pop culture, 2011

fill in the blank

1.   I am looking forward to      graduation. But that is also something that I am dreading. It means the start of real life, moving away from the people I have spent the past four years with, and not being in school anymore. I have spent the past 16 years in school - it is about time to try something new.

2.  Something kind of embarassing that I still love anyway is   the movies "The Land Before Time," "Anastasia," and "The Swan Princess." I have recently watched all three (I own the last two, and LBT was on Netflix instant play so the roomies and I watched in a few days ago). I love singing the songs in Anastasia and the Swan Princess - I've got the Anastasia soundtrack on my iPod. Nothing is better than movies that bring you back to your childhood.

3.  My favorite car is    I don't have one. I actually don't know too much about cars. I mean, I like certain types of cars, but no models in perticular.

4.  If I could pick one type of weather to live with for the rest of my life it would be   California weather, the kind you find in San Francisco. It gets warm in the summer in the summer and cool in the winter - but not to the extreme. I also don't mind the fog - have you ever seen the Golden Gate Bridge when it is surrounded by fog? It is beautiful.

5.  My favorite thing to do after a bad/stressful day is    sit on the couch with a glass of wine. Also, if the day has been particularly bad I like to have a good cry.

6.  This weekend     I will spend my time relaxing, doing a little bit of homework, and looking for jobs. If anybody knows of any public relations jobs that are open let me know! hehe

7.  If I were a color, I'd be       green      because,      I get jealous pretty easily (I'm working on it!) and certain shades of green remind me a little bit of anxiety which happens to me pretty easily as well (I'm working on that too!) Green is also the color of my eyes and I just love the color.

in defense of the royal wedding

Want to know what I am more sick of than hearing news about the royal wedding? People saying how sick they are of hearing news about the royal wedding.

Now, I might not be the best person to speak out about this – I absolutely love weddings and everything about them – but I am not quite sure why people are getting so angry about hearing about this major event. These people will one day be the king and queen of England! Even if they are just figurehead positions, that is a role that comes with a lot of social responsibility. I, for one, love hearing about a famous couple who really has no choice about whether they are famous or not – he was born into it and she just happened to fall in love with him – and are dignified, sophisticated, and elegant in the public eye. Cut them some slack.


We had a conversation about this at work the other day and one of the women I work for made a great point: our society is so centered around “celebrities” – Jersey Shore, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, the Kardashians, Charlie Sheen, the list goes on and on – what is so wrong with England and the rest of the world being excited about one of the biggest weddings of this century? The royal family and the importance of weddings goes back many, many generations. It is a tradition – a solid, important, and beautiful tradition. I mean, hello, 750 million people watched Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ wedding while 600,000 more people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the couple. Not to mention that we still talk about that wedding – the dress, the enormity, all of it – and it’s 30 years later!

So will I turn on my TV at 2 a.m. tonight to watch the wedding? Well, probably not. But do I look forward to reading articles about it and will I check entertainment websites and watch TLC tomorrow to see photos and videos of the wedding? You better believe it!

As far as celebrities and media obsessions go – William and Kate are probably on the bottom end of the “ridiculous” scale. I would much rather hear about them than some of the other crap that is covered by our media.

And hey, what girl doesn’t fantasize of being a princess? She is living every little girl’s dream. (Not to mention – look at that ring!)

other things

Hello all! It has been so long since I wrote on this blog - but there is (relatively) good reason for it. I have been taking a class this quarter that is based on multi media reporting and we had to develop a blog on Wordpress for that class. I have been blogging a lot in that class, not just for class assignments but also just for fun. We are studying how multi-media affects reporting and how social media sites can be used to promote different stories/blogs/web based media.

I am also taking a video editing class, so I have been using YouTube and Vimeo a lot. I have been posting fun things on that site because it allows for me to have more on that blog than just the regular assignments. I don't use it as a super personal blog the way I do with this one, but it still has some light hearted and fun aspects to it. I am also getting used to the WordPress way of doing things which, I have to say, I kind of like.

Here are the links to my blog and my YouTube channel, just in case you miss me and want to check them out :)

WordPress: www.racheleganjour410.wordpress.com
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/rachel88e?feature=mhum

dance

Happy Easter! I just got back to school after celebrating Easter at home. I got to spend some time with my mom's family today and I had a little bit of time to spend with my dad's family yesterday at a seder (yes, I know, that is a Jewish celebration). 

I have so much to do tomorrow - luckily I don't have class - but as for right now, I am finishing watching the movie Center Stage (have you seen it? I love it!) and putting together a to-do list for tomorrow. 

Enjoy this final dance scene from Center Stage. It is one of my favorite movie scenes ever.

giants love

Came across this video when I was on the SF Giants website looking for the game schedule and ticket prices. It makes me fall in love with that team more than I already am.



Amazing.

i love you, i hate you

My friend Liz posted this on her Tumblr today and I absolutely fell in love with it. It is from a site called Thought Catalog which has some pretty cool posts/articles/videos/pictures. 
Enjoy :)


I Love You, I Hate You
by Ryan O'Connell

If you love someone, you run the risk of not loving them one day. You run the risk of seeing them in a grocery store years later and hiding behind the display of bananas so you won’t have to say anything to them and pretend that the love never happened. It’s funny, isn’t it? When you run into someone like your childhood best friend (the one you haven’t seen in years, the one who became a Christian and has a Coach bag), you say hello. You hug, quickly find out what they’re doing with their life, if they’re happy, and then you move on. Sure, it’s awkward, and there might be a temporary ache in your chest afterwards (time can be unkind) but you acknowledge them, you pay tribute with a smile, a hug, a “How are you doing?”


With the people you once loved, the people that once had an all-access pass to the most intimate details of your life, you sometimes can’t pay tribute. You can’t ask them about their work, their travels, or god forbid, their family. Your mind can’t process it. They can only exist in black and white; they can either be everything or nothing. You say hello to the person you played with when you were five, and ignore the person whose cum you swallowed, who once cried to you in a cab because everything was going wrong and oh my god, you wanted to help them, wanted to save them.


Who do we hold on to and who do we force ourselves to forget? The hardest thing about love often seems to be the extremes. How quickly it can go from “hold me through the night” to “get fuck off of me.” One day you’re in a hotel gift shop with the person you love and you look over at them and start to see different things, things you wish you were never able to see. This is the beginning of the end, the beginning of “get the fuck off of me.” You know in that moment that you’ll be ignoring them five years from now in a grocery store.


You always have the ability to hate someone you love. Hate is passion just like love is passion. You must know this when you sign the love contract. “I hereby acknowledge that loving you carries the potential for disaster. I hereby acknowledge the possibility of hating your fucking guts!!!” Will this stop anyone from loving? More importantly, should it? No.


In a way, hate can be the best compliment next to love. Because the second you’re able to come up to your ex in that grocery store or on the street, you’ve healed and moved on.  The love exists now in a healthy compartment in your brain or not at all. This is all very well and good, but it also means that it’s truly done. Technically, this is what’s supposed to happen. This is the path you’re supposed to be on. But losing the passion can sometimes be the hardest thing to give up. Holding on to feelings, whether it’s love or hate, reminds you that you’re still alive and that the relationship happened. Or something.

courage

I just re-read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee for my Adolescent Literature class. I forgot how much I liked that book. The story is riveting, the characters are relatable, and although the story is sad, it also gives you hope.

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. you rarely win, but sometimes you do." - Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird

I think that I need more of that type of courage... or just more courage in general.

What are battles that you are willing to fight even if the risk of failure is higher than the chance of success?

xox

sharptooth!!

My roommates and I just set up the PlayStation so that we could watch Netflix instant streaming. First movie to christen the new setup? The Land Before Time!!!

That movie was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid - I haven't seen it in years. Christine and I decided to watch it and it turned out that Stephanie had never seen it! So sad.

Did you ever watch The Land Before Time when you were a kid? What were your favorite children's movies? What movies do you still love now that you are an adult?

fill in the blank Friday

Fill in the blank Friday - and a picture from the super long and intense hail storm that occurred about an hour ago. The hail was so big it was painful!! And mind you - I live on the beautiful California Central Coast which means we don't get much of any type of weather besides sunshine 330 days out of the year.

This is the view from our court. The hail covered the street and probably dented a few cars. It seemed as though, despite the large pieces of ice falling from the sky, the entire neighborhood was out watching (and playing - snowballs!)

1. Something that makes me a great friend is, I listen to what they have to say and try to help in any way I can. I am honest and give advice, but I am also there if they just need to vent or get something off their chest.

2. I am gullible, looking for a job, hopeful, trustworthy.

3. I am not perfect, comfortable in skirts or dresses, ready for the "real world", 

4. If I had to describe myself in 3 words, they would be  driven, anxious, compassionate.

5. Something I'm really cheap about is makeup. I know I should spend more money to get nicer makeup because the cheap stuff isn't as good for our skin - but for some reason it isn't something that I have been able to justify spending a bunch of money on.

6. Something I'm willing to splurge on is food, and more recently - clothing. I have decided that a person's wardrobe says a lot about them. Up until recently my wardrobe hasn't said anything good - so I am changing that .

7. I would trade money for happiness in a heartbeat. (I know, it's cheesy, but I couldn't think of anything else!)

baby conversations

This video was posted on my friend Hannah's Facebook wall and I thought it was hilarious.



I looked up the original one, but it wasn't as funny without Jimmy Kimmel's commentary. But just in case you want to see it, here is the link.

cow training

It is only 9 p.m. and I have been fighting against sleep for at least the past three hours. This past weekend my girlfriends and I went to Las Vegas (more on that later) and we definitely didn't get very much sleep.

Today was a very long day, but I actually have somewhere to be at 9:30 or 10, which means that I don't get to go to sleep for at least another two hours.

On the plus side, my friend Erica posted this story about a girl whose parents wouldn't buy her a horse so she bought a cow and trained it to do jumps and tricks. It made me smile to read it and it was probably the best part of my day. Here is a picture of the girl and her cow:

Kind of cute and heart warming, wouldn't you say?

xox

ten years ago

Ten years ago today my dad's sister - my amazing Aunt Judy - passed away from cancer. She was a wonderful, creative, and loving woman and I was devastated by her passing. I still am.

She lived across the country so we only saw her once or twice a year when we went to visit her or she came out here to visit us, but those visits were full of exciting adventures and parties. Tea parties, beanie baby parties, scavenger hunts, pool parties, picnics - you name it, she made it incredible. She couldn't have children of her own so she treated her nieces like princesses. She would have been a wonderful mother - her child would have been the luckiest kid in the entire world.

The day I found out she passed away was one of the worst days in my life (probably the worst). Her funeral was even worse. The church was packed - the pews were completely full and there were people crowded in the back, standing room only. People had wonderfully kind words to say. I was a mess.

I miss her every single day. Although I don't cry about it as much anymore, I do think about her all the time. I think about what our relationship would be like now if she was still around. I think of the ways she would influence my life if I was still able to talk to her an visit her.

I wish I had a photo of her that I could post on here, but all of my pictures of her are hard copies - she passed away before the development of digital cameras.

Ten years ago today the world became a little bit worse because it lost one of the most amazing people to have ever walked its streets. Even though the world is a little worse because of her loss, those who knew her are better people because of her presence in our lives.

You would have loved my Aunt Judy.

What I wouldn't give for one more tea party with her. One more conversation. One more hug. 

learning ballet

Seriously one of the most precious videos I have ever seen. Not to mention the fact that I looked like this when I was little and was probably the least talented ballet dancer in my class.



Thanks Joanna at A Cup of Jo for posting this video! So cute.

This little girl is a prime example of never giving up. Perseverance my dear, perseverance. 

xox

letters

I absolutely love handwritten letters. I wrote a few this weekend - to my aunts on my mom's side.
I also absolutely love this picture.

Have a beautiful night.

 xox

back

Hello everybody!

So sorry that it has been so long since I posted anything - however there are a few relatively good reasons for my lack of blog activity.

1. I have been finishing my senior project paper (remember the Love Out Loud Campaign?) It ended up being 37 pages and is now published on our school's website. I am currently taking a break from LOL stuff, simply because my brain can't handle it right now. But that does not mean that I am giving it up for good.

2. A week ago we had finals which meant that I was studying, working, writing, etc.

3. While I was studying for finals and preparing for the end of the quarter, I was also getting ready to head to Europe for a week with Christine. I had all that packing stuff to do, along with figuring out what we were going to be doing in each city (Prague and Munich).

4. In the middle of all that stuff (aka the studying and packing), I got SUPER sick and ended up going to the health clinic on that Monday (the 14th) and then the ER the next night because I had a high fever and couldn't breathe because my throat was so swollen and painful. Everything turned out okay (they gave me an IV so that I got hydrated, as well as numbing stuff for my throat, pain meds, and amoxicillin). Needless to say, the doctor (along with my family) were not too thrilled when I said I was still planning on going to Europe, despite my sickly condition.

In any case, I finished my finals, I got well again, and I went to Europe. Which means that I have hundreds (yes hundreds) of pictures to go through, as well as all your lovely blog posts to read from the past few weeks. Here is a photo from the trip, just because I'm not a huge fan of all text blog posts. (It's not the best because it was taken at night, but I really like the clouds.)

Luckily I am wide awake right now (it is 7 in the morning for me - Munich time) which means that some photo editing can happen. I'm kind of excited to see the pictures that we took while we were there.

Check in within the next few days to see pictures from the trip - hopefully there will be some good ones.

xox

P.S. There are also some things that I get to cross off my "101 in 1001" list - I will get to those within the next few days too.

before i die

I came across this amazing mural that a woman named Candy Chang. She painted this big chalkboard mural on an abandoned house in New Orleans with the statement "Before I die...." and a bunch of blanks for people to fill in with the provided chalk. 

My favorites? "Before I die I want to understand." and then right next to it: "Before I die I want to be ok with NOT understanding." There is so much truth in both of those statements. 

Before I die I want to make a positive difference in the world - even if it is just a positive difference in the world of one or two people. I don't need to be remembered in the text of history books or for some great epic thing that I accomplish - I just want to be remembered in the life of a few others.

What do YOU want to do before YOU die?

I'd love to know.

xox

fill in the blank Saturday

Alright, so I'm a day late for Fill In The Blank Friday, but I figured I'd participate anyway.

1.   My biggest accomplishment in life thus far is       my senior project - The Love Out Loud Campaign. I just turned in my 37 page paper yesterday and it will be published in the Cal Poly library. Also, my advisor wants to nominate me for a senior accomplishment award for that project - I will keep you posted on whether or not I get the award.

2.  My favorite place to sit in my house is    depends on which house I'm at (I have three - My dad's, my mom's, and my house at school). At school I either like to be in my bed or on the love seat in our living room (which is basically where I spend all my time when I'm home). Dad's - in one of the big comfy chairs we have in the living room. Mom's - the corner of the couch in the living room. See a trend?

3.  My fashion philosophy is    comfort. I absolutely LOVE being comfortable (obviously). I am most comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt/sweatshirt, but I also want to reach out my fashion horizons and dress more stylishly and fashionable. I found the following picture on a website a few days ago and I want to get an outfit that looks like it. It is my fashion inspiration for the time being... I love it :)

4.  Something every girl should have is     the perfect nail polish color (I'm still searching for mine).

5.  If you looked in my purse right now you'd find....     just about nothing because I am in the process of switching purses but normally you can find a wallet, pens, pencils, a tampon, band aids, my planner, a few note cards, etc.

6.  My favorite music right now is       The Beatles. I have been taking an AMAZING class about the Beatles this quarter and it has just made me look at their music in a very different way.

7.  My favorite part of my body is       my eyes. Probably because I get the most compliments on them. I mean, they suck because I am practically blind and have to wear glasses or contacts which irritate my eyes, but I like how they look. I like the colors, I like the shape, etc.

dead week

This week is crazy. Even though it's supposed to be "dead week" aka the week you do nothing in your classes because finals are next week, this week is crazy.
I have papers, I have presentations, I have hoops to jump through.

On the bright side, this quarter is almost done.
And then I go to Europe.
And then I go to Vegas.
And then I go to Wine Fest.

Until then, this quarter is crazy. I probably shouldn't even be blogging right now because there is so much to do.

I won't even have a social life until after this quarter is over.

Not to mention that I have heard the saying "You can always retake the test, you can never relive the party" more times in the past week than I have in the past four years... too bad, at this point in my education, having to retake the test means not being able to graduate.

So I have no other option but to log off of Facebook, turn off my computer, and move on to my reading for Spanish.

Hope your week is better than mine.

inspired video

Although I am still processing the events of this past weekend (The Love Out Loud Show), I wanted to share a video with you.

This video was made by Aubrea who did new media for the campaign, including our other video, designing the entire web page, etc.

I just wanted to share. I hope you are as inspired by it as I was. It brought me to tears.

you're my tiny ball of light

I watched the Oscars with my roommates and sister last night. Mainly for the fashion and to see who won best actor/actress and best picture... but this gem of a video was a definite added bonus.

In fact, it was the best part of the entire show (especially because, even though he is super attractive, James Franco stumbled a lot and didn't do a great job announcing... Anne Hathaway was great though).

Watch it.
Enjoy it.

today is the day

Today is the day. The Love Out Loud Show is tonight!! I should actually be on campus helping to set up - however I needed a little cyber space support. 

If you are unable to make it to the show, I feel bad for you. Just kidding.. but really keep us in your thoughts. It really will be amazing.

 

Wish me luck!

funky photos :)

Today and tomorrow the Love Out Loud Campaign girls are hosting a photo booth on campus for a few hours a day. We have funky hats, mustaches, magic wands, signs, etc. for people to play and take pictures with. We then edit the pictures and send the pictures to the e-mail addresses the people gave us - they are then supposed to set the entire image as their Facebook picture as a way of showing their support for the cause.

It sounds nerdy - and maybe it is - but it is seriously fun. We had over 50 people stop by and take pictures! They are all posted on Facebook :)

I didn't have class until 1 today so I was at our booth for a while. The following pictures are the photos I am in from today. It was a blast.

 the Love Out Loud team (minus sam)

Me and Hannah - my friend from freshman year in the dorms

Me and Stephanie - one of my roommates

Me and Aubrea - a girl I studied with in Spain and am working on Love Out Loud with

It was so much fun. If you are in the SLO area tomorrow, you should check it out.

xox-Rachel

excitement

So there is officially one week until the Love Out Loud Show. There is so much stuff that still needs to get done, however I keep telling myself that it will all get done. Or, as my mom said to me the other day, "It will all get done because it has to." There is no backing out now.

In other news, even though I am kind of stressed about Love Out Loud (okay, "kind of" is basically the understatement of the 21st century) there is also so much more that I'm looking forward to.

Once the excitement (and stress/anxiety) of Love Out Loud has worn off and I have finished writing my paper, there are still a lot of really awesome things that will happen!

First - my roommate Christine and I are going to Munich and Prague over Spring Break. (Less than a month - yay!)

Second - Christine, Stephanie, Kayla, Kaitlin, Kelsey, and I are going to Las Vegas the first weekend in April - which is also the first weekend after I get back from Europe.

Third - the weekend after Vegas is WineFest - the group of girls I just listed and I have already purchased our VIP tickets which means that we will be having a wonderful (hopefully sun filled day) trying all different types of wonderful California wine

Needless to day, it looks like those three events are great ways to begin our last quarter in college.

xox - Rachel

a dream fulfilled

A few weeks ago I tried to call my little sister but she couldn't take my call... why? Because she was watching a flash mob. One of the things I have been wanting to experience forever.

Well, lucky for me, yesterday, as I was sitting in our University Union plaza, I got the opportunity to experience my very own flash mob!! A group of students put it together and it started promptly at 11:18 a.m.

Take a look:

Unfortunately, as you can tell by looking at the people lining the perimeter of the plaza, a lot of people knew that it was going to be happening. Some day I will experience one that is not anticipated and completely shocking to bystanders - like this one in Antwerp. Still, pretty cool. 

Not to mention that it fulfills number 18 on my 101 in 1001 list.

Yay!

average couch penguin

My friend Hannah sent me this video today and I thought it was just too cute not to share.

Penguins? cute.
Penguins as pets? jealous.
Penguins wearing backpacks? adorable.
Penguins wearing backpacks and going fish shopping all by themselves? best. thing. ever.



Thanks to Hannah for sending me this wonderful video and for adding to my "outrageous animals that I will one day love to pieces and have as pets" list.

silly love songs

Okay, here's the deal, and you can fight me on it all you want. But to be honest... I'm kind of weird and kin of love Valentine's day and I normally make valentines, wear red/pink, and walk around with a smile all day. (I know - if you're single, you're supposed to hate this stupid day.)

Which makes me wonder why I woke up this morning, kinda forgot that it was V-day, and ended up going to campus in all black - I swear it was an accident. Oops.

I call this one "Heart Chocolate" - I'm a nerd.

It was cold and gloomy today. And it rained. And yet, I still had the song lyrics from the Elephant Love Medley in Moulin Rouge running through my head all day.

You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs

I look around me and I see it isn't so

Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs

Well what's wrong with that, I'd like to know...

Happy Valentine's Day lovely blog readers!

I hope you got to spend it with someone special.

lovely video

Aubrea, the girl who works on web design and new media for the Love Out Loud Campaign put together this amazing video. There are wonderful people who volunteered to be in the video and it turned out so great.



Gosh, the girls I work with are so freaking talented!!! Don't you think?

Oh yeah, and I'm going to Munich and Prague for Spring Break. 

No big deal.

<3

balloon romance

Today really sucked.

At least I'm being semi productive tonight.

And I am in love with this picture. Like, in love with it.

(Photo via: We Heart It)

day 8

Day 1 - Something you hate about yourself

Day 2 - Something you love about yourself

Day 3 - Something you have to forgive yourself for

Day 4 - Something you have to forgive someone for

Day 5 - Something you hope to do in your life

Day 6 - Something you hope you never have to do

Day 7 - Someone who has made your life worth living for

Day 8 - Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit

Day 9 - Someone you didn't want to let go, but just drifted

Day 10 - Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn't know

Day 11 - Something people seem to compliment you the most on

Day 12 - Something you never get compliments on

Day 13 - A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days. (write a letter.)

Day 14 - A hero that has let you down. (write a letter).

Day 15 - Something or someone you couldn't live without, because you've tried living without it.

Day 16 - Someone or something you definitely could live without.

Day 17 - A book you've read that changed your views on something.

Day 18 - Your views on gay marriage.

Day 19 - What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?

Day 20 - Your views on drugs and alcohol.

Day 21 - (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?

Day 22 - Something you wish you hadn't done in your life.

Day 23 - Something you wish you had done in your life.

Day 24 - Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)

Day 25 - The reason you believe you're still alive today.

Day 26 - Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?

Day 27 - What's the best thing going for your right now?

Day 28 - What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?

Day 29 - Something you  hope to change about yourself and why.

Day 30 - A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself.

As one of my moves to improve myself, I am trying to move on from things in the past and not hold on to grudges and ways that people have hurt me in the previous years. That being said, high school sucked for me and I still haven't gotten over it.

Now, lots of people say that they hated high school as well and that everybody's high school years sucked - and I'm sure that's (at least partially) true. But seriously, my high school experience sucked, mainly due to the group who I used to call my best friends. I won't name names, because I think (and hope) that a lot of those people have grown up in the past five or six years since then and I don't think they need the whole story floating around the internet (although some of the mean things they did to me did made it to cyber space).

I won't get into all the details, because that would just bore you, but basically I was dating one of my good guy friends, rumors started, and then all of my best friends stopped talking to me and literally started making my life a living hell. There were days when I was literally scared to leave my house because I was scared about what they would do or say if they saw me. It was really sad - and scary.

At lunch, I ate alone up in my step-mom's class room (she is a high school science teacher), and on weekends I sat at home alone. I even went as far as to find friends at our rival high school and almost switched schools because I was so miserable and scared and hurt every single moment I was at my own school. There were a few friends who stuck by my side, but it is hard to support somebody when the rest of your friends hate that person. Everybody just wants to fit in when they are in high school - most people haven't reached the mentality of not needing to follow the "popular kids" or fit in to a large group of friends because that's what's cool. (Then again, a lot of people never adopt that mentality, but that's another issue.)

A couple months before high school graduation, one of the boys texted me and asked me if he could speak to me at our brunch break for a few minutes. I nearly had an anxiety attack. He was one of the worst ones; I had no idea what he was going to say to me. Surprisingly, he apologized. He said the exact words "I am so sorry for making your life a living hell for the past year or so. It wasn't right, I know you are hurting, and I'm sorry." I told him I couldn't forgive him, but that I appreciated his apology. I didn't know what else to do - there was no way I was ready to forgive him or the rest of them (I'm not sure I ever will be).

As for the rest of them - probably about 5 or 6 in total (plus whoever else just followed along with it) - I never heard them say they were sorry. I still see them sometimes when I go home for breaks - or around the college campus - and we generally act as though everything is at least okay, but I would never consider them my friends again. 

I could write about this for hours, but I won't bore you with that. There are a lot of things from those high school years that shaped me into who I am today, like I still don't trust people the way I did before those years. However I would say that, looking back on all of it, I am a better and stronger person for it. Of course I wish none of that had happened, and despite all of it I still sometimes miss that group of friends, but I'm better off without them. Like I said, I'm a better person than I was before and I can honestly say that the strength I developed through that whole experience has helped make me into the person I am today.

a campus photo shoot

This past weekend - although I didn't get anything productive done - was a great weekend! I got to go out with friends, drink champagne, spend time in the sun, and go on a photo shoot with some of my favorite girls from my major.

We couldn't think of a cool location for our photo shoots - we are spoiled and the beach is overdone, plus it is too early in the year for the fields of flowers - so we stayed on our college campus*. Luckily, our school is partially agricultural which means that we have some pretty cool scenery. The main purpose was to get some professional looking photos, but we also took a few fun ones.

The following are just a few of my favorites - don't judge me on the editing, I just used the iPhoto basic editing tools.

Meet my beautiful models:

Erica, Krista, and Stephanie

Stephanie - my roommate and model from a year ago

Erica - friend from journalism and soon to be law school student

Krista - friend from journalism and one of the busiest, most accomplished women I know

And just some photos that I liked - Krista shot a lot of Erica, I shot a lot of Stephanie. We switched it up sometimes, but that's how it was split up for the most part...

Steph with my Diana camera (I'm getting those photos developed as we speak - we will see how they turn out, it was the first time I used it)

Messing around with manual focus

 

Cherry blossoms by the San Luis Obispo mission - so pretty

And a photo of me - taken by Stephanie

(I prefer to be behind the camera, not in front of it...)

*All photos in this post were taken on our college campus,

with the exception of the cherry blossom one