Frustration

Sitting here on a Tuesday afternoon trying to sift through pages of information on the politics of Pakistan, I feel very discouraged. How are we supposed to figure out the way foreign countries work and understand their cultures just by trying to compile information from a newspaper? I am so overwhelmed by this task.

I just... want to understand the world. I want to know what is going on outside of the United States. It's definitely sad and pathetic that many people have no idea what is happening beyond their backyards. We understand so little despite everything we learn. Picking up the New York Times that I never get around to reading anymore isn't really helping. There must be some better way to go about comprehending this planet and other people.

I just feel like a person who is trying to hold on to something in the darkness.

From Imagination to Reality and Beyond

I have always pictured college with the following:

pea coats, scarves, coffee and lots of it, Starbucks, snow, old brick buildings, chill atmosphere with dim lights, long haul all-nighters involving 3 bottles of coca-cola and lots of paper, good quality books, professor seminars, fun nights out with new friends, hardcore study groups (yeah math 35,000 kids!), cute rain boots...

Interestingly enough, most of these images are turning into reality.

Happiness. :)

~*~

I also wanted to say this: no matter what crazy ambitious, impossible, ridiculously outrageous goals you have in life--- don't create barriers between yourself and those goals. Don't keep yourself from doing your best because you think you won't be able to keep up. You've done it before and can do it again. Get it, girl.

Lack of Inspiration?

Hi everyone.

I hope college is going well for all of you. I'm sad that we do not blog as much anymore to keep up with each other, but hopefully, you are all doing well.

This week was really busy. I had 2 paper proposals due on Tuesday, 1 chemistry test, 2 rehearsals, tons of calculus, and some random meetings. Thankfully, I made it through the week without freaking out or exploding.

Remember how I used to write about things that had inspired me or made me think throughout the day? I feel like these few weeks, I've just been too tired to think straight. Either that or nothing quite interesting has happened.

Maybe this will all get better.

Emily

The Truth I Never Knew

This is going to sound very silly, but, I recently realized that we can control our lives.

For example, in high school, I always felt like there was an expectation and a set of rules I had to live up to: no cutting class, no hanging out with friends when you have homework to do, you have to be on time and make A's. There is no way you can just randomly go travel somewhere or do something spontaneous.

...Not that I'm saying I will all of the sudden turn into a bad girl. It's just that I realized, we lead our own lives! If we want to go for something, we can! I can visit Cornell if I want to. I can study abroad. I can skip classes if I don't feel like going. It's okay to not take the most challenging classes in math.

Seriously. College is not like high school where you are bounded by another person's set of rules or even peer pressure. You play by your own standards and do what you think is right (with help of your friends and parents, of course).

So, here's to finally being a free spirit!