A "YouTube Escape" From Studying

It's been a long and hard week of being a nerd... Here are a few things that got me through my endless studying for Calculus 2. According to my calculations—oh my gosh I've done way too much math this week... 

Enjoy!

The most dramatic look you'll ever see on a hamster 

 

 Scary Sneeze Meets Cute Baby Panda

 

If only I could dance like this guy...

Only a Jersey Shore episode, some late night studying and a calculus test away from a great weekend!

He has a plan

“Everything happens for a reason.” 

Have you ever experienced it? You know, something happens causing a wide range of negative emotion, and then, it happens— an instance occurs that opens your eyes to the reason. Sometimes these reasons require patience as the fog still needs clearing, other times it’s not the foggy skies, but rather a pair of blurry eyes in need of corrective vision. And then, there are rare occasions, when you just know.  

Today was one of those days... the one where you just know.

Around 5pm today, I received the news that my mom’s oldest sister, my Aunt Dawn, passed away. When I heard the news I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to know everything, I wanted to understand, but most of all I just wanted to give my mom a hug and to be there for her. 

When I was finally able to talk to my mom a few hours later, she explained what had happened. My Aunt Dawn passed away during a CAT scan and the results showed additional complications that would have brought on more pain and suffering for her. 

So, yes, the Lord took my Aunt Dawn away today, but He took her somewhere better! He took her to be with Him and there is no better realization than that.

R.I.P. Aunt Dawn, I pray that you are in a happier place tonight and I thank the Lord for taking you out of all the pain you were in and were soon to endure.   

Psalm 9:9:
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

T.G.F.S!

Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of snow: precipitation in the form of small white ice formed directly from the water vapor of the air at a temperature of less than 32°F (O°C). 

Translation: a magical weather condition that has the potential to cancel classes, encourage snowball fights and provide Kodak moments…

Early this morning around 12:30 am

View from window later this morning around 10:00 am 

Thank.Goodness.For.Snow!

Settling

Preface: I am college student and every day, when meal time comes around, I basically have four options…

1) “The Met”= I think that stands for Metamorphosis Cafe, but it should be more like the Makes-Eating-Terrible Cafe. It’s the on campus cafeteria that is included in the meal plan you pay for at the beginning of semester and I really don’t think people should eat that food twice a day every day. The salad bar is nice, but is it fresh? The pizza’s not so bad at first, but I dare you to eat that every day… If all else fails you can always ask for a burger and at least you can watch them make that. 

2) On-campus Subway= This is definitely a top choice, but my meal plan only allows $250 a semester to be spent anywhere that’s not The M.E.T. Also, you can only eat so many subway sandwiches in a row before it gets really old. Not everyone can be like you Jared!

3) On-campus Chick-fil-A= Hands down deliciousness. Who doesn’t love a good ol’ Chick-fil-A sandwich coupled by a pack of savory waffle fries?! Well I guess vegetarians would only appreciate the fries, but you get my point—it’s delicious! Unfortunately, I can’t eat this for every meal, so I limit myself to about once a week.

4) Ramon Noodles- Every college student can appreciate a 10 cent bowl of microwavable noodles. The way we look at it, reasonably good food tastes even better when it’s cheap! Not to mention, if you’re trying to avoid the “Freshman 15,” it only contains like 190 calories. I mean I’m not Ramon’s PR or anything, but how could I pass up an opportunity to inform you on the value of Ramon Noodles?!

Now that you are a little more familiar with the predicament I encounter when meal time comes along, you can understand why I was so excited to eat Chick-fil-A for lunch today. I ate with a couple friends who then introduced me to a couple of their friends and it turned out to be a pleasant social hour escape from constant studying. At some point, amongst the many interesting things that came up, one of the new guys said something that really resonated with me. He said, “I just think way too many people settle these days.” And he couldn’t have pinned the tail on the donkey more accurately. We tend to spend way too much of our time making excuses when we could “Just Do It,” like Nike has been trying to communicate to us for years!

This new guy had a point and as much as I’ve always strived not to be the person who settles, there was one thing I just couldn’t stop thinking about…

My Desire: Do some kind of study abroad program sometime during college career.

My Excuse(s): Could I afford that, money wise and education wise? I mean if I want to get my undergraduate in four years, take the MCAT and then go to med school, would I even have time for a semester abroad?

My Reality Check: What am I thinking?! If I want to study a semester abroad, then I can and will do so, or at least try. Granted, I’m not going to get in my car and drive to the airport when I finish this post, but I also won’t let myself rule this out as an option sometime in the near future.

Growing up, you’re always told to “follow your dreams” and to “never give up.” These are valuable life lessons! Fulfill your dreams and don’t miss out on the life you always wanted because you settled. Trying something and failing is a life lesson, but not trying something at all is a lesson in not living life at all.

"I'm new"

There is something you should know about me before you continue reading my blog. My name is Claire and I’m new.

It all started at IHOP, yes the International House of Pancakes. My mom was out of town so that left my dad and I breakfast-less which, of course, automatically equals IHOP— at least in my family. So, there we were… just me, my dad and the hostess. “Just two?” she clarified and then the usual, “follow me.” We did as we were instructed and followed her to a very vacant section of tables and booths. As she stopped to contemplate where in the world she would sit two people, she turned to us and said the magic words, “I’m new.”

Those two words excused any judgments we were in the process of making while she struggled with where to seat two people in a room of tables and booths that seated four or more. So, when you begin to pass judgments on my amateur blogging abilities, please, consider this… I’m new.

I love expressing myself in the form of writing and with as crazy a brain as mine is, written form is a much better candidate for getting my point across clearly. Hopefully, blogging on a regular basis, will be just what I need to get me motivated to write that book I’ve always said I was going to write… okay maybe I’m getting a little too much ahead of myself, but in any case I know that wherever this takes me it’s where I belong.

As my dad always says, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” So, I challenge you as my reader to get past the "I'm new" excuse and make the most of today because your future lies in the hands connected to your arms...just think about it ;)