Day 54: Everyone likes to feel important.

And let me tell you, I am basking in the glory of having the little baby freshmen look to me for guidance as they all start to head off to Summer Welcome/write for MOVE for the first time/want to learn everything about Mizzou.

I just remember that feeling, ya know? And it's so cool to be the person on the other end: the one who knows everything about the school, and the one who can give advice and guidance/help the little lost ones out.

They come to me with questions, all like:

And I just can't handle the cuteness.

YES OF COURSE I WANT TO HELP YOU ALL.

Ugh they're all just so cute. Can't wait for August and being back in CoMo.

Lesson learned: everyone likes to feel important.

Day 53: I can, indeed, power-watch TV shows.

This used to be something that I absolutely hated doing/didn't have the attention span to do, but I'm quickly finding out that if you give me a week of total and complete freedom before a summer of internship/job-related things, I'll spend it watching episode after episode of Arrested Development.

Being productive? Leaving my house and doing things?

Sounds about right.

Lesson learned: I can, indeed, power-watch TV shows.

Day 52: Sisters make the best of friends.

I may have been away this whole year and my baby sister may be growing up and heading off on her own (very separate) way next year, but she'll always be my first — and best — friend.

Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, I mean every word of it.

Love you to the moon and back, Shannon.

Lesson learned: sisters make the best of friends.

Day 51: It can be cool to have a roommate who likes country.

To be honest, it's not often that I like it when my roommate decides we should listen to all country, all night. But 1) Hunter Hayes is adorable, and 2) Hunter Hayes is adorable.

How precious is this song/him?

Thanks for the song suggestion, Maria!

Lesson learned: it can be cool to have a roommate who likes country.

Day 50: Writing rejection letters is rough.

But honestly, if you can avoid ever having to write rejection letters in your lifetime, I would highly suggest doing so. 

On the bright side, all the columnist applications that I read this week for MOVE had me laughing my ass off. I get to work with some pretty awesomely witty people as a part of my job, and I dig it.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I'm stoked because The Neighbourhood is finally playing a show in Arizona while I'm home. I may have to drive two hours to see them, but they're worth it.

Enjoy this acoustic perfection.

Lesson learned: writing rejection letters is rough.

Day 49: Sometimes you can fix your phone by dropping it.

I wouldn't suggest that the average person go around dropping phones, but idk it worked for me.

That is all.

Lesson learned: sometimes you can fix your phone by dropping it.

Day 48: Next year's Maneater ed board is perfect.

Shoutout to Bia and Mitch who made my internal freakout today a little less painful (and both got the editor positions that they totally deserve).

But really... Check this out:

GUYS THAT'S ME. RIGHT WHERE IT SAYS MOVE. SEE IT?

Anyway... We have such a rockin' group of people running The Maneater next year, and (sappy moment ahead — consider yourself warned) I legitimately feel so blessed to be a part of it. 

Let's do werk next year, kidz. Maneater 2013-2014, here we come.

Lesson learned: next year's Maneater ed board is perfect.

(Now commence freakout mode when I realize that I have to run the next issue of MOVE/write a story for the magazine I'm interning with this summer by the end of the week/I don't know maybe not fail my classes.)

Day 47: I am completely and utterly obsessed with all things California.

Earlier today I made reservations at a San Diego hotel for a super short road trip that my sister and I want to take at the beginning of summer. The extent to which this thrills me is a little insane.

I don't know, man. Something about the sunshine/palm trees/ocean air/West Coast vibes just have this ridiculous allure for me. Virtually anywhere in SoCal = my favorite place to be.

A little throwback to when my best friend and I made our first no-parents, six-hour road trip and spent our spring break on Mission Beach.

The only negative thing about California — that I've found, anyway — is that they don't have exit numbers on the freeway, which I didn't realize until I was making the drive to San Diego instead of my parents. Who doesn't have exit numbers?!

Lesson learned: I am completely and utterly obsessed with all things California.

(Except for the lack of exit numbers.)

Day 46: I'm the best version of myself at 3 a.m.

I'm telling you, I get this weird second wind and all of a sudden I'm more productive and I give better advice and all of my thoughts kind of come together in the best way possible.

If anyone was awake right now, I'm sure we'd have a really awesome conversation.

I'm also probably going to hate my life when my alarm goes off at eight tomorrow morning, but it's fine.

Lesson learned: I'm the best version of myself at 3 a.m.

Day 45: Sometimes I plan too far ahead.

Like, I already know that my room in my apartment next year is going to look like some combination of these two lovely pictures I found on Tumblr...

It's just so easy to be excited about the future sometimes, ya know?

(Especially when you have J2100 homework you should be doing... Yeah.)

Lesson learned: sometimes I plan too far ahead.

Day 44: It's impossible to be in a bad mood when it's nice outside.

Currently 71 and sunny here and Columbia and the overall happiness factor of Mizzou's population seems to have increased by about a million.

Life is good.

Lesson learned: it's impossible to be in a bad mood when it's nice outside.

Day 43: People with good communication skills should be treated like royalty.

I just conducted a phone interview with the lead singer/songwriter of this band that's currently touring the U.S. I've done this quite a few times and it usually goes perfectly fine, but apparently this particular guy decided walking along a busy city street while giving an interview was a good idea. Don't worry, I can totally hear and understand everything you're saying, dude.

Then, as I was trying to recover from that little roadblock, a foreign exchange student asked to interview me for a graduate study on reality TV. I can honestly say I have no idea whether or not I actually answered her questions...

Now that I'm sufficiently flustered by language barriers and a lack of universal, standard communication skills, I'm off to go try to make time for a friend who's here touring campus on her high school spring break, finish the five million things I have to do for homework tonight and attempt to force fun into my weekend plans.

Thank goodness I made time for a nap today or I would be in a far worse mood. Although I've definitely already reached a point where I'm looking at people like this when they talk to me...

Lesson learned: people with good communication skills should be treated like royalty.

Day 42: A bad grade isn't the end of the world.

To all of you who are just as crazy as I am and care way too much: a grade does not define you.

That is all.

Lesson learned: a bad grade isn't the end of the world.

Day 41: Caffeine after 6 p.m. is never a good idea.

Or maybe it's a great idea, if you're determined to be working on homework/doing productive things until four in the morning...

But honestly, whenever I drink my chai any time after six, I always end up getting only four hours of sleep and waking up like this:

Oops.

Lesson learned: caffeine after 6 p.m. is never a good idea.

Day 40: Few things make me happier than a really solid interview.

I don't know what it is, but I just get really genuinely happy after I have a great interview with a source.  I think a lot of it has to do with that feeling of connecting with new people on such a personal level - getting to hear their stories, listening to them get excited about something, interacting with them when you might never have done so otherwise... These concert previews I've been doing for MOVE have yet to get old. Plus, when an interview is really great, I can write a great story. And then I'm even more excited.

I don't know, yo. I'm just all about this journalistic life.

A song from the artist I interviewed today, Shannon Labrie. I can dig it.

Lesson learned: few things make me happier than a really solid interview.

And on a completely unrelated note, I was absolutely exhausted while doing my econ reading 15 minutes ago. Now I'm wide awake. It's 3:30 a.m... If my life consisted of fun things like blogging all the time, I'm pretty sure I would never actually need sleep.

Day 39: Busy isn't bad.

So this semester is absolute insanity and I pretty much spend my time doing homework, working at the Maneater, eating and sleeping, but I'm finding I'm kind of okay with that. There's never a dull moment, that's for sure... Plus, I'm slowly getting better at knowing when I deserve a study break. Watching an episode of Spongebob or going to Comedy Wars with the boys can do wonders after a long day.

The Violet Hour - The Civil Wars

I realized today that this is probably one of the best study songs ever.

And it's just a really great song in general.
(Let's all take a moment to appreciate the person who wrote "Sorry, I can't find the lyrics" in the description box of an instrumental video...)

Lesson learned: busy isn't bad.

Also, if you know how to get rid of a Mac virus, hmu. I say this with complete sincerity. A word to the wise - don't use the too-good-to-be-true website that a friend says you can use to live-stream hockey games for free...

Day 38: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

After a fantastic weekend (like, I saw Ed Sheeran live in Kansas City fantastic), today was bound to be awful. Why I didn't see it coming, I'm not sure.

So today:

I was unbelievably exhausted from two late nights making two hour drives back to school. I had to get a new student ID after losing my original one on Friday night, and then the new ID decided not to let me into my res hall or my room or let me get food. My phone also randomly hooked up to my mom's and all of the texts meant for me ended up being sent to her phone (what even...?). And, of course, on the day that I had about five million things to do, trying to fix both my ID and my phone took forever. Then the guy I was supposed to interview for my story due Wednesday double-booked our interview time, cancelled on me and then never followed through with a rescheduled time. Awesome.

On the bright side, the Coyotes beat the Wild tonight. And the text conversation that I had with this really cute, sweet guy today made me ever so slightly happier. So yay?

Blah.

Lesson learned: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

(Also, shoutout to Sir Isaac Newton. Woot woot.)

Day 37: Nothing beats the newsroom.

I'm hopelessly behind on schoolwork now and I'm feeling ridiculously overwhelmed, but somehow spending five hours at the Maneater offices this evening makes it feel worth it. I've missed the chaos and the camaraderie that only comes with a journalistic staff.

I mean, seriously - there are not many places where I can get away with singing every word to this song without being judged... Tonight, I couldn't get away with singing it without being joined. By college boys, mind you. 

(On a side note, I actually can't handle 1D's faces staring back at me in this video.)

I also haven't slept more than five or six hours a night in about a week and I just picked up a pitch for the magazine even though I'm pretty positive I can't handle the extra workload that that entails, but it's cool. I'm happy. For now.

Lesson learned: Nothing beats the newsroom.

Day 36: I actually am learning something from my economics textbook.

I've been able to tell from day one that this semester is going to require a way more disciplined work ethic than the one I kept up in the fall. The amount of homework I've had even just during syllabus week... I know I'm capable of getting everything done, but I also know I wasn't prepared to be spending this much time locked away in my room with a pile of textbooks and newspapers.

However, as my econ textbook continues to ramble on about trade-offs, it proves to be very relevant to my current situation... I feel like my life now strictly consists of the choice between keeping up with classes, a social life, and sleep.

Or this, which I've seen on Tumblr more times than I can count:

It's actually kind of cruel, the way that my first semester lulled me into a false sense of security...

Lesson learned: I actually am learning something from my economics textbook.

Also, I just realized that I accidentally recycled one of the newspapers I need to use to write my J2100 paper that's due on Tuesday, and to be able to view the stories from that issue online I have to pay for a subscription. But it's not like that makes me want to pull all my hair out or anything. Really, it's fine...

Day 35: I'm really good at worrying.

I sent out three emails today to different magazines in Scottsdale, inquiring about possible internships for the summer. I'm pretty sure that I sat there staring at my email inbox for the next fifteen minutes, just absolutely petrified. Then, a few minutes after I finally moved on to other things, the little red "1" badge popped up on my email icon and I had a mini-heart attack... Only to find that it was junk mail.

I don't even know what I'm so nervous about. I guess I just feel like whoever is going to read my mails will skim them like this:

I JUST WANT TO BE SEEN AS A VALUABLE ASSET TO THEIR PUBLICATIONS, OKAY?!

Oh my.

Lesson learned: I'm really good at worrying.

Day 34: There's something about those little traditional, gentlemanly things.

This is about to be a hopelessly girly post... Sorry 'bout it.

So today, the guy that I went to lunch with completely unexpectedly refused to let me pay for my food, and the way that he went about it was ridiculously adorable. Like it was just really genuinely sweet. For as much as I can be a total and complete feminist about some things, I'm such a sucker for a gentleman.

I'm pretty sure I actually swooned while this whole paying-for-my-lunch thing went down. Which is really embarrassing.

Lesson learned: there's something about those little traditional, gentlemanly things.

Day 33: People are generally nicer when they're hiking.

I was hiking the McDowell Sonoran Preserve this morning with my parents, and I would say that about 95% of the people we passed on the trail greeted us with either "hi," "good morning," or some variation of "how are you?" Like honestly, when are people ever that friendly? 

I'm not going to lie, this whole niceness phenomenon is a huge part of the reason why I love hiking so much.

Lesson learned: people are generally nicer when they're hiking.

Day 32: I missed hockey. A lot.

But now the lockout is over, my dad and I went to watch the Coyotes' open practice today, and the season is set to start in less than two weeks. I'm a happy girl.

Plus, after watching practice today, I'm even more excited to see number 89, Mikkel Boedker, play this season. He gained a lot of confidence in the 2011-2012 post-season, and even just seeing him on the ice today has me believing he's one to keep your eye on in 2013. (Doesn't hurt that he's beautiful and Danish and I kind of want to marry him, too, but that's beside the point.)

Boedker's OT goal in Game 3 vs. the Chicago Blackhawks.

You don't really get a good view of the goal until the replay, but it's a beauty.

Lesson learned: I missed hockey. A lot.

Day 31: There's something to be said about watching both the sunrise and the sunset in one day.

My dad and I caught the sunrise on the way up to Flagstaff and the sunset on the way back to Phoenix. As corny as it is, I live for little things like that.

Didn't hurt that this was my view for the majority of the day, too...

Lesson learned: there's something to be said about watching both the sunrise and the sunset in one day.

Day 30: Visiting other people's schools is pretty cool.

I was talking with a high school friend the other day about how it feels like we all lead two separate lives now: one at home during breaks, and one at all of our different schools. So to be able to visit somebody else at their college campus is kind of like getting an inside look at their other little world, and it's actually really cool.

Of course, visiting ASU today was like visiting half of my senior class' other world, but it's fine. I really liked getting to see a lot of people I knew in high school and walking around campus and whatever.

Plus, Barrett's dining hall looks like Hogwarts...

I'm just a tad jealous.

Lesson learned: visiting other people's schools is pretty cool.

Day 29: My obsession with the number 11 is getting out of hand.

I've always done these weird little things, like leave the volume of the stereo in my car at level eleven and set the microwave for eleven seconds when a normal person would set it for ten and believed that the eleventh day of every month is going to be some ridiculously good day for me or whatever, but now I'm scared to reblog anything more on Tumblr because I'm at exactly 1,011 posts.

That's weird.

Lesson learned: my obsession with the number 11 is getting out of hand.