shine a light.

It's been awhile since I've updated, and I'd love to say it's because I've been out enjoying summer but that would be a total lie. Basically, all I've been doing is studying for the LSAT and catching up on tv...I've watched the entire sixth season of Grey's Anatomy and the first two seasons of Skins so far. Pathetic? I guess. But you've got to remember, I haven't had time off in ages, and I can only do logic games for so many hours at a time. And, since it was the first week of summer, and the only week before summer school started, pretty much everyone went home, leaving Berkeley a ghost town, and so it was a good week to stay in. In any case, I've studied a lot, I've made a huge dent in my "must-watch" list, and I've started to catch up on my sleep, so hurray!

However, that doesn't mean I didn't go out at all...! I went out to brunch with Morgan last Wednesday and spent the day in San Francisco with Misha yesterday.


Morgan's breakfast.


My breakfast! My obsession with french toast is getting slightly out of control; I've come to the conclusion that it's one of the best meals for college students (easy, delicious, cheap, and nutritious) and so I've been making it a lot more frequently. However, this cinnamon brioche french toast blows mine out of the water by far.


And on to San Francisco! First stop, the piers outside the Ferry building. That's the Bay Bridge!


I don't even know what this is, but it's awesome. Located in Ferry Park.


Close-up.

SO! Fun story. We were in Ferry Park, walking around, and we see that there's a production of Peter Pan occuring. We approach the ticket booth to see how much the cheapest tickets are, when we're approached by a lady selling her tickets and we end up spending $20.00 each on seats that were originally $125.00! Not only that, but their location was perfect, we got free drinks, programs, and audiobooks, AND the show was super cool. One of the best spontaneous decisions I've made in awhile!


One of the best deals, ever.


Programs!


This was the Lost Boys home on the stage. The set was amazing...I didn't really get any good pictures of it.


Luckily, there was a picture in the program!


After the play we walked through the city.


I love love love living next to a big city. The buildings are so impressive!


Cool lion in Chinatown.




Chinatown.


We found a Banksy!






Nothing like bad grammar to make me smile, haha.


Their intention was noble, but their execution was questionable.


Another Banksy!


We went to this record store in North Beach that was ridiculously awesome. I really wish I had a record player because their selection was amazing, gahhh.








I ended up getting these posters to decorate my apartment next year, and one for my brother. I'll give it to him when he comes up with my mom to visit at the end of June, hurray!


I really love walking around San Francisco...so much to see and discover. I want to try and spend a lot of time there this summer, if possible.


After a long day exploring, I got back to Berkeley in time to watch the LOST finale! I know I've never really written about it, but it's one of my favorite television shows (coming in second after The West Wing), and so I wore my LOST shirt proudly. After sleeping on it, I've come to the conclusion that was an amazing finale to a brilliant show, and I'm really content.


My nail polish collection! I realized that I have most of the rainbow...and a new addiction? Ahhhhh.


This is relevant only because I bought a new color ("Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees"), which is a dark charcoal gray, to celebrate me getting STRAIGHT A's this semester!

Anyways, things are good. The LSAT is challenging but it's keeping me busy. I'm catching up on a lot of unwatched television, which is relaxing, and I actually bought a novel to read for fun. I'm also trying to work on a script that I've been writing this past year...I don't have that much done, but the ideas are all there. I really want to bring it to life, and for the first time in a year I finally have time to just sit down and write; hopefully something good will come of it. And! I just found out that I get to move this Wednesday (instead of after the LSAT) which makes me ridiculously happy, and today my mom scheduled a trip up in which she and my brother will come visit me for the first time! I'm so excited to see them because I miss them SO MUCH. I miss my dad too, but he's busy working, sadly. Hopefully I'll go home in July for a bit, but I have to talk to my boss about it first. As for now, time to go back to my LSAT lesson book...the exam is two weeks from today! Time flies by so quickly, it's ridiculous.

not dark yet.

Life is good, too good, and sometimes we need to stop and appreciate what we have instead of complaining about what we don't. It's too short and unpredictable to always be looking ahead; revel in the moment!

Just something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

feeling this.

Upon realizing I hadn't made any school related posts lately, I decided it was time for one! School is going well, I think. I absolutely adore my Mass Media and Advertising in America classes, and although they're really difficult, I truly feel as though I'm learning a lot. Mass Media is fascinating, and it's interesting to actually study the evolution of media and how it affects society. Advertising is ridiculously hard, but to see how not only society shapes ads but ads shape society...it's pretty intense. My Gender in America class (which I changed to Pass/No Pass because I felt that I bombed the midterm...only to get an A, ugh) is pretty boring; I guess it could be interesting, but the way the information is presented my attention is quickly diverted elsewhere. My Digital Photography decal is fairly interesting, and I'm enjoying learning to play around with the different features on my camera. I'm planning a photo post soon, so look out for that!

What I'm going to do with all this knowledge I'm not quite sure, but hopefully I'll figure it out soon. I kind of want to start looking into the LSATs and seeing if that's going to be something I want to do; if not, start looking at either grad school for Mass Comm (for which I'd have to take the GRE ugh) or film school. Publishing also interests me, as I've always been an excellent editor. I'm not sure which direction I want to go in, but I have time to figure it out...well, a little bit of time. Is it bad I also want to take a year off to live abroad (hopefully in Spain)? And that I kind of want to move back to Los Angeles a little bit? I don't know. These are the things I have in the back of my mind, all the time. It's stressful!

At least I don't have to worry about the future right now...I'm too busy dealing with the present. Last week I went to talk to my GSI (graduate student instructor) about the ad analysis I was writing and afterwards, we were talking and he commented that I seem to have assimilated fairly quickly and easily for a transfer student. I hadn't thought about it, but I suppose it's true...as soon as I got here, I jumped in and got a job (at Berkeley Hillel), joined Apartment Association and CalTV. Schoolwise, I've always been pretty focused, so that hasn't been as much of a problem, though it's a lot more painful to procrastinate here than it was at GCC. I am having a little bit more trouble when it comes to meeting people, but even then, I am slowly building friendships. It took me awhile, but I've come to the realization that the reason my friendships back home are so amazing is because they've developed over a number of years; I can't expect the same connection up here when I've only been here a few months! In any case, I am making friends and meeting all sorts of different people and it's lovely. I've gotten homesick (especially with my family, best friends, and boy all at home) a few times, but I know that coming here was the best thing I could ever do, and that this time apart from all of them just makes me value them more. I have friends who have gone home three, four times already, and honestly, I think that just makes things harder. To truly feel at home here you've got to make a conscious effort to make it your home, and stop thinking about what you left behind. That's not to say I'm never coming back--are you kidding, I love Los Angeles!--but instead of crying over what I left behind I'm going to enjoy all the new things Berkeley has to offer that LA does not. And if I want to go back when I'm done with school I can, and I will!

In any case, things are going well, I'm doing well, and I'm fairly content. Thanksgiving is in eleven days and I can't wait to see everyone I love! Life is too good sometimes, and I definitely feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

carpe diem!

Nothing like some good ice cream and good conversation to remind you of the simple pleasures in life.
It's important to remember that not everything is about school. I have to keep reminding myself this, because it is way too easy to get caught up in what I call the "Berkeley mentality" of "study study study; future future future!" There's something to be said about living in the present, taking the time to enjoy yourself and just live. Yes, I need to think about next semester/next year/my future. I need to figure out if I want to do law school/grad school/film school/none of the above. I know I need to deal with my reading and my essays and my financial aid. I know I should get caught up where I'm behind, I should even try to get ahead. I'm really good at getting caught up in the bullshit that is school; I tend to get ridiculously stressed easily and I forget that by this time next year, I won't care about the grade I got on a paper this semester. Life is so much more than grades! I mean, they're important, but my mental health and sanity is much more important. It's okay to not know what I'm doing next year or once I get my degree, and it's okay to not have a plan...in fact, maybe that's for the best. I've had a plan since high school and although it's terrifying to not have one, at the same time, it's absolutely thrilling and exciting. Besides, there's no knowing what the future will hold, so why focus all my time on it when I could be enjoying the present?

Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero – "Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future"