"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style." -Maya Angelou

give me some color!

I am a firm believer in color, especially when it comes to summer clothing. Nothing says fun, sunshine, and summer than a bright, fun, patterned dress, something the designers at Tibi definitely caught onto. After looking at J.Crew's drab new arrivals (I can only take so much dusted rose and burnt orange before I need pink and aqua blue) I headed straight to Shopbop.com where I found exactly what I wanted from the Tibi collection. It's too bad the prices are just a little bit out of my budget... but a girl can dream.

"Never say never. Never is a long, undependable time, and life is too full of rich possibilities to have restrictions placed upon it." -Gloria Swanson

you can't always get what you want... or you can.

My mom has always said that I am the easiest to please. No offense to my sister Jane, but the past has proven that it is more of a challenge to make her happy than I. While I don't care if my dress came from Walmart, Jane usually preferred hers to be of a more upscale brand. At times, this need to please became a little wearing for us, especially at Christmas, or when we went shopping in Chicago for her birthday. She bought an entire outfit from J.Crew, wearing it out of the store, because what she previously had on wasn't right and ruining her day. While Jane may be a bit of a perfectionist, she knows exactly what she likes and what she wants.

This especially shone through when she was choosing which college to attend. For me, I applied to Illinois, Indiana, Mizzou, and Iowa. I did have a criteria - midwest school with big greek life and sports. However, my search was nothing like my sister's. She read the Princeton College Review books like they were Harry Potter. She could tell you the male to female ratio at random schools or how they ranked in their dining halls (very important). But once again, she lucked out in being a perfectionist and chose the perfect school for her: University of Georgia.

And while I have always been easy to please, after my visit to UGA this past fall, I couldn't help wonder to myself, "Did I really choose the right school?" Don't get me wrong, I love Indiana. But UGA is awesome. After experiencing a weekend of my sister's life, I became a little bit jealous. The downtown nightlife, shopping and food is unreal, the campus is beautiful, the sports are huge, and Greek life is dominant. It has everything you could ever want in a college town.

But then again, so does Indiana. After looking at all of my pictures starting from freshman year, I realized that it has been a pretty crazy and memorable ride, and one that still has a year to go. I've made some of the best friends I could ask for, been part of an incredible organization - IUSF - and studied at one of the best Journalism schools in the nation - a college experience that even the hardest to please would have a hard time being unhappy with.

Reflection... or something like it.

I can in no way complain about my job. I am paid to sit on a beach all day, getting progressively tanner, blonder, and in shape. But I will be the first to tell you that the days on the beach can get long, and 9:00 am to 5:00 pm seems more than just an 8 hour day. In an attempt to give myself something to do, I recently purchased a little notebook from Target to write in my random thoughts or the funny things I see on the beach. Here's a preview.

- I wonder if Washington feels jipped he's only on a $1 bill, or if he likes it because there's so many and he's facey.
- God is pretty amazing to make this world in 6 days.
- Mentally handicapped children make the hot packs we use to treat sting ray wounds.
- When I see teenage girls with perfect bodies, I want to yell at them, "WAIT TILL COLLEGE."
- The boy with the circle shaved in the back of his head needs tighter swim trunks to pull them up so I don't have to look at his crack.
- A woman asked me if the water was more brown today. Really?
- There are times when I really love my job. Mostly because of the people I work with.
- So glad I am a girl that can actually throw a football or baseball.
- It is so hot, I'm on less than 4 hours of sleep, dehydrated. I don't want anyone to talk to me.

And of course, I have my lists.

Places I Would Work
Dallas
Atlanta
Chicago
Charlotte

Jobs I Would Do
Event planning or wedding coordinating/planning
Event or company promotions
Advertising and marketing for a company or smaller ad firm

Places I Want To Go
Florence
Barcelona
Madrid
Greece
Dublin
Paris