Let it snow, let it snow, let it STOP.

Okay, so I realize that I set out to update this at least once a week and it's been a little over a week since my last post. But another reason for this blog is to keep track of my reading progress, and I didn't want to write another update until I finished Catching Fire, which I did this afternoon. Again, SO GOOD. I'm kind of glad I waited until all of the books were out to begin reading the series because now I don't have to wait in agony for the next book to be released!

Anyway, it took me a lot longer to read Catching Fire than it did for me to finish The Hunger Games because I'm back at school and I have required reading and other obligations. And this week has been a pretty busy one, hence the lack of update. However, it's now the weekend and I finished most of my homework, so... Here I am!

As the title of this post suggests, we've been getting a lot of snow recently. Sometimes, this amount of snow can be pretty exciting. However, when it doesn't get you out of the classes you don't want to go to and completely soaks your shoes and pants, it's not really something to celebrate. It's really just become a nuisance. It makes it harder to get to class and everyone is perpetually cold, wet, and miserable. It's gotten to the point where my friends and I have started condemning the snow rather than appreciating its beauty. And I hear there's supposed to be more snow coming this week... Oh, joy.

There was one day, though, that my school cancelled all of the later classes, so all of my suite mates were in the dorm. We all congregated in one room and colored in coloring books while listening to music from Disney movies. While some people may poke fun at a group of 18 and 19 year old girls for acting like a bunch of first-graders, we had a really good time, no matter how lame it sounds. :)

I'm not really sure what this upcoming week will bring, but so far my semester has been treating me relatively well (despite the snow). I do have a few idiot professors, but I think everyone has to deal with some of them during their time at college, right? Things in my life are going really well, for the most part, and I really have no reason to complain much. I think having to think of a reason for every day to be awesome for my "Why is today awesome?" notebook has been helping me stay positive.

Until next time, I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the upcoming snow will actually get me out of my 8am math class! :)

Currently Reading: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed: 3

School's in session.

So my first week of second semester is almost over, and I've got to say... it wasn't bad. As much as I was dreading the end of break, all of my grumpiness vanished when I walked into my dorm room and all of my suite mates were smiling and yelling that they were happy to see me. You just can't be unhappy after that warm of a welcome. :)

Overall, my classes are okay, with some definitely being better than others. I think my writing class is going to be my favorite, despite the fact that the workload will probably be a bit much at times. The professor totally makes up for it, though. He's that professor that tells you to call him by his first name and instructs you to bring your "badassedness" to every class... yet still has command of the classroom and has respect from his students.

Also, I really didn't think I knew many people on campus, but in walking to classes and around campus, I've found myself greeting and being greeted by a decent number of friends/classmates. So that was a surprise. I guess I just needed some time away from school to realize how... not bad I have it. Though I'd still say that I'm not one of those people who consider college to be the best years of their life, or at least not yet.

In other news, I'm going home this weekend to see my Grandpa and Aunt Shelly who are coming to visit Mom at the new house. I think they'll be with her when she picks me up from school, so I can give them a bit of a tour and whatnot. Even after only a few days of class, I'm ready for the weekend. Eh, what can I say?

Currently Reading: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Number of books completed: 2.

Winter break is almost over. :(

Winter break is very quickly coming to a close... and I SO don't want to go back to college. My days at home have been far too relaxing and full of free time to make me miss my days in the dorm. Nevertheless, I will be packing my trunk (just like Harry!) in the next few days and resume waking up early, hustling to class, and tackling homework. Woo.

Break has been great, though. Besides Christmas and bringing in the New Year, I've celebrated a few birthdays of friends and family, spent time with family and some friends from high school, congratulated a cousin on her engagement, welcomed another cousin home from England (before bidding her farewell when she leaves for Sweden), started this blog, started a "Why is Today Awesome?" book as inspired by the 5AG, and read some really, really good books. What more could a gal ask for?

As much as I currently dread the thought of returning to school, I'm sure I'll end up enjoying myself. I have some really interesting classes scheduled. However, this semester will be a determining factor in regards to whether I'll be returning to my current university next year, or if I'll be transferring elsewhere. So far, I've been rather underwhelmed by the English program at my school. (If I can say this without sounding completely full of myself,) I can achieve As and Bs without exerting much effort, and the classes required for my major are the easiest of my courses. My family has suggested that it may be because it's the area I excel in, but if that were the case, then my fellow English majors should have no problem achieving similar grades, and that's not happening. In the spring semester, however, I have an English class that a professor tells me is pretty difficult. I plan to see how that class goes and, depending on how hard "hard" actually is, I may return next year.

On another note, I finally got to read The Hunger Games, a book that has been on my "To Read" list for SUCH a long time. People whose tastes in literature I trust have been amping it up for a while now, and I finally checked it out from the local library. HOLY POO, SO GOOD. I devoured it in two days. The only problem is, I go back to school soon, so I can't check the other two books of the trilogy out. Soo... I think I'm making a run to the bookstore today to put my Christmas money to good use. :)

Fun fact: I finished Looking for Alaska on January 10... National Alaska Young Day. It was totally coincidental and totally awesome. :)

Currently Reading: Ah! Nothing! But hopefully I'll have started Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Book 2 of The Hunger Games trilogy) by the end of the day.
Number of books completed: 2.

Reflections and Beginnings

2010 was a big year for me, particularly the second half of 2010. I graduated from high school, contemplated several career possibilities and college majors, moved away from the town I grew up in, moved again from the new house to a college dorm.... A lot of change came my way all at the same time. With that change, however, came growth. Since beginning college, I've become much more confident, I've taken on many responsibilities, I'm more independent, et cetera. There are still a great number of things that are the same, though, and the similarity that stands out the most to me right now is the fact that I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I've known for just about my entire life that I liked to read and write, and people that like those things typically become English majors or something of the like. Lo and behold, I'm currently and English/Literature major at college (though I seriously contemplated switching to Elementary Education). I'm happy with my major and my courses, for the most part. I just don't know what I want to do with my major. A friend recently told me, though, that with an English major, "the world is your oyster." I'm just going to take that and run with it.

Anyway, when I was in eighth grade (How's that for a terrible transition?), I shadowed a woman named Patti who owned a publishing company for childrens' books. While I was there, she allowed me to email questions to several of the authors she publishes. Most of the responses went something like this: "The answers to many of your questions can be found in the FAQ section of my website. Best of luck!" Not exactly awe-inspiring advice. But then I heard back from John Bianchi. He answered every one of my questions (though I'm sure I could have found many of them in the FAQ section of his website) and gave me advice as an aspiring writer/journalist/English enthusiast. He said to "Read, read, read. And write every day." I've done well with the bit about reading, but I've kind of been slacking off when it comes to writing. Ergo... this blog. I'm not saying that I'll be able to write in it every day, but I hope to post something at least once a week, on top of some writing projects at home. In addition, I want to make a conscious effort to read more. Yes, I read, as I've said. But an English major can never read too much, right? So at the end of every post, I'm going to state the book I'm currently reading and keep a running total of how many books I've completed so far in the year. So, yeah... we'll see how this whole blog thing goes.

I'm just happy I finally took the initiative to post something. I created this account on Blogger so that I could read other people's blogs. I have a bit of a habit of making accounts on websites to enjoy the efforts of other people. For example, I've had a YouTube account for years, but only use it to watch other people's videos. Of course I've contemplated the idea of making my own videos, but I don't quite have the confidence and the guts to put myself out there. I figure this is a good enough start.

Right. I've rambled on long enough. Hopefully I'll be responsible about this and keep it going.


Currently Reading: Looking for Alaska by John Green. (Rereading, actually. So good!)
Number of books completed: 0.