See ya later, summer.

I love summer. 

Sunshine, freedom, water, no school...what could be wrong with that? 

Nothing. Until it ends. 

And suddenly you've got school, a job, a sorority, and a social life to juggle--all while trying to sleep and eat and shower in a regular fashion. It's rough. 

Especially when you had a summer as wonderful as mine. 

I jumped off bridges [and cliffs and rocks and rope swings] and climbed mountains and trees. 

I ate too many french fries and drank too much caffeine--and didn't regret it for a second. 

I swam at pools that weren't ours and took way too many selfies. 

I spent an absurd amount of time with the people I care most about. 

I finished my fifth Ragnar: sick, sunburned, and sore--but finished nonetheless. 

I got this cute boy to make lots of long drives from Denver and Phoenix to Logan for me because we all know summer sales are stupid.

 

I spent a week in Oregon with my family and played too long in an ice cold ocean, drank too many milkshakes, bought too many books, and spent the best birthday on the beach.

I realized [for the millionth time] just how lucky I am to be where I am, with the people I'm surrounded by, doing what I'm doing. This summer was perfect--and here's to a school year just like it.

Falling to pieces.

Every semester, I try and take one class that is solely for enjoyment. 

It might have nothing to do with my major, might be a credit I don't necessarily need, or it might just be fun. 

This semester, I'm taking a class called Dress and Humanity--that's basically 50 minutes of discussion about fashion, style, and clothes. 

Probably the most interesting class I've ever taken. 

Our first project was to design an article of clothing for a "Recycle & Redesign" fashion show. 

So naturally, Hayley and I bought 3,500 puzzle pieces from the DI, a $6 dress, 100 hot glue sticks, and what seemed like a million feet of fishing line. 

We spent three days gluing puzzle pieces to said fishing line--while singing along to High School Musical--and decided we never want to see another puzzle piece as long as we live. 

But after winning BEST IN SHOW, we may rethink that. Out of 70 entries, ours got the top award. 

And here's us in the Statesman this morning. 

For a Plant Science major and an English Literature major, we felt pretty cool to win a fashion design show. 

But really, I'd be perfectly alright if I never saw a puzzle piece again. And my hands will thank me if I don't use a hot glue gun for a while. 

The perfect beginning.

Do you remember daydreaming as a little kid about being in college? All the fun you'd have, the friends you'd make, and finally living on your own? I think I did it probably every second for a majority of my life. 

But even as independent and spontaneous as I am, I've learned that being a grownup isn't all fun. We do have to work, try hard, and things are tough sometimes--but this year has been, in a word, unbelievable. 

I've been in college for a whole year now--and I've learned a lot. 

I've learned that I'm a wizard at baking, but cupcakes and cookies only do so much for a starving college student. I sincerely appreciate vegetables now. My mom laughs when I come home, because I will load the biggest bowl we have with salad and eat probably three servings. I could probably eat a bag of snap peas in a sitting, and I know probably a million and a half ways to serve a chicken breast that's been grilled on a George Foreman. I'm ten times more grateful for my job, because I eat whole meals there; and I'm a thousand times more grateful for my mom's food when I come home. For the times I'm not at work though, I've learned that peanut butter cupcakes and chocolate chip applesauce cookies go a long way in bribing people into dinner. 

I've learned that sometimes, the job of your dreams turns out to be your worst nightmare. A month into my first JComm class, (Journalism Communications, or Japanese Communications if you ask Bronson and Jackson) I realized that journalism was NOT what I wanted to be doing. I loved every second--or almost every second--I spent working on a broadcast and newspaper staff in high school, but professionally, it wasn't for me. One of my favorite sayings says something like, "Find something you love to do, and you'll never work a day in your life." I absolutely hated my journalism classes, and I would have rather dropped out of school than take another. This semester, I'm taking two English classes, and I'm registered for three more next fall. I absolutely love every second of them, and I actually look forward to doing the readings and homework. College has taught me that even if you've spent years of doing one thing, don't be surprised when it doesn't seem to work. It's OK to change your mind. Just find something you love.

I've learned that college really does change everything. I used to think I'd be so excited to go back to high school football games, and when we went to Viewmont's prom our junior year, we even talked about going back this year. Yeah....NO. Don't get me wrong I loved high school, for the most part at least, but that time has passed. And I finally understand what people mean when they say "I wouldn't relive those days for anything in the world."

I've learned that you should give everything a try. I can't think of a single time I regret doing something that I originally questioned. Try EVERYTHING. Whether it's camping on the Quad, intramural volleyball, or a time out game during an Aggie Basketball game...DO IT. You're only going to regret the things you don't do.
Most importantly though, I've learned about myself. That's what these few years are for, to find out who you're really supposed to be and what you have to do to get there. So take chances.  Stay up til three a.m. every night for a week and make memories. Take classes you never thought you would. Fall in love with someone. Jump in First Dam. Sleep on the Quad. Wait in line for six hours for a football game. Stay in the library for sixteen million hours. Talk to that really cute kid you pass every morning. Whatever it is, just do it. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, because we only have one chance to make this experience the best it can be. The most important thing I learned, though? "Be in love with your life, every minute of it." 

As we move out this week, and everyone we've met heads out on missions, gets married, changes schools, or just goes home for the summer, it's hard not to think about how much is going to change and how much I'm going to miss. 

I'm going to miss midnight McDonald's runs, orange chicken dates, 2 am prank wars, and all night long conversations with the 106 boys. Those boys give new meaning to the term "love/hate relationship" and as much as it drives me crazy when they knock on the door at 1:30 in the morning, I know I'll miss it when they're not living next door anymore.
I'm going to miss Cookie Wednesdays, First Floor socials, and Sunday dinners in 103.
I'm going to miss my first single's ward, running to ward prayer, and visits from the bishopric during finals week.

I'm going to miss bagel dates, Lundstrom study parties, and Taco Tuesday with my favorite people.
I'm going to miss our endless pile of dishes, our perpetually disastrous bathroom counters, our crowded fridge, and my closet that doesn't fit a quarter of my wardrobe.

I've made a million and a half memories these last nine months, and I'm going to miss this apartment more than I think any of us realize right now. We're all off to a thousand places, headed on and up in the things we're doing...but I can't think of a better place to be, or better people to be going with.

So here's to our freshman year, for being the perfect beginning to the rest of our lives. 

The final countdown.

It's Monday. Which means that I'm sitting on the couch, compulsively refreshing my email waiting for word from my best friends. 

It also means that I have ample time to be reviewing facts for the sample tour I have to give...today could be an adventure. 

Instead, it's time for a highlight reel of the last few days. 

Massage train in 102: because there's really no better way to spend a Wednesday night. 

Relay for Life: Utah State Edition. Cancer sucks, so of course we'll walk dozens of laps around the fieldhouse track. 

All this sunshine makes a girl ridiculously happy. As does being done with a Relief Society lesson. So the four of us that were left had to document the spring colors.

Sunday drives are the best way to end a perfect day. They're even better when you're with your best friends, wrapped in our favorite blankets and hoodies, and sitting on a bench that looks over the whole valley. 

We've got two (maybe three) weekends left up here, and that realization hit hard last week. Words can't even begin to cover how lucky I am to have these girls as my best friends, and I can't think of five people I'd rather be living with. 

Come May, we'll all be headed in different directions. 

Kelsey leaves for her mission in Knoxville, Tennessee May 22nd. 

Emi's moving home to work in Salt Lake before heading to Vancouver, Canada on August 7th. 

Kenzie's transferring to Weber State for fall semester. 

Adrienne's moving home for the summer, before coming back up in the fall. 

Lauren and I are working in Logan all summer, and staying up here for the foreseeable future. 

Things are changing again, right as we're finally getting the hang of this college thing. Oh well. C'est la vie. 

I guess it's just blowing my mind that in two weeks, I can say I've successfully completed a full year of college. Time's flying--and I'm in love with that fact. 

If you say so.

 My Friday nights are better than yours. Guaranteed. I got off work way earlier than I thought I was going to, and everybody else had plans...so we went to Hasting's. Rented The Lucky One and Sweet Home Alabama and didn't move off our couch for four straight hours. It was blissful. There's just something about Zac Efron and Patrick Dempsey that make staying in on a Friday night completely worth it. [that, and the fact that I have a legitimate ice cream problem. Ben & Jerry are my best friends. My roommates just laugh at me.]

 Good news, kids! We've finally how to keep our sink empty. We're really good at doing dishes...and stacking them up nicely, we're just rather awful at putting them away. [This picture was taken a week and a half ago...and even thought that particular load has been put away, we've got another pile.]

When my family doesn't answer my FaceTime calls, and I exclaim that they don't really love me that day, Kenzie decides to FaceTime me instead. From the opposite side of the couch. 

While Kenzie loves me...Emi abuses me. The remaining potatoes in our 25lb bag may or may not have started sprouting...and I wasn't okay with it. I have a large problem with expiration dates, moldy food, and unnatural growths on food. Anytime I said something snotty or sarcastic--which happens more often than not--Emi would pull these out and try and touch me with them. It was not okay.

I promised Bronson's mom chocolate peanut butter cupcakes the next time I was home, so when I was home Sunday afternoon, I figured I might as well employ my little sisters to help me make them. Mary probably ate more uncooked batter than actual cupcake, but she's also the best helper I have. She's one of my best friends and the best part about coming home. 

 It's mid-term week at USU...and I'm loving it. Not a single one of my classes has an actual midterm exam, and next week is Spring Break. I've got a research essay to write and I have to read The Awakening for my literary analysis class, but none of that is even due until after spring break. [Side note: after spring break? I only have 12 days left of classes. One of the many benefits of only having school two days a week!]

Keep looking up.

I GOT A LETTER. 

[And yes, that is just how I announced it to the entire Lundstrom Student Center Friday morning.] It's funny how much better someone can make you feel even when you haven't talked to them in a week and a half. 

Then, I had a conference with one of my English professors to have my first college essay critiqued and reviewed. We had to do a five page analysis of a work of poetry, and I was not exactly excited about the assignment. BUT. I got in there, and he handed me my essay and said, "My only suggestion? Work on your title. It sucks. You're an excellent writer." 

Day made. 

Laundry is free in the LSC all week, and we took advantage of that...at one a.m. 

And obviously, the hour got to our heads. But good news, we have clean dish rags now. 

Even though Friday was wonderful, Saturday was...less than great. I had to work at five, after spending three hours on the phone with some of the incoming freshmen. I was planning on being home by midnight at the very latest...and then we remembered that the Mardi Gras dance on campus wouldn't be over until 1:00. I left work at 4 a.m. I love my job, but not that much.

Now it's time for Sunday dinner, the Grammy's, and a Joseph Smith fireside in the Spectrum. I'm a happy girl. 

Back to normal.

My brother and I have an ice cream addiction. So every time I come home, we inevitably end up making a midnight In-n-Out run for shakes. [Chocolate for me, neopolitan for him.] And then, he steals my phone while we take the "long way" home, really just the frontage road, and snap chats and texts my best friend. And they take the opportunity to abuse me to the best of their ability. It's great...and by great, I mean it's not. Good thing I love 'em.

We're back in Logan! And we're better than ever. I can't even begin to explain how much I missed these girls, even if we do stay up way too late talking and act like we're three. But, you have to admit, we rock the footie pajamas and bathrobes like nobody's business. I'm glad we're back...but I miss everyone back home. Braden and Luke. Bronson and Jackson. Emily and Hailee and Sadie. Sad day. But I'm proud of them, and know that they'll be the best missionaries in the whole world.

I really don't know what to say about this picture, other than the fact that Emi draws on her food. She's a keeper.

Sometimes I bring free pie home, and we inhale it faster than I can get everybody out of bed to eat. Triple berry definitely wins the award for our favorite, and the peanut butter is one we can pass on.

In other news, my family is going to Vegas right now. Without me. So while they're having a party in the 63 degree weather, I'll be going to school and working in the freezing cold. College kid problems? 

BUT. I get to meet the rest of the A-Team tonight! And I'm super excited. 

And then it's time for the welcome back social, complete with a showing of Pitch Perfect and food. College is still wonderful, my friends. 

See you soon.

With No-Shave November officially over, we've been able to watch some of our friends remove their facial hair in stages....these would Max's "star-burns." I didn't get the handle-bar mustache that accompanied them the next day, but this should just serve as a pleasant reminder to all of you that not all facial hair is creepy...some of it's just plain weird. [But Max, I still adore you. :)]

I got a text on Tuesday from my mom just as I was getting out of yoga and all it said was, "Mary says this is her crying because she misses you." I called her later that day and this is about how our conversation went. 

"Hi Mar! I saw your picture."
"Ohhhh, yeah."

"Were you just so sad?" 

"You're just always gone, Ash! And I miss you. Can we have a sleepover?" 

I admire the innocence and pure love this little girl has...and I miss her more than anything else. I can't wait for Christmas Break. 

Kelsey is a winner, and she wore this lovely ensemble to the Ambassador [or Ambadassador, depending on who you ask] Christmas party. Opaque red tights, pleather red boots, a Christmas t-shirt, and a Christmas sweater, complete with jingle bells, all tied together with a tacky red bow in her hair. I absolutely adore this girl, and wouldn't ever wake up on Tuesday and Thursday mornings if it wasn't for her. Thanks, Kels. :) 

For our Relief Society activity this month, we had a steak dinner and made ornaments. We wanted to get a picture taken with all of us roommates and our ornaments, so we asked Morgan to do so...and this is what we got out of it. Four pictures of Morgan's face, and one decent picture of us snitches. We'll keep Burns around, I guess. 

Cute, aren't we? And Kelsey and I even made an ornament, and we're the least crafty of the six of us. [Yes, it may just be a clear ornament with a Wendy's coupon in it that we're going to smash like they do in a Jewish wedding ceremony as soon as we both finish our JCOM final, but don't judge us. We tried.]

And now, it's time to crackdown for finals week. So the six of us migrate to the library, and don't move for six hours. [Except for mental health breaks, where we run stairs and people watch until we have to study some more.] Which is exactly what we're about to do for the second time of many, as soon as we get our study food and pack our bags for nightly hibernation. The moral of the story is, I'm signing off until next week. [Except for the A-Team announcement tomorrow, which is giving me an ulcer the size of a small country.] Time to put the Dr. Pepper in an IV line, and stock up on Polar Ice gum, since that's the only thing that keeps me focused on the fact that I can't be snacking constantly. Yay finals week, and good luck to you kids doing the same. See ya never. :) 

We're just different.

Friday night, I had to work until close, which is at 2 a.m. I got home around 2:45, and all of the lights in my apartment were still on, so I knew my roommates were awake...but I couldn't hear them or find them anywhere. So I walked into my room to change, and they started singing. From my bed. Wrapped in Christmas lights. I guess I'll keep them around. 

My interview for A-Team went really well, apparently, because I have an individual interview today at 4:45. Laur, A-Ludd, and Em helped me pick out an outfit for today so they'd all feel partially responsible if I make it...we'll see how it goes. 

After I untangled the snitches from the lights, we moved our mattresses out into our family room and had a giant sleepover Friday and Saturday night. We slept until noon...and even though I've never done that before, it was so nice. First time I've had more than 8 hours of sleep in who knows how long. Even though I woke up in the crack between mine and Kenzie's bed at least three times and probably spent a majority of the night on Kenzie's mattress, it was great. And made for an even more entertaining Sunday nap session. 

When the restaurant you work at doesn't need anymore one dollar bills, you get stuck with way too many of them. So Paige decided it would be fun to throw them all over my bed and then roll in them. The ultimate waitress problem, right here. The bank is going to love me today. 

Kenzie and Adrienne did a dress rehearsal of our Christmas surprise, and decided that rather than both being elves, Kenzie was going to be a pregnant polygamist. I'm telling you, my life would be much less entertaining if these two weren't such a huge part of it. 

Jon and Bronson spent a large part of the last 48 hours in our apartment and we kept them up way too late every night, watching Warrior, making cupcakes, and last night....we painted Jon's nails. He'd make a great hand model, wouldn't he? 

We wanted to see what Jon would look like with long hair...so Emi volunteered her mane...and really, we just wanted you all to appreciate Jon's shirt. DisneyWorld sells some quality looking clothing, my friends. 

It's been quite the weekend, and this week is going to be an adventure. A-Team interview today, work tomorrow, and the Aggies play the Cougars on Wednesday in Provo [you better believe we're making the drive down there.] Then more work, more work, and finals next week. Living on the edge of crazy makes life that much more entertaining. 

A million at once.

Creative Arts is the most pointless class offered at Utah State. We had to go see "Miracle on 34th Street" this week...and after Lauren and I slept through the entire first act (it's been a long week. Don't judge.) we spent all of intermission snapchatting Jon, Bronson, Paige and our roommates, and making friends with the light technician. Ignore our faces...we were concerned, since the last play we'd seen had scarred us for life.

After Miracle on 34th....we discovered that Emi was the next attraction. Ladies and gentlemen, my best friend. 

My roommates and I have some interesting conversations...the highlight of this week? Adrienne told us that she thinks she was adopted. From the pound. So all week long, we've been teasing her about being a dog. It didn't help that her family wants to get another puppy, and we think they should name it Adrienne--since obviously they need a replacement for her. The day after this enlightening conversation, this slide came up in Creative Arts. [I'm telling you, we learn nothing important. Scratch that, we learn nothing in that class.] So of course we snapchatted it to Adrienne, and her response was a very passionate #woof. 

As a last hurrah before finals week, and the last concert before Hailee leaves, we went to see We Are the In Crowd, The Wonder Years, and...YELLOWCARD. It was incredible. And as soon as the first chords of Ocean Avenue were played, my entire life [at least since 8th grade] came full circle. Seriously, they were so good. 

And finally? The boys of 106 would like to wish you a Merry Christmas with their new wall decor. I have such attractive neighbors. 

Well friends. I have an interview for A-Team today [and I really really really want to make it.] and I have to teach relief society on Sunday. So I'm going to go teach a bunch of A-Team hopefuls how to successfully cradle a lacrosse ball and prepare a lesson on who knows what. Cheers to the freaking weekend, folks.