I really need to smile today...
Something fun, something stolen... Something to make me smile. :)
Please participate and leave Anonymously

1. one secret:
2. one compliment:
3. one love note:
4. lyrics to a song:
5. how old you are:
6. how long we've been friends:
7. a hint to who you are:
8. one memory we have together:
9. one word that describes me:

"It seems to me that almost all our sadnesses are moments of tension, which we feel as paralysis because we no longer hear our astonished emotions living." - Rilke
What is this extreme obsession the world has with what is to come; the future, death, life after (fill in the blank)? What ever happened to that simple, though only slightly tree-hugging mentality of life in the here and now? I feel like all that I've learned about that mentality is slowly slipping away as I'm trying to make a healthy balance. A balance between the here and now and the future that's sneaking more and more into my daily thoughts... What the hell am I going to do when I leave this protective bubbled existance that is undergrad? *sigh* But that's a question that plagues all of us seniors I guess. Some more than others. But goodness knows life catches up to us and makes decisions for us whether we chose ahead or not. "Think too much and you'll never decide." Yuck, all of that kind of thought makes me uneasy inside.

Really settling into my comfy daily life here. I feel that even though I'm working hard at class, in general I'm much more laid back than I've ever been my past several years of formal education. I'm just a fly on the wall this year. Things just float by and I don't get bothered. Not quite acceptable grades are pleasantly shrugged off and I don't feel bad sitting around for hours, as long as I get a hearty chortle out or I'm made aware of something around me previously unnotived that is truly beautiful. I can drink a glass of wine after class and enjoy a phone call from an English friend. Or I can enjoy a cup of my favority tea and read an old journal from a journey long past. I find I'm actually motivated for certain classes that I really, honestly like. But other than that I'm just the quiet, pensive girl in the back of the classroom finishing off her requirments to get the heck out of here. Is this what senioritis feels like?

I wrote an article for the Pleiad for Jill. It started out as a favour and my apprehension was calmed by Jill who I could tell really wanted me to write it. She saw the importance in it. So I decided to have a go. And it was actually nice to write some of my experiences down to share with everyone. As long as I didn't admit anyone else would be reading it. It's kinda like throwing myself out there. I'm not some character on a stage. This is me. And I'm definitely, *obviously* no journalist. Now the article has been edited and is ready for print. Some like it, others don't. I'm a little nervous about it's campus wide debut on Friday.

Rumor has it, black nailpolish is "out." Ha, Jill and I have something to say about THAT!!! =p

The brim of my hat was pulled down low as I left PR class last friday. I was ready to head home for labor day, my mind was ticking far too much here. A shadow approached rather quickly behind me. I lifted my eyes to the approaching figure that was now almost at pace with my long legs. It was one of the boys from my class. A smart one, from what I could remember. Tall, very muscular and good looking. He smiled softly at me and said sheepishly, "I just wanted to say thanks." I gave him a baffled look and said nothing. He explained, "Oh, sorry. I'm John. I just wanted to thank you for what you said yesterday. You are much braver than I could ever be. And I think more people need to hear what you said." I was shocked. Braver than you? How is that possible?, I thought. Immediately, I turned bright red and said a simple, "Um, thank you... So you were there?" The 'there' to which I'm refering was the welcome back dinner for students that were abroad over the spring and summer that occurred the evening before. That night, I was actually very upset that our off campus advisor, Lynn put me on the spot like that in front of a room full of people to share something extremely personal and painful. But what he said made the anger melt and made me really glad I spoke. So thanks, John. For reminding me why I go to Albion. You made my day and for the first time I felt like I was home again here. Things like that, the kindness and support of the people who go here is one of the many things I love about Albion and wouldn't give up for anything.

Borrowed Thoughts...
I'm sure Jess won't mind, I just really liked this passage of one of her journal entries she's written while she's been in Spain.

"A traveler´s world is a strange one. It is one of quick friendships and even quicker goodbyes. It is a world in which one is usually lost. It is a world where the normal social rules no longer apply. In a traveler´s world, it is perfectly acceptable to spend the night in the home of someone you met on the train that afternoon. It´s perfectly normal to exchange contact information with no pretense of ever seeing each other again. It is a world where some of your most beautiful memories may be with people you´ve only just met. In a traveler´s world, there is no time for formality, for technicalities. People work together to help each other, where an underground network of secret information is passed on to each generation: the cleanest hostels, the cheapest places to eat, that hidden bar down that tiny street that has the best sangria around. Though the destinations may be different, travelers share a common experience that changes them forever. It is a rare and complex thing, the traveler´s world."