You guys! This is my last post of the year (sob, I know!). I want to wrap up the year with a post reflecting on the year, dreaming of the future, and more immediately, the summer.

This Summer

Will bring fun, sun, and filling out lots and lots of paperwork. I’m returning for my fourth season at the little outdoor pool I lifeguard at to coach swim team, teach swimming lessons, and teach water aerobics classes. I am so excited to get back and see all of my lovely work friends—I’ve missed them this school year! I will also be volunteering at an OT clinic—I’m hoping to get in at a pediatric occupational therapy clinic to see how OT’s work with kiddos. I’m taking the GRE, a summer class (abnormal psychology, sounds pretty interesting!), and starting the painstaking process of applying to graduate school. Yippee. That means I get to write lots of essays, fill out lots of applications, and fill out lots of forms explaining my volunteer hours. I’m so excited for what Summer will bring; I hope to do some sewing, painting, and some fishing and camping as well. Also, I’m turning 21 in July, and my family is taking a vacation to Oregon; so I have some fun things planned as well.

The Future

I am so nervous but also so excited for my senior year at CSU. I can’t believe I’m almost done with my junior year—it goes so fast, you won’t believe it until it happens to you. I am so excited to graduate next year, so excited to take the next step and move on to new things. I am so nervous about grad school—will I get in, where will it take me, etc—but I am so excited to start the path to a career as an OT. And I’m feeling very pensive, reflecting on the last three years I’ve spent as a CSU Ram, and I’m enjoying looking back to see how far I’ve grown since I started as a freshman three years ago. It’s also fun to read old blog posts from when I started this job—always a fun laugh!

Graduation

Seems so far away, it seems like an unreal thing until you get to the point where your friends and peers start graduating (X, I’m talking to you! Congrats!). And then it gets real pretty fast. You come to the realization that graduation will happen to you, and it will come faster than you can even imagine. I can’t wait to be a senior next year, finish my thesis, and have some fun. The semesters always fly by, so make sure that you make them count! Go Rams!

Question of the Day:

What are you doing over the summer?

I’d love to know what you’re most looking forwards to over the summer. Tweet me your answers @MyCSU_Kelly with #summervacation. I hope you all have a wonderful summer, and I can’t wait to catch up with you again in the fall!

Today’s Song: “Wild World” by Cat Stevens

Another semester is at an end and I’ve come to realize something. Holy cow I’m going to be a senior. Where on Earth did all this time go? I swear it wasn’t long ago that I was a freshman, eating in the dining halls, living the dorm life. Now I have one more semester before I student teach. Scary stuff.

So far

Here at CSU, I have changed so much. Every year, every minute, brings new challenges to my life. Today it might be money I’m worried about, debating on if a cup of coffee is worth the financial break. Tomorrow it will probably be nothing since it’s Saturday and I refuse to worry on Saturdays. Each challenge brings new wisdom and experience.

It’s crazy to think that I’m close to graduating college when it seemed impossible that I would ever grow up (yes, I happened to think that it would take forever to reach this age and it might not actually happen). But here I am, an adult (in some ways), not ready to face the world but it’s coming anyway.

Let’s play a game

It’s weird, almost trippy in a way, to look back and really think about where I am now. Because I like thinking these “big” thoughts, I like to play a game with myself sometimes. I’ve mentioned it to several friends and asked them to “play” the game. The game is to really sit down and evaluate your life. What is it at this moment? And then you introduce a new and old character. Yourself. Take your twelve or thirteen year old self and pretend you could talk to them. What would they think of you?

My younger self would most likely have mixed feelings about the life I lead now. In many ways, it is exactly what I have dreamed for myself; a strong group of friends, getting a college education, having fun and making memories, a giant closet that is quite literally overflowing with clothes. But in other ways, things are a lot different than I imagined for myself. My younger self would probably yell at me for a number of things, congratulate me on others, and may or may not hate me.

I love that my life is so different from what I thought it would be. And I love that the important things are still there. My family is still the most important friends I will ever have (even though half the time my sister and I aren’t what you might call friends), my education is still the priority, and I still hate pineapple with a passion.

I wonder what will happen when I play the game in another 10 years.

Until next time, whenever that may be.

Well friends, I’ve made it. It has been a trying and tiring road indeed, but I’ve made it. Writing this blog right now, I do not even know what to say other than, “YYYYEEEEEAAAAAHHHH BBBOOOOOOOOOYYYY!!!!!”

Alright, now that I have gotten that out of my system, I ask that you come along with me in a bit of reflection over my four year experience.

The Evolution of X

College was not necessarily something that was on my radar during my final years in high school. I have always felt myself to be rather advanced for my age, so school curriculum and instruction was not always the most enriching for me. However, my mother explained to me the importance of a college education, and that receiving a degree will significantly benefit in my pursuit of future endeavors.

Long story short, I ended up here at Colorado State University, unsure of what exactly I was getting myself into. I can easily say now that I completely underestimated the undergraduate experience, and after four years have gone through things that I never thought I would.

Friendships were gained and broken, decisions were consistently made and then changed, and I managed to fall and then rise again, many times over. After Freshman year, I learned that college is far more than just academia, it is also self-development and world discovery.

Word of Wisdom: The more available you are to the experience, the more things that will present themselves to you.

I have triumphed, I have cried, I have fought, and I have been battered; all of this spiritually speaking of course. There are so many incredible people that I have met, and many individuals that I wish I hadn’t. You have to take the good with the bad, and the happy with the sad. They all work together to contribute to one’s growth in this life.

Goodbye

It has been an absolute pleasure sharing my experiences with you all. I may have shared more than I should have at times, but I everything that I displayed was for a purpose. Take note of my successes and learn from my mistakes. My greatest hope is that in some way, somehow, my X’perience here at CSU has impacted at least one of you and inspired you to produce an amazing path for yourself.

Here I go . . . off into a future uncertain, with all of the excitement of the world in my soul. Stay tuned everyone, for this was only the beginning.

Catch ya on the flip. <3

Today’s Song: “This is My City” By Timothy Victor

I’ve been thinking about the future. With X graduating, and my final semester of classes on its way, it’s hard to believe the changes. It causes me to think about what I want from the future, rather than what my future needs from me now. After plain avoiding any mention of the idea that there is a future beyond next week for most of the semester, it’s back with a vengeance.

Recently discovered

I recently stumbled upon (not literally, mostly me just messing around on the internet procrastinating as usual) a blog. Books of Adam, it’s called, and written by the most talented Adam Ellis. I read one, and then another, and then another and low and behold after two days I finished every single blog he has written.

Suddenly, I discovered a new world of blogging. One that isn’t the stereotypical teen blog that have made the business a little less than credible. And one that I haven’t written myself or by my coworkers on the subject of CSU. This guy knows his voice.

Perhaps it’s his sarcastic wit, his ridiculously derpy drawings, or the brutal honesty at his own shortcomings, I feel a sense of a connection.

Back to the future

So what does Adam Ellis have to do with my future? I’m going to be a teacher right? The thing is, I’ve always had it in the back of my head that I would like to write for a living. But I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s a lot of work, very few make it successfully in the writing world, no money and no respect. So since writing for a career and teaching are basically the same thing (no money, no respect, lots of work), I decided to go with both. I must really hate myself right?

Since I’ve been writing papers and blogs for three years now, a bit of my creative juice has seemed to wane away. I don’t sit at my computer for hours writing novels or even writing poetry in my notebook instead of notes. It’s sad really, but I don’t worry too much, because I know it’s still there. I’m just too busy to even want to think about writing for fun. If I have free time, it’s Netflix time.

Eventually, I hope I will get back into writing. Maybe I’ll be a blogging teacher, telling the world about the ridiculousness that is my students. Maybe I’ll be a published novelist. Or maybe I’ll just write some poetry on my lesson plans.

Until next time.

A couple of weekends ago I drove home for a day to get some studying done and hang out with my family. We headed downtown for Doors Open Denver—this amazing event where several buildings in Denver open their doors and let you get a peek at what’s inside. That probably sounded lame. Trust me, it was awesome—I’ll prove it to you!

The Buildings

We started at the Paramount Theater, which was definitely the coolest building of the day. We were able to go everywhere in that building—through the auditorium, on stage, back stage, to the dressing rooms, to the lighting room at the very top of the building, and even under the stage (under the organs). They were also having organ performances throughout the day, which was pretty neat—if you’ve ever seen somebody play an organ up close, you know just how incredible that skill is.

After the Paramount, we headed to a couple more buildings—the Courthouse, a building with intricate mosaic tiles and Tiffany glass windows, and a really amazing church with a beautiful stained glass windows and gorgeous architecture. It was really amazing to be able to step inside of these buildings and check them out.

Denver

Is a pretty great city. It’s not very close to Fort Collins, but it isn’t so far that you couldn’t drive there for the day if you wanted. Downtown Denver is definitely worth checking out during your time as a Ram—it’s beautiful and has this great mix of old intricate buildings and new skyscrapers. My favorite place in Denver is the Denver Zoo, of course (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?), but there are so many cool restaurants, museums, sporting events, and performing arts to check out. I wish Fort Collins a little closer to the city—it would be nice to be able to head down there more often!

Question of the Day:

City or Country?

Are you more of a city person, suburbs person, or country person? Growing up in the ‘burbs, I happen to love suburban life. But I love heading downtown for the day—there’s something amazing about the city. It’s just an atmosphere, I guess. Plus, there’s always something going on. I love Fort Collins, because it has a really interesting mix of agricultural land, suburbs, and Old Town (which has a cool vibe). Fort Collins is very different than where I grew up, and it’s nice to have a little town to walk around or hang out. Love it!