Rose, Bud, Thorn

Rose

I had a pretty successful first marking period, and came out with a 95 in french! (WHAT?!?!) My other grades need a little bit of work, but I think I can make it to midterms without fully losing focus. Also, the Crimson Tide beat the Vols last night and LSU upset Ole Miss! Nights like that remind me why I love the SEC and why I love college football.

Bud

I'm looking forward to my first group meeting for Italy at lunch tomorrow and finding out more about just how much time we'll be spending in each city and what we'll be doing from day to day! We also have a guest lecturer coming to talk to my school tomorrow, someone who specializes in Indian art (I'm assuming she's an art historian) and she's also making a special visit to my art history class!

Thorn

Friday night I cheered my last game ever at Commodore Barron Field, and we have our last game of the season on friday. This was the first real "senior moment" I've had and it is harder to accept than I thought. 

xx

Seniorness

This past week has been filled with some pretty big milestones for me, and to say I'm conflicted on how to feel about it would be an understatement. Our first quarter of the year is done, I gave my senior speech, and cheered my last game at norfolk academy, all in a period of 5 days. The emotions are almost unbearable. 

My speech was surprisingly a blast to give, despite the fact that I made eye contact with my ex in the front row. I felt confident in what I wrote and feel like I spoke clearly and well, without feeling like I was attacking anyone. I had a surprise visit that day by my grandmother and her sister to watch my speech, which was a little nerve wracking but my speech advisor told me that there is no one who supports you more than a grandparent, which is definitely true. My brother also made a rare appearance on our campus that morning!

Two days later was our senior day for cheerleading. Our underclassmen made us the Fanta Girls because we're their "FANTAstic seniors!" (SO CUTE) Really there is a fourth senior but she's been sick for the past few days so unfortunately wasn't there to join us.

Cheering our last home game was a surreal experience for me, and I can't believe that I only have one game left wearing my orange and blue uniform. I've been a cheerleader at my school for five amazing years, and am definitely having a hard time accepting the fact that it's almost over.

There may or may not have been tears shed as I left the field...

xx and #seniorness

Ciao, bella!

"You may have the universe if I may have Italy" -Guiseppe Verdi

Last night at almost midnight I received some amazing news! I'M GOING TO ITALY!

Let me just let that sink in for a minute...

The land of pasta, pizza, and handsome men will be my home for two weeks in the spring! I've been selected to study art and art restoration in Florence, Venice, and Rome for two weeks in March with 11 of my classmates and two of the coolest teachers at my school. 

I'm so beyond excited right now, and the group I get to travel with is full of some of my best friends and people that I can't wait to get to know further. We'll be staying in rooms in convents right in the historic parts of the cities and getting some up close and personal looks at art restoration, glass blowing, as well as the works of some of the renaissance master all over the country. 

Oh, and let's not forget the gelato...

xx

The Myth of the "Other Half"

Love is something that is so rare to find that when we do, we cling to it like a life raft. I was lucky enough to find love early in life and can honestly say that I hope I never find that same type of love again. I know, I know, that sounds really weird to say, but let me explain.

That relationship lasted for almost two years, and it was a deep, passionate, all encompassing love. Doesn't sound too bad? wrong. Loving someone with every ounce of your being, thinking of them first thing in the morning and last thing at night, is simply unhealthy. That isn't to say people shouldn't love wholeheartedly, but there is a certain point where you lose yourself in a relationship and can't function without the other person. To put it simply, human beings were not meant to live like that. 

My ex was a great love, a once in a lifetime romance that I don't regret, but it is a love that I don't want to find again. I don't need to find my "other half" because that implies that we aren't whole on our own. I want a love that makes me feel whole, that makes me the best version of me, not a clingy, needy emotional one, with someone whom I can be away from and not feel empty inside.

Heartbreak changes people, and I know I am stronger for getting out of a bad relationship, no matter how painful it was. I will always cherish my first love and all of the things it taught me for the rest of my life, but I pray I don't find that kind of love again. People have told me that I loved my ex more than anyone, and that's probably true because I relied on him for my happiness. I hope that we both never love someone that much again, but instead find the happier, more whole kind of love that we are both meant to have.

xx

Roll Tide Roll

Wake up, it's gameday! 

#7 Alabama takes on #21 Texas A&M today in Bryant Denny and I could not be happier. After a narrow win over Arkansas, the Crimson Tide nation is ready for a big home victory like this season's earlier win over Florida. 

This season wasn't exactly what we expected, (looking at you, Ole Miss) but Nick Saban believes in these boys and will work his magic once again. It just takes some time. Yesterday in an interview he said,

 "You know, when we started this year, I think people need to understand ... We came here to start a program, we stayed here to restart a program and rebuild the program based on all the principles and values that made us successful in the past. This team has worked very, very hard to develop. And I know sometimes the reality hasn't met everybody's expectations, but that doesn't mean they haven't worked hard. It doesn't mean they aren't really good young men who need your support. They need your help. They don't need to be criticized. They need to play with confidence, and what did I say earlier? You've got to let them run and they grow up for you're going to be proud of them, but you have to give them a chance to grow up."

If Coach Saban believes in these guys, then I do too!

Happy gameday and ROLL TIDE!

xx

Law and Order

So every year on the day that the rest of the school is taking the PSAT, our seniors always take their senior class trip to either Washington, DC, or Richmond. This year we had a really successful trip to the Virginia Holocaust Museum and our state capitol building in Richmond and heard some really amazing men and women talk about their roles in the office of the Attorney General.

I didn't take any photographs at the Holocaust Museum for obvious reasons but I did have one of the best docents like ever. I mean, this guy had a masters and a phd from Vanderbilt in German history and testified about concentration camps as an expert witness in 21 trials of Nazi war criminals, 19 of which resulted in convictions. Wow. Oh and I almost fainted after seeing some of the photos in the museum. The tragedies of the Holocaust are hard enough to hear about, but seeing children used in chemical experiments and full grown men in that state of neglect and malnutrition would deeply affect any individual. Our museum in Virginia is privately owned and if any of you ever find yourself in Richmond and have a couple free hours, I highly recommend it!

Next was on to the state capitol! It was pouring down rain and that was the best photo I could get, through the fence from downhill. Don't laugh. 

I'd been to the capitol before but I still love it all the same! Thomas Jefferson really did us proud with this architecture, and seeing the statues of every president who has come from Virginia just makes me want to start chanting "USA, USA, USA" while violently waving an american flag. Wait, did I really just say that? Our trip was capped off with a great talk in the house of delegates by the mom of one of our students (which included random tour crashers asking bad questions and storming out when they didnt get the answer they wanted) and really opened my eyes as to how interested I am in law and how I want to study it further. They were also kind enough to send us home with packets and wristbands about staying strong and not joining a gang (they said they had "goodies" for us and we all were expecting food. Needless to say we were highly disappointed.)

I hope you all had as exciting a Tuesday as I did!

xx

Tumblr Tuesday

It's that kind of Tuesday, Tumblr Tuesday! Here are some of the posts that are really just speaking to my soul tonight!

Fall is my favorite time of year, and although the weather isn't quite there yet, I'm ready to dust off my fall and winter favorites and bring them back up to the front of my closet!

Fashion is something that I've always loved and let's just say a good oxblood lipstick and a Céline bag are two things that I've been lusting over for longer than I'd like to admit. While the purse might be a bit out of my price range, the lip color is a look that I'm hoping to learn to rock this fall and winter.

I've started talking to my roommate, lTm, about our dorm for next year and we've been totally inspired by this gorgeous white, gold, and pink color scheme. I can't wait until the spring to start planning our room!

The French exchange students arrived from our sister school, St. Dominique, today and it's making me miss Paris and Apolline so much. I can't wait until I go to Bama so I can return to France to study again. 

xx