The weather

So on Friday it was soo cold. I could see my breath, which is perfect "stay inside and study" weather. But now when it's crunch time it's of course beautiful outside! This seriously makes studying so much harder because I just want to be outside and enjoy it. At home, it's never perfect like this. It's either cold or really really hot. I know when I go home in a few weeks it will be disgustingly hot and humid, and I'm not excited about that! When Boone is having bad weather, it's just bad. But when Boone decides to be pretty, it's absolutely beautiful. My mom shared an article with me on Facebook about how Boone was #2 on a list for hidden diamonds in the rough in America. I will agree to that when it's pretty outside. These are the days I will miss the most when I eventually leave Boone and move on. Happy studying, y'all!

Here's the link to that article in case anyone wanted to take a look!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationRentalsBlog/2015/04/17/tripadvisor-hidden-gems-13-us-towns-diamonds-in-rough/#.VTu4e3CcDNw.facebook

Finals

Can finals just cease to exist? Like who ever thought this was a good idea? "Hey, let's give them tests all in the same week and in all of their classes and see if they make it out alive." The studying that is required for a week such as exam week is not physically, mentally, or emotionally healthy. Even if you're the most non-procrastinating person ever, you can't say exam week is easy. I had the bright idea of taking 17 hours this semester. Five 3 hour classes and two 1 hour classes. It's been... interesting, to say the least. All I've got left is to finish Klein's methods paper, one presentation to give, two online exams, Coleman's "exam," and four finals that I actually need to worry about and do well on. Praying next Friday comes soon. Rant over.

Happy finals! Good luck y'all, we're almost done!

Curling My Hair

I don't know about y'all, but I just can't curl my own hair. I don't know why, but out of all the things I have the ability to do, curling hair is not one of them. Wands don't work on my hair (I'm pretty sure a wand would be easier to do?) because my hair is kind of naturally frizzy. So I need my hair to be heated on both sides, which only works with a good-quality clamp curling iron. There's a lot of technique to it that I don't understand. My friend, Leah, curls my hair all the time and I love it when it's curly. But put that thing in my hand and it's not gonna turn out well. She tries to work with me, but I just think it's a lost cause. I even bought a pretty expensive curling iron to practice with over the summer and hopefully I'll get the hang of it. Leah is even a "real blogger" and actually just posted a video today of how to curl your hair. Of course though, with exams on the horizon I have no time to practice. Maybe over the summer I'll watch her blog video about 47389747389732 times. Pray for me. 

Concussion

So, this past weekend at tryouts I got a concussion. An inexperienced flyer fell out of a stunt and when I went to catch her I got a shoulder to the left side of my head. I felt a sharp pain and then saw nothing but white for about 10 seconds afterwards. I knew that it was a bad hit to my head, but at first I honestly thought I was fine.... Until later that night when I had all the symptoms of a concussion: headache, dizziness, sensitivity to light and sound, inability to focus my eyes, and a foggy feeling. I kind of brushed it off and told myself I would be fine, but then Monday in class I realized that I was certainly not fine. On Tuesday I went to my trainer and he made me take the concussion test. Sure enough, I have a pretty bad one and so this past week has been hard. My head constantly hurts, I have a hard time focusing, my eyes are always blurry, and I am constantly tired. With this being the busiest time of the school year, I've felt so stressed and helpless. I'm hoping my symptoms go away soon, but with all this schoolwork and staring at the computer, I'm basically not healing at all, but I feel like I have no choice. I really wish there was something I could do to fix this, but my head hurts now just from looking at the computer to do this blog. Ugh.  

My sister's birthday

So this past Tuesday my sister, Lidi, turned EIGHT. How did she get so big? I have no idea. Every time I see her I am shocked by how grown up she looks and how incredibly beautiful and smart she is. This is the first year that she has not wanted a "real" birthday party and I'm honestly kind of glad. Don't get me wrong, I want her to have the birthday party that she wants. But I have never enjoyed dealing with 30 screaming kids running around the rock climbing place, the indoor pool, our house, or the park (to name a few past birthday party venues). This year she wanted to take her very best friend, Natalie, to the American Girl Cafe. It's the restaurant that's inside the new American Girl Doll store in Southpark Mall in Charlotte. She absolutely loves that store and the restaurant is a three course meal, fine dining experience where she and her friend get to pick out a gift and will receive goody bags. Then, Natalie is staying the night for a sleepover, which will be filled with giggles, popcorn, and candy. I wish I could go back to being eight sometimes. She's so excited, which makes me happy. Lidi's family birthday is on Sunday afternoon and I really want to be there to see my whole family, but I have my first team practice on Sunday at two. This means I need to head for the mountain at about 10:30am on Sunday morning. ): 

Well, y'all pray for me because even though Lidi isn't having a crazy hectic birthday party with 30 screaming little girls, the American Girl Doll store is chalk full of them. Have a good weekend everyone!  

My New Apartment

As the end of the school year is coming quickly I am realizing that in just a little over two weeks, I will be moved OUT of my current apartment for forever. I am so excited. I have lived in that apartment for two long years and it's safe to say that I am 100% over it. My situation with my roommates has been... rough, to say the very least. Early last semester I came to the conclusion that I am done living with people and that I will not live with another person until I am married. I know that makes me sound so stuck up and antisocial, but it's true (sorry). I hate other people's messes, loud noises, and dirtiness. Maybe my current living situation has just left me with a bad taste in my mouth, but oh well. I am moving out on May 9th and a girl is subleasing my room for the summer while I'm at home working my butt off. On August 1st I am moving into a cute and cozy one bedroom apartment with a deck that has a breathtaking view of the mountains. I am so excited to sit out on my porch in the mornings and just relax with my coffee. Most importantly, I am excited to have my own space that is clean and quiet. It will be perfect for the stressful senior classes, GRE preparation, and grad school applications that I will be dealing with by then. I can't wait!

April = birthdays

So I'm not exactly sure why, but about 75% of my friends and family have birthdays that fall in the month of April. My aunt has six kids and five of them have April birthdays! Not to mention they're all old enough to begin procreating and now they're having children whose birthdays are, of course, in April. I also have one other cousin with an April birthday. Then, it's my sister Lidia's birthday tomorrow actually (she'll be 8!). Three of my best friends also have April birthdays. How does this happen???

I don't know, but I need a little more time in between all these birthday's to afford presents and birthday celebrations. I'm going broke! Of course though, my friends and family are 100% worth it and they can't help when they were born. I should really just start saving up in advance. Maybe I'll start saving in January to budget for April? I don't know. There's also the problem of what I should even get them all. My cousins are easier because their mom gives me ideas. But my friends are always "I don't need anything, don't worry about it." But I'm not going to get them nothing so I search high and low on King Street for a unique, reasonably priced gift that is different for each of them. I just really hope they all like their gifts and that I financially get through the month of April!

I must just have a thing for people who were born in April?

Cheer Tryouts: Update

This weekend was absolutely exhausting because of tryouts. I am so sore, bruised, and tired that it's crazy. However, I think we've got a really talented team for next year and I'm so excited! It's somewhat small-- 25 people. But honestly, I would rather have a small, hard working, talented team, than a big, lazy, and inadequate team. Today was also pretty nostalgic for me. This was my last cheerleading tryout ever, and that's so hard to believe. Cheerleading has been such a huge part of my life for my three years in college! It wasn't as exciting to see my number on the final cut list this year as it was three years ago. But I was with a few rising freshman who saw their numbers on the list and were so happy they were crying, jumping up and down, and hugging. I remember that feeling like it was yesterday and I wish I could go back to that moment-- truly one of the best feelings in the world. It's awesome to know that something you've worked so hard for has paid off and that you have finally reached your goals. 

I'm excited to get to know my new teammates in the upcoming season and to build a close-knit bond that my team really needs. I'm now looking forward to a summer filled with six weekend practices (Saturday and Sunday), one five-day UCA college camp, and one "hell week" which is the week right before school starts. (Oh and working two jobs and taking one summer class, plus the GRE and all the necessary preparation). We've got a lot of work to do, but I can't wait!  

Rainy Daze

It's been raining for three days straight in Boone so far and it's expected to continue raining until Sunday. I am all for snuggling up to a movie and a hot cup of coffee on a cold rainy day. But the rain really sucks when it's all week long, nonstop, and you need to be productive all week. The rain makes me tired and really does affect my mood--I feel more tired and pessimistic. So clearly this week is going to go well for me just based on the weather (I'm actually not that superstitious, I just know how rain affects my mood and how my mood affects my life). 

One thing I do love about rain though is thunderstorms. Where I live it storms everyday during the summer. Literally, every day. The storms move through quickly but they will come, no matter what. My dad and I used to go sit out on our screened-in back porch and watch the storms. I always thought they were so amazing yet scary, which made me not want to look away. When it storms at night I love how the lightning lights up the sky, and for a split second it almost looks like it's daytime again. You can see everything that the night is trying to hide, if you look closely enough. I used to personify the sky and wonder what it was so mad at or what it was crying about. To me, storms are beautiful. 

However, during the school year it rarely storms in Boone and I don't have a porch to sit on or my dad to keep me company. I can maybe count on one hand the number of times I've seen it storm in Boone with actual thunder and lightning. Otherwise, it's just regular rain or snow. Ew. 

In conclusion, please go away rain. Thank you. 

Tryouts

I know exactly what April means: cheerleading tryouts. This year's tryouts are next weekend. On our team, we have to try out every year (regardless of the fact that I'll be a senior next year and I've cheered for the past three years). I don't get too nervous anymore, but try outs are still nerve racking. I still, of course, have to work hard and impress the judges. My spot is not 100% secured and I know that I am not entitled to a position on the team. I still get nervous doing the actual try out. The hardest part about it all is wondering which of your friends may not make it this year, or which of the new people will walk away crying because they don't see their numbers on the call-back list. 

Tryouts are two days long and there are three cuts. The first cut is the most general cut-- like the people who absolutely do not need to be there and don't have the most basic skill requirements. That cut is made after the lunch break on the first day. The second cut is for those who could have what it takes, but we do not see fit for them to be on the team right now, or they may still need to improve on their skills. That cut is made at the conclusion of the first day. If you make it past the second cut, then you are invited back for the second day of tryouts, which involves stunting, an interview, and the formal tryout-- the most nerve racking part.  

Clearly it's an intensive process that makes for a long, tiring, stressful weekend. I hope everything goes smoothly and that we will get a well-rounded, talented, and dedicated team for next year! 

My Saturday

I had an awesome day yesterday and soo I'm going to blog about it! First of all, I actually got to sleep in! It's been soo long since I got to do that. Sleeping in for me is sleeping in until 8:30 and it felt amazing. Then, I spent the morning being lazy and I finished the book that I've been reading (Insurgent). After that, I picked three of my friends up and we went up on the parkway to go hiking. We never found the hike that we were actually looking for, so we did the basic Rough Ridge hike. I've done it at least 5 times now, but somehow I don't get tired of it. The mountains are beautiful and the infamous rock is cool, even though it's no where near as high as it seems in all the pictures. The weather was perfect: sunny, not too hot, not too cold, with a slight breeze. We sat up on the rock and just talked and laughed for an hour or so. After that, we hiked back down and went to Town Tavern in Blowing Rock. We weren't that hungry so we got a bunch of yummy appetizers to share and we sat out on the deck. Then we got Kilwin's and walked around the little shops in Blowing Rock. 

It was honestly one of the best days I've had in a while and it was exactly what I needed. Sunshine, good friends, and good food might actually be the cure for just about anything. I realized that those are the days that I will cherish the most when I think back someday about being in undergrad at App State.  

Study study study

It's starting to hit me that this semester is coming to a close and that I'm getting busier and busier. This means stress, stress, stress. This week seems like it would be easy since it's only a three day week, right? Wrong. In this three day week, I've got two tests, a short paper, three online quizzes, and a week's worth of work for my online class. I'm trying to plan everything out really well, so I'm using my planner like a Bible. I'm telling myself that if I just stay on task and stay focused, I will get everything done and then I can have fun this weekend. For now, I'm going to be studying my life away for political science (today) and physics (friday). Can we talk about how boring those two subjects are?? My mom majored in political science so that she could go to law school...... what a horrible, horrible undergrad degree. I have my opinions about things, but I am just not into politics at all. And physics. I mean I guess it's interesting but it's wayyyyy more information about the world around me than I even want to know. Plus I hate all forms of math. Different strokes for different folks, I guess! 

*If y'all are feeling anything like me, good luck! Just drink some coffee, tell yourself you can do it, and reward yourself when you do! 

Pixi Face Toner

Okay, so I'm going to be a total white girl and blog about my favorite new face toner that my friend Leah introduced me to! It's called Pixi Glow Tonic, by Pixi Cosmetics. All of their products are made to order in individual batches. For a long time Pixi products were only available in the UK, and now finally they're here in America! Their glow toner is by far my favorite product from them. People have raved about how amazing it is and I can definitely say that it's all true! It is slightly expensive... around $30, but it lasts a while because you only need a little bit each night (plus it's totally worth it). After taking off all your make up, just apply the toner to a cotton ball or cotton pad and wipe your entire face, jaw line, and neck. It takes off left over make up, any sweat/residue, and gives your face a nice shiny-clean feeling. After wards you can use any medicated face cream (I use Epiduo) and apply your moisturizer! After a few months of using it, I've noticed that my face has cleared up a lot and that it's much less greasy in general. Also, my skin is more even-complexioned and my pores are way smaller on my problem-areas such as my nose and chin. I apply the face toner every night like it's my religion. I also sometimes use it in the morning if I just feel kinda gross and groggy when I wake up. I highly recommend this face toner! 

*PS- yes, Target does now sell Pixi products, but unfortunately they don't sell the face toner. You've got to buy it online through Pixi's website which is given here! 

http://www.pixibeauty.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwxd6oBRCRoMrWmLOCvI4BEiQAYyZdkVJ136smZ_Av5IRlrmCW4xhiaA2OMMgKNn_whcwqnl4aAoqK8P8HAQ

Wear your yellow today!

So some of y'all may have seen the video about the little boy named Seth who was born without an immune system. He is the cutest and sweetest little boy and he basically lives in the hospital. His favorite color is yellow and he wants people to wear yellow today in support of him and other children with the same disease! Of course, I had a bad morning and forgot to wear yellow. BUT I asked my team to wear yellow/gold to practice tonight. We're going to take a picture and send it to him to show our support for him! I'm super excited about that. But then, when I really think about it, I know that my morning really wasn't that bad. Yes, I had another migraine. Yes, I felt awful and was in a hurry. Yes, I didn't feel like getting up. But in comparison to what this little boy goes through every day, I've had an awesome day. Sometimes I need people like Seth to remind me that everything is okay, and that I should really just be thankful for my health and my life. That's why Seth-- and people like him who inspire others even when they are sick and in pain-- are so special to this world.

Here is the link to the original video that Seth posted! There is also one of those global snapchat stories on him if you want to watch that too! Enjoy and wear your yellow and post a picture with the hashtag that's in the video so that he can see it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taaHLCjhAMY

Migraines... Ugh

Have y'all ever had a migraine? If you haven't, I sincerely hope you never have one. I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy (I don't really have enemies though...). It is seriously the worst pain in the world. I had one last night and I still feel absolutely awful. I hate when people tell me that migraines are "just bad headaches," because it is SO much worse than that. My mom has had migraines all her life and, lucky me, they're hereditary. Mine are brought on by stress and I probably have about 1-3 a month. I had my first migraine when I was 9 years old. I specifically remember it because I was at gymnastics practice and when I looked at people, I couldn't see their mouths. I know that sounds weird, but ocular disturbances are the way that mine start. Sometimes I can't see people's eyes/mouths, sometimes I get flurries around the corners of my vision, and sometimes I can't see words when I look at them. Sometimes my hands will even go numb. Once I notice my first ocular disturbance, I've got about 30 minutes before the pain really sets in. In that time, I NEED to get my prescribed migraine medicines or else all hell will break loose. Even with my medicine, a night with a migraine means a night of laying in pitch black darkness in the complete silence feeling nauseous with a hot rag on my forehead. Whatever you were doing, you're done. Whatever you needed to do, it's not happening tonight. It is pure misery. It also means I will have a migraine "hangover" for the next two days, where my head is always dully throbbing and anytime I bend over or turn my head I get this sharp pain through my brain. I really wish there was some type of permanent cure for migraines, but there really and truly isn't. My future with migraines is looking far too promising. 

Vegetarianism

About two months ago I became a vegetarian. I kind of slowly built up to my decision to completely change what I eat, but I'm so glad I did. When I was about 14 I started realizing that eating meat on the bone was so disgusting to me. It looks so... inhumane, in my opinion. Then, I slowly stopped eating red meat. When I came to App I was bombarded with those little pamphlets about how awful our food system is and how horrible the animals are treated before they die. The last straw was when my mom was forced to become vegetarian for health reasons and so I started eating more and more vegetarian meals. I then decided that I was not going to eat meat anymore. It's definitely harder to go out to eat, almost impossible to eat anything cheap or fast, and hard to find enough protein per day. My boyfriend and my dad think I'm a complete weirdo and they basically don't accommodate to my eating habits whatsoever. I'm getting to the point now where I know I couldn't stomach eating meat and I'm learning to find vegetarian food thats yummy, filling, and not stocked with carbs. My favorite places to get quality vegetarian meals are: Chipotle, Which Wich, Our Daily Bread, and Dos Amigos. All in all, I'm really glad that I chose to be a vegetarian even though it makes life a little harder. I made the choice based on what I believe in and I stuck to it, even though some of my friends and family said I wouldn't.  

Weddings

So yesterday one of my friends, Jessie, got married. I worked with her two summers ago at a summer camp and yesterday she married the man she was dating back then, Matt! I'm super happy for them and I was excited to be invited to the wedding! The wedding was Great Gatsby themed, which apparently is a new popular thing for weddings. I am not one for dressing up, Halloween has always been awkward for me. BUT the guests were requested to dress up in their 1920s garb, and who was I to come to the wedding in normal clothes? I knew I wouldn't go all out, but I also knew that I needed to look 1920s-ish. I wore a black dress with a long strand of pearls and a pearl bracelet, with a clip-in feather headpiece and red lipstick. I felt so weird until I walked into the ceremony and realized there were people way more dressed up than me that looked slightly ridiculous in my opinion (no offense). The wedding was nice and I was so happy for Jessica and Matt. It made me think about my future wedding and what mine would be like. I already know it will not be 1920s themed... I'm thinking more of a southern, rustic-meets-modern theme. I want the main colors to be a soft coral, gold, and pearly white. I'm such a girl.... planning my wedding without an engagement ring on my finger! I can dream though, right?  

Coffee

So today has been a long day for various reasons. It's been a good day... but a long one. So as I sit here and drink a much-needed cup of coffee, I am going to blog about it. I'll start out by saying that coffee has kept me alive in  my past three years of college. I never drank it in high school and I thought it was so gross. But when I came to college I realized how necessary caffeine is. Coffee, therefore, is my best friend. It gets me going in the morning: a little cup of "go out and be great today" is all you really need sometimes. Then it keeps me going during the day by saying "you're not done yet, just keep swimming." It keeps me up late at night when I need to study or finish and assignment by saying "you can do this!" I would say that I have a deep connection with my coffee. Each cup is a shot of motivation for me. I know, I know. It's kind of an unhealthy habit. But the way I look at it as that there's wayyy worse things that I could be doing to keep me awake. SO, I'm going to finish this cup of coffee and then continue studying for Klein's midterm.

Thanks for everything coffee, I love you.

My wonderful vacation

I'm not really even sure if we have blogs due this upcoming Tuesday, but I'm going to blog now just to be on the safe side. This past week I went on a 5-day Royal Caribbean Cruise with my family. The cruise left out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and went to Labadee, Haiti and Ochos Rios, Jamaica. The ship was filled with old people and of course, lots of college students spring break-ing. I'm sure they all thought I was in ninth grade since I was with my parents and my 7 year old sister, but oh well! The ship was huge and it had so much to do. There was food available 24-hours of the day, there was multiple shows every night, there was an entire mall for shopping. Also, Haiti and Jamaica were incredibly beautiful. The water was so clear and it was so warm and sunny there. Did you know that they're both mountainous? I didn't know that at all, so I was surprised to see huge mountains everywhere. I guess because of Boone I associate mountains with cold, and those two countries with the hot equator. It was a pleasant surprise. and only added to their beauty. In Haiti, we spent the day lounging on the beach and exploring the area. In Jamaica, we went snorkeling and climbed a waterfall-- literally. It was 958ft tall and we took a tour that walked/climbed/hiked all the way up the waterfall, in the water the entire time. It was really hard but also really fun and we all felt so accomplished when we made it to the top. It was so beautiful everywhere we went. It was truly the best vacation I've ever been on and quite possibly one of my last family vacations since I'm getting older now. For now, it's back to reality and the incredible amount of assignments and tests that I have this week. UGH.

Dreaming of Spring Break

As I walk around on campus and I'm blinded by the 6+ inches of snow everywhere, all I can think about is spring break. It's hard to believe that it's only a week away, and I'm thankful for it too. This year I'm going on a Royal Caribbean cruise to Jamaica and I cannot wait! It will be so nice to swim in the clear water, eat real food, and let the hot sun give me a tan (since I'm basically albino right now). Needless to say, this break is much needed. However, when I look at my planner for next week, I realize I still have one incredibly busy week ahead of me. I'm so thankful Klein moved our midterm back because I don't think I would've been able to make it out alive with that midterm on top of everything else. This weekend I just really need to stay focused and get a lot done so that next week isn't quite so awful. Sunday will definitely be spent doing nothing but homework and studying. I just hope I don't come back from spring break to even more snow. I don't think I can take it anymore!  

Make up

I've recently become close with one of my teammates who is obsessed with make-up and hair styling. She's so good at it. Her hair always looks beautiful and her make up always looks perfect. Naturally, I'm really jealous. So over the snow days last week we spent a lot of time together and she started giving me tips on hair and make up and showed me the products she uses and all that. Now, I wear make up and I can do my hair. I don't think I look awful or anything. But most of the products that I use are from drug stores. I've never seen the point in paying tons of money for make up because I literally thought it was actually all the same (like name brand clothing is, in my opinion). Then my friend started showing me all the Mac, Urban Decay, and Naars make up she wears, and then I realized that that's the difference between the way she looks and the way I look. I know that sounds dumb, but I JUST now realized that paying money (and I mean a lot) for make-up is worth it. So we went to a mall in Columbia this past weekend and went to Sephora and I bought a few things. I already had Urban Decay's Naked and Naked Basics pallet, and I love it. So this weekend I bought Urban Decay Setting Spray and their mascara called Perversion and I LOVE IT! The setting spray is awesome and the mascara is soooo wonderful: gives you extra-long extra-thick lashes, doesn't get hard and crusty, doesn't seep down your face, and comes off easily with my make up remover. I can't wait to try more high-end make up products-- but I need to save up some money first.

Puppy Fever

I'm that girl that sees a dog when out in public somewhere and immediately stops what she's doing, swoons over the dog, and doesn't want to ever walk away. I love dogs of all shapes, sizes, and colors. I have a puppy back at home (when I say puppy I mean he's really like 10 years old but he'll always be my puppy). He's a chihuahua named Chachi and he's literally my WORLD. He's actually my spirit animal. I look forward to going home to him because it means snuggling and playing with him all day. I think I love dogs so much because I admire their selfless, unwavering love for their owners. They don't care what you look like, or all the mistakes you've made-- they just love you more than they love anything else in the world and they always will. Lately I've really been missing Chachi... I think it's because my roommate brought her golden retriever, Stella, up for a few weeks. It's nice to have her around but now I just want Chachi. Also, coincidentally I've been seeing a lot of advertisements for dogs for sale and stuff like that. I want one here in Boone with me so bad, but Chachi would not allow that to happen (he hates other dogs and becomes a vicious attack animal when he sees another one). He would be so upset and hurt and I could never do that to him. Do I sound like a crazy dog lady? Oh well. :)  

Klein's Literature Review

I recently started trying to work on Klein's lit review. So far, all I've accomplished is learning that I am confused. Maybe I should've started this a long time ago, or maybe I didn't start it because I was confused back then too. I understand my topic, and I vaguely understand the methods section, but I just don't understand what I should be doing for this paper. I know that I am supposed to use sources and some of my annotated bibliography articles, but for what? What do I say about them? Needless to say, I have a lot of questions for him in class tomorrow. Last week's class cancellations definitely were not helpful, so I feel like I've just been stuck. Thank goodness that the rough draft only needs to be two pages and that it's only a rough draft. Here's to hoping I understand this by Thursday (and to hoping that I'm not the only one who feels this way).

Snow Days

I definitely do not like bad weather: I don't particularly love being cold, I don't like rain, and I don't really even like the snow. BUT, when the snow gets me out of 3.5 total days of school, I love it. This week's weather has been pretty much awful, but I got the opportunity to slow down and really enjoy my time and just have fun. I've been at my friend's house for the past few days with a few of my other teammates. We've spent the days being lazy, drinking hot chocolate, watching girly movies, eating pizza, and playing card games. So healthy and active, right? It's been so relaxing and I realized that sometimes this is what we all need: a chance to stop real life and just laugh and lay around with your best friends. In this way, I'm so thankful for the snow this week. I still hate negative degree temperatures when I walk outside, but I'm not sure there are any humans alive that enjoy that kind of weather. I hope everyone else's snow week has been as sweet and enjoyable as mine! 

Exciting weekend ahead!

So this weekend will be a busy and exciting one. Friday is my day to relax and get things done. Saturday, I was invited by my coach to drive with her and one of my other teammates to judge a cheerleading competition in Columbia, SC! I'm super excited but also really nervous. Judging is a pretty nerve racking thing! Apparently it's a really small competition and it's for a private Christian school, but still. At least I'll be getting paid! Then on Sunday I am working the cheer clinic through App Cheerleading. I'm excited but it's going to be a loooong day. The clinics are a good way for my team to make money, and also a good way to see and meet people prior to tryouts. It's also a great way for my team to show off and show how awesome our friendships are. The campers learn our fight song dance, some sidelines, and get to stunt with us. It's a great opportunity for anyone who is planning on trying out for our team and any other college team. We're hoping to get a decent turn out! I'm excited to be busy and make some money, but I need to set aside time to be productive and do homework too.  

Home sweet home

There is nothing that I love more than being at home. When I was in high school I was the typical teenager that couldn't wait to get out of the house. But now that I'm in college I've learned to value home so much more. I spent this weekend at home and it was wonderful, as always. When I drive back into my small hometown I feel instantly comfortable. That is my home: where time passes slower, where all of my sweetest memories were made, where I grew up. Then I pull into my drive way and walk in the house and I'm greeted by an excited puppy, an excited 7 year old sister, and two smiling parents. There is truly nothing better. I also got to see my wonderful boyfriend who is in Rookie school to be a police officer (like my dad). The weekend was filled with laughter, yummy food and relaxation. Leaving is always so hard though. Driving away from my family is the hardest thing, and goodbye hugs pretty much break my heart. I can't wait until I can go back home for a weekend! 

Stressed!

So... I need a blog to just vent, which I know is annoying, BUT it'll make me feel better, I hope. This week has been so completely overwhelming. One wrestling match and two basketball games to cheer in, three 6 am work outs, two 6pm practices (with extra conditioning), two tests, one quiz, three papers due, two presentations, one tutoring session, and one very important meeting. But who's keeping count, right? This entire week I have felt so stressed. I got up at 3:30am almost every morning this week to finish things and study and whatnot. So I just feel completely exhausted and my brain and body are just done. I am so so thankful that it's Friday. My only saving grace through this week was knowing that I get to go home this weekend to see my family, boyfriend, and puppy. I can't wait! Now to just get through this last quiz and one more class. THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!  

Positive Post Its

So most of you may have seen the abundance of post-it notes that were posted in random places all over campus on Monday-- and I hope you did see them! One of my really good friends and teammates came up with the idea last week: to create a Facebook page inviting people to write positive, encouraging, and uplifting memos on post-it notes and put them anywhere on campus on Monday, February 9. The idea was that, with all the tragic events that are happening around us, the Appalachian State community needs to come together and remind each other that we are worthy, important, and loved. I saw some of the sweetest, most up lifting post its around campus. My heart was filled with happiness to know that a simple sticky note like that could make someone's day or even save someone's life. I even had a pretty bad day on Monday, and a pretty bad week so far. But when I think about our campus spotted with those sticky notes full of love and encouragement, I can't help but smile. I am so proud of not only our student body, but of my beautiful friend who thought of the idea and made it all happen. She has been interviewed by local newspapers and even the Huffington Post for Positive Post-It Note Day. She plans to make it an annual event, and hopes that Post-It will even sponsor her someday. I am so proud to call such an awesome person my friend, and I am so happy that I could participate and be affected by such an awesome idea. I can't wait till next year's positive post-it note day! 

Iphone Updates

Ask anyone.. I am the furthest thing from technologically savvy. Can I do basic things on the computer and phone to get me through school and to use social media websites? Yes-- I was born in the 90s afterall. But as far as all the iphone updates and syncing your macbook with your phone, it's just beyond me! I guess if I sat down and really worked at it and figured everything out, then sure I'd be able to do it. It's just that I have no interest in doing all that stuff. It's time consuming and it gives me anxiety. Tonight my friends decided that I needed to update my phone. In order to do this I needed to sync my phone and computer in order to free up data space on my phone. It took a lot of patience, a lot of questions asked, and a lot of confusion, but I feel like my life is fully up to date now. I might have post traumatic stress disorder after all this. So for now, my phone and computer are up to date.... until the next update comes out, that is. Then it'll be this whole ballgame all over again. Great!

New puppy?

My dad is a police officer in a department in my hometown. Of course, they have police dog German Shepards there, and apparently, one of the other officers has a German Shepard of her own who just had puppies. She only has two puppies left, a boy and a girl, and she brought them to the police department today to try to get someone to buy them. Now, my dad is not an animal person. I have a dog at home and they get along fine but in general my dad is just not an animal lover. He'll cry at the movie Marley & Me, but he's not likely to ask to pet someone's dog on the street (like me). So I'm sitting in class and I checked my phone and I see a picture of this beautiful puppy sitting in a basket in my dad's office. Then another picture of the puppy in my dad's arms-- I've almost never seen my dad smile so big, especially because of an animal. He said we can't buy one, but I know he's secretly thinking about it. I would be sooooo happy if we got one! He keeps talking about how good they were for puppies, and how soft they were, and how they were the coolest dogs ever. I want one so bad! I'll keep y'all updated if we get it :)

Being sick.... EW!

For the past few days I haven't been feeling all that great. I've had a congested head, a sore throat, achy ears, and an awful cough. I usually hate going to the doctor and I wasn't planning on it, but then two of my teammates went to the doctor and were diagnosed with bronchitis that could have turned into fatal pneumonia. So, naturally, this scared me into going to the doctor. I went to student health today and it took forever, of course. After over two hours of waiting I finally saw a doctor. She immediately wanted a blood test done (ouch!) to check my white blood cell count. Overall, my blood looked healthy but my white blood cells were high enough that the doctor concluded that I had a viral infection that was in the early stages of turning into bronchitis. Yuck! So she prescribed me four different types of medicine to take throughout the day and said that if I didn't feel better in the next few days that I would need to come back in for bronchitis medicine. She also ordered 4-5 days of rest with no physical activity. This means I will have to miss practice and 6am workouts. I hate letting my team down, but I feel so awful that I know I couldn't participate anyways. I'm also highly contagious, so I don't think anyone wants me around anyways. So it's soup, my bed, and lots of gatorade and medicine for the next few days for me! Ugh.  

My beautiful sister

I was an only child growing up. My mother and father worked full time, and I was in school all day and at gymnastics practice every night. We lived a very busy life, and I never even had time to feel lonely or to be overly spoiled (but I was a little spoiled). When I was still a little fetus in my mom's stomach, they realized that her uterus was shaped oddly, and that I was only able to grow in about a fourth of the uterus. The pregnancy was difficult, but I was born full-term and healthy. My mom on the other hand, barely made it. She almost bled to death and had to have an emergency hysterectomy just minutes after I was born. Her heart stopped beating multiple times and she was very, very sick. Needless to say, she couldn't have any more children and she was heartbroken. When I was 10, my parents told me that they had decided to adopt a baby from China, and that I would have a sister soon. The adoption process actually took four more years after that. But on October 3rd, 2008 I met my sister, Lidia Faith Coan, for the first time. In that moment I knew what it felt like to love someone else more than you could ever possibly love yourself. I felt the strongest type of love and the strongest need to protect her and keep her safe. Since that day, we have been best friends. She is the most beautiful, sweet, creative, and compassionate child I have ever met (though I may be biased). She was only a year and a half old then, and was extremely underweight and delayed in speech and gross and fine motor movements. She is now 7 and a half years old and is in the second grade. She is not delayed in any areas anymore, in fact she is so intelligent that it's scary. I love her more than anything in this world, and I'm so incredibly proud to be able to call her my sister. 

Cheerleading... It's not that easy

I am a member of the Appalachian State Cheerleading team. I am a junior, so this is my third year of being on the cheerleading team. I think that cheering on a college team is a lot more difficult and time consuming than most people would think. I was a gymnast for 10 years, and almost all gymnasts hold those stereotypes about cheerleaders: they're dumb, they can't count past eight, they aren't even the slightest bit athletic, and they only care about their hair and makeup. But then when I couldn't do gymnastics anymore because of back injuries, I decided to give cheerleading a go. I mean, how hard could it be? Much harder than I ever thought. I did competitive cheerleading for Charlotte Allstars, and I did high school cheerleading too. Still though, that didn't prepare me for college cheerleading. On top of college classes just being hard, we work out at 6am on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We also practice on MWFs at night, where two hours is dedicated to stunting/tumbling/pyramids, and the last hour is dedicated to running and conditioning. Then, we cheer in football games on Saturdays (9 hours total for us), volleyball games during the week, and we make appearances at fundraisers and events. During basketball season we cheer for doubleheaders on Thursdays and Saturdays (6 hours total), and wrestling matches too. During the Spring we also host a lot of fundraisers, camps, and open practices. Try outs are coming up soon (April), so we are really looking for new people currently! I guess the biggest thing I learned from my own experience is that just because cheerleading is supposed to look easy, does not mean it is! That's the art of it really. Defying gravity, doing skills that others could never do, and making it look like a walk in the park.   

My Hedgehog

I recently became the mother of a female hedgehog that I named Penelope. She is just over five months old currently, but I got her when she was about 1.5 months old. She is an African Pygmy Hedgehog which is a domesticated hybrid breed that originates from the four-toed hedgehog mixed with the Algerian hedgehog. There are 19 breeds of hedgies worldwide! African Pygmy hedgehogs (APHs) are not found in the wild at all. Being a hedgehog mother has definitely been a learning curve. Honestly, I originally wanted a hedgehog just because they were so cute, and because I wanted a puppy here but my parents said no. Little did I know, Penelope is much more difficult to care for than you'd think. There are entire books on hedgehog ownership, because it really is that complicated. I've had to do so much research on hedgehogs to learn how to properly care for her. First of all and most importantly, APHs require a constant temperature of around 73-82 degrees fahrenheit. This is because they have the instinct to hibernate in low temperatures, which seems alright until you read that APHs will die from hibernation. Since they are not in the wild and they are housed inside, they can't tell when "winter" is coming, so they can't prepare for hibernation (extra eating and drinking). This means that the hedgie could fall into a state of "sleep" that they will not wake up from, resulting in death. Additionally, APHs are nocturnal. This means I can't just wake her up during the day to play. I guess I could, but she would be very grumpy just like any of us would if we were woken up in the middle of the night. I have to get her out for cuddles and treats at 9pm or later. I will be posting much more information and stories about my hedgehog I'm sure, because I just love the little sea urchin so much. :)