a letter to myself

Dear six pound seven ounces baby me,

Don’t cry.  Don’t fret. It will get better. Your life is more perfect than you know right now. Unfurl your brow. Shut your little baby mouth. Put down those fighting fists. The trauma is over. Let out the yawn.  Enjoy being held in her arms, it’s snuggle time. You are safe.

love,

You + 22

the joys of transitioning.

oh, transitioning.  I can’t believe it’s September already because it never really felt like August. Somehow the summer flew by so surreally. Not only does this mean that my european adventures are definitely over, but it also means back to reality.  My mom and I drove from the heartland out to the mountains on Sunday and she helped me move into my apartment all week. We did try to make some time for a few fun things in between the Target trips. We made time for a trip to Chill-in and we ate at the always delicious Park Burger one night. Our second night here we finally saw Inception (which totally blew my mind btw & confirmed that I think that JGL is fiiiiiiine). That same night we closed Pete’s University Cafe with breakfast for dinner (my fave) and the next night we took my roommate out to dinner at Sushi Den. My mom and I visited my uncle and his family in Wyoming last night and my mom bummed a ride off of another one of my uncles to get back to Iowa.  And so now I’m back in my new apartment, which is unpacked but still pretty unorganized, all alone.  How things have changed! Just a year ago I was meeting new people and making friends in Rennes and today I am starting a new adventure, so far away from all of them (If any of you are reading, I love and miss each and every one of you).

Tangent: once my place is perfect and everything has been put away or hung, I’ll put pictures up of my new place so you can imagine me in my new digs.

Also:

#1. I don’t know where my Pioneer Card is, so if anyone finds it accidentally wedged in between their couch cushions, please let me know.

#2. Sisterhood week (when we prepare for recruitment) starts Monday so I need to be completely done with getting settled in by then.

#3. Classes start the 13th & the little nerd inside of me is hella excited but also petrified.

#4. I have to email like a bajillion people.

#5. I’m trying (key word: “trying”) to put together a video encompassing my last year so if you have any golden nuggets in video or .jpeg format, send them my way. If it ends up being decent, I may post it on youtube to imbed on my blog!

#6. oh yeah. and I need to get groceries.

bisous xxo

Things are Good.

You know that feeling when you’re just rockin?!  That’s how I’ve been feeling this week :) everything feels like its going well, and as cheesy as it sounds, i feel like singing that song from the Jefferson’s “Moving on Up” because that’s how everything feels right now.  I don’t realllllllly know how to explain it, and so since i’m at a loss for words, i’ll just tell you about all the nice things that have caused this glorious feeling.

#1. Monday was a nice Monday.

#2. I’ve figured out my schedule for this semester.  As a foreign student in France, this is a grueling process, so I am feeling overjoyed that  I’ve sorted it all out.  I’m taking History of Modern Art, History of Contemporary Art, History of Cinema 2, Translation (English-French and French-English), General and Comparative Literature: Intro to Foreign Literature, French Literature and American Literature. I think the reason it’s so refreshing is because now I know the shape of my days- I have a little bit of structure to work around now.

#3. I’ve been journaling a lot more lately…it might sound silly, but writing my thoughts down, even if at times it seems a little redundant, its really liberating.

#4. I have been incredibly productive. I posted a few days ago about how I had let my room become ridiculously messy- unorganized and filthy.  Well yesterday I fixed that problem. Actually, the whole day was productive. I had four hours of class that started at 8:15, squeezed in time for a coffee with Barbara, and then I went back to my room and did the most epic clean with Lady Gaga blaring (I think I went through the Fame Monster twice. I actually don’t know how I ever cleaned my room without her music to get me through it lol) and then went downtown and made a manicure appointment for today, which I followed with 3hr skype session at McDonalds (via le WiFi Gratuit) with my mom, my sister, and Emily. I went to Maire’s for a little while afterwards and then when I got home, around midnight, I rearranged the furniture in my room. ha! It was a good day.

#5. I’ve been branching out a little bit more. I’ve been forcing myself to go to the uncomfortable place that you have to go to in order to improve. In the French university education system, foreign students go through a “shopping period” each semester to choose their classes.  Because of this, by the time we get our schedules all figured out, generally the first class we attend is the second or third that the professor has conducted. It’s easy since its the beginning of the semester to just sort of ignore the things you’ve missed, but this semester I made a specific point to speak to each of my professors to introduce myself, figure out what I’ve missed, the books I’ll need, etc. Last semester my professors were all very intimidating, unfriendly figures, but this semester is the opposite!  Every professor was really kind and interested in where I am from and forthcoming with information. Yay, second semester professors!! :) And on top of that, I’ve chosen better, more interesting, classes.

#6. I’ve been feeling inspired. And happy. And in charge of my destiny and myself.

#7. Everything feels fresh.

#8. I washed all of my dirty dishes and I’ve purchased a few things lately that make my life easier.  A tray for example.  As mundane as it sounds, since I don’t have any sort of table to eat my food at (Damn you, CROUS housing!) my Provençal themed tray, which has an image of a Rooster and a sign displaying “fresh eggs,” is making my life happier.  As is my ikea bamboo, which is currently ill- not my fault- but I hope it will make a full recovery so it can do its job and help encourage a healthy and positive ambience to my room.

#9. The other day Barbara, Maire and I explored Leclerc.  This store happens to be the best hypermarché I have been to in my entire time in France. I love it. I love it so much that I will probably start going there to do the majority of my grocery shopping. That is how good it is.

#10. I made a delicious dinner…an interpretation of Bolognese, you could say.

#11. As I was cleaning my room, I found the almost empty tube of Chanel lotion that my mom left with me when she was in France.  It smells just like her <3

xxo