A Timeless Reality

Life at college is not easy. Especially for a perfectionist want-straight-A's like I am. I'm finding that college is quite complicated (with all my classes, studying, meetings, and extracurriculars), yet at the same time, everything is so simple.

It's simple because I'm basically starting over. Meals are simple. I don't have ready access to a kitchen (which is a bummer sometimes), so I never HAVE to cook. I just stand in a line, tell them what I want, then hand them my hokie passport. Easy. Also, since all of my friendships are new and fresh, there's no deep talks or drama, which sometimes really sucks, but on the other hand, it makes life so much more simple. Even going to the grocery store is so much easier. Instead of living in the middle of nowhere (I really do miss living in the middle of nowhere though...), I now live smack-dab in the middle of everything! Very convenient!

The main thing that I find is so much more simple right now, is finding things to make me happy. Since most of my days are consumed with classes and studying, I have to find happiness in the little things.

For example, on Thursday, going to Cru and seeing all the other people on this campus who love God was VERY encouraging. The worship songs especially were awesome! I've had the songs "How He Loves" by John Mark McMillan and "Beautiful" by Phil Wickham running through my head all weekend. So, not only did those songs make me happy at the time they were being played at Cru, but they have continued to bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart for the past 4 days. Bonus happiness; I love it!!!

Friday, I got to see people from home and from Roanoke, which easily made me happy.

Saturday, I watched my first sheep sale and my first official-I-am-now-a-Hokie VT football game (on tv), which made me happy.

Sunday, I got to play soccer with a bunch of good lookin guys. Enough said. :D

Today, I had to go to find a red shirt to be my soccer jersey. I figured Target would definitely have one, so I started there. After I scoured the store for a red athletic-ish shirt, I left in disappointment and headed to Wal-mart. Now, the thing that made my search more frustrating was the fact that I had only $20 for the next week or so (I have money in my bank account, but the ATM stole my check card...) and I had about 5 other items on my shopping list. As I searched Wal-mart, I texted all my frustration to my sister. As soon as I hit "send" I look up to see a red tank top. Excitedly, I grab it (it was my size yay!) and read the tag. It said "Clearance $1"!!!! Whoo! I quickly glanced at the wal-mart ceiling and said a quick thank-you. As I finished getting the things on my list, I couldn't stop smiling. After I checked out, I was smiling even bigger. Turns out I got the red shirt, new shinguards, a mini storage container ($1 item), deep conditioner, hair spray, and bobby pins ($1 item as well), all for a grand total of $13.75. My wallet, as well as myself, were quite happy.

As I walked from my car to my dorm just now, I couldn't stop smiling and whistling "How He Loves". I felt like people were staring at me as they walked past because I was just beaming. (This is weird, because normally when I'm walking, I apparently frown... I have had more than one passerby tell me to cheer up before... that always makes me feel like Scrooge or something!)

So yeah, I'm happy! :D

So I haven't had any time to write since I've been here at Virginia Tech and I don't have time to really write right now, so this will be short.

Today I ate...

Cookies for breakfast. At 7am. While I stared at my laptop screen. (That can't be good for me-- nutritionally, mentally, etc.)

A chicken salad croissant, at noon, but all it's healthiness was negated by the fact that I downed it in 2 minutes flat, because I had hijacked a girl's table and had to move fast. (At lunch time EVERY table is full, no matter what dining hall or restaurant I'm at... it's quite ridiculous!)

Cookies for dinner. At 4pm. While I stared at my laptop screen.

Edy's Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream for a 2nd dinner. At 11pm. Oh and I ate a whole pint... Now I KNOW that can't be good for ya!

Oh well. Normally I eat fairly healthy and as far as I know, the freshman (even though I'm a junior) 15 hasn't hit me (but then again, I don't have a scale so I have noooo idea how much I weigh). Anyway, my point is that junk food on occasion is not going to kill me!!! So the only time any of ya'll have the right to criticize my diet, is if I really do gain those 15. Then feel free to chase me around shouting insults so I'll have to exercise to burn those calories! (Ok maybe not insults... try to be tactful por favor!)

(Plus, my sisters made me the cookies back home, and they have to be some of the most AMAZING cookies I have EVER had. Something about home-made cookies when you're far from home makes them taste so much better!!!)

*Warning: This post contains a great deal of personification of inanimate objects. If you think that's weird, too bad.*


Last year I bought a Dell Inspiron 1525 and I love it! Along with the laptop, I bought a snazzy Dell printer, which I love not-so-much. Yes, it's a very nice printer and it does a great job. Well it does a great job when it's actually working...

You see, for some reason unbeknown to moi, they ("they" being the computer and printer) don't get along. They never have and I'm doubtful they ever will. I have no idea what their little feud is regarding, but they need to realize that their problems affect not only them, but the people around them (namely me). Really, how selfish can they be? Don't they notice that every time I need to print something, I have to transfer it to a flash drive and take it to another computer in the house?? How troublesome.

I must admit that on occasion they make a little peace treaty and actually cooperate. THAT is when I actually love my printer. Be aware though, that I've had this laptop/printer combination for almost a year, and they have worked together only one handful of times. That's pretty pitiful.

So as I thought about what to take with me to VT, I decided to leave the printer at home. I mean, it's not like it works, so why bother?

As soon as my dad realized that I was leaving the printer at home, he politely confiscated it (with my permission, but it's not like I could say no...) and hooked it up to his computer. Of course it works perfectly for him. Ugh not fair! I paid for it, it should be working for me. Traitor.

Anyways, yesterday I checked the Scholar (kinda like Blackboard) page for one of my classes and the syllabus made it quite clear that I would be printing handouts. Lots and lots and lots of handouts. So I get to thinking... hmm... do I really want to have to find a computer lab every time I need to print something? What about those mornings I wake up late and I've forgotten to print off these precious handouts for this 8am class? I sense that could cause unnecessary stress in my life.

Sooo... I've decided to take my printer with me and just find some technology diplomat (aka computer genius) to help the two warring parties resolve their differences. Sorry to disappoint your free-printer hopes, Daddy.

Yay problem solved... the only thing left to do this morning was to pick up a black cartridge to replace the empty one that is currently sitting in the printer. As I walked into Wal-mart, I called home to have Mom check what kind of cartridge it is. (I've never had to replace it before since it's only actually printed 5 times in the past year!!!) Mom can't find the little door to reveal what kind of cartridge it is, so she gets my brother to come look too. This goes on for a few minutes as I stand in the Wal-mart aisle laughing at the frustration I hear on the other end of the line. (This good looking guy gave me a weird look for laughing out loud...) My brother's saying "it's gotta be in the back... cuz it's not here on the front" and I'm thinking "uhh they would never put it on the back; that would be totally inconvenient". Finally I'm like "hey why don't you guys go get the printer manual and it will tell you". Then I listen as my mom proceeds to mumble the printer instructions in French as I'm thinking "if they have the instructions in French, they definitely have them in English too!".

Finally, I notice a little booklet attached to a shelf in the cartridge aisle. It lists all kinds of printers and the cartridges that they use. About the same time I find the cartridge I need, my brother announces he found the little door. It was on the front (who woulda thought?!?).

And that was the beginning of my search for my printer cartridge. Apparently Staples has a monopoly on this certain Dell cartridge, which I figured out by driving to all the other stores around. And Staples' prices are normally exorbitant, so I'm just going to order from Dell.

So yeah, printers and the cartridges that reside therein equal a major headache. And yeah, I probably got a little carried away with my laptop-and-printer-at-war analogy, but oh well, just go with it. :)

Fifteen minutes ago I started my HUGE Wal-Mart "things to buy before I leave for school" list. It took me about 30 seconds to write down 13 items. Well that was easy.

Ten minutes ago, I started straightening my hair.

Eight minutes ago, I realized I forgot to add "contact lens solution" to my list, so I walked to where my list sat (grabbing a swig of my forgotten can of Amp along the way) and wrote down this 14th item. Then I remembered I needed toothpaste. Then notebook paper. A minute later, my short, easy list was twice as long.

Not a huge problem. I'm quite good at shopping as long as I have a list in front of me. The problem is that I'm not going to Wal-mart until tomorrow. Which means my list will have plenty of time to double, quadruple, and expand to the tenth power. Lovely.

Oooh. I just looked at my reflection in the computer screen and noticed I never got back to straightening my hair. Whoops.

I've always been a goal-oriented person. I've had my career picked out since I was 5. I've had the upcoming decade of my life planned out since I was 10. I've had my huge, gorgeous log-home designed since I was 12.

I think I'm kind of a paradox because I am a very realistic, down-to-earth kind of girl, yet I love to dream and scheme. This comes down to: I know what I want and I'm going to get it. No matter what.

To achieve my goals, I put a lot of pressure on myself. That's fine; I can handle the pressure and if I didn't push myself, I would never accomplish my goals.

But this leads to a problem. Because I expect so much of myself, I also expect a lot from others. I want to be the best that I can be, so I assume that everyone else wants to be the best that they can be. Apparently this is not the case for the average American teen.

I have seen so many of my peers mess their lives up, it's ridiculous. They don't realize that there is so much more to live for then the NOW. They never think about consequences. About the fallout of their actions. About what things will be like in the morning.

It's hard for me to be merciful to my friends and loved ones when they mess up. I mean seriously, why would you hang out with those people? Why would you ever drive after drinking? Why would you talk your friends into messing up their lives too? Why don't you ever think about the future?? About what you could be? About how you could change the world instead of living your life as a nobody loser???

As I sat here thinking about all this, a familiar song started playing on last.fm. It's a song by OneRepublic. The chorus says:

Lost till you're found
Swim till you drown
Know that we all fall down
Love till you hate
Strong till you break
Know that we all fall down

Yes, we ALL fall down. Even me. People are not perfect. I am not perfect. We're only human. (Which makes me think of another song haha: Human by Jon McLaughlin...)

So please Lord... help my calm, rational self not get upset when people mess up. Help me to not get emotional. Help me to forgive in the same way You forgive. Amen.

Yesterday I went to the orientation for transfer students at Virginia Tech. The students who were leading the orientation were very big on trying to get us fired up about being Hokies. They made sure we knew that a hokie was not just some old turkey, but that the true defintion of a hokie was a student ready to take their place representing Virginia Tech. Here are some of the thoughts that I scribbled down yesterday when I was waiting for my advisor to call my name (but trying not to act as if I was too eager haha).


"You have to flush the toilets manually??? Seriously?!?" That is what came to my mind upon my visit to a Squires bathroom. Apparently Virginia Western's tech-savvy facilities have spoiled me a tad bit. At Western, the bathrooms look like they belong in some upscale hotel, not a community college. Western will teach us "all we need to know to conquer the world"... except how to flush a toilet and turn on a faucet. Interesting.

Coming out of that same Squires bathroom stall, I ran into a girl I know from Western. I didn't even know she was going to VT too! It was amazing how many people I knew, even on a completely new campus! The smiles on familiar faces made the day a little less boring.

By far, the most exciting part of the day was getting my class schedule. I like most of my classes. The majority are introductory animal science classes, but I also have Organic Chemistry. That's the class that scares me-- O. Chem. I've heard over and over how killer hard this class is. A professor yesterday also mentioned that if I bomb (aka make anything below a B) O. Chem, my chances of getting into vet school are pretty much extinct. Great... no pressure, right??

Other than organic chemistry, I'm very excited about sitting in a desk learning about cows' digestive tracts all day. That sounds like fun to me! (Yeah I'm weird!) I'm totally stoked to actually be doing something related to my major for once. This is the reason I sat through English and Economics. This is the reason I am at Virginia Tech. This is my campus, my school, my home away from home.

What's a hokie? I am.

Ok, so I know I haven't posted in 6 months. And I've been meaning to get back to this poor blog, really i have, but it hasn't happened lately. But now I have a moment to sit here and type, so we'll type a blog post, ok?

I thought my life would be so calm and stress-free once the semester ended, but I was wrong. Very wrong. Working full-time, taking 2 summer classes, and trying to enjoy the summer like a normal teenager has turned out to be quite difficult. When that alarm clock goes off after having relatively little sleep for the 6th day in a row, it sucks. Majorly.


But you know what? This is the kind of hectic craziness that I thrive on. I hate when life's easy, so I make it more difficult, just to make it more of an adventure. Why come home and watch tv when you could go outside and weed a whole horse pasture? That way I become even more physically exhausted so work is even more of an adventure the next day. Then I come in from weeding... Ohhh it's 1am and my room's filthy. Let's clean it, even though I have to get up in just a few hours.

Yeah... ok, I think I've become a bit of a workaholic, but oh well. I'm young and spry, I can handle it.


Tonight. I did nothing. I sat on the couch and watched a movie with my sister. And now I sit here typing. Not typing an essay for some application... typing a blog post. Wow.

Tonight. I was in my most comfortable pajamas before 9 o clock. I sat in the dark living room with just one lamp on and played my piano, who has been awfully lonely lately. (The moment didn't last long, as my parents quickly told me I was playing too loudly. Way to kill my special enthusiastic joyful moment. Sheesh!)

At this moment. I have no desire to go do work of any kind. Tomorrow is Wednesday. I am not scheduled to work. And I am not covering someone else's shift. I am taking an honest to goodness day off and I plan to enjoy it! My morning alarms (yes, plural) will not be set at 5am. They will not be set at 7am. They will not even be set at 9am. My alarms will not be set at all and I am very excited!!!

Good night world. Wait... I don't have to go to bed yet! I can stay up as late as I want since I can sleep in tomorrow! Muahaha. :)