best friends, good books, and tube socks

So much has happened in the past few days. I'm beginning to lose track of all the excitement.

This past weekend was mini-road trip number two for the month. I was able to drive up to Virginia to see on of my dear friends that I hadn't seen since January. Callie and I met gosh it's probably been almost two years ago. We met through tumblr, of all places. She ran a One Direction blog with one of her friends, and one day I just so happened to stumble upon it. The rest is basically history. Anyway. I woke up Friday morning and had a nice brunch with my friend Jasmine. It was really wonderful to catch up with her for a bit before I headed out. The drive up to Meadowview was nice. It usually takes me about three and half hours to get up there, but traffic decided to be stupid. It basically took me a little over four hours to get to her house. (For the record, being at a standstill on the interstate is not fun...in case you were wondering.) But once I got there, I settled right back into life at her house. She and I were planning to attend a baseball game that evening, but as soon as we got inside Chili's for dinner, the sky opened up and poured rain all over everything. So we went with plan B and saw Think Like A Man Too. It was pretty hilarious. I was laughing a lot. It was kinda an early evening, but both of us were exhausted. Saturday morning we were up and out of her house around ten or so and on our way to Bay Mountain State Park. I think that's what it was called, anyway. We saw bobcats, lots of turtles (around twenty or thirty), several deer, different birds, an otter, a few reptiles, three wolves, AND three wolf puppies. I so wanted to take the puppies home with me. They were so adorable. I envied the folks who worked there and were sitting in the enclosure with them. Oh! And they also had a planetarium, so Callie and I saw a showing about the night sky and the stars and planets we can see from where we were located. It was pretty cool. (Shout out to the nice man at the register who didn't make us pay for it. You're awesome.) After we had had our fun at the park, we went to this place called Beef 'O' Brady's. It was so good. I got the fish and chips. It wasn't England, but it was still delicious. Later that night, we went to her dad's house to babysit for her dad and step-mom. We all played outside for a bit until the rain came. Then we went inside where I read, Callie played on the Xbox, and Luci played with her toys. (It was during this time that my best friend texted me saying she was back in America, but I'll get to that later.) Yesterday morning we were up early for church. Callie had nursery with the two year olds, so I sat in the service by myself. It was nice. Not my style, per say, but still good. After church we made our way back to her house for the World Cup match and lunch. Her mom made burgers and potato salad for us. It was pretty tasty. After watching the Netherlands beat Mexico I packed up all my stuff to head back home. There was a pretty bad storm heading towards Chattanooga, and I wanted to beat it home. Which I did. :) It was so great to see Callie and spend time with her. Definitely a fun weekend.

As I said before, my best friend is now home!! She spent the last six weeks in London (so jealous...). So today I got to spend time with her! Yay!!! It was so great. Michelle and I have been friends since we were like three or something like that. It's been a lot of years that we've known each other. She came over this morning bringing me breakfast and a few spoils from the greatest city in the world. (She brought me a tenth Doctor mug, Tube socks, and Tangfastics. Oh, and a plastic Tesco bag.) We left my house and proceeded to just do what we do best: drive around aimlessly and enjoy each other's company. We met her mom and Moe's for lunch and then attempted to drop off one of their cars to get something fixed, but they were busy and couldn't fix it today. Then we spent some time at Target and got ICEEs. Talk about childhood memories. It was so good to actually be able to spend time with her. Six weeks isn't that long, but it can seem like forever at times.

I leave for the beach in 19 days! I'm so incredibly excited. I've still got a bit to do before I leave...but that's okay. It'll all get done eventually.

This weekend I also finished another book. I read The Maze Runner by James Dashner. To be honest, they only reason I read it is because the movie is coming out soon and Dylan O'Brien is in it. I'm kinda in love with him. But the book was really good. It definitely kept me interested. There were a few parts that were predictable. However, most of the time I found myself on the edge of my seat, constantly wanting to turn the page to find out what happened next. I'll probably finish the series out. I've currently got House of Cards sitting on my bed... I told myself that book was specifically for beach reading. Fingers crossed I actually listen to myself and leave it alone until the beach. Also, Michelle told me about this other book that she thinks I would like. I don't recall the name, but I'm pretty sure she said I could borrow it once she finishes is. Oh, oh, oh!!! Justin finished Paper Towns. He said he liked it. It makes me so happy when people enjoy things that I suggest to them. Whether it's books, music, films, food, etc. I love things work out that way.

Perhaps the most exciting thing that happened this weekend was that when I got home on Sunday, I checked the mail (sometimes my parents forget to check it on weekends) and found my One Direction ticket for Nashville. I opened the mailbox, saw the envelop from Ticketmaster and almost screamed. I proceeded to take the mail to the passenger seat of my car since the door was open (I had been cleaning it out after getting back home). I opened the envelope as quickly and carefully as possible. As soon as I held the (golden) ticket in my hands, I squealed, danced and smiled in the middle of my driveway. Thankfully none of the neighbors were outside. Haha. Oh gosh. I'm so incredibly excited for that show. I was just thinking today that not only is it my first One Direction show but it's also the first concert that I'm going to by myself. It's a little bit daunting and scary, but meh. It's One Direction. I'm going to have the time of my life. I still need to figure out my hair and make up and outfit. But first I want to go to the beach and have fun and shop and all those good things. Get one big even out of the way before I stress over another.

Well that was a long (and potentially boring) update. I promise my life isn't normally this exciting. I have no idea what's going on.

xx

What does it mean to matter? What does mattering even mean?

Last night I finished reading An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. I really enjoyed it, but for reasons I didn't expect.

When I first picked it up, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that it was the next book on my list of John Green books to read. I found myself regularly reaching for a pen as I was reading. There were several lines that just struck me, so I needed to mark them. One of the first things I underlined was a line said about Colin:

He liked all books, because he liked the mere act of reading, the magic of turning scratches on a page into words inside his head.

 I've said before that I love reading. Books have always been a big part of my life. But it wasn't until I read this line that I got some sense of why I enjoy reading so much. It really is magic. It's like all of these symbols (typically letters and occasionally numbers) translate themselves into stories about anything and everything inside my head. I honestly can't even explain it. But it blows my mind. It's like an author thinks up and creates an entire world and writes it down to preserve it. And then I come along and read it and bring their ideas to life. Without me, it's almost as though the story has no purpose. Now that's not to say that everything that's written has to be read. There are certain things that should never be shared with others. I myself keep a journal that I don't allow other folks to read. It's just not something that's necessary.

Anyway.

One of the themes of Katherines deals with "mattering". Like wanting to matter in the world. Making a difference so you're remembered kinda thing. It takes the entire book for Colin to realize that mattering isn't the most important thing. In fact, it may not even be a thing that you should strive for in life. At least not necessarily in the ways he was trying to go about mattering. But then at the end of the book when Colin and Lindsey are in the cave, Lindsey says something that (again) strikes me:

...how you matter is defined by the things that matter to you. You matter as much as the things that matter to you do.

This really got me thinking about the things that truly matter to me. To be honest, I'm still mulling those over in my head. I'm sure eventually I'll share them, but for right now, I think I need to keep them to myself.

There's another quote from Lindsey just one page later that perfectly defines having a "Eureka" moment. For some reason I really like it, so I'm going to share it with all of you.

[it's] like if a heroin addict suddenly said, 'You know, maybe instead of always doing more heroin, I should, like, not do heroin.'

Not gonna lie, I laughed out loud when I read this. But moments like this are so great! I had one a couple of weeks ago when I realized that I am so much better off without this one guy in my life. It's like while I was still holding on to him or even the idea of him, I was an addict. But then when I decided that it was best for me to let it go (insert cheesy Frozen reference here), I instantly saw the clouds open up and a light from the heavens came down and shone all around me. It was a good moment. I like those moments.

The last portion of the book that really stuck with me comes from Colin's thoughts. He's finally found himself in love with a girl who's name wasn't Katherine. He's come to terms with what it really means for him to matter. And he's also figured out how to tell a good story and why stories matter.

And Colin thought: Because like say I tell someone about my feral hog hunt [heh, that was an interesting chapter to read]. Even if it's a dumb story, telling it changes other people just the slightest little bit, just as living the story changes me. An infinitesimal change. And that infinitesimal change ripples outward--ever smaller but everlasting. I will bet forgotten, but the stories will last. And so we all matter--maybe less than a lot, but always more than none.

For some reason I don't think that I need to add anything after that. I do recommend An Abundance of Katherines. It's a great read.

xx

parties, tickets, sitting on houses, and giraffe mugs

Oh, gosh. I haven't written a blog post in forever. The fact that I've been super busy for the past week and a half probably has something to do with it.

I ended up house sitting for two families last week. It was a lot of fun, and I got to spend time with their dogs. :) I forgot how much I missed having a dog around. They're so great. I really want a dog now. Oh, but it was pretty funny. On the first day I was sitting for one family, I went to walk their dog and ended up locking myself out of their house. Oops. Thankfully the neighbors were home and had a spare key. It was a bit stressful going from house to house and also going to work. I missed my bed.

This past weekend was SO much fun. So on Thursday, I got to sleep in my own bed for the first time in a week (which was fabulous). I worked that night with some of my favourite people, so that made it enjoyable. Then Friday morning I worked until noon. As soon as I got off, I came home and got ready to go see Justin for his birthday party. I was super excited to give him his present because I was so proud of it. Haha. I got him these photostrips made from Instagram photos from the trip we went on to London. And then when I was in Target I found a card that had the Queen on it. It was absolutely perfect. Anyway. I drove up to Justin's house. We hung out there for a bit before leaving to go watch this performance of the students of a drama camp he helped to lead. It was really good! I enjoyed watching the different ages put on their little plays. They were so cute. After that we made the drive up to Murfreesboro. We stopped by Subway to grab dinner and a Publix to get some beverages. At the party we had food and drinks and some of Justin's closest friends. We played games and all got quite tipsy (okay...we were pretty drunk). I eventually crashed on the couch. The next morning I woke up and talked a bit with Justin's friend Nate. I had kinda met him a couple of years ago when he went to Bryan. Once Justin got up, we tidied up the apartment before heading to get some food. After lunch, Nate went back home and Justin and I spent some time in Murfreesboro. We checked out a couple of the malls up there. I got two new books (for those wondering, The Maze Runner and House of Cards), a super cute giraffe mug with a baby giraffe inside (eeep!!), and some Hobnobs.

This morning I went to work for a few hours. It was fun. Not overly busy but busy enough to go by quickly.

Oh!!! I did buy my One Direction ticket for Nashville!! It's official! I'm SO excited. I just cannot wait to see them. And this evening I also bought my ticket to see The 1975 in November. Oh, and my best friend's suitemate bought us tickets to see Ed Sheeran in September. I cannot express to you how much I'm looking forward to these coming months.

I'm currently reading An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. It's the last book of his that I have yet to read. (Except for Let It Snow that her wrote with two other people.) I'm enjoying it. I haven't been able to get into it as easily as I've gotten into his other books, but I think that might be because I haven't been able to sit down and read very much. I also let Justin borrow my copy of Paper Towns. I'm excited to see how he likes it. There's just something about recommending a book to someone and then having them love it that warms my heart. :)

My 100 happy days are still going strong! I think I'm 18 days in and haven't missed a day. Woo!!

Okay, it's almost midnight. And I have to be at work in the morning. Tomorrow is the first long shift I've had in quite awhile. Here's hoping it goes by fast. But now it's sleepy time.

xx

retail, hair cuts, trips, and boybands

It's been a few days since I last posted. Not a lot has happened. But I am currently watching How To Train Your Dragon. It's a favourite.

I've been working a lot lately. Yay, retail! Already this week I've picked up and extra eight hours covering for different people who have called out. I'm glad for the hours. It's just more money for me. Which considering all that I need to pay for this summer...is a very good thing.

Tomorrow I'm getting my hair trimmed. It's been about a year since I last got it cut. Last summer I made the decision to chop off about nine inches. My hair really needed it; it was split-ends galore on my head. I've regretted it ever since. My hair takes forever to grow. It's not even back to the length pre-chop yet. But tomorrow I'm just going for a trim. And maybe get bangs. I still haven't decided on that one yet.

Also in the past couple of days I've decided that I'm going to go to the One Direction concert in Nashville! I'm super excited. :) Yeah, I've got tickets to see them in Atlanta (and they are GREAT seats omg), but there's just something about seeing a band or artist that you love in your home state. There are also several of my friends from tumblr who will be at that show. It will be great to finally get to meet some of them in person. The only downside to this is that I have to wait until I get paid next week. But just knowing that I'm planning to go is awesome.

My beach trip is also quickly approaching. I seriously cannot express how excited I am for that. I haven't had a trip to the beach in probably 12 to 15 years. There was that one day on senior trip in 2011 where we spent the day at Virginia Beach...but it was the beginning of May and absolutely frigid. I'm going to Hilton Head with my best friend and her family. They go pretty much every year.

Speaking of my best friend, it's almost time for her to come home!! She's been in London studying abroad since like the second week of May. I miss her like crazy. I cannot wait for her to be back where she belongs: three minutes away from my house. Haha.

I'm really looking forward to the next two weekends. Next weekend I'm heading up to Murfreesboro to celebrate one of my best friend's birthdays. It's his 21st, so it'll be really fun. I got his present in the mail on Monday! I really hope he likes it. I'm sure he will. The following weekend I'm going up to visit Callie. I haven't seen her since we got back from London in January. I can't wait to see her.

The only other exciting news is that I'm house sitting starting this weekend. I've never legitimately house sat before, so this will be interesting and hopefully fun. :)

So yeah, that's an exciting update on my life. Hopefully next time I'll have something deep and profound to share with you...heh.

xx

Some infinities are bigger than other infinities

I feel like I may be overdoing this whole blog thing. But for some reason I just have a lot to say right now.

I just got back from seeing The Fault in Our Stars. I'm still feeling a bit emotionally drained.

It was absolutely incredible. It far exceeded all of my expectations. But this post isn't a movie review.

This post is about a quote from the film (and also the book). There is a moment when Hazel Grace and Augustus are in Amsterdam sitting down with Van Houten. Van Houten is speaking nonsense about God knows what when he mentions the concept of infinity. He tells Hazel and Gus that some infinities are greater than other infinities. Later, when Hazel and Issac are reading their eulogies for Augustus at his pre-funeral funeral (so he can hear what his best friends would say about him). Hazel thanks Gus for giving her the best infinity that he could have possibly given her, even though it was shorter than she wanted.

But this got me thinking. And to be honest, this may have been brought up in the film, so I don't think I can take credit for this thought. But let's be real...I was sobbing pretty hard at this point in time. Anyway, everyone enters into our lives for their own amount of infinity.

Let me explain this infinity concept a bit more. I'm going to use Hazel's example. You see, between 0 and 1, there are infinite numbers, for example .1, .01, .011, etc. But there are even more infinite numbers between 0 and 2. Using this idea, the infinity between 0 and 2 is bigger than the infinity between 0 and 1. Make sense?

I've been spending the last little bit thinking about the different infinities that I've experienced with people throughout my 21 years here on earth. There are a few specific infinities that come to mind.

The first infinity is that of my parents. Thus far, they have been a part of an infinity that began (for me) when they brought me home from the hospital. Wow. That just got me thinking about how I don't know anybody right now who was there when I was born. Perk(?) of being adopted? Anyway. There will come a time with this infinity comes to a close, but thus far it's the longest running infinity that I've got.

The second infinity is the one with my best friend. I've known this girl since we were like three years old. It's incredible how much she and I have gone through together. It doesn't matter how much distance is between us or how long we go without speaking, we always pick up where we left off last. I feel as though this infinity is unique. I don't think there any very many out there like this one.

The third infinity is a bit more depressing. It's that of this guy I was briefly involved with last semester. It was nothing serious, but nonetheless damaging. And you know, I think that's okay. Not all infinities are 100% good; they also aren't 100% bad. It's a delicate balance. While this infinity is basically over, I'm thankful for it. It's helped shape me into who I am today typing this blog post. Not all infinities are meant to last for a long time.

The last infinity is that of all of my good friends from school. Man. I don't know where I would be without these people. I've gotten so close to them in the past few months and even made new friends. It seems as though all of these infinities have become interwoven. I don't know how to explain it. I guess these infinities seem as though they'll never end. But maybe that's wishful thinking.

It's an interesting concept, isn't it? It's a lot to think about and digest. If you haven't already, I recommend you read The Fault in Our Stars and then see the film. Or watch the film and then read the book. Either way, it'll change your perspective on things. But I would definitely get on that if I were you.

xx

Can I be happy 100 days in a row?

That's the question, isn't it?

I'm sure by now you've heard of the 100 Happy Days Challenge. If you haven't, click here.

At the beginning of the year, I saw several people that I follow on social media posting pictures everyday with the following hashtag: #100HappyDays.

I didn't think much of it. To be honest it seemed a bit like a fad of sorts. I didn't want to get involved with it. But I saw a post on tumblr today that made me change my mind.

One of the folks I follow on social media is Gemma Styles. (Yes, she is elder sister to Harry Styles, 1/5 of One Direction.) She had taken part of the challenge, and I had loosely followed her postings. I wasn't aware that she had reached the end of her 100 days until I saw a post on tumblr where someone compiled all of her (almost) 100 photos and used part of the caption from her last day.

Soooo I'm done! To be honest I started this because I was feeling really quite unhappy at the time and now I'm pretty content with how things are going, which (oops) did cause me to slack off a bit towards the end. Possibly a coincidence but I recommend you start day 1 tomorrow if you need cheering up!

For some reason, this stuck with me. Now, I've not been feeling particularly down. (On the website to register that I was partaking in the challenge I rated my overall happiness at 7.) But you know, I thought to myself, "Self, what's keeping you from being at 10?" I couldn't answer that question.

So as of today I am taking part in the 100 Happy Days Challenge. Feel free to follow my journey here.

Can you be happy 100 days in a row?

xx

Stars with Faults and Towns made of Paper

I'm an avid reader. If you put almost any book in my hands, I'll probably have it read within about 24 hours.

One of my favourite authors has recently become John Green. Yeah, technically he write young adult fiction, but there are some stories that transcend age.  One of those stories is a book that has its theatrical debut this week, "The Fault in Our Stars".

When I was a freshman in college, my best friend growing up texted me one afternoon saying, "Have you heard of TFIOS??" My immediate reaction was, "Ermmm, what?" because I had absolutely no idea what on earth she was talking about. She ended up calling me and explaining to me about this magical book she had just finished about a girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster and a boy named Augustus Waters. Her excitement rendered 80% of her words unintelligible. But at the end of her ramblings she said, "Hold on. I'm going to mail it to you. Promise me you'll read it as soon as it gets to you."

A few days later I was alone in my dorm room, sitting on the floor in the fetal position, crying my eyes out after having finished reading "The Fault in Our Stars".

It truly was a fantastic story. It captured my attention from the moment I picked it up and started reading it. I'm pretty sure I even kept my roommate awake because I was reading into the night. The characters seemed so real, and I found myself irrevocably invested in their lives. I felt their pains and their joys.

As I'm typing this, I'm making plans to see the film tomorrow evening with one of my best friends. Unfortunately I won't be able to see it with the friend who introduced me to the story...she's busy studying abroad in London for six weeks. Fingers crossed I don't turn into a blubbering mess in the theatre.

Back on the topic of John Green... I recently read his book "Paper Towns".

If I'm being honest, I don't know that I can pick a favourite between this book and TFiOS. They're two completely different stories that convey, albeit similar, opposite messages. (Yes, that is possible. You'd understand if you read both books.)

Never have I read a book that I couldn't put down but also had to put down because it was getting to be too much. Looking back, I don't even know what it was that was too much. The first part of the book left me constantly smiling. I loved reading about the different things Margo had planned for her and Quentin. The second part left me feeling puzzled as Q attempted to figure out what Margo may or may not have left for them to find. And the third part gave me a sense of adventure as I tracked Q and his friends' progress tracking Margo down.

I think another reason the book really struck a chord with me was the constant mention of Walt Whitman throughout the story. His poem "Leaves of Grass" plays a major role in the plot. It brought back many memories of being in English class in high school. We spent a great amount of time studying Whitman and this poem.

Anyway, I've discovered that I really enjoy John Green. So far I've read TFiOS, "Paper Towns", "Will Grayson, Will Grayson", and "Looking for Alaska". Next on my list is "An Abundance of Katherines". Hopefully I can get my hands on that soon.

xx

A new place for scribbles.

I've tried blogging before.

In high school I had this wordpress powered blog that I used for random assignments. Nothing personal obviously. After I graduated, that fell by the wayside. I had no use for it.

I also think at one point I had a different blogspot blog...but I don't remember if that's an actual thing or if I'm making it up.

I've got a tumblr, as well. But that isn't really the place for this sort of thing. At least that's my opinion. I love reblogging posts and occasionally creating a text post. But I need somewhere to get my thoughts down and out into words.

This is that somewhere.

I guess this is take four? Who knows... But I have decided that this effort will go further and be more successful than previous attempts.

Welcome to my scribblings.

xx