That Winter Feeling

^ Our second winter together out in the "snow". I obviously was in need of some selfie taking practice.

I'm currently sitting at a Starbucks in New Haven while John is at football practice. Today, I walked around by myself and tried to pretend I knew where I was going. Someone even asked for directions and I got a student discount at the Yale Bookstore. I look like I go here!!! (I know I look like a normal college student on a college campus but, like, it's Yale. Just go with it and make me feel smart)

Being here in chilly weather has made me really excited for winter. Everyone has cute scarves and hats and look all bundled up. Something about the winter season is so exciting. It sounds cheesy, but it's such a magical time of year. I get giddy just thinking about. Summer is great and all, but you can only wear Nike shorts and t-shirts for so long... I also might be a little bitter about Summer because I manage to somehow never get a tan. But, that's beside the point.

There are so many exciting things in winter. Like, Thanksgiving, Christmas, warm clothes, Christmas, fire pits, cuddle sessions, and did I mention Christmas? I also think I love winter because I started dating John in December. I think back to that time and how exciting it was. I remember being out in the cold together for our first couple of dates, while my stomach did flip flops at the thought of him becoming my boyfriend. The night we became "official" we were out looking at Christmas lights together. For our three year anniversary, John took me out on a "Christmasy" date with all of my favorite things. Like Christmas lights and Christmas movies and ice skating. And last year, when I came to visit in February, John and I went to New York City while snow fell around us. Besides the feeling of hypothermia, it was the perfect winter setting.

There is just so much about winter to love. 

^ An oldie but goodie, walking around outside looking at Christmas lights. John eventually grew out of his inability to take a serious picture (kind of) :)

30,000 Feet

^A perk of early morning flights? Looking out your window and seeing the sun rise with the moon watching over us. 

As a self proclaimed lover of alone time, airports are fun. I like that I can sit and eat my McDonald's sausage biscuit in peace. I can read my book and take a nap in a chair and no one judges me. Airports rock (except for when you get really confused about layovers... ugh, adult stuff).

I'm on my way to see my boy! I haven't seen him since August. This time last year, I was waiting till Thanksgiving to see him. That was three months of pure torture. I told my parents I could never do that again. They understood and let me buy a plane ticket to go see my best friend. So here I am, hanging out in Chicago waiting for my flight to Hartford. Cue my inner happy dance for some solitary time and being just a few hours away from John!!!

Give and Take

^ Trying to focus on happy things in life. Like cute pumpkins.

I am such a mess right now. School is killer... this semester has been the worst one for me so far. Maybe it's my stats class, maybe it's all of it combined, but I can't seem to keep it together. I'm trying to juggle everything, but sometimes my hands get all tangled. 

I've been thinking about my future a lot and what I want in my life. I worry about how to get there, things that could mess it up... the list goes on and on. I get sick sometimes thinking about the standards I need to maintain and the goals I want to achieve. My brain won't stop running.

This morning, I sat down and reminded myself: the Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Sometimes  I get an A, sometimes I don't. And on a bigger scale, sometimes I reach my goals, sometimes I don't. I feel like such a failure sometimes and like I'm not quite good enough for this school... but I need to breath and cast my anxiety on Him. I am at UT for a reason and everything I get or don't get is the Lord's will. Life is all about a little give and take... it just takes a lot for me to realize that.

Stressed

Guys. I am STRESSED. Today, I actually thought, 'man, I wish I could quit college...' Like, what?! Why would I ever say that? But today, that feeling is so, so real. 

School is hard this semester. My classes are overwhelming and I can't seem to keep up. The best way to describe college is like a train that you are running next too, trying to keep up with. One minute you're chugging along just fine, but then you're eating dust. Then, once you finally catch up, you all of a sudden are all the way at the end, once again. I don't know if that makes sense, but sometimes I wish it would all just stop. I need to take a breather and maybe get a couple more hours of sleep everyone in a while... but college just laughs at me when I think that. This week I am praying for strength to get through it and to be at peace with my grades. I'm thinking about my grades constantly this semester... it's insane. I would love just a couple of minutes where my brain wouldn't think about it... but, cue my silly brain and all of it's worrying.

I'm thankful I got a few days at home this past weekend, where I went to a pumpkin patch 

with my sister. I'm also super thankful for a longhorn win against OU. Hook 'em!!!

Austin City Limits

Guys. This weekend was so. good. 

A couple months back, I bought a 3 day pass for the Austin City Limits music festival. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, but I liked the line up and knew I needed to go at some point as a UT college student. Everyone talked about how much they loved it, but I kinda wondered how great it could actually be. But, let me tell you - it lived up to the hype!

^ Day 1

^ Day 2

^ Day 3

I walked into Zilker Park, trying to take it all in. There are about 7 different stages, all scattered throughout the park. On Day 1, we were front row at Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors and then watched a little bit of Disclosure. But Saturday... AHHH. We get to the park and immediately headed to echosmith, then Ryn Weaver (I met her!!!), Misterwives (front row!!!), and then Twenty One Pilots. I was so stinkin' happy. They all put on an amazing show that I didn't want to end! Later, we saw Walk the Moon, Alabama Shakes, and then DRAKE. I really don't know many Drake songs, but I went because like, duh, it's Drake. 

That night, we got home absolutely exhausted and totally sunburned. But, I went to bed smiling anyways. We woke up Sunday morning in desperate need of some energy and coffee, and made our way back to Zilker for the last day! We started off the day with Daughter, then saw BøRNS (they were incredible), Ben Howard, and Of Monsters and Men. Of Monsters and Men is my all time favorite band, so I was in complete heaven. My roommate, Emily, said she felt like she was in a dream when she was watching them, and I couldn't have said it better myself. We ended the day with The Weeknd and lots of crazy dancing.

I basically survived on a lot of Coca Cola, P-Terry's, and quick naps between shows. The days were long, but freaking awesome.

I wish I could rewind time and go back to this weekend whenever I wanted. Seeing all of these amazing musicians made the intense heat and hurting feel so worth it. So, totally worth it. Even though this thing is called Austin City Limits, I really think it has no limits. Now back to reality... applying aloe vera, doing lots of homework and studying. Yay college!