#49 Things My Friends Are Doing: Amanda

Amanda is no stranger to my blog by any means. She was involved in my ACL post, a feature in the Lord of the Rings post, and always answers my questions, but more than that, something you don't know about her is that she is one of my most loyal supporters. I can always count on her to have read my latest post within twenty minutes of its appearance on the World Wide Web and she's one of the few I feel comfortable consulting about my writing before it goes up! Not only is she a loyal to my blog, she's loyal to me in general. In fact it's one of the qualities I admire most about her, other than her quick wit and penchant for sarcasm (and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when you read what she has to say!). She'll do anything for the people who are important to her. She'll share her Raisinets with you, she'll sit through an entire trilogy of movies with you, she'll be the most consistent pen pal on the planet, she'll do anything--except maybe go see a scary movie but I can't exactly blame her for that--and I greatly admire that in a person. The reason I asked Amanda to write, other than the fact that I knew she would be entertaining, is because she's such a talented writer. I don't think I ever told her this, but when we were in an American Cultures class our senior year, I sat behind her and would read what she was typing as she was writing her college essays. Really creepy and inappropriate, but yeah, I did it. Sue me, she's talented! She can deny it all she wants to, but I really do think that she and my other guest bloggers are putting me to shame! So without further ado, here's Amanda, one of the smartest, most loyal, and generally hilarious people I know.

When Morgan first asked me to be a guest blogger on Things I’m Doing, I was skeptical. When she popped the question I was lying in bed, reading Tina Fey’s Bossypants and eating cottage cheese straight out of the carton. What am I doing? Can I really write an entire blog post about the first three seasons of Lost? Does re-reading The Notebook for the fourth time count as doing something? Probably not. So I put it on the back-burner, making a mental note to keep an eye out for something to guest-blog about. Then one morning, as I was waking up before the crack of dawn for an advising meeting, it hit me. What I’ve been doing is trying to figure out what I’m gonna do for the rest of my life. Heavy, right? This semester I’m enrolled in a “Career & Self-Exploration” class where you basically take a bunch of personality quizzes that tell you things you already knew about yourself, and use that information to decide how you’re going to spend the next 30+ years of your life. So much fun. 

The results of these quizzes have really been a mixed bag. I’ve received a plethora of information about myself in such a small amount of time, I’m not even sure how to process it all.  Some of the tests offer up these really specific descriptions of my character, like “You prefer to learn through lectures and books,” and “You may dislike taking risks.” It’s like, what am I supposed to be getting from that? Is this supposed to inspire one of those “aha moments” Oprah’s always talking about??? Because it doesn’t. Then there are the tests that measure your level of interest in various fields and what careers you’d be good at. For some perspective, let me just say that one of these tests told the girl at the end of my row the thing she would really enjoy doing is bartending, and the boy that sits in front of me is apparently destined for life on the farm. Let’s just take a second to imagine their parents’ faces when they hear that this is what they’re paying $45,000+ a year for. For their son to drop out of school, buy some land, and start raising alpacas or something. Ha. Ha. Okay, moving on. 

Now a lot of people I’ve talked to who’ve taken this class say they really benefited from it, and that it really helped them in choosing a career. I hope that’s the case for me. The thing is, I just really hate making decisions. Seriously, ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you that even something as simple and unimportant as picking a restaurant gives me major anxiety. So if little decisions like where to get lunch are next to impossible for me, how on Earth am I supposed to make a decision of this caliber?! Sometimes I wish someone would just tell me like, “Hey Amanda, you need to be doing this with your life, pick this major, it’ll all work out.” But that pretty much defeats the purpose of free will, and like, life in general. Life’s supposed to be this constant juxtaposition of failures and successes. You’re supposed to make mistakes and learn from them, and then little by little you become the person you’re meant to be. Then when you look back on your life you can pinpoint those experiences, good and bad, that made you who you are. That’s what life is all about. 

I feel like this is becoming more of a weird, rambling short-story and less of a blog post...I’ll leave you with this. When I was little I used to play a lot of GameCube (nerd alert), but I was never very good at it. In fact, I was always pretty terrible at video games. Whenever I would get stuck on a level I would beg my brother Alec, the king of all video games, to help me. Sometimes he did, but after a while he got sick of playing the game for me. So in lieu of my big brother’s help, I would look up the walkthroughs online. These basically told you step-by-step what you had to do next, completely defeating the purpose of playing the game yourself. I was a cheater in every aspect of the word. I guess what I’m trying to say is, there’s no walkthrough for real life. When you get stuck, you can’t beg your big brother to figure things out for you or look up what your next move is on the internet. You just have to do it. If college has taught me anything, it’s that being an adult means making your own decisions. As much as I wish someone would, no one is going to tell me which major to pick, or which career path to follow. These are things I’m going to have to figure out on my own. And even if I end up being wrong, even if I end up failing in a colossal way, it’s all just part of the journey. So anyway, that’s what I’ve been doing in a nutshell. That and watching endless amounts of Netflix of course. Everyone knows you’re not a real college student unless you spend at least 2/3 of your time avoiding responsibilities on the internet. 

Told you she was funny!

Morgan

#48 And the Oscar Goes To...

It's that time of year again, the time of year for the most glamourous and highly anticipated day in all of Hollywood. Yes, it's Oscar day ladies and gentlemen, actors and actresses, Academy members. A day in which true cinematic talent is recognized and fluke blockbusters are ignored (Here's looking at you Twilight). A day when we recognize that a movie is much more than just its lead actors. When finally directors, screenwriters, costume designers, and everyone else involved in the making of a movie is recognized for the efforts they put into the production and we realize that the movie would be nothing without them. A day when people realize that it's okay not to be a winner, because being an Academy Award nominee is an accomplishment in itself. Plus from that day on, they'll have "Oscar nominee" attached to their name, so how could that possibly be a bad thing?

It is a day when cinema is finally recognized for the art form that it is and that it deserves to be. Oh, and of course, a day when we see stars dressed to the nines. The Oscars is, after all, the Super Bowl of fashion. A fashion mecca, if you will. Some may argue that seeing what everyone is wearing is even better than the show. I must say watching the Oscars brings out the sassy fashion critic in me. And while I do not claim to be a fashion expert at all, I do think I have a concept of beautiful versus ugly! Remember Bjork's swan dress from 2001? Yeah me too. Who could possibly forget that?

To celebrate this great Oscar day, and of course in my attempt to avoid my homework as always, I've compiled a list of my favorites within The Academy's favorites: my favorite Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress winners. I would've included some of my favorite Best Supporting Actors and Actresses, but I didn't want to make this too long! And though I did express that there are other important categories that are finally recognized on Oscar day aside from those I just mentioned, I can't pick favorites simply because I have no knowledge of their craft! Imagine me picking from the Best Producer category. In the words of Fat Amy, hmm better not.

And of course, I've included a picture collage of some of my favorite Oscar dresses of all time. No Oscar blog post would be complete without it!

(Top Row) Audrey Hepburn - Givenchy (1954), Cameron Diaz - Oscar de la Renta (2010), Anne Hathaway - Valentino (2009), Mila Kunis - Elie Saab (2011)
(Bottom Row) Michelle Williams - Vera Wang (2006), Sandra Bullock - Marchesa (2010), Amy Adams - Proenza Schouler (2008), Grace Kelly - (1956)

Now that I've shared with you some of my favorite things, à la the great Julie Andrews (who, ironically enough, won a Best Actress award herself!), I can't wait to see what this year has in store! 

Happy Oscars!
Morgan 

#47 Things My Friends Are Doing: Harrison

Harrison is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of my best friends in the world. So please excuse me while I sing his praises from the eleventh floor of my building for the next several minutes, or however long it takes you to finish reading this. In addition to being one of the most well rounded people I know--the guy is crazy smart, has taught himself to play instruments, and plays several sports (but he'll be quick to tell you that he can't play soccer, that's for sure!)--Harrison is also one of the nicest and most generous people I know. He's quick to help anyone out with whatever they need, which in my case has been a junior cotillion date, several good calming down talks, help understanding what on earth C++ means (it's not a grade you get in school, just so you know), and a college basketball education, among infinite other things. My point is, what makes him such an extraordinary friend is his constant willingness to do things for his friends and expect absolutely nothing in return. I will forever feel indebted to him because he's been such a generous friend to me the past several years. I know I can always count on him to calm me down, share in my troubles, and listen to me when I just need to talk about something stupid that I've probably talked to him about a million times before. Not to mention he's always willing to make a Whataburger or Ultimo Taco run and convince me to finally watch great movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, anything made by Disney that I missed out on as a kid, and, of course, Nacho Libre, which pretty much speaks for itself. And even though our schools might have a volatile past, this Longhorn loves her Aggie friend dearly, and I know you all will too!

Life at Texas A&M, contrary to popular belief, is not all cowboy boots, country music, and guys in army uniforms. While I do love boots and country music, I think I could be considered as one of the “normal” people that goes here. And yes, there are the occasional rednecks and cowboys, but not enough to make us regulars stick out like sore thumbs. In a sense, A&M is much like any other university: lots of normal people, some frat guys and sorority girls, a couple weirdos here and there, and a lot of pride. With that said, here's what I've done so far at school.

I'm an engineer at Aggieland, so I have my work cut out for me for the most part. Lots and lots of math to do is the norm. I'm a computer science engineering major to be specific, which means multiple hours spent in the lab on the computer. I thought it was cool coming into college being somewhat bilingual, as I spoke English and understood Spanish, but that was nothing. I now know four languages: English, Spanish, Java script, and C++.

I guess computer programming is pretty cool in the long run. The work we have to do now kind of sucks, but it should get better soon! Lately all we've done is write programs where a user puts in a temperature in degrees Celsius and it converts it to Fahrenheit...yeah, boring. But next week we start with programming graphics and begin a video game project so more fun stuff is on the way.

But enough about school! It's time for the fun stuff.

Like all schools in Texas, football is a religion at Texas A&M, and, this year, there was almost no better place to watch a game. This was the first year for the Aggies in the SEC, so I got to see my school play some of the best football teams in the nation in Florida, Alabama, and LSU. On top of that, A&M had its first Heisman trophy winner in almost 100 years: the first freshman ever to win the award. This honoree was quarterback Johnny Manziel, who, despite seeming a bit pompous when I met him, is probably one of the most exciting players I've gotten to see play football.

I think the biggest thing for me this year is the fact that I've met a lot of new people. Fish Camp in the summer brought some of my new best friends into my college experience. On top of that, I joined a Freshman Leadership Organization (FLO) called FORME (Freshmen Organizing and Running Mixed Events). Through FORME, I'm now close friends with 60 of some of the coolest people I've ever met. We all hang out together, go to campus events together, and organize our own events around campus. I've enjoyed both Fish Camp and FORME so much that I hope to be a counselor for both next year.

While College Station is no Austin in terms of music, we do get our share of good concerts. This year, I've seen two of my favorite country musicians, Josh Abbott and Randy Rogers, at Hurricane Harry's, Aggieland's country dancing club. But, like I said, the town isn't all about country music. Last semester I also got to see the likes of Awolnation and the All-American Rejects. I highly recommend Abbott, Rogers, and the All-American Rejects if you haven't seen them live. They were awesome. I love Awolnation, but they struck me as more of an MGMT type band: they're good recorded, but they just don't do it for me live.

Another category that doesn't get much credit in Aggieland is food. Yeah, we don't have as much selection as Austin, but we do know how to make traditional American food. Want a burger? Chicken sandwich? Look no further than the Dixie Chicken or Koppe Bridge. They are, hands down, two of the best bar & grill restaurants that I've eaten at. But the big thing in College Station is the Battle of the Chicken Finger. Layne's versus Cane's. College Station unique versus nationwide chain. Basically, if you live in Aggieland, you have to pick a side on which chicken joint is better. Personally, I side with Layne's, so if you like Cane's don't talk to me. As good as it is though, I've only had it once this second semester in an effort to try to stay healthy.

The first few weeks of this second semester have been jam packed so far. I've joined two basketball intramural teams: my coed team, The Barden Ballas (named for my ongoing obsession with Pitch Perfect), and the all guys team, The Shooting Stars (yeah, lame name...I didn't come up with that one). Playing basketball here at A&M has been an experience for me. While I may be tall in my hometown of Brownsville, 6 foot 3 is only average height in College Station. It's been quite the adjustment! Thank God we've got my 6 foot 7 friend on our coed team to help us out.

Well that's about my life up to now! It's got a nice little mix of boring and exciting things in it. All in all, I'm pretty happy with it, though! I love my new school, my new friends, and my new life. And thanks to Morgan, I've been able to share it with you. I wish all you readers the best in the remainder of this semester. Thanks and gig 'em!

What a great face for Texas A&M! And I told you he knew what he was talking about with that C++ stuff, unlike me, who only speaks a minimal amount of HTML!
Morgan

#46 There's No Place Like Kansas

Life is really funny sometimes. About a week ago, I asked a few of my friends to participate in the "Things My Friends Are Doing" series, and like you read last week, Elizabeth was one of them (click here to read her amazing contribution!). In no way did I plan that I would post her contribution right before I left to go visit her in Kansas, but it happened that she was the first friend of mine to get back to me with her post and I needed to put something up for you! Like I said, it was merely a happy coincidence that I was going to visit her that weekend!

I've never been to Kansas in my life! In fact, on the plane ride there, the airline passes out beverage napkins with a map of the United States on them, and I, being the mentally restless person that I am and bored because my plane-mate William felt inclined to fall sleep, decided to shade all of the states I'd been to, and Kansas was smack dab in the middle of a section of states that I'd never visited! Suffice to say I had no idea what to expect. You would think you would know what to expect going to Kansas, but Elizabeth swears that it's more than farmland, so that quickly erased all expectations I had. After being there for the weekend, I can attest to the fact that there is more to Kansas than wheat fields, my friends! And Kansas is most definitely NOT completely flat. I was surprised (not to mention scared from time to time) at the extremely hilly terrain I was experiencing. Oh, and it snowed! I hail from the great state of Indiana, but I consider myself a Texan because the great majority of my life has been spent here, which means I haven't been in the snow in a very long time. It was a pleasant surprise too! Elizabeth even said that it hadn't snowed like that all semester. I'd like to think of it as good Lord giving this Texas girl an early birthday present!    

I enjoyed my time in Kansas so much. More than enjoying going out of town, exploring a new place, eating like a queen, and scoring the best deal of my life on exercise pants, I just enjoyed being with two of my closest friends. I loved having the chance for Elizabeth to show me why she loves Kansas and KU so much. It really is a great place, and Lawrence sure is lucky to have her. So even though I may have caused a scene in the airport...twice...and eaten far more than I should've, being with my best friends made it all worth it. I'm sure I'll be back to visit sometime in the future. Maybe since I got to see snow this time, I'll hope for some autumn orange and brown leaves next time! That is if Elizabeth will have me!

And I really can't stop thinking about that chocolate covered mint Oreo...
Morgan

#45 Everybody's Gonna Love Today

So this Valentine's Day, I'm coming at you with the same message as last year. That is, a message that Valentine's Day is about more than just loving your boyfriend or your girlfriend. It is about loving everyone and realizing that we're all lucky to be capable of love period. The ability to love is one of the most extraordinary gifts we have to both give and receive as human beings. It is our responsibility to do something with that gift, and why not start with a day dedicated to love? 

Since I said the same thing last year, I wanted to figure out something new to say on the subject, of course! After some thought, I couldn't come up with anything other than what I'd already said, except maybe a suggestion to wear red or pink or paint your nails in a lovely Valentine's Day hue, which I do recommend, but I couldn't possibly write an entire post based on that! I'm no fashion blogger, as much I wish I could be. Anyway, since I couldn't think of anything, I headed on over to one of my favorite websites Thought Catalog and thought I might check out what their amazing writers have to say about Valentine's Day. I virtually sifted through countless articles until I could find one that gave me a fresh perspective about the great Hallmark Holiday, but after reading and reading and reading, I couldn't help but keep mentally going back to last year's message. I figure, I feel the same way about Valentine's Day this year, so why change my post?

Even though this Valentine's Day (and last Valentine's Day, and the one before that, and the one before that and...you get the picture) I'm as single as a cat-engulfed Carrie Bradshaw without Mr. Big, I'm still choosing to enjoy the holiday! More than anything, it's a day to remind us that we're important in other people's lives. If you build the day up to be a once-yearly survey of whether or not you're deserving of love, then, yeah it's probably depressing, but if you choose to give a little love to anyone, you'd be surprised at what you get in return. Take the day of love to appreciate the love you have.

Valentine's Day is whatever we want it to be. If we want it to be a day filled with self-pity, jealousy and a whole lot of chocolate, then it can be. If we want it to be a day that represents love in any form and making everyone feel special, it can be. I'm choosing the latter, and I hope you all do too!

Oh, and wear red today! There's my new input on the subject!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Morgan

#44 Things My Friends Are Doing: Elizabeth

Today, I would like you all to meet one of my best friends in the world, Elizabeth. She truly is one of the most beautiful people that I know, both on the inside and outside. She's always been there to listen to my struggles, whether they be tiny or enormous, seemingly trivial or actually important. She is also one of the strongest people I know. She's been through things that most people can only imagine, myself included, but always manages to come out on the other side an even more amazing Elizabeth. I'm constantly awed at her ability to see past small troubles and find good in any situation. Because of this, she is completely unafraid of anything and is very good at convincing others that they shouldn't be afraid either. I don't have enough fingers to count the number of funks she's helped me get out of, because she's one of those people who can make you feel better about yourself, which I think is the most admirable quality in a person. And Elizabeth, to you personally, I can't tell you how much it means to me that we've gotten so close this year. Seems ironic that we're closer now that we live apart, but I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder. I'm so lucky to call you one of my best friends! And of course, I can't wait to see you this weekend. I'm literally counting down the hours.

Oh and did I mention that I think she's absolutely hilarious? Because she is. But I think I'll let her prove that to you herself. And without further ado, I bring you all the first in my "Things My Friends Are Doing" series featuring Elizabeth!

Six months ago I moved 1,051 miles away from home to Lawrence, Kansas to attend the University of Kansas. Whenever people hear me say that, the first thing they always ask is “What, why Kansas?” And I know the first thing that probably comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Kansas’ is probably something along the lines of Dorothy, Toto, farms, or wheat. Fortunately though, if that’s what you think of, you’re wrong! So, in accordance with the title of this blog, I’m going to tell you just what I’ve been doing for the past 6 months!

Moving to college was a big adjustment for me. Not only was I moving 1,051 miles away from home but I was also moving to a school of 30,000 people where I didn’t know a single person, not even my roommate! When it was actually happening it was probably one of the scariest things I’ve ever gone through. But I’m rambling now and this blog isn’t about what I’ve done, it’s about what I’m doing!

I’m now about a month into my second semester and I am completely in love with my new life 1,051 miles away from home. I live on a floor of 29 extremely loud girls, none of which are super partial to wearing clothes. They are also 29 of my best friends. My roommate is basically my best friend/Siamese twin. It’s still wild to me that we only met 6 months ago because we have become so incredibly close. I live in an amazing cultural hippie-town where there’s always something to do or somewhere to go. Oh, and I also got a part time job at a bakery which has been a lot of fun!

Actually, as I write this I’m lying in bed in my 4x4 square of a dorm room with throbbing legs because I just spent the last four hours jumping up and down and damaging my vocal cords at the K-State/KU basketball game. In case any of you all live under a rock, KU is pretty well known for their basketball program. Okay, that was my attempt at being modest. To put it bluntly, we kick ass. Actually, basketball is what has probably made me fall in love with my school more than anything else. The energy and atmosphere in Allen Field House is absolutely indescribable and it always amazes me how a school of 30,000 can feel so united under the Fieldhouse roof.

Something I found out really quickly after I moved here is that if you open yourself up to new situations and people, good things will come to you. Moving 18 hours away from home into a different world was incredibly scary but has turned out to be the best decision I’ve ever made. For me, moving to a new school came with the opportunity to meet new people, make new, amazing friends, and hey, the boy selection isn’t all that bad either!

So there you have it! A week in the life of Elizabeth looks something like class, work, gym, homework, basketball games and the occasional “Wait what did I do last night?” wakeup on Sunday morning. 

All in all I wouldn't change a thing. I mean yeah, my school is far away, really big, (and really cold), but I am in love with every part of it. When I moved here I had to put myself out there in order to make friends and as a result I have met more amazing people that I could've ever dreamed possible. So in the end, even though I don't have Whataburger, even though sometimes I wake up and the temperature outside is lower than my age, and even though I miss all my wonderful friends and family back home in Texas, Lawrence is my new home and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Stay tuned for more of my friends to be featured in the series! Let me know your thoughts! And a big thank you to Elizabeth for taking the time to write for me.
Morgan

#43 Recreational Reading Recommendations

As a new college student, it's easy to talk about things that are different about high school versus college. At this point, high school is all I have to compare it to, so often it happens to me that I'll think "Wow, it wasn't like this in high school," or "I miss that in high school we didn't have to..." and fill in the blank with whatever crazy thing (or what I think is a crazy thing) is happening to me at the moment. Now for instance, I'm doubting whether or not I should even be writing this, seeing as I have five tests in the next seven days, so should I really be taking the time to write this blog instead of finishing up my history reading and attempting to figure out what the professor might ask me on the test? Probably not, but here I am doing it anyway. Point is, I've realized that one of the things I most took for granted in high school was free time. Back then, my free time was spent figuring out what to do to avoid being bored and wishing I didn't have free time. Looking back, I could kick myself for not taking advantage of it. There are times in college where literally all I want to do is sit and do nothing. Often that's what I do after I take a shower. Get out, put on my white fluffy robe, and just sit on my bed for ten minutes doing absolutely nothing.

Mostly I miss the days where I could just sit around and read. I mean the reading that had nothing to do with school--when it was just for fun. Not that reading case studies of Microsoft in 2005 and Apple in 2010 and the 13 colonies and macroeconomic theory isn't fun...I mean of course it is... But the kind of reading that requires no thought. The kind that causes an inner conflict because you want to finish a book to find out what happens, but at the same time you don't want to finish because you don't want it to be over. The kind that makes you want to stay up until 2 AM. The kind that makes reading all you want to do, and when you're not reading, you're thinking about reading. I miss that.

Once this series of tests is behind me, I plan on starting a new recreation book. I really believe that a book is one of the best forms of escape, and I know I'll need that after these coming days. Even though I won't be able to read it at the speed that I read books in high school, I still think it'll be just as worth it, if not more. Of course, I encourage you all to do the same! I know reading isn't for everyone, but for those who do enjoy it, below is a list of books that I recommend, all of which were the kind of books that I described before, the kind that you want to finish and don't want to finish at the same time. In my opinion, the best kind of books! Happy reading!

1. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote / 2. The Pact by Jodi Picoult / 3. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks / 4. The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham / 5. Where We Belong by Emily Giffin / 6. The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood / 7. The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner / 8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 

Clearly I have a thing for books with movie adaptations, even though the movies never live up to the books! I encourage you all to read the books even if you've already seen their movies!

What do you like to read for fun?
Morgan