Time to sit back and unwind

Summer is coming soon and I am SO. EFFING. EXCITED. Seriously, it cannot arrive fast enough. I'm really looking forward to not having to go to classes every day, study, or do homework. The prospect sounds amazing.

In summer's past, I'd spend a lot of my time lazing around, daydreaming in the sunshine, and eating fresh tomatoes as if they were apples. I'm still gonna do that; that is what summer is to me. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to get a job this summer. I'm a college student, I need money. Oh wellz.

I also want to do some other things this summer, so I thought I'd make a little list. (I love lists)

Things that I want to accomplish this summer:

1. Go to concerts

I am seeing Crystal Castles in August and I'd love to see more bands!

2. Grow my hair out
It's been my goal for like 2 years now to grow my hair out until it reaches my derriere. This summer, I'm gonna try not to cut it.

3. Exercise every day
It's so much easier for me to exercise during the summer. Swimming, walks, playing outside. So much more fun than jogging on a treadmill.

4. Swim <3

I love being underwater. It is euphoric.

5. Read
I haven't read a book just for fun for waaaaayyyyy too long.

6. Visit Ashland friends

7. Catch up on music intake
Being in college is hard work; it leaves little time to just sit and listen to music. I desperately need to catch up on my tunage.

8. Watch (500) Days of Summer

Because I've been craving this movie for a while, and it's got the word "summer" in the title!

9. Spend as much time with my niece and nephew as possible
I miss them so much when I'm away, so I'd like to spend a ton of time with them this summer.

10. Do some soul-searching


Summer, hurry up please. I've got big plans for the two of us.

-tjms
21 April 2011
"On an island in the sun, we'll be playing and having fun. And it makes me feel so fine, I can't control my brain"
<3

WHOA, dream big!

                         

I'm a dreamer. Tis true. But I'm not the only one...or, at least I hope I'm not.

We grow up learning about how imperfect the world is- the crimes, the injustices, the lack of jobs, blah blah blah. It really makes one wonder whether or not we really have a chance in this world. We're all the time told that you need to pick a job that makes a lot money because the cost of living is increasing and the job market is declining. Wow, great. I'm really glad I'm spending thousands of dollars on tuition for college when there are people with degrees working at Wal-Mart. It sometimes makes me wonder if I should go for a job like a nurse where I know I'll always be needed. But, you know what? I don't wanna do that. I wanna do something that I am passionate about.

I started off college as a psychology major, and I do love psychology and I know that psychologists will always be needed in our society no matter what. But it's not what I'm meant to do. It's just not. I'm glad I've realized this early in my college years, because I don't want to think 5 years and thousands of dollars down the line "I'm not happy doing this." Call me crazy, but dammit, I want to be happy!

What makes me happy, you ask? I don't completely know yet. I'm kinda indefinitely in that "figuring shit out" phase right now. But I know that I love music way too much to not do something related to it for a career. I've also realized this semester that I love being in front of people, giving speeches, and making people laugh. It makes my heart explode with glee every time I get a good response from a speech. Also, my love of writing has resurfaced, which is exciting. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out how to smoosh all these things together into one massive, badass career. It'll happen eventually.

My point is that, if you have a dream, chase it. No matter what statistics tell you, no matter what your professors say, no matter what, chase it. You'll thank yourself in the long run.

Trust me.

-tjms
15 April 2011
"Maybe if I really tried with all of my heart then I could make a brand new start"
<3

A Dream Deferred
by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

 

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

 

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

 

Or does it explode?

Singing about a day of the week really isn't that new of an idea

By now, everyone has heard Rebecca Black's universally panned yet nevertheless very popular song "Friday" as well as the many spoofs on such song. I know, old news. I'm not going to be talking about that song, I believe that ship has sailed. But, one thing I've been thinking about is that this whole "I'm going to sing about a day of the week" thing isn't a new idea. Songs with days of the week in their titles have been around for decades now.

Let's take a look... 

Monday
"I Don't Like Mondays" - The Boomtown Rats
"Rainy Days and Mondays"- The Carpenters

"Blue Monday"- New Order

"Monday, Monday"- The Mamas and the Papas
"Manic Monday"- The Bangles

Tuesday

"Ruby Tuesday"- The Rolling Stones

"Tuesday's Gone"- Lynyrd Skynyrd

"Tuesday Morning"- The Pogues

"C U Next Tuesday"- Ke$ha 

Wednesday

"Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M."- Simon & Garfunkel
"Waiting for Wednesday"- Lisa Loeb
"Ash Wednesday"- Elvis Perkins
"Wednesday"- Tori Amos

Thursday
"Thursday"- The Futureheads
"Thursday's Child"- David Bowie
"No Typical Thurday Night"- The Downtown Fiction
"Blackouts on Thursday"- Les Savy Fav

Friday

"Friday I'm in Love"- The Cure

"Friday Night At The Drive-In Bingo"- Jens Lekman

"Friday"- Sunny Day Real Estate

"Friday Night"- Lily Allen

Saturday
"Come Saturday"- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
"Saturday in the Park"- Chicago
"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"- Elton John
"10:15 Saturday Night"- The Cure
"Saturday Night"- Suede
"Saturday"- Built to Spill
"Another Saturday Night"- Sam Cooke

Sunday
"Sunday Sun"- Beck
"Sunday's Pretty Icons"- Belle & Sebastian
"Sunday Sunday"- Blur
"Sunday"- The Cranberries
"Sunday Morning"- The Velvet Underground
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"- U2
"Everyday Is Like Sunday"- Morrissey
"Sunday"- Sonic Youth
"Sunday"- Sia
"Sunday Morning Call"- Oasis

Also, if that's not enough, there are artists such as:
Happy Mondays
Hey Monday
'Til Tuesday
Wednesday 13
Thursday
Gavin Friday
On a Friday (who became Radiohead)
Saturday Looks Good to Me
Taking Back Sunday
The Sundays

-tjms
9 April 2011
"Come Saturday, you'll come to stay. You'll come to sway in my arms. Who cares if there's a party somewhere; we're gonna stay in."
<3

Life has a funny way of being good sometimes

Do you ever have those moments in life where everything is okay? Just for one moment, everything is great. When you catch yourself in a moment and you're saying, "Wait, I'm happy here in this moment."

As Nas said (well...rapped): "Life's a bitch and then you die". And yeah, we all know that that is true sometimes. Some days, you wake up late for a class in which you have an exam in, your hair looks like shit, and then you fall on the icy sidewalk for the 50th effing time and you're about to lose it.

Yeah, if you're like me, those days happen way more often than I would ever want them to. But have you ever noticed how sometimes, whether it be for a day, an hour, or just a single moment, life is good? You're not sure why, but you feel okay with everything going on in your life. This brief moments of peace almost make up for the times when life is less than stellar.

Most people have a lot on their plates- and I've definitely got my fair share. And last week was rough. So many exams, reading assignments, classes and other responsibilities just decided to overlap. It happens. C'est la vie. But it sucks, you know?

But something I've realized is that in the middle of tumultuous times, sometimes life just goes right for a little while. For me, that "little while" was today. The first two days of this week were average; reading for Monday, an exam on Tuesday, etc. But then today has just been awesome. Nothing that amazing happened. I mean, I didn't win the lottery or meet an attractive, nice, available male or anything. But today just rocked. I didn't fall asleep in my early classes, I took an ah-may-zing nap before lunch, people were really receptive to my speech and they laughed at my jokes, I got to hang out with some awesome friends, and they even served good food in Convo today (I know, crazy, right?) And as I walking tonight, I just kept smiling to myself. And I thought to myself "Wow, life figured out how to get good today". And in that moment, I was happy and at peace with everything going on in my life. That moment made all the other tough times seem not so bad.

Of course, the pessimist in me wants to say "Hey, life will reach a sucky point again- just wait!" But as Matt & Kim say (okay...sing), "Thinking about tomorrow wont change how I feel today".
And today, I feel pretty damn fantastic.

-tjms
7 April 2011
"I wish that I could have this moment for life, 'cause in this moment, I just feel so alive"
<3