Currently sitting on the floor of my house (my house!) Listening to the song "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship. Because earlier today, I saw the movie The Skeleton Twins (the beautiful one that I found out about back in July that has Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig in it together as very different characters which is really interesting to see). And it was a beautiful movie. Very deep and dark, but beautiful just the same. I saw it with both of my parents, and when it was over my dad asked me if I liked it, and I said I loved it. When I asked him if he liked it, he said that he did, he just didn't expect it to be this deep. Now, to this I responded that I did know it was going to be a deep movie which was another reason why I wanted to see it. Then he pointed out that I really like those kind of movies dealing with serious issues, and his examples included: Juno Silver Linings Playbook The Perks of Being a Wallflower And I was actually really proud of him saying that because yes, I do admire those kinds of movies because I'm intrigued by deep issues like that. I'm not saying that in a bad way, but it's interesting to see certain situations that happen in the world everyday and how it affects the character and everyone around them. For example, in Juno it's interesting to see a 16 year old deal with teenage pregnancy, but the main character's style is so unique and she doesn't care what anyone thinks so it makes the scenario more intriguing because it's not what we typically imagine in situations like these. And Silver Linings Playbook (one of my all time favorites) I was always interested by because I'm fascinated with the concept of mental illness and how it affects patients and how they cope with it. And I think it's really beautiful to see two people with different mental conditions/histories connect with each other and form a relationship (also, the fact that it's Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence is just another contributing factor:)). And The Perks of Being a Wallflower, another one of my all time favorites. This movie deals with depression as well, but the characters all have such beautiful souls and again, don't really care what anyone thinks about them (and it takes place in the 80s, so they make mix tapes for each other and type poems on typewriters:)). But it's about learning to figure out who you are in the crazy world of high school and learning to accept others and seeing the underlying issues that everyone is dealing with that makes them broken but really, these issues become a bonding point for forming beautiful relationships. And The Skeleton Twins, in my opinion, is an "adult version" of Perks of Being a Wallflower. It deals with depression, but also multiple forms of suicide and trying to figure how to cope with life. These twins reunite after 10 years and then again, they realize they both are going through somewhat similar issues in life, which only brings them closer. I will now embed the trailer because I strongly recommend you see it:) So yes. I've been listening to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" on repeat this whole time. I know, I obsess too much.
ANYWAY. I will just briefly mention that I am having a magnificent fall break at home. Yesterday I went to the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk with my family :((minus my sister and other cousin) but it's always a nice time. And I reunited with two of my close friends at our usual places which was really, really refreshing for me. It feels like nothing has changed, but also that everything has changed, you know? OH AND MY DOG IS WONDERFUL. HIS REACTION WAS SO CUTE WHEN I CAME HOME FRIDAY I THOUGHT HE WOULDN'T REMEMBER ME OR SOMETHING BUT HE DID AND I THOUGHT HIS LITTLE TAIL WAS GONNA FALL OFF. AND HE JUST GOT A HAIRCUT AND MY DAD ACTUALLY LEFT HIS HANDKERCHIEF ON THAT THEY GIVE HIM AT THE END OF HIS HAIRCUTS AND IT WAS BLACK AND ORANGE CHECKERED AND SO ADORABLE:) hopefully I can get a good picture before I go back:) The remainder of my break includes a 12-7 shift at Old Navy tomorrow, woo! And just chilling out (watching movies, probably:)). So yeah I guess today made me want to share why I love movies so much and I'm why I'm so drawn towards certain ones. I hope it kind of made sense. You can just really learn a lot from movies though, you know? Anywho, hopefully I can see some more of you before I go back to school! :) Have a wonderful week! xx Bridget "nothing's gonna stop us now... and if this world runs out of numbers, we'll still have each other...:)"
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As I was walking back from my stats clinic tonight, I looked in the sky and was, again, taken aback by how beautiful the moon was. Okay I sound really cheesy and weird but the moon is just so COOL you know? Like have you ever really just looked at it and thought: wow. So yes I looked somewhat odd walking back to my dorm with my head turned toward the sky but OH WELL. IN THE MOONLIGHT YOU COULD SEE THIN, QUIET CLOUDS STREAKED ACROSS THE SKY AGAINST THE DARK BLUE SKY AND IT WAS TRULY AMAZING. (and I was disappointed I didn't see the lunar eclipse last night so there's also that). But it also just contributed to my mood because I went to this stats clinic to just make sure I was doing my homework right and I WAS and I've been staying on top of it and I don't feel as stressed out as I thought I would so that's always a good feeling! :) Also, speaking of academics, I wanted to briefly share with you something we watched in Religion class the other day. We watched a documentary by this lady who stumbled upon the topic of "tiny houses." She was in San Francisco when she saw one of the tiny houses that was just over 100 square feet. (the guy had to put it on wheels so it would meet the building requirements). And then we saw about three more from that same area. And all of them were SO content with their lives. They said less is more and it's just way more simple and puts things into perspective. And there was even a 16 year old kid building one in his backyard by HIMSELF. And then this lady went to New York City, where we were shown 3 more little houses, one of which was 76 square feet. what. I'll admit, the first 100 something square foot house I saw looked pretty cool and cozy, but when I saw THAT small of a house I was like. um. what. But then the guy said something pretty profound that has stuck with me. "you just need to edit your life." And he talked about when we edit, what we do is make things smaller. Which is true. When you're editing a paper you take out mistakes and unnessecary words. And I guess this can be applied to life. Just edit it, make things a little smaller, a little simpler. I was just really inspired by that. (not saying I'm gonna go buy a 76 sq. ft. house but you know). And then it got me thinking again to that really small part of me that pictures myself living in New York and writing books or screenplays since I love movies so much which is you know, totally different than what my main focus is (physically or occupational therapy, working with kids with disabilities). You know, it's really stressful not knowing what your future is and sometimes you just get these images of what it could be based on something else you saw and then you just get confused. That's what the college experience is for, I guess. WE SHALL SEE. wow ANYWAY. The main reason I was blogging tonight (which is out of character for me, I know) was just to announce that I am coming home this weekend for fall break (Friday - Tuesday)! And it's my first time being home since college whaaaaat! And also, sorry but I am just REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY excited to see my dog again. Ugh. So excited. I miss that little man so much. So, to honor my excitement, please enjoy this collage of some of my favorite pictures of him(and I) (I say some because I have way too many good ones:)) I had to limit myself. I don't even think that is a good representative sample. But I had a ton of technical difficulties with these pictures so I hope you enjoy them :) Love you so much Brady & I can't wait to see you!
But I mean, on the other hand, I am pretty excited for other things this weekend too. To be in my house, to see my grandparents (who are coming to pick me up on Friday and I'm super pumped to show them around) and other friends and just to experience my favorite season in my hometown :) :) So yes. Hopefully I can see some of you over my little break! (also sorry none of this really relates, hence the title). Have a grand end to your week! xx Bridget Hello there! I kind of still have homework to do (oops) but I have a few thoughts to say and they're still new and great in my mind tonight so I should just get them out.
First off, yesterday was our homecoming, so a couple friends and I went to the football game. I didn't want to miss my first college homecoming football game - even though we kind of... suck. (the final score was 7-64. hehe). But it was really funny because I knew this as I walked to the game, and then our first year men choir sang the national anthem and it was so lovely and beautiful and totally contradicted the football field and I was just like YES WE ROCK AT MUSIC screw football. And by halftime the score was 0-48, and everyone, literally EVERYONE got up to leave (including us). And then when we were walking I looked up and saw just this huge line of people climbing back up the hill and as I did this adult was like "what is this, a mass exodus??" and we were all just like yeah...sorry. haha it's kind of sad actually. but oh well. it was fun. And then last night, me and a few other girls from my floor watched the first Harry Potter movie in someone's dorm and all I really focused on was how cute the actors were as their little british selves. And then when it was over, a few friends and I were like WOW THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG LET'S DO SOMETHING. And that something turned out to be us sitting on the floor of a dorm room jamming to Jesse McCartney's "Beautiful Soul" and The Jonas Brothers. A true blast from the past. And then I got a text from a friend in another dorm building and she asked if I was going to the dance that night and I was like HECK NO I'm not about that life (because from the things of heard....ugh. it's disgusting). And then I invited her over and when I saw her she was so relieved to see sober people and we had a big hug and I'm glad I was able to provide her some comfort from that sickening world. I mean, I know it's college and these things happen... but it always just disgusts me I guess. The thought of getting drunk downright scares me and I don't want to experience that. And the tragic stories I've heard.... it's awful. So there we were, in this tiny Kildahl dorm room, with soft twinkling lights strung from the ceiling and I was laughing so hard I cried and we also watched Tarzan and then got talking about starting a Disney club in which we analyze the deeper meaning and symbols in Disney movies and how they relate to our lives and everything was so great. It was just weird to think that outside of that room, people were ending up in ambulances or having strange conversations they would never remember. It's odd/scary to think about. And then when I went to the bathroom before bed, I saw flashing ambulance lights outside the window and thought to myself "what is this?" I'm so glad I can separate myself from those situations and still have an amazing time. But I am also still extremely aware of what is happening to students and the danger people get into and how it effects others. If you're reading this and you've ever been in situations like those, I'm not saying I don't like you at all, I just hope you know what can happen and that there are other options. Like, joining our Disney club for example! (seriously. this is gonna be a BIG deal. we can feel it). And in addition to all this, I should mention that it was also parent's weekend, so my parents and sister came for the day today! (sunday). And later in the afternoon my mom was like, "hey have you heard of the labyrinth?" And I was like "no...?" And apparently my mom had read about that it's on campus somewhere and how you could just walk through it sort of mindlessly and still be led in the right direction. So we found it and starting walking through it. At first, I felt kind of stupid because it felt like my family and I were walking around in circles in the middle of campus and not speaking to each other and I just thought we might look a little strange. But then we got to the middle and I finally actually looked around and was pretty amazed that I had just walked through all that. And then I thought of this quote from Looking For Alaska by John Green. "How will we ever get out of this labyrinth?" I will let you contemplate that question as you will, because I think it creates different thoughts for everyone. But in the book, the girl struggling with the question turns to drinking a lot. Like I said, I've never experienced that stuff before, but I think people look at it as a kind of escape from this world and our everyday lives. Life is a very contemplated concept that we can never quite wrap our heads around. But sometimes you just look at something as simple as twinkling lights and think "this world is beautiful and I feel like I know right where my life is." because sometimes I think we do lose sight of where our lives are, but that doesn't mean we have to drown our minds with alcohol and will them to forget everything. The world is ugly and confusing sometimes, but we can find our way. I found my way out of the labyrinth using my head and I know everyone else can too. Okay? Live from my dorm it's monday nighhhht! (sorry I missed the premiere of the 40th SNL season this past Saturday so this is me going through withdrawals - BUT I have a lovely reason for missing it) *side note: I'm obsessed with SNL.. I love the whole concept of it and I'm fascinated by the talent of all the actors on the show and how they improvise and make everything look so easy and they are so FUNNY. I got emotional during Bill Hader's last episode and Seth Meyer's last one but GUESS WHAT. BILL IS HOSTING ON OCTOBER 11TH AND IM SO EXCITED. AND I'LL BE COMING HOME THAT DAY FOR FALL BREAK! WOOOOO! Okay sorry ANYWAY.
I am currently listening to "Let It Be" by Labrinth. No, it is not a Beatle's cover (sorry Gretchen). It was recommended by Ed Sheeran so of COURSE I bought it. And it's soooo good. I am also sitting here with a cup of coffee. Interesting, I know. I wasn't planning on making one but I found out that it was National Coffee Day and thought it would be as good of a time as any to try my new Pumpkin Spice Latte (Limited EDITION) Keurig cups:) So here we are. (I also changed my background on this website to a fall/leaf like scene because I love fall:) you guys can see it right? because if not that would be really awkward). Anyway, my life. As many of you probably know, I went off campus this weekend to go to my uncle Clark's wedding! It was extremely fun. I couldn't even handle the level of cuteness because not only are they a very cute couple but their son, my one year old cousin Gaven, was the ring bearer and was dressed in a little tuxedo. (pictures on my Facebook page:)) It was so cute I didn't even know what to do with myself. At one point I took his jacket off him because he was really hot and then I just sat there, looking at how tiny it was. It was truly adorable. I can't believe I was that size at one point. And he has started saying several words which is very exciting. We haven't had a baby in the family for awhile so it's really fun to be able to watch this little guy grow up! Anywho, the wedding was very nice and afterwards there was a bonfire and it was a lovely night for it. The only thing I was disappointed about was that I was planning on bringing my ukulele but then of course FORGOT IT. My plan was to strum it while we were all sitting around the fire. because yes, that is something I would like to do at some point in my life. Doesn't it just sound so ... nice? I know, I need to aim higher (my parents say that sometimes- especially when I cried during that SNL episode). But ANYWAY. It was super fun and it was really nice to see all of my family and such. .....just .... here's the thing. It felt kind of weird to be leaving campus and everything. I felt like I was sneaking away or something. Not that I didn't want to leave because I really did and had been looking forward to this the whole week but it just felt weird. But I mean once I started talking to my parents and sister things felt normal again. But then, whenever I would think about driving back sunday, it didn't feel weird to think that I wouldn't be going home with my family even though everything felt normal with them. You know? I just knew inside myself that I would be going back to St. Olaf. It's weird. At one point it made me think of this quote from the Great Gatsby: "I was within and without" because I didn't really know what was going on/what to think. And then once I got back to St. Olaf, I had plans to study with people from my psych class because we had a psych test today (I've now had 2 official college tests. Woo!) And my sister and mom helped me carry things back to my dorm and it didn't even feel weird that they were there because i introduced several girls to them and they were all just like "hi nice to meet you!" Over the weekend, I had been thinking of my college life and family life as kind of separate. But when these "lives" were combined when my parents dropped me off it didn't even feel that strange... I DON'T KNOW OKAY MAYBE THIS MAKES NO SENSE BUT ITS HARD TO EXPLAIN AND MAYBE YOU COLLEGE STUDENTS HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I MEAN BUT IDK. And then once my fam pulled away, I met up with my Kildahl girls as I was walking to go study and they all gave me a big group hug which felt so nice and I just thought to myself: I'm always surrounded by good people no matter where I go :) :) :) :) Now, looking back on that Gatsby quote, in my case, I would just like to modify it to "I was within." Wherever I am, I am within. I am in this moment & life. I am with the people I love, whoever they may be, wherever they may be. I am here now and I should make the most of everything. I kind of just came to this conclusion now as I wrote all this. Isn't that actually so magical though? That's what I really love about writing. You have so many thoughts and sometimes they come out differently than you thought they originally existed in your head and then you're like: "wow I created that!" It's quite amazing. Okay well I hope you all have a great week! Stay within :) xx Bridget (I am going to try this new british way of signing off because I love British people & the look of x's). Good evening (morning, or afternoon - hopefully something is good in your life right now) Okay. First order of business. As I have said earlier, I've had numerous girls tell me that they wanted to start a blog after reading mine, which. I'm still like... what? But that's great, go for it! So I wanted to share their blogs with you guys because they're pretty cool. One is my friend from high school's (but she is also at St. Olaf with me! yahoo!) Anna Bearrood: http://annabearrood.wordpress.com/author/abearrood/ A great positive look on life. :) THEN. A new friend I've made at college, Maddie Leh! It's all about putting things in perspective and really taking in everything around you, which is grand. (And I agree with everything she discusses in her first post:)) http://seekingaglobalperspective.weebly.com And the way she told me was pretty lovely. So at St. Olaf we have something called Flower Fridays, where students can buy flowers for other students and put it in their PO boxes. A lovely sight, really. So, I got my first flower on Friday from Maddie announcing she's starting a blog! I was so happy to hear that and so excited to read it and just continue our friendship:) Here is the selfie I took to document those feelings (and the beauty of the flower, of course): So that started my weekend off pretty spectacularly! I just never imagined this kind of response from others! so thank you very much :) Okay, so. Brief update on my life: Actually, I lied. The flowers didn't technically start my weekend cuz I still had one class left after I got them. And that class was SPANISH. What, you ask? If you read my last post you saw that I was complaining about French. Am I taking too languages? How can this be? Well, sorry to disappoint folks, but I actually dropped French and switched back to Spanish. **monkey face with hands over it's eyes emoticon** It's just.... French was realllyyyy stressing me out and i was spending SOOOO much time on it, and I took 3 years of Spanish in high school, so I actually tested into a higher level spanish and will be able to get a semester of language out of the way! SO now I have to take 3 semesters, instead of 4 (which I would have had to take if I stayed in French). So yes! And I really really like my spanish class. Muy bien :) And I still like my other classes. Even religion, which I didn't think would happen. But we're actually talking about really deep things... like...LOOK at this line from an essay I read. LITERALLY the meaning of life. Which is good because I always say "what is this life!" when something really great is happening so maybe this can help me better understand these emotions :) So yeah. Sometimes I just really like certain poetry lines/statements, and that's one of them and I had to share. And it's from 1784. I mean, like, people were questioning life back then too, ya know? It's an endless question. It just makes you think. And speaking of life, it's grand! From little things of hearing my parents say "we're really proud of you" to writing poetry to ordering vanilla ice cream and then being asked "do you want a cookie with that?" and ending up with a hot, fresh, melted chocolate chip cookie on the bottom of your ice cream bowl. Okay, these might all seem really pathetic but sometimes it's the little things ya know? OH. another of which include... Making a Target run today SPECIFICALLY for... I love this movie, okay? You all should read the book and then watch it, if you haven't. **warning**: it rips you apart emotionally, but also gives a refreshing look at life (hey, a potential answer to that question pictured above! whaaat!) OH! AND we finally got a picture of the lovely Kildahl girls that I've gotten to know really quite well :) from left to right: Rebecca, So, Rebecca, me (aha), Maddie, and Marlyne (my hilarious roommate:)) So yes! Proof that I actually am making friends! Okay well now I'm off to go chat with Anna, so have a lovely night!
~Bridget~ Hello! I've decided to take a break from studying all day to create another blog post for y'all. I am currently listened to Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran which really relaxes my soul. So yes! Wow. SO much to blog about. College has really taken off, that's for sure. Well as you'll remember from my last post, I signed up for a lot of different clubs...like a lot. So here's how all those went!
-Ukulele club - one of my favorites. Oh my GOSH it's so fun and light and cute and I love it. I just started learning to play over the summer, so I still struggle with a lot of the bigger chords but that's okay, I'm practicing! We've played (and by played I mean I play some of the chords and other people harmonize and play really well) songs that include: I Can Tell That We Are Gonna Be Friends (from the movie Juno which I love and it only has like 3 chords in it:)), All About That Bass (which actually sounds really cool) Home (the one by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, I hadn't heard it til then but it's one of my favorites) and You and I by Ingrid Michaelson (also really good). You should all listen to those songs because I think they are good songs for the season of fall and they make me happy and maybe they'll make you happy too. Sorry I just really love music. OKAY ANYWAY. I guess that brings me to another club which is Collegiate Chorale. This is a choir that you don't have to audition for which is grand cuz that's really intimidating!! Especially since I can't sing amazingly well, but I'm not tone deaf either. So therefore, I just said, "why not!" So yeah that seemed pretty cool! Then Thursday, Poetry House. The best thing ever. They have actually have a little house down on St. Olaf Avenue (that I walked to by myself at 9pm (which was kind of scary - I was afraid a deer was going to run out in front of me or something idk why) but when I walked in they had incense burning and everyone looked really artsy and cozy and i was like THIS IS MY SCENE (and I actually shared one of my poems!!!) I'm excited to have one day a week where I can (sort of) get off campus and just write and free myself and such. Who knows, I may or may not post some poetry from time to time... :) AND YESTERDAY. I signed up for a club called Supporting Special Needs. And yesterday we went to the Laura Baker house which is a short ways from campus and houses adults with developmental disabilities but also once a month they have a day for kids with disabilities to come and plan activities with them and such. So we went to that for three hours yesterday which was SO GREAT. I've already posted numerous times how much I love working with these kids but it was just amazing! It was dinosaur themed so we made dinosaur hats which everyone loved and we went for a walk and then had a little music session and it was so cute! So I'm glad that I've found a volunteer opportunity like that that I can continue while at school. :) And finally, swing club. Last blog post I was super excited and optimistic about it. I went on Tuesday night and we started by learning this triple step thing. Which isn't really that hard, but then we did it with a partner. And your footwork had to "mirror" their footwork which was really hard for my brain to understand, let alone my legs. And then we quickly moved on from that step to learn another one. But the thing about this basic step is you had to have it mastered to master the rest of the steps that were taught that night. And we rotated partners like every two minutes and it was really chaotic for me and we kept learning new steps every 10 minutes and I was like SLOW DOWN but everyone else seemed to picking up on it just fine and I was still struggling with this basic step from the beginning of the class. And of course people noticed and they were trying to help me but to no avail. And they kept saying "don't worry it took me forever to learn that!" and I was thinking no I don't think so because everyone else seems to have learned it. And by the end I had a really big lump in my throat and felt pretty embarrassed and after trying a few more times, I left feeling really defeated. I hate when things like this happen. I beat myself up too much and think, "why can't I do this like everyone else?" And the thing is I WANT to be able to swing dance but the thought of going back there does not appeal to me and I don't want to have to go through those emotions again ya know? But since then I've regained self confidence. I've learned more songs on the ukulele, written some nice poetry, and helped kids have a great Saturday afternoon. I think I'll just wait on swing dancing for now. I mean I have 4 years, you never know. And aside from all that, it's been a fabulous week. I've met more great people, solidified more relationships, especially with my group of girls from Kildahl. These people are just so great. I'm trying really hard to get a picture of us all together so hopefully that will happen soon:) And, oh yeah, classes! (what?;)) They are going really well! For religion this week we had to read this really dense essay and then write our own essay and I actually got a good grade on it and understood all the main points! whaaaat! the only one really stressing me out right now is french. like really really stressing me out. I realized a lot of the kids have already taken French before and i have no freaking idea what french is. and the teacher speaks all french. but I'm studying and learning! It'll be good. I hope. Alright well I'm off to study french and then maybe go to mass and then an ice cream social in our dorm! oh AND FaceTime my family! <3 OH MY GOSH. ALSO IM GOING TO THE ED SHEERAN CONCERT TOMORROW. (coming full circle from the start of this post) ... :) Wow if you made it to the end of this, you must really like me or something. Thank you for your precious time. Have a great week, miss you all! <3 ~Bridget~ |