Oh, boy.

I finally got to register for spring classes today. Turns out I will taking some enlightening courses - ones which I'm excited about, yet weary to take because... well, because of all the work.

Truthfully, I've enjoyed being busy this semester. I've had the opportunity to do a few activities through UF but otherwise removed from it. I've had time enough to go home only once, but it made me truly appreciate that weekend. I have begun utilizing several professors' office hours, and maybe - just maybe - I'll have a shot at getting into grad school, if I so choose.

All in all, I consider myself a fortunate girl. This semester has been drastically different from my previous college experience, but I like it. Maybe I'm cut out to be productive after all.

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

So here I am, sore from the sun and ridden with excitement over my upcoming adventure in Americaland when suddenly it occurs to me: I'm going to see big things.

Oh, that's not what I meant.

I am going to see many things, all of which I have never seen before. I am traveling to places of which I have never heard, meet people who will fade out of my life like coffee stains, smell things that I never even knew existed until their scent was carried to me on a summer breeze. I will walk on strange ground and sleep on even stranger beds. I will drive under the stars some nights and by my calculations be the only other person alive besides my dozing passenger and companion. I will breathe new air, I will behold new hues, I will wriggle my toes into foreign sands and watch as it gathers in tiny piles on my painted nails. I will feel the heat of the desert, the cold of the mountains; I will watch the sun set on the orange Pacific ocean and wonder if anyone has ever seen it quite like I did.

Nine hours to takeoff. It's going to be one hell of a ride.

Lucky

Sometimes you feel like you've got the world and you just can't help but want to share it.

We live on front porches and swing life away.

We get by just fine here on minimum wage.

If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end.

I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand...

Pollen-breath

Everywhere is the smell of spring and the choking allergies that follow. It's so beautiful that it's almost hard to breathe anyways.

I've finally decided what I want to do with my life. I don't know where to start, but this in itself is a step forward.

And now I'm finally tired enough to fall asleep. And thank heavens for that.

Oomph.

I spent some of the day outside. It was kind of cold, actually, but very sunny. How beautiful!

I can't wait for Spring Break so that I can enjoy several days like today all in a little row.

Carnations...

...really are my favorite flower.

Woo is me!

BEST DAY EVER!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

HA!

I can't stop giggling to myself. I'm alone in my room, the door isn't even open, and I just can't shut up. I'm such a girl.

But you know what? It's Friday, I earned it, and I don't care.

So nyeh.

Something tells me I'm into something good...

I can see myself growing in a place like this. It is a corner in an apartment and I can rightfully say it is all my own. I can see the sun waking me on winter mornings and I can hear the laughter from all the far-fetched ideas that could be shared around coffee and tea. I can see myself feeling hopelessly at home here in the space of another month, and I can see myself healthy and happy and smiling for eight more that - like it or not - will likely pass very quickly. I can see myself becoming aware. I can see myself writing more and learning new ways in which to relieve stress and anxiety.

I can see the happiness and the help and I can see the growth already.

Come sail with me...

Today was astoundingly beautiful in so many ways and fortunately, even through the Pepsi problems, everyone else seemed to enjoy the beach one final time before the end of summer.

Another Frank Sinatra kind of twilight

It's funny how the memory of love can leave you in such bittersweet enchantment. Just the sight of the stars some nights can send me to that infinitely untoucheable "back there" when I am sure "back there" had never been there.

I suppose the world would be a much uglier place without dreams and kisses and all the softest things you can ever remember all in a pair of spell-binding eyes. And truly - where would we be without the butterflies and the firsts and the uncertainty and the hesitance? ...Still in ninth grade.

Certainly, sometimes it hurts to be one unit rather than part of a set. But to know the difference implies that perhaps that long-ago time filed in the "back there" section of life is, in fact, not so far back.

There is nothing for me but to love you
Just the way you look tonight.

"Yeah, shoot."

Today I laughed so hard I cried.