big bad college things

The end of the semester is quickly approaching...although some days I feel as though it's not coming quite quickly enough. It has been quite a semester, the kind filled with

toothbrush heros,

socialized fish,

and fancy black T-shirts;

the end seemed so illusionary. But…. Being able to now count the number of class sessions left on one hand makes me wonder what it is that I have even done these last 3 months. I feel almost as though I've just been kinda... waiting around to start learning all those big bad college things.

If someone were to ask me what I learned format his first semester of my freshman year of my big bad college education…the first thing that comes to mind is the time my shuttle departs to take me home or maybe that I can wake up at 8 and be ready & out the door by 8:20 if I wear a hat.

Sad. After all the stress, all the hours, the homework, the notes.......that's all I've got? Seems a bit pathetic...not that knowing either of those things is unimportant or irrelevant, because they both are. But really? Let's be serious.

The REAL things I've learned since I've been to college..Ready? :

You can find the hero in anything, even a toothbrush.

Sometimes, teachers who don't know what they want…are EXACTLY what you want.

Institute rocks.

Being on a first name basis with Cody at Hobby Lobby means I spend too much time (& money) there.

I can hold my breath for a significantly longer length of time than I thought previously. (Cigarettes are disgusting.)

Taking the stairs is indeed faster than the elevator.

Procrastination still sucks…and I still do it.

Sidewalks are smoother at night.

If you say, "Hi Bob," to a random person, they may just say, "Hey, what's up?".

The campus shuttles get 7 miles to the gallon.

You must make an appointment for walk-in advising meetings…still haven't figured that one

out….

Your lungs will slowly but surely heal themselves from the effects of cigarette smoke, but dust

is there FOREVER.

Never again will I take a night class.

Eating 3 meals a day is overrated…and who's got the time?

Dead cacti still have spines.

Becoming good friends with at least 1 person in each of your classes is important so that if you

happen to lose your mind..or your notes…they may just be able to help with at least one of

them.

You don't need every single one of your textbooks.

Some people just don't realize that spandex are not pants.

You CAN have a job and take 16 credit hours.

3.14 looks like "pie" backwards.

Having a car is great….not having a car payment is too.

Don't wear white pants to your studio classes.

Online classes are better in college.

Extra Credit isn't always worth it.

Required reading is often "Suggested" reading…work smart, not hard.

Teachers don't care if you are on scholarships.

Find joy in little things like the cement gumdrops outside of the Coor Building…sometimes it

feels like all there is to smile about.

What a great start to my big bad -super awesome, overly priced, but hopefully- worth -it -in -the -end college education.

The ones

You know how there are just some people in your life that make everything better?

The ones that dig deep inside you and bring out the smile they know is there when you can't find it on your own? The ones that will listen to your common, everyday stories and laugh like they've never heard such a thing...making your days seem less mundane and significantly more enjoyable?

These are the people that encourage you to live with your head held high, to walk a little better today than you did yesterday. The ones that make sure that you are thinking clearly....without ever letting you believe you weren't thinking clearly in the first place. They are those that write messages on sticky notes to paste on your car after your terrible horrible no good very bad day at school. They are always willing to serve, in anyway that they can. You can always count on these people, you look up to them, they serve as an example to you.

Well, I know...'cause I have one. :)

Seeing RED

I found this as I grabbed my tray to take my 10 minute break tonight. It put a smile on my face.

I am Hoot...

...and everyone knows it.

Feel free...

Feel free to gaze in wondering awe.

Feel free to admire her beauty.

Feel free to smile in response to hers.

Feel free to love her at first sight.

Feel free to mourn that she lives too far away.

Feel free to feed off the joy that she has brought to this earth.

I know I do.

Scarlett Mecque Bohls

or. or.. or...

So school as I had previously predicted, has pretty much completely and in every way consumed my life. Shocker. However, despite this fact, many new, exciting, and not so exciting things have happened. I could tell you all about my beautiful new car with a split personality, delving into his behaviors and quirks, his unique personality....and analyzing all of this on a deep psychological plane that would have you and all the world in awe. Or I could tell you about my beautiful niece, or my crazy art teachers, or the ice cold shuttle, or the institute dollar lunches, or my nursery calling, or...or...or...or..or. But I won't. Today. This post has a much more incredible story to tell. Here we go.

Once upon a time....yesterday...I was getting into my car to go to school. The time was approximately 11:20 in the a.m. As I sat in my car I had Lady GaGa's "Just Dance" stuck in my head. This, you might say, is completely normal, right? Well..sure. Maybe. If I hadn't listened to Coldplay's "Till Kingdom Come" like a thousand times while I proceeded to get ready earlier that morning. It had actually been a couple weeks since I had even heard "Just Dance", yet here I was, in my car, singing it to myself.

(I'll give you a minute to picture this and laugh....)

As I start to drive down the street, I turn on 96.9. Guess what was playing? Not Just Dance, if that's what you were thinking. No. It was talk. I got halfway down the street to realize that I did not have my wallet. I decided that it'd be a good idea to have it so i turned around, parked in front of my house, locked my door, went into my house, grabbed my wallet, went back outside, unlocked my door, sat in my car, buckled for safety ( of course ), turned on the car...and also the radio. Still talk. How foolish it was of me to even wonder if they'd play it out of the monolith of selection they must have. I pulled forward, making a left 3 point turn, just as Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" starts playing. No lies.

I proceeded to rock out.

(..again...metal picture.......laughs)

I had no choice. They played this song for me. As I waited for the light by the High School, I was definitely enjoying myself. Even as the white Astro Van slowed down and stare as it passed me, just to make sure I wasn't going through some psychotic phase.

No my dear ivory Astro van....I was not suffering a psychotic collapse. I was enjoying my life and the little things that matter most... like hard candies, or a newly sharpened yellow pencil, or dancing in your car.

You should too.

The end of something not too old....And the start of something that is..

School starts tomorrow.

16 credit hours and a 15 hour work week means

my life ends tomorrow.
Too bad, too....it was just starting to get interesting.

I am....on the mainland..

This summer came and went so quickly! I can't believe I am back! I walked in the front door uber early a couple of Saturday mornings ago..like 2am early...and it felt like I had never left. Good? Sure I guess. I'd be adjusting quickly..if I had to adjust at all. But at the same time, sad. I didn't want to adjust. I wanted to keep every part of Hawaii I could, even if that meant that I wasn't "at home" here in AZ.

There is something about those islands. Without even knowing it, they are tying themselves to you. Undetectable ties, that is, until its too late. An believe me, it was too late about 2 weeks into my trip. I'm tied. I miss them in a small but deep part of my being. It is an incredibly difficult feeling to describe...and everyone TOLD me it'd come...it has.

I hope I will be able to keep from doing anything rash.....(Yet deep down, I hope I can't. I want to do whatever it takes to get back........)