this is stellar.: December 2011

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.

I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.

I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.

I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.

I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Should I be studying for finals right now? You betcha.

Am I? Nope.

The important aspect of this is that I am not stressed. I recognize that I have a lot to do and that I should be crying, ripping my hair out, throwing my school books in a fire, and vandalizing the library. That's a scary mental image, I know. But I am not. Because one day, I'll miss this. Now, I bet you are thinking, "So, Meghan...you are saying that you will miss staying up until 4 in the morning trapped in a study room trying to memorize 57 pages about different philosophies?" Yes, that is exactly what I am saying.

Granted, I may be saying all of this right now because I have only memorized about 14 pages of those philosophies; however, I genuinely think that there is something cool about finals week. It's hilarious. I have loved wearing pajamas to the library for the past week. I have loved receiving unlimited refills from the coffee shop with a side of, "you look like you need some more." I have loved taking McDonald's Happy Meal breaks. I have loved dance parties in the library. I have loved calculating the lowest possible grade that I can make without it affecting my current grade. I have loved the delirious laugh attacks at approximately 2:30am. I have loved coming up with every reason why hanging out with friends is more important than studying. There is a lot of them. The school part of college-- that will all work out for us and everything will fall into place. I believe that the world will not stop if I do not get a 92.4 on my final. Thank goodness for that.

Studying has been so relaxed this round of finals. Maybe it is because this is my fifth round of finals, or that I am just better at studying. Maybe I just do not care anymore. Whatever it is, I have thoroughly enjoyed not worrying. I have been content and that has been wonderful.

The top moments of Finals week:

I received 13 Notifications on Facebook because my roommmate, Shannon, decided to "Elf" us. It's a video of our faces in Elf characters doing a ridiculous dance. Sadly, it is easily compared to us.
Stephen followed a "red bull" car for about 15 minutes in order to get a free red bull. They went into Sport Clips and it would have been too awkward to go in.
I went to 2 semi-formals. One of them was themed after "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and the other was called "Firedance." Both of them were groovy.
My wonderful friend, Alli, got engaged. We had her ring pass in Pi Phi and it was beautiful. These kids met each other at the age of 11, and her biggest piece of advice was, "God always over-delivers."
We had girls night consisting of a fire pit, pot roast, and s'mores.
The roommates looked at pointless youtube videos for two hours yesterday. Cool.
It's tacky Christmas sweater week. That's always a good thing.
Cookie Dough-- yup.