semester. They are all great and it’s comforting to know that I have finally found a place I belong. Sappy, yet true.

However, I want to go home. Like now. Like yesterday. Like last night at 3:00 as I struggled to finish yet another draft of my Shakespeare essay.  I want to go to the beach and play in the sand and babysit and go to the library and read and hang out with my best friend that I miss so much and my other compadres. I want out. I love it here, but I want to go home.

20 more days. I can do it.

“Our fear of death is like our fear that summer will be short, but when we have had our swing of pleasure, our fill of fruit and our swelter of heat, we say we have had our day.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson (American poet and essayist)

Fore longingly waiting for warmth,

mimi

Home Again, Home Again

I cannot begin to express how good it feels to be able to sleep in my own bed. I know this sounds so simple, but just being able to sleep in my own room and not worry about disturbing anyone is glorious.

Mid-Winter Slump

It’s been horrendously cold here for the past few weeks. We’ll have a warm break now and then, which is amazing, but only seeks to trick us into believing that it will remain that way until Spring. It leads to moments of weakness-walking out of the dorm with wet hair and no hat, wearing nice shoes out to a party, and skipping out on the leggings under the jeans. And then, the freeze comes.  The common room gets excessively warm due to the fluctuation in weather. People start to get cabin fever. Any possible activities that would have looked promising earlier in the week are now null and void.

I can’t seem to find the energy to leave my dorm room even though I want nothing more then to get out of here! It’s a strange and frustrating conundrum and I am left with nothing but brooding.

“There is still vitality under the winter snow, even though to the casual eye it seems to be dead.” – Agnes Sligh Turnball (author)

Slightly melancholy,

mimi

Photography

One of my passions is photography and in an effort to share it with the world, I am going to try to display some through Flickr on the sidebar of this blog. The idea was sparked because I was trying to help a fellow friend/blogger with uploading his pictures. He is going on a missions trip to Guatemala and wants to be able to upload some pictures and share them with his friends and family back at home (as well as around the world, considering we don’t live in the same country). Anyway, in trying to do that, I created an account of my own and now am having fun experimenting with it all!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Fighting the Good Fight

First off, my blog has reached over 1,000 hits since its conception in July 2008! That is amazing! If you look at my ClusterMap, you will see  that the readers of this blog do not only span North America, where I am from, but they are from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, and Australia! I’ve hit all the continents! Amazing!!!

So for all you faithful readers out there, thank you and please keep reading and inspiring me with your words of comfort and hope! And for all the new readers or ones to come, welcome and I hope to spark your interests with my writing and musings!

In other news:

Life in the City has been going swimmingly. Despite some minor snafus, everything is great! I am surprised to find how easily I have slipped into life here. I’m still developing a routine and feeling my way around, but really have been having a great time.

The people who I immediately connected to are also transfer students. They get the whole assimilating process and the whole newbie thing, which for me, means instant connection. It’s great.

I watched the inauguration in a theater bigger than the one at home I go to see professional movies in! It was mind blowing for numerous reasons. The enormity of the event and the importance of change hit me hard. I felt it in that room. The power of my generation. The support for our country. And the feeling that I belonged. That I have found the place for me. That months of worrying, fighting, and feelings of utter hopelessness culminated in that moment of pure exhilaration. I let it all go and now know that I am fighting the good fight that is my future. Whatever happens, happens, but in the end, it will all work out for the better!

“The power of one, if fearless and focused, is formidable, but the power of many working together is better.” -Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Current president of the Philippines)

Fearless,

mimi

On the Corner

There is a man that stands on the corner of the park

Directing  invisible traffic

I don’t trust his judgment

Though his din in my ear reminds me to look up

And check for myself

That I’m still going the right way

Bright Lights, Big City Beginnings

Tomorrow, I (hopefully) will begin a new chapter in my life. I am leaving for the Big Apple, the City that never sleeps to live, work, and play in College Part II: the Later Years. I am both terribly excited and nervous as I begin this next phase in my life.

I am moving into a dorm room, something that I have only had a taste of from visiting my best friend over the past few semesters. Last year, she (and subsequently, I) benefited from having a single. No one to step over in the morning (well, me on the air-mattress) or having to label your orange juice. It was easy!  This year, she’s in an apartment style housing with 3 great roommates, but it is definitely different than just being on your own. I found out the other week that I got my first choice in housing (yay!) and have 7 roommates.

Now, having grown up in a houseful of women, I feel like I am adequately prepared for my role as one of the 8 roommates and look forward to getting to know everyone!

College itself is not going to be a cakewalk and I wouldn’t expect it to be.  It’s going to be a whole new routine that I have to learn. From caliber of school work to the general lay of the land, I will have to get it down and get it down quick. I fear that if I don’t, I’ll be right back to where I started and that cannot happen. Until I know a little bit more about what this is all about, I will just have to trust my instincts, go with the flow, and savor every second.

“So many fail because they don’t get started-they don’t go. They don’t overcome inertia. They don’t begin.”-W. Clement Stone (Author and founder of Combined Insurance Co.; 1902-2002)

Setting a fresh path,

mimi