the day i got {my} BA

my high school graduation was terrible, so i put a lot of pressure on my college graduation to make up for that.

{in high school the name-reader just SKIPPED my name so i stood awkwardly on the stage not sure what to do and i could feel the thousands of parents' eyes watching my face turn red...so naturally my eyes started to well up in panic...thankfully a trustee on stage was all "psst, what's your name?" and then said trustee whispered my name to the reader, who announced it, completely out of alphabetical order and very obvious to everyone. or so i assumed, in my flustered, semi-crying state.} 

but back to arcadia's graduation.

even though it P O U R E D rain the whole day, i was elated. i didn't end up with the same blue-sky backdrop other grads may have gotten on their special day, but whateverrrr! 

the front of my dress and my flats got soaked on my run-trot from the car to the gym, but they quickly dried in the stifling heat of a room packed with excited graduates, pinning caps on and snapping selfies. 

finally the moment came to process in, and i crowd-scanned to find my beaming parents and husband. us graduates sat, stood, sang the national anthem, and listened to the writer of the magic school bus and reading rainbow talk about joy {and how that doesn't come from monetary success!}. 

when it came time to award the diplomas, i stood with arcadia's college of arts and sciences, and i chuckled as the reader announced my name as "julia" (it's just julie, folks). who cares? at least my name was called this time! 

afterwards, i wove through the heaping mess of grads and parents to find my grandmother, siblings, and in-laws who had watched the graduation from a "simulcast location," and we took a million pictures, standing in some random corner of the building i graduated in. but again, who cares? i rocked my phi kappa phi tassel and was giving the cheesiest grins because i had just graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts in english. 

{devin was all "i deserve a graduation too" and then he stole my cap. but honestly, i wouldn't have done so well without him. he was so encouraging throughout this whoooole degree-earning thing, even when i was taking 22 credits and ready to stop putting any effort into my classes because I was stressed outta my mind! but i/we did it! haha} 

thank you, Jesus, for getting me through!

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3 hrs to graduation!

graduation day is finally here! after 4 years of english and education classes, i'm more than ready to be done and {hopefully!!!!} get hired as a teacher.

in spite of my extreme excitement to graduate, i'm pretty bitter about the weather. if today were forecasted to be sunny {or just not torrential rain/flooding}, then the graduation would be held outside and seating is unlimited--so i'd be all "hey everybody I know! want to come to a graduation??" instead, i have 3 measly tickets for the chosen few who get to sit on cramped bleachers in a stuffy gym...so my mom, dad, and devin should feel pretty special that they were selected ;) 

the even more frustrating part about graduating inside is that i helped set up the hundreds of precisely lined chairs outside! {me and all the other facilities management workers at Arcadia spent hooooouuuurrrssss using tape measures and string to create symmetrical, straight rows of chairs in each seating section. and while we had the outdoor setup all ready, the indoor gymnasium option was also being prepared just in case!}

{the overall setup}

{the view from the stage}

but oh well. i really shouldn't complain about something so trivial {this week most of my prayers for the weather were really whiny....sorry, God}. 

i can't wait to walk across that stage, shake the dean's hand firmly {like my friend's father who was in the marines taught me}, accept an empty envelope that is pretending to be my diploma, and smile up at my parents and husband who i'll hopefully be able to find in the sea of people in the stands....

i'm so excited. 

{and i can't wait to share with you the creative way devin gave me a thoughtful graduation gift last night!} 

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current reads

my current reading list has strayed from michel de montaigne, william wordsworth, and thomas pinchon, which made appearances on my english courses' reading lists. instead, i've jumped into a lovely blend of middle school fiction and Jesus books (devotionals?). since i start student-teaching in 2 days (THAT'S SO SOON! AHHH!), i've been reading through the books i'll have to teach. 

esperanza rising, the first one i finished, is a really good, if you're prepared for a quick read on a historic period no one really talks about in american history. the main character (esperanza, in case your nancy drew skills didn't tell you that) goes from royalty in mexico to 

forgotten God, by francis chan, was borrowed from my sister, who went through that book in her senior high sunday school class. so far, it's been a really insightful challenge to desire more of the Holy Spirit in my life, and it addresses the fears and expectations we have when it comes to such a touchy subject. 

the secret life of bees, which i'm not quite finished yet, has been really intriguing so far. a young, white girl and her older, black housekeeper become fugitives of the law and come to reside with three sisters in the {even deeper} south who keep colonies of bees. the descriptions are beautifully worded, and the recently-abolished segregation laws make the setting even more interesting. 

the reason for God is what devin and i have just started with our senior high sunday school class that we're teaching. we only started today and only got through the introduction so far, but in spite of the extremely academic wordiness, i can tell it's gonna be good. {and another plus, the youth seemed really into it!} this will be a really rewarding time of examining doubts while giving us explanations for our belief in Christ...and tim keller's extremely complex writing won't hurt their SAT vocab scores. 

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my last first day of college

despite my last noooo-summer-don't-gooooo post, i am ready for the adventure of senior year!

yesterday marked the start of the fall semester, and even though it was pouring rain, i was excited. class from 1 pm straight through til 10 pm wasn't going to phase me! (if you had asked me again at 10:05 as i was walking to my car in the puddle-ridden parking lot, my answer might have been less enthused about the start of school. but overall i was really pumped for the school year to begin!) 

and it's my senior year. did i mention that part? I'M A SENIORRRRR! *ahem* i mean, um, i'm a senior and it's like no big deal. also, i don't already have my my graduation date marked on the calendar or anything. OH WAIT. I DO.

i even took a ridiculous picture [by myself] that an overeager parent would for their bright-eyed 6 year old...but whatever. i'm super excited. i can't even pretend that i'm not. yesterday was the first day of a semester that will put me one step closer to student-teaching this spring [which is where my enthusiasm will REALLY kick it into high gear].

so anywayz. here's to a year of senior thesis, education classes, pre-student-teaching fieldwork, messy buns, sweatpants, and essays. oh, and doing my best for Jesus :)

what gets you super pumped?

anything exciting happening this fall?

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the office, minus michael scott. and jim.

oh hey there, guess which inconsistent blogger is done her summer classes? YEPPPPP. that's right. i finished taking mark twain fiction and literature of the 1960s, both during summer session numero uno, and you're right. that was not the best idea. summer classes are condensed enough without trying to take two of them and work 40 hours a week...needless to say, for the past seven weeks, i've constantly been behind on laundry and dishes. 

it also means that my office has gotten a little wild.........and by a little wild i mean it was piled high with random books, papers, and post-its on post-its (because i am convinced that the only way to read a book is by making notes in the margins, and for people like me who feel SO GUILTY writing in books, there's post-its). 

so, two days after my classes ended, i'm scurrying around, re-shelving and trashing all the junk that's piled up. and for those of you who proof of the mess (along with the finished product!):

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finals week faces

L to R:

1. OH OK, professor. i will definitely seek help from the university librarian to develop my paper's thesis. 

2. shucks. my math final is in 40 minutes isn't it...

3. dr. professor dude, bringing pizza to the exam won't make me do better, but thanks. 

4. oh wait. the math final is in 30 minutes, as i've been blogging stead of studying. 

5. 0 pages down, 10 more to go: life as an english major. 

philosophical thoughts that have also been running through my mind right now: 

if i'm just a junior and i feel this unmotivated, what does senioritis look like?!

maybe being an english major was a bad idea, since i'm burned out on the paper-writing...

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missing mexico

although i didn't write about this as soon as i got home, i had an amazing spring break in mexico! my college pretty much makes you study abroad in some way, and since i'm already an old married lady and would prefer not to spend a semester away from my husband...i chose this spring break trip for transfers and freshmen. 

and last night, i had a dream i was in mexico again, which is weird, because i only spent a week there and as awesome as it was, i was pretty psyched to be back home...but anyway, it got me thinking about the trip and what a great experience it was!

overall, the trip was a real learning experience (ew, academic terms for "super fun but learned alot"). we went sight-seeing in mexico city and cholula, stayed in puebla with UPAEP university, spent 3 days in the village of la preciosita, and then 1 day at the beach in vera cruz. besides really getting to use my spanish, this trip was perfect because it blended historical sights with service work. we weren't stupid tourists the whole time, even though we did get a guided tour around the mayan and aztec pyramids...we got to stay with families in the village and eat authentic, home-made from scratch mexican food, and play with kids, and help the women cook, and paint the village elementary school.

the whole group! beanpickin' in the fields

one of the things we did in mexico was try to help the local village we stayed in, la preciosita. so, we picked beans for a few hours in the local field...and let me tell you, i will NEVER throw a veggie away again. it was sweltering, dusty, and the bags were so heavy. but, even tho we were all pretty slow pickers, the 16 of us were able to get enough done that the regular laborers could go sell the beans at market earlier than they would have otherwise. 

me and my buddy jordyn with our bag o' beans.

in la preciosita, we also played with kids in the town square. and let me tell you--bubbles and a few crayons are like gold to kids who don't have much! 

me and the mexican jack sparrow, who i met in cholula

while we were staying in la preciosita, one of our activities was going on a hike (which was AWESOME!) this was me and my "house-sister" paloma at the top. she, in her little mary jane shoes, practically sprinted the 2 hour hike to the top, whereas me (and my other gringo friends) couldn't catch our breath in the 15,000 foot altitude!

saw some wild llamas after the hike

we also painted a school in la preciosita!

the whole group at our resort in vera cruz, the place we spent our last day in mexico.

our resort! see that far off sky-looking thing? that's the ocean. our villa was like 10 steps from the gulf of mexico!

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the wife life

when i said "i do" on a sunny june day, i thought i had a pretty good idea of what married life would look like. devin and i would go on epic adventures together, get to fall asleep in each other's arms every night...we'd probably fight more, since we'd be spending so much more time together, and he would leave the toilet seat up but i wouldn't complain...we would spend every night together and have people over all the time...and basically, it would be this ideal, life-with-your-best-friend setup. 

for the most part, i was absolutely right. the summer gave us tons of opportunities for weekend camping trips and family barbecues in our backyard. Even when fall rolled around and the semester started (leaving me with night classes every single night), we still found time to rent 20934 movies from the library, play with our new puppy, and work on our house on the weekends. and despite the occasional argument (which is the nice way of saying red-faced screaming match), life with my best friend is all i knew it would be. 

what i didn't know was that i would be a horrible wife. i had no idea that i'd become this dish-washing-procrastinator and nit-picking-fight-starter, that i'd have all day to myself (to do "homework" and "housecleaning") but that i'd lay in bed for an extra 2 hours after devin went to work. i throw actual tantrums over the smallest things (such as devin leaving a few cups on our bedside table), and when i get home late from night classes, i have a horrible attitude, thanks to professors who keep us til 10:10 PM when the class ends at 10:00. thank God i was never home-schooled, because although i claim to be organized and self-motivated, i am extremely unmotivated to do things (like attack a pile of dishes left over from the weekend).

but you know what i realized (and am realizing, over and over)? i need Jesus. i am an absolutely terrible wife on my own, and when i try to do all the laundry/finish a 300-page book for school/wash all the dishes/walk Jake/come up with creative dinners/not start arguments all by myself, i will fail. i need Jesus to give me strength to get things done, to be kind and loving, and to change my stony heart. i need him to make me more like him. and it's more than a sunday morning re-commitment to let God run my week's events. it's a daily surrender to let him work in my life, while immersing myself in his Word. 

yikes...this post got RILL long. 

but these are just a few of my most recent thoughts on married life. :)

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end of semester thoughts

i'm almost finished my second semester in my second year of college...6 more class periods, 2 more projects, 2 papers, 2 finals...i'm almost finished. 

you know the last 5 days before christmas, how each day seems to drag on and on and onnn and onnnnnnnnnnnn? 

that's how i feel right now. in 14 days, my summer will have arrived. but since we're speaking (typing?) of countdowns, i'm getting married in 40 days! 

and the work on the house? it's coming along slowly. 

i'll post pictures of my bridal shower soon, so look out! this blog won't always be the host of my end-of-semester whining thoughts. 

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dorm dilemma: solved

i'm pretty hood, and here's why. 

i take the subway with gangsterrrs while listening to flo rida and drake, i go to philly when it's dark, and i get crepes at temple university. 

this is all thanks to my best friend, moriah, who lives in the city...and we got to hang out pre-spring break with a major task on hand: cleaning her hoarder-esque dorm room. 

she just has a lot of clothes, or she's a busy honors kid, or her time is better spent with her new hipster boyfriend, or some combination of all three, which was what lead to this:

and after a lot of swiffer, trash bags, clorox wipes, laundry, and relient k on blast, we did this:

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a visit up north

i finally got to see all my boston friends this past weekend! the college had a fancy schmancy film-fest this weekend, so devin and i drove 375 miles north to see my friends and attend this fun event...but actually it was just to see my friends, who i haven't seen since december when i left  :( 

our arrival at 11:40 led to an epic reunion with mallory, erin, valerie, trevor, tim, john, and vandy, and ten minutes later, when megan and kelly drove up to the dorm, i let out a banshee war cry of happiness and jumped in their car, sprawling across megan and kelly's lap as i tried to hug both of them. 

we went to marty's donut shop on friday night, which was packkkkked out, and "marty" (who's real name is richard) had to crank out a bajillion batches of donuts to satisfy all the college kids who stopped by. saturday was breakfast with megan and kelly, lunch and the beach with the s'mores, hanging out in evans with more field hockey people, and then dinner with anna, megan, and kelly. 

saturday night was the film festval, where the winning student-made movies were played by category (like "best sequel to a disney movie," and "most awkward"), and after about 15 short movies starring familiar faces were shown, the audience texted their favorite film to vote on the best overall movie. it was really fun to dress up and see everyone at the pre-party (where our photoshoot took place), and laughing at how hipster/awkward/ridiculous the movies were was the best, since i was sandwiched on a pew between devin and erin, but surrounded by my friends. 

kelly, me, megan

my suite (minus sammie)

vandy, john, mallory, valerie, me, angela, erin, tim, and trevor

our soccer boys (this was taken after a couple awkward ones where they pretended not to be friends and didn't smile...it was probably subtle retaliation against being part of a photo shoot)

me and malloretta, roommies :)

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endings and beginnings

before i left, these awesome girls threw me a going-away party, filled with delishhh treats and cookies everyone could decorate themselves. 

my amazing friends who came to play ping-pong and phase 10, and eat christmas cookies with me :)

since i've been home, my days have been pretty random. christie came over and helped me unpack on thursday, moriah came over on friday, saturday was raking my yard with my amazing sister....and on saturday night, devin and i had a bonfire in our yard! 

it was realllllyyyy impressive how fast he had a huuge pile of burning logs that warmed my face in the 22 degree weather. we sat on paint-thinner buckets around the firepit, holding ungloved hands and talking about our future together. this is such an exciting stage--being in transition and having a whole life together ahead of you. :)

you can't tell, but our fire WAS blazin. 

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leaving, and winter ball

in order to explain why winter ball was such a big deal, i should probably mention something pretty depressing:
with alot of tears and many hours of praying, i have decided to transfer from my beloved new england college next semester. i'm getting married in june, so i'd have to leave at the end of the schoolyear anyway, but i decided to transfer to arcadia university next semester because...
1) i got into the honors program
2) honors program=mucho scholarship
3) arcadia accepted all my college credits (even the ones for my major!!), but they will only accept up to a certain amount of major credits. if i stayed in new england next semester, i would be taking all major classes....which then wouldn't transfer.
4) i cannot leave my fiance with the full responsibility of fixing up (and decorating?!) our house in preparation for moving after we get married. we're a team, and it just wouldn't be fair.

so, these are my last few days with my incredible  friends here, which makes winter ball that much more important to me--i got to spend the night with my favorite people, as well as tear it up on the dance floor (which is really a joke, if you've ever seen me dance).

my suite, even though sammie didn't come back this year (she's studying music in nashville, but came to visit!!!!) and i'll be leaving after this semester.

megan and i <3

kelly, megan, anna, and me: field hockey besties

ah ha, typical.

dancin the night awayyyy

the group!

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what's bruin?

my suite

Bruins versus the Florida Panthers (look at me, all that hockey knowledge!)

our group with the "fan of the game" everyone voted for on the jumbo-tron

in front of the TD garden sign

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11:11

can you see the 11 on the cake? it's like they say, you're never too old for an 11:11 party on 11/11/11. 

we "smores" went to sammie's house in NH last weekend, which involved the girls suite (+ our new suitie, valerie, since sammie transferred to a different school) and the soccer boys suite playing some intensive rounds of catchphrase and scattergories, along with talking until 3 am. 

waaaaait a second, you may be thinking. why give yourselves a stupid-sounding, arbitrary nickname? why try and go all babysitters club, naming your group of friends? 

wellllllll. we're all sophmores. thus, "s'mores" is a shortening of that. and it's not like we use the term seriously :)

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outlines and desks

last night, i saw my digital clock strike 2 AM as i fervently finished my 4-page research paper outline because i had a meeting with the professor about my paper/outline at the luxuriously late time of 8-freakin-30 AM. 

did she read anything past my thesis at the top of page 1? 

noooooooope. 

instead of reading all my hard work's evidence, she told me to start over (in scholarly terms, like "perhaps you should consider a free-write, letting the critic in you be silenced so that your ideas can flow and you can find the direction you need to take your paper...")

despite this completely discouraging meeting, i found some redemption in organizing my desk, which had clearly been neglected for 3 weeks. 

before:

after:

so, what was your monday like? 

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