Hello, Mr. Sun!

Well, it is officially beautiful outside. Today it was about 85 degrees and I was so happy I could hardly stand it. Yesterday, I enjoyed a picnic outside and took a nap in the sun. Ok, so yeah, I now have a sunburn, but I'm cool with that. It's like the promise that summer is on the horizon. I feel like we're already somewhere between spring and summer, even though spring and I have hardly had time to get acquainted. Where are we now? Spummer? Suming? Either way, I love it.

For years, I couldn't decide which season was my favorite. I thought it was whichever season happened to be coming up next. It's true, there's something great about every season. I love the colors and new school supplies and feeling of a new start you find with fall. I love the scarves and sweaters and holiday cheer of winter. I love the new flowers and first rays of warm sun and little girls in Easter dresses of spring. But ultimately, I think summer will always have my heart. I'm a summer baby (June 14th, Flag Day y'all!). Plus I live in sundresses. I almost cry every year when I have to trade them out for jeans and coats. I love sno-cone stands and pool parties. I love watching the sun set as the temperature drops and the stars begin to shine through the clouds. I love walking barefoot through soft blades of green grass.

But most of all, summer holds great memories. I think of summer and I think of sleeping in, of reading in a park, of roadtrips with the windows down and the music blaring, and I think of SMTI, the theater program that changed my life.

So sun, bring it on. 35 days of the semester left, and then I'm all yours. Get ready, because your 100 degree weather won't phase me. When it's summer, I'm in my element. And this summer is going to rock.

The List

So my dear friend, JP, and I have created a truly epic Bucket List. It contains about forty-some-odd items, ranging from things as simple as having a picnic to things as outlandish as going to Germany to play with a giant rabbit. This list may seem ridiculous to some, but I have to say that making it was one of the most exciting things I've done in a long time, and I'll tell you why.

Firstly, it's really interesting to think of the things you would like to accomplish. Taking the time to really decide what things you think are important to do in life is a great way to get to know yourself better. It gives you a map of sorts to where you would like to go with your life, and by connecting the dots, it gives you a route to get there.

Also, it's a way to really get things done. Once you have a physical list of things you want to do, once you've taken a pen and written it down, it's much harder to fiind excuses not to do these things or to let them be forgotten.

Perhaps my favorite part of the list is how spontaneous it has made me feel, and how accomplished. If you've got a boring Saturday, you pull out the list and say, "Hey, let's go on a road trip!" and suddenly you find yourself doing something exciting. And let me tell you, there's nothing like the joy you find in checking something off of your list.

So far, I'd say we've made a small dent in the list. Some of the things we've done so far include climbing a tree, going thrift store shopping, playing bingo, and getting a piercing/tattoo. And with what we've got left on the list, I can promise you it will only get better.

I highly encourage you to make a bucket list. It may sound silly, but it really is great. And if you, here's some advice for you. Find a friend (a really awesome one preferably) to make it with. It makes it more fun for one thing. It also give you someone to hold you accountable and make sure you go through with the list instead of letting it end up in the trash someday. And it adds a whole new set of ideas to help make the list as exciting as possible.

Anyway, now that you know the basics of the list, expect to hear more about it in the future. I intend for my life to get much more exciting as JP and I check more things off!

And so it begins...

Well, I did it. I fell into peer pressure and got a blog. Now I sit where so many have sat before me, staring at an empty white box and wondering what it wants me to say. Blogging. Psh.

It's true, I was hesitant to get a blog. I love reading what all of my friends have to say, but I wonder what it is I have to say that the world wide web would be interested to hear. It's a little terrifying to put yourself out there where anyone can read your random musings. Even if I only get three hits, one from my mom, it's weird to think that this is available to any rando that stumbles across it.

Well. With that out of the way...

I just got back to Tulsa to finish the semester after a spring break that swept by faster than a snitch in a particularly heated game of Quidditch. The first official day of spring greeted us with a large portion of snow to make the trip back particularly difficult. I surprisingly got to share the ride with Teryn, one of Meagan's friends that I didn't know very well but had somehow managed to find her way to Little Rock after her flight to Tulsa was cancelled. We actually didn't have any trouble finding conversation, especially with my handy dandy newly developed "get to know you" questions I've been testing lately. They aren't your typical, "Where were you born? What's your favorite color?" kind of questions, but I think they tell you a lot about a person. I've been asking them to everyone I've come across for a while and I really enjoy them because I think they're questions that everyone seems to have an opinion on. Here's a list of what I've got so far:

1. When you have to sneeze, would you rather keep it in or get it out?
2. What is your favorite season?
3. When you are sick and you feel like crap, would you rather look like crap or dress up to make yourself feel better?
4. Toilet paper: roll over or under?
5. Describe your pillows: size, hard/soft, number, pillowcases?
6. What websites do you check on a daily basis?
7. When eating an array of food, do you eat all of one thing at a time or do you take bites of each and mix it up?
8. Do you eat your favorite first or save the best for last?
9. Everyone is a snob about something. What are you a snob about?
10. Everyone is freaked out by/scared of something strange. What freaks you out?

Here are two questions I am testing. I haven't decided if they're worthy of "the list" yet.

1. What is your theory to get rid of the hiccups?
2. What is your favorite random website you've recently discovered?

Well, it's a work in progress. But I think it's true that everyone has something very interesting to say if you're willing to listen.

Perhaps the point of blogs? Hm...