It's Official!

NBD or anything but I've found where I'm going to college! Yep, that's right, I'm officially Bama bound! I always knew that the University of Alabama was my dream school, but this weekend's visit to Tuscaloosa really sealed the deal. 

Now, this wasn't my first visit to T-town but it was the first time I got to spend any significant time there and, as an admitted student already, I stepped foot on the campus and knew I had found my future home. 

My mom and I took a fantastic tour that started in the admissions welcome center in Bryant-Denny Stadium and learned our way around the campus quickly in the two days we were there. I even got to visit a great friend of mine, Royar, formerly the Young Southern Prep, and chat with her about our high school and sorority recruitment! (note to self, invest in a pair of chacos and learn to rock the oversized t-shrit within the next 9 months.)

Tuscaloosa is a great town and we ate at some fantastic restaurants based on some spot-on recommendations from friends and followers. I had a second birthday dinner at DePalma's Italian Cafe (out-of-this-world delicious, let me tell you!) and ate some barbecue ribs that just about changed my life at Dreamland, a favorite spot of Bear Bryant! Clearly in Alabama the freshman 15 is real and can be gained in about two days if you're motivated.

Thinking about leaving my school behind is painful, but with a place like this waiting for me I really have nothing to be afraid of... but I'm not quite ready to give up all of my orange and blue just yet.

Roll Tide!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Now y'all know how much I love birthdays, but it's not so much the superficial reasons as the idea of growth and becoming better. I strongly believe that things get better with age and I can't help but look back at how far I've come and how much stronger I've become over the last 12 months. So I present to you, 17 things I learned in my 17th year:

1. look to the future but live in the now
2. Stress will happen, but you have to learn how to work through it
3. You don't need a boy to validate you.
4. Go to the gym, it's a great way to let off steam and tone your body in the process. It's a win/win!
5. Friendships form in unexpected places
6. How I Met your Mother was right, nothing good happens after 2 am, just go to sleep.
7. Never make decisions when you're angry because odds are you're going to regret them.
8. No matter how alone you feel, you always have people supporting you.
9. some friendships change and it sucks but it's just a part of life and we have to move on from it.
10. Your mental health comes before anything else.
11. treat yo' self!
12. aint nobody got time for unhealthy relationships. If you're in one, get out of it. I promise you will only be better for it.
13. Adventure is waiting for those who have the courage to seek it.
14. Be proud of yourself and your accomplishments, they're visible representations of your hard work!
15. There is absolutely nothing wrong with staying home on saturday nights. You'll have your chance to go out in college, but your nights to lay in bed with your dog eating popcorn and watching football won't last forever.
16. Take risks. There is nothing 
17. You don't have to like everyone you've ever met but you do have to be nice to them until they give you a reason not to be. There's nothing people hate more than a mean person. (I learned that one the hard way)

A lot of these lessons have come from mistakes but I've come to the realization that my mistakes have only helped me grow. I am the person I've become because of my past and I am not ashamed of anything. So here's to the past, the present, and the future, and the mistakes we make and won't make again. Happy birthday to me!

xx

A Difficulty Worthy of You

My english teacher of two years shared this commencement address by Dr. Robert Pinsky, poet laureate in 1994, at a Concord Academy graduation ceremony with my class last fall and it's something that has stuck with me since then. Really there is nothing like watching the speech yourself (find it here!), but he urges the graduates to seek a difficulty that is worthy of them, something that pushes them to their limits but ultimately makes them better. Even Michelangelo while painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel lamented, "I am not a painter!" in a poem that he wrote. I cannot believe something more ardently than I believe that and hope that we all can find that in our lives. Really the difficulties I have faced in my life have been superficial ones of pleasing teachers or college admissions officers and hope that in my future I can be faced with that type of worthy difficulty that he talks about. I hope you all have that kind of experience in your lives at some point. I love you all and hope you can find a difficulty in your life that is worthy of you.

xx

What's Going Down at Bama?

Late Sunday night the Tutwiler girls dorm went on lockdown at the University of Alabama because of rumors of armed gunmen on campus. The UA police responded quickly to the scene and and searched and cleared the building of any threat. There was however, an unacceptable response from the administration at UA, which was doing nothing. The school's policy is to alert students, faculty, and parents only if there is a threat, so the student body was left to spiral into mass hysteria on multiple different forms of social media. If anyone saw the UA Yik Yak feed last night or early this morning they would see paranoid students afraid to go outside, complaints about administration, and even the occasional darkly comedic yak about how they would feel safer if the squirrels from the quad were in charge. 

There were reports of a direct, anonymous threat to Greeks on a youtube video, which police are still investigating and have stated that they will be working with the FBI to find and neutralize the threat. The UA police responded quickly and efficiently, but the lack of response and notification of the student body by the administration is alarming. This all comes days after a building at the University of Georgia was evacuated for similar threats on social media. For anyone on or around the UA campus, please report any suspicious activity to the UAPD (205-348-5454). 

Stay safe everyone. Roll tide.

Rose, Bud, Thorn

Rose

The Crimson Tide won last night! After a very questionable start they did their thing against the Gators in a record setting game and I loved watching every minute of it!

Bud

I leave on thursday morning for Tuscaloosa and cannot wait to step foot on the most beautiful college campus in america again!

Thorn

I've been plagued with a sore throat since friday morning and am doing everything in my power and more, including possibly overmedicating, to beat it by thursday! I blame you, people who came to school sick last week!

xx and RTR!

Dreaming of a Dorm Room

With the Bama acceptance under my belt I can start to focus on some of the more fun things for next year, like sorority recruitment and a dorm room! I've been absolutely obsessed with dorm rooms since like literally the tenth grade and I cannot wait to get to decorate one myself! Here are just a few of my faves, as seen on my pinterest dorm board!

I love getting the chance to decorate and have been fighting off the urge to redecorate my room for the last six months or so because I knew that college was right around the corner! I'm so looking forward to finding a roommate and putting together our own little heaven somewhere in the chaos of Tutwiler Hall!

Any tips for putting together a dorm room?

xx

TFTW

Some Friday Night Lights love to think about this week!

xx

Rose, Bud, Thorn

Rose

If you didnt see my earlier post (find it here), I GOT INTO BAMA!! Seriously theres nothing that happened this week that could top that, except for maybe celebrating my brother's 26th birthday last night. I'm currently planning a trip down to Tuscaloosa in the next couple weeks to hopefully make my final decision about college. 

Bud

I'm so looking forward to my 18th birthday in two weeks, although it looks like I'll be spending that day in Tuscaloosa. I'm one of those people who LOVES birthdays and thinks that they're the best days of the entire year, and you better bet that I'll be celebrating all week.

Thorn

All of the rumors about senior year being fun and a giant party are completely false, at least at my school. There is so much work I have to do on a daily basis and this fall is probably the busiest I've ever been. I love being a senior, though, and am so glad that I've been able to help out some of the younger girls who are just learning the ropes of the upper school. 

Hope y'all had a lovely week! RTR!

xx

On High School

High school is one of the most important times in your life, and I would argue that you learn more about yourself and what you want in life in those four years than in your next four at college. My high school experience has been an amazing, hectic, stressful one but I wouldn't trade a day of it for anything. I found this list on tumblr of 25 things I wish I realized while I was still in high school and they really are so important that I felt I just needed to share.

That zit on your cheek literally does not matter Skipping class one time will not ruin your entire life The boy you’re trying so hard to impress will mean nothing to you in a year Bring coffee to school and ignore people who make fun of it Bring a snack, too. Don’t care if people hear you eating in class. Being popular isn’t and will never be something that seriously defines who you are Appreciate your teachers Doing/not doing drugs doesn’t make you cooler than anyone else. Neither does drinking Talk to the kid sitting alone; even though it may not change your life it could drastically change theirs Participate in school events Wear sweatpants everyday Or wear a dress everyday Wear whatever makes you comfortable Nobody will laugh at you if you sit alone at your lunch table for five minutes Utilize the library Don’t wait 20 minutes to text someone back just to seem cool Tell your friends how much you love them Cherish your free textbooks… seriously Help confused freshmen, be nice to them. Remember how much you would have appreciated it a couple years ago Compliment the other girls in the bathroom That fight you had with your mom really isn’t that big of a deal It’s okay to cry Don’t let your desire for a romantic relationship stop you from forming platonic relationships Remember that life does go on Be thankful for the days you have, because they'll be gone before you know it! xx

Fall Appreciation Post

It's mid september, football is in full swing, and my birthday is right around the corner! Know what that means?! I't's finally fall!! Here's some orange and pumpkin-y goodness for your enjoyment!

Happy fall, y'all!

xx

Roll Tide!

I honestly don't really know what to say, I'm a bit speechless. I've been stopping at my mailbox as I've pulled into my driveway every day for the last two weeks in hopes of finding that one thick envelope from the University of Alabama. Well on today of all days it happened to be pouring down rain so I didn't stop to check the mail and my dad came in two hours later with not one but two small envelopes with the crimson Bama logo on them. The first was what I swore to be a rejection because it felt like one single piece of paper, but was actually an acceptance letter! That's right ladies and gents, I'm officially 2/2!

Now Alabama has been the school I've always dreamed of ever since I can remember, but the cost was just not something I could ask my dad to pay, knowing that he would have done it and sacrificed his own needs to make me happy, but here's where that second letter comes in. I opened letter number two, which was addressed from the office of the president, which was letting me know that they had awarded me the UA Scholar scholarship for academic excellence, which pays for 2/3 of my out of state tuition annually. Did I say I was a bit speechless earlier? Make that completely and utterly floored. The school I've always dreamed of is giving me a scholarship that I didn't even know I was eligible for to make my tuition less than the cost of a year at my high school! 

The choice between Ole Miss and Alabama is an extremely difficult one, and I am going to have to do a lot of talking with my family and my college counselor to ultimately make up my mind, but I am just so fortunate to be in a position that thousands of students would kill to be in. I'll leave you with this. Roll Tide. 

xx

Back To School

Now that I'm going into my third week of senior year, I've finally figured out my schedule and how I'm going to organize basically my life for the next nine months. Of course my Lilly planner is on the very top of my list. This year I opted for the Jumbo Tusk in Sun planner and a white vinyl monogram decal from etsy!

For my backpack this year I'm using the same North Face borealis backpack in black that I bought half way through my junior year, but had my seamstress monogram it in a circle monogram.

(I particularly love using the back laptop section for easy access to my planner!)

And finally for the most important part, my organization for my classes. I prefer to have a separate binder for each class with 5-tab dividers in each binder. Since middle school I've been in the habit of picking a single color for every binder, usually pink, and coordinating a matching cover sheet. This year's color scheme was red and blue as a nod to my future school! (Hotty toddy!)

I just love the red and turquoise color combination along with the white! (btw, the font is called Abraham Lincoln from dafonts.com) It's a cheery combo that can last through every season. Because every binder looks virtually the same from the outside, I handwrite labels on white paper for the spine that differentiate each subject when you can't see the cover and also give it a bit of a personal touch! 

I just love the way it all turned out this year! What are y'alls back to school necessities?

Rose, Bud, Thorn

Rose

I had the proofs of my senior pictures returned to me this week! I can't wait to show y'all which one I chose! Also, Ole Miss AND my high school won our football games on saturday!

Bud

COLD WEATHER!! I love the summer but now that I'm back in school I'm so ready for sweatshirts and long pants because, let's face it, some days I'm just too lazy to get all dressed up.

Thorn

My family went through some rough stuff this weekend that I won't worry y'all with but god bless my therapist. (Honestly in our world I'm surprised more people don't have a therapist because we're all pretty messed up when you think about it)

Hope y'all had a lovely week!

xx

Fins Up

The Rebs did it again, another big win for the second week in a row! This time against Vanderbilt, the first conference game of the season and the only SEC matchup of the weekend. 

Not that I'm not proud of coach Freeze and our boys but I would have loved to see them shut out Vandy completely, but the 41-3 ass-whooping they unleashed on the 'dors tonight was sure fun to watch.

Catch the game highlights video here! 

Hotty toddy!