Goodnight...

Rush until midnight, up until 2:30am, awake at 8 for homework, and just got out of chem.

The rest of the day looks like its going to be sleepy time for me, so I'm saying goodnight! :)

ps: I met so many AMAZING! girls last night I know my little's in the mix somewhere...

"everything that is meant to be will be..."

THE SUN!! & What online quizzes say about you...

For my Child Education class, this week we were given two websites to visit and take their online personality quizzes. We have to print out the results of these quizzes and write two papers discussing our results and what they said about us.
I just got done taking the quizzes and they were actually kind of fun. They asked things like how well you work with others, do you say whats on your mind, if you see a picture will you learn better, are you more driven by your head or your heart, etc. I found the results fun to read through and see what my answers said about me.
According to the Multiple Intelligence Project (MIP) I am Linguistic (Word Smart), Interpersonal (People Smart), and Intrapersonal (Myself Smart). I am considered an extrovert in social situations and an introvert when it comes to learning and writing, I empathize with others, enjoy discussion, and am driven by my emotions. I was the lowest in Logical (Number Smart) and Musical (Music Smart). Me and math? Umm yeah, haha. No big surprises.
RUSH is this week!! We have our informal rush tomorrow night... long night... 6-midnight (approx) and formal rush on Saturday. There are over 150 girls rushing and I am so excited to meet them all!! Being gone for a semester has limited my abilities to get to know any freshman girls whatsoever SO rush is extra important for abroad girls to meet&greet. I am excited (and giddy and anxious and STOKED!!) to announce that I am taking a little this semester. I know I said that last spring and things didn't work out but I'm here two semesters later and getting a baby is a must!!
Because we are a smaller sorority compared to huge universities (75 girls max) the undertaking of choosing a little sis is a big deal. Financially, socially, EMOTIONALLY! I have had the most amazing big sis and truly the best experience anyone could ask for, I only want to foster the same relationship.
Why coffee mugs make me feel domestic--
Hilary and I had this conversation (or a version of it) the other day and I wanted to share:
Setting: grocery store
me: "ok I need eggs... and trash bags, hand soap... butter, oh and milk?"
hil: "I feel like we walk around this place 10 times before we get everything we need."
me: "milk, yes I think I need milk. And coffee? Oh a coffee mug! This is so weird, I feel so domestic..."
hil: "a coffee mug makes you feel domestic?"
me: "yeah, I don't know. There are all these things I forget I actually have to buy now. Like butter and trash bags. Those things used to just be at the house. I never have had to buy a coffee mug."
hil: "yes, butter doesn't just appear, you do have to buy it."
me: "I know that... ugh, I know I'm forgetting something..."
hil: "Oh my God. We're going to be in here for hours..."

**ok, this might have been a 'you had to be there' convo... but it makes my point. I am feeling more and more domestic with necessary apartment purchases and am maybe starting to actually feel somewhat like a grown up... *gasp*

A little re-cap of my very fun filled weekend!
-driving 15min to Yucaipa and playing in the SNOW!!
-getting cable! wooohooo for the Food Network, TLC and the ToDaY Show =)
-going to an on-campus concert Friday night!
-running and being able to simultaneously enjoy palm trees and snow capped mountains. Redlands, you are just gorgeous and spoil us so much!
-eating dinner at Jackie's... homemade spaghetti? yes please!
-hanging out with some of my SalZy girls!!!
-being out and social and officially back on campus!! Nothing better...
Mr. Sun heard my prayers and responded accordingly. Thank you!! On this lovely Monday morning, people are out, sunglasses are on, and smiles are back :)

Productivity makes everything seem sunnier (when the sun is no where in sight...)

It is not even 9:30am yet and I can say I've had a productive morning. I woke up at 8, read the last 30 pages for my fiction workshop this afternoon and then decided it was time to leave my warm, cozy nest. I made myself a cup of coffee, checked and sent the necessary emails, and made myself eggs and an english muffin. I finished reading at the kitchen counter while discussing the uncharacteristically icky SoCal weather we have been having as of late with one of my roommates and her boyfriend. Facebook, check. Then browsed the blogs I follow (...the number is growing by the way, much to my HaPpiNeSs!!) and now I am here, thinking a 'good morning' blog post would be the icing on my lovely morning.

Yesterday was also note worthy-- I did my laundry, put my clothes away, wiped down the bathroom counters, made progress on getting cable (the most inconvenient/stressful chore I've ever had to do) Jackie brought me over the new John Mayer CD :) and I went to bed relatively early.

It has been down-pouring (and I don't use that word lightly) for three days now and I am here to tell whoever it is who is responsible for these tears that it is time to stop. Californians don't know how to drive in the rain, let alone trenchal ones, so please don't make them try. Their drainage systems are not prepared for these volumes of water-- lanes are turning into lakes. And over half our student body do not own rain coats, so really, you're just getting everyone sick.

SO, Mr. Sun... I miss you. Please come back, Mr. Stormy is oh-so-grumpy and my happiness is very fragile when it comes to all things weather related. I only have so much left in me... xoxo, Lauren

Redlands Review

The submission deadline is only two days away and I finally decided to submit two pieces this year to the Redlands Review. It is a literary magazine made up of students work and is published in early May. It's mostly for upper class, weird.. I guess that means me now. But anyways, here they are. It's a long shot, but I thought it would be fun. They're not too long, don't worry! :)

Hope in Dirt Floors

She studied the street to understand

Against the barbaric backdrop

That keeps its people kept,

The secrets that weigh above

The trees’ sway,

Native eyes searching

A quilt of patches

Brilliant around the edges.

She stood apart and

Needed to. The blanket was unraveling

And promise of better or

Heat would help that wound.

Mosquitoes and dirt floors,

Prayerful knees, soreness

That creeps up her back

Where she carries her babies.

Not standing around, no. No

Vision she, nor hope in dirt floors,

Nor brilliance around the edges.

Landscape, Skewed

With and from you

The raw air

Darkly in love

A perfect word

Female deities

Climb ivy to the sky

To evade compromise

Lights streak

The mist clatters

Through elegance

Warm white pictures

Make memories a valley

After cocktails, petals

Bend to their shadows.

All things seek the center

Of discourse

This mirror mine

A week’s chill

Embraces the touch

Of the phenomenal world.

A little poetry is good for the soul

In my poetry workshop we were given a piece, (maybe it's a chapter?) written by Rainer Maria Rilke, from Letters to a Young Poet. Rilke is a German lyricist and an art critic who was considered a modernist of his day (late 19th century) I am unfamiliar with his work but from this short excerpt we were given to read, I was struck by the validity of his words. No one has ever described the complexity of what kind of person it takes to be a writer, and his words resinated with me. I just wanted to share some words of wisdom from a man truly beyond his time.

"...write about what your everyday life offers you; describe your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind and your belief in some kind of beauty--describe all these with heartfelt, silent, humble sincerity and, when you express yourself, use the Things around you, the images from your dreams, and the objects that you remember."

All Settled!

I finally remembered to take some pictures of my new little nook :) It's small and some of the walls are still blank but I looooove it. So nice to finally have a place to myself; I can lock the door, wake up early, dance around naked, and play whatever music strikes my mood... ♥

Things that I've done since being back:

- been a social butterfly!

- SUSHI.

- classes... a little wake up call that, no, I am no longer in Europe.

- sunshine!

- walking around in shorts and t-shirts, loving the place I have missed since May!

had to incorporate the twinkly lights :)

Change, our only constant

It's that time again. Tomorrow classes start and my spring semester as a junior will begin. My room is all organized, moved in, and homey... with a great big thanks and lots of hugs to my mommyyyy. Who not only put up with a weekend of my anxious self almost making myself sick I was so nervous to get back BUT did it with a smile and helped decorate my room to the point where I don't want to leave it! HA! I'd rather just hang out in here all day and reorganize my cork board over and over again ;)

It is good to be back but overwhelming. Very overwhelming. Everyone sees you and wants to jump on you and smother you and ask you a million questions about abroad and all I want to do is get from my front door to the laundry room! But no complaints. None. I am SO happy. =)

"Yesterdays are gone

Memories distant past

Time to move on

Those moments have passed

A path to the future

Journey still unknown

Stumbling in search of clarity

Of seeds yet unsown

New beginnings

Full of prospect and dreams

With change comes great hope

And nothing's as clear as it seems

A new start beckons

Its calling your name

To ignore new beginnings

Would be such a shame

Opportunities missed

Loss of starting anew

Embrace new beginnings

As life's moments are few"

-leigh goessi

TO NEW BEGINNINGS...

Don't you just LOVE jetlag??

Being home is wonderful but the jet-lag I could do without. It is almost 630am and I have been up for 2 hours already… woohooo!

Today I get to see some of my absolute favorites, miss JACKIE and HILARY J ahh Jackie and I have been separated since September 1^st (!!!) not okay. I need my girls back :( SO—it’s a declared girls night. We are locking ourselves downstairs, watching trashy TV, eating candy popcorn, and catching up on the last 4 months of our lives. Sound amazing? I agree :) ♥

I know the day is just going to seem like eternity at this rate! Mom and I are taking Hank to the dog park, doing a little much needed shopping (I haven’t been in a mall in ages!) and getting last minute laundry done. I LEAVE TOMORROW for school! Blah! Definitely not ready to be on another plane, pack more bags, unload two storage units, and move into a new apartment. BUT mom is flying down with me so that will make things ten times easier!

The next time I post I will most likely be in sunny, warm Californiaaa =) I guess life’s not too hard…

NEW year, NEW layout!

In light of the NeW yEaR, I revamped my blog :)

To focus on yourself is one of the most important things I have found--

for me, this year is all about setting small goals and appreciating the simple things.

I hope everyones 2010 is full of

FRESH STARTS,

continued health,

new beginnings,

& love.

Around the world and back again

Grey skies have never looked so pretty... I am HOME!

I just got back from taking Hank for a jog, he has gotten so big! When dad brought him back home from the kennel I saw him in the kitchen and almost teared up! He is still SUCH a puppy (and I love that) I'm trying to spend a lot of time with him so he won't completely forget me when I leave again on Saturday :(

We landed in Seatac yesterday and walked off the airplane and I noticed.. ENGLISH. It has never been more of a comfort than to see it on signs and being spoken by all. So nice. We got home and it smelled like all I have missed. Light fixtures seemed weird, my own shower was AMAZING, I SLEPT IN MY OWN BED-- even though jet-lag has us all pretty mixed up. (I woke up at 3:30am and couldn't fall back asleep until 5... blahhhh) but all in all, it has never felt better to just be doing nothing.

Things I am looking forward to:

-going to the grocery store

-being in a car

-driving

-HD TV

-seeing JACKIE AND HIL :) :) ♥

-cooking, baking, being in a KITCHEN!

-Starbucks... whenever I want it!

-the rest of my wardrobe!!!

-SCHOOL!!!!

Recent book recommendations:

The HELP-- Kathryn Stockett : given to me by Mom, about black maids in the South during the 60's and 70's.

A Thousand Splendid Suns- Khaled Hosseini : recommended to me by Liz, about Afghan women spanning from the 70's to as recent as 2003. Follows two women who deal with the severe oppression/time of war from the Soviet Union and Al Qaeda

**both I absolutely LOVED & were amazingly written :) Go read them!!

Days 7-12--(or Egypt, Mallorica, 2010 & that place I have missed…)

Well I should have blogged right after Egypt but everything was crazy and I had so much to say I didn’t think my tired brain would do it justice.

Egypt was something you read about and see pictures of but never really ‘get it’ until you are standing on the sidewalk watching young girls with babies beg for money or toddlers walk around barefoot in piles of baking trash.

We were picked up at the port dock in Alexandria by three Egyptian men in a (sketchy?) white van. For the next 48 hours we were toted around through Cairo and Gyza and saw so much I felt like cattle being herded from one place to the next.

I don’t want to rattle off all the museums and mosques and places we saw because those are what pictures are for. To me, the most important part of our condensed trip to the Land of the Pyramids were all the things we saw in getting from point A to point B.

The countryside was incredible. So much poverty. Vast fields of underdeveloped factories. The women, out of the movies I’ve seen, all wrapped up in scarves and burkahs. I am reading A Thousand Splendid Suns right now and it is completely relevant to what I witnessed in Egypt. Although the book is set in Afghanistan, the women struggle with the same issues. It was almost eerie to watch those women covered from head to toe and know that behind all that there is a woman, maybe even as young as Austin’s age, who is living this world for life. I can’t put into words my amazement at the stark class differences. There is the upper class and the poor. And no one really in between.

On a lighter note, my absolute favorite part of the trip was riding CAMELS!!!! O M G, I LOVED IT J My Arab boy guide’s name was Omar and my camel was so nice (Megan’s was mean and kept growling…ha) but we rode them in the desert right outside of the Pyramids (they were in the background for all our pictures) and it was the coolest thing EVER. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. We weren’t harnessed in at all, they just told us to hang on and the camels swayed up, got on their front legs, and then bent their weird flamingo legs and we were UP!

I will totally put up pictures of our camel adventure when I can J

So that was Egypt, we did the Pyramid light show at night and that was neat too. We saw King Tut’s tomb, toured ruins, ate Egyptian food, bought scarves (but didn’t wear them on our heads) and SAW A LOT.

Mom, Dad, and I did get a little present from Egypt… a nasty bug! L BUT it didn’t take us out completely. Austin and Megan have stronger stomachs than us I guess, but it wasn’t fun. That might have been reason number two for not blogging earlier… blahhhhh.

I almost forgot... HaPPy 2010 to everyone!! I have some personal new years resolutions that will hopefully last to February (ha) but I rang it in drinking with my under-age-but-legal-in-international-waters little sister. Doesn't get much better :) I wish for a healthy and happy year for everyone I hold dear♥

Tonight is our last night on the boat. It has been a great “at sea” adventure but we are ready to say goodbye. We ported at Mallorica, Spain today and went MOUNTAIN BIKING! It was a gorgeous day and the island was beautiful. If I had more energy I would go into detail about our “bike tour” but I’ll just hit some high points. First off, they should have called it the “lake tour” or “mud/river tour” because that’s what we biked through. Think I’m joking? We were dressed and ready for a pleasant bike ride on pavement through trees and pretty Spanish countryside… instead we trekked through the SPANISH FOREST and biked (fell, laughed, peed our pants in hyperventilation, sweated, ran full speed into prickle bushes, soaked our shoes/socks in mud, etc…) Yeahhhhh. It was just a blast! Mom and I held up the caboose. What a hoot. Mom decided to wear her Coach shoes. Good call, Mom. My tennis shoes are sitting in the garbage as we speak. I’m looking at them right now, muddy and disgusting. I needed new shoes anyways (after a semesters worth of trashing them) but I didn’t think they’d go out with such a bang. Oh Mallorica…

I have to say I’ve been counting down the days to January 5^th. When I got to September 2^nd January felt a million miles away. A MILLION. Yesterday was month marker four for me. And home has never sounded so good as it has around the holiday season, but with this excitement comes mixed emotions of course. I am sentimental about leaving Europe. I am. I don’t know how to describe it because I WANT TO GO HOME but there’s a little part in me that wants to hang on to all the adventures and all the pictures I have stored away in folders on my computer.

I don’t want to forget. Maybe it’s the thought of putting a continent and a fairly large ocean between me and all those memories is what’s not sitting well. I couldn’t say. It’s the strangest feeling to be leaving something so indescribable and at the same time knowing that nothing will make me more happy than getting my old life back.

I am anxious for school. We have new girls in Delta and I want to love them and know them just as much as I know all my sisters. I’m really honing on my major and more so than years before, I am academically focused. I get my own room in a week, officially. I haven’t had my own room since I was a junior in high school and I know that will feel amazing. I have never lived more than a floor away from Jackie and Hil and now they are going to be a (however, short) walk. God, it will feel good to get them back.

Things are just going to be different in general. Salzburg opened a new chapter for me in a lot of ways that will carry over into school and I don’t know how things will play out. My feelings are bouncing around so much sometimes I feel like they are going to about swallow me whole.

It is January 3^rd. I will be home in two days. Home! Yes! Yes! Yes!