Such a Splendid Spontaneous Summer Social Soiree

I had the wonderful privilege of meeting about twenty of my fellow law school classmates yesterday evening. From the onset, however, it seemed as though our soiree was going to be a failure.

Being the first to arrive at our planned location, I naturally became fearful that no one would show up. After all, this was a spontaneous event created by a few of us anxious incoming law students, hence the use of the word in the title. By 6:30pm after sitting at a table drinking lemonade alone for nearly ten minutes, I was nearly overcome with nervousness. Outwardly, I'm sure that I appeared quite normal, but inwardly, I was full of doubt. No one was early except for me. The thunderstorms would probably keep everyone indoors. Maybe no one really wanted to come anyways. I even began planning when I could give up and go home. If no one shows up by 6:45pm, then maybe I should just leave. I'M SO GLAD THAT I DIDN'T!

After a few moments of panic, the first of my classmates arrived. Within the hour, many of us were sitting in a large circle laughing, connecting, and forging friendships that I know will grow much stronger over the years. At some point, mid-conversation, it became apparent that about 90% of our group hadn't eaten dinner, and well, if you know me, you know exactly what I did! I excused myself and walked right into a widely known restaurant a few blocks away. Once inside, I asked the hostess if they had enough seating capacity and available staff members to handle such a large group. She said yes!!! In no time we all happily walked over together to restaurant. The live music was pleasant. The food was delicious! The company... the company was even better.

As a result of yesterday's events, knowing that I've made some good decisions in my life and some not-so-good decisions in my life, I'm almost certain that this decision was a great one!

For those who are counting down with me, orientation is in three days and classes begin in a mere eight days! 

Less Than Two Weeks Away!!!!!!!!!

It's August 6, 2011 already! Unbelievable! That means that there are only a few days left of my summer. On the seventeenth I will take one of the largest steps that I've ever taken in my life! It'll be one small step for me and one giant leap for mankind! (cue dramatic music) 

In all actuality, whenever I think about the big picture of my life and the lives of those of whom it will impact, it makes me happy... beyond happy! Unfortunately, for every action there is a reaction and for every good thing, there's usually something that's not so good.

Briefing hundreds of cases? Not so good. Sleeping an average of five hours a day? Probably even worse. Reading for about seventy-five hours a week? Heartbreaking! Changing the world like my best friend and many of us other Oberlin alums plan to do? Priceless! (Feel free to view my best friend's blog "Operation Change The World.")

I know that many of you wondering whether I am really ready for law school? The short answer to that question would be yes. The long answer would be, "Well, it seems like I have so much to do before classes begin. I have already been assigned readings not only for the first day of classes, but also for the first day of orientation! I feel so unprepared. Time has become my greatest enemy! I have yet to go grocery shopping! I barely read one-fourth of the books on my summer reading list because I was working fifty hours each week. I haven't bought a new dress for orientation day, which is a must-have! Plus, I've been sleep deprived for a good portion of the summer. Despite all of these things, I wouldn't have it any other way! I've had a surprisingly enjoyable summer. More importantly, I've had the pleasure of meeting and working with several amazing individuals. I know what receiving this law degree means to me, my family, my future, and all of those who are connected to me, whether they are living here on Earth or looking down on me from heaven. Classes don't begin tomorrow, which means I have time. The little time that I do have will be well spent. I may not necessarily feel ready for law school at this present moment, but once the curtains are drawn, the show will begin and I will be ready for my closeup!"

P.S. I was rather sleepy while writing this post. I may think twice before doing that again. I have a tendency to become really silly when I need rest. 

No, Not Homesickness - GROCERY SHOPPING!

For those who keep up with me on other social networking sites, you've probably noticed that I've been mentioned my hometown quite a bit lately. I'm slightly homesick. (NOTE: Slightly homesick should not to be confused with homesick. There's a enormous difference!) Earlier this week, I began writing a blog post about being homesick; however, it became rather depressing. I figured that since there is already more than enough saddening stories reaching news headlines, magazine articles and political discussions worldwide, then I should always strive to blog about fun things, happy times, and good news. (I may occasionally post something distressing, but I'll be sure to point out the silver lining as well! I promise.)

I mentioned all of that as an introduction to the new topic of my current blog post. It's about grocery shopping, a topic of which many of us are familiar! I can remember standing on the back of the grocery cart while my mother whisked me through the store aisles as a child! I can even remember the few times when my mother made me sit in the large basket of the grocery cart whenever I was sick or sleepy. Back then, grocery shopping was akin to an amusement park! It had rides (the cart), lots of people, and candy! For me, grocery shopping is just as exciting now as it was back then, but for different reasons of course. Today, grocery shopping is exciting, first and foremost because it means that I've been blessed with money to buy food! Everybody loves paychecks, gifts, and blessings, right? Secondly, I get to meet new, interesting people! (Now, understand that I don't go to the grocery to meet people, but I typically leave with a smile on my face from some wonderful conversation that I had with a cashier or customer. Yes, I've acquired the habit of speaking to people while waiting in line. My father should be the one to blame for this. If you know him, then you know exactly what I mean. I love you, dad!) Finally, seeing as some things never change, candy and snacks is another reason why I get so excited about grocery shopping!

I didn't want to spend much money on this trip, and I'm working on eating more healthily. As a result, I didn't get any candy this time around, but I did grab a few snacks to enjoy for the next few weeks. Hiding behind the container of jelly is a carton of ice cream! I LOVE ICE CREAM! Ice cream can be purchased while grocery shopping, which means I LOVE GROCERY SHOPPING TOO! Hence, for future references, if you're going grocery shopping and you want a bit of company, ask me to go with you! 

Disc Golf and Other Things

Have YOU ever heard of disc golf? Well, I didn't know about it until Sunday afternoon. 

Three of my new friends here in Illinois asked me whether I wanted to join them in a game of disc golf. I didn't understand what game they wanted me to play - mainly because I thought the were saying diskov, which isn't a word in the English language - but I went anyways. When we arrived at the field, I saw a sign that read "Disc Golf." It wasn't until then that I knew the actual name of the game. We drew sticks to pick teams fairly and began. My teammate and I ended up losing horribly. By the time the game was halfway over, we were so far behind that it would have been nearly impossible to catch up. I did get to see a toad though‼ Since I've never seen a toad before, it kind of delayed the game for a few minutes. Overall, I learned a lot about the sport, and I figured out why I've never drawn sticks or straws before. Rock, paper, scissors is much better‼‼

Here's a small list of a few other things that I learned this week: 

• Google+ is great‼ The hangout feature on this site is utterly amazing‼
• I really enjoy both of the jobs that I have right now.
• I'm excited to begin law school next month. I'm even more excited to write case briefs, which is a bit weird.
• I really, really, really like grapefruits. I think that it may be because they remind me of my grandmother. She used to eat occasionally when I was a little girl.
• The month of July is whizzing by rather quickly.
• Trying to understand the motives of another person is the equivalent of trying to fly a hot air balloon with cold air. It's useless and will most likely be a big waste of time. It's usually better to simply be open and hope that that particular person will tell you the truth.
• I should take my own advice more often‼‼‼

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

My birthday was earlier this week! That's right! My birthday! Not to mention, it was my first birthday in Illinois. I initially expected to spend my celebration of birth alone in my apartment watching movies and being bored, but my new friends here saw to it that I enjoyed every moment of my big day! By the end of the night, I was crying tears of joy simply because they all cared so much about this new stranger from Virginia. (There aren't many Virginians around  here.) 

If you're curious, here's how my birthday turned out. I woke up bright and early after getting a birthday phone call from one of my sisters. After talking with her for a little while, I decided to stay awake and get dressed for the day. It came as such a surprise that one of my cherished Oberlin friends contacted me from Europe only a few moments later. He wished me a happy birthday and told me that I'd be receiving a postcard in the mail really soon. Since I hadn't spoken to him since mid-January, the simple gesture helped me to be a bit more optimistic about my birthday. 

It just so happened that a new friend of mine joined me for lunch. I ate a tasty stir-fry meal with rice, broccoli, carrots, pineapples, green beans, a dozen other yummy foods. Shortly after lunch, I went to work, which was also surprisingly fun. Every since the summer of my ninth grade year in high school, I have been so blessed to work at the most wonderful places with the most fun-loving people. Spending the day at work on my birthday wasn't any different. Actually, being with my co-workers ended up being one of the highlights of my day. Once our work was complete, many of us went to sing karaoke as a way of celebrating my birthday and bonding outside of the office. I can proudly say that I have no voice today after performing, encouraging others, and singing for nearly three hours. Three songs were dedicated to me - the birthday girl - even from complete strangers. I ended up singing Respect by Aretha Franklin and Ain't No Mountain High Enough. All in all, we had so much fun that we may make karaoke night a summertime tradition, but only time will tell. 

A Blog Post Inside of A Blog Post

If you have visited my blog before this morning, then you've probably noticed quite a few changes. In other words, I've become addicted to widgets‼ It seems like there's a widget for everything. It's pretty exciting for blogger like myself. Here are a few of my favorite additions:

• A poll for all of my visitors
• I personally think everyone should be apart of this big decision that I have to make - putting my Oreo song on Youtube.
• A lovely bookshelf widget
• Please don't forget to leave me book recommendations‼‼
• A couple of Twitter widgets
• Yes, I've rejoined Twitter. Now that summer is in full swing, I have a bit more time on my hands. Leisure reading and social networking are two fun ways for me to spend my free time. Well, those things as well as catching up with friends and family... Wait a minute, that's social networking too, isn't it? In any event, if you're worried that everything I do revolves around reading words on a page or screen, fear not‼‼ With the other free time that I have I also sleep, cook, jog, and socialize with the wonderful new friends that I've made here. A great example is the neighborhood ice cream social that I went to the other day. It was surprisingly pleasant‼ Initially, I thought that the event would be rained out, but it wasn't, which was fantastic. While at the social I had the chance to meet many of my neighbors, none of which I had known beforehand. I just thought I'd share that... Now, back to the topic of discussion. If you have a Twitter, then you should most certainly follow me, especially if you were one of my followers four scores and ten years ago.

P.S. I love lists‼

What Do You Think?

A few friends of mine said that I should record and release my Oreo song to the world on Youtube‼ Have you heard my Oreo song before? What do you think I should do? 

Please answer using the poll located on the right‼‼

The Good, The Bad, and The Best

What a day I've had! Let's see.... today I've been chipper, extremely sad, overburdened, overjoyed, overwhelmed, super Southern (if such an adjective exists), confused, annoyed, hopeless, satisfied, hurried, prayerful, worried, embarrassed, giggly, talkative, scared, determined, helpful, etc... I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Overall, the good outweighed the bad. Today was a fantastic day, although it didn't start out that way. 

My job hunt went terribly today. I guess you could say that it was so bad, that I don't even want to talk about, let alone blog about it. Speaking of jobs, another thing that really upset me today was my visit to an institution that shall remain nameless (simply because I think that's good etiquette). I wanted to open up an account near campus today so that could set up direct deposit in the near future. That didn't go so well. After wasting about thirty minutes, six branches of a tree, and quite a bit of ink, I left the building in the same state that I arrived in - without any type of account set up here. My day quickly turned around though.

A new friend of mine - that I randomly met last week - invited me to eat dinner with her and her friends tonight. I accepted my invitation and was asked to bring delicious bread for dipping! Once I made my way to the correct address and stepped through the threshold, I knew from that moment on that I was going to have a great evening. A wave of spices in the form of a tasty aroma floated in my direction! The entire first floor must have smelled so rich and savory! One of my new friend's friends was in the kitchen stirring a pot of southern stew flavored with Mexican pork. He turned around, waved me inside and the evening of laughter, stories and deliciousness began. Long story short, I intended to eat dinner with only three new friends, but I ended up making six more my the time I left! The best part of this story is that I'll get to enjoy their company again tomorrow! We have an entire schedule of things all mapped out, but I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Words of Encouragement: Many of my days remind me of the phrase used to describe the month of March - they come in like a lion and go out like a lamb. Whenever you feel like your day can't get any worse, do your best to stay positive. Your day can most certainly get worse, but it can also become a whole lot better, especially if you work toward making it a better day. Could you imagine what would have happened if I would my invitation to dinner tonight simply because I was in a bad mood? 

When life give you lemons, grab a little sugar, a few quarts of water and mix up a pitcher of lemonade! Make the best of what may seem like the worse, and remember, someone would love to have your bad days!