Oops...

Welp. It's been a while. The blogless days turned into weeks and I just kept pushing this thing out of my mind. A few hours ago, my dad drove me into Manhattan to catch the bus that I'm currently riding on, and he mentioned that I hadn't blogged in a while. I got busted not keeping up with my New Year's resolution! #embarrassing

It's nice to know that someone is reading this.

I turn 21 in five days. I'm excited to spend my birthday with most of my favorite people. I'm so lucky! I have the best family and friends. My roommates have some plans that they're keeping under wraps. It should be a really great weekend. I have a long week of school ahead of me but I think I'll be able to get through it looking forward to Friday. I can't wait to casually drink wine at restaurants and buy beer at the corner stores in North Philly! Woohoo!

So I wrote all of that yesterday and didn't post it because I felt like I had more to say.  I'M GOING TO ECUADOR! For the first two weeks of July, I'll be in Quito working with children. I need to learn all the Ecuadorian folk/children's songs that exist between now and then! I'm really excited. I've wanted to do a trip like this for a long time. I'm a little bit nervous and I don't really know what to expect, but I know it will be a really good experience. July can't come soon enough!

Music has been a wonderful thing in my life lately. I have been listening to some new stuff, having productive practice time, and learning a lot about music therapy with the population I'm working with for fieldwork. It's been an inspiring semester.

You must watch this:

LET ME GO HOME!

Music therapy is cool.

Life throws ya curves.

Currently, the theme of my life is "life throws ya curves." This is a direct quote from one of my best friends in the whole world. Sometimes you just get these huge things thrown at you and you have no idea what to do. We worry and we're scared and we go crazy, but don't we always figure it out? Aren't human beings surprisingly resilient?

It's the rare occasion that you don't finish that five page paper by midnight. Hearing about a nineteen year old girl ending her life feels like the end of your world, but that pain somehow spreads across humanity, and we can all be strong if we each hold onto a piece of the brokenness. A project that you've been working on for weeks could easily be destroyed in minutes, but don't you care about it too much not to build it back up?

And then life also throws us those beautiful curves. There's the moment you get word that you'll finally be going on a trip you've been planning for years. You get a surprise visit from a person you were in desperate need of spending time with. Someone decided that Valentine's Day would be better celebrated as Tequila Tuesday, and naturally, you oblige. That boy you've been after for months lingers on your porch, and finally tells you how he feels about you. And you can exhale. Mmm, life throws ya curves, doesn't it?

Time takes time, ya know?

I'm the worst. I haven't posted in twelve days. Two days shy of two weeks. THE WORST.

So, this self-deprecating attitude is definitely not one of my goals for this blog. I'm just disappointed that I only followed through with my goal until February. Oh well.

This semester has been busy, but unusually satisfying. I think I'm starting to realize how quickly these college years are passing by. I decided to remedy those anxious feelings by taking in every drop of knowledge, friendship, and alcohol that I can get my hands on. (I'm sort of kidding about the alcohol part).

Isn't that what college is all about? Having a successful and fun-filled experience with people who become your best friends?

Well anyway, I've been doing just that. I haven't been staring at the clock for the last ten minutes of my Psychopathology class, I read an ENTIRE translation of an Arabic novel for World Society in Lit & Film, and I take down every piece of information that my unenthused Geology professor mumbles about.

I've noticed that by really immersing myself in my studies, and not just my "interesting" music therapy classes, I am taking advantage of every opportunity that college has to offer.

I'm not ready to leave this place any time soon, so I'm going to keep trying to make it last forever.


One of my grandparents' closest friends passed away last week. I talked to my grandpa on the phone when I found out and I told him how sorry I was. He said, "Yes, I'm very sad. It's such a sad thing. But it's just life." My grandpa doesn't say a lot, but the things he says always stick with me. Sometimes I'm so worried about time passing too quickly, but then I see my grandparents, literally the happiest, most full of life people I know, and I realize that I can't be afraid of time. We only get stronger and more beautiful with time. We deal with the earth shattering events by saying, "It's just life." That sounds great to me.

Send me away with the words of a love song.

So here are some super cool photos from the last few weeks in Philly. Things are cooler and hipper and more artsy when you Instagram them. Sepia and edge blur filters make my life look more exciting than it actually is.

The beautiful Temple University after some snow...

My brother, Michael, eating his first Sketch Burger...

Vegan burger with garlic aioli, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, and avocado!

Baby's first hip-hop concert! (When I say hip, you say hop. Hip hop, hip hop). Moosh & Twist at the TLA...

My cool friends doing cool things...have I mentioned how cool my life is?

College is weird and awesome. I'm kind of hoping it never ends. How do I make that happen?

The Night Class.

I discovered a new form of torture today. It's called The Night Class. It's a device used by colleges and universities in which a course is strategically placed to start before and end after dinner time. I managed to avoid it for two and a half years. Not anymore.

Just kidding. The first day of classes was great. I'm tired.

Obligatory blog post to fulfill New Year's resolution...check.

Staring out on top as the Philadelphia skyline caves in.

Well, winter break came and went. I'm off to Philly tonight. I'm excited to get back, but I'm not so sure I'm ready for school to start. One of my roommates bought this lizard and brought it to our house over New Years:

She said she bought it because it was a dollar. Now that's not really a deal if it's useless, right? The thing is, this lizard, who we adoringly named Lizzie McGuire, made us laugh for three days. I think that's worth a dollar.

And that's the best way I can express how it feels to leave home again. Is it really leaving home if you're going to your second home? I don't know!

If I live the life I'm given, I won't be scared to die.

Here goes the first of many posts that I only write because I promised myself I'd write often. It's weird to write in here and know that I'm the only one reading it right now, but that eventually other people might read it. It makes this blog limited, which makes the process kind of challenging and fun.

So I had one of those pre-semester days when I make lists, set goals, and basically try to do everything I have to do before the first day of classes. This semester, my music therapy fieldwork will be at a community clinic for people with HIV, psychiatric diagnoses, and addictions. Everything is in order, so I should be starting right on time! I'm excited and very very nervous. I'm excited to be working with people who want to help themselves and who will value my presence as much as I value theirs. I'm very nervous to deal with issues of death, depression, and sexual identity. I definitely have a lot to learn.

I tried to make some summer plans today. I have a few things I'd like to do. This is what I came up with today:
May-June: summer class at home and work
Last week of June and first week of July: service trip to South America (either Ecuador or Paraguay)
Third week of July: family vacation :)
End of July and first two weeks of August: work
Third week of August: Esopus :)
End of August: back to Philly

This is a tentative plan, but I know I have to start laying everything out or none of it will get done. I'm really excited for this summer. It kind of feels like my last summer of youth. I know that sounds depressing, but if I get a job right out of college, it's not likely that I'll be able to spend a summer like this one for a long time. We'll see how it goes!

I just started watching the show Dexter. It's weird. Updates as they happen...

I had the most delicious white peach sangria the other night. Here's a picture:

...and here's a recipe: http://wine.about.com/od/howwineismade/r/Whitelightsangr.htm

I think sitting down at the computer and opening this page and clicking "New Post" even when I don't have anything to write is a great idea. I guess I always have something to write.