"Well I'm going home, to the place where I belong"

I'm so excited! Today is the first day of freedom! I'm going home to see my sisters. I'm so excited to have some time away from school and enjoy time with family. I'm also going to Maine on Monday. I'll be there a week and then I come back and leave for Atlanta a few days later. I probably won't be able to post for a couple days or so. So enjoy your summers and I'll see you all soon! Hopefully in person!

"I don't know what I want, so don't ask me..."

I don't know what I want, so don't ask me, cause I'm still trying to figure out, don't know what's down this road I'm just walking, trying to see through the rain coming down, even though I'm not the only one that feels that way I do...

I don't know why, but I'm really in a Taylor Swift mood - especially the first CD.

Anyways, this picture is of me and Laura -my most favorite cousin ever! This is one of the summers that we went to Ocean City, MD. I loved those summers - spending time with family and literally not having a care in the world. And now my summers are spent in class. 3-5 hours a day when instead I could be out in the fresh air at the beach or at least visiting friends.

Freedom begins tomorrow! I took my last midterm today (and I think I did really well!) and I have a presentation tomorrow. Afterwards it's pool time with some classmates and then packing for home/Maine/Georgia. So ready to finally have some time to enjoy! The best part is, my classes start a whole week later than I thought! We don't go back until the 30th of August. So now I have 5 weeks of relaxation before the fall semester starts.

I can't wait to see my friends and family again. I'm going home on Saturday and will hopefully get to spend some time with my sisters! I miss them a lot.
Until tomorrow!

"I hope you [have] the time of your life"

So I changed these lyrics in the title of today's post. Originally it's "I hope you had the time of your life" but I changed to go along with today's picture. This picture is of my OT class. There are 22 of us but I think that one or two of the girls couldn't make it to the BBQ. These past 6 six weeks have been crazy busy, stressful, and fun. We've all put time into our work and really focused on getting to know one another. Grad school is hard enough as it is, but it's hard to stick 22 girls in one class and have everything run smoothly.

I think 99% of the time, we've all gotten along really well. Nothing stands out to me about any one person not getting along with another or about any drama that happened. If people plan events, everyone gets invited. When we talk about stuff, whether inside or outside of class, everyone's views and opinions are respected. We mesh really well together!

In only six weeks, we've grown so close as a whole class but also through the friendships we've developed. No one person is the same but we can relate with and empathize with one another through the experiences we've had. The program itself is really hard, but with such great peers/colleagues/friends, it makes it just a little bit easier to deal with.

My hope for us as a class, is that as the next 2 1/2 years unfold, we dwell on the good, remember the bad, and move forward towards our future. We'll look back and remember the late night study sessions and laugh at ourselves at obsessing over these finals. We'll realize that while these tests are important, so is the time we put in to our relationships. We'll remember the tests, the stress, and being overwhelmed. But we'll also remember the potlucks, the constant laughing, and the inside jokes. Our purpose is, of course, to learn about our profession and become Occupational Therapists. The journey is about all the things we'll do together on the way.

I hope when we graduate in 2012 (wow that's so far away!) that we'll look back and realize we did have the time of our lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnQ8N1KacJc

"Laughing so hard it hurts like hell..."

So I chose these "laughing so hard it hurts like hell" lyrics because it pretty much just sums up the picture. Let me give a little bit of background information. Sophomore year at JMU, Amanda, Emily and I lived in a triple (yes that's 3 beds in one room!) on the quad. We actually had a really nice room and bathroom so it wasn't that bad. We got into the habits of filming different movies and being super random. One night right before bed, I finished brushing my teeth and came out of the bathroom. Right as I opened the door, there was Amanda waiting to scare me. The funny thing was that I saw her, but didn't react right away. Then she scream "boo" and I ended up screaming bloody murder. This all happened in a matter of ten seconds. It was pretty funny. We heard people in the hallway asking what the noise was. It was pretty funny. We laughed so much. If you couldn't tell from this picture. I was literally rolling on the ground.

Come to think of it, I'm like that with pretty much all of my friends. Once I get going on something, it's really hard for me to stop. Like yesterday in class. A group presented their hour long group facilitation on humor. I was thinking this should be fun, I think of myself as humorous and felt like I would really enjoy class. And let me tell you, I did. It was ridiculous. They showed some video clips and the first ones were funny but not that great. And then they showed "A tire hit Mary in the face" by Dane Cook. I don't know if you've ever heard this or not, but it is pretty great. And by great I mean ridiculously funny. At one part, Dane says that you can't even say that without laughing. And boy did I try. And it didn't work. I busted out laughing so hard and all the girls in my class were laughing too. So I finally recovered somewhat and they played a "that's what she said" clip from the office. Now if you know me, you know that I LOVE a good that's what she said joke. This did it. I was in tears. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't stop. I actually had to get up from class and step into the hallway to regain some composure. And it worked. For about 30 seconds. I got back into the class and it just started all over again. My professor couldn't even stop laughing. I would look up and see my friend across the room and that was it. It was ridiculous.

I had to explain that I use laughter as a stress release. And this week just so happens to be the busiest week of the summer. So of course I laughed a lot. And I needed it too. It just reminded me of so many good times where my friends and I end up laughing for hours about nothing.

So, listen to the Avril song "Runaway" because it inspired today's picture. And if you want a good laugh watch the Dane Cook and the "That's what she said" clips. Enjoy!

Avril - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkGacEwwb9A
Dane Cook - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk9Fq5QT3ps
TWSS - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAAi_42uIkQ

"These are a few of my favorite things..."

Right now my favorite things include:
-diet sunkist (orange, delicious, and caffeine-filled)
-Nadal
-staying in VA
-laughing uncontrollably
-summer
-Hannah Montana Forever aka anything Miley Cyrus
-being 4 days away from the end of the summer semester.


Some of my not so favorite things?
-Diet Dr. Pepper
-Federer
-Moving/living in states other than VA
-headaches from laughing too much
-the end of summer
-Frank on the bachelorette
-2 exams and 5 projects in the next four days

"When everything is wrong I'll come talk to you, You make things alright when I'm feeling blue"

Okay, so I absolutely love this song by Weezer. I guess it's because everyone somewhere can relate to having a best friend who would drop anything for you. The lyrics are so fun and every time I hear this song, I always think of my best friends.

I love this picture too. It's me and my BFFL after the Redskins/Giant game. It was too cold to remember the score, I just know that Giants crushed the Redskins (surprised?). I loved being able to go and I love the fact that I went with Tina.

We've had a lot of great memories. So many, I couldn't even begin to start writing them down. We've been through a lot together. Even through the fights and tears, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I know she's always got my back. That's why it's going to be really hard to move her to Athens, GA in 16 days. It's bittersweet. I'm really excited for Tina to start her new life and grad school, but I'm also really sad about losing her. The road trip will be awesome and there's no doubt that we'll have a lot of fun. I'm just not ready for goodbye.

Anyways, if you haven't heard My Best Friend by Weezer yet, listen to it. It's really good! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC4bZH2zTOg

"I said it's hot outside, let me go swimming in your eyes..."

A new day equals a new blog. I haven't been the greatest keeping up with blogs in the past, but I figured that it couldn't hurt to try it again. One of my main goals for grad school is to try new things and be more adventurous than before. Of course, I'm starting this new journey in Week 6 of school.

Speaking of which...it's the last week of class. Of course this means it's finals week. So not only do I have 2 exams this week but to top it off, I have five final projects. It'll be a lot of hard work, but once I get through it, I get to enjoy a little bit of summer.

I actually got the idea for this blog from Leslie. She created one for herself and her memories. It was such a good idea that I had to start one of my own.

So today's picture is one of my favorites because I'm with my favorites. This picture has so many funny memories attached to it. We met some of Kim's friends at Skyline Drive and hiked about a 1.5 miles down the mountain. We stopped at a waterfall along the trail and went for a swim. What this picture doesn't show was the before and after. Before we hiked, we locked Kim's keys in her car. It took a while and some minor damage, but we got the keys out. Afterwards, we camped at the campsite (imagine that!). By the next morning we were ready to get out of there. All in all, a great couple of weeks spent with my Soulmate and Soulmind. Can't wait to see them again!