Holi-bae.

Yes, since the last time I wrote, I got two spend not one but TWO holidays with the bae, aka the one and only Luscious Yashas, hence the title of the post.  And if you don't know what 'bae' means... 

bae (n, adj): before anyone else, or a way to say babe, baby, etc.
I went on a date with bae last night.
That guy over there is so bae.

Wow, Kasey, you've been together for what, two months?  And you already put him before anyone else?

C'mon guys, you know me better than that.  Obviously my cats are number one in my life.

But anyway, yes, I got to head over to Champaign to spend Halloween with Yashas and we were definitely one of those couples with our coordinating costumes: Batman and Catwoman!  We went to some of the bars and met up with Little Red Riding Hood (aka Katie) and had a blast despite the arctic temperatures.

And then there was Thanksgiving.
And I brought Yashas home to meet my family.
Dun dun dunnnnnn.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen.  I brought my poor, unsuspecting boyfriend home to meet the Kaisershots and Ritchies.

I know what you're thinking: The poor boy!  Probably scarred for life!  He'll never be the same!  What was Kasey thinking?!

Okay, really voice in my head that I'm pretending is talking out loud for the sake of a blog audience?  You aren't giving me or my family much credit here.  Here's how it went down:

Tuesday:  I had class until 5:45 pm (ew) and then I drove to Champaign to see Yashas and to stuff our faces with Maize Mexican Grill food.  Meanwhile, my poor sis was on an 11 hour train ride home from Nebraska (also ew).

Wednesday: Yashas and I drove to good ole Normal (where the weekend was about to be anything but Normal) to a nearly empty house besides my sis (the 'rents were at work).  I hugged my cats, I hugged my sis, and then I gave Yashas his early bday present: the book, The Science of Interstellar, because he loves that movie and he nerded out which was great.  I proceeded to work on my student teaching application (no joke guys, I'm already starting that stuff, real life is approaching rapidly) until my parents got home for 5 seconds and then took off again with Kourtney to U of I to see the Illinois vs. Nebraska volleyball game.  Then Katie and Chloe (there you go, Chlo, you were mentioned in my blog) and I introduced Yashas to the famous Avanti's gondolas and we hung out at home with Brooke and just talked and reminisced as usual.  It was so great to see all the girls...I missed them so much!

Thursday:  Today was the big day.  We woke up and got ready and headed to my aunt Cathy's at 1 for an early Thanksgiving meal.  Shoutout to her for the fabulous food!  Poor Yashas met like 15ish new people and my grandpa even stole him away for awhile which made him a little nervous, but he did great meeting everyone.  I also had to explain to my grandma how Tinder works since that's how we met (LOLOLOLOLOL).  We stuffed our faces and then dipped because the Kaisershots had to gear up for Black Friday at Mrs. Fields.  We got to the mall around 4:45 or so, all suited up and with our new recruit, Yashas, and began baking and getting ready for the psychos who decide to shop on Thanksgiving (yeah, I know, making my boyfriend work during the holidays, I'm the worst.  He enjoyed it though).  We worked until about 1 am and, exhausted, we came home to go to bed.

Friday:  We did basically nothing 'cause we were tired.

Saturday: I worked on homework, Yashas and I went on a walk to my old elementary school, and the fam went to see the new Hunger Games movie.  Again, basically a pretty chill day, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sunday:  We got up early, packed up our stuff, and went to Flat Top Grill for breakfast.  Then I had to say goodbye to my lovely family and we headed back to Champaign.  I cried the whole way back for the most part because of all the goodbyes.  It was awful.  Then it was back to Purdue since I had to work.

The End.

And in other news:

October:  I went to the ISEA conference in Indianapolis with PSEA which is always a fun experience.  Also, Syd turned 21, so Annie and I got her a vicious wolf shirt for her birthday.  It's your typical 21st bday present, didn't you know?

November: Jess turned 21!  A bunch of girls came over and we celebrated that weekend.  Poor girl did NOT feel so hot the next day.

December: Nine Irish Brothers Christmas party was last night!  It was fun to hang out with all my coworkers, even if it was on a Monday night and I have 49237459 projects and exams to work on this week.

Speaking of that, I better go considering I have a huge semester-long project to present in 2 hours.  Lol.  Until next time, ya'll. XOXO

Let's just take a second to appreciate this sexy fam of mine

I mean really. Stud status.

I am thankful for my sister!

And also for my handsome boyfrannnd.

Catwoman and Little Red Riding Hood

Catwoman and Batman

ISEA Fall Conference

Wolf shirt: the traditional 21st birthday gift

EAPS is the worst

Don't be fooled by our smiles.  We all hate this class.

And our TA takes selfies.

Nine Irish hostesses

And some of my other awesome coworkers

And Jason

Oh, and that time that I cut Jess's hair.

I Think I'm Coming Down With Something...

NO NO NO IT'S NOT EBOLA!!!

Oh my goodness, I'm an idiot for titling this post with something as suggestive as that during this Ebola scare.  What was I thinking?  Don't worry, I'm slapping my hand with a ruler right now.  Wait, they don't do that anymore, do they?  Okay, I'm going to stop now.

The thing I was coming down with was the love bug. Lol. It's not even funny now.  And I think I just laughed at my own joke.  Face palm.  This is why I'm not going to be a comedian.

Anyways.

Where was I going with that, you ask?  I was just going to follow up with last post where I introduced you to a new character in my life story.  Well, fun fact of the day, he's kinda sorta my boyfriend now.  And by kinda sorta, I mean he is my boyfriend.

I know, I know.  Take a deep breath.  Sit down if you need to process this for a sec.  Actually, now that I mention it, I think I need to sit down.  Wow. I have a boyfriend now?

Haha but really, he's an absolutely incredible guy and I am so, so lucky to have him in my life.  I was also lucky enough to be able to visit him over my Fall Break this past weekend!  Even though he had class on Monday, we were still able to spend some time together.  In the morning, I went grocery shopping and then got lunch with my bestie, Katie!  It was SO good to see her, even if we were only together for about an hour.  After that, Yashas (rhymes with 'luscious') and I walked around campus during his break (this included a nice romantic stroll through a graveyard...?).  While he was at his last class, I went back to his apartment and made pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and got ready to make a scrumptious dinner of pesto stuffed shells.  Seriously, wife me up.

NO NO NO I'M KIDDING.  I'm not about that life right now.

Anyways.

When he came back from class, I impressed him with my cooking skills, and then proceeded to embarrass myself with my lack of ability to melt chocolate to make chocolate covered strawberries, which resulted in him having to buy a new bag of chocolate chips which resulted in another failed melting attempt which resulted in us conducting various experiments to melt the chocolate, such as adding water and putting it in a pan to melt it.  Needless to say, it still didn't work, but Yashas insisted on keeping the bowl of ratchet chocolate to snack on throughout the night.  Sometimes I don't understand him.

Speaking of ratchet, we had a ratchet fancy dinner then with the stuffed shells.  We both dressed up and were trying to be fancy, but let's be real, we aren't about that life.  He's over here in a button up shirt and dress pants but no shoes and a tie that's too short because his incompetent girlfriend couldn't tie it correctly, and I'm over there with my hair lookin' all frizzy from the day's humidity, and we're sitting on his couch because his bachelor pad was furnished with only one stool and no table, so yeah, we were cool.

But it was fine because it was fun and ridiculous.  Then on Tuesday we hung out and chilled and then I cried when I had to leave but that was okay because I got to go home and see my mommy and daddy and kitties and yes, I just said mommy and daddy and I am 20 years old.  I got dinner with them (well, not the cats) and got to talk with them and I miss them a lot. Then it was back to Purdue that night!

In other (less sappy) news, American Horror Story season 4 Freak Show has started and is 2 episodes in and I am already hooked. I freakin' love this show.  Get it? Freakin'?  'Cause it's Freak Show?  I crack myself up.  But anyways, Jess and Sydney and I all watch it together (and also stuff our faces with an assortment of snacks, such as popcorn and cookies) and nearly pee our pants when the creepy clown shows its face.  Seriously, don't look up a picture of that clown.  He's scary AF.  And if we weren't scared enough, the episode ended last night and then I see something crawling across our living room floor and OH MY GOSH IT'S A SPIDER and I jump up to get a paper towel and I'm screaming and then it started sprinting (like, gold medal in the Olympics sprinting) and found it's way under the couch.  Well I for one was not going to bed unless that thing was outta here.  Hello, my room is the closest to the living room and I was NOT sharing a bed with a spider that night, thank you very much. So Annie and I lifted the couch while Jess went after the spider with a can of bug spray and Syd is cowering in the corner and I'm screaming at the top of my lungs and it's 11:30 pm and our neighbors probably thought someone was being murdered.  But it's okay, because Annie stepped on it and it's oh so dead right now.  Phew, that was a close one.

Honestly, there's not too much else to tell.  Teaching 3rd grade is going great and I still really like my class.  I've been getting really interested in English Language Learners and have one in my class, so I enjoy working with him, as well as the other students.  Work is still crazy busy and I like the people I work with which makes it better.  My classes are going well.  In my classroom management class, we do role plays in our recitation and have to take turns being the teacher each week.  I had to be the teacher last week for the parent-teacher conference role play and let me tell you, that was a challenge!  Before the role play, the 'parent' was given a slip of paper that said what type of parent they should be (blame everything on the teacher, be unwilling to try new things with their child, etc) and the 'principal' was given one as well (passive principal, helpful, siding with the parent, etc.).  The teachers didn't know what type of parent and principal they were dealing with, so it was very nerve-wracking, especially since we had to be critiqued at the end!  It was definitely a learning experience though.

Well, I've got nothing else for you.  As if all that wasn't enough.  But anyways, until next time!

XOXO

Dis ma boi.

Lol @ ratchet fancy dinner.

Meow.

Because sometimes roomies take shopping trips that result in this.

I've been really ratchet lately, okay?

Starry Night

Meeting Mike Mains from Mike Mains and the Branches at Starry Night!

The Firsts.

Do you remember the first time you rode your bike all by yourself.  Do you remember your first pet?  Do you remember the first time you drove a car?  Do you remember your first kiss?

If you do, that's great.  If you don't, that's great too. I'm not going to talk about any of those firsts anyways.  Those are completely irrelevant.  Instead, I'm going to talk about these:

The first couple weeks of class of junior year.

So I have 5 classes this semester, plus an honors contract, which is pretty manageable.  This semester I'm taking a children's literacy course, a course about managing classroom environments, business Spanish, earth science for elementary teachers, and an economics course.  I'm a big fan of most of my instructors and professors, although I do have one who legitimately looks like Benjamin Franklin.  And for awhile, my Spanish course was kicking my butt. I'm absolutely terrified of speaking Spanish out loud for whatever reason, and, what do you know, this class relies heavily on speaking.  Great.  But this last week I had a 180 degree confidence flip and now I'm getting more comfortable. Hopefully I can improve my speaking skills a bit.  The best part is that my field experience this semester is in a third grade classroom and I'm psyched!  I met my class on Tuesday and I have two kids from the class that I will be tutoring for half an hour of the 2 hours we spend in the class each Tuesday and Thursday.  We will work on literacy, and I'm stoked!

The first time I worked as a hostess.

No, not the cupcakes.  You cray.  Rather, I started as a hostess at Nine Irish Brothers, an Irish pub on campus.  Though I just started on August 25, I've already worked about 30 hours. It's intense!  And I have a whole new respect for those working in the restaurant business.  I never realized just how picky and needy people are, haha.  But it is quite the interesting job and though it can be exhausting at times, I do enjoy it and the people I work with.  Although, I would be content with never rolling silverware ever again in my life.

The first time we hosted family dinner this year. And the first time I did other cooking.

So as you may or may not know, Annie, Jess, and I started a tradition called "Family Dinner" last year in which we cook a big meal for our friends on Sunday nights and all get together and eat and laugh and talk and hang out.  We hosted our first one of the year last week and it was quite a success!  I broke out the crock pot and we made pulled pork and pasta salad and (excuse my language) slutty brownies.  It was so delicious, and it was great to see everyone again; even Elaine came up last weekend from Indy at her co-op to stay with us and help with dinner!  I've also tried making a couple other things, like broccoli cheddar chicken breasts (way too thick for the 45 minute cooking time...try an hour and 20 minutes) and quinoa-stuffed bell peppers (way too much garlic).  Hey, it's all a learning experience.  This week's Family Dinner menu?  Breakfast for dinner!  Pancakes and eggs and sausage.  Nomnomnom.

The first time we met our neighbors.

Yeah, we did the neighborly thing and made cookies for everyone in our apartment complex, hoping that there would be some cool people we might wanna chill with down the line.  Everyone we met seemed pretty nice, but we honestly don't see anyone like ever.  Oh well.  At least our across the hall neighbors have a good taste in music.  And yes, we did in fact twerk to their music outside their door in the hallway. #noshame.  Except on Tuesday they were blasting music until 12:30 am and chanting, "USA! USA! USA!" for no apparent reason.

The first time we hung stuff on the walls, aka this is why we aren't interior decorators.

I bought these really cute black cube shelves to hang on my walls, right?  Because nothing says college like online shopping.  But anyways, you kind of have to be a carpenter or architect or interior designer or God or something, because these shelves are impossible to hang up.  Okay, you actually just need a drill and that's it, but right, like us three 20 year old girls own a drill.  So Annie tried to manually drill a hold into my wall to hang the first shelf.  It wasn't big enough for the screw anchor.  So she tries to hammer the anchor into the wall.  It bends the anchor.  So she tries a smaller anchor.  That goes right through the wall.  At this point we're just like, craaaaaaaap, there's a giant hole in the wall what do we do?  But then Annie, miracle worker that she is, managed to shove the big anchor back in and it held and that's how we got one shelf up.  We decided to wait for an actual drill for the other two before we accidentally knock the entire wall down.

The first time I went on a date with this guy.

So, there's a guy.  And I'm gonna be honest: I'm really into him.  Here are the quick facts: his name is Yashas, he's a senior at U of I, and he's basically amazing.  I've visited him at school a couple times to go on dates and we've texted and/or Skyped every day for over two months.  I've loved getting to know him, and even though it sucks that we are kinda sorta far away from each other, I can't wait to see how things progress.  More updates to come on that front, I'm sure. :)


Oh, and PS, I am still in love with apartment life.

Apartment 4, wut wutttt

First Family Dinner!

The first breakfast in the new place

Our command center with cubbies below!

Andddd basically we just like to take mirror selfies...

...that are really weird.

And sometimes we like to look like dudes.

But mostly we love to snuggle.

Apartment High.

I'm writing this now because I never want to forget this feeling.

This feeling of excitement. Of promise. Of FUN.

I was going to write this post next week, once I was completely moved in to the new place and had my first day of class and my first day of work at Nine Irish Brothers.  However, I just can't wait that long!  Because I don't know when this feeling wears off, this feeling that from here on out I will refer to as an "Apartment High."  I know halfway through the school year, when it's freezing cold and dark and snowy and I have homework piled up and my room is a mess and there's no food in the fridge, I will NOT feel the way I do now.  So I need to document it before it disappears.

Yesterday morning was the big move in day (and Jess will be here Saturday)!  My dear roommate Annie has been working on apartment stuff since we got the go-ahead-and-move-in-now email on Sunday.  And let me tell you, she is great.  She went through and did an excellent cleaning job before I came, and even got us a new living room carpet out of it.  So when I arrived yesterday afternoon, my dad, sister, and I all loaded down with boxes and bags and tubs of all my crap, I was able to move right in.  And I am notorious for having a lot of crap, by the way.

So we got all my stuff moved in and my dad got my desk put together and we went to Walmart to get some food to hold us over for awhile until we can really make a shopping trip and then we went to Annie's parents' house for some delicious lasagna.  And then I had to say goodbye, which freakin' sucked, because today Kourtney leaves for Nebraska and I'm so excited for her, but I also wish she wasn't so grown up already.  So yeah.

Shoutout to you, sister!  You will do great at Nebraska!  I'm so proud of you and can't wait to hear about all the adventures you have at your new school in this new chapter of your life.  Remember, I'm always here if you need me :)

But then I came back to good ol' apartment 4 and finished unpacking my stuff and organizing it.  Annie and my friends, Matt and Corey, came over to hang out for a little, so it was good to see them.  But then they left, and most of the big unpacking was done, and suddenly Annie and I realized that we were about to spend our first night in our apartment. She even made the comment that this was the first time I have ever really been alone and unsupervised in my living, considering I had an RA the past 2 years.  It felt great!  

So then we started going through our apartment, deciding where we wanted to hang decorations and the things we liked and disliked about it.  But boy do we love it!  And yeah, sure the paint job is mediocre at best, and there are stains on the carpet, and our faucet handle has chips in it, and there's a chunk of tile missing in our bathroom, and the air doesn't flow into our bedrooms, and the doors are missing from our closets, and people can see into our apartment from the parking lot.  But honestly?  It makes me love this place even more.  It's a place of our own, and I am so excited to live here the next 2 years.  I legitimately feel so giddy with excitement right now as I sit here in my new living room, stomach full of orange rolls that I made for Annie and I for our first meal in the new place.  It's going to be a great year :)

Annie and I moving in to apartment 4. More pics to come!

Confessions of a Stand-In Mom, aka My Summer as a Nanny.

Summer isn't truly summer when you're in college unless you have a job to pad your bank account for when the school year rolls back around. (Seriously though, what I wouldn't give to have an 8-year-old's summer, the kind where all you do is play outside and run around and not have to worry about anything except what's for lunch and when mom will take you to the pool.)

So what did I decide to do to fulfill this? I became a:

chauffeur
nurse
maid
chef
entertainer
lifeguard
librarian
teacher
mediator
dog walker
mother.

Okay wait, that last one didn't sound right. No, people, I did NOT birth children this summer, relax.  Rather, I became a nanny.  But really, what is a nanny but all of the former jobs compiled into one: a fill-in mom (Mom B) while real mom (Mom A) is at work.

And let me tell you, it was a struggle. Though I have nannied 2 summers before this one (really, third time is a charm, right?), this summer proved to be the most challenging. My children for the summer? A giggly 3rd grader, a sporty 4th grader (and the only boy), a sweet 5th grader, and a sassy 6th grader.  I have been babysitting for the brother/sister duo of Sporty and Sassy for the past 3 and a half years and have been sitting for sisters Giggly and Sweet since last summer, though I have known them since my first summer with Sporty and Sassy. (Goodness, with these names, it sounds like I'm nannying for a little over half of the Seven Dwarves).  You would think, after several years of working with these kids, and at an age where they start gaining some independence, this summer would be a breeze!

...Think again.

Because besides the average nanny duties of preparing breakfasts and lunches (no easy feat with 4 younguns), cleaning/doing dishes/doing laundry/vacuuming, and planning fun activities for the kids, I was running my own private shuttle business, carting the kids to taekwondo practice, dance class, gymnastics practice, basketball camp, soccer camp, art class, softball practice, piano lessons, cheer clinic, band practice.  No kidding, there were days that I drove 70 miles IN TOWN.  The struggle.

And somehow, between all those activities, we managed to squeeze in some pool days, finish the library program, go to some parks and spray parks, hit up the zoo (RIP Miller Park tiger), show off at the bowling alley, and eat more ice cream than is probably healthy for children of that age.  But then again, consult the list of activities these children were enrolled in, and you'll see how easily they burned off those calories.

Needless to say, I am EXHAUSTED.  And though we were constantly busy and the summer could seem long at times, I can't believe it is almost the end.  In fact, I had to say goodbye to Sassy and Sporty yesterday as it was my last day with them and I will not be nannying for them next year since I'll likely stay at Purdue.  Now THAT was difficult.  I have played an minor role in raising these children for around a third of their lives, and suddenly it was time to say goodbye.  Sassy and I began tearing up in the parking lot as I dropped her off for softball one last time.  And Sporty?  Well, he said he wouldn't really miss me too much because, "After three years, it's time to move on." Oh. Well okay then. Lol.

And then next week will be my last week with Sweet and Giggly, so I'm basically dreading 5 pm Friday.

And if anyone has spent any time at all with me this summer, you'll know that I complain A LOT about this job.  I won't deny it.  Between cleaning up the sticky messes and putting up with the bickering and coming home night after night ready to pass out, who can blame me?  But then again, there are so many fond memories I have of this summer, specific and general.  Like that time I was playing my oldies CD in the car and the kids fell in love with "Build Me Up Buttercup" and requested that I play it so they could dance and sing along each time we were in the car.  Or when I was finally able to get the kids excited about reading and Giggly and Sweet came to enjoy the times I read aloud to them from our chapter books, which became good bonding time, as well as a chance for me to practice for my future profession.  Or when we tirelessly studied the lyrics to Iggy Azalea's rap in "One Less Problem" until we could recite it effortlessly.  Or spending countless mornings in the kitchen whipping up a wide variety of pancakes (banana, cinnamon sugar, s'mores, chocolate chip/sprinkle/whipped cream/chocolate syrup).  Or even the little things, like when they would remember something specific that you'd said, or when they'd grab your hand, almost subconsciously, as we were walking to and from somewhere, or when they said they love me and will miss me and that I'm the best sitter ever.  It's the things like that that really get me, that made it totally worthwhile.  I really do love these kids, each in their own way, and I'm going to miss them lots next year.

But that doesn't mean I am anywhere NEAR ready to be a mother.  In fact, the nanny rally cry happens to be, "I'm never having kids!"  At least not now :)`  


But besides nannying, I did get to do some other cool stuff this summer.  These included:

-Family reunion in Nebraska at Platte River State Park
-Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne concert with some friends
-Visiting Jess in Chicago with Annie and going to IKEA to shop for our apartment
-Going to Purdue and seeing all my school friends
-Going on vacation with Sydney and her family...RV trip to Glacier National Park in Montana!
-Other various shenanigans with my frands and family.

But, in just a couple weeks, I will begin round 3 of being a College Kid. Stay tuned :)

Kaisershot Family Reunion 2014

Concert!

USA

Fountain run!

Boating with the girls

...and shooting with the girls.

Basically, I just love these girls.

#RVtrip2k14

10 mile hike, whaddup?

Iceberg lake

Snow angels in July!

Segway tour

Mount Rushmore!

My kiddos :)

I'll miss these guys!

Ten Things My Second Year of College Taught Me

Please excuse me for just a moment while I make amends for neglecting my blog for the last few months.

It's okay, little bloggie blog. I promise I still love you. It's just been a really, REALLY long and rough semester. Please forgive me.

And to you, my loyal readers (and by that I mean my grandma, shoutout to you grandma, I love you!): my apologies for falling off the face of this cyber world this semester.  To say my life has been in shambles would be an understatement.  This semester has kicked my butt.  And my legs.  And arms. And stomach.  And face.  And everywhere else.  But thank goodness it is now over (and has been for about a week now, but I still don't think I've fully recovered).  So with that, I will give you:

Ten Things My Second Year of College Taught Me

1. The Quarter-Life Crisis is real

Everyone always made fun of me when I told them I was going to undergo a Quarter-Life Crisis when March 12, 2014 came around, aka the day I turned 20.  Well guess what everyone?  IT'S A REAL THING.  Quite the conundrum.  

When I turned 20, I kinda freaked.  I was no longer a teenager, and things happen in your 20s.  You graduate.  You get your first real job.  You might get married.  You might have children.

Dear goodness, that's a lot of pressure if you ask me.  In just 10 short years, I could have hit most of my major milestones, and that freaks me out.  But then again...

I'm in my 20s.  I'm in one of the most exciting times of my life.  So far, my 20s have not failed me, and I'm so excited to see where these 10 years take me.  

2. Work sucks, but it doesn't have to suck

I worked for our school newspaper, The Exponent, this year as a copy editor.  Goodness, was that a roller coaster of a job.  Some nights, the only thing that got me through was a 44 oz. Den Pop, bless its heart.  But then, something happened.  Maybe it was the warm weather.  Maybe it was my resignation of the fact that work was work and it had to be done whether I liked it or not.  Or maybe it was magic.  But the fact of the matter was, in the last few weeks of my time there, I actually enjoyed spending my Monday and Wednesday nights in the News Room on the second floor with my fellow co-workers, slaving over the news, ensuring that our peers were well-informed each day.  Suddenly, I had friends at work and it actually became fun.  Like the time we ordered Moe's late at night and the delivery guy had to come 3 different times due to dropped burritos and forgotten queso.  Or that time my editor, Jake, and I faked everyone out that we were dating when we weren't.  Or when we all went to Pizza Hut and got psyched for stuffed crust.  Or when we had our end of the year celebration at one of the girl's apartments and got to see the senior staff win their superlatives.  So sure, it took some time, but I guess I have to confess that I'm gonna miss that place a little bit.

3. There's always room for making new friends

Besides my Exponent friends, I made a couple friends this year who I now include in my circle of best friends.  First, let me tell you about Sarah and Elaine, who are quite the pair.  They were roommates this year and Jess and I didn't really become friends with them until this past semester, but goodness are they great people.  Sarah is quite the interesting young lady.  She always has something interesting (and usually bizarre) to say and is constantly making me laugh.  She was my dance partner in crime this year and always up for some spontaneity.  But along with this, she's hard-working and open to listening to my rants or breakdowns.  For that, I am truly grateful.  Oh, and her Snap Chat game is unmatched.

Elaine is also an interesting character.  She's pretty quiet around those she doesn't know, but she really opened up to us.  She's super intelligent and has her life put together, let me tell you.  She always laughs at her jokes before anyone else has the chance to think about them, and she has the uncanny ability to find coins on the ground.  She also has crazy road rage and is able to eat more desserts at one sitting than I though humanly possible.  She despises drama, and once she made me a PowerPoint of all my favorite things when I was having a bad day.  I love these girls and miss them already.  I can't wait to see them again!

And then there's Sydney.  She and I knew each other last year, but we didn't become close until we had classes together this year.  She's an El Ed major like me and probably one of the most sarcastic people I've met.  We are always talking about something ridiculous and we can tell each other anything, knowing there's not judgement.  I'm lucky enough to go on her family's RV vacation this year, so watch out world.

4. I've officially reached the tipping point of growing up

This year, I've signed a lease for an apartment, worked at a job, bought couches, got a Crock Pot, and applied for another job for next year and got that.  If that doesn't signify growing up, I don't know what does.

5. Spontaneity can lead to the best memories

Goodness, the number of random, spur-of-the-moment decisions we made this year.  Most of the time it had to do with food.  Usually ice cream or slushies.  Or buying lottery tickets.  (Once I won $10!).  Once Sarah and I went with our friends Corey, Matt, and Elliott to Ball State to see a volleyball game.  But the best one was when Sarah and I went to Sigma Tau Gamma's formal in Indianapolis with two guys we didn't know (don't worry, we knew other guys in the fraternity) because they needed dates.  We ran around the mall at closing time a day before we left searching for dresses, survived the hour-long drive listening to screamo music, and actually had a good time when all was said and done.

6. There's strength in numbers, especially when it comes to complaining

As I said before, this semester was a struggle and half.  I took my Block III classes this semester, and everyone in education said it was one of the hardest.  They weren't wrong.  The projects seemed never-ending, the discussion posts were overwhelming, and throw on some snow days on top of that, and you have a disaster on your hands.  My goodness.  But, with that being said, I grew closer to several of the girls in my major through that experience, even if that sense of camaraderie only came from complaining with one another about how stressed we were.  I managed to make it through, and it helped knowing we were all in the same boat.  We education majors stick together. 

7. Lol @ dates

You know the romantic ideal where guy sees girl, girl sees guy, it's love at first sight, and everyone lives happily ever after?

Turns out that's not how it works out in real life.

And thank goodness for that.  Because if that's how it did work out,  I could be on the fast track to marriage right now (remnants of my Quarter-Life Crisis are sneaking up on me as we speak; expect hyperventilation soon).  Sorry, but I'm not about that life.  Instead, I have some pretty awesome stories about the handful of dates I went on this year (most of which belong in the "What Not To Do When Taking A Girl Out" chapter of the fictitious novel "How to Be a Decent Guy.")  Because if there's one thing I love collecting, it's stories.  I will spare the names of these "men" to prevent their public humiliation (I'm not Taylor Swift, after all), but fair warning to all the dudes out there: step up your game lest your failure to treat a lady right leads you to a life as a perpetual cat lad-- er, I mean man.

8.  Things really do happen for a reason. 

People come into your life and they go.  Opportunities are presented and you can take them or leave them.  But all of this is what is supposed to happen and I am the person I am now because I was supposed to be this way.

9.  Purdue is still where I was meant to be.

Goodness, I love being a Boilermaker.

10. It still holds true that the most important things I learn in college aren't academic.


Now, who wants to see a random collage of pictures from this semester?

Just me and my roomie

Reunited with my girls over Spring Break

Sledding on Slayter Hill on our snow day!

Our Black Magic wallyball team

Jared and I on our friend date night

Sarah and I

Bible Study girls

The Swagging Stooges

And again

Got to go to Boiler Awakening this semester, and it was INCREDIBLE

Outreach to Teach with PSEA

My date to formal, Phil

Bend...

...and snap!

Because we got to go on a field trip in college. Thank you, HONR classes

My girl Alyssa

My editor, Jake

We just like to eat

The 3rd Floor clan

Got to help publish a book this semester!

Syd and I

Sloop Challenge with Sarah and Elaine

Finally home from school

And now I get to spend the summer with these lovelies