Review of CSU Move-in :D

Pictures of the dorm room! Excuse the mess... :P

Alright, so I haven't been very connected to facebook and my blog lately because there has just been so much going on! But I have a free moment, so I wanted to summarize the events of the past four days.

Thursday was official move-in day for all freshmen, at least those who weren't working and got to move in early (the lucky bastards) It was chaos. Dorms opened at 8, but there were people waiting long before then, and we set out from the house at 7 to arrive at 8, but after we got through traffic, we were able to drop off all my stuff in front of the dorm around 9. When we got in, my roommate was there already. I had four people with me and so did she, so we had 10 people in the room at once, and needless to say, it was a little crowded. But eventually we conquered in shifts, and now the room looks great, thanks to the organizational skills of myself and my sister. It's great how space can be utilized to fit a lot into little space. Bins the key propellant, lots of bins. Went out to lunch with the fam, and stoped at Target to get some finishing touch supplies. Then we all packed into the auditorium for speeches from the president and vice president and other important people, which was followed by a family picnic. We ended the night with a "Carnival" involving games, and free stuff, rides, and music, but I invested most of the time in pickup games of beach volleyball. Met a lot of people which was great, and of course stayed up till about two in the morning.

Friday morning I learned that was a bad idea, because we woken up at 8 for breakfast. We had another welcome session for our individual colleges (mine being the College of Applied Human Sciences) in which we received even more speeches from the Dean and faculty, and then split up into our departments to hear from our academic adviser and tour the classroom facilities. This was a great session because I got to meet a lot of the other Interior Design majors, the people I will be spending most of my time with in classes. After that session, all the students came back together for lunch and a Street Fair, where there were tables of information for campus organizations, resources, and services. The beautiful Student Rec Center opened for two hours for just freshmen, and then after that, for the other classes. We then had an event in the evening called "Ramapalooza" where there was entertainment such as live performances, comedy, and magic shows, as well as artists, crafts, food and prizes.

Come Saturday, things began to finally slow down. This was good and bad, because we got to sleep in, but there was almost too much free time, which led to boredom. But there was the school tradition of hiking to "the A," a painted landmark that was placed on the side of the mountain when CSU were still the Aggies, an Agricultural School. They weren't allowed to remove it when they became Rams because pilots use it as a reference point. So we keep it up by repainting it ever few years, and the hike involved each person carrying up a white rock to place on the A. At 10 at night there was a "Ram Night at Super Target" which was an event in which students came to Target to buy stuff at supposed discount, but nobody actually saved that much money. But everyone did receive a couple free things, like vitamin water and other snacks.

Finally, Sunday was the most relaxed day. I just checked out the rest of Corbett and campus, and prepared for my classes the next day. Pretty chill...

I will post a first week review soon. :)...well at this point, I'll just do a review of my classes and professors/ all the exciting new things. Again, I apologize for the lateness, still settling into a routine, a lesson of managing my time better...

חַיִּים יָפִים

"Learn to...be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not."
~Henri Frederic Amiel

ONE DAY

There is ONE DAY left of my summer, ONE DAY left till I move to fort collins, ONE DAY before I become an official college student.

ONE DAY left in Boulder, the town in which I was born and raised, bred for loyalty to CU, and the place I would rather just visit, at this point. Boulder is one of the greatest cities I have ever been to, and I love it with all my heart. I just don't want to live there...anymore.......

I would say that I'm scared, like I've been saying for the past month, but at this point, my excitement overrules it. I was up there monday to help my friend move in, and I got to visit my own dorm hall, and felt a lot more comfortable. I got my textbooks, and everything felt like it was finally rolling.

More than anything, from when I picked my college, through orientation and all the visits, to now, I have known that I belong there, that I am supposed to be going there. Once you can imagine yourself in a place for the next four years, and know you'll be happy, the decision is made for you. And that's how I chose CSU.

Packing so far has been interesting. I had no idea I would need so much STUFF. It grosses me out, but I'm kind of a hypocrite, because obviously I'm indulging in it, proably bringing more than I really need. But it really is like making another home somewhere else, so I would be comforted to feel at home in a dorm room. Major problem: I feel really bad about all the money my parents have spent to buy all this STUFF, and they do it without question, because they know it's part of the process, and they love to do it. Or so they tell me. Lesson learned: just how selfless my parents are, they really are amazing people, and I love them so much. Without them, I don't know where I would be.

So, I have all these pre-perceptions of how I will react in certain potential situations, and how I will handle it, but I really will have no idea until I've expereinced it. I just hope I can stay in control and, well, sane. Let me explain:
I don't want to be the kid that changes when they go to college. I like who I am, I see nothing wrong with me, and no reason to change anything. So we'll see how I grow into my stance on self-confidence with all this reality (the world outside of high school drama and relying on people to do your shit for you and sailing through life) enveloping my view.

I'm going to miss a lot of people (you know who you are), and at the same time, this is my opportunity to avoid people that encourage an extension of high school, and meet NEW people, who haven't known me for the past 4-12 years, and are therefore passing judgement on the first impression I give off as a fresh college-student. And since we're in college, judgement shouldn't be that much of an issue considering you're ultimately more accepted, but most of all, people are really just focused on themselves. They don't care what you do. As long as you're decent. NEW is FUN. (note the capitals)

To sum everything up, going off to college: one of the coolest bittersweet crazy emotion-crazed experiences, short of college itself. It's not so much that I'm nervous anymore; I'm just cautiously aware, taking time to step to the side-lines and reevaluate before it's too late and I've lost myself in something that vandalizes my well-being, or takes me away from the important things. Which includes freaking out about college. :)

So I lied...but it's ok :)

So I thought Ellie Goulding was my last concert, but my mission trip leader from my youth group treated me to an Etown concert at the Boulder Theatre for The Civil Wars.

First, I would like to talk about the "Etown experience." I had never been to Etown before and it was quite the pleasant surprise. They're a syndicated radio' music and talk' show, broadcast on 300 stations and podcasts worldwide. It's variety featuring live music and conversation, and a lot of humor to back it. So not only do the artists play some of their music, but the host sits and asks them questions, talking to them about their origin and getting personal, so that the audience can learn fun facts that they never would have learned otherwise. It's fun to know that our applause will be heard over the radio, and even more fun to see the behind-the-scenes action that doesn't air on the 1-hour program. I might even say I like Etown more than a regular concert (plus the fact that we get to sit in a pleasant atmosphere with polite people, instead of having to mosh with drunk obnoxious groupies with the scent of weed hanging in the air.) Everything about it was beautiful and poignant.

To sum up The Civil Wars; their performance, their history, their presence: Magic. Their music grants me such joy, I can't help but smile at every note. The band is composed of a man named John Paul White and woman named Joy Williams (some of you may know her as the former Gospel singer.) I learned from the Etown interview that these two songwriters met at a songwriting conference that neither of them wanted to go to in the first place. But once their voices collided, they both new it was meant to be. They've grown since then to be so admired that Taylor Swift even brought attention to them.

John Paul White is blessed with beautiful guitar skills, Joy Williams with a natural talent on the piano, and both of them the most magnificant vocals, with wide range, perfect pitch, and glorious harmony.

The co-act was the very talented Sarah Jarosz.

She learned the mandolin when she was 10, and performed in the Telluride Film Festival when she was only 17. This budding young artist brings a modern bluegrass vibe, with her accompanying cello and fiddle. She's made it so far in the music industry in such a short amount of her time, and she is a joy to listen to, and definetly considering buying some of her music.

All in all, it was a gorgeous and memorable concert, especially being my official last last summer concert. It was a perfect way to end the summer. Only 6 days left! :O mixed emotions, it's bitter sweet, but I can't wait to begin my next adventure.

Last Last Summer Concert- Ellie Goulding

Last night, I went with my dear friend to the Ellie Goulding concert at The Ogden Theatre in Denver. When I first heard her music, I wasn't convinced. She had a strange sound, and a strange voice. But I came to realize that was what made her so awesome. For those of you who don't know Ellie Goulding, she's an English indie-folk singer, with influence of electro pop. It's unique, needless to say.

First thought when I saw her: she's freaking gorgeous. Her blond side swept hair adds so much to her look, as well as her vintage punk fashion style. And her English accent is a treat and all, but I couldn't understand a single word she said.

I've been to the Ogden a few times, first for Need To Breathe,

which was an amazing concert, as well as Matt and Kim,

a band I had never heard of but instantly fell in love with based on their stellar performance, and the fact that the male pianist Matt and female drummer Kim, the only two people making up the band, are married, in a crazy music-crazed passion for performing and having a party. I personally love, and prefer, small venues, and the Ogden sets the atmosphere for connecting the audience to the performer, and to each other, and every concert I've seen there has been a memorable experience.

A band called "Bag Raiders"

opened for her, and half the concerts I go to, the openers are always sub-par. But these guys were awesome, and by the end of their gig, I was definitely wondering who they were, and considering buying their music. I looked them up when I got home, and whatever compelled me to do so, was the product of a great performance. You should all look them up if you like this genre of music.

The whole concert was awesome. My friend informed me that it wasn't her best performance, but there was reason behind this opinion: Ellie Goulding was sick, and the signs were obvious. Each song was flawless, but in between them, she stood with her head down, holding onto the microphone stand for balance in her disoriented state. It was difficult to watch as she tried to recover herself, and even more difficult to see her exit at the end in tears. All we could think was she must be exhausted from being on her Tour, and my friend and I agreed that we wouldn't have the capacity to survive the music industry. So considering everything, the concert was fantastic.

But I realized it may be the last summer concert of the last summer of my high school years. This thought only propelled my anxiety about going off to college.

Ear piercing! :D

So I got my ear pierced yesterday a third time with one of my best friends, and his wonderful mom. The piercing is an upper snug cartiledge piercing, and I love it because 1) it looks awesome 2) it's unique, and for anyone who knows me, they know that one of my worst fears is to become a cliche, so I don't like cliche piercings.

But I wanted to get a third piercing since I got my doubles on my birthday in february. Originally I was thinking I would get my rook pierced, but I guess after thinking about it enough, and looking at enough pictures, I didn't really like the placement. But then I discovered this and instantly saw it on my own ear, and my theory did not dissapoint, I think it looks wonderful. :)

Not only that, but I feel wonderful. Not to support finding self-worth in things, but strangely enough, I feel as though this piercing has given me a renewed sense of individuality and independence. Over the past couple months, I've been in the process of moving on from past things...More particularly, one thing: the breakup. I've been dwelling on it for so long, as though there was something I could have done to preserve a relationship that in the back of my mind, I wasn't willing to acknowledge was detremental to my own sense of self, the expectations I had for a strong relationship, and how I wanted to live my life. I would miss him, and the relationship, almost every day.

But I woke up the morning after the piercing, and I no longer had a connection to the past relationship. I thought to myself that this couldn't be right, and thought back to all the moments I had missed so dearly just days ago. There was no emotional connection. Somehow my mind was able to just recognize the entire thing as exactly what it was: something that happened in my past, that was a time of good memories, but that the aftershock of which, didn't need to be part of my future. All of a sudden, it wasn't something to mourn over. It was just...an event. A moment in time. And so I was overcome with a sense of complete peace, and in my perspective, closure. It was so refreshing, and the most comfortable I had felt in a while.

The most amazing thing? The man that pierced my ear, Julz, had been telling me and my friends that some people find a lot of healing in piercing; people who have just lost their jobs will come and get something pierced in reaction. But when he told us this, I in no manner applied it to myself. I saw it as an interesting fact, but I NEVER thought that something this simple would have such a positive impact on my emotional state.

It was quite possibly the most excruciating extended pain I've gone through, I can't sleep on the left side of my head, and cleaning it only makes it hurt worse. Trying to dull with lots of advil. But it's beautiful, and I would do it all over again, no regrets, the pain is worth it, and I love it.

To remind you all again: I did not get this piercing in response to anything that happened to me in some impulse-driven adventure. I wanted another piercing for a long time, and this seemed the opportune moment, to end the summer the right way before I headed off for college.

Hope you all like it as well!

חַיִּים יָפִים

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not percieve it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
~ Isaiah 43:18-19

BOOK LIST

I'm a VERY slow reader...and I'm picky. If the book doesn't keep my interest, I probably won't finish it. But I would like to share with you my thus-far list of favorite books, as well of a list of the books I plan to read. Which will probably be added to...and will take a LONG time to get through.

Favorites:

1.       Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

2.       Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata

3.       The Green Glass Sea by Ellen Klages

4.       The Shack by William P. Young

5.       The Help by Kathryn Stockett

6.       Life of Pi by Yann Martel

7.       Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

8.       The Giver by Lois Lowry

9.       Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

10.   The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Plan to read:

1.       The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

2.       Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

3.       The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

4.       Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

5.       Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

6.       The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

7.       The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson

8.       The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid

9.       The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

10.   Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Bittersweet

So I woke up this morning to the realization that I won't be sleeping in this bed in 17 days. I won't have my bedroom, my house, my neighborhood, my city, everything I've grown up in and settled into because it was comfortable. So obviously this realization was very uncomfortable, and in my sleep-induced subconscious state, I gripped my bed, burying my head deeper into my pillow, as though it were going to be taken out from under me.

And yet it's exciting. New bed, new bedroom, new campus, new city. Everything new. I don't necessarily oppose change, but I don't know if I sponsor it either. I think I try my best to just go with the flow and adapt, but I also try not to forget the former state of things before the change. Every big event still has a place in my heart. Whether I choose to acknowledge the bad things and let them define my existence, that's a whole other battle on its own. But made easy by the fact that I don't have to feel guilty or ashamed. Going off to college is not a bad thing. :)

So this bittersweet reality becomes more and more prevalent in my perspective, suffocating the carefree ignorance I allow myself every summer. And though I have most everything done, registered for classes, dorm supplies bought, got laptop, met roommate, (via facebook of course, it's the only way to communicate now don't you know?) I still feel unprepared for the lifestyle change that awaits me, considering I'm very comfortable with being comfortable. And there's future things to think about, like GETTING A JOB, paying off debts, balancing school work and social life.

Responsibility- what a pain in the ass ;) other conclusion of the day: I hate money.

חַיִּים יָפִים

"To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation." ~Yann Martel