Adventure is Out There!

This past weekend I was in the Twin Cities with one of my best and oldest friends, Katie, for her birthday, and had an amazing time. When I got to her apartment, I was planning on going out with her and some of our friends to a party given for Katie (someone else was hosting her birthday party for her), but apparently I was too excited because I ended up staying at her apartment fighting off a migraine. I woke up with a hint of another migraine coming on, so I quickly downed two Advil all the while laughing at how I was beating it, since the one before kicked my butt. I had previously talked to one of my favorite uncles who happens to live the cities, and we planned a day of brunch, cultural exploring (Walker Art Center), and some needed shopping at the Mall of America. What can I say; I am a girl at heart.

When I came back to Katie's, I was amazed to see one of my old friends (from school speech competition) there with her. I hadn't seen Dan since before the end of senior year of high school. Hanging out felt as though I had seen him the other day.

That night we went to Lorings pasta bar in Dinky Town. It was a great time, and the atmosphere was amazing but the portions of the food left most of us all wanting more. So, after going back to Katie's place for cake, what did we all do? We went to McDonald's naturally. Twice.

On Sunday, and my last day in Minneapolis for the weekend was a grumbling, happy one where I went to brunch with my uncle again (to an authentic Polish cuisine that was on that Diners Drive-ins and Dives show on the food network), said goodbye to Dan and Katie for the time being, and went back to my college with cows in the backyard.

Because of my mini adventure in the Twin Cities, I have been thinking about life and adventures lately. I guess I should say that I do this often because I stumble through them all the time... get it? Just like the name of my blog. Haha, that was supposed to be a joke... oh well. Anyway, I was thinking about how everything is an Adventure, I just need to see it that way to experience it with glee. Ron Wild once said, "Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child." and I believe it is one of smartest things that someone has ever been recorded saying. Because let's face it, there are a lot of super smart people who've said some amazingly smart things and were never quoted. However, that is beside the point. The point is that everyone living life should not let it go wasted.

While I was thinking about this I was trying to find a quote to convey what I am feeling, and I could not find one, but what I did find was someone else's list of 100 crazy things to do before you die.

http://www.upgradereality.com/100-crazy-things-to-do-before-you-die

Now, I may not do all of these things or a even half of them, but I think this list gets the basics down and then some. I know that my bucket list has: hold a snake, watch all the star trek episodes (yes, I do realize how many there are), have my own garden, travel to all 7 continents, fly an airplane, go to graduate school, and finish writing a book. These are just a few things I want to do. Creating a bucket list has made me do a lot of the things that I wanted to do like cutting my hair in a boy short pixie cut, getting a tattoo, and going on a road trip in another country. Crossing off what I have done gives me a sense of accomplishment and makes me realize that I am doing the things I want in life, but my bucket list will always be never ending. If I see or hear about doing something and I want to do it, then I quickly put it on the list.

I remember almost all the times where I or someone close to me has said "I don't have time to do that. I don't have the money for that." I now know that they and I were wrong. If I make time, and put away a small amount of money every week then somehow I will get where I want to be.

I also found a really cool website talking about how to follow your dreams.

http://www.globotreks.com/features/19-reasons-ignore-everybody-follow-your-dreams/

But, what does a silly college girl like me know anyhow?

What Happens When My Brain Refuses to Do Homework

I have been in school for a week and a half and already my mind refuses to study as much as I want to. I sometimes feel weird because of my arguments inside my head. All I think is, 'Taylor, it's time to start on homework! Get to it! So you can be done for tonight!'

 I get a ridiculous response, 'Shut up about homework! Yada yada yada, that is all you want to do! You never want to have fun anymore. I refuse to do homework right now.'

I am resigned, thinking 'well, this is a dilemma. I need to get it done sometime tonight.'

My brain gets that stupid teenage retort that all older people hate with a 'Whatever. I don't care. Homework is a stupid waste of time.'

It is at this time that I realize I am giving myself a lecture on how homework is not stupid and that I will thank myself later in life if I do this. I was mothering myself. But since I could not concentrate on the readings, I was trying to do, my brain won out with glee. So instead of doing homework at this moment, I am writing.

My brain seems to getting happier as I go, but the whole fact that I just had an argument with myself kind of worries me. It's like a conversation, right? So, there isn't anything to worry about... I think.

These past weeks have been great coming back to school, since apparently my roommate and I haven't received another one or two of them. Knock on wood. She helped me move into our old roommate's room, and we are getting along better than ever now. Here, here to separate rooms! Especially because I have 8 am classes and all her days start at noon. Saves us a lot of resentment on both sides.

 I also applied to be a community advisor for my college. I really hope I get it! Almost everyone has said that I will be one, but I don't have that acceptance letter in my hands yet so I still need to work for it.

This past weekend I went to see the movie Underworld Awakening and it was basically amazing. But only because I am into science-fiction action thrillers. I also have a fad for supernatural creatures, which did not become so because of Twilight, I liked that kind of stuff way before those books and movies came out. Example is that I love dinosaurs! I am a nut for them. Want to know how much? One of my favorite movies since I was basically nine years old was Jurassic Park. I know almost all the lines. I mean they aren't supernatural, but that shows how much of a geek I am. Which I am a HUGE geek, but I think all the cool people are... isn't that what a geek would say anyway?

One of the reasons why I want to be so on top of my homework this week is because I will be visiting the lovely Katie in the cities, and hopefully seeing one of my many favorite uncles. I will be leaving my little cave behind because of the special occasion of Katie's birthday, and I really don't want to have to worry about getting homework done at some point when I come back.  So, there is the dilemma I was talking about. But I noticed that I would need my brain to finish my homework. It seems my brain has run off to a tropical place with a beach and palm trees, so that won't happen for a while. Oh boy!

What's New With You, Room?

As my winter break starts to end, I think about everything I have done for the past month. The holidays, the  number of coffee dates with old friends, with new friends, the annoying amount of times calling for my misbehaved pugs to come inside, running up and down stairs only to do it again because I have forgotten something, and the projects I've worked on.

What kind of projects? Oh, just little ones like taking over my sister's old room and painting it, as well as painting my dresser and truck. Not to mention moving everything into the room and arranging it perfectly to my desire. Seems like I have time enough to do it because after all, I do have a month to finish it. Or at least that is what I thought. I guess I didn't take into account that one of the weeks is during holidays, and that I would be super busy. After all the holidays and wanting some time to relax, I have found that doing my project was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be, but guess what? I did it anyway.

Redoing my room was bound to happen anyway, so I decided that now was the best time to do it. I didn't want to keep living in a pre-teen room which I admit that it kind of was. I had outgrown my room and it was time for a change; however, I forgot one tiny fact. I am a poor college student. Where would I get the money to completely change my room? It wasn't going to be my parents that was for sure. Earlier in the year, I started thinking about ideas for it, and I was able to find some stuff that I would want in my bedroom. So, how did I get those things even though I am broke? I requested them for my birthday and then for Christmas. See? Problem solved!

I did end up paying $60 for the paint, but it was well worth it!

I had found a comforter that I loved and instantly knew that it would work in the space! The trunk below was a nasty yellow-green color, and now is a pretty grey (I painted it). To show off the room well, I decided that it was best to go simple here because it is such a pretty color and my bedroom is tiny.

To keep the room flowing, I also painted my dresser (which needed to be sanded down before hand. It took a couple of days to finish this.)

I still need to find handles that I like for it though. Sadly I threw the old ones away a long time ago. Word from the wise, don't do that.

After finishing this project, I realized that maybe I have a skill at this. Then I thought maybe I should have a show on HGTV. But it wasn't even a minute later that I decided against it. Obviously I had a great time getting all of this done and a sense of accomplishment afterwards, but I wouldn't want to do this again anytime soon.

So, I guess that is basically all I did this winter break. Not very exciting for most, but definitely amazingly exciting for me. I mean it's not everyday that a girl gets a new room. 

Wild Dense World

During the past semester I was in a nature writing class. We could write about anything in the natural world and actually had to keep a journal on what I found interesting about nature. It was so nice to be in a somewhat creatively free environment, and be able to write basically anything. One of the things that I wrote and am super proud of is the poem 'Wild Dense World" and wanted to share it. So here it is!

My roots burrow deep

            Within the ground grasping

            Moist soil. Lakes and forests

            Calm my soul. I was sired

            In a wild dense world.

            Lofty coniferous trees, fair water

            Lilies, ebony loons call to me.

I want to dive impetuously

            Into vegetated clear waters.

            Swimming deep, integrating weeds

            With sunfish, beavers, bass.

            Trees entering lakes,

            Creeping into rivers,

            Uniting bodies of water with woods.

 O Pond, ponderous

            Filled with multitudes of mysteries.

            Why will there be change

            From clean to toxic water?

            And mutations in amphibians?

            When will your home

            Disappear?

Shadowed Skies and Woodland

            Animals are in my blood.

            I belong to whistling 

            Of birds, croaking of frogs,

            Snapping of tree branches,

            And the seemed stillness

            Of woods.

I am no city dweller to be locked in

            Steal, glass, concrete,

            Forgetting nature exists,

            Using artificial light,

            Living through Facebook,

            Loosing myself

            In technology.

I want to scamper through woods

            Barefoot, carefree, eternal,

            Exploring

            Unknown yet known

            Visiting old nooks, old friends.

            Splashing through streams,

            Encountering new animals.

O Beasts, beautiful

            Surrounded by glorious confidence.

            How will one survive

            Loosing the woodlands?

            Living with no nourishment?

            Competing with concrete?

            When will your home

            Disappear?

Walls and Claustrophobic Places

            Corrupt imagination.

            I cannot articulate thoughts

            With constricting barriers, overbearing

Structures, sky-high buildings.

            Inspiration eludes concepts,

            Trapping my mind inside.

O Woodland, wondrous

            Surging in my blood.

            When will the economy stop

            Cutting giant trees?

            Destroying marshlands?

            When will my home

            Disappear?

 It's kind of dark in a way, but then most poetry is, isn't it?

I Feel Fabulous; Therefore, I Am Fabulous

Since this is the New Year, I guess I should have a new years resolution. Lose weight? Find a love life? Maybe I should find a way to pay off my college loans… or maybe I should find a cooler resolution that makes me sparkle. Hmm, I believe I like the last choice the best.

For some reason I just get so annoyed by people talking about going on diets or even going to the gym for their resolution. I mean lets face it, doesn’t it scream, “I hate my body”? People think that by changing their outer selves, somehow they will be better, be happier, etc., etc. When really this is not the case. There are skinny ass girls and guys who are miserable out there in the world. Let me tell you, I used to be a skinny ass miserable person… no, I did not have an eating disorder or have one now. I was simply skinny from genetics. I know, I have been told I am a bitch multiple times because of this. *Sigh* Oh well, I’m okay with that.

Anyways, one of the best ways to be happier is to accept yourself. Accept your overemotional, hesitant, terrified self. All of it; become one with your emotions and deal with it as you go. Of course when I say you, I really mean me. I admit to it, I am an overemotional, sensitive, terrified person. I do not like unpleasant emotions nor do I like vocalizing them, most of the time. I am always so scared of hurting someone’s feelings by telling my opinion and how I feel about the situation. So what exactly is my resolution? It’s to confront my feelings, and address them as they appear.

I have decided that this resolution is one that everyone should do because when I have accepted my emotions and figured them out. I am much happier with myself because I am being true to who I am. And guess where this leads? You guessed it … or maybe not. This will change your outer self. How? Well silly, when your inner self is happy, you tend to smile and laugh more. Smiling brings a healthy glow to your cheeks and makes you look younger, and laughing works your abs. Also when you’re happier (at least for me) you don’t eat as much. You won’t eat for comfort or from being bored.  You also tend to choose more active activities, which is a form of exercise! Who knew?!?

I also have found that happy people attract other happy people, making a group of overly happy people! Who wouldn’t want that?!?! … I’ve come to understand the miserable people wouldn’t. Sorry miserable people, I truly don’t mean to offend you.

Then, get this, when you’re surrounded by happy people, a.k.a. men and women, you’ll get to know them and maybe just maybe become attracted to one of them and that same one will be attracted to you. (By the way, this last part has not been tested.) And you’ll decide to be in a relationship and it will like a fairytale. Literally. Because the man will wear shining armor and the woman will wear a dress and they will kiss in the end and be happy. True story… I think.  Maybe I got some parts wrong, oh well.

Then to make everything come together beautifully, one must dress the part. If you’re kind of feeling malicious towards your body, remember that is a feeling too, so confront it and say “Damn girl (or guy), you need to work on your attitude, but once I fix you up, you will be worth a million bucks!” Then do something fun, like running around the house screaming profanity, or a hobby. It’s your choice. And if you are still having terrible feelings about your body, then take a shower, put on your favorite shoes (and clothes), tiny bit of make-up if you’re a woman, and say “I feel fabulous; therefore, I am fabulous,” to yourself in the mirror, better yet say it to a loved one, mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, or even a stranger. My suggestion is to say it to the stranger. It would be an amazing ice breaker! Just don’t say it too confident, otherwise the stranger will think you’re cocky, and that is so not cool. I mean there is confidence and then there is too much confidence.

Out of all the resolutions, the emotional one is the best and coolest. I mean, what other resolution will make you happy; feel younger and maybe lose weight; open the door to a new social life, which leads to a new love life (again maybe); and show your sparkling personality?  That is right, none! No other resolution could be as amazing as this one, and to think, little ole me thought of it! Maybe I am a closet genius! Hmm… I believe that is it.