First of all, Merry Christmas! It's usually my favorite time of year although I haven't been in the Christmas spirit, but many in Pennsylvania are not. I hope that you all have been good boys and girls and that Santa brought you all that you wanted for Christmas (even though I never believed in him). One of my favorite things to do in the mall is actually not shopping (I actually hate shopping), but to yell "Santa!" from my favorite Christmas movie, Elf.
So this winter is more of my ideal winter. It isn't very cold but fairly warm for the most part. I was fortunately awake on the only day that it truly snowed, which was at 3 in the morning and I was working the overnight shift on a Friday into Saturday. I feel that the snow is one of the reasons there is such a thing as Christmas spirit to many in this area, but I've just had a rough month in the beginning. I've been depressed a little bit because I lost my great grandmother a few weeks before Christmas, but I know she isn't in pain anymore. I just miss her and the letters that I often wrote to her.
Finals week was really odd and somewhat tough for me, but I made my way through it. The work wasn't hard. I just didn't have the motivation. On the Sunday before finals, I was dreading a family trip to Allentown to go to church (I actually love church so I was fine with that), but it was with my ex's family since our fathers are best friends and we haven't seen them in a while. I had finally gotten over him after he left for his freshman year of college, which allowed me to realize that I only love him as a friend and sister. It was painful at first just seeing him acting awkwardly toward me and making small talk (which I hate small talk). It wasn't until we went to the mall where I confronted him (which really surprised him) to tell him that I wasn't interested in him and that I was seeing someone who I was starting to fall for. After that, things completely changed and it was almost as if I got my best friend back. I finally got the closure that we both needed in the situation. Soon after returning home, I got the news about my great grandmother which was almost too much to handle with the previous events of the day. I just wanted coffee and be left alone for the rest of the night,
But after all that happened, things started to look up. I finished out the semester to the most that I was able emotionally. It was an extremely hard semester and managed to get a 3.445 GPA, which I think is pretty good considering I've worked full time and sometimes overtime with 5 English courses and a religion course. Shakespeare is what killed me.
I managed to get every class I signed up for for next semester, which makes me really happy. It was a little frustrating trying to find time to meet with the English chair to see if I can be taken off the waitlist for the Young Adult Literature class that I really needed in order to graduate next fall semester, but I did get the class. I also officially declared my writing minor. It makes me really happy that I managed to pull that off. It means less debt!
My course load for next semester is very similar to this past semester so it will be just as hard and exhausting. I am taking my last general education class, Ethics (philosophy), and 4 English classes where one is my senior thesis paper. That means I have to write an 18-25 paper on something that connects literature with the world and then present it at the end of the spring semester. I am looking forward to writing the paper (and I promise to give you updates on my progress for it) although I hate presenting since I get really nervous in front of people.
So now onto McDonald's. A lot has happened in such a short period of time. All the annoying jocks got themselves fired, which makes working in peace a lot easier. The scholarship I applied for was accepted and I was given $700, which paid a decent portion of the fall semester. Now saving money is so much easier since my next 2 semesters cost half as much as this past semester. I am so close to management now that I can see myself wearing new button downs. Over my Christmas break, I have been working overtime, which only managers are really only allowed to have but that's a sign that I am pretty much there.
So now to the most interesting and newest parts of my life. I mentioned that I was seeing someone, but it's more than just seeing someone now. He swept me off my feet after admiring me from afar for a year (and I actually was doing the same) when we met in my first college class at Marywood in the fall semester of 2014. I should thank our professor because he stuck us together for a creative writing assignment that we had to work together by alternating paragraphs. He is the sweetest man I have ever met and makes me feel like a queen. He drives a Jeep named Jenna and likes the same music I enjoy listening to. He has been in the navy, has a couple really cool tats, enjoys watching football, and isn't afraid to be a little nerdy. He knows how to make me smile and gets me to laugh often. He is my Prince Charming but much better.
So I'm also getting my 4th tattoo, which surprises everyone. It'll be more in the memory of my great grandmother but it has meaning like my other 3 tats. It's going on my rib cage next month. I am really excited to get it done. I enjoy the feel of the entire process.
Along with getting another tattoo, I am trying to save up the rest of my money for school so that I can get my own place with my best friend from high school. We made a pact to live together before either of us get married, which both she and I have a feeling that she's going to get engaged in July to her boyfriend of almost 3 or 4 years (I don't remember). I want to be more independent and have more of my own space so I think I need to leave the "nest."