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. 

No, this is not some new disease that I invented/am plagued with.  Actually, this just means that I'd really like a dog and I've been obsessed with the idea lately.

Now, don't fret- I realize that I'm most likely not prepared for single dog ownership yet and besides, my apartment complex doesn't allow dogs anyway.  However, the idea is super-enticing.  I've helped raise dogs my whole life, but I'd need to think about the economic toll a dog would take on me, along with other things.

BUT STILL,  I'd love someone to walk through campus every day and take to the Oval and take with me to my parent's house to run around in the backyard and take up to Horsetooth to hike with me and basically just love.  Maybe this means that I'm more obsessed with the idea of a dog than what it would take to actually care for one, but I know that if I ever did become a single dog owner (and I keep saying that because my family already has two dogs, but I hardly see 'em since I live two hours away) that I would be an incredible caring owner.  I would freaking SPOIL that dog.

Plus, overcrowding in shelters is a huge deal, and so many dogs are being put down every year.  If I did get a dog, I'd get a shelter pup- that's the way to go.  No pet shops!!!

Anyway, this is just an idea for now.  I've heard a lot of bad experiences of young dog ownership from a lot of people so I'm just going to keep the idea in my mind for a while.

P.S...I totally took a quiz online on what breed would best match my personality and this is what came up:

But it's leaving me!  All the leaves have fallen, the weather is turning from chilly to downright cold, and it's set to snow tomorrow.

NO FALL DON'T LEAVE ME MY INSTAGRAM WILL NO LONGER BE BEAUTIFUL

In other news, I saw Looper today and it was 50 shades of AMAZING.  If you don't know what my threshold for amazing is, think about it this way- it's right up there with The Dark Knight Rises.  And THAT'S serious.

I really thought Joseph Gordon Levitt's prosthetics were going to be distracting in the movie, but they actually weren't.  He was still his handsome self, as ever.  I'm always in such awe of actors like JGL- just years ago, he was this little indie movie actor and now he's an enormous star.  Plus he created and runs HitRecord.com, which is the coolest site ever.  I just love his passion for everything.



In other, OTHER news, I did the perfect pen bun today.  That's when you stick a pen in your hair.  Ah, the life of a writer.

I've recently become super obsessed with a show lately- and by obsessed, I mean I stay up until 1 or 2 A.M. watching episodes since I can't go to bed not knowing what's going to happen.  It's Hart of Dixie, starring Rachel Bilson, and I didn't really like it at first since the acting is not amazing and the storyline's a little cheesy...

But DAMN is it addicting!!!  Plus, there are a lot of secondary characters that I've been loving, most especially the 'villian': Lemon Breeland. I mostly just love her because she's like a southern, mean Charlotte Charles and while her accent is a little over the top, she is just one classy individual.

I am seeing a group of amazing, talented irish men....



Oh, boy.  They love their hipster dance teams.

I think it's the fact that this week has been cold and it snowed today, so I've been listening to Michael Buble's Christmas album in my car for a solid week now, and also I watched While You Were Sleeping (BEST) with Sandra Bullock in it with my folks and it totally made me jones for the holiday season.

Above is my favorite Christmas commercial of all time.  ALL TIME.  Of course, it's from Great Britain.

MERRY MERRY TIDINGS OF JOY AND SAINT NICHOLAS'S SMILE

Okay, I need to pump the brakes here.

BLOGGER STOP BLOCKING MY PHOTO UPLOADS My apologies for the lack of posts lately. Blogger is being a total douche, as well as the rest of the free world. In the meantime, click on 'my vlog' in the upper right hand corner- I've got a new one this week. Posts to come soon!!