My happy life

I have decided to turn over a new leaf and attempt to blog once a week from now on. I regret that I have let this passion and outlet slip my mind in the midst of my busy life. I love to write and to share my life with the few but loyal readers that I have and appreciate very very much!

I had an extremely hard time adjusting to being away from my family and being on my own during my freshman year of college. However, this year, I have turned that all around and I am so happy with where I'm at! I joined SAIL, Sophomores Advancing In Leadership, which is a leadership organization for sophomores only at Texas A&M. I have made so many friends through this awesome organization and I have finally found a group of people who are like me and who enjoy the things that I enjoy.

This organization has definitely kept me busy and on my toes! I have spent my time at multiple meetings per week, which are less of an obligation and more of a pleasure, and I also participate in community service projects and events. One of my favorite things about SAIL is that there is always something going on! We have mixers and hangouts every week, opportunities to get to know other SAILors better in a small group setting, and countless intramural teams to play and watch.

I cannot even express how lucky that I feel to have finally found my niche, as Erica says. I have finally made a life for myself in College Station, and it is one that I am absolutely in love with. I still miss my family so much, but their support is what has gotten me to the happy place that I find myself at now. Here are some pictures from SAIL and with the amazing friends that I feel like I have known forever!

I also have the best living situation I could have ever asked for. My roommates and I not only get along, but we are also now friends who hang out and do things together. I know how big of a deal it is that I have found a place where I am totally happy living at, because I have witnessed firsthand how taxing a negative living situation can be. I truly live in a happy home and I couldn't be more thankful. Plus, Laura just turned 21, so that doesn't hurt our wine supply either ;)

I also have some new and exciting news to share.. I AM GOING TO GREECE! I was admitted into a leadership based study abroad program for the summer of 2013! I will be heading to Greece in June and I just cannot wait! This will be my first time overseas, so its safe to say that I am counting down the days. A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PARENTS AND MY GRANDMA AND PAPA for helping me get there. I could not be more happy! Here are some places that I will be visiting!

I want to express how thankful I am for my family and friends and how supportive they have always been for me. And thank you to my readers, who put up with my sporadic posts! As I type this, I keep glancing over at the two pictures that I have of my family on my desk- one on my left, and one on my right- and I am feeling very blessed.

Hello! I'd first like to state that I am aware that it has been ages since I last posted. In all honesty, my life got so crazy that I completely forgot about this thing I call my blog. One of my dearest friends, Jenn, is actually the one who reminded me, so you can all blame my annoying text messages reminding you to read this guy on her.

Speaking of that wonderful human being, she left me again. We had breakfast at Snooty Pig, a quaint Keller breakfast joint, on Friday morning before she headed back to Arkansas to start the fall semester. This breakfast has become our tradition, as we meet there the day of or the day before we each head our separate ways. I have come to adore this time and resent it simultaneously. Jenn and I have such a wonderful friendship. She and Caitlin have been by my side since we were little, even throughout the times that I really didn't deserve such loyalty. The happiest times of my life have been shared with these two. We have more memories than I can keep track of, and so many "firsts" we experienced together. Jenn and I have had a way of approaching specific events in our lives at the same exact time. It's very strange, but so cool. We both firmly believe that God gave us each other to lean on and grow with as life throws it's toughest challenges our way.

It is no secret to anyone that my freshman year at college was a rough one. I missed my family and home terribly, and knowing that my two best friends were states away did not help. I remember calling Jenn while sitting in my dimly lit and depressing apartment room and just immediately starting to cry to her when I heard her voice. I didn't have to say a word- she always knew exactly what was wrong. And she would just stay on the line and listen and calm me down in typical Jenn fashion for as long as it took, ending the call with a warning that I'd better call her back when this happened again. What kind of person gives up her time and happiness to listen to her emotional friend panic weekly? The kind of person named Jenn. And so it was no surprise that as we had to part ways once again, we both broke down. She had asked me to start writing in my blog again because when she was at school she "would read it and could hear your (my) voice."

So, I decided to dedicate this one to you, Jenn. My prayer is that you find happiness everywhere you go and that you always manage to flourish into your beautiful self. I hope you accomplish your goals and meet new people, making great friends and lasting relationships. I hope that you never lose sight of who you are and that you only grow into a better version of yourself. And lastly, I pray that you will always come back home and give me a call.

I am sorry for the sappy post. I know that this is the last thing most of you wanted to read, especially those who have been on the edge of theirs seats, anxiously awaiting my next riveting post. ;) I promise to post again soon with a reap of my Spring semester and Summer break, which will be interesting. I promise. I think.. For now, I am taking some much needed time to count my blessings and take in everything about this beautiful life I have been given. I am sitting in my room at home recounting some wonderful things God has given me, and I truly believe that one of the best gifts He has ever showered upon me is Jenn.

An End and A Beginning

Hello all! I hope everyone had a swell Holiday and enjoyed spending time with their loved ones just as I did. I was lucky enough to get 5 weeks off from school and returned about 2 weeks ago. While I was ready to get back to my routine in College Station, I hated saying goodbye to my family AGAIN. Because I was home for such a long duration of time, it felt like summer all over again and the goodbye was pretty difficult. This past Christmas and break reminded me yet again of how truly blessed I really am.

While I was in DFW, my cousins from Arizona came down to visit for the boys’ birthday celebration. Evan is now 5 and Judson is 1. Where does the time go?! And in just a month’s time, my precious Braxton will be three and we will also gain a new edition to our family, Carter! I can’t wait to get the call telling me that my aunt is in labor so I can drop everything and get to that baby! Here are some pictures from Evan and Judson’s birthday party!

The boys' birthday cakes- My Nana is a cake God.

Cousins reunited!

He just couldn't wait for it to be cut. Heaven forbid.

My dad and Judson. (He is a baby whisperer- so good with kids!)

LOOK AT THIS FACE!

This is typical. Evan is just a super hero, no big deal!

The spring semester definitely started off with a bang. With 5 homework assignments the first week and 2 fast approaching quizzes to prepare for, I found that my return to the mundane and silent library cubicles came much quicker than I had anticipated. This semester I am taking an online Health course, which will definitely keep me on my toes and test my memory, a Geography class and lab, a History class and the current love of my life… an ENGLISH CLASS YEAH!!!!! I don’t even try to contain my excitement anymore.

So, let me tell you about this heaven on Earth known as English class. My professor is the most eccentric person you will ever meet. At age 63, she had 3 children under the age of 8. I haven’t decided if that is gross to me yet, but it is definitely eccentric in my mind. She studied at Harvard and has a PhD. She also wrote a book called The Truth About Chivalry and Courtly Love. She wears dated red cowboy boots, long denim skirts, and bland sweaters. What a gal. I also found a boyfriend for my roommate with the pink hair! His name is Lime Green Hair! He sits two rows in font of me and his colorful locks are nearly blinding and absolutely distracting to say the least. This is also the first class I have had where I sit among much older students. There is a woman in her 30’s, another in her 50’s, and a man in his 60’s. I am not sure of the ages of the rest. Yes, I have spoken to all of these people and I love them all. Such an intriguing world we live in.

I have also taken on a new endeavor called cooking. It is crazy dangerous. I have tried all kinds of different things lately, and I must say that despite my concerns, pretty much everything that I have made turned out rather well! My favorite tool in the kitchen is the glorious Crock Pot. In all honesty, the stove scares the crap out of me. This could be the case for a couple of reasons: It’s possible that my fear is generated because the stove in my apartment is ghetto as can be and immediately makes the entire house smell like it’s on fire. The second possibility is that I am secretly worried that fire might become a reality and my whole building would burn down in the blink of an eye. I have also tried this new thing called cooking for others. "Others" are named Riley Woodward and Haley Houston. They are such brave souls. Riley came over for dinner last week in exchange for him hooking up my DVD player. (A great trade off, I know). However, the DVD player task took longer than I expected and turned out to be much more difficult than we both expected which made me feel like the deal wasn't so fair. So, to make up for it, I am cooking dinner for him again tonight! Someone needs to give this boy a medal for his bravery and for being such a good sport. Fingers crossed that I don't poison him!

Speaking of fires, while I was home for the holiday and my family was sitting down for dinner one evening, we actually all smelt smoke coming from the vent above us. My dad went upstairs and into the attic to check it out and we were all genuinely concerned. I, being the wimp and always cautious and prepared person that I am, ran up to my room and gathered a few items together, because I knew that if my house actually was on fire, there would be no way that my mom would let me go upstairs to save my valuables. I came down with an armful of items and set them on the table. The pile consisted of first and foremost, my dolls, my new Rose Gold Kenneth Cole watch, my MacBook Pro, my iPad, my cell phone, and my David Yurman ring. It wasn’t until my sister looked at the pile and sarcastically said, “Really? THAT’S what you want to save in case of a fire?” that I realized how silly those items looked all piled up on the coffee table. Sydney had reminded me once again of how quirky I sometimes act and appear. Fortunately, there was no fire, so the items went back upstairs and into their “home”, the spots my mom always annoyingly called a place you put things other than your floor or counter. I thought this story was funny so I decided to share it, but you might have found it pointless- If so, sorry Charlie.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post! I will update again as soon as I feel exciting things have happened to me again. ;)

Christmas is coming!

Hello, all! I am currently sitting on my bed in my Christmas pajamas, watching The Santa Clause, and drinking hot chocolate from a mix that my grandma sent me in a package. Does it get much better than that? Yes it does. I will be home for 5 weeks in just 11 days! There's no way it gets better than that. But it does... This awful semester will be over! Okay I'm done on that rant.

I was actually, like most of you know, just home for Thanksgiving break and had a wonderful time with my family and friends! My extended family from Amarillo came down and stayed with us for a few days, which I always enjoy. It is actually the first time that any of our extended family has come down on the holidays, so it was especially exciting! There were so many of us, in fact, that we wouldn't all fit comfortably around the TV (for the tu vs. A&M football game, of course) at my grandma's house, so we moved our Thanksgiving day celebration to my house. Here are some pictures of my goofy family and our Thanksgiving!

I also signed my lease for the place that I am going to be living next year and I LOVE it! It's a college community much like the one that I live in now called the U Club Town Homes. It is literally right down the road from my current apartment and is perfect because it's on the same bus route I take now to campus. I will have my own room and own bathroom just like I have now, a living room, washer dryer, and a full kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. It also comes fully furnished! I sound like a sales person for the place, don't I? ;) 

My Room- mine is downstairs and there are three others upstairs

My bathroom

My walk in closet!

Anyway, I am very excited. I know this was a short and possibly boring post, but I thought that my extended family might like to know what's going on in my stressful life! I am now going to study for my finals next week. Wish me luck!

                                                 

Happiness comes in all shapes and sizes.

The past month has been a whirlwind for me! I have been devoting my life to school, studying, and sleeping a little in between. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving break, which started for me this afternoon, (SO EXCITED) and I cannot wait to relax and not even THINK about school. Well, except for the two papers that I have to write and the Political Science exam I need to start studying for. Man, it never ends.

As many of you probably know from my endless stories, I take a badminton class; The the course is coming to a close. In fact, I attended class yesterday and learned that it was the last day I would actually be playing. Though I will definitely enjoy not waking up at 6:45 AM Monday and Wednesday for my 8 am class, I will say that this particular class has made me extremely happy. As you can probably guess, I suck at badminton. I mean I am absolutely terrible. My doubles partner and old friend, Jordan Kilkenny, and I actually came in the very last place in the doubles tournament. Since she later beat me in the singles tournament, I guess that statistically I am, in fact, the worst player in the class. I think that this is hilarious, especially since I do sometimes, despite my class ranking, put some effort into winning a match even though it is very clear that I will lose. I wish that everyone I know could be in this class for just one day to simply observe the diversity in it. I have made friends with almost everyone in the class, a huge shocker to you all, I'm sure. Let me tell you about the interesting people that I have met, and I apologize in advance if I offend anyone by "stereotyping", but I probably will.

Pedro- Hispanic boy with a huge accent. He wears the whitest tennis shoes that I have ever seen in my life, and he wears them every day. Jordan and I have come to the conclusion that he must clean them daily. He isn't the best badminton player, and I gather that, much like the others in the course, he isn't much of an athlete in general. Every time he makes a mistake in the game, he seems to mentally beat himself up about it, which breaks my heart. It feels like I am watching pee wee league baseball with my sweet Ryan (kid I nanny), and noticing that one boy lacking confidence and, sadly, skill, clearly falling behind the others and noticing it himself. So sad. But I am way too emotional for my own good so it probably isn't even that big of a deal. Moving on. He also wears an A&M shirt quite frequently that is, in fact, a women's shirt. Its clear to Jordan and I, but we highly doubt he realizes that. I have struggled the whole semester with trying to decide whether or not to tell this poor guy that the cut of that shirt is clearly for women. I have yet to tell him.
Freddy- African American senior who is the FUNNIEST guy I have ever met. He's from New Orleans and tells us that almost every day. He usually plays with Jordan and I in a group of three, and we love talking with him. He also sucks, and is hilarious to watch play. He tells us things about college and what to expect and he also educated us on "real" rap music, telling us that the songs he plays us are what he listens to in order to get "pumped up" for the weekend. You might be thinking he is a "thug" by the description I have given you, but he is definitely not. He is one of the nicest people I have met since being away. We actually think he might be gay. He also loves Shipley's donuts more than anyone I have ever met.
LI- pronounced like "Lee", yes, my father's name. He came to A&M straight from Korea for engineering and he has played badminton for years. I took to this kid immediately on the first day, not only because he is Asian, (JUST KIDDING, MOM AND DAD), but because he constantly looks lost. He walks so hectically and always appears to need help, so naturally I come to the rescue even when I am unneeded. I asked him if he knew anyone here and he told me no, but that his roommates are really nice. When asked what he does in his free time, he told me that he likes to watch seasons of TV shows on Hulu and that he is currently watch The Big Bang Theory. I told him that he should watch Jersey Shore. Still not sure if he has yet. Li is the best badminton player in our class, and he is so serious about it except for when he plays as my partner and he tells me, "It's ok, it does not matter to me if we win or lose." He tells me that he really misses his family back in Korea and that he can't wait to see them, but doesn't know when that will be. He is such a softy.
Greg- A boy that is probably four foot nine (no exaggeration) and is really good at the sport, as well. He is always smiling and likes to play with Li because he is "just so good, man!" He was the first person that Jordan and I met in class and we played with him for a while until he got too good for us and was placed in the advanced bracket, while we were placed in the beginners. Ya win some, ya lose some.
The Corps boys- three boys in the class that are, as you can guess by their nickname, in the Corps. They stick together, but one guy often gets left out when playing doubles because he isn't as good at badminton as the other two. His name is Chase, and he can't stop talking about the tennis shoes that he bought last summer. They are "seriously awesome".

There are so many more people in that class that I could tell you about, but it would take forever. I have loved my time in this class and getting to know so many different types of people. My day is made every morning by observing the people in this class (sounds creepy, but its really not) and my mornings are always full of happiness and laughter- just the way I like it.

Something else I love: There are so many different kinds of people on the Texas A&M campus. Some people I find nice, some I find rude, and some I find odd. I usually like the odd people, though, because they make me laugh. I think it's great that they have the audacity to go out into public and dress/act the way that they do- for example, my roommate with HOT PINK hair- and I still get a kick out of it every time. Actually, I get such a kick out of it that if I find myself walking behind one of these individuals, I often try to be sneaky and snap a quick picture of them to tweet, send to my family and friends, ect., in hopes that it might brighten their day as much as it brightens mine and to serve as a reminder that being different is not the same as being wrong.

A random observation: the way that kids walk on this campus. I come across certain people that walk with "swagger," as this motion is commonly referred to. I don't get it. I even overheard the conversation between a couple of elderly professors walking a little in front of me and discussing the meaning of this word, and observing a prime suspect about twenty feet ahead of us. These poor men were very confused and eventually settled on it either being a new type of dance or that these "kids are just hoodlums." Either way, I think that these people look ridiculous. Some even look like different animal walks, and it really seems like such a struggle. It might even start to hurt one leg after a while. Again, I love to watch this. I might have to try it sometime. ;)

I apologize for the lack of photos in this post, but I definitely have not had near enough time to take any. I hope that you enjoyed reading about the quirky things that make me smile, though you now probably think I'm just creepy. I will be sure to post about my thanksgiving break once it is coming to a close with pictures from the adventures I went on during it. Thanks for reading!

Home Sweet Keller

I had been waiting for the weekend of October 1st since before I left for school in august. It was the weekend that the Aggies were going to BTHO the piggies (err.. They were supposed to..), but more importantly the weekend that all of my friends, currently scattered across the united states, were going to return home to Keller for a massive reunion. It was, after all, our high school homecoming, and we are all still young and lame enough to attend it and silently wish we were in high school again. I found myself shamelessly admiring the flamboyant and gaudy mums all the girls were adorned with, and even not-so-secretly desiring one of my own. Texas homecomings bring a whole new meaning to the phrase "everything's bigger in Texas".

Sydney and her date, Brandon

My sister, her friends, and their massive mums.

My friends and I attended the pep rally at the high school in the morning and the football game at night. Nostalgia set in as Brooke, Ashley and I watched our former Indianette peers march onto the field at halftime and perform a Bob & Sue routine with their dads. We reminisced about our time on drill team and all of the fun things we did, the important things we learned, and the friends that we made. Here's a quick trip down memory lane.

                    

                                 

 

I also got to see my extended family on Friday! I got some play time and love from my three little cousins, Evan, Judson, and Braxton. Seeing Evan, Judson and their parents (my aunt and uncle) Missy and Seth, was especially exciting since they recently moved to Tucson, Arizona and were back for a visit. I sure do love those boys.

On Saturday, Texas A&M and the University of Arkansas went head to had at the renowned Cowboys Stadium. My friends, family and I tailgated outside of the stadium and had a great time. The weather was thankfully kind and we surprisingly did not feel the wrath of the sun on our skin. I loved spending time with my family, friends, and friends' families all at the same time.

 

On Sunday, my sister and I saw The Script in concert at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas! We both love the band and had been anxiously waiting for the show. At first we were a little freaked out at the location of this venue. It was definitely in the ghe-tto ya dig? ;) the bars on the windows of the shops and the shady liquor stores were not exactly comforting, but we made it safe and sound and ended up loving the building! It was standing room only, but where you stood was determined by how early you got there in contrast to others. Sydney and I were super close to the stage and the band. It was also COLD in there, which is a huge change from the typical hot and sweaty environment at most concerts. 


My trip back to Keller that weekend was definitely full of fun and constant excitement. It was refreshing and much anticipated, and definitely needed after three weeks away from home. I know that doesn't sound like long, but it is the longest I have ever gone away from my family to date. I'm sure that I will get better at the separation concept with time. I was reminded that weekend that nothing is more important than family and friends, and that going home can cure almost any worry.