A Special Kind Of People...

"Holey Shmokes!" direct quote from Mara when she looked at the last time I blogged... oops. Let's start with the awful things that have happened since then. I went home to see Beauty and the Beast more like went to see James as Lumiere. I was not passing up that opportunity. Anyway I went to see the show, hung out with Allie and Katie. That was the nice part. Then my mom sat me down and told me that Hunter, my puppy hadn't been doing that well. He was super old he would have been 15 in May which is super old for a dog his size. We had thirteen beautiful years together, me and my best friend. I remember my mom lied to me when I was five saying that we were moving to a new house to get a dog...I believed her. Though slightly deceptive this strategy made me more than okay about moving because it meant getting a puppy. And in 2000 we brought in the new millenium with a new family member. He was the best. On happier notes, I'm living in McKelvy next year. I was really surprised I got accepted. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about the whole thing, but the whole thing kind of fell in my lap and these things happen for a reason and I'm just going with the flow. Then came spring break. I jam packed my week with chilling and catching up with the new prov crowd. There was one day I watched 3 movies in a row. Standard.  I had to go back to school on Easter which was not the most convenient, but now it's nice getting back to campus. That Friday was the Dance Company Recital. We brought back the Radioactive number from last semester which was really nice because it was the only way I was able to be in the recital. Because I was only in the one number I helped stage manage the show. It was a really nice performance. And that launched us into Marquis Players Tech Week. I'm convinced we are the most codependent group on campus. That Sunday a bunch of us went to "Hugel land" where we crammed for the upcoming week or wrote parody songs for "Curtains". That week the weather was really nice. So I sat on the quad for four hours one day. So I got sun burn... oops. Tech week was crazy. We'd get to the theatre at like 5:00 then we got kicked off stage at 11:00 then we'd do notes in the lobby then we'd eat more and do work. The show generally went really well! "Curtains" is a really fun show to be a part of. I was really really sad when it was over. Saturday I had lots of family and friends at the show and they seemed to enjoy our little murder mystery. And the level of MP love was ridiculous!  It was probably one of my favorite weekends on campus <3 Things have been pretty slow now that I'm not as tied up with rehearsal. I'm having drama with a lot of my friends. It sucks but I feel kind of numb to it. It's not that I don't value these friendships I just don't have the energy to care about their petty opinions. And I just feel distant from everyone. It's all very existential. It's okay I think feeling lost at this point in my life is to be expected.  I can't believe how quickly Summer is approaching. I'm in the process of securing an internship. I just desperately do not want to return to my boring office job again. I'm going to miss Laf so much :/. I'm already registered for classes next semester. It seems like I have a challenging semester ahead of me, but not in a bad way. I could just use some change story of my life.
In other news, Thursday marked my two year blog-a-versary. Yay, blogging!

Kodak moments

Saturday was a notably fantastic day. Nothing ridiculously exciting happened, but it was just a really nice day that made me happy. I've been talking a lot about "the roller coster" all the ups and downs of the hectic time that is freshman year of college so it's important to mention a particularly satisfying day. I had to wake up a little to early, but no day is perfect. First thing on the schedule was a Literacy Day performance with Marquis Players. We sang some silly hip hop song and "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from Lion King. It was goofy, but the children seemed to enjoy it and that's what was important. Then my friend Kathryn and I embarked on an adventure. I'm trying to incorporate the theme of adventuring into my life more. It's a difficult task when I'm landlocked to the campus, but I'm doing my best. I'm currently reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac. Slowly but surely I'll finish it! So far I really like it. I would have loved to be a part of the beat generation. I think I could have fit in. I think I want a big adventure like that... except less drugs. Anyway back to my story, I packed my knapsack and we journeyed out of the bubble (The bubble is slang term I coined to describe campus). We were searching for the Easton Cemetery so I could take pictures for my Digital Photography class. I mean I guess that is a little morbid for subject matter, but compared to Diane Arbus (my favorite photographer) or Weegee (who I'm just starting to learn about) I think I'm still in the realms of acceptable levels of morbidness. And besides I had heard that it was a beautiful cemetery. It certainly was an adventure... meaning we got really lost. No adventure's complete without getting lost! Okay, I'm just saying that to make myself feel better. Seriously, I have no clue how people navigated the world without google maps and smart phones. I find this both comforting and concerning.  I have no clue how far we walked, but eventually we found the gate. We sat on the ground as I pulled out the tripod and preset the aperture and shutter speed. It was my first time working with a tripod. Personally I find it constricting but to get the depth of field i wanted it was helpful. It was absolutely freezing. The cold air turned my hands completely white. Eventually I caved and put my gloves on. I love photography, I really do. Sometimes it's nice to just disappear behind the lens and not worry about anything other than taking a good picture. There were some very old graves. Some even dated back to the Civil War! Kathryn said the whole experience made her very introspective. In her words, "I felt like if I had to write a poem I could. I'm not going to but I definitely could." 159 pictures later we were ready to leave. I only needed 75 for class, but I'm happy because now I have more choices to edit from. It's one of the few things I actually like about digital photography. On my 35 mm I was lucky to take 40 pictures in one day. I miss the dark room, but digital provides new challenges for me as a photographer. I try to be deep and poetic and compare it to an athlete running different events. After the photo shoot, I treated Kathryn and myself to a delicious lunch at Quadrant. It was really nice that Kathryn helped me with my photo shoot it would have gotten very lonely if I spent the day on my own. We got there just in time to catch breakfast special so I got a broccoli, mushroom, and cheese omelette. It was absolutely amazing. I then took a glorious nap. It was well earned after all the walking! Then my friend Danny came over and after some "real talk" (slang for a serious convo about life) he made me clean my room. It was pretty bad... but it's better now! Then a typical, college-y, if not slightly boring night of hanging out with Andrew, Christina, and Ryan. It was just a day that made me happy and I think that's important to recognize! Maybe I'm steering back towards being an optimist...hopefully!

Someday I'll post pictures and words together

Dress as your favorite musical: I'm Wendla from spring awakening...Joe is Tinkerbell

Going home means selfies with my puppy!

SO. GOOD. 

This moment is actually happening

This moment is actually happening

Hi everyone. Things just keep getting crayer and crayyyer. On the 15th I voyaged and saw my bestie Caitlin in The Producers at Villanova. I love her and was very happy to be supporting her. They did a really great job :) Then I had a brief stay in the one and only new prov. Which mainly consisted of buying crap to bring back to school with me and of course enjoying the luxuries of a real shower. A night of shenanigans then ensued. The weekdays are pretty average. I go to classes, I go to MP rehearsals, I chill with my homies. Rinse and repeat. Then last weekend was well what last weekend was. Lots of ups and downs but what else is new? Then Sunday I actually had to wake up to go to NYC!!! I went to the ICP and then walked around taking pictures which was cool. And then I saw Once! I got Steve Kazee's understudy but he was still perfectly dreamy. I think I'm cursed I always get understudies for the actor I want to see most! It was nice to just to go on an adventure and try to let go of all the crap that happened the night before. And by the time I got back to campus it was time for the Oscars! Oh Hollywood please accept me as one of your own. Pretty nondescript week. A guest artist came to talk about her photography. Weird stuff, good but weird. Lots of nudes. I don't know if I could photographs nudes. I def wouldn't pose for them so I don't think it's right to ask someone else to... artist musings. On Saturday MP is performing for literacy day which will be fun. But it means a kinda weird rehearsal sched. But rehearsal was really good tonight. I think I made Rich proud! Rich is our director...I love him and crave his approval. Tomorrow math is cancelled :D YAY!
This is the part of the post where I complain about things that aren't going to matter so in the future when I read this I can laugh. (future Mara you are welcome! I hope you're still sane enough to appreciate this). So I'm debating my major right now. Like Obvs. the FAMS major is happening the cinema is my love. But I'm thinking of doubling in either Studio Art, American Studies, or English. All of those are pointless majors that won't get me jobs and that's okay! See this will be funny when I'm a "grown up". Also something to laugh about the asshole who was ignoring me when we left off in the last post... yep still ignoring me :(.
On a happier note, I think I'm going to be able to go home to see NPHS musical, beauty and the beast! And then the week after that it will be spring break! YAY!

Unfinished Business

I know considering the lack of blogging this is almost a miracle. If you take this as an indicator of my blogging pace for the rest of the semester you will be sorely disappointed. I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS RIGHT NOW. Just kidding...sort of.
Just people, man! I'm done with a lot of them. Yesterday I made a list of people I like and a "shit list" when I sat down to do my Statistics studying. Unfortunately the "shit list" is pretty full including names of some people I'm typically very close with. Then Anonymous friend came over and commented on the lists. Anonymous friend is a true leader, a keen listener, and generally more important to me than the bald eagle is to America. Seriously though I never tried to poison her with DDT... and she can talk.  Yeah, so that happened. It was a pretty good list there were foil characters and everything. Some of the parallels made more sense than others... then Anonymous friend wrote some snarky comments on someone who is both on "the shit list" and the people I like list. He really should not be on the people I like list...sigh...but he is. Seriously I need to move the hell on. By the way in case you were wondering the key to getting over a guy is not more guys. Yep, the vague overview is that we were a thing then we weren't then we were together again and now he's ignoring me. And I don't really know what I would want or even how I really feel about him I just hate being ignored and wish we could at least be friends. So... ummm Happy Valentine's Day everyone? Yeah because I need an annual reminder that my worth is determined by how men feel about me... many thanks to the Patriarchy. I also don't like this whole "having a crush thing" I never really dealt with it in high school. Oh, that asexual, incestual bubble that was NPHS. Yeah now I'm pathetically wishing some asshole would text me. Spoiler alert: It's not gonna happen. Ah, well it sucks now eventually I'll move on, my prince will come or something like this. And I do have a Valentine her name is Kathryn and I made her a card with glitter on it and everything. Sometimes good friends are more important any way. Yes, yes. Yeah, I actually don't have that much work this week. I mean I read for Lit, some basic sets for stats, photography is well photography, and American Studies could be anything. Still gives me plenty of time to screw up my personal life... MEOW. Okay seriously, I know I'm a strong independent woman and I don't need no man! Kay? Kay!

Paparazzi

I MISS THIS FACE

The Annual Santa Pic

Working hard or hardly working (on a play for theatre class)

CHRISTMAS and GINGERBREAD and LOVE

Best Christmas present ever? Pard Pride?

Spent NYE with those that matter most <3

My first day of classes look :)

The Roller Coaster

Hi! Remember me... my name is Mara I'm a spunky little 18 year old trying to hack it at one of America's best colleges while discovering her identity. No? Well, that's because again I have fallen behind on my blogging! Gosh, I'm going to have nothing to reference when I write my memoir?!
So quick overview recap! I officially survived first semester! Yes, barely. Yes, there were several breakdowns and I def didn't get straight A's and of course a few identity crisis (somethings never change). Overall a decent first semester though. I mean they say the transition is tough for everyone and I didn't drop out or transfer so I can't complain. And I met a lot of people who I simply adore now. Looking back at the last post I realized how little I actually talked about. I didn't say anything about Laf/Lehigh! We lost :( but it was still a good time! My parents came out from the game and that was well...interesting. At the end of the semester, Dance Co. had a So You Think You Can Dance. I performed a Modern group number... we came in 2nd place! The next day was our choir concert which went quite well and was a nice send off before crunch time. Ughhh finals trust me, we don't need to recap any of that.
Next order of business: Winter Break. You know I never really understood the phrase, "Home for the Holidays" until I left. At first it was wonderful to have so much time with my friends and family but after a month of pure slothfulness (okay, and working at WatPeds) I was more than ready to return to college hill. But CHRISTMAS! I love Christmas. I love Christmas so much <3 It was nice getting back to all of our family traditions. I got mega cool stuff too :) i got leopard footie pajamas (pard pride!!!), a few books, and THE BABY! The baby is what I call my DSLR camera. Also I babysat a lot over break so I got myself a ukulele. I can play a bunch of easy songs which is pretty awesome. I also watched a ridiculous amount of Mad Men...so good. And a bunch of really good movies! And I went to Rockin' Joe's because I'm constantly there or Cosmic Cup. Coffee shop probs <3
 SPEAKING OF COSMIC... flash forward to Easton, PA my little dorm room across the street from Cosmic because that's where I am (I know, classy transition!) This marks classes week 3 but it feels like much longer! (Sidebar: Yes, I cried when I said goodbye to my dog...again). Let's see classes are good...now. I had to do an add/drop. I was taking Making Media, but there was all this drama with the Professor's grading policies and it just wasn't worth it. But now I'm in Digital Photography which makes me very, very happy :D and perfect way to get better acquainted with my baby xoxo. In contrast I'm taking Stats which sucks but you know curriculum requirements, quantitative reasoning, blah, blah, blah. I'm taking American Literature. I really, really like it. My professor is fabulous! He's ridiculously smart and does everything with such style. I'm also taking Intro to American Studies. I don't really know what to make of it yet, but so far so good. Oh yeah and Concert Choir let's go round 2. Other exciting things? I'm in a show! I'm Johnny/Jenny (gender changing hell yeah) in Curtains! That means I'm the stage manager for the show within the show. I get a couple lines and even a bit in some songs :) Considering I'm a baby froshie I'm really happy! Also it's just a really fun show and everyone is super nice! Yeah, you know how I do! Everything is just crazy right now. There's virtually no consistency yet. And in some ways that's good. You know adventure and surprise. I got some really good news today. My history professor from last semester (she's amazing, I love her), nominated me for a scholarship living community thing for next year. I'm def applying, but I don't think I'll make it. The house is this beautiful stone mansion. It's a little far off campus, but totally worth it. On the downside, you know my awesome tight knit group of friends. Well now that we're comfortable with each other that means a ton of drama. I hate drama. And now I'm starting to thing we're less tight knit and more just a ragtag bunch of misfits. Like I don't know I'm kind of freaking out. They're keeping secrets from me, and just not always the most supportive. Like I do love them I really do. But maybe the problem is me? I do kind of distance myself. I've just been kind of moody recently, maybe it's the winter weather. I mean the fact that a certain person on campus I'd like to see is ignoring isn't really helping either...
Oh WELL! I'll just chalk it up to early semester transition back blues and buck up like I always do.
And I will actually try to blog more...