This week was probably the best full week I have had since coming home on November 2020. To show the reasons for the high points, I also have to explain the low points too.
Monday, January 10th
I woke up just before 3am. The day before was spent coming up with different research topics to begin the thesis writing process.
"Maybe the reason I woke up was just the nerves kicking in?"
So I laid down for a few hours before I figured I would get up early and get to the computer lab to get some stuff for work done and then go get breakfast.
Breakfast at The Caf is still pretty legit. I could make breakfast at home, but that would result in me having to park exactly .5 miles away from the newsroom. If I keep eating like this, then maybe I should consider the walk to and from the newsroom lab. (Photo 1: Cheese & jalapeño scrambled eggs, hashbrown, buttermilk biscuits, bacon AND sausage, a cherry cinnamon roll...and then a bowl of vanilla yogurt with granola and fruit. 2: Banana Fosters French toast, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, and a bowl of cantaloupe.)
This semester, three of the four core classes I need are only offered in the Fall. So I am taking a core class, an upper level course, an internship, while also working. Between all of those classes, I should have (at the least) a combined 80 written pages for my assignments this spring. Apparently that's equivalent to half of my thesis that I'll be starting on next year.
The thing about writing all these papers, book reports, and scholarly articles is that they focus more on self-discovery while also encouraging mental exploration of past experiences and new ideas on an academic level. For some people, they might feel overwhelmed, but I feel excited to get started on it.
Tuesday, Jan. 11th
My internship is with 1910 PR. It is a non-profit public relations firm that is also on campus and active within the community. We currently have four major projects to start this semester with room for more.
I accepted an assistant director position with the firm so I can utilize some of my past public relations experience, further more in depth leadership technique's for youth, and most of all, provide for a more challenging experience to prevent me from finding a comfort zone.
I honestly just feel like I couldn't ask anyone else to embrace a challenge if I wouldn't do it.
That night I forgot I had my lucky t-shirt on for my night class. Afterwards my grad buddy came with me to eat at Joe Taco. Before class we both had a little anxiety about class, about the number of books, and well, just about this whole graduate school experience. Both of us concluded that it was a sigh of relief we saw each other. When I got home that night, there was a really cool halo around the Moon.
Wednesday, Jan. 12th
I got some artwork in from one of the advertisers in the newsroom for work and I ended up only doing a half day at work, so I could finally get my windshield fixed...again. My friend Brandi owns the place and I've know her since 1st grade. She's still the sweetest girl! If you even need anything related to glass, "Call the GlassDoctor, they'll fix your panes." #LOLOL #AdvertisingSlogans While I sat in the waiting room, I got some reading done for Rhetorical Criticism.
Since I got so much finished, I decided to reward myself and take advantage of the perfect weather to play some disc golf. There was absolutely no wind, which makes it a completely different game in Amarillo, since the wind blows here all the time. Met some new friends to play with the next time, and got to relieve a memory of living in Dallas and being stuck on 635 from 3:45pm-7pm.
Thursday, Jan 13th
The perfect weather the day before was much enjoyed, because the next day was awful. It hasn't rained here in some time and with the 43 mph wind gusts, the sky was dirty and gross. At one point of the day, I left and felt the dirt get inside of my shirt.
"It made me think about people who eat crackers in bed...ugh."
Friday, Jan 14th
Another friend of mine, Kendra, has probably one of the coolest shops ever, hollandandhuxley.com. And decided to write to her about what was going on in my mind at the time:
Hey Kendra! Omg I love this soap! It’s freaking awesome!! My desert leather candle broke in shipping. I’ll take it to the garage and finish breaking the glass off it so I can stick it the old candle holder…which makes me think now….
"Let me take you on a trip…que Wayne’s World flashback scene..."
…. So while I’m cleaning the house [after mom passed away] I found an insane amount of storage places dedicated to old candle holders …I mean boxes upon boxes of candles from the WCBarn. Almost as if mom was burning an entire candle every day for 10 years straight. So when I got my candles from you and one was broken and glass was everywhere, I thought…this isn’t a problem at all! I’m pretty sure mom had a premonition before she left. (Everything we needed) was on the corner of the desk when we started looking. I might be overthinking it, but now I wonder if she might have had a vision of this moment too. It’s moments like these that make me think about how prepared mom was. And in my “aweee mannnn!” moments, I still have her watching over me and I’m still surrounded by people in my life that care about me enough to want me to smell good too! Thank you so much my dear K-Dawg!!! You are so awesome!!!!!! #Bitchin!
It's important to tell people what they mean to you, especially this day in age. I think in our digital world, we can click and easily replace anything we want in the world. But even the littlest conversations can mean a lot to someone, and in this case, a candle with broken glass turned out to be a fantastic gift.