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!