After being silly and dancing together across the glossy wooden floor, I told all of this to Brecia. We were standing in my kitchen, the lights off.
"I love you!" I exclaimed.
She had that look on her face - the one she usually expresses when touched with any sort of sentimentality; opened her arms. And we hugged.
- Mood:
happy
I found out what the surprise is today.
Brecia picked me up from Chapel Hill as she was driving down from Virginia. It started snowing along the way, and the flakes came down in thick flurries. They were really beautiful. On the road my parents kept calling to say, "DO NOT COME HOME!" They gave us directions to some place and when we got there...
A new house.
"Welcome home!" They chorused.
It was all so...surreal. I still don't know how to feel. The house is huge. Nearly 6,000 sq ft. Three floors. Furniture I've never seen before. Wow.
My parents had gotten a live Christmas tree, and it's propped by the window, multi-colored lights strewn around it.
My mom made us a delicious dinner that was very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Sweet potato topped with blueberries drizzled in honey. Smoked cheese salmon lettuce wraps. Smoked lamb with a special sauce and chili peppers. Avocado dip and chips. Cucumber mushroom fish soup.
She served everything on fine china. I felt like I was in a guest's home. I didn't know where anything was, and all of my actions were slow and cautious.
I was kind of sad at first because I sort of miss my old house. I'm going to miss the sprawling backyard, the doghouse, the laurel blossom trees...sigh. I also miss being on the first floor haha.
But oh well. I'm good at adapting.
----------------------------------------
Well, I just finished taking a shower in my new home. I feel a lot better now. This is a really nice house and it's not that far away from everything. I like it.
At first I had been gripped with a profound sense of loneliness (I guess since the house is so big) but that feeling has slowly started to fade.
I love surprises but this was more of a...shock. Haha.
- Mood:
shocked
Swati bought Kathryn and herself a slice of key lime pie. I tried a bite and had to get my own after that. I typically don't like key lime pie but this key lime pie was different...it was the best key lime pie I'd ever tasted! It was the perfect combination of tart and sweet. The texture was perfect too! Kathryn admitted it was the best key lime pie she'd ever had as well.
In the car, Ben Folds was playing. I was full and warm. Ah...felt so content. Pretty sure I did well on my Politics exam earlier. I had written a note to my TA on the last page: I studied very hard for this. Please give me an A! =D
I hope she heeds my suggestion!
- Mood:
content
- Mood:
relieved
Yesterday Shezeen wrote on my wall:
Sophia... can i please just tell an interesting story...
Today in school my friend brad looked up "north meck chicken sandwich" on google because its his favorite food, and on images it had a link that said "Miss North Meck 2009" with no photo because the site was blocked. I was creeped out so i typed it into my phone, ...and it was your livejournal page!! not to be a creeper but I read the whole thing about Miss North Meck, it was really sweet/cute/funny. I just finished up the Carrousel Pageant, whaaat an experience haha! Miss you girl :)
Haha! That totally made my day! I can't believe the link to my LJ came up with the search "north meck chicken sandwich." Ahahaha!
^_^
- Mood:
cheerful
My co-worker Jenny and I talked for a while, but she had to leave to go to class. She's coming back later though. Jenny has a purity ring she wears every day around her neck. I told her the media recently got wind of the news that Tiger Woods cheated on his wife, and that shocked her.
"I thought he was a good guy."
"Me too."
"I don't trust guys at all, especially college guys. They're only after one thing and that's sex. Every time I tell a guy I'm saving myself for marriage he immediately stops talking to me. It makes me wonder how I'm ever going to find a husband," she said. "There have been a few tempting occasions but I've always stopped myself. If I did that with a guy and he stopped talking to me right after...I would feel so used. That would destroy me emotionally. I would feel dirty...and..."
I took her hand. "You're a strong person. I admire you!" I nodded towards her purity ring.
Just a year ago I was in the same exact position as Jenny. I thought that if I gave myself up and then found out he was talking to someone else, or if he left me after that, I would hate myself. I don't know how long it would take for me to be able to trust again if that happened. It was my biggest fear and had haunted me for a very long time.
Self-worth. We all want to think we are worth something. Every girl wants to believe that she will find a guy who will love her and only her. Is that too much to ask?
This paranoia that so many girls feel today. I wish it weren't like this, because it doesn't have to be like this. Hopefully not too many young hearts will get broken. Hopefully the broken ones will heal quickly. Hopefully this paranoia will make us stronger. When we do find a love that's right, we'll cherish that love 100%. Some girls give up. They settle for less. Some girls stop believing. It's easy to do that, but we can't let go. We just can't.
"60% of married men cheat on their wives," I told Jenny.
"I'm not surprised," she shook her head.
"But there's that 40% who's good. And 40% isn't such a bad number."
Sometimes I'm afraid. I'm so afraid. I feel fragile and vulnerable and weak. Sometimes I hear these sad stories about could-be loves and I get so disappointed. We're not reaching our full potential, I think. It's such a shame. We're so much better than this. I get angry at celebrities and corrupt politicians for being bad role models. Men with status...it's so easy for them to veer off the right path. It makes me think of social scientist Greene and how given the right conditions any good apple can turn rotten.
And that's a bit too deterministic for me. I can't settle for something like that, even if it is scientifically proven with cold hard facts and foolproof studies.
So I'm choosing to side with the moral philosophers: what ought to be is the same as what can be.
Given the right conditions any good apple can turn rotten...but not every good apple will.
I keep looking for things to believe in. Hope. Faith. They equal happiness.
Silly girl. Struggling with such heavy thoughts when she should be studying for finals.
- Mood:
working
Me: "..."
Him: "I guess that's all I do too."
Me: "Go to class, eat, do work, hang out with friends...what else is there to do?"
Him: "What's the meaning of life?"
Me: "If you have to ask yourself that then you need to make some changes."
I retold this event to Kevin in one of the UL study rooms, and he told me about a play he read for AP Lit. The play was about nothing.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
He said the essay prompt was: based on this play, is there any meaning in life?
He wrote no. He believes yes.
"Airicks is right," I said. "When did things become so redundant? We need more spontaneity, more excitement."
So Kevin and I talked about the structure of society for a while, and how there was no escaping it.
"Let's do something different! Right now!" I said, packing my stuff up.
"Okay!"
We looked at each other for a few seconds. It was eleven o' clock. That's the time we usually ate.
"...What should we do?"
"Let's go to Wilson Library. I haven't been there yet."
"Alright!"
"...Are you sure you don't want to eat?" I asked.
"Nope."
"But you haven't eaten anything all day!" Neither had I.
"That's okay. I'll eat later."
The inside of the library was beautiful, like a palace. I think I got the shivers. The stone tiles, regal chandeliers, and high ceilings...everywhere I stepped I had to step with respect and caution. We took a glimpse of the reading rooms, went upstairs to browse through the historical archives, looked through the rare book collection, and lastly, explored the music library. We checked out a book of Beethoven duets for the piano that we plan on playing together. Then we left, because we had class at 12.
Both of us were really hungry, but glad we had done something other than go to lunch. Even if it was just exploring a library, it was still something different. The little breaks in life that disturb the normal flow of events are more important than we think. Next time I'll be more daring.
Luckily there was a guy handing out free Jimmy John's so Kevin and I didn't have to go to class on totally empty stomachs.
Yay!
- Mood: happy
My mom made a turkey on Wednesday. For the stuffing she used sticky rice, which she mixed with chopped vegetables. The stuffing was my favorite part! We rolled the turkey up in her freshly-made wraps and ate them with hoisin sauce and green onion.
For Thanksgiving my parents and I went to the Biltmore House. The food was so delicious! I had turkey, roast beef, cranberries, stuffing, mashed potatoes, salmon, pork loin smothered in raspberry sauce, a biscuit, a roll with blackberry jam, marshmallow salad (it was actually really good!), sweet potatoes, chocolate peanut butter pie, pumpkin mousse pie, a slice of ginger tart, an ice cream sundae, and cheesecake.
They also had these huge sugar cookies on sticks (like lollipops, hehe), and we kept some to give to Yiran. I wish she could've come with us, but her dad wouldn't let her.
We took a tour of the house after we ate. Almost every room had a Christmas tree set up. In the basement there was a gingerbread house in the shape of the Biltmore estate. The panel to the right of it explained that it took 150 hours to complete!
All that aside, I'm really worried about my mom. She hasn't been feeling so well lately. She keeps suffering from these horrible migraines that won't go away. We've been trying to schedule an appointment with a neurologist but there are never any available time slots. This country seriously needs health care reform.
I remember several years ago, maybe freshman or sophomore year of high school, or maybe it wasn't that long ago...my mom had approached me with the saddest look in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Bao Bao," she said. "I'm sorry I haven't been a very good mother to you."
"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled. "You are a good mother."
But she didn't offer to explain. She just kept apologizing, moving around the kitchen, gathering ingredients for dinner. I watched her chop the vegetables, waiting for her to say something else. But she never did.
I wonder which part of the past she regrets?
In any case, my parents have changed a lot. It feels like we are more of a family now. My mom says she has a surprise for me this Christmas. I don't know if she's exaggerating, but she made it sound like it was going to be the greatest present in the world. My parents have never surprised me for Christmas before.
Hm, what could it be?
In any case, my parents have changed a lot. It feels like we are more of a family now. My mom says she has a surprise for me this Christmas. I don't know if she's exaggerating, but she made it sound like it was going to be the greatest present in the world. My parents have never surprised me for Christmas before.
Hm, what could it be?
So yesterday in Philosophy class my professor called me "the embodiment of Christian ideals."
Woah. Woah, woah, woah!
The comment had taken me completely by surprise.
I was telling him I did Lent last year even though I wasn't Christian just to prove something to myself (forget why I was announcing this), and that's what he said!
"It's funny that you're not Christian," he laughed, "because you're the exact embodiment of Christian ideals."
At times like those I feel split. I represent something larger than myself to people who know me on an impersonal level. On the inside I'm just another "product of ressentiment" - as Nietzsche would probably say - stumbling along, making the same mistakes as everyone else, and feeling inadequate to her superior, exterior self.
- Mood:
confused
Afterwards we went to B-Ski's, a wrap place I've been dying to try. I had the Aloha-ski, which had pineapple, ham, and fried chicken in it. Yum! Su Ha let me have a bunch of her fries, which were really delicious. The food at the dining hall had also been especially good that day, probably since it was game day. I love the school's breakfast. It totally beats lunch and dinner.
On Sunday I had breakfast food again. I ate what I thought was supposedly the best pancake in the world, but according to everyone else it was just a regular pancake. I bet they all thought I was crazy for exclaiming, "Oh my God! You have to try this! This is the BEST pancake you will ever eat!" and staring them down as they took their first bites. Sigh. I blame my failure to distinguish a regular pancake from an amazing pancake on not having sampled enough pancakes in my lifetime.
Anyhow, I went to my first basketball game today! Kathryn had an extra ticket and invited me to go. First football, now basketball! So much sports all at once, haha, at least for someone like me, who's never involved with sports...or any physical activity for that matter.
I love watching basketball! In my opinion it's way more exciting and hype than football. Maybe it's because it's Carolina basketball? I met Penelope and John, though it turns out I've already met Penelope. She had been at Amy's birthday party in the ninth grade. Such a small world.
I felt so grateful for being able to go to the basketball game. I love experiencing new things! They keep life fresh.
- Mood: satisfied
We had to answer trivia questions. For each correct answer we would receive a dollar. Incorrect answers yielded zero profit. The answers were located at the bottom of each page, so basically you could cheat and exploit the total amount of money you could get and no one would know. Well, they might have suspicious but there wouldn't be any proof.
The questions were pretty difficult. I realized I only knew the answer to one of them. So I turned in my papers to the researcher, only scoring one dollar.
Then we had to complete a computer simulation task. We got ten dollars for completing that, plus two for showing up, and a dollar for each answer we had answered correctly. So I got a total of thirteen dollars.
Afterwards Joanna admitted she had peeked at the answers and written them down. That meant she got way more money than me - nineteen to be exact.
Hmm, that would have been the smart thing to do, wouldn't it? I bet if I were to tell this story to my mom she would yell at me for being stupid. But the thing is - I hadn't even been tempted to cheat. I wonder why?
I'm not saying my morals are great though. After all, I did snag one of the many royal blue felt-point pens that were being used in the study because I thought the ink flowed quite nicely...
Hehe.
- Mood: amused
"Oh! Sorry!" She shot up, awake. "I set my alarm for the meteor showers. They're supposed to peak at this time."
I gasped. "I read about that! Let's go!" I scrambled out of bed. "Wait for me! I want to see!" I tripped over some stuff but managed to find my shoes. "Come on! Come on!" I slurred, still half-asleep. Shrugging into my jacket, I bolted for the door. "Come on! Let's go make wishes! Come on!"
We stood outside on the balcony for some time looking up at the sky. There were a couple of stars out.
"I see one!" I cried.
"Sophia...that's a plane."
"Oh. I think you're right."
It was super cold and we were both incredibly sleepy.
"I'm going to wait one more minute and then head back inside," said Kelsey.
"Me too."
Then I saw it!
A streak of light flashing across the sky.
"WOW!" I shouted.
"Shut up! Shut up!" Kelsey admonished, afraid that I would wake up our hall.
"WAAAAH!"
"Sorry! Sorry!"
She had happened to glance down for two seconds - during that time the meteor had flashed by, so she never got to see it. Haha. But she said she had seem some earlier around 1 AM. So we returned inside and went back to sleep.
I had made a wish on my meteor. But I'm not telling what it is!
Yay! I'm so happy I got to see one!
- Mood:
giddy
I did not feel like studying for my politics exam at all. It was my first time in the computer lab, and I had told myself I wasn't going to stop reviewing until the place closed at 12. But I was so sleepy, and the politics material was sooo boring.
As a brief intermission, Kevin pulled up the Tong Hua video, the one he had been meaning to show me for a while now.
What is it with fairytales and happy endings that gets to me?
"Can such a thing exist?" The girl in the music video had sobbed to her male friend.
I was nearly sobbing myself. Tears came pouring out of my eyes. The lyrics stirred such strong feelings of longing in me. Since I was a little girl I've been a hopeless romantic. I had always believed in fairytale endings, but this past year has caused me to become the slightest bit cynical about love. The song made me want to believe so badly that they exist though.
I continued sniffling softly after the music video ended. Kevin hugged me. "It's okay. I cried the first time too!"
Like always, his good nature cheered me up.
Kevin took my computer and typed the following heading on my exam study guide:
YAY!!!!!! You will ace this test!!!! Don’t worry you will live the fairy tale you always wanted :D :D
I certainly hope so. That would be...I can't even find a wonderful enough adjective to describe how nice that would be.
- Mood: hopeful
It was good seeing Mrs. T again. I talked to a few of the girls prepping in the band room. They were all really nervous and excited. It made me feel sort of nostalgic. Part of me wanted to enter another pageant just for kicks, but that probably won't happen. As I was passing by the bathroom, I heard one of the girls in there say to her competitor friend, "Oh my gosh, look! There's Sophia! She's so pretty! Why is she so pretty?"
That made me feel happy inside! And everyone kept saying I looked beautiful. And this one blonde girl who sang Italian opera for her talent (it was so good it gave me chills) called me gorgeous. It's been a while since I've dressed up so I really did feel beautiful. And everyone's compliments caused me to glow. Yay!
Oh, and I saw Josie's little sister there! She was helping out again. I remember she had been super supportive when I was lamenting over my talent mess-up last year (the ribbon had gotten caught in my hair). She's so nice, just like Josie!
Here's a picture of me giving my speech:
I talked about the importance of loving yourself. Aftewards everyone cheered. It was all going well until I felt the curtain hit me and knock me back. One minute I saw the audience, next minute I was backstage with nothing but blue curtain facing me. I could hear howls of laughter coming from the audience. I started giggling too. Ah, how embarrassing! Airicks said he caught it on film! I can't wait to see that bit.
Later, the MCEEs ran out of things to say because the judges were still tallying up the scores so they pushed me in front of the mic. "Just start talking," they said.
"Uh," of course I was a little startled and very unprepared. "The judges are still deliberating, so I will tell you guys about my adventures at college!" I just started rambling on and on. I warned the seniors against taking early AM classes, encouraged them to apply to UNC to save their parents money, yadda yadda. I made everyone laugh, which was nice. Hm, I guess I'm better at improv than I thought I was!
Shezeen ended up winning! Yes! Out of all the girls, I knew her best and secretly wanted her to win. She was in my Environmental class last year and was always so nice. It was fun handing out roses to the runner-ups and crowning Shezeen. I gave her a big hug and congratulated her. You should have seen how happy she was!
Later, as I was leaving, I heard a booming voice go, "Sophia!" I turned around to see Mr. Burch marching up to me. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Don't you dare leave without saying goodbye to me!" I walked over and hugged my old principal, and we talked about Carolina for a little while. He said it was one of his favorite places on Earth.
Instead of making me go home, my parents let Airicks take me to the Melting Pot for chocolate fondue. Yum! We got the s'mores kind. I bet my parents suspect something's going on between us. Hm...when should I tell them? It's a good thing they don't know I have a Livejournal so they won't see this entry! Haha.
I love my boyfriend!
- Mood:
jubilant
On Thursday I went to a beach-themed party at one of the frats. The entire basement was covered in sand, which was pretty cool. One of the guys, who I later found out is in two of my classes, walked me back to E-haus. He was really messed up. I had to wait three minutes with my back turned while he peed on a fence. After he escorted me to my room, he went off to go snort some pills. I don't see how that would be fun. It sounds sort of painful.
I went home with Kevin this weekend. I was so excited! My mom cooked fresh trout, oats seasoned with laurel blossom preserves, and spaghetti smothered in thick mushroom/pork broth. I had missed homecooking so much! My dad had changed the entire layout of his office. My room also looked different. Yiran's stuff was strewn all over the place since she's inhabiting my room now. It made me think of how subtle changes can seem so prominent when you're away for a while. After dinner my mom distributed Almond Roca candies to each of us. Apparently she bought a huge tin of it at Costco and has been hoarding it in her room because she likes the stuff so much and only shares on special occasion. My dad called Yvonne's mom asking if she had time to cut my hair but when she picked up, he called her by the wrong name (he had said, "Wa" instead of "Chau" - what on Earth?). My mom started laughing, which caused my dad to start laughing, and he couldn't stop, so he had to hang up. Then he started rolling around the carpet cursing and laughing. And everyone was laughing so hard I could see the tears forming in their eyes. I did end up getting my haircut though, which was good.
Saturday was the Mid-Autumn festival. We had mooncake as per tradition. I had spent the day shopping for groceries/essentials, and I bought a pretty pink dress on sale at the mall. For breakfast my mom made this type of fried dough with peanut butter/brown sugar filling. It's one of my favorite dishes by her!
This morning we had dumplings, boiled eggplant, more oats, bok choy, and this sticky cake thing. I've had so much food this weekend. Blargh.
At one my dad dropped me off at Kevin's place. I fell asleep during the car ride (just like the first time) and later Kevin told me while I had been sleeping my purse had fell on the ground and he tried placing it back on my lap but I had smacked his hand away and knocked my purse back on the ground. So he had picked it up and put it on the seat next to me. Haha. Really? We were sharing headphones because he wanted me to listen to his favorite Chinese song. He said the music video had made him cry. While we were listening to the song, I was translating the lyrics to him, and for some reason I began to tear up. Ah...why are the two of us so emotional?
Now that I'm back, I must finish my huge pile of reading assignments. Nooo! I want to go hooome!
- Mood: chipper
Ballroom dancing was a lot of fun! Jimmy and I were originally going to go to Franklin but then I remembered there was ballroom dancing happening in the Union so I dragged him there instead. When we were doing the Victorian square dance, he said I looked really cute each time I spun around, because my skirt would twirl! Yay! His comment made me happy! I was wearing my orange speckled skirt, which is really flouncy. Hehe.
So yesterday after dinner, Kelsey made me go to the library with her even though I didn't have much to work on. As we were meandering through the bookshelves I exchanged glances with a girl wearing a white long-sleeve shirt sitting alone, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She gave me a weak smile, which I returned.
I asked Kelsey as we put our stuff down if she thought I should go over and ask the girl if she's okay. I really wanted to, but I was a little hesitant. I didn't want to seem like I was prying.
"If I were crying and a stranger came up to me, I would like that. It shows that someone cares."
That made up my mind! Kelsey and I both agreed I shouldn't give the girl my half-eaten brownie though (I guess that would be kind of strange)...so pushing my brownie off to the side, I got up and walked past the rows of bookshelves until I spotted the girl. I tapped her on the shoulder and sat down next to her. She looked mildly surprised when I asked her if she was okay. I think I rambled on for a bit about how I hated seeing others sad, and that she seemed pretty sad, so I had felt the need to see how she was doing...
"I'm fine, thank you." She smiled.
She told me her mom was sick and that she was worried about her. Then she told me she really appreciated my concern. After another minute or so, I told her I would let her get back to studying and that I hope she feels better soon.
I think if I were sad, I would want someone to come up to me too. I think all of us do, at least maybe a little.
Kelsey and I started talking about high school. Wow. High school. To be honest, I haven't thought much about high school since I came to Chapel Hill. Our talk made me kind of sad, and I began to realize I missed some of my fellow 09 peers. I wondered how they are all doing. Nick, the Chinese boy who pushed people away and spewed hateful comments, had deleted every single North Meck person from his Facebook friends list.
Kelsey and I both asked: "Were we really so horrible?"
Was high school that painful for him? And if it was, we feel bad for being a part of it. I remember he was particularly mean to me during senior year. Maybe a part of him felt like it wasn't fair that everyone was always so nice to me. Strange. He didn't used to scowl at me.
Then Kelsey told me some things that made me realize a lot of sad events went by me, unnoticed, in high school.
----------------------------------------
This morning my Indian suitemate Swatti knocked on my door at 7 something, so we could walk to class together. As we were descending the stairs to Ehringhaus, she put a Cocoa puffs cereal bar in my hand.
"Oh, thanks!" I smiled, genuinely surprised and happy.
Maybe word got around to her that I enjoy receiving free food? Or maybe she felt sorry for me when I devoured that half of the Cheerios cereal bar she didn't want last week, obviously hungry. In any case, that was very nice of her.
So just a couple of minutes ago as I was on Facebook (which I go on sparingly), a chat window popped up from Paetyn:
i saw this girl that was your twin the other day. it made me sad because i miss seeing you everyday.
Really? I was just thinking of IB yesterday! Her words were...surprising. All these small surprises.
I never really got to know Paetyn. She was in my Theory of Knowledge class, and English. Sometimes she would tear off a piece of her donut to give to me when she caught me staring at it. And once in English when we were analyzing a Sylvia Plath poem, she asked me to be her partner. She was the girl who drank excessive amounts of coffee, read tons of books, and needed her space. I always liked Paetyn. She was real.
I typed back:
she looked like me!?
Her:
yes, spitting image..
i did a double take and everything.
i was like... that girl looks exactly like sophia!
then i missed you.
it was very instantaneous.
Me:
you know, it wasn't until yesterday that i finally started thinking about high school
again
and i realized i do kind of miss everyone in IB
Her:
haha..i think about it most days.
i do too!
i never thought i'd say that either.
It's funny. Last night as I was thinking about the various faces of IB, I had wondered if any of them might also think of me every now and then. And if so, what do they think of? What fleeting memories of Sophia have they retained in their heads?
I can honestly never know the answer to that question but I imagine it would be something like:
Sophia...oh right! That girl who would squeal each time someone poked her in the sides...she had a lot of clothes. She was a good writer - didn't she say she was writing a book? And she always asked people for food. God, she ate a lot...hmm, how's she doing? Why was she so happy all the time?
- Mood:
nostalgic
Two weeks ago I volunteered at the Million Meals event. Although I went grudingly, within half an hour of being there I found myself feeling increasingly grateful Shaina and Kevin had convinced me to go. The upbeat music being blasted from the speakers really caused my spirits to soar. Every time we reached 10,000 meals someone would sound the gong and the whole room would cheer. The hours passed by fairly quickly. I felt as if I could have poured soy forever.
----------------------------------------
I'm still trying to figure out why I almost cried at the Christian Fellowship sermon. The songs weren't that amazing, I don't even follow the faith, and it's not like anyone else was crying - yet when the dozens of voices intertwined with the guitar strums and piano, I had to literally bite down on my tongue to keep the tears from breaking loose. During the open prayer I really wanted to say some things, but in the end I couldn't bring myself to.
----------------------------------------
I ate most of the Reese's pieces at the pancake social. While I was waiting in line I got bored so I just popped handful after handful into my mouth. Today as I was walking back from Stats, one of the Ehringhaus girls was talking about how everyone had been complaining that they had really wanted Reese's pieces with their pancakes but there had been none left. Oops...
----------------------------------------
Turns out the Arboretum is right behind the building where my Philosophy class is. I had some time to kill so I decided to take a short walk. I observed the small black signs with each plant or tree's name printed across the top: different types of magnolia, azalea, sweetbox, and others - I wish I could remember. I tried finding the Umbrella Tree but ran out of time and had to head to class. It's weird; while I was walking through the Arboretum I kept getting the feeling that I was searching for something (other than the Umbrella Tree). But I wasn't sure what I was looking for.
- Mood: confused
These past few days have been fun. I don't mind the walking as much as I did at first. Maybe that means my legs have gotten stronger! Yesterday there was a social in front of my dorm, where everyone roasted marshmallows over a fire and made s'mores. I think roasting marshmallows may very well be one of my favorite things to do! Mm they're so delicious, I want a s'more right noooow. I remember when I was little I used to take a lighter and use that to roast marshmallows, and instead of using skewers I used chopsticks.
At the social this guy was handing out glow sticks. I kept twisting mine out of habit until I accidentally made it explode. The gooey stuff got all over my hands, and my hands started glowing, so I took my water and tried to wash out the chemicals. Then this guy introduced himself and tried to shake my hand, but I wouldn't take his hand because mine was still gross from the glow stick stuff, and it was a very awkward introduction. Even so, as I was leaving, he still insisted on shaking my hand. Well, I did warn him.
I like my new Stats class because there are several people enrolled in it that live in my dorm. Maybe we'll form a study group! The days are beginning to blur already since so much has been going on. I'm not sure what to write anymore because it's hard filtering through the details and picking the most interesting or important ones.
Two things that have stood out to me in between the free food and socials, however, are these:
1) Kelsey showed me where the Arboretum is, and it's so beautiful. The pathways are lined with different flowers and trees. I saw this lone couple sitting on a field, and they looked so content it warmed my heart. As we were walking I saw an odd-looking tree whose branches arched out and spilled over like a willow's. But it was much bigger than a willow. There was an open space that I could fit into, so I did, and found myself inside the tree, with its deep red-purple leaves all around me. The tree reminded me of an umbrella, the way it blocked out the rest of the world. So from now on I'm going to call it the Umbrella Tree! Maybe I'll go back one of these days.
2) In Environmental Science, I picked a seat in the middle of the classroom. When I looked at the blackboard there was a message written in big chalk letters that said: Kryssie, I want to make you happy. For some reason I thought that was so sweet. I wonder who Kryssie is, the individual who wrote that message, and their story. Whoever they are, whatever it is, I hope they both make each other very happy!
- Mood:
curious
I'm still getting used to things. By the time classes start I'll be totally adjusted (hopefully). I can tell it's going to be a busy semester! The email my ECON professor sent was a bit intimidating. Waaahhh okay no slacking off! I have my work study meeting/journalism meeting on Mon back to back. So much to do...
Okay! I will go explore campus now and find my classes! Then pay another visit to the student store and get that Clicker my ECON prof has made mandatory for his class.
- Mood: calm
So she remembered my birthday!
"Sophia, I really really appreciate your kindness...You've been a great cousin y'know that?"
Yiran is the only family I have in America that is of my generation. I shall try my best to be a good role model for her. If you think about it, there might come a point when all we'll have is each other.
I hope she never loses her sentimental edge.
- Mood: surprised
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