Crying Over My Diploma

And just like that, I am now a college graduate. I have to say, it is strange. No more classes, no more homework, and no more studying...ever. Unless I decide to get my master's of course, but that will be a ways down the road.

First off, I feel so blessed and loved by all the support I received from my family and friends. I am so grateful that Dillon was able to be there for my graduation. My parents and brothers also flew down from North Dakota, my sister was home from college, my uncle, godparents, god-siblings(?),  grandma, and best friend all came. I truthfully didn't understand why so many people wanted to come just to see me walk across a stage, but I am so thankful for all of them.

Excuse my extreme whiteness...

I am sooo happy that I met this girl nearly four years ago in freshman year Spanish class. We took a class together almost every semester after that, as well. I am also so happy that we were able to graduate together! I didn't know very many people who were graduating in December, so I am so happy we were able to graduate and sit together during the ceremony.

I was actually really nervous to walk across the stage. Estacia and I kept joking that one of us was going to trip on stage, but thankfully that didn't happen to either of us. We walked across the stage to the cheering of our adoring fans ;) and were ecstatic afterwards.

Afterwards there was food and drinks available (but no open bar...seriously?!?) and I had the chance to take a picture with all the wonderful people who came to support me.

I think you already know who this handsome man is. ;)

My best friend and roommate Becca and her fiance (at the time, NOW husband!).

Uncle Cary

My amazing parents who have supported me through this whole crazy college experience.

My lovely family!

My godmother and two of her children, let's just call them my cousins!

Dillon and his mama! She is such a sweet woman and has welcomed me into her family, so I was so happy she was able to come and see me graduate. 

My siblings...we're just so cute.

In the evening my grandparents threw me a small graduation party and my relatives who couldn't make it to my graduation came to celebrate with me.

My grandma was at my graduation but my grandpa couldn't make it, but I was SO thankful for the party they threw me!

Oh cousins.

These GORGEOUS flowers came from my best friend Jamie. She couldn't make it since she lives in Texas, but it was So sweet and unexpected of her to send me these flowers to congratulate me and let me know she was thinking of me.

It was an amazing day and night. But now...I'm a college graduate. I work, sleep, eat, and cry over my diploma.

I Can be Artsy...Right?

Since this is my last semester, I knew I had to take an art class. I had been wanting to pretty much my entire college career, but had always set it aside for other classes that were actually in my major/minor. I reeeeeeeally wanted to take a photography class; a beginner's class would have been perfect! But my university is apparently stuck up, because only art majors can take even the most basic beginning photography class. Lame, right? Just when I thought all hope was lost, I found an art class titled "Concepts of Photography." Okay. Not exactly what I was looking for but hey, it's something??

After the first class, I knew I had made the right decision. I am seriously loving it! We have gotten to go to a couple art exhibits already, which is awesome. And here's the cool part, a couple of our assignments are actually taking pictures! I wish there were more assignments like this, but I'll take what I can get!

Our first assignment was to show that we could understand the elements and principles of art and design. I had to take two photographs and submit them; one showing off an element of design, the other showing off a principle. Here is what I submitted:

This is my beautiful puppy, Sammy. In this picture I was showing the element of positive space, which is occupied by an element or form. And come on, she's just absolutely adorable, so I'm pretty sure I get cute points. ;)

This picture I have titled "Clouds". I'm super creative, I know. Big clouds like this have to be one of my favorite things ever. In this photo I am displaying the principle of contrast, in which it shows a range of difference between light and dark areas.

So what do ya think?? I'm definitely no professional photographer (haha!) but it was a really fun assignment! And I got a pretty good grade on it, too. :)

Have you taken an art class in college? Or any fun class not in your major?

Let's Be Friends

A Trip to Flagstaff

The day after I came home from California I hopped in the car with my mom and sister and made the three(ish) hour drive up to Flagstaff. My sister goes to Northern Arizona University up there, and we decided to make a day of it to help her move into her new dorm and enjoy the cooler weather.

On the way up we literally drove through the clouds. I wish photographs accurately portrayed exactly how it looks because it was probably one of the coolest things ever.

Once we got there we went straight to unpacking the car and moving it all into her new dorm. She has an apartment-styled dorm which is really cool. It has a living room with a couch, table, and desks, a small kitchen, a separate bedroom where all three girls have their beds and closets, and then a bathroom. I wish UA had something like this!
Then we walked around the campus because my mom had never actually been able to walk around, and it had been years since I took my tour of the campus.

We're cute.

Then we went to chick-fil-a. Anyone who says Disneyland is the happiest place on earth is lying...bring me to a chick-fil-a and I'll be nothing but happy. ;)

My sister got annoyed of us really quick though. She says she has "trouble with transitions." I scoff at that, I just think she can get a little bitchy. But we love her none-the-less. :)

Unfortunately, Flagstaff is around a four hour drive from Tucson, but I might just have to suck it up soon because I miss her!!

My First Major

Here I am, back with the From Firsts to Lasts link up!

I did this once before where I talked about the first random song that pops up on my iTunes and fun stuff like that. It was a little embarrassing, but hey, have to share that stuff too, right?

First Major in College

Early Childhood Education. And no, it is no longer my current major.

In high school I volunteered with the two and three-year-old's at my church every Sunday. I enjoyed it so much that I actually ended up being one of the teachers every other Sunday. After doing this for a year or so, I came to the incredible conclusion that I really wanted to work with kids when I "grew up." This was a huge step for me since I was still just going with my first grade dream job of being a maid.

Yes, I am being serious. I thought it would be awesome to have a belt

around my waist with all the cleaning supplies in it...

Anyways, the obvious career choice seemed to be a preschool/kindergarten teacher, and I signed right up. During my first semester of college, however, my dad talked me into becoming an Occupational Therapist. I could still work with kids, but it would be better money (really not something I care about, just for the record). So I switched my major to Psychology after looking at the pre-requisites to get into OT school, and noticed that there were a lot of overlapping classes, and I could just have a thematic minor in OT to take the rest of the classes I needed. So I should feel pretty good, right? Eh. Now I mainly just feel like this:

I really don't think I do this though...I don't want to be a therapist. But some people assume I do because of my major. I usually just smile and wave because they probably have a better idea of what they're talking about than I do.

But I'm definitely feeling like this. Even though going to OT school is still an option, I'm not ready to commit to two and a half years of expensive graduate school.

Currently I'm leaning towards working with children with special needs. If I enjoy my summer job as much as I think I will, then we'll see where this amazing Psychology degree takes me next.

As much as people make fun of psychology degrees, I do like the fact that I'm not "tied down" to one specific career path. It is keeping my options open which I think is really great. Then again I am a little defensive about it, especially since my boyfriend's family once told me that the most pointless degree to get is a psychology degree. To be fair, I was not yet a psychology major...and it's now funny because his major is Behavioral Science, which is really just a fancy way to say psychology. Yes, we are that cute couple that have the same majors. ;)

So I actually really don't feel like writing about the second question, which is First Date Success Story. It's not at all that I don't want to write about it, it's just that I feel far too lazy to do it right now. Oh my gosh, I'm so pathetic. I am literally just sitting on my couch doing nothing, and yet I'm too lazy to sit on my couch and write??

*Hangs head in shame*

If you would like to read about it, I'll turn it into my That Time I post tomorrow!

Adventures Abound

I have never really been the type of person to seriously make New Year's Resolutions. However, this year I did make a sort of To Do List for 2013. So, that sounds exactly like resolutions, but I mainly made this list because this is my last full year of being an undergraduate in college! That's right - I am graduating a semester early. So by this time next year I will be a big grown-up college graduate! 

I attend the University of Arizona which is in Tucson. There are not a lot of people who think Tucson is all that exciting or attractive, and when looking at the part of Tucson the University is in, they might be right. But every day as I walk through campus, and then drive north of campus, I see a beautiful campus surrounded by gorgeous mountains.

Anyways, in trying to appreciate the town I have been living in the past two and a half years and will remain for another year, I wrote down some "Tucson Adventures" I would like to have during my last year here. This list includes going to a Wildcat football and basketball game, hiking Sabino Canyon, and going to the top of Mt. Lemmon.

Another list I am making is a list of books I want to read this year. I am in love with reading. Always have been, and hopefully always will be. I am especially into futuristic novels such as The Hunger Games series and the Uglies series. (If you haven't read either of these series, you are seriously missing out!) However, I had been hearing a lot about the author John Green and how amaaaazing his books are. Even though his writing is not in the genre I generally read, I decided to hop on board the Green Train (how terribly cheesy was that?). I started with Paper Towns and all I can say is that I was definitely NOT disappointed. It took me a while to really get into the book, but it is beautifully written and pulled me into the story in a completely different way.

I have already picked up Looking for Alaska (his first novel) at my school's library and am eager to get lost in the story. By the way, there are only two authors on my list of books, John Green (in which I want to read all of his novels), and David Levithan, in which I heard his book, The Lover's Dictionary is a unique but beautifully written story. As it turns out, Green and Levithan have actually collaborated and written a book together! Funny how things work, huh?

If you are trying to keep up with New Year's Resolutions, or just a more basic To Do List like mine, I highly suggest writing your goals down and placing them on a wall in your room! Here is my very simple but very efficient white board that is reminding myself daily that I want to do these things this year.

Nothing too fancy, but it is so far getting the job done! (Although I haven't completed any of my Tucson Adventures, I have already read a John Green book.) And that Fab Ab February calendar? I'll post about that later when the X's are a little more in numbers. ;)