Everything's In Bloom...

It's finally feeling like spring! Well, kind of - this week was a little on the chillier side. And on the most beautiful day of the week I successfully embarrassed myself by wearing a dress and doing a Marilyn Monroe style flash show for everyone in front and inside of Think Coffee (eek!). Anyway, the rest of the weekend was wonderful and made up for it - Zach came up to visit me here in NYC and we got to do so many fun things: tried a new restaurant (Soho Park), went on the Roosevelt Island Tram, and had my roommate escort us to a bunch of secret speakeasies! And on top of all the beautiful blooms and everyone out walking their dogs (I smile every time I see a little - or big - dog here on the streets) it really just topped off the weekend nicely.

I couldn't help but take photos on my jog the other morning of these pretty pink blooms and this pretty pink corner apartment - can I live there please?! It's also - perfectly - located on Orchard Street!

We were up in that! Eek, so scary! Zach and I are both scared of heights, so on our way over to the island we were more nervous than into the beautiful views, I think ;)

First time I tried actual coconut water, and our first try of falafel... soo amazing!!

Roomies!

There are so many wonderful things about my roommate Shely but I think my most favorite thing about her is that she doesn't care, and she always puts having fun and enjoying new experiences before anything else. It's something I should try to do more often!

Melissa.

On Setting Goals, and Sticking to Them

The last two years have been pretty difficult for me, mentally and physically. I've felt a big mixture of being incomplete and temporary in many different ways. While living in a college dorm and spending many weekends home in New Jersey, it's just felt as if I live in two different places at once. I spend half of my time with one group of people, and the other half with another, but it's as if they never coincide. This journey through the rest of my college career has certainly taken its toll on my mental and physical health. While I'm at school I always feel bogged down with work, and since I'm not working at an actual job I don't have money to pay for a gym membership. Anyway, like I said, I spend much of my time going from New York to New Jersey, and vice versa. I'm never in one place.

So lately I've been telling myself: get in shape before your vacation in July! That means that I have 10 weeks to get in shape (wow, scary when you look at it like that!) and that's not much time. So, I've been really dedicating as much free time as I have to exercising, and restricting my diet to healthy (and more importantly, home made) food.

This week I've jogged each day, and I plan to keep it up at this rate. It's funny how sometimes you can immediately start to feel the effects of healthy eating and exercise, I feel much less bloated already (though my skin is breaking out, what's up with that?!).

Though last night I did get an intensive craving for ice cream or cookies or cake or sweet of any type because those are my vice. I nearly bought something too, but instead of buying food I went for a jog. And afterwards, the craving was gone!

Now if only I could apply this "setting goals" thing to my school work...graduating in a few weeks has me procrastinating on the big things I should be getting started on! Oops...

Melissa.

Allaire State Park

Last weekend was beautiful, so we took a ride out to Allaire State Park. I love that place, there's even a little train you can ride around on. It was sad to see so many big trees down from Hurricane Sandy still, and all of the little nature paths were closed off.

Look how big that root is!

Here's maybe a better picture of what the trees looked like. Crazy!

Melissa.

Another one of those weeks...

...where I had a final draft of a long-form piece of journalism due, a French presentation, an essay, a personal essay topic and scene, a new empathy-piece topic, and lots of reading due, on top of having a classroom visitor critique my work. Then, I had to go on a wild goose chase in order to walk with my graduating class, apply to do so, and then hope that they'll approve me for graduation for so many other stupid reasons.

This is how so many of my weeks at school are, and when I don't feel like I can do it anymore I have to remind myself that I only have five more weeks left. Five more weeks of having to say goodbye to my family each Sunday, five more weeks of an unbearable work load, five more weeks of stress and not living up to my own expectations. I can do five more weeks - I've already done nearly two years here.

There's quote on my desk that reads:

"I'm going to tell you a secret. Every year, many stupid people graduate from college, and if they can do it so can you." - John Green

Sometimes, this quote is enough. Days like today, it will have to be.

Melissa.