My weekend visit to Ohio.

July 24, 2014

  You're crazy, they said. That's a waste of money and time, they said.

My favorite building
on campus.

  Do I care? No. I rented a car and hit the road at 1 am Saturday morning to Ohio and made it back home at 9:30 pm Sunday night. Do you think I'm crazy?

Unavoidable fear.

June 16, 2014
  I'm not afraid to admit it: I have flaws. I have anxiety. I have fear.
  What I have been thinking about in the past few hours is my fear of losing someone close to me. Not fear of losing a friend because of distance and poor communication skills, but losing someone I couldn't imagine not having in life because of death.
  I don't know whether to say it's a blessing or a future struggle, but I haven't lost a family member, friend or mentor at an age when I understood death; I lost a grandfather when I wasn't even born, and I lost the other when I was very young. I've had students I didn't know well die. I've had my teachers' family members pass on. I've haven't had someone close in my life pass away. I've never had to deal with that pain before.
  I would say the closest person that I have lost in my life is Coach Donna Newberry. I was fortunate to meet her before she passed, but I wasn't lucky enough to call her my coach for as long as I thought I was going to. She only got to see me at practice three times. Even though softball wasn't something I was able to stay committed to at Muskigum, she is the reason I went to school there, brought God in my life and taught me great life lessons. Even though that part in my life was hard, I couldn't imagine losing someone even closer to me in life at this point in time.
  I'm scared now more than ever that when that time comes, I won't be able to handle the emotion that comes with it. I'm not trying to say I wish I had to experience it sooner, but it's a life event that seems to be stalling its arrival. The worst part of this fact is I was unable to help friends around me when he or she had to experience loss. I've never had to, so I didn't know how to put myself in those shoes. It's a daunting feeling.
  I'm not really sure the point I'm trying to make here, but it makes me want to see everyone I love this summer once because the joy of my friends' and family's love and support could decrease before I know it and before I can show my love and appreciation back.

'No other love.'

May 2014

  I can't say I'm an expert on love, any kind of love, but I know I've felt multiple types of love immensely these past months since leaving college in December. The affection that's been sent my way has been extraordinary. It's not from a whole lot of people, but it's more than enough for me. I feel that there are different types of affection for people:

The long magenta line.. and a long blog post.

May 13th, 2014

  I did it.. part two! I went back to Muskingum to walk and be honored in front of my classmates, professors, family, and friends as a graduate of the 169th class. (Our school is off exit 169; how cool is that connection?!)

  Even though I technically graduated in 2013, I walked with my incoming class, which was an amazing, honorable experience. I was sad to not see some fellow December grads come back, but it was still a great time. It did rain, which makes two raining graduations for me! At least this time, the rain didn't ruin the whole ceremony.

'The Fault in Our Stars.'

February 27, 2014

I love this book.

  I'm starting this thing where I read a book then design a cover that I feel suits the book. It's something fun I hope to do all year, and until I stop reading books. The best part about it is that it doesn't matter what other people think because it's for me and how I imagined the characters, if I choose to put them on the cover.