Today on my newsfeed....

Warning: this is going to be real. Just saying.

All day long, my newsfeed has been filled with two very diverse topics. One is the gender reassignment of Caitlyn, formerly Bruce, Jenner. The other topic, oddly enough, is underwear that take the place of a feminine hygiene product.

In case you are not well-versed in celebrity gossip or the latest trends in feminine hygiene, here is a rundown on both:

Former Olympian, Bruce Jenner has asked the world to refer to him as Caitlyn since he has reached the final stages of a sex transition. He has a new series coming out. There has been a lot said about it because of the change he is making and the strides he is making for the transgender community.

There has also been a surge in the popularity of "free bleeding" and there is a new trend in feminine hygiene. There are several varieties of new panties to accommodate the flow with the protection built in but they look like normal underwear.

Here are my opinions on both topics:

Kudos to you, Caitlyn. I am happy that you were brave enough to become who you really felt you should be. It is a very brave thing to do. Also, we could just stop talking about it now because I feel like I have read something from every major news source and person with a Facebook (she says as she continues to talk about the subject....). Equality and acceptance comes when we accept a person for how they are both like us and different. We are all human.

As for the underwear thing... I don't know how I feel about that. It kind of grosses me out. I think that menstruation is a normal and healthy part of the female anatomy. I think it is definitely a societal norm to believe that periods are gross. That being said, I probably wont be jumping on the bandwagon for these bad boys any time soon. I've read a lot of mixed reviews for these product but I just don't see it being my new thing. Kudos to anyone who decides to stick it to the man, I think I will find another outlet for that. No hate, just not for me.

At the end of the day, I think it all comes down to this: what is going on in somebody else's pants is really none of my (or anybody else's) business.

Two Rabid Zombie Racoons and My New Car

SO MUCH IS HAPPENING!!!!

This week has been a whirlwind. So much has happened. Moving into my new house. I bought a car. I BOUGHT A CAR. Who ever thought I would just be an adult and do something. Yes, I have previously purchased and owned a vehicle ... but this is a real live, grown-up car and I am very proud of myself.

Meet Rajah, my Kia Soul

 

 

Aside from that, I have been busy between work and homework for my summer class. I am currently on week 3/4. Thank goodness!!! Short term classes are a double edged sword. It's like ohh, quick and easy credits--- with a schedule of DOOM!

 

There is really a lot more happening here, but that's the high points.

 

On a side note, I saw two raccoons trying to jail break our trash dumpster when I got home tonight and I panicked a little. I sat in my car until I was sure they were gone. For some reason I was very fearful they were like rabid and waiting to attack me. I think maybe I watch too many movies....

 



A letter to my residence hall....

Dear Laferla,

Thank you for being my home. Thanks for housing the people I love. Thank you for all the memories that happened while I lived within your cheese yellow walls. There were ups and there were downs (and by downs I mean falling off a lofted bed and breaking my ankle... that was a long way down) but through it all, you were there.

I'm sorry that I never slid down your stairs on a mattress, but you know Allie would kill me if riding the matress didnt do the job. I am not sorry for popping the windows and singing Let It Go during a blizzard the day before I started at Cottonwood.

Thank you for being the spot where I met wonderful people and spent time with those who have forever stamped my life. Where I played marshmallow wars, stayed up all night, had front porch parties, did my homework, danced and danced some more, made 1000 inside jokes, and took 1 billion naps... even in the corner of the lounge (No shame).

There will always be a special place in my heart for you and all the memories I hold. I will still remember when you were New Hall at Wildwood.

Love always,
Chelsey 325B

A picture from Day 1.

I hate moving.

Graduation. What an exciting time. Absolutely exhausting. As grand as big moments can sometimes be, there is an undeniable relief that comes when they are over. It is like a deep breath after a work out. In this case, a five year work out where I actually gained weight... but who's counting?

Back to the real world, the future starts tomorrow and I have to move out of my dorm. It's hard to pack and think about not returning next semester. I am excited to move into a new home with new friends and start a new adventure. That being said, it's hard to leave this behind. Jess and I have been avoiding the "this is the last time we will..." conversations. I just can't go there!

Moving has been a distraction of sorts. I hate moving because there is hardly an organized way to compile all of your crap and sort it into boxes. I am sure some people can do it, I just lack those skills. Also, I have too many clothes... but I'm not going there.

Shout out to Bailey and Bre for accommodating me for the next two weeks, until I move in my house. Living in my car would be inconvenient and make showering really awkward (why is that girl naked in the car wash?!). Seriously though, much appreciation.

Hopefully in a few weeks I will be moved into my new home and everything will be peachy. Until then, I will relish in the chaos and enjoy the time with my friends. The real world starts too soon... or maybe it already has...

10 Things To Do Instead of Packing:

#1) look at every single thing in the junk drawer. obviously I need to count this whole deck of cards... what it has 51? I don't need to pack it. The obvious choice is to count all the cards right now. Oh look at this! I haven't seen it in forever!

#2) Take selfie's to complain about moving.

#3) sleep. pack a box, take a nap. great system.

#4) dance break.

#5) call your mom to tell her that you are almost done packing, regardless of actual packing status.

#6) explain or revisit the origin/importance of every item in your desk. "oooh Jess! remember when I got these?!"

#7) eat food.

#8)  debate if you should keep or pitch things, usually keep....

#9) fold toilet paper origami.

#10) internet surfing via phone. the alternative to everything!

Perfect Fleeting Moments

Do you ever have one of those moments where everything is perfect? It doesn’t have to be a moment where you are wearing a crown or receiving your Nobel Prize, just a moment when you are with the right people, in the right place, and nothing else matters.

For just a few seconds you can stand still and know that whatever is pending doesn’t matter. It's just the perfect moment. The tragedy of the perfect moment is that it is fleeting. There is certain sadness about this moment because you know that in all of its glory, it cannot last.

In my life I have experienced many of these moments, one of my favorite nights is one in which I spent with some dear friends almost a year ago. In one moment we were all together and singing the song American Pie (how typical) at the top of our lungs. We were laughing and everything was perfect. As our lives dissolve into new lives and we grow into new people, we hold onto these moments. When the days are long and hard and we are buried in work and homework and bills and stress, we can think of these times and know that there are people who mean the world to us and the idea that the same kind of organic happiness is out there can carry us to the brighter days. If you're lucky, you may still have these people in your lives to call on during the cloudy days.

Graduation has sent me into a state of reflection. It's hard to think that it has been 5 years since high school graduation. It has been an interesting and at times difficult ride. I wouldn't trade it for anything. It has made me a better person and I have grown to become wiser and less afraid of the world, yet I have so much more growing and exploring to do. The future is only another challenge and I hope to look it right in the face, even if I have to wear sunglasses to do so.

Emjoy a quote from one of my favorite books, it feels very poignant:

“Because I know there are people who say all these things don’t happen. And there are people who forget what it’s like to be sixteen when they turn seventeen. I know these will all be stories some day, and our pictures will become old photographs. We all become somebody’s mom or dad. But right now, these moments are not stories. This is happening. I am here, and I am looking at her. And she is so beautiful. I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive. And you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song, and that drive with the people who you love most in this world. And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite.”
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

"He looks kind of like Albert Einstien's younger brother who got into meth."

This post comes from abroad and by abroad, I mean Chicago. It might as well be a different planet though because it is vastly different than Southeast Missouri. This is my very first time here and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am here for a Psychology conference, which has been very interesting in it's own right. I saw an entire presentation about BDSM from the world's most awkward presenter. No joke. Also we watched a 20 minute video of a human birth into a river somewhere in the rain forest. Also, not a joke and completely unrelated to the conference.

One of the most hilarious moments of the entire trip took place last night. To save money, one of the girls in my room is sleeping on an air mattress. We are wrapping up our evening with some girl chat and usual sort of things while she blows up the air mattress. All of a sudden, we hear the same noise that happens when you suck a penny into a vacuum. I jerk my head around and see that my room mate has sucked her hair into the air pump. Screaming. She screams, I scream, my room mates scream. Finally, she turns the pump off and I unplug it from the wall. We remove all of her hair and the burnt remnants. It's one of those awkward moments when you're not sure whether or not you should freak out or laugh.

It's been quite a swell trip though. A lot of fun times with people I really like. Some old friends I know better, some new friends I just met.

TOP TEN MOMENTS:
(1) "my crappy little hand"...and every joke that came along with that

(2) meeting some guy at a social and telling him that I was Chelsey and my friend was Chelsea... he was very impressed by that

(3) when we met two random people and they went to dinner with us.

(4) Joanne Ruthsatz... seriously an amazing presenter and her work with Autistic & Prodigy children blew my mind.

(5) looking for dark chocolate

(6) trying to do the Kylie Jenner lip challenge in our hotel room. unsuccessfully. but nobody's lips exploded, so it was cool.

(7) the space bean and all that magicalness. but not the people who mocked my selfie stick. those clowns.

(8) all. the. food. seriously, just all the food.

(9) "take one button"... takes all 5 buttons because I just have a lot of emotions.

(10) meeting like minded people who are fun to joke around with. seriously, I met so many great people and I wish I had been friends with more of them throughout school. we had a great group go and I had so much fun.

BONUS: the guy who tried to sell us LSD while we were walking to the 7-11... twice.

Group Project.... (the whole class groans).

There is a strange paradigm that is set up by the education system to help students function in "the real world" and that is: The Group Project. I theorize that it is actually some kind of strange form of punishment or retribution set up by teachers because they actually know that your dog didn't eat your homework, you did not have 7 aunts pass away this semester, and you WERE texting even though you didn't think the teacher knew.

In college teachers usually announce these projects at the beginning of the semester allotting enough time for groups to meet, assign research to specific people, work together, and beat out a project that would receive an honorable mention from the Nobel Prize committee. This never happens.

In reality, the group project is more of a problem that you originally just avoid looking at or thinking about until it becomes a problem so severe that it is not only unavoidable, but TLC is calling to set up a special about it.

As is the tradition of the last few weeks of the semester, group project season is in full swing. I currently have two of these little babies hanging in the balance. (Shout out: If you're reading this and you're from my 442 class, I still need your PowerPoint slides.) The real question here is, what makes these projects so awful? Doesn't the idea of splitting up the work seem awesome? Shouldn't it be fun to meet new people?

The answer is: No.

Group projects are just strange. You want to work hard, but you don't want to be a show off. You want to voice your opinion, but you don't want to dominate the opinions of others. You want to get a good grade, but you don't want to be the person who takes over the whole project and has to lead the whole group. You want the project to go well and you want a good grade, but you don't want to do all the work. It is hard to negotiate these ideas and find balance among people that you don't know well.

Maybe your teacher is right... maybe there is some real world application here. Maybe group projects teach you how to deal with real life things. Hopefully in your future job nobody has to assemble the cover of a piece of classic literature from candy (yes, that's real.) or maybe they will, if that's what you're into. At the end of the day though, maybe you can take away some greater meaning from the group project and hopefully not get into a fist fight with your group

Here are some real things you can learn from a group project:

#1) How to deal with people who roll their eyes. You suggest, they roll their eyes. Do they have better suggestions? Nope. Do they suggest anything? Nope. They just roll their eyes and text on their phone during every group meeting. Haters gonna hate, what can you do?

#2) How to take control or sometimes let somebody else. Sometimes you're the boss. Sometimes you aren't. Both are okay. Ultimately, it's your grade and you have to do what you can. If somebody is begging to do the PowerPoint, it wont kill you to let them. If nobody in the group is stepping up for anything, maybe you should.

#3) Don't wait until the night before. Just don't.

#4) The font probably won't effect your grade. If it's a tiny detail, there is no point in arguing. Save your breath for more important things than creative control.

#5) Sometimes you really do meet cool people. If you're lucky, you might end up in a group with somebody who is really awesome. Once in a while you get placed in a group with a stranger and they turn out to be a good friend or maybe you just make a connection. Who can complain about that?