Blessed

Oh man it's been WAY too long since I've blogged! Senior year is passing by like the T that cuts BU in half.

...That's way too fast, for those who don't live in Boston.

This year has just been insanity - unorganized, discombobulated, spastic and awesome insanity. I've done so much, and I don't even remember how I did it all. How did I have time to have A's in all my classes, take the GRE, apply to 7 grad schools, run a marathon, do 2 triathlons, have a friend visit for ten days from England, and have an active social life? No wonder I'm always tired!

I think on my resume under accomplishments I should be able to write "Mastered Time Management" because that's the only thing I can think of that explains how I'm still alive and kickin' right now.

I think time management is one of the most valuable qualities a person can have. I don't screw around, I don't spend excessive time on the computer or internet, I don't lay in bed for hours or wander aimlessly from room to room. But I think that's just my personality - if I'm not studying, I'm running or biking. If I'm not doing that, I'm eating or walking around Boston. Call me crazy, but I hate the thought of spending my college years laying in bed being hungover. I go to bed relatively early so I can wake up by 8 to start my day. I don't like to sit still or be bored. We'll call it PADD - Productive Attention Deficit Disorder. The good thing is, all of my friends are the same way I am so we all feel the same way when it comes to when to stay in on a weekend to do work and when it's time to have a night out.

This year has honestly been the best of college - and that includes those crazy confused Freshman years when you're blissfully ignorant. I feel like I have direction, end goals, and I'm studying a career I'm in love with. I have the best boyfriend a girl could ever dream up and just the best friends who love me exactly the way I am. I've never loved Boston more, with it's crazy traffic and congested streets and cold Northeasterners. In 5 months, I'll be sad to go, but happy to leave.

I think this year a big thing I've discovered in myself is not what I think I want, but what I actually want. When you're young you have all these ideas of what you're life will be like when you grow up - they usually include a summer house in the Hamptons, a big family, rich husband, huge house, living somewhere exciting in a job you're passionate about, or maybe not working at all. That all sounds nice, but this year, and especially now, I've discovered what I thought was important and what is actually important.

A friend of mine talks nonstop about the diamond ring her boyfriend is giving her for Christmas, the trips they're taking, the nice dinners, and the expensive gifts... Another person I know made her boyfriend buy her a $15,000 engagement ring. Another girl is so hooked on shopping that her room is so cluttered with stuff she can't get to her desk. She's also so stressed out with her new house and decorating it she hasn't had time to even explore the new city she's living in. And still another friend is mad because the career she wants leaves her no time to have kids.

Two years ago I would think that these are all just life's problems, but not anymore. Chris and I don't do expensive gifts or trips or nice dinners, but we have a blast just sitting on his bed laughing until we cry. We're perfectly happy going to get ice cream and watching Modern Family on Hulu. And I know he loves me not because he buys me gifts, but because he lets me have the last french fry, pick the restaurant we go to, and comes to my room when we hang out so I don't have to walk downstairs. He wouldn't even think of letting me walk home in the dark, and last summer he drove an hour and a half twice a week to pick me up because he knows I get sad in the city. For us, a great date is going for a run and lifting after. Or getting lost on our bikes somewhere in Weston. He is kind to my friends and takes time to come over to talk to them. Yes, he gave me a stuffed gerbil for our one year anniversary and candy for most other holidays. But does that make me jealous of other girls' boyfriends? No. Because they might have diamonds and vacations, but I have Chris.

SPEAKING of Chris. He got based in Utah for next year! I can't think of a more perfect place for him. Mountain biking, skiing, hiking, cycling...it's so perfect for him. If you haven't seen Utah, Google it right now. It's breathtaking. Think Colorado but ten times better because it's less touristy. When I tell anyone about Chris's assignment, everyone keeps being concerned about what will happen to us next year, or if we'll break up if we don't end up in the same place. Honestly it didn't even cross my mind. When I was applying to grad school, Chris told me to apply anywhere and everywhere I wanted - North Carolina, South Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Missouri...he never asked me once to stay in the Northeast or base my decisions off where he might be based. He was never once concerned about distance, so why should I be? It'd be selfish to be upset over his base assignment because he is so unbelievably happy I would never want to take that away from him. Us breaking up is the farthest thing from my mind, I'm just thrilled I don't have to visit him in Oklahoma or New Mexico!

There's just so much to be happy about right now I honestly don't have anything bad to write...

So here is to not filling empty spaces in your life with material things, to laughing way too much, to working hard for what you REALLY want, not what you think you want, and not being scared of change.

Love love love,

me