It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times...

So I've been a little MIA this week thanks to something I like to call hell week finals week. Needless to say, I've been a little busy wrapping up the semester. But now? I am DONE! Done with my junior year of college and moving on up to the big role of being a SENIOR! (I think I just had a small heart attack just typing that sentence) So, although I am definitely not bummed that school is out for the summer, I am completely bummed (to say the least) to be leaving my friends and my sorority sisters. It definitely makes this a very bittersweet time.

I say this every year, but seriously time flies! I can't believe that I only have a year left of college. I will never forget pulling up in front of my dorm the first time I got to campus, and thinking I had made a huge mistake. I looked around at all the unfamiliar faces and thought surely this whole college thing wasn't for me. If it were up to me, I would've turned that car around and never looked back! Luckily, some cute boys came up and offered to help me with my stuff and I decided I might like it here after all! And guess what?! I did!

I never thought I would end up going to school in Missouri, and sometimes I wish I didn't.  I can't just drive home whenever I feel like it. Instead of piling all my stuff into my car and driving a couple hours, I am struggling to fit everything into two suitcases that can fly home with me. To get home is a long day of traveling from one place to another.

But it is all worth it because my school is my home now. It's my home away from home, it's a place I look forward to going to and a place I hate to leave. It's where my best friends and my sisters are, and those people mean the world to me!

Junior year, like every other year, has been good and bad. I made some great memories, did some great things but all the while dealing with the sad news that my sister was sick once again. I am truly blessed, however, to be where I was while dealing with the sad news. The best therapy I could possibly ask for is just being with my sisters and my friends. They make me smile and laugh so hard my stomach hurts even when I feel like crying! I'm going to miss them so much this summer!!

The end of the year is always hard; you're packing up your stuff to move home for 3 whole months without seeing most of your friends that whole time. It is a sad time. This year, though, is especially sad for a couple reasons. First of all my best friend graduated today. I can't imagine life at school without her, and saying goodbye was so hard! Second of all, as one of my sorority sisters in my pledge class pointed out, this is the last time that we will leave for summer knowing that we will return in the fall. Next summer, when I move out of Alpha Chi Omega, that's it. It will really be over. It is definitely hard to imagine my college days coming to a close.

As I think about the summer, despite the fact that I am so sad to leave my friends, I know home is where I need to be this summer. It's going to be a rough one for my sister and my family, but I feel blessed that I get to be here. To have this time with them. Not everyone gets the luxury of going home for the summer, so I am remembering to count my blessings for the time I get to spend with my family.

So, right now it is truly the best of times and the worst of times. It is so hard to say goodbye to everyone and think about what I'm going to do without seeing them everyday. But, another semester is behind me and I can finally relax and spend much needed time with my family. As a friend texted me today when I was sad about leaving school:

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened!" :)

All the great memories that were formed this year! :)

Freshman year 
Sophomore Year 

Contributing to their 15 mintues of Fame

I'll admit it. I am a total Bachelor[ette] junkie. I watched from the beginning with Trista & Ryan, and to this day I am a loyal fan! I am loving this season with Ali as the Bachelorette, and I'm always so excited when Monday comes around and a new episode comes on. So this week, when I heard that they were taking time away from Ali's journey to find love to talk to Jake and Vienna about their break up, I was thinking really? They are so last season. Clearly, I underestimated the awesomeness that is Jake and Vienna because oh.my.god. What happened in those 30 minutes was the showdown of the century (or maybe just the week but whatever!).

Last season, I cringed every time Jake gave Vienna another rose. And you better believe, I almost cried when he freakin proposed to her. And no, they weren't happy tears. But, I knew it wouldn't last. Or at least I hoped. When I heard they were performing on Dancing With the Stars together I puked in my mouth a little was glad surprised to hear they were still together. So finally last week when I heard they broke up I did a victory dance was not surprised and thought it was about time! Then, I heard they were cutting time out of The Bachelorette for the two of them to sit down together and "talk about their break up." Puh-lease. No one cares anymore. Most of us never liked Vienna in the first place, so we understood why they broke up. Because Vienna is a whore not right for Jake. Plus, with both of them running straight to the press, I figured we'd heard it all by now. She says he wasn't intimate with her, she says all he cared about was fame. He says she was jealous and couldn't handle his career taking off instead of hers. Whatever.

So I wasn't expecting much from this whole "Reunion" or whatever you wanna call it. Boy was I wrong.What happened next can only be described as a train wreck, but a really awesome one that was televised nationally for all of us to see (and blog about). She cried a lot (big surprise, she was always playing the victim last season, too when everyone in the house hated her). He sat there super smug like he was the sh*t. She says he was always mean to her, he can't get a word in because she's always interrupting him, and he blows up. He snaps at her and says "please stop interrupting me" and she starts sobbing & runs off. And we get a great insight into how their relationship went. Once again, oh.my.god. This is a train wreck!

Now here are my thoughts. First of all, I know they are just reality stars and not like "official" celebrities, but you would think they would at least have the common knowledge to lock it up a little on National TV (I once told a co-worker to "lock it up" and she didn't know what I was talking about, so just in case you don't speak my language, I linked to the Urban Dictionary definition). He was obviously frustrated with her, but how much of a d-bag does he look like now that he snapped at her on National TV? And she's not innocent either. Home girl, I know you just broke up with your boyfriend and now you have to talk about it on National TV, but stop crying. Also, let him speak. Even if you think he's lying. So, enough about what I think. Like any good journalist blogger, I turned to the people. I wanted to know what the world thought. So I posed the question on Twitter and on my fan page: Team Jake or Team Vienna? And the responses I got were almost better than the actual show! (Disclaimer: Not all of these people are actually my twitter friends. I searched "team vienna" and "team jake" for more repsonses!)

Team Vienna: 
@googlewaveyour: Without Vienna's support, @JakePavelka1 would never have done the bungee jump & still be sitting on that ledge afraid to jump! #teamvienna

@possessionista: Well, I guess it's fair to say no one will ever accuse Jake of being "too perfect" ever again.

@thecarolineann: congrats to @jason_mesnick, who has just been ousted as dickest bachelor ever! Jake Pavelka, you suck.

@thecarolineann: so Jon and Kate are lookin pretty Carol and Mike Brady right now. #teamvienna

@tammy_louise: Jake, better brush up on those flying skills, we could barely stomach you during DWTS. Team Vienna!

@callie_whelan:  if @jakepavelka1 was telling the truth, he would've had a hell of a lot more to say than rude 1 liners. i used to hate her, but #teamvienna

@Liann_Cameron: #TeamVienna. Also... How long til Jake does his coming out interview for big bucks? 

Team Jake: 
@epresco:  I think if I got interrupted every other word I would be throwing something too! #teamjake 

 @mollyissogyo: Barely heard @jakepavelka1 talk in the interview w/vienna. vienna, stop interrupting him, u talk too damn much. so annoying. #teamjake

@MrsMaryMiller: Sorry but Vienna seems so whiney, fake, and needy! Didn't let Jake get a word in...being too defensive = lying! #teamjake 


@AshW1228: Why did @jakepavelka1 waist anytime on this trashy ugly whore Vienna? seriously fame whore?Look who's talking. #TeamJake!

@MaerinB: Wait first the dog is sick and dying now it's being potty trained? WTF? #TeamJake 

@MegBurns  I cannot believe the onslaught of support for that freak show Vienna. Yes, Jake had a temper but LOOK AT WHAT HE WAS UP AGAINST! #teamjake

Team No One (aka Team Who Cares?) 
@SimplyShannon:  I haven't watched & know virtually nothing, but I'm gonna say they're both selfish, self-promoting morons.

@TheBestSportMom: They are both nuts!!

@LeannaNelson:  Team Neither. There are other planets they deserve to be on...

 Team Chris Harrison: 

@jschefftwater @chrisbharrison "We don't really care about the dog" was the best part of the most uncomfortable interview ever! 

@anniepayne "It is what it is." Chris Harrison is so wise.  


Other Comments of note: (These people didn't necessarily take a side, but their comments were worth sharing!)       

@tristasutter If she's truthful & J promised her things'd change 4 better,I feel 4 her,BUT if she interrupted me all the time I wouldn't change either!

@tristasutter Sorry...had 2 laugh at the "how many times have u called my dad?" comment. Good luck finding a guy who's just gonna ring ur dad 4 kicks! ha!

@gibsondm It appears that Jake did not guard and protect Vienna's heart.


@BacheloretteTV: Jake and Vienna need a reality show. Bring in Judge Judy to settle this


@JenniferWeiner: Jake is "still processing" and "in a confused emotional state." Does he want to be the next bachelorette? 


@Possessionista: Did you hear that? That was the sound of the egg timer on Vienna and Jake's :15 minutes. They're up.


And if you're wondering what they have to say about all this, Vienna posted this on her twitter yesterday: 
"Thank you for all your support. The truth will always prevail. I'm so glad people see what I have been going through. Love you all"
And shortly after Jake posted something similar: 
"Thanks everybody! I really appreciate the ongoing support."   

So I contributed to their 15 minutes. My bad, I know. But, really?! How can we not talk about this showdown?! Also, side note- one of the old contestants on a previous season of Bachelorette blogged about what happens when Bachelor[ette] contestants break up. Super fascinating. So we'll see what happens next... my conclusion? They are both fame whores (which coincidentally is the word of the day at Urban Dictionary. Coincidence? I think not!) So what do you think... Team Jake or Team Vienna (or team who cares?!)?

Nothing is as Easy as it Seems- Apple Store Edition

Due to events in my recent life, I have become inspired to start a new series here on my blog called "nothing is as easy as it seems". This is a rule of Murphy's Laws, and lately it has been popping in my head a lot as it seems to be a rule of my life. Some may call these situations "misadventures", whatever you call them the jist of it is these things were supposed to be easy, and weren't. So here is the first installment... let me know what you think!

So about a week and a half ago, I came home from work and of course went straight to the couch, and propped open my laptop. Noticing it was dieing, I plugged it in only to discover it wouldn't charge. Fantastic. So right away a few days later, I made an appointment at the genius bar at the Apple Store and was all like "uhh.. my charger is broken. Can I have a new one?" Easy enough, right? Go in, get a charger, go home and go back to my blissful life with my laptop using my laptop. Of course not! Because nothing is as easy it seems, remember?!

So, the Apple store genius guy looks at my laptop, looks at my charger. "Is it damaged?" he asked about my charger. "Uhh no? It just won't work..." So he plugs it in, and what do you know, it doesn't work. Could've told you that... Then he plugs in another charger to my laptop and that one works. Awesome. So my computer's not broken. Just my charger... like I said. Now can I have a new charger? So he says "let me see if we have any in stock," and goes off into Apple-Employee-Only-land. He comes back and is all "uhh, yeah, we don't have any in stock right now, so we'll have to call you when some come in. It should only take 1 or 2 days." Alright, whatever. It's just one more day of suffering without a charger or functioning laptop (since its dead since, you know, I don't have a charger). So he's all sign here saying I helped you, blah blah, we'll call you when one comes in, blah  blah. So I leave. Empty handed. Feeling like I wasted time. But whatever.

So flash forward to yesterday. It's been like a week and a half since my first oh so awesome experience at the Apple Store, and still no charger. So I brilliantly think "I know, I'll call the Apple Store, ask them if they have a charger, and if they do, I'll go get it." Again, easy right? Wrong again. I call up Apple and get this automated voice lady whose all like press 1 for this, press 2 for this, blah blah, press 5 if you're a business customer. So I press 5. "Thank you for holding," the automated voice lady tells me. "Your call is important to us." Gee, thanks. Then she says "You have 6 calls ahead of you..." What? At 8 at night? So I keep holding, and at first I'm excited because they are playing non-elevator, cool hold music. Except that wears off after about 10 minutes. Maybe 5. So I'm holding, and holding, and holding. Seriously, I figure, how long can 6 calls take? I mean they have to have a lot of people answering the phone. Apparently not.

30 minutes later, I'm still on hold when the automated voice lady tells me "you are the next caller to be helped." Finally. So after a whole 2 minute conversation and holding for 30, I find out that yes, they do have some chargers in stock, sorry I never got a call. They close in 30 minutes if I want to come get one. Awesome. So after 30+ minutes, I find out what I could have done by simply going to the store which would have taken the same amount of time, there and back. Great.

So I'm like you know what, I have waited a week and a half for this charger and I want it NOW. So, I get in the car and drive to the Apple Store because I haven't had enough of them and their fun and by golly, I want my charger! So I walk in, and even 15 minutes before closing it is still fairly crowded. Finally I track down a sales guy who is by far the oldest Apple employee. I mean this dude was rocking the gray hair and seriously had to be at least 60. And I'm all uhh how did he get hired considering every other Apple employee is like mid 20's- early 30's ish.What? I don't discriminate...

Anyway, I tell him what I need, give him my receipt, and all that. "So," he asks me, "do you have the other charger so we can swap them out?" "Um no. I gave it to the genius bar dude who helped me a week and a half ago."  So he looks all confused, scratches his head a little, and says "ok well let me go figure out what to do with this..." Seriously? You work here. You should know. Once again, who hired this dude? So I stand there waiting for like10 minutes*, he comes back and again asks me if I brought the other charger. The answer is still no, dude. So he says again "let me go figure out to do with this, I'll be right back." What have you been doing for the past 10 minutes? I try to be patient and wait some more.

Then 10 minutes* later some butch chick comes out carrying my receipt and the charger, walks over to the genius bar, asks them some questions, grabs my old charger that was in a drawer or something at the genius bar, and walks back to me. "Are you here for a new power charger?" Yup, that's me. "Ok, let me get a manager and we can swap them out." Fine, great, whatever. Then old guy comes back and says "ok, honey, follow me." I'm thinking "look here, buddy, don't honey me just because you're old and especially after you have left me waiting here for forever." But I follow him, he opens my new charger, gives me the part I need, mumbles something about how he is giving me some part that is really important not to lose because if I lose it I have buy it again or something and he makes it sound like he should be my hero. Yeah, ok, thanks.

So total time I spent on this charger now is about an hour, maybe even more. So I get home, go to plug it in, and what do you know? It doesn't freaking work on my crappy older version of the MacBook. Awesome. So I'm thinking I'm gonna have to go back tomorrow (today) and kick some ass for sure. Except wait, my sister has the better newer version of the MacBook. So I plug it in to her computer, and voila, it works! So I talk her into trading with me (don't know why I had to talk her into it, what's the big deal  but whatever), and finally after a week and a half of waiting, 35 minutes on the phone, 30 minutes at the store, and lots of frustration I finally have a charger and a laptop that isn't dead.

Just like Murphy said, nothing is easy it seems. It seemed a small, minute task to get a new charger. No big deal. Yeah, not so much. But hey, at least I got a blog post out of it, right?


*The actual amount of time that passed is unknown, 10 minutes may or may not be an exaggeration.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun...

Today marked the end of my second year of College. That means only 2 more years... and as I sit here at the airport waiting to head home for the summer, I can't help but wonder where has the time gone? 

These past two years have been more than I ever could have imagined. It feels like yesterday I was pulling up at school, and afraid to get out of the car. I asked my parents if we could go back home; I didn't want to go to college after all. Two years later, I am so glad I got out of that car. These past two years have changed my life. I met some of my best friends, I made the decision to join my sorority which turned out to be the best decision I ever made, and I've grown so much as a person.

It hasn't always been easy. There have been more times than I care to admit that I wanted to throw in the towel and quit; give up, and go home. But I've stuck it out and I'm glad I did. This past semester was especially rough with my sisters health issues, and at times I hated being 1000 miles away.  However, if I couldn't be home, there is no where else I would rather be than where I was. I had the best support system, and I had people there for me when I needed them most.

When I think back on the past two years, I am overwhelmed with amazing memories. All the good times; the crazy weekend nights out on the town, our sorority parties, slumber parties in the President's room, laughing so hard we cried and crying so hard we laughed... I could go on forever.

I can't believe it's already been two years... and I can't beleive all that these past two years have brought. If the next two years are anything like the first two, well then I can't wait! Of course being halfway done means getting closer to that dreaded g-word. I'm not even ready to think about that, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I am so thankful for all the memories, for all the friends I've made, for all the good times and even the bad ones, that I've had over the past two years. I can't believe I'm gonna be a junior in college... I guess it's true what they say time flies when you're having fun, and man have I had fun!

A compilation of all the good times over the past two years... because there have been so many, it took a whole collage to properly represent them.

The Big 2-0!

Yesterday was a big day for me... 20 years ago yesterday I came into this world!! Yesterday was my 20th birthday! I had a great day with really great friends & was so busy celebrating I didn't get this post up until now! ;)

I can't believe I'm 20... I'm so old! Although 20 sometimes gets overlooked because you're jsut waiting for the next year so you can turn 21, I think 20 is pretty significant! I am no longer a teenager anymore, and I am closer to being a woman.

I was so ready to be 20, I hated being ninteen because of that suffix on the end of the word... teen. You see, once upon a time, that suffix was something I longed for, I couldn't wait for, in fact I had to be a "pre-teen" before my age even had "teen" in it! But by the time I was nineteen I wanted nothing more than to be rid of that "teen" title and be associated with children! I feel like 20 sounds more adult, more grown up, and not child-like!

19 made my blog title, Not a girl not yet a woman, ring even more true than it already did because it was like I was so close to being a woman, but not quite there and I felt like a child every time I said I was 19! Now I'm in a whole new demographic, the 20's!

19 was a good year... a lot happened in a year:

• I had my first big break up 
• I hit a bloggy milestone!
• Learned some very important lessons! 
• Finished my 1st year of college!
• Got an amazing internship with College Lifestyles!
• Said goodbye to my first car. 
• Returned for my second year of college and got to work on my 1st rush!

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty big year. Lots of change, but lots of goodness! I can't wait to see what 20 has to hold!

Last year, for my birthday, I asked to break my comment record, and you guys made it happen! Jen E @ Momma Blogs A Lot even made me my own virtual birthday card! So this year what do I want?! Well, a happy birthday from each one of my followers would be nice! And that would break my record from last year! ;)

Oh the Joys of Traveling

Traveling is so fun isn't it!? Don't you just love the stress, the deadlines, the baggage (both figuratively & literally!), etc, etc!? I know I do! Especially the kind of trip I had the other day. Allow me to demonstrate: 

5:00 AM- Wake up. Silently curse the fact that I am awake before the sun! WTF? The last time this happened... try NEVER! I like LOVE my sleep. 5 AM does not work for me. 

5:15- Finally get out of bad, finish packing. Still cursing the fa

ct that the sun is still not up & I am. 

6:00 AM- Leave the house and start the drive to the airport. 

I'm a little less bitter about the sun not being up because I know Starbucks is in the near future. 

6:05 AM- We have to turn around, my mom forgot her phone. 

6:45 AM- We get to the airport. This is where the fun begins! We try to check our bags they want to charge us like $1000 for them, so we decide to only check 5 of our 6 bags. Then, they inform us that oops sorry, it's 2 minutes passed the deadline to check in bags for your flight, so you'll have to put them on the next flight. The next flight is at 1 PM... our flight is at 7:30 AM. Which means we will have to go back to the airport & get our bags before we can drive to the beach house. The ticket desk workers don't listen to our arguing, and put our bags on the next flight. Fantastic. 

7:15 AM- Best part of the day so far. STARBUCKS! It's like Heaven! 

7:30 AM- on the plane. I sit back, relax & enjoy the flight! 

10:00 AM- Plane lands. As we are getting off the plane, we realize that remember that one bag we weren't gonna check? Oh yeah, well it's gone. As in, not with us! No one picked it up and brought it to the plane. The missing bag? MY suitcase. Fantastic. I'm thrilled, really! 

10:10 AM- We sit down in the Charleston airport & try to call the DFW airport. We try to give a description of the bag, but don't know the type of it. My dad tells me to google suitcases with frog logo's (because that's what mine looks like) to find the type of the bag. The guy on the phone looks, doesn't find it. Stress is building by the minute!

10:30 AM- hang up with the airport. My dad tells me there is probably a 3% chance of them finding my bag (he's always the optimist!). I'm thrilled, really. 

10:45 AM- waiting in line for rental car. This takes forever. Seriously, like 30 minutes. 

11:00 AM- We go outside to look at our rental car when my dad decides it is too small to fit all of our crap stuff. So we go back in the rental car place & get a new car... this takes 30 minutes again. 

11:05 AM- I am still bummed about my suitcase. But I get a text which leads to a phone call from one of my sorority sisters who promptly cheered me up! Also, she informed me that North Face now makes hoodies. It is now my mission to obtain one of these. 

11:30 AM- We are finally leaving the airport (for now)! Since we have to stay in Charleston, we decide to get some lunch somewhere & then go shopping for some new clothes for me since my entire wardrobe is lost. 

12:00 PM- We eat lunch at a place called Hymans where apparently every famous person has been! They have plaques on the tables that say like "Raven Simone ate here." (bad example, I know, but that was who sat in my sister's seat)

We get some half-shelled Oysters for appetizers & they were so delicious! Even better, when my parents order wine, the waitress pours me a glass too!! Woo hoo!! 

See!!? YUMM!!! 

12:30 PM- We walk around by the restaurant for a little bit. We go into this one shop that has these cute dresses that could apparently be worn as a dress, skirt, or top. My dad suggests getting one since I have no clothes, & my mom says "No, we'll just get her some clothes at Target or Wal-Mart." Nice, real nice mom! My entire wardrobe is lost & y

ou want to replace it at Target!? Come on. Now is not the time to be cheap! 

While at the store, I found this awesome button: 

Terrible picture I know, but it says "I'm much cooler online". How cool is that!!? I LOVE it! It's so true! I would've bought it except no one would get it except my online friends! 

1:00 PM- We've still got a lot of time to kill since our flight our bags don't come in for another 2 hours, so we go shopping at Target. More stress erupts on the way! We're trying to get directions off my dad's iPhone & read them to him. He makes a couple of wrong turns or something, and starts cussing & freaking out! Um... as if we have anywhere to be anytime soon! We've got nothing but time to kill! 

1:15 PM- We finally make it to Target & work on replacing my wardrobe. Not only does this include clothes, but also bathing suits, underwear, pajamas basically all the necessities in life. At this point, I am tired & I really hate picking out clothes, so my mom & my sister take over & find me some decent outfits. My dad goes off on his own; I guess he didn't want to stand there while I picked out underwear. Who would've thought!? 

2:30- Leave Target. Go across the street to the grocery store so my parents can get wine. My sister & I wait in the car. They take forever. We got bored. So we took pictures of ourselves on our phone! 

3:00 PM- Drive to the airport to get our bags. Praying that somehow my bag turns up with the rest of our bags. Holding on to that 3% chance! 

3:30 PM- Arrive at airport. We got a text that the plane arrived, but clearly they were lying because we had to wait like 30 minutes. Some professional wrestler dudes were there and people kept taking pictures with them. *Yawn* Who cares!? 

4:00 PM- Our bags finally come. My bag is here!!! All is not lost!! Turns out it was our cosmetic bag that we forgot at the airport & it somehow got to the airport anyway! Woo hoo! I'm now working on a plan in my head to convince my parents to let me keep the new clothes. My mom claims she is returning them. Not gonna happen! 

4:30 PM- We finally leave the airport & head to the beach house! It's about an hour & a half drive. I'm just happy we have my clothes! Even though I was excited about getting an all new wardrobe, there were some things in there I wanted back like my AXO t-shirts! 

6:00 PM- Finally, we have arrived at our destination!! After a long day of stress & traveling seeing all my family was a great way to end the day. Not a lot of better things than sitting around talking to family & listening to crazy stories! 

So what did I learn from this? Stay calm at all times. As my ex bf says (in a really funny fake southern accent no less) "Do not panic! Everything will be okay!" When someone who is super optimistic slightly negative tells you there is only a 3% chance of something happening, don't listen! And, as cheesy as it is, at the end of the day family is almost worth it! (Almost!) 

We Now Return to Your Regularly Scheduled Programming...

It's been a really long commercial break around here for, oh, only the last week and a half or something like that! Did you miss me?! Did you know I was gone?! lol I'm sure you totally knew & you totally missed me, don't lie! Anyway, I have a totally legit excuse for not being here, don't worry, I wouldn't just leave you for no reason! I was on vacation for a family reunion with my mom's side in Sun River, OR. It was beautiful! And even though I had internet access and everything, I just didn't have the time to sit down & like, write a whole post! Well maybe that's not true either, but whatever, the point is I'm back now & that's all that matters! So my vacation was pretty fantastic. It was really great to see my family; we only get together every 3 years or so, so it's really great to see everyone when we get together! I have a cousin my same age (only like 3 months apart) so that makes it even more fun since I get to hang out with her! So anyway, we did a lot of fun things! We took a trip up to Crater Lake, it was pretty fantastic. You can read all about that here at my post for College Lifestyles! We went White Water Rafting... that was a blast! Probably my favorite part! We also did some black light mini-golfing, that was pretty cool! All in all, it was a great trip, but I'm glad to be back home and of course, happy to be back with you all, my bloggy friends! I know you were just missing me so much! For pictures of my fabulous trip, check out my facebook! Are we friends? We should be! So, yeah, this post is kind of lame. But I just wanted you to know I'm back in action! More to come soon, don't worry!

Something Unpredictable That In the End is Right...

When I was searching for the right words to sum up my freshman year of college, this song ("Good Riddance" by Green Day) all of the sudden popped in my head. This quote from the song was on our sorority Bid Day shirts a few years back (one of the seniors "willed" me theirs this year since they were graduating), they said "It's something unpredictable, that in the end is right... I hope you have the time of your life!". The more I thought about this, the more I realized Green Day summed it up perfectly for me. These words describe my freshman year of college better than any words I could write myself. Something unpredictable? Definitely true. I was going to a school where I didn't know anyone, and halfway across the country for that matter. I didn't even know anyone in the state! I had no idea how it would turn out. Would I make friends? Would I like being so far from home? There was so much unknown, so much that was unpredictable. However, like the song says... In the end it's right. This definitely rings true for me. I couldn't have asked for a better college experience (except maybe academically but that's on me & it's not what this post is about!), and for that I am so grateful. I have met some of my best friends this year. I have learned a lot about being on my own and about myself in general. I really believe this year changed my life for the better, and I'm sure it can only get better from here. The crazy thing is how fast it went by. It feels like just yesterday I was unsure of what the future holds. It feels like yesterday my mom was crying saying goodbye to me as they were leaving me at school. Everyone told me freshman year was the worst year. "You'll be so homesick." "School is hard; they try to weed out the less serious ones" I was homesick maybe once or twice, and it was mostly when I was sick and wanted my mom. One quote I found (on a bumper sticker on facebook, no less) comes to mind: "You leave your family to go to college, and then you leave your family to go home." This is so true, while I left my family at home & went to college on my own, I created a new family. Made up of fantastic friends and amazing people, and for that I am so blessed. It's not to say that it was all roses and rainbows. I have had my share of ups and downs this year, for sure. But overall, I had a great year, and I miss it already! Like the song says, It's something unpredictable, that in the end is right... I hope you had the time of your life. I am lucky enough to say I had the time of my life, and in the end it was definitely right!

I Hate to Give Into the Hype but....

Ok, so I really hate giving into the hype for things like this. I was reluctant to even discuss The Bachelor because I know it's all ABC's master plan to do things the way they did to get more hype. I realize by blogging about it, I am contributing to the hype but whatever. Freaking CNN is talking about The Bachelor and my blog has a whole 64 followers, which is great, but it's not like it's gonna make headlines or anything. Plus I promised my friend Elaine that I would re-cap it for y'all that are boycotting it like Daily Jen. **WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW! DON'T CONTINUE IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED YET!*** So, in case you've been living under a rock for the past day, here's my recap of The Bachelor finale! Basically it was down to Melissa & Molly. He picks Melissa, proposes, then 6 weeks later he dumps her in front of all of America. (In his defense I did learn that he is under a $5 million contract that requires him to do this.) Then, he brings back Molly and asks her for another chance, telling her he made a mistake, blah blah blah. That was last night... Then tonight there was more! Tonight was The Bachelor: After the Final Rose pt. 2, or as Jen put it After After the Final Rose! haha Tonight was filmed 6 weeks after the show last night, so in total, 12 weeks after the Season Finale when he proposed. Tonight, they brought back Jason & Molly & they said how happy they were... blah blah blah. The audience got to give their opinions about what went down on last nights show, and I was surprised at how mixed the reactions were... I expected the audience to be full of Team Molly members! They made really good points... one guy (yes a guy was at The Bachelor show!) pointed out that if he were as emotional after saying goodbye to someone as Jason was after saying goodbye to Molly, he wouldn't have gone from that to proposing to someone else. I couldn't agree more! I've seen other seasons where they say I like you, but I'm not ready to propose. What is so wrong with that?!! I guess it's not good enough for ABC... They also brought back some of the rejected Bachelorette's before the final 3, who they said were some fan favorites. Um... I have to ask whose favorites these women were?! It was Naomi, Kari (who I don't even remember), Erica (drama queen), a few others who I don't remember, and Stephanie (who is okay, but not my favorite personally). They gave their opinions on what Jason did, and surprise! They pretty much defended him... I don't know about you, but that surprises me! Then, Jason came back and told everyone he really cares about Molly, and if he didn't, he wouldn't go through all the hype he did to get to this point. They said they've spent a few weekends together in the past 6 weeks, and things are going "really well." They both look really happy... so I'm happy for them. I was always torn between Molly & Melissa! They are both so charming in different ways. I still disagree with the way the whole dumping thing played out, but I wouldn't back out on a $5 million contract either... not gonna lie! Then, finally, they announced the next Bachelorette! Jillian will be the next Bachelorette.. airing May 18th (I'm pretty sure that's the right date). I'm really excited about this; I always liked her from the beginning! Her & her hot dog theory cracked me up on the 1st show! So, overall tonight made me hate Jason less, and I decided Molly & Jason are cute... but I still feel horrible for Melissa that every television station is replaying the proposal and the break up over & over again... plus the new People magazine is featuring Jason & Molly on the cover declaring their love some more! Here are some highlights you have to see/read if you haven't already: Jason on Jimmy Kimmell Jesse Csincsak's thoughts on the finale (The guy DeAnna chose over Jason in case you forgot who he is).