College!

Hello, everyone! I am--officially--moved in. I'm a college student, guys. This is so weird. Do you want to hear about the adventure that was moving in and the first day of classes? No? Well...I'm going to tell you anyway.
My roommate and I decided beforehand that we wanted to loft our beds, but after getting all the bed parts, we changed our minds and bunked them, which meant that we had to carry all the parts downstairs and to the hall next door. It was glorious, awkward, furniture-carrying fun. But bunk beds are cool, so it was worth it. After we'd gotten semi-situated, my mom and I bought an "easy assembly" table for the microwave. There were somewhere around 30 screws, but no holes in the table. We didn't bring any power tools (and a sonic screwdriver doesn't work on wood), so we had to borrow the RA's and manually screw in each and every one. It was quite the adventure, but now we are extremely proud of our little table. We're also apparently in one of the nicest dorms on campus (the honors program does have its perks) and we had enough room for a couch.
Monday and Tuesday were the gigantic info fair days on campus, and I signed up for Bad Wolf, the Vietnamese club, the Scottish country dancing club, and sailing (the last of which I will not be able to attend due to scheduling conflicts, unfortunately).
Anyways, that was all fun and exciting, and now I just finished my first day of classes. AHHHHHH! It actually wasn't as stressful as I'd thought, though. I found all my classes without issue (although I did have to ask a guy in my science literacy class if I was in the right building...I just had to be sure). My honors professor has a sweet Scottish accent and my Scottish country dancing instructor is a cute little British lady. My science literacy and Spanish 301 professors both also seem really cool. I'm also one of three freshmen in my Spanish class--but I understood everything that was said perfectly and am feeling pretty confident about my skills. The worst class for me will probably be honors, but that's only because I hate talking in class. I'm sure college will beat it out of me.
I've also had an interview in the library and a nonexistant interview at a museum since i've been here. The library interview went pretty well, but I biked halfway to the museum interview before calling the supervisor (I got lost, but in all fairness it was my first day) only to find out that the position had been filled a month ago and she'd sent me an email...Yeah, no. That email never happened, because if it had I definitely would have remembered it. Being a teenage author, I'm pretty used to rejection letters, but I always take note of a new one. Oh well. I have an interview at the campus art gallery tomorrow, so hopefully that goes slightly better.
OH, AND I MADE FRIENDS! I have no idea why this is such a shock to me, but everyone is super-friendly here. I had the hardest time meeting new people in East Wenatchee when I moved there and only made a few lasting friendships, but here everyone's like, "Hi! My name's ____. Friends?" It's quite a new experience for me, but I'm definitely enjoying it. I think by default I've become a little more outgoing simply because it's expected. Last night, I played Spoono (Uno plus Spoons) with my roommate, suite mates, and some other girls on my floor, and have already met a few people in my classes and around campus.
Yes. College is amazing. I have the strangest feeling I'm not going to need my unlimited meal plan, though; I've been here since Sunday and have only been to the dining hall about four times. I guess I won't be getting the freshman 15...

Time goes by quickly and you should.....oh, there it went.

Do you know what's ridiculous? I just had to update my profile because, believe it or not, I am no longer a senior in high school! I'd make some cliche statement about how time "flies," but all of us who watch Doctor Who knows that it normally passes "really, really slowly...in the right order." But whether or not time feels fast when it's passing, it just keeps going and going and never stops...well, until heaven, I suppose.
Isn't that odd and slightly terrifying? On the first day of September, the month I leave for college, I find myself procrastinating on packing my things, bombarded with college mail, and trying to figure out what in the world I've gotten myself into. Don't get me wrong--I'm excited to leave and start life out on my own--but all the same, I'm just struck with this sense of urgency. I can't slow--or speed--the time until I leave...or until I graduate, get my first "real job," start finding gray hairs, or, y'know, die.
(Yes, I am in a morbid mood today, thank you very much!)
But seriously. Have you ever thought about that--that even if you lock yourself in a room and don't do anything for your entire life, time will keep on going?
The thought makes me cringe every time I go and waste time on the Internet, miss my Saturday alarm, or shrug off another chance to meet with God. I only have one life and I feel like, in this culture, I am encouraged--no, ordered--to squander it. As long as I'm happy, I might as well spend my life on whatever brand of entertainment I choose, right? At least, that's what society says.
I guess I just don't want to wake up one morning with wrinkles on my skin and a hair full of gray hair and wonder where all the time went.

My life could be a sitcom.

I'm not dead, I promise! (But wouldn't that be a plot twist?)
Anyway, I felt a bit like launching into a blog post with no justification as to why I haven't written in...over two months (has it really been that long?), but I suspect that you would think that was incredibly rude. So, I shall summarize my hectic, awesome, and sitcom-worthy life for you now...
On June eighth, I flew out of East Wenatchee to stay with one of my best friends in Little Rock. While I was minding my own business, watching an episode of Doctor Who, a flight attendant spilled a soda all over my laptop, whose name is Finnick Weasley by the way. Finnick was not pleased. I wasn't either, and seeing how I don't even drink soda in the first place, I thought it was quite the cruel fate for my geeky little mechanical companion. However, Finnick, though a bit sticky, survived. (And I am now typing on my new MacBook Pro, which is significantly sexier, better, and less sticky than Finnick.) I made it to Little Rock--and then Colorado--and had a wonderful time being with my friends, most of whom are college-bound like me. I also spent every moment in the car listening to Chameleon Circuit's new album, Still Got Legs. Again. And again. It is so good. (Why have you not clicked on the link yet? Click on it!)
A few short days after returning home, I started up my first job since Izzy's: cherries. Saturday was my last day of waking up at 4 a.m., driving up in the mountains, and sorting cherries in an orchard all day. It was ridiculously fun, but I am ridiculously glad that it's over--one can only wake up before sunrise so often before it becomes a bit draining. Actually, it was draining in more ways than one, since on the last day, my phone and iPod were stolen right out of my car. I left my window open about an inch to keep it from overheating inside, but someone used a stick to unlock the door and then took the things from the glove compartment. It was quite a sad day. So the moral of the story is: don't roll your window down when you park your car (or don't leave valuables in it; whatever floats your boat). Anyway, I'm praying that God will be glorified in this situation, but it's still a bit frustrating.

Barefoot

For the most part, I like to think of myself as a nonconformist. I listen to obscure music (think Doctor Who-themed Chameleon Circuit, which you should totally check out if you happen to be a fan of the Doctor, by the way), wear classic Chucks with my Sari dress, and have crazy frizzy hair that I don't bother to straighten. But as it turns out...I was wrong. Last year was the first time I heard about One Day Without Shoes, the TOMS-inspired day which is exactly what it sounds like: a day to go around barefoot and raise awareness about the need of kids in countries like South Africa and Honduras that don't have shoes. It's an awesome idea and I really wanted to do it last year, but...to put it bluntly, I chickened out. What I said was that I hadn't gotten the high school's okay to show up without shoes, but what I meant was, I was too dang terrified to not wear shoes. Which is, y'know, ridiculous. But I'll get to that later. So this year, as I am doing dual-enrollment at the local community college (which will remain unnamed to make sure you don't stalk me or anything), I decided to go for it! The morning of, I put on my jeans and flannel shirt, grabbed my backpack and...left! I did it! However, the scene in my bedroom before I left was sitcom, material. I kept going back and forth: I want to go barefoot. But what if my professor kicks me out of class? So what? It's for a good cause. But...I have perfect attendance! They won't even notice--professors don't look at feet. People will looookkk at meeee! That's because you're barefoot, sweetheart. Besides, it's a good cause. Just go, already! And I went. *Cue laughtrack and applause.* This is a little embarrassing to even type out. Here I was, thinking I was so different, inspired, and carefree and I almost couldn't even show up to class without shoes. I don't know what my deal was. After all, not wearing shoes is sort of like not wearing sleeves or gloves, except...not really. But the point is, shoes are an article of clothing that should be optional. How was I supposed to call myself nonconformist while freaking out over a clothing article? Let me tell you, it was a bit of an eye-opener. Then I realized...I'm a Christian. My views COMPLETELY contradict with most of the world's. I live life for God, or at least try to. But if I was worrying about people staring at my naked feet, what would I do if someone challenged my beliefs? Or got mad at me for talking about "religion?" What then? I hope that I would stand up for God and myself and just be different. But honestly, until last week, I don't know if I would have. If it hadn't been for One Day Without Shoes, I doubt if I would have noticed my conformity and had a chance to challenge it.

So here's to individualism, self-confidence, oh...and bare feet.

The Future! Or something.

Before I start this post, I have to get something off my chest.... I'm a liar. That's it. There it is. As it turns out, as a salutatorian I do not have to give a graduation speech, so my last post was completely and totally useless! Sorry. It was unintentional lying, though, so would that be called negligent deceit? Hmm. Anyhow, sorry about that! Since you (probably) can't hear inside my head, I thought I'd let you know that I'm typing in an accent right now. And not just any accent....a BRITISH accent! I know, I know, you wish you were me, but as it turns out, watching old Doctor Who episodes for hours on end can severely damage one's brain. Which led to the following conversation..... Me: Mom, I changed my career goals a bit. My mother: Oh yes, what are they? Me: I want to be, erm...a TIME TRAVELER! My mother: Well, why don't you travel just going forward one year at a time, Courtney. Ha, ha. She's brilliant. For the last eighteen years and eleven days, I've been trying to figure out what to do with my life. Now that I'm an almost-graduate, I hear the word Future about fifteen times a day. Which would be nice if I had a clue what to do with it. It's sort of like an ugly Christmas sweater given from a well-meaning relative, but much, much scarier. And, on top of that, it's too big and I can't find the receipt. According to my mother, I have to go to work, pay taxes, and buy groceries like a normal human being. That's sad. I was sort of hoping to change the world. But I'm going to make the best of it and TRAVEL the world....with the money that I make from some job which I have yet to decide on. It will be something exciting, though. I'm sort of waffling between ER surgeon and foreign correspondent. First stop (hopefully): England! I'll just keep a lookout for any blue boxes along the way.