I Am Thankful For...

In honor of Thanksgiving, I am writing a list of what I am thankful for. Partly because I want to write, but not necessarily in complete sentences, and partly because I have a lot to be thankful for and a list is most effective. Here are the top 10 (in no particular order) -

Awesome friends

Classic Hill Family Photo

1) Crazy family. My family is ridiculous and I love it. For example, my sister and I taught our dad how to Bernie tonight. Awesome, right?
2) Great friends. I do not know what I would do without my friends. They make sure I keep my sense of humor and stay focused on what really matters in my life.
3) A warm bed. I'm currently sitting in one of the most comfortable beds of all time. I'm thankful.
4) Wonderful boyfriend. I won't elaborate because I've talked to much about him recently.
5) FOOD. Today has been filled with awesome food and tomorrow will be too. Sophomore 30 here I come.
6) Christmas movies! Love Actually is one of my favorite movies of all time and it always restores my faith in humanity. Dramatic? I think not. Elf, Christmas Family Vacation, and Charlie Brown are also good ones.
7) No school. It is so nice to have some time to relax and do stuff that I actually want to do.
8) My health and the health of my loved ones. While not all of those around me are completely healthy, the majority are and those who aren't are recovering.
9) The opportunity to go to Spain! I leave in less than 2 months and it does not seem real yet!

10) God and my faith. He takes care of me, even when I do not deserve it.

Cheers to the Weekend

The week is finally over. I could not be happier about it. Not that this week was particularly difficult comparatively, it's just nice to finally be able to breathe this weekend because there are no major projects or tests or papers due next week. Oh the life of a liberal arts student...

One of the precious boys!

Not only is it the weekend, it's a BIG weekend. Tonight, I get to see the new Twilight movie. Say what you will about Twilight, but the hopeless angsty teen romantic inside of me can't help but love these movies. I like to think that I do a decent job of hiding it, but who really knows how well I do. Tomorrow, my sorority is hosting a silent auction and dinner for our philanthropy, Make A Wish. This is actually one of my favorite events that we do because everyone's family comes in and we all dress up and sell off donations that we have worked our butts off to get from local businesses. I am particularly excited because my step mom and brothers are coming three whole hours just to go to the auction and I cannot wait to see them. It's been too long and those boys are just too precious for me to not be excited to see all of them.

Formal time!

THEN, after the auction, my boyfriend's fraternity is having their winter formal! I'm not usually one to get dressed up, but since I already will be from the auction, it's not much more of a hassle. Plus it is always fun to dance and see all of your friends out of jeans and sweat pants and in cocktail dresses and sport coats. Now, I am a very bad dancer. There is little to no rhythm within my body and yet at formals I really do not care. I let loose and I have an absolute blast, even if I do accidentally head butt someone (sorry, Alex).

On Sunday it is our church's annual Thanksgiving dinner. Almost the entire church turns out for this because the food is SO good. It is like a preliminary Thanksgiving celebration, but it also helps to remind me what exactly I have to be thankful for. God, friends, family, and the fact that I am completely taken care of. That is the main reason I like this dinner. Not for the awesome food, or for seeing people that I haven't seen in a while, but because it is a good way to refocus right before all of the holidays so that I remember why we celebrate all of them.


So here is to one awesome weekend, hopefully. The school year is winding down and now it is time to start thinking about what is really important in life, which if you read my last post, is what I have been trying to do lately. Also, for those few of you who are reading on a regular basis, I got a 73 on that Islam test, which is an average C. And I intend to celebrate this weekend, for everything I have. I am even going to celebrate for that test, because who says you can't celebrate mediocrity?

Let's Get Real

So I'm sitting in a group study session right now, trying to avoid studying the religion of Islam by any means possible. What better way than to blog, right?

But seriously, I have spent the entire last week and a half stressing about this test. It is a class in which I have no background or experience with the subject and the amount of information is so vast that it is incredibly overwhelming. I start to look at the material and I just freeze because I do not know where to start. Tears have been shed over this test already. Obviously that is a ridiculous thing to do, so once I stopped crying, I thought to myself, why is this test so important. I do need to keep my GPA up, but if I do badly on one test is it going to screw me for the rest of my life? Is getting an A in Islamic Religious Traditions really going to make my life complete?

Aren't we precious?

This coming Sunday is my one year anniversary with an awesome boyfriend. A year is a big deal for me. I haven't ever been with anyone for more than a few months and I always did the leaving. But he makes me want to stay, which is an incredible thing. He makes me laugh and supports me in everything I do and I don't know what I would do without him at this point. I was even invited to his family's Thanksgiving celebration, so you know it's serious now.

There is also a lot of really big holidays coming up that I cannot wait for! Thanksgiving is honestly one of my favorite holidays because there is good food and really good company. I stay with my dad and my family in Knoxville who I do not see very often and it makes me so happy. We always have a feast and have a five hour family get together where everyone laughs and catches up. I love my family so much because we are the kind of family who never misses a beat when we haven't seen each other for a while. We make each other laugh until we cry and make fun of each other the majority of the time. Some of my best memories come from family gatherings and I hope they are a tradition we continue long into the future.

Casual family photo

Now back to the questions from the beginning, does my Islamic test really matter in the long run? Yes, it would be nice to pass this exam and not have the shame of an F put on me, but that's not what is important. I have an entire future ahead of me where this class will be completely irrelevant. I have friends and family who I will be spending the rest of my life with whether I get an A+ or a D- on this test. I have a boyfriend who loves me and doesn't care if I know who the caliph was in 745 or which sect of Shi'a still has an Imam, and that's what really matters in life. Funny how it takes a minor breakdown to start to think about that. And it will probably take many more breakdowns throughout my life to continue to remind me of what is important.

p.s. happy one year, sweet boy.