So, recently I watched this Vlogbrothers video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfchH1a6XMU in which Hank shared fifteen (though at my count 14) of his favorite feelings in the world. And they were interesting, and I agreed with him, but at the end of the video he said this:

“John, I'm gonna be honest, I found this video surprisingly hard to make. Even in a little corner of the internet that we inhabit that is a very open and honest and authentic place. It was difficult to just share things that I like. I don't know why. If it's self-consciousness or if it's like I'm afraid that I'm bragging that I, like, enjoy things in my life, which is, why would you feel that way? I don't know. Apparently it's more fun to complain than to appreciate but probably not better for a person or the world in the long term.”

This has been nagging at me for a while. Why is it, exactly, that we find it easier to complain about the stuff that is bothering us than to share the happiness that we feel with others? So here’s my experiment, sharing 15 of my most favorite feelings, and we’ll see how I feel after.

• When you slowly wake up in the morning without an alarm clock, sunshine softly hitting your face, birds singing outside, and you know- for a brief instant- that you couldn’t be happier than that moment

• When suddenly things just start going right for you- Ex: Within the last couple of weeks, a stranger gave me a bouquet of roses, I found out I’m moving to DC, and I went to Nashville last weekend for a wedding of one of my favorite people from college. All of these things have contributed to a pleasant happy buzzy feeling that has lifted me up for days. :)

• When two people are so connected that you feel like you could be the same person

• When you’re trying to solve a really hard problem, and you have to try lots of different solutions and think critically about how you can solve it- and then you solve it and you get the satisfaction of knowing you figured out a pretty cool solution. I love that.

• That feeling when you’ve just told someone you love them and like them and they say that they love you and they like you too

• When you’re reading a book and you’re so into it that you feel like you are the main character

• Seeing a close friend after being apart for a really long time and reconnecting like the time and space apart never happened

• Being happy just because your friend is happy. :) I think that is a really undervalued feeling- rejoicing because someone else had something go right for them.

• Closely related to ^^, being happy for no reason at all

• Getting a secret out in the open that you’ve deliberately hidden for a long time and you can finally share it with someone and they tell you that they love you and that you’re ok- it’s normal to make mistakes and mess up and be human

• When someone tells you that they find you attractive- physically or mentally or in whatever fashion- but just that they are attracted to you in that way. That is a pretty powerful feeling.

• Smelling the first spring flowers that pop out of seemingly nowhere. They’re always so sweet.

• Smelling my shower gel (Man, I love The Body Shop. I strongly endorse their Lemon and Strawberry flavors.)

• Starting a new book. I just get so excited to go into another world and escape my reality for a little while :) [A+++++ rating this week for The Selection series by Kiera Cass- I just read the first trilogy of them in about ~12 hours and loved them so much! Many thanks to Sara for the recommendation!]

• Moving to a new place and seeing who you become in a new situation. I’ve now had a little bit of experience with this, and while there are aspects I dread, I love the idea that- if I wanted- I could reinvent myself a la Gatsby and become a new version of me. I do think I become a new version of me everytime I move and meet new people- but isn’t that what part of what life’s about? Discovering all the sharp edges, the hidden scary bits, the beautiful pieces, and the deep intense feelings that all make you you?
  
  

Result: So, at least for me, this wasn’t difficult at all. I liked sharing these feelings with you guys… and even if we had the general public reading our blogs, I wouldn’t care about them learning this stuff about me. Like I said, I feel like this is what being human is about… Of course, I am a generally optimistic and happy, energetic person. What do you guys think? Is it harder for you to share the good rather than the bad?

With love and happy feelings,

Amber

PS- As I mentioned above, I’m really sorry I didn’t get to blog last week… Going down to Nashville on Saturday and then back up Sunday kind of consumed my life. ;) But with lots of fun!

Mumford & Sons- “Believe”

And only one other person has posted anything in the past week. Like seriously! I thought the point of the blog was to keep in touch with everyone since we’re all in so many different places. So how ironic is it when the two people who are still in Kentucky are the only ones posting anything…

But I digress. In actually important news, the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage throughout the country today, which is, you know, preeeeetty cool. I’ve never really understood why it has to be such a big deal- if you do have religious oppositions to marrying someone of the same sex, just don’t do it. But don’t force your beliefs onto other people- there’s nothing either biblical or Christ-like about that.

The rest of today’s news was less cheerful- a memorial service for one of the murdered church members in Charleston and three terrorist attacks were a sobering reminder that much is still wrong with the world.

Then JKR announced that a new play, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” is going to come out in London next summer, which is exciting. Jake and I kinda really hope we can go as part of our honeymoon, but we shall see.

Aaaaand that’s all I have to say about that. I would love to hear from more of you this week! You know, about your lives, and adventures, and feelings, and stuff. Sooooo…

Bye now!

Love,

Sara

Hiya guys!
Just a few things of note have happened in the past week for me. I turned 23 and spent most of my birthday weekend with John who came back to KY on Friday and left again on Monday. Because my dad was out of town for my birt--I mean, Father's Day, we're going out to eat tomorrow for a belated Father's Day celebration. My other big news is that KF sent me a job offer on Friday as well....but I turned them down. I made two pro/con lists: one for going to NY and another for staying in BG and it was pretty favorable toward staying here...even though NY Fashion Week was a hefty point in NYC's favor.

Other things that happened include: joining a gym (*high fives Sara* look at us being all healthy-ish), starting work at Bluetique, trying not to buy all the clothes while working, and starting season 4 of Grey's Anatomy (so many episodes...).

Hello from home! I totally meant to blog last week, but you can rest assured that it wouldn’t have been a very interesting one at least- I slept in every morning, read an entire series a book a day, and joined a gym with Jake. The book series was The Selection, which I’ve actually wanted to read for a couple of years now, and it was really good- I couldn’t put it down- but there were also a couple of things that frustrated me, but I won’t go into detail since I don’t know how many of you have read/are planning to read it.

The gym actually hasn’t been so bad. It’s even kind of fun! And, you know, healthy, so that’s always good. But this week I haven’t really been to the gym- I’ve been visiting home, as I mentioned. I’ve been hanging out with my family as well as some of Jake’s friends. Two of them have babies, and one has a toddler, so you can imagine how much fun I’ve been having :) Obviously, I also enjoy spending time with Jake’s friends. Butttttt babies! Oh my goodness you guys, so cute!

And you should already know that I’ve been doing some shopping this week as well. The wedding is still a year away, so I’m not really planning to buy a dress anytime soon, but it was still really fun to start trying them on and getting an idea of what I liked. It would have been nice if you all were around to come with me, but as it is my mom, sister, and mamaw all came, and we had a good girls’ day out :) There are only a couple of dress shops here in town, but we’re planning to take a couple of trips, maybe later in the summer, to look elsewhere, so be on the lookout!

So that’s my boring life :) I hope everyone’s enjoying themselves, and I’ll talk to you all next week.

Love,

Sara

1. Do you usually sleep with your closet door open or closed? Closed
   

1. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? Nope
   

1. Have you ever ‘done it’ in a hotel room? Perhaps
   

1. Where is your next vacation? Nothing planned in the immediate future
   

1. Have you ever stolen a street sign before? Nope
   

1. Who do you think reads these? Hopefully the people you share it with
   

1. Do you have a calendar in your room? No, but we have one in our kitchen
   

1. Where are you? My room, sitting on the bed
   

1. What’s your plan for the day? Watch a bit more Grey’s Anatomy, then bedtime
   

1. Are you reading any books right now? Just finished rereading Michael Crichton’s “The Lost World”
   

1. Do you ever count your steps when you walk? VERY occasionally
   

1. Have you ever peed in the woods? I’m sure I have at some point, but it was such a terrible experience I have repressed the memory

1. Do you ever dance even if there’s no music playing? Yes! Haha, most recently when John and I were cooking, we just started dancing together J
   

1. Do you chew your pens and pencils? Ew, no
   

1. What is your “Song of the Week”? Fifth Harmony's "Worth It"
   

1. Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Yup!
   

1. Do you still watch cartoons? Haha yeah
   

1. Whats your favorite love movie? Pride and Prejudice, the Kiera Knightly version

1. What do you drink with dinner? Water, occasionally wine
   

1. What do you dip Chicken Nuggets in? Depends: McNuggets—nothing. The frozen kind you buy and bake in the oven-- ketchup and sometimes BBQ sauce
   

1. What is your favorite food/cuisine? Lasagna/Italian, basically all the pasta, bread, and wine
   

1. What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Disney movies
   

1. Last person you hugged/kissed? John
   

1. Were you ever a boy/girl scout? I was a Brownie once upon a time
   

1. Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? Hard no
   

1. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? I included a hand written note in John’s Easter gift I sent him
   

1. Can you change the oil on a car? No, but maybe someday I’ll learn just because
   

1. Ever gotten a speeding ticket? Yup. Got to go to driving school too
   

1. Run out of gas? No, but very close one time.
   

1. Favorite kind of sandwich? Avocado on slightly toasted bread or a meatball sub
   

1. Best thing to eat for breakfast? I’m quite fond of yogurt and granola, fruit, bacon, hashbrowns, eggs in a basket—I should just end it there
   

1. What is your usual bedtime? 11 pm?
   

1. Are you lazy? I try not to be, but I am when I feel I can afford to
   

1. When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? I’ve dressed up as a mouse, Arwen from LotR, and as a generic princess before
   

1. Do you have any magazine subscriptions? Nope
   

1. Which are better, legos or lincoln logs? Legos, duh
   

1. Are you stubborn? I can be stubborn if I believe I am right
   

1. Who is better…Leno or Letterman? Letterman I suppose, I don’t watch either
   

1. Ever watch soap operas? I started watching “Yo soy Betty, la fea” as a way to study for the Spanish CLEP test
   

1. Afraid of heights? Kind of? I like heights, but I also like to know that I won’t fall
   

1. Sing in the car? Oh yeah. Especially on long car drives by myself.
   

1. Dance in the shower? Nope, as John Green replied, “it seems unsafe”
   

1. Dance in the car? I kinda wiggle around and clap my hands
   

1. Ever used a gun? I’ve shot a couple of shotguns before thanks to Jake
   

1. Do you think musicals are cheesy? Yes
   

1. Is Christmas stressful? At the chocolate shop it was, but not out of work
   

1. Ever eat a pierogi? Yup

1. Major annoyance right now? Not having anything to do
   

1. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? A nurse (until I learned nurses to the hard jobs, then I wanted to be a doctor)
   

1. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes
   

1. Ever have a deja-vu feeling? Yup, all the time
   

1. Do you take a vitamin daily? Biotin, for my hair and nails
   

1. Wear slippers? Very occasionally

1. Wear a bath robe? I wish I had one
   

1. What do you wear to bed? It changes every night. If I can wear to bed what I wore that day (like a t-shirt) I will
   

1. Wal-Mart, Target or K-Mart? Target--unless I want food, then Wal-Mart

1. Nike or Adidas? Nike I suppose

1. Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos!
   

1. Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? Sunflower seeds
   

1. Ever hear of, “gorp”? Umm..no
   

1. Ever taken karate? I took Tae Kwon Do for a couple years
   

1. Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Twice
   

1. Can you curl your tongue? Yup
   

1. Ever won a spelling bee? Hahahahahhahahaha...no. I suck at spelling
   

1. Ever cried because you were so happy? Does laughing so much I cry count? Then yes
   

1. Own any record albums? Nope

1. Own a record player? Nope
   

1. Regularly burn incense? Never
   

1. Ever been in love? Just recently 
   

1. Hot tea or cold tea? Hot
   

1. Tea or coffee? Tea
   

1. Favorite kind of cookie? Too many to choose from, but I could eat roughly a bjillion chips ahoy cookies
   

1. Can you swim well? Well enough
   

1. Can you hold your breath w/o manually holding your nose? Umm yeah
   

1. Are you patient? Not really, even though sometimes I can seem so
   

1. Ever won a contest? I got second place in a hula hoop contest and got a bookstore gift certificate as a prize and I thought that was a better prize than a fancy dinner for two the first place winner got.
   

1. Ever had plastic surgery? No
   

1. Which are better black or green olives? Green
   

1. Can you knit or crochet? No. I tried knitting once and it didn’t work out.
   

1. Wash room or bathroom? Bathroom
   

1. Do you want to get married? Yes
   

1. Who was your High School crush? I had on and off crushes throughout high school, none of which I will type out and post for all the internet to see
   

1. Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? No
   

1. Do you have kids? Not that I know of
   

1. Do you want kids? Yup, eventually
   

1. What kind of mom are you? I’m not a mom yet, but I hope to be a good one
   

1. Do you miss anyone right now? Yes, immensely
   

1. Who do you want to see right now? John (obvs), Amy, all of you, and my friend Katie M.

PS I COULD go back and change the numbers, but I'm being lazy. But if you wanted to know there were 88 questions. I originally wrote this down when I was in NY and bored out of my mine and John Green's answers were posted on Tumblr, so here's mine! 

10. Chester! He is just a ball of adorable fluff that I can play with and love. He has learned that even though his mom has to go away for weddings, trips, etc, I still love him and miss him and look forward to coming home to him again. :)

9. Vanderbilt is in the CWS again! We want to be national champs for 2 years in a row… Here we come!!

8. More sports! I am enjoying rooting for American Pharaoh winning the Triple Crown, Team USA in Women’s FIFA, Vandy in CWS baseball, and my hometown Columbus Clippers! I went to a Clippers game, and we won, bottom of the ninth after being down 5-4, Jerry hit one off the backboard to clinch it 6-5 over the Louisville Bats. Plus, it was “Dime a Dog” day. 5 hotdogs for 0.50? Please and Thank You!

7. Weddings! I loved being a bridesmaid in my friend Katya’s wedding in PA last weekend (That was why I didn’t blog this week/last one- my mom was visiting to watch Chester). It was wonderful being reunited with her and her new husband Jay, and I am looking forward to continuing my friendship with both of them. They’re so sweet and loving and kind to each other. I didn’t cry during the ceremony, but I cried tons when Katya danced with her dad to “Beauty and the Beast” during the reception (totally stealing that). Also, I carried a book-quet down the aisle (stealing this idea too): each of the bridesmaids got a fancy hardcover book with a flower and ribbon tied to the front, and we carried them instead of bouquets of flowers (I have Selected Plays of Shakespeare). Weddings are the best.

6. Sleeping in on Saturdays and reading until my stomach forces me to get up and get breakfast and then going back to read more. :)

5. Singing with my choir! We’re prepping for England now, and rehearsals are intense. As in, we have a rehearsal list of 10-15 different pieces that we go over each rehearsal, and I have 29 different pieces of music in my possession that I am going over in my free time outside of rehearsals too. Some of those pieces have multiple selections, so really, it’s like we’re singing closer to 40 different anthems. This includes 3 different “Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis” settings, Howell’s “Te Deum and Jubilate”, a 59-page Byrd Mass, and the beautiful Bach “Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden”. All of this is for England! It is so much fun!!! :D

4. My new camera! I took AB’s (and Jill’s- do you have it too?) advice and bought the Canon PowerShot Ellph 300HS in black. It’s older, but I couldn’t find a newer one that matched it… and I certainly couldn’t beat the price! I really love the thinness of it, and I bought it used without a scratch on it, so it’s really like it’s new. It has such great shots and video! I am definitely looking forward to using it in England.

3. Friends! I am really thankful for you guys and your support and silliness and laughter and adventures! My Columbus friends are super nice to me, Mark is a great boyfriend, my closest college friends still keep in touch, and just having friends makes me happy! I didn’t have a lot of close friends before high school, so knowing that there are people who are supporting me and loving me makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world.

2. Columbus! I really love living in a city with bike trails and summer festivals almost every weekend (it’s the river-side Downtown Art Festival this weekend!). Plus, I’m happy with myself and who I am. I’ve achieved what I didn’t think was possible or likely 1.5 years ago in BG: living by myself in a new city with a stable job and being an adult and thriving happily. Thanks be to God who made all of this possible!!!

Aaaaaaaand…. *drumroll*

1. I’m moving to DC! It’s official (though I’m keeping it on the DL for a while). New job (I won’t be writing about it on here), new city, new apartment, new furniture, new adventures, new friends (and old ones!)… A dream I’ve had for several years is finally coming true. I just found out for sure yesterday and am super excited and happy and thrilled beyond my wildest imagination. August. This girl is heading to the Nation’s Capital!

The Mountain Goats- “This Year”

I'm really happy.
It could be the fact that I'm more emotional when I'm on my period, or the relief from the general awfulness that is me during PMS, but I've never been one to attribute feelings purely to hormones. It's getting out of Ireland, probably. 
And praying more, going to a good church last Sunday, my Russian alliance, feeling closer to God. His blessing shining on my face. 
And it is good to feel the sun again.
It's the warmth of the weather, the castle on the hill, the clear air, the Scottish brogue, the exceeding kindness of strangers, the religious conversations with random roommates where I feel I've done just a little something by actually trying. The (possibly erroneous) notion that maybe that's why God is blessing me. The desire to do better, to be better. 
It's finding Coronation Chicken and Wotsits again. It's postcards arriving and looking forward to sending more. It's loving people and knowing they're temporary in a botanical garden where everything is so alive. It's picnics by rivers and soft rejections by well trained dogs. It's cats appearing from nowhere and hobbit-haired bagpipers and attractive skaters with stag tattoos. It's cute shops and markets. Birds and moths and motif wrangling. It's windows with no screens, a single star in the sky, and a stopped clock pointing second to the right. It's honking car parades, copious balloons, and "Don't Stop Believin'."
It's eyeliner and selfies and '80s aesthetic with a Taylor Swift song for every occasion. It's cheeky Nandos, museums, and taking our time. Letting off the pressure to do and be and create, and just living. It's missing American summer but looking forward to an English one.
It's seeing the water in the distance, and then up close on a shore-view drive. A ten-hour drive with good music and a good friend. It's a bus with leg room and a song stuck in my head. Why can't we just be better than we were yesterday? It's knowing that we can. It's changing my ideas and learning that's okay. 
It's looking forward. To London and more theatre than we can afford. To seeing a new friend and to the hope of running into a certain busker. To simple things like a hot shower and hostel breakfast for a pound. To things beyond, like a cat to cuddle and the idyllic sound of a place called Peacehaven. It's wanting to go everywhere yet being happy where I am.
It's tiny pinpricks of nervousness soothed by the surety of seeing old friends again soon. It's the proximity of a family I love dearly. It's days-long conversations about the novels we'll someday write. It's giggling reading fanfiction in the middle of the night under the same covers I wept under nights before when everything was a bit too much. It's knowing that I still have a lot of issues but being too content to dwell on them. 
It's meeting people who drop everything and travel the world. It's talking to Canadians about our insane love of Tim Hortons. It's comparing travel tales and realizing how fun and beautiful, how blessed and completely crazy my life has been so far. It's having plans, having no clue, and the certainty that if I left right now, the whole trip would still have all been worth it. A certainty I didn't have before Edinburgh. It's gratitude. It's the hope of someday returning to the people who love me the most. It's dreams and the determination to really achieve them this time, but more than that, the knowledge that everything will be okay. No matter what happens. It's trust in God and hope that sustains me. It's looking forward to a wedding that won't happen for a year and already having a card picked out. It's wanting to embrace each and every one of you! It's unyielding belief in the power of friendship. It's rejecting that tiny wriggling doubt that says to worry, that happiness won't last.
It's 11:11 and I can't think of a thing to wish for. 
Whatever it is,
It's Thursday,
And I am very,
very
happy.

Hello. :)

Hello from summer break! I am happy to say that, a week into June, my school year has officially ended. Wednesday was the last day for the kids, and I definitely did not cry when I told my class to give me a hug before they left. My eyes may have gotten a little red… my voice maybe got a little rusty… but I did not cry! Then yesterday was closing day, which means all the teachers spend the day removing everything from the floors and shelves in preparation for summer cleaning. We also got fed, like, three times, so all in all it was a pretty good day. It combined two of my passions- organizing and eating.

And today I slept in until 9 and have done next to nothing except shower and surf the internet. I do have plenty of productive things on my summer to do list, but I don’t have to get up at 7 to do them :)

I’d like to say that I’ll be a more consistent blogger now that I’m not wrangling kindergarteners every day, buuuuut we’ll see how that goes. I hope all of your days are lovely and hopefully I’ll see a couple more blog posts before my turn rolls around again (hint, hint). Bye for now!

Love,

Sara