Life with Madi

Something I've struggled with a lot as a college student is the notion of going home for the weekend.  Social cues and media examples always show how teenagers are supposed to hate their parents and, once they fly the coop, never want to come home again.  This, I say, is ridiculous. 

I love my parents.  My sister is my best friend.  This is why last year, when I spent over three months at a time away from the people that I loved the most (I was in Colorado for school, my family in Texas- such is the life for any out-of-state student) it was a wake-up call for me, but a much needed one.  I learned how to live by myself and I made a few close friends and basically, just kept myself busy.  I got a job at the newspaper.  I got involved around campus.  I learned to love my school.

Now, though, it's so much different.  My parents are here, and the friends I choose to spend time with these days are few and far between (don't pity me- I'm not spending my nights curled up on my bed alone, crying myself to sleep out of loneliness.  I've got my people but just not as many as I would prefer).  My weekends are a little bare, so lately, I've been taking the 2 hour trip between FoCo and Parker and using the weekends to spend time with my family. 

I do this a lot, and one weekend, it really got to me.  I stayed in my apartment and when my mom urged me to come spend the day with her and the family just for a Sunday, I felt wrong.  I looked back on all the interactions I'd ever had with friends where they mentioned how terrible it was to constantly head home on the weekends, and what was 'normal' and 'right' and 'good'.  Needless to say, I got in my own head. 

This weekend, I may stay and I may go, the choice is kind of up in the air.  But the fact of the matter is- I realized that the only person who really cares how often I go home on the weekends or not is me.  I need to stop judging myself for things that, in the end, don't really matter at all.  So I want to spent time with my family.  Big whoop.  I may be lame and the most nontraditional college student in the world for that reason but honestly, I don't really care. 

This uncaring attitude of mine may not last for long and I may go back to my old ways of constantly self-judging, but the fact of the matter is is that right now I need to realize that nothing in today's society should be considered 'normal' or 'right'.  Everyone is different and no one has the exact same college experience.  Some people go home on the weekends, and some people party until their brain hurts. 

And you know what? I'm going to do both. 

This weekend was...a weekend.  My grandfather came over (the one that yelled at me on mother's day) and I had a good time attempting to be nice to him despite the fact that I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm the devil's spawn.  Families suck sometimes, am I right?

And then my sister, my mother and I all went to Estes Park yesterday to get some distance from Sir Shouts-a-lot and we had an amazing time (even though I was being kind of a poopy head at the beginning of the day since my sister stole my shoes...obviously, I am very passionate about footwear.  Haha.)

It was one of those weekends where you're handed a bad situation and you make the best of it, and it actually turns out really great.  This weekend was really great.  Pointless post over :)

Toodles,
Madi

Today my mom really wanted to get out of the house, and I know she's been wanting to go antique-ing, so we headed out to Centennial to a really swanky store called Old Glory.  It was amazing- and EXPENSIVE.  I wanted everything but alas, I am poor.

So, what to do next?  Well, head over to Goodwill, of course!  We immediately grabbed, like, five things as soon as we walked in the door, and everything was so cheap.  My mom found this for me:

Today is a random post of randomness.  This is my life now.

It's so weird having summer already...I forget that all the high schoolers are still in school and just assume that everyone is off when I am.  I should most likely get a summer job soon but right now it's so busy with my sister here and my parents moving into the new house.  We're a mess.

Speaking of my sister, it's so nice to have her here.  After all, I spent over two months without her and now it's a nonstop hangout sesh.  Everything is so different in her life and it's weird that everything is changing so fast, but I just have to learn to roll with the punches.

We tried a peel-off mask tonight and it is a bit uncomfortable:

Today, we decided to go down to Fort Collins so my dad could check out the house that I was thinking about living in next year....

And he wasn't a fan.  I agreed with what he said: the neighborhood was not the best (there was a body shop right next door to us and a mobile home park behind us) and it was at least 5 miles away from campus.  I must admit, I was discouraged...but my dad asked if there were any other options so I led him to an apartment complex I'd briefly read about online that had the studio apartment I'd wanted.  I wasn't enthused, though, I mean, I still wanted the house and the roommate and the YARD!  But then this lady gave us a tour of the studios and I sort of fell in love...they're small, kind of dorm-sized, but they've got a kitchen and a bathroom and one of them has a walk-in closet...

Needless to say, my dad and I went for a drive and decided that the studio was the best bet.  And it's right on campus, which means I don't have to waste gas every morning. 

So we went back to the complex, turned in my application, and put our money down.  It's a fast process with these apartments and I'm SO excited to move in. 

Afterwards, we were pretty tired...the drive to Fort Collins from Denver is a long one!  But on the way home, I mentioned Ikea, and Dad took a sudden exit and pretty soon, we were there!  It was so much fun looking around at furniture (we both need new stuff!) and spending time just doing random things. 

We came home, had pizza and a movie, and are emotionally preparing for The Hunger Games tomorrow (well, I am.)

I love this guy. 

Well, not home-home, exactly, because that would be to Keller, Texas....

But I'm going to Denver to visit people that make me feel like I'm home...my parents!!

24 years of love :)

I know that it's passed already, but why not reverse the end-of-holidays gloom by providing you with some crazy pictures of my family on Christmas Eve and morn?

I'm in one of those stages of my life where NOTHING that I create is good enough.  This week's collegian vlog is not my favorite.  When I finish an essay for a class, I'm not 100% positive that I killed it (and I can kill an essay).



Something I am looking forward to, however, is seeing my family at the end of the week.  Actually, it's in two days!  And while, sadly, I won't be getting my green pants until after I get back (I'm crying inside), I'll be sure to put on my best skinny jeans for when I tumble off that plane and onto Texan soil.

I can't wait!

It's because I've been so busy, I promise.  In fact, I've been having quite a battle with a beautiful pair of green jeans:



Enjoy, and have a happy week!  I, for one, cannot wait for Thursday to come...that's when I leave for home and get to see my family for the first time in nearly three months.  YAY!

Adieu,
Cooper

And she's here.  FINALLY!

I honestly did not realize just how much I've missed her until I got to the airport- I made a sign on the back of this sheet of paper that said 'Mrs. Foxy Mama' and prepared to hold it up when she came near.

I ended up standing in the wrong place, so I had to go search for her and found her at baggage claim.  I literally ran up to her and we hugged, and of course, we both started bawling.  It was the best moment ever.

Afterwards, my GPS went on the fritz and we were talking so much that we didn't notice that we had been driving an hour south of Denver....when Fort Collins is north of Denver.  Oh, lord.  We had a nice, impromptu road trip of bonding and catching up.

So, we didn't end up back in Fort Collins until around 10:00, and had a lovely dinner at iHop.  We then returned to the hotel and, exhausted from my stupidity, fell right asleep.

I'm so excited to spend the weekend with her.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm incredibly close with my parents, so this weekend it's going to be good to have her around after over a month away!!!

I've finally gotten around to uploading the pictures of my dorm, and lo and behold, I found some great pictures of move-in week as well.