When we first moved into our house at the end of August, my roommates and I started a sticky-note wall filled with all the dumb and inappropriate phrases that would come out of our mouths.  Although eventually it was removed because phrases like, "It would be like having sex for America" and "I used to watch Power Rangers and eat my boogers" seem much less funny when parents come to visit, there was one phrase I said that I will always find true:

"I knew it was one of my favorite moments because it glitters when I think about it."

One time, I met a guy in the alley by Jimmy Johns.  It was not as creepy as it sounds.

Allie and I were coming back from the Chug, which (side note) is the best place to ever end your night in Muncie.  It's an oddly magical place, but like, if magical meant that Cinderella's ball was held in her basement and college kids had written on all the walls of the bathroom in Sharpie and there's an 88% chance someone in the room has a face tattoo.  That kind of magical.

My younger brother Jonny is notoriously late for everything because he sleeps more than anyone I know. When we were younger, he actually used to fall asleep in the shower before school, causing our entire family to be late for the day’s activities. Monday was no exception.

Chelsea Kardokus and I once tried to start a video blog while we were in London, covering the Olympic Games for the Chicago Tribune.  It didn't last long.

Today, I delivered a persuasive speech in my Comm 210 class about why the Backstreet Boys are better than One Direction.  It may be the most accurate thing I've ever written (except for anything I ever did at the Olympics, because, let's be real, Alex probably would have killed me if we published any false facts.  That would be a tragedy on par with Shark Week being cancelled).

I listened to this song on repeat for a solid three weeks when I walked to class.  It made me want to play the bass, but then I remembered that I have freakishly tiny fingers, so I settled on wanting to learn the ukelele instead.  This song also tricked me into thinking I can play the drums because I would air-drum on the way to class.  While I've now come to terms with the fact that I drop drumsticks too often to become a professional drummer, I'm fairly confident I would fit in really well with Bombay Bicycle Club as soon as I get a black, wide-brim, floppy hat and high-waisted paisley shorts.

Last night, I literally had the strangest experience.  (And, when I say literally, I really do mean that because both my brother's are super-freaks about using the word "literally" in a figurative sense, so I only use it in legitimate situations).  Anyway, I went to sleep and had this dream that I was very sad from a bad break-up and I was writing a blog about being very sad from said bad break-up.

This is an excerpt from a project I wrote for my Honors 203 course about the modern self and what defines a human being as an individual.  I focused my project on my mother because she has made incredible life sacrifices for the betterment of our family and I look up to her in every way that is possible.  

I was short, you were tall.  Holding your hand was too awkward because of our height difference.  You kissed me at the fair.  You were the sloppiest kisser I ever had.  You heard me tell someone that and we never spoke again.

I am about to turn 21.  I've been looking forward to this day since about ten minutes after my 20th birthday, when my friend Tyler said, "Imagine how awesome 365 days from now will be!"  I'm the baby of my friends, so while they've all been doing cool, old people things for the past year, I've spent my time thinking about some different things I've learned.  (Not really.  I've spent my time being sad that I'm the smallest child and unsuccessfully trying to learn how to put on eyeliner).  But, anyway, here are 21 things that I've learned in my 21 years of existence.

I was thirteen years old and had never been kissed.  Naturally, being a girl caught in the throes of the middle school spectrum, this was a catastrophic dilemma.  Late at night I’d lie in my bed, feeling anxiety that I would forever be the girl who’d never been kissed.

It was 10 o’clock on a Sunday night and I was having cereal boxes taped to my body.  At the Ball State Daily News, nights like this are not surprising.

I usually don’t work on Sundays, but I was covering for another designer and was assigned the Halloween double-truck spread.  While I knew it was going to be a lot of work, I was excited because it could turn into a great portfolio piece.  There were a few different articles on the spread, but the main feature was about what to wear for Halloween.

Toward the end of my freshman year of college, my journalism design professor, Ryan Sparrow, approached me and asked if I would be interested in going to the London 2012 Olympics Games to work as a graphics reporter with a team of student journalists.

On my last day in England, I dangled my feet off a cliff of the Malvern Hills.  I've never felt more small... or more alive.  Surrounded by people that were strangers just weeks earlier, I felt completely at peace.  In six weeks, we'd squeezed in a lifetime of experiences and friendships, all of which was magnetized at how small we were in comparison to the depth and beauty of the Hills.

I have the coolest life.

I’ve spent my entire summer in England having incredible experiences with so many new friends.  And, now, I’m covering the Olympics, getting my graphics and byline in THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE!  I am so lucky.

 I stopped writing blogs.

This isn’t because I hated it.  It’s just that I have been so ridiculously busy my last few weeks in Worcester.  We’ve traveled to numerous places and had finally had to actually start turning in portfolios for our classes.  On top of all that, Chels, Annie and I have been working on an Olympic graphic for the Chicago Tribune as well as soaking up our last few weeks with people that have become some of my closest friends.

When we get to London, it’s around 9:00 p.m., but our bus driver gives us an hour tour of the city.  We see all the major sites, like Buckingham Palace and Big Ben.  That was fun.  We also saw a man get hit by a car.  That was not fun.

On Wednesday, we went to Birmingham for our class day trip.  It was better when we did it alone.

The last time I was in Birmingham, we encountered cancelled Olympic shows, a lack of food and ran into cocaine.  However, we also found my future husband.  He’s a British bartender.  He’s a hipster.  I love him.  Chelsea and I made it our goal to try and find him during our visit.

England is expensive.  Like, really expensive.  And, after our girls weekend in Scotland, I am pretty broke.  Luckily, if you aren’t traveling for the weekend, the University of Worcester offers day trips to cool places in England that are fairly cheap.  This weekend, we went to Liverpool.

Oxford is pretty neat.

Obviously, that’s an understatement, but I can’t even figure out how to describe the city.  It’s gorgeous.  There’s old, beautiful buildings everywhere and it’s almost like walking through the past.  We were only there for the day, but we used it to throughly soak up the city.