Tully.

If this guy doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will.  I want him. Hope everyone had a good day!  =)

Student Section.

Today I went to the Marquette game.  Here are my top seven reasons why I love sitting in the student section:

1.  Feeling like I am a part of something isn't what I am typically used to.  When at games, it feels like we are all "united as one", however strange that may seem.
2.  Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, wears gold.  It's like a wall.
3.  The cheers.  Goooooo, goooooo, go Marquette, go go go go!
4.  Sitting with my classmates, all together for one purpose--to support the team--our team.
5.  When we are way ahead and everyone starts shouting "ROB FROZENA!"  And when he gets to go in...he gets the loudest cheers of the entire game.
6.  When we are at the games, everyone forgets about all the stress--school work, home life, boyfriends/girlfriends...and we are all just there, concentrating on one thing: victory.
7.  Looking out at all of the fans--not just the students--and seeing how many Marquette fans came before all of us.  Recent grads, and grads from the 1950s...everyone still comes to support the team.  It is a beautiful thing...that even after years, people can still come to appreciate what the University gave them and come back and support the Golden Eagles (Warriors).  I love being part of a legacy.

WE ARE MARQUETTE.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Nostalgia.

As I sit here writing this I am getting ready for a fun night with my roommate from last year, Heather, and the first two friends we ever met at Carroll.  It's hard to believe that my first day of college was already a year and a half ago and that this semester is already half over.  I marvel at how much has changed and how much I learned from just that one semester of living with someone (other than my family) and how many truly good friends I actually met.  Things changed rapidly and I moved home, but I am so grateful for that single experience of being able to truly be on my own for a while, making my own decisions without my parents there to tell me what to do or even to guide me in the direction they would have liked me to go in.  I am blessed to have all of these amazing experiences, even if they didn't turn out as expected.  I never knew I would be living with Heather and that we have talked about living together again at some point.  I miss being on my own, but I also enjoy being at home with my family (especially since the ACL incident).  There is something incredibly comforting about being at home, with the people I love most in this world...but I know there is a whole wide world out there that I need to get out and experience...after my knee heals.

I know this was pretty rambling, and I'm sorry.  There is just a lot of emotion with going back to Carroll, and I don't know why.  Maybe I miss it there more than I thought.

I will sign off with one of my favorite songs as of late...

"Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements even if they lead nowhere?"

Note to Self.

Blogging instead of philosophizing will not get you an A on the exam.

Philosophy.

I have just come to the conclusion (after studying for a philosophy exam for 3 hours...I feel no more enlightened than I did before I began that little adventure...) that I really dislike philosophy, the kind that has to do with Plato and Aristotle.  I find them very dense to read, and I just plain don't understand it.  SparkNotes helps to decipher the jargon that is difficult to get through, but to me, it is just plain foreign.

On the other hand, though, it poses a lot of interesting questions...like why are we here and what purpose do we serve and where do we go from here?  I do not have an answer for you.  But I can share a few things I have learned, especially as of late.  I have some of my own personal anecdotes, which I guess I will tell you a little bit about tonight:

In a nutshell, I think that life is too short to be pissed off about insignificant things, even though I tend to get mad/upset/frustrated more easily than a lot.  Recently, my life has taken a few unexpected turns.  First, I did not expect to be at Marquette as a sophomore in college.  I was positive I would be at my home in Colorado enjoying the "Rocky Mountain High" that Boulder gives you.  Yes, I wanted to be a Lady Buff since I could say "Lady Buff".  Although I sometimes wish my life would have taken that path, I know that everything happens for a reason.  I did not expect to start playing soccer again...and I certainly did not expect to suffer a pretty devastating injury--an ACL tear that has thrown my whole life into a tizzy.  Do you have any idea how difficult it is to crutch it around campus and drag your leg behind you?  I didn't either until this happened.  But you know what?  It's all okay.  The biggest I get into philosophy is that I know God will take care of me.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know God is a touchy topic, but He is an important part of my life.  Aristotle and Plato didn't teach me that, that's for certain.

So my take on the whole philosophy thing, what gets me through the day?  Be yourself, be happy, stand up for yourself, trust in God and you can never go wrong.

Another reminder, keep reading Matty's blog.  His perspective is not like mine at all, but he will ALWAYS challenge you to think, and thinking is incredibly valuable these days.  He is awesome, and you won't be disappointed, I promise.  http://wholedamnstreet.blogspot.com.

Until tomorrow...

Image.

I must first begin by saying you should read my brother-blogger (and real-life pseudo-brother), Matt's stuff.  He puts an interesting spin on things...he will always cause controversy and give you something to think about.  Follow him at http://wholedamnstreet.blogspot.com/.

I have quite a bit I could talk about today...but I think I will focus on something that's not exactly about my day or how I am feeling or some ridiculous anecdote from my day, but rather something I have been doing a lot of thinking about lately: women's image, particularly body image.

I have been on a diet for a week and a half now, and I have lost that excess weight that I used to obsess over.  I mainly did it as a way to feel better about myself, but also in light of my surgery coming up and having to be basically sedentary for a while...I figured it might behoove me.  Anyway, in conjunction with the diet, I am reading the book that we bought to aid us.  While all of the recipes and advice from the doctor are fantastic and obviously work, I am troubled by the stories in it--stories from real women who hate their bodies.  I am the first to admit that I am very skilled at finding my flaws, no matter how small, but it blows my mind that these women absolutely HATE who they are.  It saddens me and I think it is a product of a larger problem--the pursuit of body perfection in society.  I could be generic and say that it's because of the standards that Hollywood sets, that being a size 00 is the only way to be if you want to be attractive or "hot", and that along with 00 come DD boobs, of course.  It doesn't work like this in real life (unless, of course, you have mucho dinero to spend on enhancement).  Young girls are basically groomed to hate their bodies from the time they realize that they have bodies.  TV shows like "Toddlers in Tiaras" perpetuate the problem, showing the young generation that they have to have a face full of makeup and be wearing skimpy bathing suits to feel beautiful.  What a bunch of bologna.  Girls see their mothers obsessing over their weight and they grow up thinking that's normal.  It's not.  How about a time where women simply accept who they are, and are good with it, as long as they are healthy.  Every woman is beautiful, regardless of size, and we should be able to realize this.  We need to break the cycle of body-hating and love who we are.  I would venture to say we would all be a lot happier if we did this.

Goodness, I love getting stuff like this off of my chest.

Spitfire.

There are so many thoughts in my head right now, it's hard to pick just one thing to write about.

Today, I was talking with one of my best friends, Matt, and he was telling me how he liked how I was just a down-to-business kinda girl.  He called me a "badass little spitfire".  Now, before you think "what the heck, that doesn't sound like a compliment...," allow me to explain.  Matt has known me since 8th grade and he is one of the only people I know that will be brutally honest with me and tell me when I am screwing up.  You have to appreciate someone like that, and having someone like that in your life actually turns out to be an invaluable tool, especially when you're screwing up, which turns out to be pretty darn often at this juncture in life.  As I got to thinking about the meaning of this "badass little spitfire" thing, I started to list off the reasons he might think this about me.  Ultimately, I decided that this little endearing nickname encompasses a lot of what I pride myself on being: passionate, down-to-earth, realistic, honest, and pragmatic.  Maybe, hopefully, that's what other people see in me, too. I am very much into the idea that girls can do anything guys can do, and maybe that's where he is getting the badass part from.  I don't really know.  I guess we'll have to ask him at some point.

At the end of the day, though, it's nice to know you have a friend who will inadvertently make your day.  It's strange how one thing someone says can kind of change your perspective on things, especially if it is clouded, like mine has been as of late.  Badass little spitfire is now the welcome banner on my phone--and a constant reminder of who I pride myself on being and even more so, who I am on my way to becoming.

Therapy.

It is days like today that I am reminded of what good friends and a strong cup of tea (or coffee, depending on your specific tastes) can do for the soul.

This is my first post, and it comes on a day that has been anything but ordinary.

1.  Wake up, make breakfast, get ready for school.
2.  Leave for school and promptly run myself into a snowbank due to the fact that plowing is severely lacking in my neighborhood.
3.  Neighbor John tows me out with his giant gas-guzzling Suburban.
4.  Dad drives me to the main road where it's clearer.
5.  Everything is fine til I get off the freeway and slide and run into yet another snowbank.  A nice Milwaukee County plow man throws salt around my tires and pushes me out.  He then tells me I need new tires ASAP.  Not shocking.
6.  Arrive to school 85 minutes late, conveniently right when my first class is ending.
7.  Go to class.  WISN's Portia Young is interviewing my teacher.  We get to be on camera, too, answering questions about social media.  Sweet.
8.  Skype with my Spanish language partner, Cesar from Mexico.
9.  Go to my remaining classes.
10.  Come home without any unfortunate snow vs. car-related incidences.
11.  Make salmon, a rare treat, for dinner.
12.  Best friend from high school, Alyssa, calls and says she is stopping over.  Talk to Alyssa for an hour or so, the first time in forever.
13.  That brings me to now, writing this, and sipping a mug full of Teavana mandarin orange green tea.

The joy of Mondays.  I am grateful.