my life after school: the graduation.

It has officially been 3 months since I have graduated from BYU. I thought it might be time to share a couple of my "graduation" photos. I walked in August so I "fake graduated" before I actually graduated (finished classes/received diploma.)
Here are a few pictures from that momentous event!

In December I finished my last class, took my last final and then celebrated with a few friends and lots of waffles. It all felt so surreal at the time! Even more amazing was Caity and I finished at the same time! Sometimes it feels like we were in school forever! 

But at the same time it feels like just yesterday she was walking into my dorm declaring her love for London, and our instant friendship began! I am so lucky to have her as a friend and I am glad we shared as many fun and exciting, occasionally dangerous memories as we did! I know I couldn't have made it through school without her!  I can't wait to see what adventures we have in the years to come! Look out world here we come! 

Here we are in the very beginning, as little freshman, and at the end, as wise graduates! 

the eyes of an artist

I don't know if it is because I have known that these are my last few months as a student at Brigham Young University, or because I am taking a photography class and now I see the world through the eyes of an artist but the world around me has been so much more beautiful. I can't even count how many times I have stopped to notice the beauty around me and thought of how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place. Just yesterday I was sitting outside near the JFSB, reading a book for class (yes it was warm enough to sit outside on the last day of November!) and as I was sitting there the wind started to blow. There are still plenty of leaves falling off the tress and there were a couple piles around me that as the wind blew danced and skipped across the pavement. It was the most entertaining thing, they would swirl around and then come back, it was as if they were preforming a choreographed dance. I couldn't help but stop reading and watch them for a couple minutes. This is just one of the wonderful things I have noticed the past few months. This moments have been such a blessing to me and I am so thankful to my HF who created such amazing moments.  One of the best experiences I have had this semester was driving the alpine loop at sunset. It was phenomenal, I don't even have the words to describe what I saw. Maybe these pictures will give you some insight?

I wish I knew what has changed my vision, so I could pass it on to everyone. Colors seem more vivid, sunsets more animated, even the trees seem to be more inviting to me. I like to think now I have the eyes of an artist and these moments will keep blessing my life!

A semester wrap up.

So I am finally caught up in my blogging, and with the end of the semester coming up I thought I would do a little semester wrap up.
This is what my last three weeks looked like:

I had four papers due on the last week of class, all of them were research papers with a required length of 8-10 pages. Lots of stress, writing, reading and a few tears went into the papers but I am happy to say they are all done. I am just a few finals and a graphic design project away from doing whatever I please, including reading whatever I want.

I think I was crazy when I signed up for 4 English classes because this is how many books I had to read:

That is a lot of books. I want to write my review of the books I read so that when I forget if I liked the book I have an easy reference. If you are looking for something to read there are a few good ones here!
A Long and Happy Life -Reynolds Price 
This book was a fast and easy read, with an ok story and much better on the second read (ya I had to read it twice, but it was the only book for my writing class...) I learned a lot while I was writing so I now appreciate this book more than I originally thought. Not a bad quicky! 
The Old Man and the Sea -Earnest Hemingway
If you like Hemingway, or fishing maybe you will like this. I don't love either and while it was an ok book and a classic not a favorite of the semester. 
Herland - Charlotte Perkins Gilman
This is a Utopian feminist novel. I thought it was great and did a wonderful job highlighting women are equal to men in many ways. Slow at times but I enjoyed it. 
The Blacker the Berry -Wallace Thurman
I really liked the way this book was written. Great character development and a great look into racism in America. 
America is in the Heart -Carlos Bulosan
I also liked this one. The thing I found most interesting was how America was portrayed in this novel. We were awful to the immigrants and this shows a lot of truth. 
Possession: A Romance -A.S. Byatt
This took me a while to get into it but then it was awesome. The story is very unique and compelling. (much better than the movie) 
Translations -Brian Friel
This is a short play but full of a lot. I didn't put it down until I finished because I wanted to know what happened. 
The Cure at Troy -Seamus Heaney
A really cool take on the famous Greek story of Philoctetes. It's also a play and a quick read. Not bad. 

A House for Mr. Biswas - V.S. Naipaul

We only read a couple chapters out of this book, but it seemed interesting. I am not sure I will take the time to read the rest of the book though...

The Famished Road -Ben Okri

This book is trippy. It is African magical realism and has a lot of really strange stuff in it, but it was a good book and had a great ending (kind of a Moral of the Story end). 

Midnight's Children -Salman Rushdie

By far the strangest book I read all semester. Half the time you don't know what is going on. The other half you only think you know what is going on. It is beautifully written but Rushdie is kinda a crazy. 

The Return of the King- J.R.R. Tolkien

Well the only thing this book did for me was make me want to watch the movies. I am sure if I knew the story better I would have been more interested but come on Tolkien do you have to spend pages describing every little detail?

Omeros -Derek Walcott

Epic Poem. Like 500 pages.... Not a fan. 

Northanger Abbey -Jane Austen

This is an Austen take on the Gothic novel. Not my favorite Austen book, but the story is fun and her imagination shows in this one. 

Emma -Jane Austen

Probably my second favorite JA novel. I love Emma and I think she is funny. Read this! 

Persuasion -Jane Austen

This is the second time I have read Persuasion this year and it grows on you. JA wit is enjoyable all the time, this isn't my favorite but also a good one. 

Washington Square - Henry James

I was excited to see this novel play out and was very satisfied with it. I have learned to love Henry James and his twisted views on life. 

Daisy Miller - Henry James

Like not love. Daisy Miller is an intriguing character and the way it is narrator really shapes your view about her. James is good at that! 

The Turn of the Screw -Henry James

Said to be one of the greatest ghost stories ever told, and I have to say that although I didn't lose sleep over it, it was thrilling and a fun read. 

Jane Austen: A Life -Carol Sheilds

As far as biographies go, this is a keeper it was interesting had some great stories about her life and I didn't feel like I was reading a biography. 

TaDa. The End. Wish me luck on finals. 

The Life of a College Student.

Dear readers of my blog, and my future self who will look back on this,
Well believe it or not the life of a college student is often times pretty busy. Any free time not filled with reading or writing, (which is getting shorter and shorter)  is usually spent sleeping these days. Which means things like blogging, exercise, cleaning and laundry don't happen as often as they used to. Don't worry I still wear clean clothes everyday, that is an advantage of having way more clothes then necessary! This Thanksgiving break I have tried to catch up on all of the things I haven't had time for, I spent a LONG time cleaning the huge mess of my room and doing laundry, I have slept in, and taken naps, I substituted eating for exercise... maybe not as beneficial but way more fun! That leaves catching up on my blog and since I am stuck at work all day and have no desire to do homework right now, what better time then now! So here goes my attempt to catch up on my life. Ready set go.
-d.

BYU might be Hogwarts.

 I am not sure if there is anyone who has read Harry Potter that hasn't imagined studying at Hogwarts. Let's face it, it would be AMAZING. Well this week Caity and I discovered a part of BYU that might just be the link to the School of witchcraft and wizardry. We went to the library so I could find a couple of book on the history of ghost stories. I am fascinated with ghosts these days so I thought I might as well put my fascination to good use and write one of my many research papers on ghost stories. Well in the search to find books on ghosts, we came across the coolest section in the library I have ever come across. There were a number books on ghost and haunted houses including this one.  Men who wouldn't stay dead.

What? Interested? I am. There were so many cool books. Then our eyes started to wander to the shelves adjacent to the piles of ghost books. You will never believe what we found. Well ok, maybe you will believe it, but we couldn't believe it! There were all sorts of books on Satanism, the art of Witchcraft, books on different witches, magic and even a few book titled: The History of Magic. It was mind blowing. Caity and I spent probably a half hour pulling out books and flipping through them. At one point we were both sitting on the floor giddy and giggling. Who knew BYU was keeping this secret from me, Now I know where to go for hours of entertainment. Thanks BYU. You have temporarily redeemed yourself.

School is for fools

So Right now i am staring at my computer screen. I have 1 paragraph complete of my 5 page case study due tomorrow. Why do i always put my homework off until the last minute? I can't seem to figure it out.
I have know about this assignment for over a month. I could have done it the week i got the assignment. That is what a good student would have done. I am not a good student. Don't get me wrong. I do allright. I can hold my own here at BYU.. but I HATE homework.
I think all of this stress would be relieved if BYU had a spring break. I would have no problem writing this paper knowing that I had a break ahead of me. All i have to look forward too is a test this week, 2 next week and a few more papers due... then finals. WEEEE.... great. I need a break. I think every student would agree with me on this one. A break would refresh my mind and set me in motion to finish the rest of the semester with flying colors. Instead I am going to drag myself to class... my mind is going to grow weaker and weaker and my grades are suddenly going to seem less important to me.
BYU please reconsider a spring break. It is a great idea. We deserve it.