Things I Should Have Learned Years Ago... With a Dash of Christmas Lights

Today is a very important day. This is where if I could hear you, I am sure you would be asking "Why? Please tell me!" So I will tell you. First of all, in 1980, John Lennon was shot. Second of all, in 1941, the United States declared war on Japan. Third of all, the Bears beat the Redskins 73-0 in an NFL Championship game back in 1940. These are all very important things. There's another reason today is important though... Drumroll please.... I have officially finished classes for my first semester of college! This is what I have learned from my first four months of living away from home:

1. The perfect turkey-cheese ratio on a sandwich is 3:1. Now that I know this, my culinary skills have indeed improved. People come all over the Heritage complex to eat one of my delectable sandwiches. 
2. If you are one of those weird people who work their best under extreme levels of stress, you really need to get that checked out. And probably fixed.
3. The best way to get a guy to stop hitting on you in the middle of class is to pull up facebook on your computer and start stalking all of your most attractive guy friends. 
4. Life always gives you what you want right after you decide you don't want it anymore. I suggest you just realize this and develop a sense of humor. It's really the only way to deal with the situation.
5. There is room to care for everyone in your heart. You just have to decide whether you are going to let them in or not. 

I've also learned a little bit about philosophy, history, physics, art, religion, chemistry, service, you know. However, the lessons learned on the list is the real reason I'm paying tuition. 

Okay, time for some Christmas cheer! :) One of the things I love most about Christmas is the way my mom decorates our house. She has these gorgeous garlands covered in lights and other pretty things that get hung throughout the main level. The first night we have those hung and our Christmas tree set up and decorated, I stay up late until everyone else is asleep. Then I go downstairs and turn all of the Christmas lights and just look around at the shadows playfully being thrown on the wall by the hundreds of light bulbs lighting up the rooms. When we have the decorations set up and there's snow on the ground, that's when I know it's Christmas!

We also have these Christmas blankets that decorate the couches and chairs in our living room. One of my first Christmas memories took place when I was sitting on one of the chairs the blanket was thrown on. I thought that those blankets were so cool. Like one of the coolest things of my life. Cooler than... cool whip! So I got my two youngest brothers and started a Christmas club with them. The main rule was when we had club meetings, we all had to be sitting on one of the blankets. I'm pretty sure we met for like three minutes and then my mom started coming down the stairs, so we playfully attacked her to preserve the secrecy of our club. And now I'm posting this on the internet. My 8 year old secretive self is killing my conscience right now! Anyways, I can't wait to go home and see all of our beautiful Christmas decorations everywhere! 

Poisoning Santa is Just Plain Rude

Pluto had this thing called the Form. Essentially, it is the perfect form of something on earth. Nothing is perfect on earth, so Forms are on some Form planet living with Form people living Form ideals. I feel like there are a lot of ideologies in the world that are just Forms. Stuff like democracy, world peace, wise time management, a chick flick that doesn't make you horribly depressed about your life, you know. They are all just theories that would make the world a better place but never going to happen. Though let's be honest. If there ever was such thing as a chick flick that makes you happy about your life, why spend time watching it? You've got it better than the movie which completely defeats the purpose. So. I've decided to give up on expecting these to ever become realities, and to embrace the world's imperfections. If the world was perfect, you wouldn't appreciate it because you wouldn't have the imperfections show you why the world is perfect. Hmm, I'm not sure that made sense. It did in my mind, so I'm keeping it. 

Next item of business: It's CHRISTMAS time. So I've decided that my posts leading up to Christmas are going to tell you my favorite parts of the season. 

1. Christmas music. Except Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and Jingle Bells. I think I overdosed on those songs as a child, and now I cringe whenever I hear their overly jolly tunes coming from my Pandora station. Let's just analyze Frosty for a second. First of all, who honestly cares about Frosty? He ends up melting into a puddle. What is that supposed to teach children? Oh hey, you can make friends with giant, talking, frozen chunks of H20, but he's probably going to die in a couple of days. Just FYI. And Rudolph? It doesn't matter if you are made fun of for having red noses! You will probably meet a old, fat, jolly man who will realize your full potential and make you carry him across the world once a year. It's either that or go back to being a social outcast. Okay, I'll be more positive now. My favorite Christmas songs this year though are My Grown-Up Christmas List, O Holy Night and the Nutcracker Suite. Love everything about them. :)

Yea, that's good for today. Take home lesson: Appreciate the imperfections that make your surroundings unique; if you meet a talking snowman, don't get emotionally attached to him; Josh Groban is the king of singing. I don't think I mentioned that last one yet, but now I am. So just accept it and move on! 20 days left until Christmas!

Finally, just something to start your Monday on a happy note. :)