Ski the Country

Ski the Country

As a Missouri resident there isn't a whole lot of in-state skiing you can do. Really there is only one place and it is called Hidden Valley. It is unlike anything I have previously skied but not necessarily in a good way, and to be honest I don't really plan on returning. I have skied in Vail,Colorado every year during the week after Christmas since I was four years old. I knew Hidden Valley wouldn't compare with its man-made snow and only four or five lifts that lead to maybe ten different short runs. I told myself that I would go with my two friends just to get my equipment out and use it one last time for the season. I wouldn't say I regret going, but I really don't think I need to go again. It was nice to be able to ski with friends who can't afford to travel to Colorado, and you are definitely getting what you paid for. A Vail Resort (includes Beaver Creek, Arapahoe Basin, Vail, and Keystone) day lift ticket is currently priced at $165 and rising. And that doesn't include food, lodging, ski equipment, or gas/airfare. Hidden Valley day lift tickets are $48, and since my friends and I went on college day we got half off of that with our student ID. It really just depends on what you're looking for. It is a great place for beginner skiers to learn and see if it is something they like. It is also great for seniors who may have slowed down and want a shorter run or who don't acclimate to high Colorado altitudes. For me, though, I think I'll stick with the mountains.

Later that night one of the two girls I skied with took me to a place in Collinsville,Illinois called Wild Country. I am not extremely country, but as I said in previous entries I do have a farm and I can be a little country when I feel like it! So I put on my red plaid flannel and my jeans and boots and I went to dance! Except um...I don't know any of the dances. There was one  that I really liked where men danced with their women; another one I did not like because it consisted of men and women calling rhymed vulgar insults back and forth over and over. I cuss, sure, but I thought the song was a little too much. I had a good time with my friend, and even though I would have probably enjoyed my night spent getting drunk with she and her boyfriend at his house (which was plan B) this wasn't bad. It would have been much more fun if I had known what I was doing, but apparently they have times where newbies can come to be taught the dances. I would definitely go to that before I went solo again. 

I slept over at my friend's house and we didn't get back until 12am or sleep until 2am. Then I woke up at 10am and got my things together and she drove me home. My grandpa and I had decided back on Saturday when I worked at the farm that today I would come over for a few hours of splitting wood, so it was not twenty minutes after being home from my friend's when my grandpa came and picked me up (still haven't gotten my car. update: it needs new shocks before it passes inspection). I worked there for around four hours, came home, took a shower, and accidentally fell into a long nap shortly thereafter. I just woke up and made an amazingggg restaurant style quesadilla with my very own recipe that is super easy. Someone comment if you want me to share the recipe. Clearly I haven't had much free open time today, and I definitely haven't been around my laptop! So sorry guys for having a late post, but I hope it is worth it!

PS: How are you liking my content so far? If you comment or email and leave me some feedback on topic ideas or what you would like me to focus more on in my experiences (ie: Is there a man in your college life?) then just leave a comment! Share on social media and follow for updates if you are liking my stuff!! 

Fakers Gonna Fake

Fakers Gonna Fake

So I think I'm going to go on a bit of a rant because what happened today when I visited my old high school for the day honestly kind of astounded me. I go in and of course I said hello and hugged my old friends. But there were multiple people that honestly had no right pretending they were so happy to see me. And even if they were being sincere in their excitement, they sure forgot how they felt towards me in high school quick!

So the first encounter was with one of my old best friends from high school. We all hung out in a group of around six choir students. When I left last year though, they continued on because I was the oldest of the group. Of course they all made their customary promises to never forget me; always be friends; see each other on holiday breaks; blah blah blah. Well this girl was the first to clearly "let me go" if you will. She stopped talking to me, and I figured it was just because of distance and being busy. When I visited for a weekend, however, she made all kinds of excuses that were clearly her wedging her way out of seeing me. The worse thing?: She also added that our other friend from the group who I invited wouldn't be able to make it either. Come to find out the two of them are attached at the hip and if one of them makes a choice the other automatically follows like a pair of Siamese twins who can't go anywhere without the other. I saw them both in choir the last time I visited and the girl was sitting there doing her full face of makeup in the middle of class. She wasn't that stuck up when I went there; she would have at least said hi. But I guess her face trumps our prior friendship.

That was months ago. Today when I visited the choir room I made no attempt to speak to her. I got the message loud and clear that she had moved on from our friendship and had no interest. Then, after all this time of avoiding me and ignoring me, she runs up to me and gives me a huge hug and yells out my name because she is just so thrilled to see me. What the heck?! Hun, I have had so many times where we could have talked, and maybe if we had just fallen out of contact I would have just sat there and caught up. But I gave her every chance to see me and talk to me like old times and she turned me down. You can't just pick and choose when you are in the mood to be a girl's friend, folks.

The second instance was another girl that I honestly didn't know hardly at all. Seriously I don't even remember her name. My senior year we sat at the same lunch table out of coincidence, and even then it was only for a semester. Well, she sure knew my name! She yelled it down a hallway (an empty one I will grant her, at least) and got my attention. Then again like the last fake friend, she gave me a big bear hug and exclaimed how excited she was to see me. She proceeded on about how much she missed me and how the school "wasn't the same without you". Um, seriously?? We barely spoke; to the point that, as I said, I couldn't even remember her name. The funnier thing is that I ran into her about three more times during my visit and each time I was met with the same enthusiasm as the first. Did I miss something? Because the girl and I never had any problems in high school but we weren't friends either. If she wanted my friendship back then she should have said something, because as far as I could tell then we had very little in common besides a lunch table. I don't know why she got so excited, but I have a sneaky feeling that it had something to do with the fact that I'm now a 'cool college kid' that she wanted to be associated with. Come to think of it, every time she would see me and get excited she always had a friend nearby. Sorry, but I'm not a shiny toy to show off to your friends.

When all is said and done, though, I am so glad I visited. I did see a few of my strong, true friends that I have maintained a relationship with. I also sat in on my four favorite teachers' classes, and I even sang with the choir. It's nice to reminisce and think of where I was this time a year ago, how far I've come, and how many things I have yet to achieve.

Holing Up in High School?!

Holing Up in High School?!

Most people leave high school and never look back. I mean why would anyone want to prolong the pain? Well tomorrow I plan to visit my high school, and not even just for the lunch period but for the WHOLE DAY. I must be crazy, I know. 

I miss the few friends there that I still maintain contact with, sure. I'm also sure to be spending a lot of the day in the choir room where I belong. (I spent a huge amount of time there as it was because even though I was also in band, choir is the one place I felt truly at home). But the main reason I want to visit is because of the teachers. 

Teachers are absolutely inspiring, and some of them really stick with me. They don't get paid enough for what they do, but they still give all their passion into their work, and it's astounding the impact some of them can have. Of course there are dead beat teachers who just want a paycheck or to coach basketball, but those aren't the ones I'm talking about. I'm talking about the ones that change the way you view their subject; the ones that truly love what they do, what they teach, and who they teach it to. I have a respect for these teachers and I am fortunate enough to have had so many during my high school career.

Tomorrow I am going to wake up at 6am with my mother who teaches in the elementary school on the same campus, and I am going to ride to work with her. I won't exaggerate and say that I don't plan on socializing with my old friends at the lunch table or in the choir room, but that definitely won't be all. I am feeling so nostalgic that I think tomorrow I will spend each period going to a different teacher who I looked up to and just sitting in on their teaching.  Not only do I want them to know they made a difference in my education, but I want them to realize that their teaching is quality even in the eyes of a student. 

Too many teachers are taken for granted, and not just by the students but by parents too. When a teacher not just teaches but enlightens their pupils they at least deserve a visit and a sincere thanks, and that is my motive for visiting tomorrow.

New Car and Farm Work

New Car and Farm Work



Today I was busy with two main things: working on our family farm and driving with my parents to look at a used car for sale (spoilers: we bought it!). At our farm my mom, little sister (who is a freshman in high school), and dad all worked to cut and remove undergrowth from our woods. The plant, called Honeysuckle, takes over all the newly sprouted trees with its broad leafy branches, leaving no sunlight for new vegetation. So one by one my dad saws down. Our job is to drag the branches either into a ditch or into a row we form that my dad would push together with a grader blade later to burn. Who says women can't do manual labor?! In case you haven't noticed, I don't have any brothers! I have been brought up as a classy lady, but one who isn't afraid to get her hands a little dirty on the farm, even if it's only 17 degrees out!

Our farm is over one hundred years old. It is registered as a Missouri Century Farm. My great great grandpa bought the property originally, and my grandpa was born in that house along with all his immediate relatives before him...which is admittedly a little creepy!! Of course there has been renovations and additions to the house and many out buildings, but there are a lot of original antiques too. I do not live on the farm because my grandparents still reside in it, but at such point they require a nursing home my parents would move in. We live only two miles away. and unless we are harvesting wheat and straw or hay we usually only work on Saturdays.

 The interesting thing is that I don't live in a rural area. I live in suburbs consisting of stores and residential areas. My family's land is actually the largest piece of privately owned land in the county even accounting for pieces of it that have been sold throughout the years! We have been given many offers to sell, but we are the last farm left in our area. There are plenty of commercial shopping centers, don't you think it's important to leave a few original pieces of time alone?

Usually we put in a full day of work there, but after lunch we instead headed out to see the car we were interested in buying. The hope was to replace the car of which I described the crash a few entries ago. I ended up getting another Chrysler Sebring just as I had before. It is a different color and it is four years older, but had the same amount of miles as when I first bought my other one. I am still on the fence as to whether I like it just because I really liked my newer and nicer one, but I am fortunate to have found a reliable car and hopefully I won't be housebound much longer!! All in all, it was a positive, productive day. Now I'll take a long, hot shower before I relax and watch some Supernatural!

New Obsession: Supernatural

New Obsession: Supernatural



What kind of college student doesn't marathon a little Netflix now and then? It was invented for boredom leading to obsession with great shows! College students may be busy with schoolwork (or at least college seems to be more successful that way!) but we sure do make time to veg:)

I knew many people that loved Supernatural in high school, but to be honest I didn't know much about it and I got the impression it was sort of a geek show since those are the kids that seemed to be raving about it. It teaches you a lesson about quick judgement on both the students from my high school and the show! Although I don't know, I think I can be kind of a closet geek myself, hush hush, considering that I am completely in love with Doctor Who.

My confession is that I have conjured up all my talent in television marathon skills mixed with my excessive winter break time and lack of a car to leave the house (although update: I am going to look at a car tomorrow, but I digress as usual!) and put it towards Supernatural. For anyone who has not seen it, it resembles Doctor Who minus the time travel, and X-Files but with mostly evil spirits, hauntings, and demons instead of aliens.

What I like most about it is that the writers seem to have done an exemplary job of balancing individual episode plots with an ongoing storyline throughout the seasons. There isn't so much going on that it is confusing or that a family member who isn't caught up won't enjoy watching an episode with you, but at the same time there is enough going on between episodes to keep you coming back for answers. It is well written and I am proud and yet a tad embarrassed to admit that in the last three days I have gotten so far that as I write this I am simultaneously watching Season 2 Episode 16. With the exception of Doctor Who there has never been another show I have watched so many episodes back to back. Although like I said, there aren't many other options for me stuck in the house all day!

Salvaging My Wrecked Car

Salvaging My Wrecked Car

Two months ago I was in a car wreck. I was the only car involved, and while I was of course held liable because it was a one car accident I was not written any citations or told there was anything I could do. Here is what happened and how.

At Mizzou in October racial threats and discord were everywhere. Riots and disrespect from both sides, really. So much was happening it was hard to know what was true or false. One night things got really bad when a student from Rolla (Missouri S&T) posted threats on Mizzou's yik yak app (an anonymous app based on location). The first threat said something to the effect of "Some of you are fine to come to school tomorrow. Others probably shouldn't". In the end the guy was trying to be funny, but I know someone who says he went to high school with him (my friend went to Wentzville Holt, although I haven't verified his story) who said he was charged with terrorist threats. 

Rumors and yik yaks (maybe by the same person I don't know) were going around from all sides. I read a few saying the Greeks would be targeted since we are supposedly the white privileged group of the university. A few posts were threats naming specific sororities and saying they would be the first to go, next to go, etc. It bothers me that we were targeted because really, if you are blessed enough to attend college you are privileged whether you pay it all or you have grants. Unfortunately in our country higher education is a privilege not a guarantee. As far as being Greek, it is rude stereotyping to assume that all PHA and IFC members are rich and white. Personally I know many diverse backgrounds in the Greek system, and I also know that many of us pay for our membership out of our own pockets with little or no help from our parents.

I probably would have been fine, no one got hurt. But it is nerve racking not only to think there a person or persons are out there blood thirsty, but also because by that point there was so much information as o what was going on outside our dorms (which we were told it was in our best interests not to leave). In my dorm we all gathered in the common areas with our hall staff and tried to keep up to date with Twitter from our authoritative figures and Mizzou mass notifications. But when it got really confusing and scary was when our student body president, Peyton Head, posted on his Twitter saying that the KKK had been confirmed sighted on campus by a "reliable source" and he was in contact with the feds. Around 30 to 40 minutes later he posted a sincere apology saying that his source was misinformed and he was sorry for causing any fear. From now on we were to receive information only from Mizzou Police. 

Many teachers individually sent emails cancelling their classes, although Mizzou did not officially cancel classes. Even the ones who did hold class didn't enforce attendance policies, it seemed. So instead of staying in my dorm and looking over my shoulder all the time I decided that with my classes cancelled I would drive the two hours back home and return when it had passed.

 I slept for 4 hours. My (now ex-) boyfriend at the time and I fought late into the night passionately over the current events. I would not have been able to sleep much anyway because I kept checking for updates. It turns out he was a pretty strong racist, no matter how \he tried to deny it, he made it clear in the way he phrased things and how he treated blacks. And that is not okay to me. Besides some abuse and the fact that he cheated (which I learned later), that is one of the main reasons I dumped him. I am not saying the actions of anyone, white or black, were right. But I am saying that disrespect from one human to another is rude and uncalled for. 

So I went home. How do these events relate to my accident? Well, I stayed one night at home and got 9 hours of quality sleep the night before I drove back to Mizzou in hopes the worst of it was over. I did not feel tired. But the lack of sleep from two nights before must've caught up with me because they say I must have fallen asleep for no longer than a minute. Just long enough for my left set of tires to go off the road into the grass. I quickly realized where I was, and I got scared because I didn't remember falling asleep or how I had gotten off the road. I over-corrected with a sharp turn right. I spun out. At around 8:30pm I went left back off the side of the road, this time under the median cable and across opposing traffic on I-70. I was going 75 miles an hour. My windshield shattered when my car, by some miracle, squeezed under the median cables. It all happened in a minute or so. My car stopped on the right shoulder of the other direction of traffic, facing the direction of traffic even. If you hadn't seen me come across or the oil leaking from my punctured oil pan you might have thought I just pulled over. The police came very quickly thanks to whatever Samaritan saw it and called.  

I declined medical attention. I had not hit any other cars which is a blessing because I would not be able to live with myself if I had hurt someone else. After a long ordeal and having my car towed back to my house I got a ride back to Mizzou. I did not attend my classes the next day because I was still in shock. Afraid to leave my room, even. I should've died in that wreck; even the tow truck driver told my parents in private that he had never seen someone walk away from a wreck like mine. My car was totaled and will be going to salvage in the next week or two. I am getting a new one, which is good because the remains of car in my garage scare me everytime I see them, and I emotionally can never handle sitting in the driver's seat where it all happened again. 

I drove home to be safe. And by some irony I returned very unsafely. All things considered it could have been so much worse for me. Now every time I pass that mile marker I look and see the remnants of the wreck fading away. At first there were tire ruts where my car squished into the grass to fit under the cables. And there was half of my front end....sitting right under the now-loose cables right there in the median. Black skid marks on the other side of the road. The mile number will always be branded in my memory. So yes, I am glad my car is being replaced, because after those two days of fear ending with that, the car holds nothing but bad memories.

Mizzou Family

Mizzou Family



Today I just feel really off. I'm bored but nothing seems interesting. I think it's because I miss my friends since I'm still on Winter Break, and nothing sounds as exciting unless I'm doing it with them. I don't go back until the 17th! My hometown friends here are all going back to their respective colleges before me, and of course my (more numerous) friends from college are scattered all over the country (and actually the world!).

It just has me thinking about friends and distance. It never occurred to me that, unlike in high school where my friends were mostly within the school district lines, I would have friends from absolutely everywhere. I mean it used to be hard to maintain friendships even just a few school districts away, or heck, even in the other high school in MY school district! But now my friends' locations are so various, and it offers me a new perspective. I like meeting people from so many different places. I travel a ton but I've lived in the same suburb my whole life, almost. It's so interesting to hear peoples' stories of their life or experiences in a big city or in a rural town or in a faraway country. Whether they live there or just are traveling over the break, I have friends and sorority sisters in probably ten or twelve different states and also one in Korea, Brussels, London, Spain and France!

It is just a wonder to me that wherever we come from, we all belong to our beloved University. We leave for the summer or the Christmas Break or what have you to rejoin our families or to travel and gain new and lasting memories. But then soon on the 17th we will return to what many of us refer to as "home"; Columbia, Missouri. (Yes, I am a Mizzou student! I have debated how many specific details to give. But since I have shared my college I will not share what sorority I belong to, I have decided.)

I have always felt close to Mizzou since both parents, my older sister, and my uncle all have attended. But once I got there myself of course my love grew more!! I just think it is so amazing how close I am to everyone there. Just thinking of how scattered we are, but then we come home to be with our second family: our Mizzou friends. So yeah I feel weird, because even though I am enjoying the break and spending time with my family, I miss my Mizzou family and I don't feel the same not being close to them! I look forward to returning and attempting my second semester!