Merry Christmas!

The last week has been absolutely insane. I graduated from Clemson in front of my parents and a number of wonderful, supportive friends! We flew back to MA the same night. It was really hard to leave Clemson for the last time until next fall. (probably) Then there was no time before holiday preparations had to be finished!

We had family Christmas last night which was fun. The first big chunk was almost a mini graduation party for me and I felt so fortunate to have family members that love me and support what I do. I got some wonderful cards and a beautiful necklace from my fantastic boyfriend! Matt brought out the accordion and played us some festive tunes. We played the traditional game of Yankee Swap with the notorious velvet Elvis making another appearance. He and my Nana came home with us last night and we had a nice, relaxed Christmas today.

The best present of the day was definitely the plane tickets that my parents got me to see Josh for New Years Eve. I'm so excited that I get to see him way a lot sooner than I thought! Hopefully the new year will start off on a positive note and continue on the path.

Happy Holidays!

Whirlwind!

Last weekend my parents flew down to SC. We packed up the moving van and were on the road in less than an hour. We finally got home (MA home) around 7 on Sunday night and moved things into storage yesterday. I've received 2 different packages from Polly Hill with letters, forms, and information packets. It's all exciting but it still seems far off.

Today I'll try to do some unpacking and get ready to head back to Clemson tomorrow afternoon for a graduation dinner with the roommate and her parents and the "big day" on Thursday. I'm all ready with my hat decorated and outfit picked out. After that we fly back up here and enjoy our holiday season with family.

So happy holidays to all of my friends and all of your families as well. I hope you find at least one thing to be joyous about over the next few weeks!

A Resolution for the New Year

I'm going to try to post more often. Now that I'm moving away from most friends I think that it'll be nice to post little updates here and there. My plate is getting full for the next few months already.

This coming week marks the end of school for me. My last final is Friday night at 7pm followed by loading the moving van on Saturday afternoon and making the 20 hour trek up to Massachusetts. My folks and I will be flying down for my December 22nd graduation ceremony and then it's Christmas celebrations with the family shortly after that!

I plan on working with a small organic mushroom growing company for a couple of months to learn more about the cultivation of edible mushrooms while I'll be at home. Then it's off to Polly Hill Arboretum to begin my 9 month collection's management internship program. I am so excited that I got the position and know what I'm headed for after walking across the stage in Little John.

Besides the big life changing events I'm planning on spending New Years with a best friend from my hometown. It will be great to see her. I'm hoping to continue monthly(ish) visits to Indiana and continue to take life one step at a time!

School

I got 3 little mealworms for my entomology class today. I'm pretty sure one of them is already dead. Does that mean I'm a bad mealworm mommy? Or that I'm just doomed to pick out poor pets for the rest of my life?

Regardless, my classes are interesting and I like my professors. I'm surprised at how much I'm really enjoying flute choir. I'm pleasantly surprised that after 5 years of playing piccolo, not flute, I'm still keeping up with the other students in the ensemble.

Working 18 hours a week on top of school just brings everything up to their normal, hectic speed. The job hunt also adds another set of tasks to complete before December 21st.

Until then I'm trying to get up to IN as much as possible to see the boy. He's come to visit me twice already and I feel super lucky that he drove such a long way to spend his long weekend with me! I'll be up to visit him a couple of weeks from now and I'm looking forward to seeing Contagion and a (hopeful) trip to the Children's museum. I know that may seem like a silly outing for an adult couple, but according to at least 5 different people it's the best museum in the city. Hey, I have to try out my museum cooperative card in different cities don't I? I'm sure they won't care that I worked at Harvard's tree museum but I really just want to whip out the card at some point!

I was happy to feel the first bit of fall today and I'm just going to hold on tight and hope that December comes and goes without incident.

Long Time No Update

It's been a really long time since I've updated.

The summer is drawing to a close. It was a great experience being at the Arnold Arboretum but I didn't see the same personal growth that the farm brought me last year. I shouldn't have really expected it. This internship honed my skills as a horticulturalist while last year's let me develop into the more confident, well-rounded individual that I am today.

I have to say I did get a great kick out of doing plant things all summer. I learned that I really don't mind landscape maintenance as much as I thought I would. I LOVE climbing trees. (Not just for fun type climbing but using real ropes and and a saddle) I cemented the realization that enjoying work is really about enjoying the people more than anything else. All in all I think I learned a lot more than I realize right now. You can't really top the clout that the institution has or that the insanely valuable collections that I got to play in all summer some people only dream of getting to delve into.

So what's next? My last semester of Clemson will be chaotic. I'm taking 5 classes, working 20 (or more) hours a week, making a trip home for labor day, taking a week-long trip to Indy to volunteer for FFA nationals, and trying to find employment for after graduation. I'm still not really sure where to move when I graduate so I think I'll leave that up to job-fate. All I know is that I'm ready to be out on my own and stop mooching off of my parents!

Another Year

Another school year and another year of changes for this girl.

I came back to Clemson with more confidence and enthusiasm than I have shown yet. I tackled a new part time job, conferences, and life head on and I'm happy with the direction I've grown in. I make decisions for the best interest of me not because something is easy. I appreciate where I have come from, and I found a new direction for my career.

I have a new geographical goal for when I get out of college, but my theories on what would make me happiest still stand true.

I'm happy, healthy, and only 1 semester away from graduating. I can't ask for much more than that can I? I love my job more than I can describe, I like my downtime, and I am finally (kind of a waste now that it's super senior year) know how to tackle school well.

Hopefully I can continue on this up-swinging, productive streak I've been on and find a job for when I graduate in December. If you know anyone looking to hire a horticulturist, I'm you're girl!

Yay Spring!

Since my internet is being too slow to do anything else, and the world stopped for an awards show last night, I figured I might do a quick update?

Things are going...

I think that may be the best, and easiest way to describe it. I hesitate to call life fantastic, or wonderful, or any variation of a euphoric "yippee" because I might jinx myself and I'm too busy to keep my head on straight right now. Work, school, and extracurriculars are making my life spin in crazy circles and I'm really hoping that I'll get things together and settle things down soon.

Other than that though, life is good. School is going pretty well with the exception of a few minor hiccups. PLANET preparation is coming along a little slower than fabulous but not bad either. The job search for this summer is getting there. I'm really happy at work. I have good people around me on a day to day basis, and I feel like everything's on the upswing. :)

I'm trying to just stay focused more on school and work and less on the not so positive aspects of life. It's working out pretty alright.

P.S. This shorts and t-shirt weather is making my life!!! I walked outside this morning in shorts expecting to be chilly and I was perfectly comfortable... at 7am! :D

Getting Into a Rhythm

It still doesn't feel like the beginning of the year has set in yet. I am busy to say the least. My schedule barely even allows me to get enough service points in a month let alone have a lot of free time.

I'm either in school or work until 4pm Monday, Thursday, and Friday and I'm at school until 7pm on Tuesday and Wednesdays without any real breaks in the middle of the day to get anything done. This is making getting my car to the shop in Greenville particularly annoying since they close at 6, and I'm going to have to find rides to and from places pretty much all week.

School is going well, though. There is going to be a lot of busy work and reading for me to do, but I generally enjoy my classes. PLANET is going to take up a lot of my time. I have phone calls and errands to run, and I may even be missing half of a week of school to attend SCHI which is a big trade-show conference down in Myrtle Beach. That sort of got tossed on my plate so we'll see if that happens - but I think it would be an enjoyable visit.

My weekends have been going well. Dinner with friends, spending time with the people I enjoy, and church this morning made for a pretty good weekend. :)

Snow Day

I'm happy to report that I squeaked in just before the snow started to fall.

However the six inches of fluffy white stuff on the ground this morning makes me REALLY not want to get my huge duffel bag and lug it up to my apartment! haha

I forgot about him!

My ipod was on shuffle last night on my way to hang out with my cousins and this song came on... I forgot how much I love love loved this song.

Really?!

Of course there would be wintry weather headed for the Western Carolinas on the day I'm coming back to school. I really don't want to deal with everyone else and driving through all that. I just want to get there all safe, sound, and cozy. I will drive the 18 hours through if I have to...

So let the few days of worrying commence. I'm not sure if I'll feel better until I step into my apartment.

Another Sleepless Night

Another night of not being able to fall asleep...

Though phone calls and texts help and are so soothing, I'm ready to get back to the busy schedule I build for myself at school. I'm ready to see friends and brothers who have been sorely missed over the last month or so, and I'm ready to feel connected with the normal world again.

Here I feel like everything spins around me. I have so many things I could be doing to remain productive and useful, but for some reason I just hole away into nothingness. I need my desk, my command center, and my people around me to feel at peace again. Maybe I can just move New England a little closer to South Carolina. That would make this all so much easier since I don't really want to give up either!

Not-So-Resolution

Well it's a New Year...

I'm not really sure how much that means to me, and I think I'm looking forward to just jumping into the new semester, new summer, and new adventures head on and without any unreachable or un-meaningful resolutions.

I just want to be me this year.

I'm going to do what I think will make me happy. I'm going to go on the adventures that I want to go on. I'm going to be the friend that I want to be, and I'm just going to continue through life in whatever manner I see fit at the time. I generally strive to become a better person so that isn't necessarily something that I need to set a goal to do.

I hope that this year continues in the fashion that it started in. I want to help my friends and be with people who care about me in a comfortable setting. Sitting around and simply existing with people who accept me for me seemed like a good start.

Who knows where I'll end up this summer, who I'll remain friends with, who I'll become better friends with, or what I'll have going on next January when I get catapulted out into the real world. As long as I can stay true to myself, and continue to love the people I'm surrounded by I think everything will turn out okay.