Happy New Year!!

Alright. So I've been slacking on the blogging. My bad, everybody. I've been watching small children and living my life. And my, has it been a great one to live. ^_^ I hope everyone had a decent holiday. Also, this is my belated Christmas shout out to Janine and Robert. Lol ♥ ♥ ♥ I'll see y'all in a couple of weeks, yeah?

This year, in case anyone was wondering, I received a new phone and Pokemon Soul Silver. I feel quite invincible.

Anywhoo. For me to not have gone anywhere or done much of anything since I've been home, it's been a pretty busy couple of weeks. I lost my keys, like, as soon as I got here. [Still haven't found them, btw..] There have been tears. There has been laughter. There has been other stuff. And I'm glad the year is ending the way it is.

The following letter, paragraph, note thingie is a note that I wrote on facebook earlier today. Every year on NYE, I write a note talking about the year that's ending and how I felt about it and its events and such. I said that I would stop doing it once I got to college, but I felt like the year 2010 was so eventful, that I had to write one this year. I made it short and sweet so it wouldn't attract too much attention or whatever, but I said everything I had to say about the year. Enjoy that:

I honestly think this might be the last note I write on new year's eve. I think.. This was really something I did in high school, and I said I wasn't going to keep doing it every year, but I feel like 2010 needs to be talked about. I spent this year with amazing people and had amazing experiences that will be hard to ever forget. All in all, it was an awesome year. It was the year I made one of the biggest transitions of my life, dug up a great relationship with one of my best friends, made some new friends, and grew up a little bit more. I learned a little more about myself as well as other people. I grew a little closer to some people, including my mother. Overall, I just had a damn good time. There were some scary bits, some tears, and some losses, but we stuck it out and made it to the end of the year. I think the class of 2010 appreciated this year more than some. So let this be my final congratulations to all of you who made it out of that place called high school and completed your first semester of college in hopes of making it somewhere in life. We only have (at least) seven more to go! :D And with that, let me wish the class of 2011 the best of luck. Your year is coming up, so make the best of it.

Let's go out with a bang everybody. Love y'all. And to those I don't love, I don't hate you either :P lol. The end.

Happy New Year!

♥

The Final Stretch Part II

Alright. I never thought I would be that over achieving student that stayed up all hours of the night studying for a college final. I've always planned on spacing out my study time instead of trying to cram the night before. However, I didn't go to sleep until about 5 this morning because I was up all hours of the night studying for history. It was a total accident, but, after taking my history final today, I've got to say, it helped. So I appreciate the lack of slumber. It's probably not a healthy thing to do, but it was helpful. I guess next time, I'll study harder during the day and sleep earlier. I really don't like staying up that late and stressing about stuff.

Welp. I have one more final today and another tomorrow and I am so ready for both. And then I'll be home in two days ^_^. I think this calls for celebration.

Let's do it. [<--- new catch phrase, btw.]

See y'all in Chicago! [unless I post something before I leave. Which I doubt I'm going to do...]

♥

Alsoooo, today is my boo thang's birthday ^_^ lol

so. Happy birthday to him. ♥

Man... This month is full of stuff, from birthdays, holidays, anniversaries... It's too real out here. And I'm too broke for all of it..

Quotes

I have absolutely no idea what provoked me to do this, but, here ya go. A bunch of mushy quotes about feelings that I happen to enjoy. [blech.]

"Love is being vulnerable enough to give someone the ability to hurt you but trusting them not to."

"Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning."

"Stupid conversations make sense when you are talking to someone special."

Juno: I think I'm in love with you.

Paulie: You mean as friends?

Juno: No... I mean for real. 'Cause you're, like, the coolest person I've ever met, and you don't even have to try, you know...

Paulie: I try really hard, actually.

-- Juno MacGuff and Paulie Bleeker (Ellen Paige and Michael Cera) in Juno [one of my favorite movies ever.]

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." -- Annie

"It doesn't matter if the guy is perfect or the girl is perfect, as long as they are perfect for each other." -- Good Will Hunting [never seen it...lol]

"I am someone else when I'm with you, someone more like myself." -- Original Sin [also never seen it]

"I love that you get cold when it is 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle in your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend a day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." -- When Harry Met Sally

"I'd rather die tomorrow than live a hundred years without knowing you." -- John Smith in Pocahontas

"You can't help who you love, you're not supposed to." -- Save the Last Dance

"If your not willing to sound stupid, you're not worthy of falling in love." -- A Lot Like Love [another favorite movie]

"Love is just love. It can never be explained."

"I don't think there's a whole lot to the concept of 'love.' There's another person that you have some unexplainable feeling for, that you'd do just about anything for, that would cause you pain if they weren't in your life. It doesn't make sense to you, but you just roll with it. That's all love is."

There. I'm done. Cuz this is getting gross...lol.

The Final Stretch: Coming to the End of the Semester

I only have one day of classes left. That. Is. Awesome. As I sit here procrastinating [I should totally be doing this project, but my blog is just as important ^_^], I'm thinking about all that I need to get done. As well as getting annoyed by all these tweets from John Legend getting sent to my phone. I'm also reflecting on my first college semester. It was a bittersweet few months. I'm proud of myself for sticking it out and not completely losing my mind. [Completely...] I've got to say, I got nothing I expected from everything I expected. Meaning, a lot of things happened the way I expected them to, but I guess I didn't know what to do when they did happen. Like, I learned that I don't like living with other people. I really, really, really can't stand girls. (Nothing personal, people I live with. Lol it's a general statement, it's not your fault.) I love to sleep. And I love my city. These are all things I kinda knew already, but being here really slapped me in the face with all of those facts. But I managed. It took me almost the entire semester to realize that I was in school. So, I kinda screwed around this entire semester. But, I am honestly excited for next semester. I take my first journalism class and I am TOO geeked. [lol did I just "show my colors" again?] Here's a list for myself that I might need to consult every once in a while in case I need to remember what I'm doing with my life.

♥ WAKE THE HELL UP.

Go to bed on time, stupid. If you know you have class in the morning, don't pull an all-nighter. Take your silly butt to bed. And, when you do go to bed on time, try waking up in the morning. You can get more done during the day.

[SN: Luckily, I only have 9 o'clock lecture classes two days out of the week. Ftw.]

♥ HOME WILL STILL BE THERE WHEN YOU GET BACK, SO STOP WORRYING ABOUT IT SO MUCH.

Apparently, all I do is talk about home. Thus and therefore, I'm going to make a conscious effort to not talk so much about home. I'll keep a couple of pictures on my laptop or on the wall, and I'll keep it moving. Happy, Janine? lol

♥ DON'T PROCRASTINATE. YOU WILL REGRET IT.

Pretty self-explanatory. Don't be so easily amused/distracted. But at the same time, don't make your life about workworkworkworkwork. You will get stressed out and die. Seriously, too many people have come to me talking about how stressed they are, and I always tell them to calm down, relax, take a break, and come back. It helps. But I get too distracted so my breaks always wind up being "Ehhh, I'll finish it tomorrow." Lol

♥ GO TO CLASS.

*stern face*

♥ STOP WAITING UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE.

It's ok to get an assignment and not start it the day it's assigned. But don't wait until five minutes before class to finish the assignment and then be forced to rush out of the crib without washing your ass first. It's not a fun thing to do. So don't do it. Plan what you're going to do, be realistic about when and how you're going to do, and then DO IT.

Feel free to follow my advice if you're reading this lol, this doesn't just apply to my life. These are pretty general statements that I feel any college student can benefit from. I guess that's it. Sigh. Let me get to this project. >:{

[btw, happy birthday to mah homegurl, Courtney! ;D]

Opinionated and Ignorant

Coming to college has opened my eyes even more to the different ways that different people act and think. I understand that not everyone has the same ideas and views as the rest of the world, and I accept that. What I don't accept is how other people aren't accepting of different people and ideas. All I basically have to say on the subject is that, it's fine to be opinionated. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Also, it wouldn't be fair of me to say that it's not right to express your opinion. I'm all for freedom of speech and expression. What I don't support is being rude about it. Don't decide you don't like somebody because they're different from you, or because you don'y understand them. That's not fair.

Some of the strangest people I know are some of the nicest. And people talk a lot of noise about these strange people. Sometimes, they're just downright mean. I don't like it. And it's not just with strange people, it's everywhere. Like, people saying they don't like music by people of another race...have you listened to it before you decided you didn't like it? People talk a lot of noise about homo- and bisexuality...you don't know the person you're talking shit about, but you don't like them because they're gay? Really? People talk about people who aren't virgins...just because she had sex, she's a slut or she might be pregnant?

The whole world is different. People need to grow up and realize that, and accept it. It's not fair to judge based on your opinions like that. Be more open-minded. I don't give a hoot if you disagree with the way a person lives their life, it's not your life to live. Keep your opinions to yourself, and give people a chance before you rule them out as a dislikeable person. Shit's annoying... That is all.

♥

Sex Doesn't Make You a Slut

Can we be adults for a minute? (No, seriously, you have to be pretty mature to read this post, because I made it easy for giggle fits.) Can we all be accepting of the fact that once we hit the age of 17, it is safe to assume that at least half of the people we know are not as "pure" as you would like to think? (SN: the legal age of consent is 17 in most states, meaning people are doing it with no consequence. Meaning people are doing it all over the place.) You may not agree with the dirty deeds they do, but they do it and that's not going to change because you want it to. I salute the people my age, and maybe even a few years older, that are patient and strong-willed enough to not have sex just yet. However, I'm not mad at the people that didn't wait.

Sex is as natural as sleeping or peeing. Your body is made to do it. Puberty happens, and you're supposed to put those wobbly bits to use (excuse my terminology, i give everything goofy names lol). Therefore, I don't think it's anyone's place to say that they don't think someone should be doing it. Number one, don't tell somebody else how to live their life; as long as you're living yours right, you have nothing to worry about. Number two, it's not like they're doing anything wrong just by having sex. Unless they are doing something wrong and it's not just sex. You have the right to frown upon that... But if people are able, they will do it. And the world is going to have to live with that.

There's a difference between being sexually active and being a slut... If I have sex with my boyfriend, so what? That doesn't make me a slut. That doesn't make me any less of a decent human being. I'm not a slut; I'm not sleeping around with any breathing guy with a penis like it's a hobby. Those are the people you should be worried about, and, even so, you can't tell anyone how to live their life, so you're gonna have to accept the sluts and their ways too, as long as they know they're doing bad things.

This is how I feel about sex... I do it, and so do a lot of the people I know; some of the people that don't do it wouldn't mind the opportunity to do it. That's what our bodies are telling us is the thing to do, not society or the media. No outside sources are FORCING (all of) us to have sex like a lot of people claim. For the most part, we can all make our own decisions... No, I don't believe in waiting until marriage for various reasons, but I do believe in waiting until you find someone that you really care about and that really cares about you, and not doing anything with someone you hardly know. Basically, I may not be "pure,", but it's not like I don't have any moral standards at all.

I just wanted to make that point. Don't look at someone like they're a bad person based on the fact that their not a virgin.

I'll give my slut talk another day. ;D

♥

Check It Out, Wrap It Up

Today is World AIDS Day, everybody (in case you weren't aware already). I'm not gonna preach to you today about not having sex. I can't tell you how to live your life, as long as you're smart about it. Have as much sex as you want, I don't give a hoot, but be careful. Wrap it up. Especially if you already know you're positive for something... If you don't know, GO GET TESTED. If you are sexually active, it's a smart thing to do. You can be as sure as you want that you don't have anything, but you won't know for sure unless you get tested. You'll feel so much better knowing for sure. And if you do test positive for something, it's better to catch it than to let it sit there and get worse. As soon as I find a place to go, I'm going to get tested today. It's FREE guys. And confidential and all of that.

Here's some quick facts about HIV and AIDS:

♥ HIV stands for 'human immunodeficiency virus' and AIDS stands for 'acquired immunodeficiency syndrome'.

♥ HIV isn't only contracted by having sex, although it is probably the most common way to transfer the disease.

♥ Most people with HIV don't even know that they have it, because they don't feel ill right when they get it. However, some people develop some sort of a fever-like illness with fever, rash, joint pains, and enlarged lymph nodes.

♥ Regardless of if they feel sick or not, people infected with HIV are highly infectious during the first six weeks of them being infected.

♥ THE ONLY WAY TO DETERMINE WHETHER HIV IS PRESENT IN A PERSON'S BODY IS BY TESTING FOR HIV ANTIBODIES OR FOR HIV ITSELF.

♥ There are different stages of HIV based on certain signs, symptoms, infections, and cancers. People at the third stage of HIV most likely have AIDS, and people at the fourth definitely do.

♥ AIDS is defined by the occurrence of any of more than 20 infections or cancers associated with the deficiency of the immune system that stem from HIV infection.

♥ AIDS is also defined in the basis of a CD4 positive T cell count of less than 200 per cubed mm of blood. But that's fancy stuff.

♥ The majority of people infected with HIV, if not treated, develop signs of HIV-related illness within 5-10 years. The time between getting infected with HIV and being diagnosed with AIDS can be 10-15 years, if not longer.

♥ There's no cure just yet, but there is treatment that can slow the disease down and make it take longer to develop into AIDS.

♥ You can find more info here:

What It Is

Symptoms

Contracting the Disease

Prevention

Testing and Counseling

BE INFORMED.

KNOW YOUR STATUS.

BE SAFE.

Help fight the war against AIDS.

All information obtained from:

Center for Disease Control and Prevention [www.cdc.gov]

Epigee [www.epigee.org]

UNAIDS [www.unaids.org]

P.S.

Here's a cool little thing some celebrities are doing.