Today I went to Science which got out early, and my UW20 class was cancelled, which meant I got to nap during the time I would have been in that class. I went to the library around 3:30 until 5:15 with Leah, and then we went with Stef to get dinner (I got Chinese food sooo good). Then after that I came back to the room around 6:30 and worked on a paper due for Journalism tomorrow until 11:30. Now I have science problems that are due tomorrow which should take some more time. So yeah, today wasn't really that much fun unfortunately. Stef is watching High School Musical 3, I am very jealous. I want to go watch but I have to do these problems. Sigh. If only college was as easy as high school.

On Saturday night after I went out to dinner with Maddie, Pat, Tommy and Elise, me Pat and Maddie went back to Maddie's house to watch a movie. On Sunday I left for school around 11 and got here at noon. It was so weird because the dorm building was all empty, I felt so lonely. Most people didn't start arriving until 7 that night. I did lots of homework, went out to dinner with Leah, and went to bed early.

Today I got back my journalism take-home midterm and I got a 91.25% on it, which I should be happy about but I had 100% in the class so I wanted to keep that average. Oh well, c'est la vie. I got full extra credit in Sociology so I automatically am boosted up a full letter grade after the average of my 3 exams is taken. I've been working on this science project since class ended today. This project has seriously taken me like 2 weeks and I'm only making 3 powerpoint slides. I went out to dinner with Leah, Colin, Maddie, Krista, and Abby and I had delicious mashed potatoes which made me miss Thanksgiving break. Now I'm back in the dorm still doing homework. Ah I feel like I'm always working on schoolwork.

I bought the David Archuleta Christmas cd "Christmas from the Heart". It is amazing. Seriously. I love it.

Hanging out with Jarrett and Emily.

In Philadelphia in front of a huge Christmas tree there.

With all of my friends at school when Maddie (next to me in the blue) came to visit.

With Madilyn and Maddie before Maroon 5

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. On the 13th Madilyn came to visit and we went with my other friend Maddie from school to see the band Maroon 5 perform at GW in our basketball arena. They were SOO good and we were really close, like 3 rows of standing people away from them. So she slept over, and then on Saturday night my friend Maddie from Severna Park and her friend came to visit for the night but they didn't sleep over. I don't think a lot happened last week. I got a 94% on my second Sociology exam so I'm going into the third and final exam with an A- average, plus I just turned in a bunch of extra credit so I should be good. I do have a lot of upcoming work though-- a 12 page paper for my Uw20, the third Sociology exam, and a final Science poster presentation are all on the 7th. Then the 14th or 15th I have a Journalism final to turn in and a final Criminal Justice exam. But then I come home for Christmas break!

Anyways, last Friday I went to a Youth Summit for my YMCA volunteering program, so I just helped with making sure it ran smoothly. Then that night I had a delicious dinner with people from my UW20 class and my professor through this Honors Program thing where the professors take us to dinner and they went to the Newseum before but I couldn't go to that part because of homework and I went last month. So dinner was delicious. And then that night I wasn't doing anything and Colleen wasn't either so she came over and me, her, Becca, Colin, and Leah watched the movie "Waitress"(it's really good go see it) and she slept over. The next day/night I didn't do much either besides homework.

So my Dad picked me up on Tuesday at 4 from school and I got back around 6 and just hung out with the family. On Wednesday I went out to breakfast with Madilyn, then went to go see "New Moon" with Emily. It's this movie about Vampires and Werewolves and the boys they picked to play the vampire and werewolf are super amazing looking so I loved the movie. Then I went out to dinner with my friend Joanna and then that night Colleen came over. On Thursday I went to Philly with my parents and Emily and it was a cool city, we did shopping and all of that both days. For Thanksgiving dinner we went to a seafood restaurant that was really good, I had shrimp and crabcakes and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie it was heavenly. So we got back around 2 on Friday and then I hung out with Jarrett for a couple of hours. That night I just stayed in and did homework (I know, homework over a break how terrible I was not excited). Today I got a facial with my mom at a salon oh my god it was so relaxing it felt so good. Then I came back and hung out with Madilyn for a couple of hours. Now I'm doing homework and tonight I'm going out for sushi with Maddie, Elise, Tommy, and Pat so I'm excited to see all of them.

So, the question I'm asking everyone right now is: who do you think the entertainer of the decade (2000-2009) is? I say Britney Spears, but I've also heard Beyonce and Justin Timberlake. I read some magazine article about this so I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks.

This morning I woke up at 10 because I don't have class until 12:45. I watched TV, went to lunch with Leah, then had Criminal Justice and my UW20. After that I came back to my dorm and didn't do much. I had dinner with Leah, Becca, and Colin, then I came back again and I've been working on Science research for a project thing due on Tuesday on and off since then. It's been raining and cold all day it was so nasty out.

I probably should be doing more work since I have a Science quiz and midterm due Monday, this research due tuesday, and a Sociology exam on Wednesday. Plus Madilyn is coming on Friday and Maddie and her friend are coming Saturday so I won't have much time to do it then. However, I enjoy procrastinating. It will all get done eventually.

Anyways, so I'm taking an informal poll. I want to study abroad in Sydney my Junior year spring semester. But should I also do a Fall Semester in London? Thoughts/Comments/Emails are greatly appreciated!

I'm really hungry right now. I'm trying to resist the urge to eat a bagel and thus start a bad cycle that would make me gain the Freshman 15. But it's really hard. I'll probably just go to sleep.

Friday night I stayed in and didn't do anything. Saturday I went out to lunch with Colleen at Cosi (really good sandwich shop) near the Metro Center Stop. Then I came back, took a nap, did some homework, then went out although it wasn't really that fun. Sunday I woke up at 2 and did more homework and whatnot. Monday night I watched "Legally Blonde" with Leah, Stef, and Krista and last night we watched "Match Point." Last night I had dinner with Leah and Irene. Tonight I went to this thing called Freshman Feast where they serve you a ridiculous amount of food for really cheap at J-Street (our cafeteria) with my friend Irene and Krista and Abby. We're probably all gonna watch another movie tonight just because none of us has a lot of work to do.

Songs I like: Written All Over My Face, and Let It Rain by Kris Allen (links at the bottom of the page)

Ok just kidding I'm not discontinuing my blog anymore! Sorry for the scare.

Me and Leah with our House Proctor Geoff. We were all wearing black peacoats! (Thursday)

Me and Leah in front of the Washington Monument. The guy taking this picture tried to be all professional and get good "angles" and lighting it was hilarious.

When I fell off the chair in the hallway....so embarrassing that it was captured on film.

On Halloween with my friends Maddie and Colin. They dressed up as "Sims" which are these computer game characters that have green diamonds above their heads. Very creative costumes. So here we are all "interacting" with each other like Sims do.

On Halloween-Leah dressed up as our friend Colin (yes that's his shirt and glasses), Becca was a tourist and I was a cowgirl.

Friday before Halloween- me and Leah as moms and Colin and Becca as Waldos from "Where's Waldo."

Me and Leah as hot moms.

Me, Krista, and Stef as pirates on the Thursday before Halloween (PS I was wearing bike shorts under my outfit so it wasn't really that short).

So Halloween was pretty fun. I dressed up as a cowgirl. This week I've been a bum and haven't been doing much work. Thursday one of my classes was cancelled and my other one all we did was watch the movie "12 Angry Men" about a jury and it was actually pretty good even though it was in Black and White and I didn't know any actors in it. I got a 92% on my Criminal Justice Exam which is good but that means I need to get like 96% on the final to get an A and not an A-. I registered for classes today at 7am although it didn't work until 9 which was a pain. Here's what my schedule looks like:

MONDAY

Into to News Writing and Reporting 9:35-10:50

Social Psychology 12:45-2

TUESDAY

Honors Science 9-10:50

Honors UW20 Writing 12:45-2

Intro to Political Communication 2:20-3:35

WEDNESDAY

Into to News Writing and Reporting 9:35-10:50

Social Psychology 12:45-2

THURSDAY

Honors Science 9-10:50

Honors UW20 Writing 12:45-2

Intro to Political Communication 2:20-3:35

FRIDAY

UW20 Discussion (rarely have this though) 12:45-1:35

It's a pretty good schedule, I don't have any 8ams which is wonderful. Hopefully on Fridays I can work a lot to make up for not doing work study this semester, since I know I will rarely actually have discussion that day (this semester I technically have a Friday class that has been held twice so far for UW20).

Anyways, yesterday Anna's mom came to visit! She was in DC visiting family and doing volunteer stuff this week so she stopped by my dorm and took me out to lunch. I'm so happy that I got to see her and hear how everything is going with her and their family. Last night me, Becca, Maddie, and Leah were bored so we took this rolling chair that we have and tried racing on it in the hallway. It was fun and we even got Maddie to do it blindfolded. Unfortunately I took quite the spill while running with it then trying to hop on on my stomach. I didn't really get hurt other than some minor rug burns but it was pretty funny. Then me and Leah were bored again so at 11 we walked to the Washington monument and hung out there but it was really windy so we didn't stay too long.

Today I went out to lunch with Stef and our friend Abby and then we went to Safeway for grocery shopping. Not too exciting. Then I came back and napped until 4, then skyped (webcam chatted on the computer) with Erin for like 45 minutes. Now I'm doing homework and working on this project that I should have been working all week but slacked off on. Ughh. I don't even think I'm going out tonight I'm not in the mood at all. Seriously this whole week I've been watching Disney movies on Youtube (The Lion King, Aladdin: Return of Jafar, Mulan, etc.) and sleeping. I don't have any concrete homework it's just long-term stuff and readings which I hate working on when they're not due the next day. Ok now I'm gonna go actually do stuff.

Happy Halloween!

Wednesday I went to my volunteering job in Northeast, then I came back and studied all night for Criminal Justice. Thursday I took my exam and it wasn't too bad, I think I got a B+ or higher. I got my research paper back in UW20 and I got an A-! Yayyy. Thursday night I went to a pirate party that wasn't very fun but I got to dress like a pirate. Yesterday I took 2 naps, and I caught up on all of my TV shows that I've missed. Then I got dressed up for Friday night. Leah and I were "hot moms" and we went out with our friends. It wasn't that much fun though. Hopefully actual Halloween night will be fun. I'm in the library right now I'm supposed to be doing homework but I thought I'd update this. Happy Halloween everyone!

So yesterday after lunch and class I went to the library from 3:30-6 to study for my Criminal Justice exam that's on Thursday. I still have like 50 pages left to read so I'm not too excited for that. Then I went out to get thai food with my friends Irene, Kristin and Dean. It was delicious and I ate half in the restaurant and then of course I ate the rest when I got back to my dorm. then I came back and I was supposed to do more reading but I just ended up going on the computer and talking to Stef and not doing work. Bleh. I just got back from my Science lab so I'm gonna catch up on reading for my UW20 (writing class) and go get lunch with leah at some point.

Hi everyone sorry I haven't written in so long. So I'll try to sum everything up. Two weeks ago (12th-16th) I had sooo much work. I had a journalism paper due, Sociology midterm, and Writing research paper due all within a day of each other so I was really busy. On Thursday night I even went to the library from 9pm-1am and basically survived on 2 drinks from Starbucks. That friday (16th) around noon I took the metro back to Severna Park to visit for the first time since coming to school. It was Parent's Weekend here and my parents have seen my school before so there was no point in them coming here. Plus nobody would be around to hang out at GW since their families were here. And I missed everyone at home, especially Ace and Chip. So I went home, saw my family, hung out with Spencer and got all of the news about what's been going on at my high school and everything, ate dinner with my parents, and then hung out with Madilyn Friday night. On Saturday morning I went to Einstein's Bagels with Erin so I got to catch up with her which was great because I really missed her. Then I went over to the toy store where I use to work (they changed the name but the same people work there) and I caught up with everyone there. Then I went out to lunch with my mom and Madilyn and her mom. Then I went home, took a nap on my couch which I missed, then went shopping with my parents. They bought me lots of shoes and a nice pea coat which I really really needed. Then Saturday night I didn't really do anything and I loved just getting to relax and go to sleep early and sleep in my own bed. Sunday morning I hung out with Madilyn again, then I packed everything and got back to GW around 5.

So Monday (19th) I did nothing because I barely had any work to do this week. Well I had to get a TB test with Leah because of my volunteering jobs I thought but it turns out I actually didn't have to. So that was sort of pointless. Tuesday I went and ate dinner with my friends Irene and Kristin at J-Street, then I went to Pentagon City for the first time (well I might have been before I'm not sure, but definitely not while at GW) with my friend Koushaw. It was such a nice mall I definitely want to go back sometime, although I don't want to spend any money I just want to look. Wednesday after school I started one of my volunteering jobs. I went to a Northeast DC high school to go help with this mock-government program. I was kind of nervous riding the metro by myself and navigating a part of DC I hadn't been to before but it ended up being easy to find. I'm really excited about it and definitely looking forward to helping out each week. That night I had a meeting in the library with my science group to work on a project about Wind Energy that we're doing instead of a Final Exam for our science class. Thursday my friend Spencer came to visit because he's applying to GW early decision so he came with me to my criminal justice and writing classes. The morning before classes we went to the Washington monument and sat and just people watched everyone on the mall and all the kids there for field trips. He left around 4:30, and then that night I had another Sociology extra credit movie/lecture thing. On Friday, my no class day, I cleaned my bed/desk/dresser areas because they were getting really really messy. Then I started my second volunteering job where I went to a Rec Center in Southeast DC to help tutor and play with the kids. I don't know how it's going to work out because the only days I can do it are Fridays but sometimes I have class on Friday during the time I would go so it's still up in the air whether I can definitely do it.

So after I came back from that I left for Severna Park around 5 on Friday. Friday night I came home and hung out with the family, ate pizza, went out to Maggie Moos (ice cream, so healthy I know) with Emily and we just hung out. Then Saturday morning I went out to breakfast with my friend Lauren, went shopping with Emily and got Chipotle (Mexican food) for lunch, then went over to Madilyn's for a little bit, then came back to help set up for Mana and Pa's anniversary party that we were having. Then everyone came over around 4 so I got to see all of my family and everyone and it was really fun. Then that night I just hung out with my parents and Emily. Sunday morning I went over to Madilyn's, then we got Starbucks and hung out. Then I came back, packed, and left around 4. I got back to GW and did some homework, laundry, and that was pretty much it. I had 2 classes this morning and now I'm in my room and I should be studying/doing stuff for my next class but I'm tempted to go to the bookstore and buy clothes. Hmm. And go get lunch.

I almost forgot but David Archuleta's new Christmas cd came out last week! It's called "Christmas from the Heart." Go buy it!!!!!

i got an A on my journalism midterm and criminal justice exam that counts for 1/3 of my grade! woop woop

Maddie, Maddie, Becca, Colin, and Me at the rally by the Capital

Me and Maddie before the march

Leah and Jarrett at Crepeaway

Me and Jarrett at Crepeaway

Monday I had to do my 4 year plan with my honors program coordinator. Now I'm thinking of studying abroad. I want to do a spring semester my junior year in sydney, australia. i have enough elective space for it so now i'm definitely considering doing it. monday and tuesday i was really sick again, just with a sore throat so wednesday i went to student health services but by then i was feeling better. let me tell you, they charge WAY too much there. i am now pro-universal health care just because of that experience. even though we have insurance i now understand how much it sucks to have to pay a lot to go see the doctor for 2 minutes. i also had a college democrats meeting that night. thursday my advisor lady took me and another girl out to lunch at bertucci's so that was delicious. friday i had a meeting with this tutoring thing i'm doing through the honors program where you go to innercity dc schools and tutor kids. im doing another volunteer program through the YMCA but that's this high school mock-government type of thing so hopefully those two won't conflict with each other. friday night i went out to indian food with 2 friends and then i hung out with people in my room until 5, so needless to say i was really really tired on saturday. saturday during the day i did homework and then at night Jarrett came to visit me. me him and leah went to crepeaway (a really good crepe restuarant) and we hung out in my dorm. today i went to the march for equality which is this huge gay rights march in dc. i met up with Maddie and her friends from UMD-College Park and we marched for 2 hours. then we met up with some of my friends at this rally there, but we ended up heading back early because we all had a ton of homework to do. Ugh i have 2 papers and a mid-term this week. woohoooo. and if i don't have class on friday i'm coming home to Severna Park thursday afternoon until sunday.

So Wednesday I had my journalism midterm and I rocked that. Then I rocked my Criminal Justice exam on Thursday. Or so I think. They were both pretty easy. But I also studied really hard. I'm still recovering from my illness, ugh. Yesterday Geoff (my House Proctor) took some people from my floor to the Newseum. It was so cool, we did one of those interactive news stories where you go in front of the green screen and read off of the TelePrompter. Maddie came to visit last night and she slept over, and then we went to College Park today for lunch. I just got Starbucks which was delicious. Now I'm studying boo.

Today I woke up really sick! I had a sore throat yesterday but last night I could barely sleep and I woke up all sickly, like chills, mild fever, etc. I still went to classes though because I have a Journalism midterm on Wednesday and a Criminal Justice exam on thursday that counts for 1/3 of my grade. I also had a meeting today with my UW20 teacher to better understand the assignment for a paper due next month and he answered questions about the class, etc. After that I went home at 3 and napped until 6:30. I woke up, went to J Street (cafeteria) with Colin and I got Chik-fil-a for the first time this school year. Oh my god it was so good. Then I came back to my dorm and I've been working on homework pretty much since I got back. I'm sad because Michael Moore is coming tomorrow to speak and I can't see him because I have class grrr.

Wednesday was very busy! I had a nice lunch with Aunt Jill after class and we got Bertucci's and it was delicious and after that she came back and met my roommates and saw my dorm. That night I went to see Walter Mondale speak in the SMPA building. We watched an hour long documentary about his life and then he was interviewed on stage. I wanted to meet him after but the line was really long so I didn't get a chance to talk to him. On Thursday I got dinner with my friend from one of my honors classes and then we went to this Extra Credit sociology thing where we had to watch a video about Jackie Robinson and listen to a guest lecture about him. My sociology teacher loves Jackie Robinson so for extra credit we have to go to 3 of these lectures about him. Ugh. They're really boring but if you go to all 3 and write a 5 page paper about it you get a full letter grade up (like B+ to an A+) so it's definitely worth it. On Friday morning I stood in line for an hour to get Maroon 5 concert tickets because they're coming to our school in November and I'm going with Madilyn to see them. Then I went to Mana and Pa's house to pick up some clothes that my parents dropped off there for me a couple weeks ago so it was nice to see them. Then that night I went out with a group of friends which was fun. Saturday I went with a couple friends to the National Book Festival on the Mall but it was raining and there were tons of crowds so we didn't really do anything there, we left after like half an hour. Then I slept and did a bit of homework. Last night I watched "Juno" and "Knocked Up" with a lot of kids on my floor it was really fun. I woke up this morning at 12:45 ahh so late. Then I went with Leah to get Starbucks, did laundry, worked on some homework, and just ate cake because Geoff (our RA) made it for our floormate's birthday. Now I'm doing more homework of course.

Oh and this week I got a 98% on my first Science test and A- on my writing paper! Yayyy

With my friend Abby in my dorm

David Plouffe speaking

With Colin in front of the stage where David Plouffe was

David Plouffe

With Madilyn in front of a pretty fountain near campus

Ingrid Michaelson playing the ukelele at her concert

With Colleen outside of the 930 club

Hello everyone! Sorry that I haven't written in a week but I'm so busy that it's hard to find time. I'll try to summarize what I've been up to as best as I can. I don't remember a lot about Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday night I went with Stef, Colin, and Abby to this Political Mentors club where you help DC high school students with a political program and skills like debate, speechwriting, etc. We got free pizza there and the guy who started Students for Obama spoke, which was really cool. He was a really interesting guy who started when he was a GW freshman running this program and he eventually got to talk to Obama's advisors and was a huge part of his campaign. Then I went to a meeting of College Democrats and we had Freshman elections for representatives which is a big deal in the club. Thursday I went out to eat with some friends at a place called Froggy Bottom Pub which reminded me of Bill Bateman's in Severna Park, it's just like cheap burgers and sandwiches. Then I rushed home (I literally power walked) to watch the premiere of The Office and Survivor. I love television, what can I say. And I don't watch a lot in college so I feel like I can watch those shows. On Friday my only class was cancelled so I did homework in the morning. Then around 3 Colleen came to visit me, and I showed her all around campus and my dorm. We went out to eat dinner at Cosi (a sandwich shop near campus) then went to the 930 club to see Ingrid Michaelson perform. She's this folk-pop singer who is extremely talented and was so so good live. The show started at 6 and ended at 9 (she had an opening guitar player guy who was good) so after it was over I went with Colleen back to Catholic U where she goes and she showed me around her dorm and campus and I got to meet a lot of her friends there. Then I took a cab ride home, but it was $17 so I probably should have taken the chance of getting mugged on the metro to save money. But it was fun, and I haven't been in a car in almost a month which was weird to think about. On Saturday Madilyn came to visit and I did the campus tour and dorm tour with her and then we got Potbelly's Sandwiches for lunch (I eat a lot of sandwiches I know) and walked around DC and explored. Then I rode back with her to New Carrolton so we could hang out and talk on the metro ride and then I rode back right when we got there. That night I went out with Colin and Abby to explore Dupont Circle and that was fun. Sunday I didn't do much except work on a journalism paper that was due today and studied for my first quiz for Science. Today I turned in my paper, took my quiz which I think was pretty easy so hopefully I did well. Then I went to go study with Colin at University Yard (our little quad aka one block of grass) but it turned into people watching so I had to go back to the dorm to actually get work done. Then I went with Colin and my friend Krista to see David Plouffe speak in the School of Media and Public Affairs building. He was Obama's campaign advisor and was a really really interesting speaker. Then I came back around 9, talked on the phone with Anna until 11 and then just finished my homework for tomorrow.

Stef, Colin, Leah, Me, Jerome, and Abby (all live on our floor) during our "Friends" marathon

Me, Leah, and Stef before the Sean Kingston concert

Me and Leah during Fall Fest

So I did a lot of stuff this week, as always. college is so busy, i feel like i'm doing things 24/7. I went to a College Democrats meeting tuesday which was so exciting. there's like 500+ kids in the club, an entire ballroom was filled up with people. and they get the best speakers--hilary clinton and robert gates are coming next month, walter mondale is coming at the end of september, and howard dean and david plouffe are coming too. wednesday i met with my advisor to talk about classes, it wasn't really that helpful she just asked me how everything was going. that night i had a meeting for people in my department (School of Media and Public Affairs) which was actually really interesting. we were introduced to all of the faculty and a student who graduated from the school came to talk to us about the program.

Yesterday was Freshman Day of Service. our school started this community service day on 9/11 for freshman to help out in the DC area. yesterday my group went to anacostia watershed to help with the forest there. we had to weed out english ivy from the woods. it was hard work and i got 2 bee stings but it was still sort of fun i guess. it was a good bonding experience. then i got back and went to a bbq and community service org fair to learn more about volunteer work and a lot of the clubs here sound like fun so i definitely want to join some. i took a nap for 3 hours after that and then i woke up at 9. so then i hung out with my friends and then we went to a comedy show at midnight at my school. it was this improv troupe that wasn't very good but whatever. then we went to the washington monument which looks really cool at night and i've never been up close to it so that was a first for me. today i went shopping in georgetown with my friends and got a cute shirt for $10 so i was happy because i hate spending money. then i came back, got chinese food for dinner and ate that in my room with my roommates. then we got ice cream and ate that too (so healthy, i know). i just talked to Maddie on the phone for a while and now people are in my room watching a movie but i'm probably gonna study because i have a lot of work to do. i have a 5 page paper due tuesday for my writing class blehh.

Saturday my parents came to bring me my new cell phone and took me and all of my roommates out to lunch which was very yummy. That afternoon was my school's FallFest which was on our quad and there was free food and free posters. At 7 this rapper named Sean Kingston performed but he left early because people started throwing glowsticks at him. It was really lame. Then I got frozen yougurt with people and I came home and I was really worn out so I didn't really do anything that night. Sunday I did work all day, I didn't even leave my room until 6. Then I went to get stuff I need from CVS, and then went to get dinner crepes with people. It was delicious. Then we walked to Dupont Circle but got caught in the rain so we took the metro home. Then we came back and had a pajama party in my room with a bunch of people on our floor including our House Proctor (like an RA) who we love. He brought over Peach Cobbler and makes brownies and cookies for us so we love him. We had a "Friends" marathon with episodes from the first season. Today I went out with my friends to get Cosi which has really good sandwiches, I've never been before. Now I'm in my room doing homework.

Me, Leah, and Stef (I had just gotten back from the gym, hence my sweaty face/ugly outfit)

Wednesday I have the same schedule as Monday so I went to those classes. I had lunch with this girl from my honors class so I was happy that I didn't have to eat alone in the cafeteria. I got Subway for dinner, went to the library to work on my paper, and came back to type up my paper, and just hung out with Leah because everyone else was at Target buying stuff (GW does this late night Target shopping trip at the beginning of the year but I didn't really need anything).

Yesterday I woke up early to read for Criminal Justice, then I ate lunch in the cafeteria with Leah, then I had class from 12:45-3:35. After class I came back, took a nap for an hour, then I went to Chiptole (it's like a Subway but for Mexican food) with Stef and some other girls. It was delicious but really filling. Then I came back and hung out with Leah, Stef, and Colin who lives across the hall from us (I call him our 5th roommate because he's always in our room). So anyways that was all fun. We also hung out with our House Proctor who is really cool. He has an oven in his room so he made cookies and we ate those so that was exciting.

Today my only class got cancelled so all I had to do was get up at 9 to go to an Honors Advising session. They had so much food there so I got pastries for later, it's great. Now I'm catching up on all my reading and homework.

Monday was my first day of classes. I woke up at 7 am to get ready for my 8am journalism class. my roommate is also in that class with me so hopefully we'll be able to motivate each other to get up early. That class is actually my favorite so far, which i'm happy about because otherwise it would be really really hard to pay attention so early in the morning. there's only 30 kids in it. My honors science class is nice because none of the kids in it (theres only 20) are science/math/engineering majors. my teacher even said that it's a really easy science class and all you have to do is pay attention. we spent time in class making nametags and playing get to know you games so i don't think it will be too hard. then i had my sociology class which was more intimidating because there's 90 people in it and there's more upperclassmen. plus our grades are only based on 3 tests. but the teacher seems fair and you can get extra credit very easily so hopefully it won't be too bad. after class on monday i went to the gym with leah and stef and then we went out to eat dinner with some of our friends at Potbelly's which has delicious sandwiches. after that i tried studying but people kept filtering in and out of room which got to be sort of annoying. so now all of us agree to keep our door shut after class unless we're not working.

today i had my lab this morning for my science class. i hate science labs so i thought it would be hard but a TA teaches it who's a junior at GW and he's really nice and funny and we spent most of class learning to do excel spreadsheets which i learned in like sophomore year of high school. and we got out of class 20 minutes early. then i had lunch with leah and our friend oscar. after that i had criminal justice which looks promising because our professor showed us clips from The Daily Show. there's 140 kids in the class though. after that i went with oscar to go get this extra sociology book but it was really embarrassing because when we were coming out of the bookstore i tripped and fell on the sidewalk on I street which is in the business section so all these people in suits were staring at me. and i banged up my knees really badly and now they hurt. so that was not fun. after that i went to my honors writing class which has only 15 kids but it seems really intense; i have to read some book/article thing by plato and write a paper on it by thursday ahh. however my prof did say that most fridays we won't have class so i'll usually have a 3-day weekend! so after that class i went to subway and me and leah got $5 footlongs but mine was somehow $6.50....i dont know how that happened. and i was gonna save half for tomorrow but i ate it all. oops. then i just stayed in my room doing homework and reading but i've been procrastinating somewhat by calling my friends from home (i talked to erin and jarrett on the phone for half an hour each). but i'll get it all done. i'm living off of citrus green tea bottles for caffiene i've had 3 today and i might break out another one to get through my reading. i need sleep this weekend. i love college but i don't like studying.

Dorm Room Pics

my bed (left) and becca's bed

Becca sitting on her bed and her desk

Leah's desk, dresser, closet, Stef's dresser, TV, full fridge, and my closet

Middle section of the room

Stef's bed, my bed, Becca's bed

Chair, bathroom door, my desk, Leah's bed, and Leah's desk

my bed

my bed

posters, pictures, and foam letters and bubble stickers above my bed

my dresser, photo collage, and poster above my bed

First College Post

Hey everyone! So I'm all settled into my dorm room, which is HUMONGOUS. I'm not kidding you or exaggerating at all--at least 30 times a day people either make comments or come inside just to tell us how big it is. It's definitely the biggest one in my dorm building, which houses half the freshman class (1000 freshman). It's fantastic and I'm extremely happy that I was put in here. My roommates are great too. I met Becca at orientation so we already knew each other (she's from Texas) and my other two roommates are Leah (she's from Damascus) and Stef (from outside Philly). I get along with them really really well, we've definitely had our roommate bonding times. Yesterday after moving in around 10 it took my parents a couple of hours to help set up my computer and put my clothes away and whatnot. Then we went out to lunch, they came back to do some more work and then they left which was sad. That day I went to a GW volleyball tournament at American University with my friend from orientation and then I had a floor meeting with my house proctor who is really cool. Then we had a house meeting for the first four floors of my building. Last night we just got to meet more people in our building and hung out with them.

Today I woke up and went to Mana and Pa's house to get one of my textbooks, then I went back to campus to pick up my other books at the school store. Then Leah and I went to Johnny Rocket's for lunch which was delicious. After that we had convocation and then we got free burgers and ice cream on our quad (well, not really a quad but the biggest patch of grass we have around here). Around 6 we went back to our dorm and until now we've just had people weaving in and out of our room. It's funny because we leave our door open so that people will stop by and make a comment about the size and then we just invite them in so we can meet people. It's really fun! I have an 8 am class tomorrow though so I need to get some sleep for that.

So I've been babysitting all week and getting more stuff for school and for my dorm room. Today was my last hangout with Maddie and Colleen because they're both leaving tomorrow. Nothing else has been going on really, I'll update later when there's more stuff to write about.

Summer Pictures!

Thought I'd post some pictures from the summer. They go from newest to oldest.

Me and Ellie playing on my new Macbook Pro laptop

In front of the Maryland State House in Annapolis (yes, I use to work there)

Me and Colleen on her boat, right before we went tubing on the Severn river

Me and Madilyn in front of an old house-turned-restaurant right after we went swimming in the Chesapeake Bay

Emily, Me, Anna (my best friend who lives in North Carolina), and her sister Emma on the beach when we stayed with them in Bethany in July

The whole family at the beach house in Bethany

Rob, Emily, me and Jarrett in front of the Washington Monument in DC for the 4th of July

Me, Bri (Anna's friend from NC), Anna, Jarrett, Colleen in Disney World posing with a Power Ranger (....not even sure if that's a Disney Character) during Senior Week right after graduation.

Special Post

Hello everyone! This isn't a usual update on my life but a special post. Some of you may know this but in December 2007 a girl from my high school that I worked with committed suicide. She was an amazing person and extremely well-liked at my school so obviously it was a huge tragedy for my school and community. Anyways, it was her birthday a couple of days ago and I was thinking about her and how suicide has really had a negative impact on my school (I think 5 or 6 kids in the last three years that went to my school killed themselves). So I was thinking that it would be a nice gesture for everyone reading this to just take some time from their day to tell somebody how much they love and appreciate them. Small acts of kindness really do make a difference for people! Thanks!

Thursday in the morning I went shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond with Mom and we got a ton of stuff for college. It was mostly toiletries and things like that although we did get a couple of storage bins for my room. Then that afternoon my friend Erin came over and we hung out for a couple hours. I didn't really do anything that night worth noting.

Yesterday I babysat from 10-2 for my neighbors. It was easy, the kids were really sweet and we got to watch "iCarly" which is always a plus. I didn't do much after that either (everyone's gone, so I don't have anyone to hang out with!). I did get around to making a photo collage for my dorm room with pictures of my friends and family. Oh and my posters that I ordered came, that made me happy.

This morning I went to Wal-Mart with Dad and Madilyn to get extra dorm stuff, school supplies, etc. It was exciting because we never go to Wal-Mart and it is the best place to see all types of dysfunctional families. It's great. We went back to my house and watched some TV and then I took a nap, went over to Madilyn's a little bit more, and then I went to go babysit. I got to watch more iCarly there too. I love babysitting kids that have the same taste in television shows as I do.

Sorry I don't have more to write but my life hasn't been too exciting lately. I'm just hanging out with people who are still here and getting stuff for college. Oh, I'm actually making some good progress on "Hot Flat & Crowded", I read a lot tonight while I was babysitting. It actually is getting a lot more interesting, I kind of like it. As for music, right now I'm just waiting for the new Colbie Caillat cd to come out on Tuesday! I'm so excited she's one of my favorite singers, she plays beachy chill music that I like.

(Beautiful penguin paint-by-numbers done by moi.)

Ugh I am still really sick!! It's so weird, it goes on and off. Like Sunday I was too sick to do anything. Monday I was fine, and then yesterday and today I've felt really bad. It's terrible, I had to turn down a babysitting job tonight which I hate doing because I really need money. And there couldn't be a worse time for me to be sick, considering that I need to be running around getting stuff ready for moving day.

So yesterday I went shopping with my mom for dorm stuff. I got really cute foam letters in my initials and these colorful bubble letters that can stick on my walls. And they match my bedding! I'm obsessed with making my room cute and colorful, my bedding is pink/green plaid and my sheets are green and white striped with pink flamingos...they cannot get any preppier. Woohoo I'm super excited to start decorating! And yesterday I ordered two posters for my room, here's the links to them:

http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?startat=/getposter.asp&APNum=1813771&CID=31C1B982F1214DB69734844CF32AC8ED&PPID=1&Search=andy%20warhol%20quotes&f=t&FindID=0&P=1&PP=44&sortby=PD&c=c&page=1

http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?startat=/getposter.asp&APNum=1813847&CID=31C1B982F1214DB69734844CF32AC8ED&PPID=1&Search=marilyn%20monroe%20andy%20warhol&f=t&FindID=0&P=1&PP=4&sortby=PD&c=c&page=1

I like celebrities plus they match the color scheme. I'm planning on hanging them up above my desk, maybe framing them, and putting them next to this yellow framed colorful drawing of my name that my best friend Anna made for me (she's an amazing artist). I'm not sure how much space I'll have in a quad though, I'm not even bringing any full size posters. I want to get some frames for some more pictures to put on my desk too.

Anyways so at Marshall's I also got towels and a bathmat, and at Michael's I bought a penguin paint-by-numbers because whenever I go to Michael's I get paint by numbers, they're my guilty pleasure. I finished it today, and it's lovely, as you can see by the picture at the top of this post. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and paint....ok just paint. But I love it. Although I'm not sure why the penguins ended up purple. Fun fact: all of the paint-by-numbers I do are of animals. I think this is just because I really love animals.

Anyways yesterday and today I watched like 8 episodes of "iCarly." If you have never heard of this show, I feel sorry that you are missing out on such a phenomenal television production. iCarly is a show on Nickelodeon about a high school freshman who has her own internet show. She lives with her 25 year old brother in an apartment in Seattle. Her best friend Sam hosts the show with her and her other friend Freddie films it. It's hilarious. I know that the target demographic for this show is probably middle schoolers but I love it so much! It's honestly one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. The actors are great, and the dialogue is really witty. It's on from 3-4 and 6-7 every week night so check it out if you've never seen it. Emily and Trish like it too, so don't just take my word for it.

"Hot Flat and Crowded" update: This book is still boring and I still have over 300 pages to read. Joy.

And on the music front.....my pick for today is Taylor Swift's "Breathe" and "Fifteen." I love Taylor Swift! Not as a person....she seems really annoying. But she is a great singer, songwriter, and guitar player. Her songs are very relatable to anyone, but especially to high schoolers. She's only 19 and has had 2 hit cds. She's a great country-pop crossover artist, I'm posting these songs at the bottom by my links if you want to listen!

Yesterday I woke up sick, so I did nothing all day. I'm still sick today but it got a bit better. It's nothing big, just a sore throat/stuffy nose, it's probably just a cold. I'm really tired though, yesterday I went to bed early and today I took a 3 hour nap. Hopefully I'll be 100% better before college.

Since yesterday was a bust, today I was pretty busy. Well first of all, I need to say that I woke up and read "The Washington Post" as I always do, and saw that Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron are engaged. In case you didn't know, I used to be OBSESSED with Zac Efron. And not like a little "oh I like this celebrity" obsession. I was such a fan, I watched "High School Musical", the movie that made him and Vanessa famous, about 33 times before I lost count. Anyways, I'm not that obsessed anymore as that's unhealthy, but I still am a fan. And I dislike Vanessa Hudgens. And they are only 20 and 21 years old. So I was thoroughly distraught at this news. So after some investigative research I found out that an article basically twisted Vanessa's words around to make it sound like they are engaged. But they are not. Phew, so happy.

This afternoon I went out to lunch at Quizno's with Madilyn, her boyfriend and her cousin, and then we came back to my house to play Mario Kart (a racing video game--very lame but very fun!). I beat everyone, it was great. Haha I hate losing. Competition brings out an unattractive side of my personality, but I'm okay with that! So after they left I took my nap and then my friends Pat, Maddie, Elise, and Tommy came over. We ate pizza and went to downtown Annapolis to get ice cream, but only Pat ended up getting some so it was sort of pointless. Although it was fun to people watch, and for some reason there were a bunch of weird looking cars downtown, I'm not sure why. When we came home I had to say goodbye to Elise since she leaves for college in Pennsylvania in a couple of days, and of course that was sad. These goodbyes are not getting any better!! I hate them! I still feel like I'll be able to call up my friends to hang out when I'm bored but of course I can't, ugh. This week is rough because tomorrow is the last time I hang out with Pat who I'm really close with and he's going to school in New Orleans so I won't be able to see him for a while. Next week is better because my friends that are leaving before me are going to school at UMD-College Park and Catholic U which is in DC so I'll be able to see them often, so that won't be too upsetting.

I read some of my book yesterday and today, but I'm still not very far into it. It's just not that interesting. This sounds bad but I don't like learning about the environment, it just isn't my thing. But I'll push through it.

I don't know why I always do this but I like to write about what music I'm listening to. Right now it's Demi Lovato's new cd "Here We Go Again." Emily and I share a mild obsession with her. Some good songs include "Catch Me", "Everytime You Lie", "U Got Nothin On Me" and "World of Chances" (pretty sure Emily wrote about that one). She's only 17 and she has a powerhouse voice!

This morning I went out to breakfast at Einstein's Bagels with my friend Maddie and her roommate for the upcoming year at UMD who was visiting her. Then in the afternoon my best friend Madilyn and I went to go see the movie "The Time Traveler's Wife." Ok, so I've never read the book but I heard it was great. Well, the movie was pretty mediocre. Until half-way through it was extremely boring/unbelieveable, but the second half was considerably better. If you're thinking of seeing it, rent it on DVD and save some money. Although I still want to read the book! Then I came home and hung out with Ellie and Trish who are visiting; we went to the pool cookout which was fun and delicious. Tonight I hung out at my friend Colleen's house with her and my other friend Jarrett, and we got snowballs (yes I ate so much bad food today oops). It was the last time I get to see Jarrett until Thanksgiving (he's going to college in VA) so that was sad but I know we'll text/call each other a lot.

So talking about the movie I saw today made me think about other movies I saw this summer, and my favorite by far is "500 Days of Summer." GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!! It's FANTASTIC. It's an absolutely amazing movie, probably in my top 5 all-time favorites. The soundtrack is awesome too. I've been listening to The Smith's "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" which is in the movie which is a great song from the 80's that I had never heard of but now I really like!

So yes, tomorrow I need to read this book they assigned us for school. It's by Thomas L. Friedman and it's called "Flat, Hot, and Crowded" and it's about climate change. He's a NY Times Columnist who's won the Pulitzer Prize and he's a great author, I've read 2 other books by him. Those were about globalization and the impact that our country has on others, they're really fascinating. So yeah I know I won't finish tomorrow since it's like a 400 page book but I need to read more than I have been (I'm on like page 40).

So that's pretty much it. Also I've been listening to this new song where a lot of Disney Channel stars sing on it called "Send It On." I bought it off of itunes but the proceeds go to charity so I don't feel bad about spending money on it (and it's only 99 cents). It's a really catchy song, it has Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato (Emily's obsessed with her), and the Jonas Brothers on it and I like all of them so it's a great combination! I'm putting the link to the video in my favorite links at the bottom of my blog, check them out if you want to see what music I like!

First Post!

Yesterday Grandma was asking about whether I was planning on starting a blog for college, so I decided to start one today! I have exactly 15 days left before school starts, AHHHHHH!!!!! On one hand I'm so excited to start school! I've met one of my roommates at orientation and talked to the other two on Facebook and they all seem really nice. I'm in a quad, which I wasn't too thrilled about at first but now I think will be really really fun! I think we're all going to a concert together next month in DC which I'm excited for. Even though I'm so excited I am really sad about leaving Severna Park and all of my friends. This week I've started to say good-bye to people and next week some of my really close friends are leaving so that will be hard. The good thing is that all of my close friends are staying in MD/DC/VA/PA so I won't be too far away from them, and they know that they are welcome to visit me whenever they want.

I'm basically finished shopping for dorm stuff. I just found out yesterday that my dorm has a microwave already (in addition to the FULL SIZE fridge!), I am so pumped. Bring on the hot pockets. I still need to get rainboots and random things for my desk and a bathroom mat, which is my main contribution to my dorm.

Sorry this is such a long post but I figured the first one should be the longest. Anyways here are my classes for next year in case you are wondering:

Honors Writing: Origins and Evolution of Modern Thought

Honors Scientific Reasoning and Discovery

Journalism: Theory and Practice

Intro to Sociology

Intro to Criminal Justice

I have 3 classes Mon-Wed, 2 classes on Thurs. and only one class Friday! Two of the days I have an 8am class which I'm not thrilled about but one of my roommates is in the same class so I know we'll be able to get breakfast real quick before and go to class together.

I don't have much planned for the rest of summer, just hanging out with people before they leave. I'm babysitting a couple days so I'll be able to make some much needed money before I leave...I haven't been too successful this summer getting babysitting jobs so I passed out like 40 flyers a couple weeks ago to all of my neighbors, so at least I know those worked! That's pretty much it. Today I got my hair cut a lot shorter, it's layered and a couple inches past my shoulder. And it looks darker for some reason, I think because they cut off all the blonde that was at the end of my hair. So it looks a bit different but I like it! Hopefully I look older.

On another note it was exactly one year ago that I met David Archuleta (runner up on American Idol Season 7 that I was obsessed with) and went to his concert. I actually wrote about meeting him for my college essays so he will always hold a special place in my heart.

Right now I'm listening to Elton John: One Night Only. It's his greatest hits sung live in concert. I highly recommend it!