50 things i've learned from college...and i'm not talking about classes

1. You don't need beer to have a rock-awesome party
2. You don't need beer to gain the Freshman Fifteen
3. Never procrastinate to the point that you have to write fourteen papers in one weekend
4. Pulling all-nighters are so much better when there's someone around to make sure you don't hurt yourself
5. If you hear strange breathing under your roommate's bed, seek help immediately
6. If your roommate dies, you get all A's...there seems to be no stipulation about whether or not you kill them, causing temptation during finals week
7. If the HFAC (Harris Fine Arts Center, where the lowly theatre and film students dwell for most of their lives) burned down, there would be world peace
8. Just because your acting professor is brilliant, doesn't mean he won't be strange...actually, it's more likely that he will be
9. It's a lot easier to be awake at five in the morning than in the middle of astronomy class
10. Studies show a correlation between professors voices and ancient lullabies
11. The smaller your living area, the faster you lose your deodorant under your notebooks
12. Jeans can be worn at least five times before they need to be washed
13. Tide stain-remover pens are *amazing!!!*
14. One of the most priceless possessions in the world is a good pair of headphones
15. Thermostat battles can be bloody
16. Magnets are great if you always lose your keys
17. Receipts make great notepaper
18. Plastic bottles can be made into anything
19. Being domestic feels good, even if you only own two mugs and a set of measuring spoons
20. Not having a car stinks (kinda like your feet after not having a car)
21. Wal-Mart and Target are meccas
22. Jamba Juice has secret, underground flavors
23. If you freeze cream soda, then open the cap just a little, it turns the whole thing into a slushie
24. Never take WiFi for granted
25. Snow and heels don't mix
26. A good cell phone can be dropped at least two thousand, fifteen times before it breaks
27. Ice cream heals all troubles
28. Vending machine food deserves its own place in the food pyramid
29. Bread gets moldy really fast
30. Always check your bread for mold before eating it
31. Expired milk won't kill you, you might just smell funny for a few days
32. Eating cereal out of a mug with a measuring spoon actually works quite well
33. Everyone in the world should have a meal plan
34. After having a meal plan, when you go somewhere that doesn't accept it, you end up handing them your ID card anyway and taking at least half a minute to realize why they're looking at you funny
35. Showers are highly overrated
36. Dryer sheets degrease and make your hair smell nice
37. Ditto baby powder
38. Toilet paper is expensive
39. When doing laundry, you must remove your clothes from the machine within thirty seconds or they'll end up on the ground and you'll be ticked off, even though you know perfectly well you will do the same thing to someone else next time
40. Unfortunately, with the joy of independence and no curfews, you miss having someone wash your underwear and remind you a million times to take your medicine
41. The best place to get someone to ask for your phone number is waiting in line for lunch
42. If you go in winter to a school where men and women aren't allowed in the same building together after midnight, you will probably spend 95% of your dates trying to keep warm
43. When it comes to dating, "Age is just a number, baby"
44. Before you tell forty-five people you're dating someone, make sure it's going to be for longer than a week and two days
45. If naps are for babies, sign me up to be two again
46. Ninja Turtles and My Little Ponies are completely in style
47. Considering they're not drunk, people can still sound awfully stupid singing at the top of their lungs in the middle of the night...not that I'm not a guilty party
48. College is made up of a lot of stupid smart people
49. You think high school boys are idiots until you reach college...then you realize all boys are idiots
50. Magic leoplurodons know the way to Candy Mountain

college and way too many thoughts on writing

Well, I feel like it's been forever since I posted and, essentially, it has. It's amazing what can happen in just a few weeks. I'm a college girl now, true blue through and through, and like my sister always told me, college is both harder and more fun than you would ever imagine. You have what feels like the most fun you've ever had one day and the next you're bawling, wishing to go home...metaphorically speaking of course. Overall, it's great and I'm really beginning to enjoy it. But what I really wanted to confide in this great expanse they call the internet, is how absolutely terrified I am about something else. I change focuses quickly, I know.
Last night, on my way home from Aerobic Dance where I became buff, my dear, sweet mother called me (or maybe I called her...that's really beside the point) and informed me that my writing mentor--Valerie Clark, a published author who sort of took me under her wing--had called. Ms. Valerie, as I call her, told Mom that one of the publishers she's in contact with is looking to represent more authors of young adult novels and Valerie wanted to recommend me. I almost fell down in the snow (it's below zero outside btw and I have a terrible cold which may be turning into bronchitis and I need to go to the clinic tomorrow) because I was so astounded. I mean, it may not actually come to anything, but it gave me hope. I'm coming up on my third anniversary with Ellic. March 2nd. It'll be epic. That means that March 2nd, 2004 I began a journey with a boy who was far from your average protagonist. He wasn't cool and he wasn't anybody's hero, but he was genuine. He was charming and you could feel it radiate from him when you read him...or at least I could. Really, that's the problem. I know Ellic but I can't seem to get him down on paper. He's there, I can feel him. He's my best friend. I know that sounds really dramatic...really, really dramatic...and I'm kind of embarrassed to actually post all this because it sounds cheesy, but isn't that what a good writer does? Puts herself into her writing to the point of awkwardness then hangs it out to dry for everyone to look at? This is a really random tangent to go off on in this post. I was originally just going to say "I have to do some rewrites and I'm scared," but it didn't really turn out that way. Anyway, I just want my writing to be my voice again, like the voice I use here in my blog. It's just me and it's different and you can tell. I want my characters and plot to be magic for me again. That's all. I think I'm in for a long weekend.