45 days.

Y'all. It really is coming. Christmas is fast upon us! Wreaths are hanging from the stoplights in downtown Starkville, practically every student you meet on the Drill field is drinking peppermint mochas out of Starbucks Christmas cups, and the foyer of Chi Omega house is covered from top to bottom with owl ornaments.

And it was 65 degrees outside today.

I understand; I live in Mississippi. Awkward weather is expected this time of year. But, God, come on, for those of us that don't own a pair of zip-off pants, could you make the weather a bit more seasonally appropriate?

In other news...

There are a lot more things coming up besides Christmas. And by a lot of things, I mean four papers, four finals, and two tests. But I also mean an Avett Brothers concert, a weekend with my three best friends, a Brandi Carlile/Indigo Girls concert, a blind date (only time will tell about this one...), and THANKSGIVING!

I'm had a hard time living in the now these days. With so much to look forward to in the near future, how can I focus on my upcoming four papers, four finals, and two tests? But focus I must.

It's hard to live life without counting down. It's much harder to live in the now than people think. We get in these ruts and think, once I graduate high school, I'm going to _______. Once I finish college, I'm going to (travel, get a job, get married, write a book). What have you. That's when my life will start. And we get these little countdowns going, and, in doing so, we wish our lives away. I kept a countdown for about a year before my sixteenth birthday (This countdown, however, is not one that I regret. The year that I was fifteen was potentially the worst one of my life). I've been keeping track of the days til Christmas break since I moved in. And I think it's great to have these countdowns. It's great to have things to look forward to. But, odds are, that some things that we look forward to overshadow the joy that we find in living our life now to the fullest. The future can be crippling. It handicaps us and renders us incapable of fulfilling our daily lives until we can move on to our exciting future selves.


It's time like these that I am reminded of the wise words of Albus Dumbledore:

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. Remember that."

Such a wise man. It really is a shame that he's fictional.

I don't know. Just my thoughts. And my procrastination. Remember those four papers, four finals, and two tests that I told you about? I should be working on that. But it's whatever. I love blogging. And it's been too long since I blessed the internet with my pearls of wisdom.

With all this talk about countdowns, I couldn't resist. You know you loved it. And you think she's hot. And you want to be her. You know it.

And her baby bump makes me so so happy.