Back to School!

I'm back to school today. Yay! I love it. I went running in shorts and a t-shirt today! Keep in mind it's mid-January. Got to love the "south."
I'm currently taking a break from unpacking and organizing. At home, I'm usually a mess. My parents, brother, and sister can all attest to this. However, at school, all my junk is confined to one small room. I almost feel like I have to be neat! And I love it.
This post is sort of an addition to my KISS post. Live simply. Buy a small house, apartment, condo, room, or cardboard box. Keep it neat and organized. You'll be surprised at the clarity you'll find in life.

Stinky!

This post is a direct result of the fact that my sister and I just discovered a spider eating a stink bug in her closet.
So I know everyone knows what a spider is, but what is a stink bug? Stink bugs are small insects with backs that resemble a shield. Supposedly, they recently came to the US from China. They have slowly but surely taken over my house! I can't stand them and I don't even mind bugs. In fact, I like bugs. I was one of those kids that was constantly in the dirt playing with bugs and other creatures. And I'm still a kid at heart. But stink bugs really get to me. It is either their sheer numbers or the fact that they emit a discrete but unpleasant odor when you try to approach them that really perturbs me.

So what does this silly pest have to do with happiness? In even the gravest of situations there is always a silver lining.

At least they don't sting!
: )

KISS

It usually takes me awhile to make a point, whether I am discussing or writing about something. (Maybe you could tell from my last post). One of my many new year's resolutions is to live simply. This applies to not only the way I live (for example, I pledged to buy less things and to stay organized), but also to the way I write. In middle school, I had a teacher who used the acronym KISS. It stands for "Keep it Simple, Stupid." I've also heard it translated as "Keep it Simple and Stupid." I have mixed feelings about KISS. In one respect, I like it, because a kiss represents something beautiful and positive. Simplicity is beautiful and positive. But the word stupid cancels out the positive message of KISS. Just because something is simple does not mean it is stupid. Simplicity is not stupidity. I propose that we change the meaning of KISS to "Keep it Simple and Smart" or "Keep it Simple, Smartypants."
After all, sometimes the smartest choice is also the simplest.
Simplicity, in its purest form, is happiness.
Kisses!

First Day. Here goes...

We tend to live our lives as a series of routines and schedules. In high school, my day would consist of getting up, getting ready for school, going to school, going to swim practice, coming home, doing homework, maybe watching a little TV, and finally going to bed. The next day I would wake up and repeat it all again. Weekends proved to be a brief repose from the daily grind, but soon enough it would be Monday again. You're probably thinking something along the lines of "She must have been miserable!". The reality was just the opposite-- I was a very happy girl! My schedule worked for me. I was comfortable.

College life has provided me with some awesome insight into what I like to call the "living the schedule" phenomenon. In college, life is less structured. Not being in school for eight hours a day allows you to have a lot of free time. There is always some event going on around campus, whether it be a comedian's performance, a concert, a seminar, or a party. On a whim, you can decide to go out and do something different! Needless to say, there is some structure. Otherwise, I would go crazy (like I'm feeling now on my 4th week of winter break)! Classes, club meetings, and sport's practices provide a nice, non-overbearing structure to college life.

A major difference I find between my pre-college life and my college life is this: In high school I had to drag myself out of bed while in college I feel no aversion to waking up whatsoever. Why is this? Am I a happier person in college? No, not really. I suspect there are many factors (like maybe it's because my dorm room is always warmer than my room at home or maybes it's simply because I don't wake up as early). But I like to think that it's because in college there is a guarantee that I will do, see, or hear about something I've never done, seen or heard about before. And that something is not just worth dragging myself out of bed for, its worth leaping out of bed for!

Is this lifestyle only possible for college students? No! Everyone, 18 year olds and 88 year olds alike, can vow to do something each day that adds a little zest to their lives. Life isn't about being comfortable; it's about living to the fullest. Don't just live your schedule, live your life!