Leaving.

A weird thing happened to me yesterday.

I came home (to Lawrenceburg) Friday night and stayed with my grandparents overnight and hung out with Nana Saturday until I had to come back to Chatt. If you don't know, my Nana is one of my absolute favorite people in this whole world. I adore the woman and I would do about anything for her. She is my role model and I hope to be half the woman she is someday. Friday night, I alternated between helping her around the kitchen and talking to Nonno (my grandfather). We chatted as she cooked supper and caught up on the things I had missed in the last month. Even though I didn't see much or do much in the brief 22 hours I was at home, I had a great time.

Nana is full of stories and I could listen to her tell them all day long. There are some I hear over and over and never tire of, and there are some that I've only heard once. She's so full of life and knowledge and never ceases to amaze me with her stories. She has no idea the impact she has on my life or that I'm tearing up writing this right now just thinking about the amazing woman she is. When I was living at home I would generally stop by her office every single day, sometimes for 5 minutes, sometimes for an hour and a half. It was rare that a day would go by and I wouldn't stop by. That was the thing I missed the most when I went off to college. In place of the frequent drop-bys I took to calling her as I walked everywhere. She is honestly the person I miss the most from home. She never stops believing in me and always has a pep talk for me if I call her when I've had a bad day or have a big test coming up. I can always call her when I need a recipe or advice on how to cook something or do something and she always helps me out.

Now back to the weird thing that happened yesterday. I've never actually been homesick. Maybe it's because I know my family is only a short call or 2.5 hour drive away. Maybe it's because I outgrew Lawrenceburg and love Chattanooga so much. I'm not sure, but for whatever reason I've never felt overwhelmingly homesick. There are times I can't wait to go back and see my family and friends, but never a real longing to be home. I usually enjoy my weekends in Lawrenceburg, but am eager to head back east; except this weekend.

This weekend as I loaded up my bags and got into my car it was different.  I wished that I could stay just one more night to catch up with some friends and have a little more time with my family. I hugged Nana and got in my car and as I looked out the windshield I saw my 5'1" grandmother that I had just spent the morning with and she broke my heart. I wanted to stay for the first time. She looked like she had tears in her eyes as she waved at me while I pulled away and so did I. For the first time ever, I cried like a baby as I drove off.

Defining Life

What is life?

This is a common question we hear or ask. As a biology major I spend a lot of time thinking and discussing this question. You see, life is everywhere. It's in you and I; it's in your neighbor with the annoying kid down the street; in your dog; in the squirrel in your yard; it's everywhere. Life is everything we know and more. Life is valuable and precious and I absolutely think you should take every moment for what it's worth. Our society is so fast-tracked that few people live in the moment. It's hard between social media showing us everything we've missed in the last hour when we checked it at lunch or between all of the meetings we may have.

When we are born we all have a blank canvas. Let me take a moment to give a quick 20th century art lesson. This guy named Jackson Pollock was a pretty big deal in the 20th century, you may have heard of him. His paintings are worth a lot of money, and one day I hope to own one. A real one. He used a unique approach called drip technique by which he splattered paint on his canvases as he leaned over them. It didn't really matter if random objects got in the paint and some have his cigarette butts in them. Back to the discussion of life now.

We are born with blank canvases. As we grow into toddlers and learn to talk and walk and ride bikes we start experimenting with the drip technique. We put a drip here and a drop there. As we get older we start making longer drips and the piece starts to come together little by little.  Everyone's is different. While mine may have a blue streak in the upper corner, my roommate's may have a few orange drips in the upper corner. Everyone uses different colors and has different experiences which contributes to his or her painting in different ways. By the end of our life, we have created a whole Jackson Pollock of our own. I use the Jackson Pollock example because his art is so chaotic, yet beautiful; an accurate representation of life.

It's easy to see the lives of the Kardashians (hopefully you have more class and higher standards than that) or see the lives of the incredibly rich and successful and want that. I'm not in any way saying I don't want to be rich and have nice things, but that's not all there is to life. I want to grow old with someone and have kids and grandkids. I want a nice house with a wrap-around porch that I can sit on. I want to have days when I can just go fish or take my kids to the zoo. I want the simple things, too. Don't get so caught up in what other people have that you forget what you have. Your life is yours. You can make it what you want and do what you want. Do that thing that makes you happy no matter how "cool" it is. It's all about you and you only get one shot to make it what you want. I know this is all incredibly cliché, but it's so true. So go out there and listen to Miley Cyrus and Luke Bryan and "do your thing".

So stay classy and look up to the Hepburns and Kennedys and Reagans, or the Kardashians and Mileys if you choose because it's your life. Go live it up guys.

xoxo, B

New Year, New Me

I've never been one for New Year resolutions, mostly because I don't commit to them for very long so they're kind of pointless to make for me. If you have made a resolution then I hope you are doing well with whatever it is. As all of the "New Year, New Me" posts fade away and people are done reminiscing about 2015 on social media, I begin to think about the year ahead of me. Monday I begin my fourth semester of college that I will be entering as a Junior (yay). Yesterday, my roommates and I toured a potential apartment for next fall. It hit me that this could be a big year for me, or it could just be another mediocre year. Life's what you make it, right? So here it is, here is my plan for the year, or resolutions if you consider them that:

School: 

As far as school goes, I'm holding approximately a 3.9 (I think) for a GPA which I am content with and know I have worked hard for. The past two semesters have ended with all A's and one B (an 89 both times). This semester will no doubt be the hardest semester I've had and my goal is a 4.0 for it. Here's a look at the line-up: Genetics, Ecology, Scientific Writing, Spanish for Conversation II, Organic Chemistry II, and Organic Lab. So here's a great semester of college!

Travel: 

Due to my love for travel and that I have a Spanish minor, I have plans to go to Spain for a study abroad chance in June/July. It's still early in the planning stage, but I have gotten the ball rolling and hope to go through with it. If I do go though, I will be in a place called Granada on the southern coast. I will keep y'all updated on that though! Hopefully, I can take other trips around the country this year too though! I would love to go back to NYC or somewhere else. 

Health:

I can attest for the fact that college can make you fat. It's not always obvious, but gradually your jeans are harder to get into or that shirt is a little tighter than last time. The past couple of months I have really noticed these changes and decided I needed to do something about it. Right after Christmas I started buying more healthy food and snacks and I have been doing better with eating and being active (thanks to my Fitbit from Dad). I can't see much difference right now, but hopefully after a month or so I will see some difference. 

Life:

This year I turn 20 (I feel old). One of my very best friends will be getting married (congrats Sam and Scot). Some of my friends will graduate. I'll move into a new place with my roommates. Hopefully, I will read a lot more books and see lots of movies. Eat good food and meet new people. Vote in my first presidential election. And so much more that I don't even know about yet. 

Religion:

Last year I grew a lot in my faith. I walked with Jesus more, and felt better in my beliefs. I felt like a better person overall really. I figured out what I wanted and what I needed to do in my call to Christ. In the new year, I hope to be a better Catholic in every way I can. My goal is to go to more days of obligation, go to confession more, and be more active in my church. 

These "resolutions" are coming a week late, but better late than never. There are some things I can't plan for, but I'm hoping for a good year with good friends. 

NEW! Britt's Reading Corner: I'm going to start suggesting a book that I've read or am reading. 

Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All  by Paul A. Offit, M.D.

I haven't finished this yet, but what I have read has been so good! I highly suggest it. 

Stay classy

xoxo B