A Little Look at Laura

January Favorites!

2:20 PM

The last several weeks have been lots of work and very little play. Mid-January, Stafford got sick, so I didn't do much but lay around the house and watch TV. Then, another friend got sick, so I spent some time in the ER. I've also been very busy with my classes with tests and papers. There have been a few exciting things to happen, though! I got to judge science fair projects at a local middle school and perhaps most importantly, I started an Instagram for Potter! @pottertheottercat

I also got sick several times after eating dairy, so I have been transitioning to a more plant based diet. So far, I love how I am feeling and have been having to get creative in researching meal ideas. I also eat a good amount of yogurt to improve my digestion, and I've been trying out kombucha and experiencing the same effects. My definite favorite is the Health-ade Pink Lady Apple as recommended by one of my favorite Youtubers, Marissa Lace.

My favorite tv show for the month (besides The Bachelor, of course) was definitely Arrested Development.

I am seriously addicted to it.
The other love I have found this month is the Sally Hansen Gel Polish. Polish always chips very fast on me, and this polish looks great for almost a whole week every though I am extremely rough on my nails.

This is probably my favorite color I've used so far, Terra-Coppa.

alittlelookatlaura

A Purrfect Week

9:20 PM

I love making these posts and getting to look back at the fun moments of the week. Last week, I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to an exercise class with some friends. I watched some pretty cool things on TV--the college national championship (an Alabama loss is never a bad day), Obama's farewell address and the latest episode of The Bachelor. I also got addicted to Arrested Development on Netflix!

I participated in my last recruitment event as an active--I enjoyed waffles with sisters and got to see my successor throw the cutest Chi O & Co. themed party!

Stafford and I went to dinner and a basketball game, a swim meet, and to the Symphony to hear the music of Journey.

To finish the week off, I got to spend Sunday night at Hannah's kitty themed birthday party! We played hilarious party games and I ate a disgusting amount of food. So blessed with these two beautiful women in my life!

alittlelookatlaura

New Year Old Reality

4:03 PM

KThis year, I didn't feel like taking down the tree until after New Year's, and when I did, I was appalled at how naked the apartment looked. To combat the missing tree, I went all over town with a friend looking for Mardi Gras decorations, but ended up not really liking anything. I later ended up ordering some feather boas to put around the living area, some festive lights, and a wreath that was under $5!

One thing I did to start the new year off was update my phone and computer. It hadn't been updated since 2015, so it was much needed. I also went through all the old pictures in my phone and deleted any bad shots or screenshots I didn't want anymore. It was a very therapeutic experience, and I definitely got caught up laughing at memories and sending people funny things I found.

I really enjoyed my first week of classes, and it's always nice when things start very slowly. I had time to repaint my chipped nails, go eyebrow pencil shopping at Ulta, and even got to go to the Downtown Artwalk. I've been trying to go to the Artwalk since October, but it never works out. This time, we made it, got some Mardi Gras beads and the schedule, then ended up just grabbing some drinks and burgers. We didn't have time to do anything else, but I feel like now that we made a point of going, we are more likely to go again!

This semester, I actually don't have class on Fridays, so I get to relax on Thursdays. For my first Thursday, Stafford and I watched the Extended Cut of Suicide Squad. We liked the original in theaters, but I had heard that this edition had more of the Joker in it. Unfortunately, the rumors were not true, which was somewhat disappointing. What wasn't disappointing this week was the Ed Sheeran songs that were released! I am forever obsessed with him, and I cannot wait for the rest of the album to come out.

Getting back into the swing of school means getting back into the swing all my other responsibilities. I had to pick out our team's tennis uniforms and go to several meetings, and I also participated in initiation for Chi O for possibly the last time. After initiation, I went with some friends to get nachos and margs, and ended up going to a TKE party. It definitely made me feel old, since that's where I spent most of my weekends as a freshman and not much time since, but I know my frat parties are numbered and I did have a lot of fun. Overall, I'm very excited for my last semester and 2017 in general!

alittlelookatlaura

Post Christmas Blues

9:51 PM

I find myself looking forward to Christmas around July of each year. Such anticipation allows for great disappointment when Christmas ends. This year, I decided to look forward to the new year and all the great things to come rather than the holiday season passing.

I spent time with family while I was still at home, visiting my grandmother, shopping with my mom, and dinner with my dad the day after Christmas. I enjoyed cooking for my family and just having some lazy days to myself. School doesn't leave me much time to read for pleasure, so I did a lot of that. I finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Megyn Kelly's book, Settle for More, and Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half. (I have also begun The Diviners by Libba Bray and have made the resolution to do more print reading--I already listen to audiobooks when I am in the car.)

Reading really made me feel a bit more like myself, so I started to do some more things I don't often get to. I started making smoothies to start the day, got my car detailed, and even took the time to self tan. I watched a lot of Grey's Anatomy and bought some new school supplies to help motivate me for the upcoming semester.

One thing I have always done when taking time for myself is to go all out on my makeup, but I felt no urge to do so during this break. I think this is a sign of how much I have changed over the past few years. There was a time when I would refuse to go out with no makeup on, and if I had it my way I would spend a full hour each day obsessing over it. I still love to watch tutorials and enjoy wearing makeup, but at this point in my life, I don't feel the need to use it. I have gained so much more confidence and have a new perspective on what things in life are actually important.

Once I returned, I cleaned my apartment a bit and put away all of my new Christmas goodies. I made up for all my missed snuggles with my kitty, Potter, and watched a lot of Netflix. For New Year's Eve, I slept late for the first time in what felt like the whole year, drank some coffee, and went to Jurassic Quest with Stafford. We were the only people at the event without small children, so we made up for it by acting like said children. We also hung out at a local brewery and had an awesome pizza date instead of actually going out to celebrate. Before the clock struck 12, we finished the end of the first season of Westworld (by the way it's pretty great) and a bottle of champagne.

For New Years, we fought the crowd and shopped the Dillard's sale. We found a few things, but they definitely didn't justify the time we spent in line. I ran some errands and watched some more Netflix before cooking New Year's dinner. Stafford had never heard of eating cornbread, cabbage, and black-eyed peas for new years, so I had to fix some up to ensure his health, wealth, and luck. It wasn't the most exciting New Year's Day, but if the rest of the year went just like it, I wouldn't be too sad.

Twenty Fears For Twenty Years

3:58 PM

As eager as I am to grow up and start my own life, I have forever been terrified of exiting my teenage years. I’m terrified of being a grown up who’s tired and worried all the time. I’m a fun loving, goofy person. I’m not afraid of responsibilities, but I’m afraid of them sucking the life out of me. To me, twenty represents the culmination of this anxiety in a tangible experience. My second year of college did nothing to allay these fears.

My freshman year of college, I lived life to the fullest. I went out, met people, tried new things, and took a few risks until I found my niche. Last year, however, I felt myself falling into a rut. I was consumed with building up my GPA and resume, and less concerned with fortifying friendships and having fun. I saw people who were partying as immature and failures, whenever I was probably just jealous and unhappy. I saw my upcoming birthday as the impending doom of adulthood and the end of my opportunities to have real, stupid, teenage fun. Now that I’m looking my birthday in the face, I’m starting to accept it as just a milestone, and not a fun sucking black hole. To help with this, I’m examining my worries one at a time.

1. I’ll be old. Okay, this one is a little ridiculous now that I’m here. Twenty is many things, but old is not one. Who will I seem old to? People younger than me? Duh. I’m still a fetus to my parents and most of the adult population.

2. Responsibilities will weigh me down. Didn’t this one start in high school? Applications, bills, job interviews, and tests that determine your future are definitely buzz kills, but I’ve spent half my life building myself up for this. I can’t do anything to escape it anyway, so I might as well pay my taxes and smile and pretend to not be dying inside.

3. I won’t want to have fun. There are boring teenagers and there are fun adults. It’s all what you choose to make of your situation in life.

4. One year closer to pap smears. All right there’s no way I can make this one sound any better.

5. Still not 21. When all your friends have birthdays before your own, this one is very unfortunate, but I’m thinking it can’t be much more anticlimactic than 19.

6. I don’t have my life together. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that no one actually does. Not even the most organized adult. Fake it till you make it.

7. I lose my reduced youth prices on everything forever. Alright this one does suck, but hey, I survived leaving the kids menu behind at age twelve, you got this.

8. I just don’t feel like an adult. Great! Wanted to stay young forever anyway, right?

9. It may no longer be socially acceptable to look a ratchet mess when leaving your residence. I’m all about dressing for yourself and being comfortable, but scrolling through some recent photos has convinced me this may not be all bad. Who am I kidding? Not stopping the ratchetness while still in college.

10. Adults don’t have as much energy. So this obviously doesn’t switch on the day of your birthday, but its common knowledge that older people are more tired. I’m gonna have to beg to differ though, because I’ve been in training by pulling all nighters and functioning the next day more in recent years than ever. Bring it.

11. You won’t understand the kids anymore. Let’s be real, this has been a long time coming. I kind of gave up on keeping up on trying to understand the last time I checked Disney Channel. On the other hand, our generation has grown up with technology changes, so maybe we’ll fare better.

12. Your parents will slowly start to cut you off. LOL med school helps. I get an extra decade of being a broke college kid. But seriously, this probably sucks for some people, but I'm used to living in my own filth and being too busy to spend money, anyway.

13. People will start looking for you to get married and start a family. This one’s definitely weird, and a lot of your friends are doing just that. I don’t think anyone really has confidence in my ability to tie anyone down though, so you may skirt by this one. Or I can just laugh when they ask when these things are happening.

14. Santa may be letting you go soon. NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Santa wouldn’t do that because A) I just went to see him at the north pole and B) technically I’m still the kid if I still don’t have any.

15. Other people will take themselves too seriously and see you as immature if you don’t join them. Are these people I need in your life? Get some cooler friends.

16. Everyone is graduating and moving and starting their real lives. This is sad, but maybe I can learn from them and live vicariously through them until I'm ready to actually act like an adult.

17. You’re so close to being at the bottom of the totem pole again. There’s only one way to get to the top. Everyone was there at some point. Suck it up.

18. You have less free time. Well for starters, let’s put the time management skills to use. Also, how about enjoying the things that must be done instead of just dreading them because there's no other option.

19. You’re 20 years old and you still can’t cook. Well maybe it’s my hidden talent. I have no idea if you actually can or not, because I just don’t. Home ec was a struggle, but, hey, I passed.

20. Calories will begin to catch up at some point. I do have the dietary habits of a linebacker, but I really hope this isn’t the decade that my fast metabolism goes out the window.

So I plan to ring in my new decade with as much excitement and vigor as if I was in Times Square on NYE. If the last 19 years haven’t drug me down, I’m ready for ya adulthood.

alittlelookatlaura

The Problem With Love Stories

9:20 AM

In my opinion, the good love stories are the least predictable ones. They're the painful ones that have heartbreak and decisions and time people spend on their own trying to figure things out. Some of the best love stories end happily, but some don't. The best stories to me are the most complicated because they are the most realistic and raw. Unfortunately, they're not realistic enough and still leave most of us confused whenever we find ourselves in similar real life situations and things don't go at all like we want them or expect them to.
The problem is that things aren't black and white. They're much messier. More people are involved. More feelings are at risk. In movies, people are oblivious to what they want, but in real life they want different things equally in different ways. Decisions aren't just difficult but almost impossible. In the real world, Allie can't just ditch Lon because her feelings for Noah are so strong because she loves Lon too, just like how Lon can't just let Allie go be with Noah with a smile because it's a love story and that's how its supposed to work out.
We are socialized to believe in the fairy tales and the bliss and the ignorance that everything we know about love tells us is true. We are taught that when there's love and passion, there's enough to make things work. But in the real world, it's not all about intangibles. Simply loving someone is not enough to make a relationship work. In a movie I recently watched, the girl made one insanely ignorant decision after another, then when her life was in shambles, her man took her back because he was just sitting there waiting on her because they were meant to be together. Not only is that totally unrealistic but I believe that's undesirable as well. No one wants someone who is that uninterested in building their own happiness, and no one wants to feel like someone else's last option.
There is a positive side to love not being what we thought it was cracked up to be. We do get to find our own happiness. We write our own stories and endings and can be our own Prince Charming. We can have other relationships and life experiences and dreams and goals that we can accomplish and celebrate that don't have anything to do with love and relationships, and those things should be equally valued. So even though everything is complicated and dark, there's still that bright side, and in my opinion, that's something great to celebrate.

Europe

The Real Finnish Miracle

11:33 AM

As a person who absolutely hates clichés, it’s difficult for me to admit just how much and how quickly my experience with international travel changed me. I was expecting to maybe see some cool sights, listen to some different languages, and look for small differences between cultures. In short, I was expecting to learn some things about other people, but looking back at my experiences I learned so much more about myself.

I’ve always considered myself the type of person that can get along with anyone. I try to say the right things and avoid things that push people outside of their comfort zones, myself especially. A month ago, I would have called myself a people pleaser, but now I have a different perspective. If you don’t have your own happiness, what do you have? Why surround yourself in people whose company you don’t truly enjoy or crave?

My experiences in Finland have inspired me to do some major cleaning in many aspects of life. The Finns are very blunt, honest people who don’t believe in having more than what they need. As Americans, we will take all we can get, but I’m really working on changing that. I would rather focus on building and maintaining a small number of friendships I value and know will last for ages. I don’t want to waste any of my precious time by catering to people I really have no intention of keeping in my life for the long haul.

The biggest thing I learned about myself in Finland is that I do have an adventurous side. I’ve always been a person who likes to limit my risks. The reward has to be very great in order for me to put myself out there at all. Finland has shown me that life is really not all about the final destination, but how you feel while you’re trying to get there. After all, the ultimate final destination is death, so why be in a hurry to get from point A to point B? I’m the girl that won’t get on the roller coaster because she might get sick, and who orders the same food off the menu every time because it’s safe. I take living in moderation to the extreme in every aspect of life, even though almost every time I have branched out, I’ve benefitted.

Whenever I made the decision to run from a sauna in my bikini in the freezing cold into the arctic ice water, I felt freer than I ever have, even if I screamed like a little girl. It made me vow not to limit myself, and to thoroughly consider taking more chances because life is short and the risk isn’t only offset by the reward, but by the experiences you have trying to get there. In Finland, I laughed so hard I cried so many times and finally remembered what it is like to feel like a child in awe of the world and people around them. I didn’t want to sleep at night because I didn’t want to miss anything; I wanted everything life had to offer me. I want to bring that back home with me and never let it go again, because life is too short to always play it safe.