Greatest hits.

Well then. This is the end.

It has been a long journey with you all.

I have made many friends. Rachel and Alli in particular, even though sometimes I want to kill Alli and Raych wants to kill me. It's all great fun, mind you.

This is my "Greatest Hits" blog post. Probably the last, maybe. Who  knows.

Until then let's sum up this Journey in a quick post.

Well maybe not so quick ;)

1.) "The week before I left my little hometown of Leeds, AL it really struck me that I was leaving. I mean I had known it for sometime but now it was so evident in the way people treated me that I couldn't get past it. People didn't treat me badly, but they were all acting so sad. "I'm gonna miss you!" and "Why do you have to leave?!"
I'm not dying ya'll. Chill out."

While this is the beginning of my first blog post the journey started off in Memphis really.

We went to the Brooks museum of art, ate some really mediocre BBQ and went to the zoo.

I made friends there, and memories, maybe not super long memories, but memories all the same. It was an experience to be sure. I won't soon forget it.

2.) "Creativity is what make us ourselves
Without creativity what are we really?"

This was the post about the values 'exercise' we did. everyone chose things like love, and success. But I chose creativity. I won't quote the entire blog post, but mostly I said that creativity makes 'me' and 'you' different from all of 'them'. I have thought about it more and realized, while I still agree with my choice, it is more like Individuality instead of creativity. Over the semester I have been able to explore my creative mojo and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is making me extra-ordinary compared to all the other people who just go with the flow of life.

3.) "Anyways, Mr. Calhoun said not to take our gifts for granted, and I think that is so true. So many people take the gifts they are given and just throw them away in lieu of drugs or greed. People like this don't really live."

This blog was titled 'Everybody dies but not everyone lives' and I still agree with that. People can go day to day in a thoroughly unimportant and irrelevant life if they let themselves. We all have gifts of some sort, but some people just don't embrace those gifts. This is their great downfall. Life is filled with so many great opportunities but many people let them slip from their fingers because they refuse to leave their bed in the morning and do something. I myself and guilty of that some days.

4.) "College is NOT a burden like so many students think it is. It is an opportunity to do something greater, to be someone greater. "

So many people go to college because "My mom made me!" and it is stupid. College is an opportunity to weed out all the people who want to do something more with their lives from the people who are contented with working at Wal-Mart till they die. Yes, we need people at every job level. No, I am not saying that if you don't go to college you are stupid. All I am saying is that college is not an opportunity to be wasted, as so many people want it make it become.

5.) "Don't sweat the small stuff. <---Love that.
Don't worry if it won't matter in 5 years."

I love this. Just absolutely. I find myself worrying about any and everything, I swear I am getting gray hairs. Well I wouldn't be able to tell now. I just dyed it super dark :)

I go off on a bunch of random tangents.

Anyways, Many of the things I worry over won't matter to me or anyone else in 5 years. That bad test grade? Won't matter. That forgotten e-mail? Won't matter. But yet I worry and worry and worry over it for days at a time. I lose sleep over so many trivial things! It is horrible!

6.) I really don't feel like summarizing this post because All I would do is restate the same thing, again. So Copy and paste :)

"I don't wanna live that way! Believing every word they say!I just wanna live my life the way I wanna live it. I want to make the decisions that will push my future in a successful and positive way. Life is about living life to the fullest. I need to plan where I want to go and what i want to do in order to succeed. If you don't think about where you want your future to go then someone else will make that decision for you. You don't get from point A to point B without a plan to go where you are going. You will deal with many issues between A and B that you must press through.

"If you can dream it, you can do it. -Walt Disney"

People will also help you get from point A to B if you help yourself. You have to be willing to do what you need to do in order to get where you want to go. As you make your journey through life you will carry your bad decisions along the ENTIRE time. You can't make a lot of bad decisions and get where you plan on going. And you can NEVER just get rid of your baggage. You know when you see someone sitting alone, shoulders hunched, sad expression, they have baggage. So much baggage that it physically weighs them down. Our bad decisions through life can, not only, affect us in a negative way but can also affect someone else in horrible ways. Maybe you make one bad decision and then the next day wake up with a blood stain on your car and a dead man on your conscience. Just because you are given a bottle doesn't mean you have to drink yourself dumb. Just because you are given into bad circumstances doesn't mean you have to follow them. 'Be the change you want to see in the world.-Gandhi'

On another, semi-relevant note. My rant of the day:

I have realized something and I don't know why it has taken me so damn long to realize it. I need to quit pleasing you and her and him and all of them and I need to start pleasing myself. I need to wear what I want to wear because I like it, not because you like it, or because it is the 'style'. I need to quit worrying about what all of them think. So what if I play Pokémon, read Harry Potter, run around barefoot, color in Disney Princess coloring books and like to lay in the grass and converse with the squirrels. this is my life to live, not yours, not hers, not his, and you all better damn well quit trying to run it.  I will do what I please, wear what I please and say what I please if only to please me. Why in the world has it taken me so long to realize that I am here for myself and myself alone. Maybe I want to wear a skirt with dirty and ripped converse. Who's to say I can't just because the colors don't match. So what if I want to roll out of bed and throw my hair up like it doesn't matter. Who do I need to impress. Sure I'll need to impress others later, but right now, in this moment I will do what I want with my life. I will pursue the dead-end major and maybe fall on my ass while doing so. I will do what I want in order to get the most please and joy out of my life. I won't go into some career that I hate simply because the money is good. Money is not what drives me. What drives me is smiling people and the warm feeling you get when you've done something right, just for you. "

So yea. That was my entire post, I know, it's like cheating or something. But oh freaking well. Do you just want me to say the same thing again, just in a new way?

7.) "Something that did strike me was something he said in the very beginning. Something along the line of prices of stuff are directly related to supply and demand. "

So this post I talked about my old boss. I don't really care to rewrite it. But I have realize that everything in life is so intertwined that one strand of history affects another strand by the most minute change.

8.) "But one thing that I did get out of it is that everyone needs a mentor. Someone they can look up too no matter what and someone they can talk to in every situation. And I agree. Everyone needs to always have someone that they can look up to, in every situation. Mentor's can always help, through tough times and through academic problems."

Again. It says everything for you. I haven't found a mentor, though there are people I look up to. A mentor is something so much deeper than that though.

9.) "Most people will do anything to save their own butt even if it is completely and utterly wrong. I do not agree with this standard of living. I believe that when someone is making a decision they need to think about the people they will be affecting by this decision and really REALLY think about what is ethical. Most people I see now-a-days do not have a good base of ethics and I blame that on their parents. I grew up being taught what was right and wrong and I still hold to that today."

This was a speaker who talked about standing up for what you believe in. My post was about a fictional girl in a fictional world, but this can be applied to everyday society as well. Many people just don't care about right and wrong anymore. And that thoroughly sucks. But I guess that is what life is now-a-days.

10.) "Costa Rica was the one that hit home most for me. I have heard whispers of people saying it was their least favorite but it was my most favorite. I intend to study abroad in Costa Rica one summer and Puerto Rico the next. I would love that. I think being immersed into the Spanish culture would be simply amazing."

These speakers, as well as many friends have made me decide to minor in Spanish. I love love love the culture and would like to know all their is to know about it. Plus the food would be pretty bomb ;)

11.) "I don't want to be the person who only does something because it will make me successful and rich. All of that does NOT matter to me. Maybe I am too free-spirited. Oh well. This post title is to remind me not to say my 'goodbyes' to my child hood. Many things in my childhood have made me who I am."

This was that "safari guy" better known as Mr. Audwin. I think his words spurred most of us on more than any of the others. He was the speaker that helped me the MOST with my decision to change majors, and it also helped me decide on at least one major I wish to pursue. Philosophy. The last sentence in the part that I pulled from the post can also be related to what I am writing today. While this is the end, it is not time to say goodbye yet.

12.) "I am proud to say that I had a hand in the election. I got to vote for the FIRST freaking time!! That was exciting. And I know many people had many VERY strong opinions on the election for both sides. I had to deal with it. Trust me. But all in all I have decided that even if you don't like the president, respect him. He did something right to get where he is. Even if you don't agree with what Obama stands for, you should respect him. Whichever candidate had won would have gotten my respect no matter what."

This post was more about the election. I voted in it. For the first time. It was great. I still have my sticker and everything! I never thought I would enjoy expressing my freedom to vote, but I did. And it wasn't about which candidate was right and which was wrong, because I believe both would have been able to succeed in office one way or the other. I believe this election was turned into something it should not have been. All in all, we need to respect our authority.

13.) Last but not least.

"This is what we must do. We must jump out of the boat and have the courage to do something greater than our employers thought we were capable of."

I only said employers because that was who we were talking about, but this should be applied to life as well. We should try our hardest to do things that we are proud of and that are maybe not in our comfort zone. If we constantly stay in our comfort zone we will never get anywhere in life. We will just stay in a little bubble with nothing but what we are used to.

Well, It has been fun. I have learned a lot about all my classmates and I regret that I did not get to know some of them better. I know I have kinda failed at being a part of the 'community' that Vince has talked about. I know I should try harder. And maybe I will soon. But for now.

Ta-Ta

Adios

Adieu

And may the odds be ever in your favor

Love

C

Always.

Peter walks on water

William Hargett.

This man was alright.
Many of the speakers are helping me to decide what I want to major in and do for the rest of my life and this one is no different.

Some of my notes include:
1. Show up
2. Be prepared.
3. Be professional
4. Do the right things, the right way, consistently.
5. Exceed expectations.
6. Capture opportunity.

I believe these are 'goals' that people should look to accomplish in their work ethic. Some other things he said were to communicate what you know, If you aren't there your company wont see that you are reliable, and comply at work because that is what you are paid to do. It is so easy to try to be a bad ass and say 'screw authority! I am my own person' but when you are paid to do something a certain way, you can't try to break the mold and be different, and if you do then do it in a good way. This reminds me of a sermon I heard once. I wish I had my notes from it but what the speaker pretty much said is that we need to jump of the pages of our book of life, in a good way. God has a book written for us and sometimes people can fall off it and do bad things and sometimes people can jump off the pages and go farther than God's expectations. He put this into context with the story of the Peter walking on water. Even though Peter was told "Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid." Peter decided to test his faith and say "If it is you then tell me to come out on the water." So Jesus did, and Peter stepped out of the boat. Into the middle of a river. Who would have the courage to believe a few words spoken in the dark of the night. Peter jumped off the pages of his book and did something no one else has ever done (besides Jesus.), he walked on water.

This is what we must do. We must jump out of the boat and have the courage to do something greater than our employers thought we were capable of.

I know the sacrifice.

Yet another businessman.
Steve Pierce.
Is that the right name.
I hope so.

this one did not strike me as interesting. I did learn some things like:
-know everything about the company you apply for beforehand
-"If you want to impress me, beat me to work"
-Censor your social media presence.
-Shake people's hands at career fairs and interviews.
-The answer is always no unless you ask,

Good information for interviewing and such. But other than that I got very few notes on this speaker.
So sue me. He was uninteresting.

I meant to write about this in the previous post but I forgot. Oh silly me.

The election was a few weeks ago. November 6th right?
I am proud to say that I had a hand in the election. I got to vote for the FIRST freaking time!! That was exciting. And I know many people had many VERY strong opinions on the election for both sides. I had to deal with it. Trust me. But all in all I have decided that even if you don't like the president, respect him. He did something right to get where he is. Even if you don't agree with what Obama stands for, you should respect him. Whichever candidate had won would have gotten my respect no matter what.

Don't say your goodbyes.

I feel these song lyrics follow my thought process during this speaker.
Mr. Audwin Pierre Mcgee.

I intended to title this one "Live in Your Childhood"
But the other one fit better in my opinion.

Anyways, here goes.

In my 'kid' years I dreamed of Harry Potter. I know I can't live in the wizarding world and go to Hogwarts. I waited on my letter...heck, who am I kidding, I am still waiting.
But, I am old enough and strong enough to know that my letter is not coming so I look deeper into my childhood and I can see a vague outline of what brings me joy. This speaker really helped me because I am struggling with deciding my major. I am switching from Journalism to....something. I don't even know yet. It is really difficult to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life in one singular decision. Yes, I know I am a freshman and my decision today will not completely change my future, I have time to change my mind again later. But what if this is my final decision. I want to change into something I will truly love so I don't change again and again and again. I don't want to be 'that person'. I have always been very flighty when it comes to my 'future'. What do i want to do? Who do I want to be? I simply DO NOT KNOW. Lots of things are helping my make my decision. From my boss to my best friend. But for now I will search my childhood memories and find what makes me happy. And I will do something with that. I don't want to be the person who only does something because it will make me successful and rich. All of that does NOT matter to me. Maybe I am too free-spirited. Oh well. This post title is to remind me not to say my 'goodbyes' to my child hood. Many things in my childhood have made me who I am.

Will you still hold me when you see what I have done?

Study Abroad!!!

I have been wanting to do this for a month or more now. These speakers only made me want to do it more.
While I am not a big fan of China, the China presentation was glorious. I would love to visit but not take classes while I was there.
I would love to visit Spain. It would be the most awesome dream come true. I would not have the guts to go by myself however. I could go with a UNA group. That would be fun!
Costa Rica was the one that hit home most for me. I have heard whispers of people saying it was their least favorite but it was my most favorite. I intend to study abroad in Costa Rica one summer and Puerto Rico the next. I would love that. I think being immersed into the Spanish culture would be simply amazing.

That's really all I have to say on that subject.

Look pretty pictures!!!!

This is what happens when I am bored. I draw a Pac-Man and Navi. 

BTW the words at the bottom are part of the legend of the Tri-Force.

I kinda feel like it don't make sense.

(Yes I know that my post title is not grammatically correct. It is from a song. Bear with me and move on.)

Ms. Libby Watts Jordan, UNA Board of Trustees & Director of Cultural Tourism, Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Bureau

Gosh, Isn't that a title.
And our only woman speaker!! Lord.

Well this was from about a month ago. I know, I completely suck at keeping this blog up-to-date. I just have to be in the mood to blog. And lately I haven't been. More on that late. For now let me tell you my thoughts about Ms. Jordan.

The jist of her presentation was that you should be true to yourself and do what you believe is right. There are gray areas in the ethical/unethical ad legal/illegal spectrum. Not so much bout the legal/illegal. But many legal decisions are unethical. I recently read a book (it wasn't that good so I wont tell you the title) and in this book a young girl made some bad decisions and they led to her wrecking a car which cause the death of her best friend. But the instances leading up to the wreck were wholly NOT her fault but she went to jail and atoned for the wrong doing anyways. In my opinion this is an example of when a legal decision was unethical. Many other thing could have been done in order for her to pay her due that she did not deserve.

That was a lengthy explanation and I am sorry. But what I loved about this book is that the young girl in the novel she stood up for what she believed in (that she single-handedly caused her friend's death) even if it meant spending years in a prison cell. Now I am NOT telling you to go do something stupid and just plead guilty to it. I am saying that even through all the counsel not to plead guilty she still did what she thought was right and I believe we do not see enough of that in day to day society. Most people will do anything to save their own butt even if it is completely and utterly wrong. I do not agree with this standard of living. I believe that when someone is making a decision they need to think about the people they will be affecting by this decision and really REALLY think about what is ethical. Most people I see now-a-days do not have a good base of ethics and I blame that on their parents. I grew up being taught what was right and wrong and I still hold to that today.

Enough of my rant.
I hate math. I just sat here for 2 1/2 hours trudging through a GIANT pile of math problems because I waited till the last minute. Don't procrastinate. Or one day you will sit in your bed for hours doing math and writing the 4 blogs you are behind on. I deserve to fail this class. Meh.

Bye lovely!
-C

Mr. Eko

Wesley Desselle, M.D., Helen Keller Hospital 

I don't want to go into medicine.
It is not for me.
But I really didn't mind this speaker. 
He was really passionate about what he was doing. 
Which I appreciated. 

But one thing that I did get out of it is that everyone needs a mentor. Someone they can look up too no matter what and someone they can talk to in every situation. And I agree. Everyone needs to always have someone that they can look up to, in every situation. Mentor's can always help, through tough times and through academic problems.

The next thing is that people need to keep going till they get it done and to never ever give up. Everything we do in life will come with it's ups and it's downs. There is no way that life will always be all good. You have to try to push through everything that stand in your way no matter what. If you believe in something then go for it. Stand tall through all the bad stuff and you will always, always, succeed. 

I have no more to say on this speaker. 
As I previously said, I don't want to be in medicine. I never will. It is not my forte.

Happy Pokemon time!!! I love Pokemon. This is my favorite basic and all it's evolutions.

From top to bottom:

Jolteon, Umbreon, Espeon,

Flareon, Vaporeon, Eevee,

Leafeon, Glaceon.

All my favorites. :)

I don't ever wanna leave this town.

Mr. William Lee, Commercial Farmer 

This was one that I didn't get much out of. 

Something that did strike me was something he said in the very beginning. Something along the line of prices of stuff are directly related to supply and demand. (somthing about corn...I think.) And I remembered a conversation my (ex-) boss had with a customer and I. Rusty (the boss) owns a BBQ joint (I've mentioned it before.) and he sometimes has to raise the price of our menu items. And as a cashier it directly affects me. The regulars know the exact price of their item and they damn well better not have to pay any more. So when the prices increase (even by just .20 cents. Seriously. True story.) I have to deal with angry people. But I never actively thought "Why do we have to increase the prices?" It was always just a thing. I mean I'm a teenager. I have other things on my mind. But one day Rusty was talking to a customer and they got on the topic of McDonald's McRib sandwiches (don't eat them. Seriously.) Pretty much McDonald's buys all the scraps of pork that no one wants to use in QUALITY food (like Rusty's BBQ) and they mash it all up and compress it into a rib shaped glob of yuck. Well Mickey D's buying all this gross pork substance drives up pork prices. Which means Rusty pays just a fraction more for pork. But when you own a BBQ joint where pork is the main ingredient in a lot of dishes then that fraction turns into a monumentous amount of money. So the prices of a regular BBQ sandwich have to go up by just the SLIGHTEST eensy little itty bitty amount. But it makes all the difference in the world to the people who buy our food. 

Do you see where I went with all this? I hope so. 



Not Relevant:

I am in love with this song. Like completely and utterly smitten. I just adore it.

Pic is related.

To the song.

Not the blog.

Just for me. Sorta.

Mr. Ross Berry, CEO, Shoals Hospital

I wrote this when I was taking notes. I decided I would just use it as my blog. It fits. 
(And yes the beginning is 'Somebody that I used to know' by Gotye)(Sorta)

I don't wanna live that way! Believing every word they say!I just wanna live my life the way I wanna live it. I want to make the decisions that will push my future in a successful and positive way. Life is about living life to the fullest. I need to plan where I want to go and what i want to do in order to succeed. If you don't think about where you want your future to go then someone else will make that decision for you. You don't get from point A to point B without a plan to go where you are going. You will deal with many issues between A and B that you must press through.

"If you can dream it, you can do it. -Walt Disney"

People will also help you get from point A to B if you help yourself. You have to be willing to do what you need to do in order to get where you want to go. As you make your journey through life you will carry your bad decisions along the ENTIRE time. You can't make a lot of bad decisions and get where you plan on going. And you can NEVER just get rid of your baggage. You know when you see someone sitting alone, shoulders hunched, sad expression, they have baggage. So much baggage that it physically weighs them down. Our bad decisions through life can, not only, affect us in a negative way but can also affect someone else in horrible ways. Maybe you make one bad decision and then the next day wake up with a blood stain on your car and a dead man on your conscience. Just because you are given a bottle doesn't mean you have to drink yourself dumb. Just because you are given into bad circumstances doesn't mean you have to follow them. 'Be the change you want to see in the world.-Gandhi'

On another, semi-relevant note. My rant of the day:

I have realized something and I don't know why it has taken me so damn long to realize it. I need to quit pleasing you and her and him and all of them and I need to start pleasing myself. I need to wear what I want to wear because I like it, not because you like it, or because it is the 'style'. I need to quit worrying about what all of them think. So what if I play Pokémon, read Harry Potter, run around barefoot, color in Disney Princess coloring books and like to lay in the grass and converse with the squirrels. this is my life to live, not yours, not hers, not his, and you all better damn well quit trying to run it.  I will do what I please, wear what I please and say what I please if only to please me. Why in the world has it taken me so long to realize that I am here for myself and myself alone. Maybe I want to wear a skirt with dirty and ripped converse. Who's to say I can't just because the colors don't match. So what if I want to roll out of bed and throw my hair up like it doesn't matter. Who do I need to impress. Sure I'll need to impress others later, but right now, in this moment I will do what I want with my life. I will pursue the dead-end major and maybe fall on my ass while doing so. I will do what I want in order to get the most please and joy out of my life. I won't go into some career that I hate simply because the money is good. Money is not what drives me. What drives me is smiling people and the warm feeling you get when you've done something right, just for you. 

Every little single thing you do.

Mr. Macke Mauldin, President, Bank Independent.

Yea. Didn't like this one so much.
No offense to him of course. But I feel like he just wanted us to go to his bank and give him our money. Maybe that isn't what he was trying to do. But that's what it felt like. Anyways.

What we do now matters for the rest of our lives.
Be kind and generous.
Don't sweat the small stuff. <---Love that.
Don't worry if it wont matter in 5 years.

Golden rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated.

That was the basis of what I got. 
Dig into it as deep as you want.
I don't really care to.

I feel bad for not caring so much about this speaker but I just didn't feel it. ya'know.

Did anyone else see that hippy guy? With his tent thing beside the ampitheatre? I wanted one of those tapestry thingys. But, alas, as a broke college student I can't really shell out the money.

Raised By Another.

Again. I am behind!
Lordy Courtney, do something right for once >.<
Anyways.

The Honorable Gilbert P. Self, Circuit Court Judge.

I actually really liked this speaker. 
What I really got out of this presentation was that college is an opportunity that we should not give up for no reason. College is NOT a burden like so many students think it is. It is an opportunity to do something greater, to be someone greater. The way we can make sure we are able to use this opportunity to our advantage is to always do what we believe is right. We need to figure out what we are going to do with our values and do something greater with our lives than we previously thought we could. We should ALWAYS try our darndest to do what is best. 

That's pretty much what I got from this speaker. My notes are all a jumbled mess. Blah
Then of  course I have my math homework. From like 3 weeks ago.

I'm watching Lost. I love Lost. I got so far behind that I have to watch the first season all over again. For the third time.
OH MY WORD. I was looking for Ms. Debra Glass's scary ghost novels and lookie what I found!
Read the description. It's very juicy ;)
http://www.amazon.com/Badcock-ebook/dp/B003XU7IQS/ref=la_B0036LFNI4_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349841074&sr=1-18

Everybody dies but not everyone lives.

Well I'm a little overdo for a blog or two. Right?
Meh.

I still need to blog about Mr. Thomas J. Calhoun Jr.
The STEM program gave me nothing. I'm not a STEM focused student and I do not wish to go into the STEM field.
But, he talked about a lot more than that.
He also talked about life as a college student.
That's what i liked the most about his talk.
What really drew me into wanting to listen to him was that he sounded EXACTLY like my old principal in high school.
Coach Turner was loud and sometimes annoying but he was so passionate about what he spoke on that people wanted to listen to him. or maybe that was just me.

Anyways, Mr. Calhoun said not to take our gifts for granted, and I think that is so true. So many people take the gifts they are given and just throw them away in lieu of drugs or greed. People like this don't really live.
he also said we have to allow ourselves to experience ignorance. I think this is a neat way to think about things. Ignorance is the state of being uninformed. I'm sure I'm not telling anyone anything new. Ignorance is part of life. But to a certain point ignorance is good. We can't know everything or our brain would exploded. If we dedicate our live to knowing everything then we will be taking our gifts for granted. See it all ties back together.
Another thing he touched on was that we are not so smart that life's challenges will not come to us. We may be the best of the best. The upper crust. Muy rico. But we are not so smart that life doesn't challenge us in different ways than we ever knew.
The last point I want to speak on is that plans change. We have to accept that. Nothing, NOTHING we do can ever stop things from changing. Life is like that. It moves and shapes us into something we may not be willing to accept at first.

Today is National Suicide Prevention/Awareness day. Writing 'love' on your arm or wearing yellow shows your support for such a worthy cause.

let's see yours.

I've been looking for a lifeline

-Lifeline by Papa Roach-

So soon.
Why Courtney, you actually do want to do this.
No. No I don't.

In Forum a few short hours (well not so short now since I got distracted!) ago we talked about values. As we left I wanted to write about my values in my journal. But, guess what? I have to blog about my experiences so here goes.

We scrolled through a list of 28 values and we were supposed to pick about 10 or 12 or 14. I picked 17. Go figure.  Before we broke off into groups I was able to condense it down to 13. Good Number.

Then we had to pick our top.

We went in a circle.

Challenge
Love
Integrity
Faith
Creativity
Courage
Passion

Creativity was mine.

Bet ya'll are like "Why? It's so stupid. Of all the other you pick Creativity." And that is what the girls (and Zach) probably felt like. It was at the last of everyone's list.

But this is my reckoning:
Creativity is what make us ourselves
Without creativity what are we really?
The challenges we face are not the same as anyone else's, but without our creative selves our challenges aren't any different than the person's next to us. How do we differentiate between my challenge and yours? We allow our selves to be open to change. Maybe Creativity isn't the right word to describe it, but its pretty darn close.
Love is a singular thing, but our creativity shows who we love and how we love and what we love. Without creativity  love wouldn't even be a thing. We would all just be drone's moving to the sound of a singular beat. With creativity our love can be turned into something wholly new and amazing. We can move to the sound of our drums. The rhythmic beat, beat, beat that we set in motion.
Integrity. This was a tough one to talk about. To be consistently open, honest,  ethical, and genuine. Good one Zach. Good one. The definition (listed a line or so up) speaks wonders. Integrity means being honest. I am not whole without my creativity, it is what keeps me going at day and helps me sleep at night. Without my creativity I am nothing more than a shell. How can I be honest to anyone if I am not first honest to myself.

Faith is another tough one. But without the creative mind to know what to have faith in who are we really? Just little people in a realm of confusion believing or having faith in things that other believe in. Who says what we can really have faith in? We do. I don't believe we could ever function as an individual without having a creative mind.
Courage is not one I wish to trifle with. I like courage. I was going to chose it but creativity spoke to me in ways that courage could not. Maybe it is just the way I think.
Passion is tough as well. (We all chose excellent ones BTW) My passion is in my creativity. They are wound together as one, inseparable. Without the creativity and individuality to know what you want to be passionate about passion is nothing.

Creativity allows us to be much much more than nothing.

Creativity is much more than a few brush strokes and written words. It is the life line that runs through our world. My world.

Again, maybe this is just my thinking. But this is also my blog. 

I'm the one crazy after all.

Bet ya'll are looking at the blog title and are like "Wha?"
I love Harry Potter. Like real talk. And Sirius was a seriously underrated character.
Didja like that play on words *giggle*

Cloudy is my old high school nickname and I figured 'what the hey, let's do it.'

The post title is from my all time favorite artist Daughtry called "Crazy"

So anyways. Blogs, what wonderful things. Quite frankly I am not a blog person. Guess I'll have to manage. After all this is for a grade.

So let us begin. But where oh where to start?

The week before I left my little hometown of Leeds, AL it really struck me that I was leaving. I mean I had known it for sometime but now it was so evident in the way people treated me that I couldn't get past it. People didn't treat me badly, but they were all acting so sad. "I'm gonna miss you!" and "Why do you have to leave?!"
I'm not dying ya'll. Chill out.
But I did leave and I was sad about it and I cried but I managed. I kinda had to. When my boyfriend drove away Sunday after helping me unpack I just really cried. Only for a minute or to. But still. Tears, man. They suck.
The next morning everything didn't seem so bad. I soon became accustomed to this new environment. I made new friends.
Then the Honors trip. I wasn't super good friends with ANYONE in the Honors program. I panicked. Who would I sit by? Who would I room with? What if no one liked me?
You will learn I am a very insecure person.
But I was saved the trouble of worry for very long. Little Miss Aly Pardue sat by me and we just clicked. At least I think we did. We liked similar things and she was so outgoing. It was exciting.
Till we actually left and I drew a blank for anything to ask. I have never, never, never been good and idle conversations. It's like a skill that I have not ever learned.
Then 'The Other Guys' one of the most stupid yet hilarious movies. Things began falling in place. I took a cat nap even. I began to get comfortable.
After we arrived I met my hotel roommates and they were super sweet!! I thought the trip was kinda looking up! A group of about 7 girls (myself included) went to a little mexican place. I love mexican food. Like real talk. Dinner was awesome then afterwards all us girls were just so exhausted. A long day of classes combined with a 2 1/2ish hour drive. So we all agreed, a quick look at the river then back to the hotel. And I didn't mind. Sure I missed out on some experiences but I had fun none the less.
Most of the girls headed back up to my hotel room where we sat and talked and got to know each other. Then one by one they left for their respective rooms.
At this point I was dying for some alone time to call my boyfriend. I didn't want to be rude and just be like "Hey ya'll needa leave so I can call my boo-thang." I waited patiently and learned a lot about some of the girls I hung out with.
Not even a minute passed by before Courtney (one of the other ones) and Aubree returned with Victoria. There goes my free time. But again, I didn't mind. This trip was supposed to be about new connections. My boyfriend could wait.
I did call him later and talk to him though [:
So I made new connections. We stayed up till about 12 just talking, about anything.  It was great.
Sleepy
Sleepy
Sleepy
Sleepy
MORNING!
The morning was fun. We all got ready, ate breakfast and loaded the bus to head to our next destination.
The Brooks Museum of Art.
It was actually really cool. I am a big museum person so I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We saw a ton of art work and such. My favorite was the African art on the Upper floor. At least I think it was African...
Anyways :)
Then off to a BBQ joint.

Quick story time. I worked at a local BBQ joint in Leeds called Rusty's. I am very critical of my BBQ now.
Rusty's won that round.
No offense to the other place.

Off to the ZOO!!!
This was the most exciting part. All the animals were so photogenic. The monkey's swung around, the giraffes came out for us, the penguins waved at us, and the tigers were beautiful.
I got sad seeing all those animals caged up like that. But they were raised in captivity so that helped a little. One poor little kitty was stalking and panting. Poor thing. Hopefully, it was just the stormy weather though. Hopefully.
I love zoos. But I hate the idea of them. Does that make any sense? Probably not.
But this zoo experience was fun. All the people I walked around with were super cool and it was just great.
The bus ride back was great. I became even closer friends with Aly over Harry Potter. "Go Neville!!"
Then back to our little dorm room where Kate and I stayed up talking forever.

College life has definitely been an experience (so far). It is filled with its ups and its downs and I am curious to see where it leads me.
Other than up all these dang stairs.
;) but my calves are gonna look great.

I auditioned for a play, which I never would have done in Leeds, and it was so fun. Even though I am confident I am NOT going to get a part, I still thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Now its time to say "Adios!"
See ya later.
And may the odds be ever in your favor.

-C-

Oh enjoy the pics!

^--that's my HP tattoo :)

Love this thing.

Favorite piece at the museum

PANDA!!!!!

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

Doin his prairie dog thing :)