VISTA

It's been forever since I've posted and so much has changed, so I'm not entirely sure I can make a solid post out of what's bound to be a smorgasbord of information, but for the sake of pointless blogging I will make a valiant effort. I'm going to make this like one of those novels that tells you how the book ends in the very first chapter so the rest of the book is you hopelessly trying to decipher how in the hell the author gets back to the..end. Or beginning. Whatever.

I'm currently working as a Resource Development Coordinator at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula. I'm doing this as an Americorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service to America) - it's basically the Peace Corps for people who love America a little bit too much and think it's a smart decision to work for less than minimum wage doing a job that surely entitles you to better income.

How did I get here? Good question.

I submitted an application to Americorps VISTA programs back in September/October, the only real reason being I had no idea what I was going to do in a year (and I knew I didn't want to go back to school), and my application was already 75% completed from when I was graduating from UW. A couple of quick edits and I was done in a half hour. The way the VISTA application process works is kind of confusing, but you basically fill out one giant "master" application and then choose up to 10 sites that you want to send the master application to. Being that I [think] I want to end up in DC, I applied for every and any site in Virginia.

Fast forward a few weeks and I meet my now boyfriend at a wedding in October. Now boyfriend happens to be from Norfolk, Virginia.

Fast forward another few months (Feburary, for those who like a timeline) and I get a call from the Boys & Girls Club of the Virginia Peninsula, asking me to interview for a Resource Development Coordinator position at the Newport News office. I've always liked the idea of working in the non-profit world, and since this is my "self exploration" (AKA figure out what the heck I want to do with my life) period , I figure I'll interview anyways. I have zero experience in resource development, so it's a long shot, but what the heck.

Fast forward two weeks (March). Job offer, with 24-hours to accept or decline. Frantic calls to now boyfriend convincing him I'm not crazy while telling him I might accept a job that puts me within 30 minutes driving distance of him. We've now known each other four months ("I promise I'm not crazy. PLEASE tell your mother I'm not crazy. Do you think I'm crazy?!"). I accept the position.

I now have less than two months to find housing in Virginia, finish my job in Chicago, pack up my life, and move across the country. I managed to do all of those things fairly easily, minus the incessant panic-stricken Google searches and calls to now boyfriend.

And now I'm here. I've been here a little over three weeks already and it's gone fairly smoothly. The move went better than expected, and I got a great deal on a summer sublease for an apartment. I'm still trying to figure out the whole budgeting portion of it (living on very meager money is tough!) and that's sure to still be an adventure for the next year. I've also had to get used to what are normally August temperatures in Wisconsin pretty quickly - today it's upper 90s with what's bound to be at least 60% humidity. I'm not complaining - I love summer - but it does have a bit of an impact on my running game. I've decided to declare myself insane and register for another half marathon in October. I'm also planning on doing a 10K in September that will give me a little snippit on how the half will go. This gives me a few weeks until I officially start training, so I can better accumulate myself to running in humidity, get myself in running shape (AKA beef up the lack of nutritious food I've been eating lately), and make myself stick to an early-morning running schedule.

So, basically, life is great. My job is going really well and I enjoy the work I'm doing. I'm going to the Tim McGraw concert in Virginia Beach this weekend. Janae's wedding is next weekend (holy shit - really?), so I get to go back to Wisconsin and perform my Maid of Honor duties I've been waiting more than a year for. It's bound to be an awesome time, and I'm particularly looking forward to having now boyfriend around a large chunk of my good friends and family, since that doesn't get to happen too often. Then there's the Fourth of July, a weekend trip to West Virginia, a weekend on the beach in North Carolina, and then some time with the family here in August.

I've rambled enough, just figured someone out there might want an update. I'm going to actually try to blog more, especially about my VISTA experience, so keep in touch!

New Year, New....Nope, can't do it.

Here is my obligatory, annual New Year post. I write one every year, I think, so I clearly wouldn't want to disappoint the masses who would have to survive 2014 without my wisdom to kick things off. 

I kid. 

(Only kind of)

2013 was a big year for me. As many of you know, 2012 was a serious rebuilding year. Fresh off the chopping block of a break-up and feeling very confused about school, life, and (please forgive me for the inherent sap) love, 2012 saw therapy time, mandatory roomie Chinese food sessions to get my spirits up, and a lot of Grey's Anatomy on constant loop because that's how I cope with anything. Thank God for MerDer. 

So, I entered 2013 hopeful. It was going to be the year of college graduation, a big girl job, a real apartment in the real world, and so much more. Little did I know how much I would really learn in 2013.

Here's my list.

1. College graduation is probably the most boring 3 hours to ever happen ever... except when your commencement speaker is Anders Holm. Major shout out to you, bud, keeping UW classy since...whenever you were a freshman. Way to keep me awake during the inherent snooze-fest.
2. Job applications are moments of hope, the culmination of your dreams and aspirations....until you fill out your 32nd one and you want to cry everywhere all the time for all of the potential rejection. Except wait, they won't even reject you. They'll just ignore that you even applied.
3. The last semester of your college career is such a deep chasm (see also: glass case) of emotion. For example: "I don't want to graduate but I hate all of my classes and my TAs are all stupid and so are papers. But I'm going to apply to graduate school because no jobs exist anywhere. I also hate walking everywhere all the time and Bascom is really such a pain in the ass. But Bascom is SO BEAUTIFUL AND I NEVER WANT TO LEAVE. Let's just drink our pain away. Oh, but wait, hangovers are like 20398423x worse now too. WHY IS LIFE SO HARD?! Oh good, now I'm crying on the way to my last class. I just want to eat Babcock ice cream for ever." 
4. Working retail full time is probably the worst thing that's happened to anyone ever so major props to all of you who do it. 
5. The definition of the word "brusque," which was used to describe me by a customer in said retail position. LOL WHOOPS sorry you're crazy.
6. Bikram yoga is the shit and everyone should try it at least twice. Why twice, you ask? Because the first time you finish a Bikram class you'll want to cry and you'll probably doubt your sanity. Go one more time, and you'll understand why people pay hundreds of dollars a month to stand in a 105º room for ninety minutes. 
7. Moving is expensive. Moving to a city like Chicago is even more expensive. Living in a city like Chicago is so expensive that I seriously question my and every other citizen of this fine city's sanity. 
8. Sometimes a job isn't everything you thought it would be, but you should stick with it it because it might end up being just that. 
9. How to ultimate fight. Okay, maybe not really, but sometimes it feels that way with my kids in therapy. I can avoid a punch and proceed to prevent said punch from happening again in mere moments. Living out my dream of being a power ranger. 
10. Running a half marathon is way more of a head game than a physical one, especially when your nike running app goes "Congratulations! You've reached your goal of 13.1 miles!" just as you reach the 11 mile marker. I HATE YOU, NIKE. I HATE YOU SO MUCH. 
11. My affinity for potential suitors who live far, far away is astonishing and apparently very persistent. Good thing plane tickets are super cheap! Oh, wait...
12. I have the most amazing friends who are willing to stay up with me on the phone while I drive over night through ho-dunk Indiana where there is nothing for miles and miles and miles and I want to cry everywhere. 
13. Indiana is the worst.
14. Cats like to poop on tree skirts.
15. Even when one meets all of their "New Year" goals, the year can still turn out as unpredictable as ever.
16. And, in that same vein, relish the little victories. Take great pride in the big ones. Keep a brave face when you need to, cry when you can be vulnerable. 
17. Don't be afraid to take a crazy, weird, unforeseen risk. Sometimes it'll turn out to be the best damn decision you've made in a long time.

I'm sure there are more, but that's all I have for now. I've got some goals for 2013, like going to church more, continuing to eat healthily, blahblahblah you get it. All I know is that I've got a great year ahead of me, and I'm excited to see where it takes me. I started 2013 as a single college senior, living in Madison,  going to classes, working retail, and having no idea where I'd end up. I ended it as an ABA therapist living in Chicago. Life is crazy sometimes.

I hope you all had a terrific 2013. Happy New Year!

A Post from 3:00 AM

Hello there, relatively small amount of people who like to keep track of my life! Thought I'd send out an update since I'm laying in bed at 3:30 with the inability to fall back asleep (which usually isn't a problem for me, but I'll get to that later).

So, things have been going pretty well. I'm still working my job as an ABA therapist for children with a diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum. This job is teaching me new things every day, and the kids I'm working with truly astound me sometimes. I think the best part about this job is gaining the perspective of how lucky my siblings and I are for being typically developed (all jokes aside), and how amazing it is that these kids manage to just get through the day sometimes. Sure, I've been punched in the face, I've had a clipboard thrown at me, and I've been peed/spit on more times than I can count...but let me tell you, I've got such quick reflexes now and my ability to just tune out aberrant behavior is astounding. Also, I've kind of become a hard-ass teacher. The hours aren't as great as I'd hoped, but I'm sticking with it for now, and I'm looking to start working with another provider to fill in the gaps in my schedule pretty soon. The one thing that is guaranteed with this job is that I know that at the end of the day, I'm doing something to help others, and that's always been a simple goal in my life.

If anything, I'm learning a lot about money management. Mostly that I know nothing about money management, but I'm getting there. Learning how to stop leaning on that damn credit card and only use my real money. Budgeting is tough when you're not exactly sure how much money you'll make in the next month, but it's teaching me a lot. Mostly that I can't buy things. Sigh.

I went to Virginia a couple of weeks ago for one of my best friend's Morrgan's wedding. It was BEAUTIFUL. Such a gorgeous location, gorgeous dress, gorgeous decorations...but hey, Morrgan and I basically became friends because of our strikingly similar Pinterest weddings, so I may be biased. I got to channel my inner wedding planner and helped decorate the barn she got married in (totally kidding about the wedding planner part...okay, not really. I was meant to be J.Lo in another lifetime). The ceremony was beautiful and had me practically sobbing in my chair. One of my other best friends, Sri, came down for the reception and to stay at the hotel with me over night as well, and it was SO great to see and catch up with her! We all had a blast at the reception and at the bar after. Morrgan and Christopher, you throw a great party...and you should do it again. Like in December, or something. It also got me super into wedding mode, and now I'm feeling prepped and ready to rock MOH duties for my OTHER best friend, Janae's wedding! I have too many best friends. What a problem to have!

You guys looked fabulous!

Rockin' the dance floor at the wedding.

I'm running my half-marathon on Sunday! I've been training since the beginning of September, which isn't really that long, but I think I'm ready. I've also been running pretty consistently since March (and I started running two years ago. I think I might be selling myself short. Whatever). The last few weeks have been pretty much training-free due to traveling and my grandpa needing heart surgery, so things have been hectic. The last long run I did was two weeks ago and it was my 11-miler, and that went super well, so I think I'll be okay. The worst that can happen is that I'll die.....and the chances of that are prettttty slim so I'll be fine. I'm excited because the race covers a lot of my old routes I ran in Madison, so it will be nice to get back to my roots (heh, pun intended). If anything, I'll cry through the race, then go to lunch with the family and drink away my pained legs with Janae after. Totally kidding. Kind of.

Also, shout out to the wonderful Breezy Barrett, who will be cutting my hair on Sunday. If you live in the Madison area and you're looking for an excellent stylist, let me know and I'll send you her way. She's excellent and I've never walked away unhappy (how's that for some publicity, Breeze?). Plus she's hilarious and you'll totally never have another awkward silent hair stylist experience ever again. Guaranteed.

Speaking of fitness, I've also started to really think about what I've been eating lately. I'm usually pretty good about maintaing a balanced diet and eating enough fruits & veggies, but I've always had a pretty bad sweet tooth. The kind where after any meal I need something sweet? Not good. So, I started giving up sugar this past Monday. It's crazy to me the way your body adjusts to going off of something you ingest every day. I'm still eating fruits (so there's some sugar there), but I'm staying away from pretty much all pre-processed foods. You'd be shocked to see what has sugar in it. Tomato sauce? SERIOUSLY? The first couple of days I had killer headaches from withdrawal symptoms. Kind of made me feel like a meth head (totally kidding). But now I'm finding I have a lot more energy and the thought of eating something really sweet grosses me out (minus the dream I had tonight where I ate this giant...log-like thing made of oreos and marshmallows and graham crackers... we can't all be winners). I'm pretttty sure the energy piece is probably why I'm up at 3:30 in the morning; I went to bed at 9:00 and six hours later I'm feeling ready to start my day. Which, coming from me, is quite an accomplishment. I'm going to seriously stick to this at least through Thanksgiving, allow myself to eat whatever the hell I want on Turkey Day, and then decide how I feel after that. I don't like to set up huge goals for myself because I end up being disappointed. One step at a time, folks.

Other than that, things have been going well! Going to a couple of big football games in the next few weeks, which will undoubtedly have me without a voice. Christmas season is coming up, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't already listened to some Mariah or Michael Bublé. I don't do it too often...I just don't turn it off when it comes on shuffle. Shut up. I have a feeling it's going to be a crafty (aka., cheap) kind of Christmas...but it's the thought that counts, right?

Alright, kiddos. I'm off to bed. Or at least off to watch like four hours of Grey's Anatomy until I have to get up for work. TTFN, Ta-ta for now!

Living the Life

Here is my official life-update post. Enjoy it.

So, I've officially been living in Chicago for 27 days. I know I haven't posted, but I've been busy wrapping my head around a new apartment, a new job, a new cat, a new car....there have been a LOT of changes for me. But I've been taking every thing in stride and processing things one at a time, so it's been pretty great. 

To start: my apartment. I love it! Megan finally moves in this weekend, and I'm very excited to have a roommate (besides my cat). The apartment is nice. It's on the first floor, which I was initially very skeptical (and kind of freaked) about, but it's certainly worked in my favor as it's been super hot and I have no air conditioning. The living space is big, although the ceilings are high, so it makes it seem bigger than it is. I'm all moved in and unpacked and I've done as much decorating as I'm going to do by myself; now it's time for Megan to get here so we can make this place OURS. Admittedly, I will need to clean up and put some of my stuff away from the general living space so she can have some of the apartment, too. 

What's next? Let's go with the new job. This job has been a snap to reality. For those of you who don't know, I'm working as a line therapist for kids who have a diagnosis on the autism spectrum. I had never truly worked with autistic children before, so I didn't know what to expect. I've learned a LOT, but I would have to say the best thing I've learned is that you can't treat autistic kids according to their age; it really is an arbitrary number in regards to their development (except maybe physically; height and weight and such). I'm personally working with three children, none of which are verbal, so a lot of what I do focuses on verbal and oral motor immitation. A lot of "say oooh" and "say ahhh"'s come out of my mouth. I have an 8-year-old who is very low functioning, but he's really a sweetheart, and while he does challenge me every day I love the moments where he says "hi alli" or sings songs to me...like when he started singing Bruno Mar's "Just the Way You Are" to me the other day. I had a very hard time not laughing, since we're not supposed to react to "inappropriate" behavior, but I figured I'd rather him singing that than yelling or not responding to my prompts at all. Plus, it was adorable! I have to drive a lot, and I've got a few less hours than I would prefer, but I figure it's all in due time and I'm new to the company. Plus I don't want to swallow more than I can chew, and sometimes working with these kids can be stressful and very emotionally draining. Regardless, it's very rewarding, and I'm loving it!

Apartment, job...let's talk about my cat! I LOVE my cat. Her name is Madison (named after the greatest city known to man), and I tend to call her Maddie. Or Mads. Or Madcat. I adopted her from a local shelter which shall go unnamed because I am about to rip them a new one. She is 2-years-old, light orange medium hair, and was a rescue from the Oklahoma City tornados that happened earlier this year. When I adopted her I was told she was a 3-month-old kitten in perfect health....which seemed great! However, I took her to the vet (per the shelter's suggestion, mind you), and was informed that my tiny kitten was actually at LEAST 2-years-old. Not only that, but she has severe gingivitis and will probably need all of her teeth extracted. She also had an upper respiratory infection, an eye infection, and parasites. She's currently on three different medications, but she's responding great, and she has her surgery for her mouth on the 18th. I am so thankful that I adopted Maddie, despite her shortcomings, because I can't imagine what could have come of her if I hadn't taken her! She's a sweetheart who doesn't particularly like strangers, but considering she was probably practically sucked up in a giant funnel of doom, I don't really blame her. I'm taking her home for labor day weekend and I'm sure it'll be a trip seeing her in the same house as two other cats (one who is notoriously bitchy) and a giant german shepherd. 

New car! 2010 Honda Civic, two-door and light blue. It's great. It has great air conditioning, a gas tank that is fully attached to the car, a gas tank that doesn't spit gas out at me as I'm pumping, a transmission that down shifts (notable improvement)...not to mention an automatic lockey keychain button thing, a 21st century dash board, and it's just friggen adorable. Plus I think my mom sleeps better at night knowing I'm not facing impeding doom on the Chicago freeways. We got a great deal on it and it only has 13,000 miles on it, and I can afford the monthly payment obviously, so all is terrific! 

Other than that, life has been going well. I'm starting to really set into my work schedule so I've started looking and signing for extra-curricular activities. I'm starting an indoor volleyball league on September 11th, and I am SO excited to be playing again. There are various levels you can sign up for, ranging from recreational, beginner, intermediate, intermediate/advanced, and competitive. I probably could have swung intermediate/advanced, but since I haven't played competitively since high school I signed up for the intermediate level. I think it will be a great way to meet new people, plus I've been DYING to get out on a court. 

I also discovered this FRIGGEN SWEET THING. So there's a NTC (Nike Training Club) in Lincoln Park, and it's basically a nike store that's directed towards women. All women merchandise. But the best part about it is that this store has a studio on the second floor where they offer FREE, yes FREE, fitness classes 4-5 times a day, and any given person can attend up to four classes a week....for FREE. Tonight I went to my first class, and it was a run + NTC class. We went on a 12ish minute run and then had a group class for 30 minutes. The class was based on Nike's NTC app, available on the iPhone, and it kicked my ass. But it kicked my ass for FREE so I walked away feeling great. Doubt if I'll be able to walk without a limp tomorrow, but whatever. 

So essentially, I'm making my way. It's been interesting and fun and lonely and great all at the same time, but I really think these are all emotions that are necessary in growing up. I'm excited for the next few months, now that I've gotten into a routine, and to make new friends and start really living my life down here.

I wish you all the best end to the summer, start to school year, or just a good rest of your night. 

Ta-ta for now!

Big Move

It's been a while, but there's a reason. I've been waiting to start a new "chapter" in my blog, a chapter on my newfound life in Chicago.

I'm about to be a grown-up. I'm sitting in my bedroom in my apartment in Madison for the last night. My walls are bare, closet empty, room especially echo-y. It's a feeling I've had before, since I've moved a few times over the past years. But this time, this time it's different. This time I'm starting a job that I've worked for, a job that requires a degree. I'm moving somewhere that's not in Wisconsin and I will be successful this time. I'm leaving all of my friends, with the exception of few, and it's going to be such a learning experience. But it will be so, so great.

Madison means the world to me. It brought me to the independent, self-confident woman I am today. For one, I wasn't able to run a mile straight when I first came here - now I run between two and four miles daily and I've ran Crazylegs twice. That in and of itself is an accomplishment. It's where I graduated from college. But it's also so much more - I got over the hardest breakup EVER in Madison. I learned how to be alone without being lonely. I learned that loving yourself really IS the best way to love life, as cliched as that is.

I think the reason I've been so anxious and stressed about moving isn't about the move itself - it's about leaving this place and the possibility that I'll leave the person I am, too. But on my run this morning the song "It's Time" by Imagine Dragons came on and it got me thinking. I'm sure you all know the lyrics, and this time they seemed oddly appropriate:

"And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit right to the top.
Don't hold back.
Packing my bags and giving the academy a rain check.

I don't ever wanna let you down,
I don't ever wanna leave this town.
'Cause after all, this city never sleeps at night.

It's time to begin, isn't it?
I get a little bit bigger but then, I'll admit
I'm just the same as I was.
Now don't you understand?
I'm never changing who I am."

It just kind of hit me; I don't have to worry about losing myself, because I've always been there. Even underneath all of the relationship and break-up junk, I've always been this woman I am today; Madison and the people here gave me the strength to bring her out. And I'll always be so, so thankful to this city.

I'm ready for this move, and I'm excited. I'm going to post more often and update on all of the inner workings of a new-found grown-up in a big city; I'm sure it'll be more than awesome. SO AWESOME.

Stay tuned.

College

I remember waking up the morning I was to move into Tripp at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and balling profusely. I called my then boyfriend and insisted he tell me I was going to love it and be successful and "who cares if they drink you'll love it anyways." I remember shaking in the car on the way there and being nervous and feeling like a social two-year-old when I met all the girls in the hall. I remember my first night being lonely and afraid even though my best friend stayed the night with me. I remember being so unsure.

Tomorrow I will wake up and I will get ready for my graduation from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. I will ball profusely because I do not want to leave this terrific institution. I will talk to my mom who will tell me that the best is yet to come and I will love it and be successful. I will shake on the way up to the podium all while thinking "good Lord please don't let me trip." I will be nervous and feel like a social two-year-old among my peers and professors from the School of Human Ecology because it's certain that I will vomit everywhere if I so much as open my mouth. I will go to dinner with my friends tomorrow night and have celebratory drinks with them. I will be so certain in my decision to go to this University and I will be sure of my future elsewhere.

My three years here have been the best and most difficult years of my life. I've gone through moments of happiness and moments of despair (not what you think - I'm talking about the Rosebowl. All three of them). I've celebrated Halloween and Mifflin like the champs we were and I've studied all night for my Cognitive Psych exam at Steenbock. I've gone to bars underage (yes, sorry family), and I've had my wallet stolen three too many times. I've read and read and read about history and babies and have written about history and babies. I've sucked up to professors and cried my way to better grades. I've held a trash can for a friend while they puked in it for hours. I've run barefoot down state street and called an ambulance for my best friend (who refused to keep her Harry Potter scar regardless of my advising). I've rekindled relationships with old friends. I've made friends with a ginger. Also friends with someone who doesn't like to wear clothes ever. Also friends with someone I blatantly and truthfully called an asshole (sorry, Michael). I've studied abroad. I've gone home for summer. I've gone home for the weekend, a night. And every time, EVERY TIME I cannot wait to get back to Madison. I've perspired my way up Bascom Hill and have slid on the ice down it (one time, I swear). I've drank beer at the terrace and eaten way too much Babcock Dairy ice cream than I'm willing to admit. Also Babcock chocolate milk. They ship that stuff, right? I've written a thirty page thesis. I've studied children of incarcerated parents. I've gone out for a friends engagement. I've worked about seven different jobs. I've gone to football games and hockey games. I've hugged Bucky Badger.

I've had the time of my life here, and I thank all of you for being a part of it.

What happens when you graduate college

You wake up one morning and you realize that you only have one week as an undergraduate. What the HELL happened?

This week was my last week of classes at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. While I'm always super excited for classes to be over (especially the really dumb ones I will never ever use), this week was different. I found myself acting differently and responding to things differently than I have in the past. For one, I cried before class on Thursday. For two, I didn't go to bed early (come on, guys, that's a big deal for this kid). For three, I was trying to make class time go a little bit longer.

Why?

Because when I woke up on Tuesday to go to class, I looked in the mirror and realized "Holy crap, I'm graduating from college and I'm 22 and I'm old and a grown up."

There's this thing that happens during this week. You start to think about each moment you're in and how immediately that moment is gone. You start to think about your freshman or sophomore or whatever year was your first year at this institution you're graduating from and remember that feeling on the way to your dorm. For me, that feeling was fear, anticipation, anxiety, excitement, pretty much every feeling ever. You arrive in your dorm and you just want to meet new people. You can't wait to order your books, you can't wait to go to your first class, you can't wait for your parents to leave so you can go to your first "real" party. You can't wait to go to that first UW football game and you can't wait for your first jump around. You can't wait to play dizzy bat and puke everywhere after because let's face it, it's unavoidable. You can't wait to eat shitty food from Gordon's or Frank's or whatever those spoiled baby freshmen get nowadays. You can't wait to cram everyone on your floor into one room because hey, we're freshmen and it's what we do. You can't wait until you're a sophomore and you can make fun of freshmen. You can't wait for that internship, that first college job, your seminar classes. You can't wait to turn twenty-one because using a fake even when it's to Brogan's (rest in peace) or Nitty and you know you'll get in anyways, is still terrifying. You can't wait to go to the real bars. You can't wait until your friends stop wanting to go to the real bars because it's SO DAMN EXPENSIVE. You can't wait until senior year because junior year sucks and senioritis is already calling.

Except shit, now senior year is done. So my advice to all of you non-seniors? Wait.

Wait to make a college decision. Wait to move into your dorm. Wait to order books, go to classes, meet new people. Wait to go to that first UW game and play dizzy bat and throw up. Wait to eat that shitty food, wait to turn twenty-one. Wait to be a senior. Because soon enough, you will be, and soon enough, it will be over. And you'll be left wondering where time went and what happened and sobbing while looking at facebook pictures and eating cans of soup because you're trying to not buy groceries until graduation (that last part might be exclusive to me).

I know this is super cliche, but most of my blog posts are. I mean it, you crazy kids. College goes by SO FAST and it's the best time of your life so take everything and slow down. Wake up and appreciate where you are and who you're with and that hangover shitty gut feeling that you wish you didn't have. Someday you'll look back on these times and wish it were here (okay, maybe without the hangover). This is the last four years of our lives that we can actually and respectfully call ourselves "kids" and not be laughed at. Do not take it for granted.

For those of you reading who are walking with me across that stage at the Kohl Center next weekend, I commend you. Take this next week or these next few months and appreciate being able to be in this terrific city. Appreciate walking up Bascom and sitting at the terrace. Appreciate going out on a weeknight even though everything (and your boss) tells you not to. Appreciate shitty bars because hey, they're OUR shitty bars. Appreciate the loud noise the street makes when you're trying to sleep. Appreciate the capitol. Appreciate being able to text a friend when you've had a shitty shitty morning and just being able to walk over to eat breakfast and rant. Appreciate your friends drunken text messages and snapchats that they will never get back and GOD you did not want to see that. Appreciate library mall and food carts and state street and everything we love about this place we've called home for the past few years. Appreciate everything you enjoy just a little bit more, because it might all be gone in a few short months.

And if you're staying here long term, remember these moments anyways, because regardless it will never feel the same to be on this campus as an ADULT. Plus it gets kind of weird to be like 38 and hanging around Brats. Just sayin'.

To the class of 2013: Be proud, be thankful, be ready. We did it, and regardless of what previous generations think, we're going to KICK ASS.