I love YouTube.

Not much has happened since my last update, but I thought I'd spend some of my free time writing a little blog post. Cool? Cool.

I haven't started working yet, nor have I moved into my new house. Instead, I've been spending a lot of time reading and enjoying the abundant talent that YouTube has to offer. I've actually been a closeted YouTube nerd for several years now. I made an account in 2008, but I've never commented or favorited, let alone posted a video. However, in my years on YouTube, I've come across a lot of talented and interesting people, and it all pretty much stemmed from one channel: fiveawesomegirls. Along with Julia Nunes, the girls' channel was one of the first I ever subscribed to. I came in a little less than a year into their progress and after catching up on their videos, I was hooked. Each of the five girls were (and still are) super smart, witty, endearing, and definitely entertaining. From there, I subscribed to each of their personal channels and the channels for the projects they would pursue later years (Job Hunters, Answerly, Hayley's short-lived advice blog, each of their personal blogs... the list goes on). And through the 5AG, I was introduced to many of my current favorite YouTubers like the Vlog Brothers, Alex Day, Luke Conard, Meekakitty, Tyler Oakley, and SO MANY MORE. And then, of course, the process continued and I found even more YouTubers through the YouTubers that I found through the fiveaweseomgirls. YouTube is seriously amazing... which is why I think I'm actually going to post a video...?

I recently discovered the YouTube musician and vlogger Landon Austin. If you haven't heard of him and you've somehow stumbled across this blog and have actually read this far, go check him out! You won't be sorry! He does covers and originals, and created amazing songs with his band ColorFire. But anyway, he posted a voice-over vlog yesterday called "Today Was a Really Good Day". It had an overwhelmingly positive response, and he has challenged his viewers to create a vlog in the same style. I feel like this is the perfect opportunity for me to try my first vlog because 1.) It's voice-over, and my crappy old camera doesn't record sound. So there's that. 2.) I know that if I post it, Landon will watch it and it will have at least one view, with the possibility that his viewers might be interested in checking out the other video responses. 3.) I don't have to think of something interesting or entertaining to talk about. All I have to do is narrate my own life. Anyway, I loved his video and am actually really excited about the possibility of creating something similar. Let's see if I actually go through with it... I might chicken out. :P

That's really all I wanted to talk about right now. Enjoy the abundance of links I provided for you and have a lovely day. (I say that, but no one reads this, as far as I'm aware. If you read this, comment? It makes writing blogs that much more fun!) :D

Growing up...

I finished my sophomore year of college ready to transfer to a new school with a new major, preparing to move out of my parents' house and live on my own (with a roommate). It all seemed kind of distant in the future, and all of a sudden, my roommate is moving into our house and we're transporting furniture and I'm applying for jobs in the new area and... AH! I don't feel old enough to be making such adult-like changes. It's a strange feeling.

What makes that strange feeling intensified is that I'm moving back into the area where I went to high school. It's cool because I'm more familiar with that town and everything, but it's kind of strange to be seeing my old classmates and other familiar faces at the gas station and the grocery store after not experiencing that for a few years. I haven't decided if it's an occurrence that I like or not yet.

All of these changes are super exciting, but also nerve wracking. If I'm being honest with myself, I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to afford living on my own. Paying bills and rent, affording groceries and household necessities, anticipating my first legitimate job, searching for a car.... I'm a little scared. Excited and scared. I'm a person with inconsistent opinions regarding change, and this much change, especially all at once, is a bit of a challenge to handle. I think the process has already earned me a few gray hairs, and I'm only in the beginning stages of everything! All I can do is hope and pray that everything will work out and that I made decisions that will be positive in my life. Time will tell, but I'm feeling (more or less) good about this. *Crosses fingers.*

Consequences to Exciting Decisions

Since my last post, I have made some important decisions and taken action! Huzzah!

I applied to another university as an English major. Yep, I'm returning to my true passion: Words. Books. ENGLISH. It just feels right. :) I'm still waiting to hear back from the school I applied to, but I feel pretty confident about my chances.

If I'm being honest, I have to say that my friends were a bit of an influencing factor. The new school is much closer to my best friends and is in the area I grew up in. In fact... two of my best friends attend the very same university. But I swear, they weren't the reason I chose the school! I moved away from the area after my senior year of high school, so even when I go home, I'm not any closer to my friends. I think the changes of school and location will help me feel more connected to my friendships in addition to furthering my education in the academic area I've always enjoyed the most.

The downside to the decision is money. So. Much. Money. If all goes as planned, I won't be living on campus, but in a townhouse with a friend, whose parents are the landlords of the space. However, affording rent, food, utilities, tuition, and all of the other standard costs of living is a little bit daunting when you're unemployed. Needless to say, I'm a little bit stressed out about it. In addition to all that, I don't have a car to transport myself from home to work/school, so there's yet another expense. Welcome to the real world, Beth.

Regardless, I've been checking the status of my application on the school's website rather obsessively and enjoying the rest of my time here at my current university. Hopefully things will work out well! :)

New Year, Same Problems

Well, happy 2012, nonexistent readers!

I had a wonderful Christmas! I spent it with my loving family and was able to get together with my closest group of friends a few days later... and ate lots of delicious food on both occasions. :) I hope anyone who stumbles across this had an excellent holiday and enjoyed their New Year's festivities!

While it's a brand new year and it's been months since my last post, not a lot has changed. At least not in my personal life. I'm still just as career-confused as ever. I am not only considering changing my major (again), but also changing schools.

My newest possible major/career is diagnostic medical sonography... a fancy way of saying that I'm considering studying to become an ultrasound technician. This isn't as completely out of the blue as it may seem. All through junior high and high school, my best friend encouraged me to look into becoming an ultrasound tech or something similar, assuring me the job would cater to several of my talents and interests. While I didn't take her too seriously at the time, I realized a few months ago that she's right. However, I'm still not totally convinced that it's what I want to do, so here I am again... on the fence between sticking with my current major, or changing to something completely new and different. Except this time, the decision is a little more loaded. If I make the switch to sonography, I would have to transfer to a different school. This school does not provide on-campus housing for its students, but a housing opportunity presented itself in the form of living in a townhouse with one of my best friends. Yes, initially, it sounds pretty great... but there are several additional factors: Number 1 is MONEY. Not only is the rent an obvious expense, but I would also need to purchase a car, furnish the house, pay for food and other miscellaneous home supplies, and everything else that comes with living on your own. And in order to do that (Here comes Factor Number 2), I would need to secure myself a job in the area.

I know I'm not confident about my current major and I'm not completely happy with my current college, but I'm not exactly 100% about being an ultrasound technician either. I'm at as much of a loss as I was last year and it sucks. Like, really, really sucks. It makes me feel as though I haven't made any progress; I'm stuck in the same rut I've been flailing around in for the past several years

Everyone will tell you, "Follow your heart!" or "Pursue your passion!" but I don't know what my passions and talents are. There are several things that I enjoy doing, but nothing stands out as being something that I want to do as a job for the rest of my life. There's nothing that stands out as being my true passion. So until I figure it out or simply step out on a limb... I'm kind of stuck.

Basically, growing up is hard. And life sometimes sucks.

So... yep, that's where I'm at. Yay, right?

Back to School.

So... in my last post, I was super excited for the month of June. And yes, the month of June was AWESOME, as was July. And August is going really well, too. The concert was absolutely amazing, the HP7 Part 2 premiere was soo good (and very emotional), my trip to Florida was beautiful and super relaxing, my jobs working in the nursery and doing physical therapy have been great, my best friend's surprise bridal shower and bachelorette party went off more or less without a hitch, and her wedding was just about perfect and she looked STUNNING. Overall, I've had a wonderful summer. :D

It's all about to come to an end, though. I move back to college on Thursday and classes begin the following Monday. I guess I'm ready, but I wouldn't say I'm excited. I'm just not one of those hard-core college lovers. Some people just excel while at college... they find themselves and really blossom. I'm just not one of those people. I don't hate college, but I don't love it either. I could take it or leave it.

Plus, it's hard to be excited about going back to school when the majority of the girls I'll be living with in the suite are big partiers (and I'm definitely not). I have a feeling I might be spending a lot of the semester feeling out of place in the dorm. In addition to that, I'm not feeling as confident in my new major as I originally was. I'm not sure I want to be an elementary school teacher now, and I'm at a loss when it comes to figuring out what I want to do instead. I really have no idea. Teaching? Another form of child care? English? Something in the medical field, like an ultrasound tech or a physical therapist? Culinary studies? Like, seriously. All of those are things I've considered, and I don't feel more passionate about one than the others. I need help or inspiration or... something. So hopefully I'll be able to use this semester to figure out what I want to do with my life, haha.

I'm still reading, though. Just because I changed my major doesn't mean I love English any less! :)

Currently Reading: The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
Number of books completed: 14.

JUNE.

I have been looking forward to the month of June for quite some time now. Particularly the week of the 12th... more specifically June 15 and the seven days that follow. And now... it's here! Well, June is. But the 15th is almost here.

The 15th is the day I see Josh Groban in concert! (!!!) I'm so, so, so excited. And because Mr. Groban is so wonderful and generous, he made student tickets available, so it's only costing me $25 to see him LIVE. The whole thing hasn't completely sunken in for me yet, haha. And I fully realize I sound like a crazy fangirl right now, but hey... if the shoe fits... ;)

And then the day after that glorious concert, I hop in a car with two of my best friends and head down to Florida for a week of fun in the sun. I've never been to Florida or anywhere similar, so this trip is super exciting for me.

On top of these oh, so exciting things, I officially started my job in the church nursery in June. I get to play with and care for little ones of the infant stage through kids 2-3 years old. It's a pretty wonderful gig, I must admit. The only part of the job that's not so great is making phone calls trying to get an assistant for each Sundy. Well, two assistants, actually - One for each service. I'm not a huge fan of making calls to people I'm not super familiar with, but I'm managing.

I'm still trying to get a second job to work during the week since the nursery job is only on Sundays. I've applied to several places, so we'll just have to see what happens. I'm trying to remain optimistic... :)

Currently Reading: Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli. (I wanted to reread the HP series before the last movie comes out, but I decided to read this instead, and then read the 7th book in July before attending the MIDNIGHT premiere... in costume. Woo!)
Number of books completed: 8. (I didn't finish that Wally Lamb book, but I read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones.)

A change of plans.

Well, blog... the regular update thing was nice while it lasted, though it didn't last long.

In all fairness, the whole purpose of this blog is a little bit irrelevant now. As an English major, I originally planned to use blogging as a way to keep myself writing in hopes possibly pursuing a career in writing. However, in my last months of my freshman year, I changed my major. I am now an Elementary Education major, so I guess this blog is purely for entertainment purposes now...? Sweet.

Sidenote: I thought changing my major would be a little bit more work or take longer than it did, but after doing it, I felt like I needed one of Office Max's Easy Buttons. Seriously. I went to the Education building, talked to the secretary for about a minute, filled out the top of a form with easy stuff like my name, address, current major, and student ID number, and then left. Like, really? It's that easy to make a life-altering change.

Majoring in Elementary Ed. is something I had been considering since the tail end of my senior year of high school when I helped out with a program called Read Across America. For this event, high schoolers in the FEA (Future Educators of America) and the Book Club (which I was in) went to the elementary school and ran various stations and helped the elementary students celebrate Dr. Seuss day. It was during this event that everything just kind of clicked for me. I felt that teaching elementary school was what I was MEANT to do, and I don't know why it took me so long to figure it out. I'd always enjoyed working with children, and I'd been doing so ever since I was old enough to not be considered a little kid myself. With the encouragement of my friends and family, I was firm in my decision. (And even better, while my friends and I at the Art station talked with the teachers of the class, they informed us that we were the best and most organized station they'd been to all day. They hoped we were actually pursuing a career in education. :D)

Unfortunately, I had this realization after already being accepted to my college as an English/Literature major, so I had to wait to make the change. But it's pretty much official now, and I'm very excited about it!

I'll still keep track of the books I've completed as I still have a strong love for books and literature. And I hope to continue writing the occasional blog, just for my own benefit. Writing is definitely something I enjoy and I don't get to do it much, outside of writing papers for class. However, I will be deprived (if we want to call it that) of even that responsibility as I'm now on summer break! YAY!

(A brief update on my summer activities: My best friend is getting married and asked me to be her maid of honor. It's a position I took on with pleasure, but it's been keeping me busy, for sure. My summer's been full of wedding planning, job searching, reading, and spending time with friends... so far, it's been a rather successful summer. Minus the job searching. :()

Currently Reading: I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. (I don't know if I'll complete this book, though. A lot of the characters are irritating...  plus, it's roughly 900 pages.)
Number of books completed: 7.

A book that I read during my lack of blogging - The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It is INCREDIBLY good... definitely became one of my favorites. Of course, it appealed to several of my interests, but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who, for whatever reason, happens to read this. :)