Ladies and Gents

We have hit finals territory.  Sigh.  Yes, I'm still alive; I'm just exhausted.

One down, two to go.

I'm so excited to be done and have a little break.  My brain is going to essssplode!  Not really, but it feels like that.

Here is some grammatical humor you might enjoy if you understand them.     :)

Please Listen

It will make your Christmas extra Merry :)

Ok, So I Lied.

I'm sorry.  I lied to you.  I never wanted the blog to be private, so here's what I'm going to do instead - I'm changing the URL.

Here's the new address:

aleesha-bo-beesha.blogspot.com

Guess What?

You found Waldo.  Congratulations!

(Don't I look adorable?!)

Pinterest

Lately in my English class, I've been more productive on Pinterest than I have been in class.  I should be taking copious notes, but I don't.

It's not my fault.  My Shakespeare professor set the bar so high, now every other English class is really boring.  And we've been talking about Faulkner the last few classes. Normally, I'm very open-minded when it comes to any type of literature, but Faulkner is driving me crazy.

Oh well.  The point of this post is...




You should follow me on Pinterest.  Click here, please.

Catching Up

Sometimes I feel like I've fallen off the face of the planet and landed in a sea of English literature, essays, tests, and the clothes that are now scattered all over my room.  I'm so tired all the time, and yet, here I am at midnight, writing this blog post because now my mind decided it wanted to be active.

I love being a college student.  I love learning, and reading, and writing.  But it's turning me into a zombie.  I feel like all I do is go to class, go to work, commute back and forth, and sleep.  Sometimes, there is occasional eating meals and movie watching involved.  My social life is pretty non-existent except for what I do with Hannah and a few other friends.

So, I'm thinking it's time to make some changes.

And I'm really glad it's Halloween.  You'll see some pictures of my costume after tomorrow.

Oh, and I've started a "creative" blog.  I'm just posting random things I've written and some things that inspire me to keep writing on a regular basis.  If you want, you can check it out, just click here.  Just a warning, it might become private soon.

Hehe :)

Writing Inspiration from Neil Gaiman

Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that - but you are the only you.

Tarantino - you can criticize everything that Quentin does - but nobody writes Tarantino stuff like Tarantino. He is the best Tarantino writer there is, and that was actually the thing that people responded to - they’re going ‘this is an individual writing with his own point of view’.

There are better writers than me out there, there are smarter writers, there are people who can plot better - there are all those kinds of things, but there’s nobody who can write a Neil Gaiman story like I can.

It's Thursday.

Hello.  It is a beautiful Thursday morning, and I have a little bit of time before my Italian class starts.  I would just like to share some thoughts.  (I was home all day yesterday because of this awful cold, and I had lots of time to think about some random things.)

Why is John Krasinski so cute?  I watched Something Borrowed over the weekend, and he was awesome in it.

My hair has lots of split ends, and my bangs are mangy. I should really get it cut.

I don't know if I already told you this, but I have the same instructor for Italian as I did last year in 101.  (It's nice because he's still cute, and I already know what to expect from him and what he expects from me.)

I'm sorry I've been such a terrible blogger, but school is kind of first priority right now.  Sleep is the second.  Ergo, no time for blogging.

I'm not a fan of the new Facebook.  Can't we just leave well enough alone, Zuckerberg, huh?

As convenient as it was for me to live in Provo for school, I'm kind of glad I didn't move back out.

I love my Kindle.  I'm so glad I decided to buy it!

I am incredibly grateful for a supporting, loving family and understanding friends.

I really want to dye my hair darker.  Hopefully next week that will happen.


Oh, and I just remembered that I forgot to pack a lunch so I'm going to go buy some food from the vending machine.  Yum.

My Spazzy Letter

This is a letter that I wrote to a missionary in Argentina.  I've never met him, but my roommates told me lots about him.  I don't think he ever got this letter, and I can't resend it because he's home now.  So for some crazy reason, I have decided to post it to my blog.



Dear Elder Carter,


Ok. I know this may seem kind of weird, because you don’t know me. I was actually roommates with Sherrie Allen (Alder) and Amanda Linton (Pyne) this last year. (Yeah, I hope you knew that they were both married now! My goodness, it seems like everyone is getting married. Weird.) They told me all about their freshman year, which incidentally, also included you. Anyway, Amanda showed me the website that your weekly letters are posted to a few months ago, and I have to confess that I’ve been reading it for while now.  I love that you are so positive, and I also love reading about your experiences. And, believe it or not, a few of your posts have given me some clarification that I’ve needed in my life. (See, you’re such a good missionary that you’re even helping people who are still far away!) 


Well, I suppose I should tell you a little bit about myself. Let’s face it; it’s only fair.  I go to BYU and I’m studying English, because I want to be an editor. If you remember, you should ask Amanda about how stressed I was over my Shakespeare class during winter semester; it was intense. Anyway, moving on.  I’m the oldest of five kids; I have three brothers and one sister.  My hobbies include reading, watching movies, and hanging out with friends and family. Yeah, not very original, but it’s hard to come up with hobbies on the spot! Favorite color: purple for now, it likes to change.  I laugh a lot; seriously, Amanda and Sherrie can both attest to this. I think I should be diagnosed with chronic giggling. It’s THAT bad. Haha, it’s ok though. I prefer it this way. :)


I hope this is sufficient enough for now. To be honest, I don’t really know what else to say.  I just wanted to introduce myself and thank you for sharing your experiences while on your mission.  If there is anything I left out, let me know; I’d be happy to answer any questions you have!  I hope that you have a wonderful day/week/month (I don’t know when you’ll receive this!).  You (and all other missionaries) are always in my prayers.


Sincerely,
Aleesha

Happy Schooling

My book load this semester.  Let's just hope I don't have to take all of these to class everyday. (Yeah, did you see the three massive anthologies?)

But, I'm excited to not be working tomorrow!




"First day of school, here we go!  We're ready to learn, to get some knowledge."

Happy Burfday!

Today, I just wanted to wish my bestest buddy a Happy 21st Birthday!  

You are such an inspiration to me, and you remind me that it's ok to be silly every once in a while. (In fact, you've taught me that it's necessary!)

I love our trips to Ikea, Sweet Tooth Fairy, and Plato's Closet.  

I love that this has become our song.

I hope you know that I love you, too!  You are truly amazing, and I'm so happy we've been able to stay friends for so long :)  

Happy Birthday Hannah Banana!

It's Auuuuugh-ust

I can't believe school starts in less than a month.  There goes the summer; I barely had time to do anything fun.  My family is in Yellowstone this week. Yep, that's right. Without me.  Work is sucking the life out of me and won't even give me a break.  Such is life, I know. 

So, what's been going on with me? Nothing really. I'm working three jobs at the moment. I've also been picking up a lot of extra shifts so that I can pay for my stack of books I need to buy for the new semester, and hopefully, I will have enough left over to buy this toy for myself for my birthday. I'm such a nerd, and I love it!

Other than that I have, started running again, written a spazzy letter to a missionary I've never met before, been inspired to do some creative writing, ordered a new book from my favorite author,  and watched a stack of chick flicks.  Boring? Maybe, but at least I've been keeping myself occupied.

All in all, I'm ready for a change, but I just don't want that change to be school.  Can I just drop everything for once and go be with my family in Yellowstone?  Because that's exactly what I need right now.  Sigh, oh well.  Anyone up for a trip the week before school starts?

A Confession of Sorts

I'm quitting the 30 day thing. Sorry. I think I'm just going to accept the fact that I am a terrible blogger.

Now, let's move on to better things.

Day 06 - Favorite super hero and why

Honestly, I don't really have a favorite super hero.  At least not like Superman or Batman. I have what I like to think of as obscure heroes.  These heroes bring something to the table other than their shiny morals, good teeth, and super human abilities.

Shawn Spencer
His hyper-observant skills help solve murder cases, and he solves it with such panache.  He's really funny, and super cute - those qualities always make a great hero in my opinion.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione
I grew up with these guys - reading about them and watching them.  I don't think I need much more of an explanation.

Audrey Hepburn

She's my real-life example of a super hero.  I did a project on her in high school, and that's when I realized how amazing she was.  Before she got into acting, she lived in poverty with her mother.  What I love is that she continued to help people in hard circumstances  throughout her life.  

Day 05 - A picture of somewhere you’ve been to

I haven't been to a lot of places, but I plan to change that soon!  Here are pictures of the places I want to go.

Italy

Paris

London

Greece

There are MANY other places on the list, but I think this is works for now.

How I've been feeling lately

Speaking Italian

Sorry, this isn't a part of my 30 day thing, but I found it, and I had to share it :)

This is from the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

For years, I'd wished I could speak Italian - a language I find more beautiful than roses - but I could never make the practical justification for studying it.  Why not...learn to speak Spanish, the better to help me communicate with millions of my fellow Americans?  What was I going to do with Italian?  It's not like I was going to move there.  It would be more practical to learn how to play the accordion.


But why must everything always have a practical application?  I'd been such a diligent soldier for years - working, producing, never missing a deadline, taking care of my loved ones, my gums and my credit record, voting, etc.  Is this lifetime supposed to be only about duty? 


But I loved [speaking Italian].  Every word was a singing sparrow, a magic trick, a truffle for me.  I would slosh home through the rain after class, draw a hot bath, and lie there in the bubbles reading the Italian dictionary aloud to myself... The words made me laugh in delight.


I can't tell you what a relief it was to read those words.  At least once a week in my Italian class, I would think to myself, "Why am I taking Italian?  Shouldn't I be taking Spanish?  It is more practical, and it would probably be easier for me to get a job after I graduate."

However, I'm ALWAYS practical.  It's hard enough to have the discipline to learn a language in the first place.  If I'm going to go through the trouble, I might as well learn a language I've always wanted to learn.  I'm just really glad to find I'm not the only one who feels like this.  Italian really is a beautiful language, and I know I complain about it sometimes, but it's awesome!  Plus, I'm going to Italy one day, and it would be very helpful if I am a competent or proficient speaker.

Day 04 - A habit that you wish you didn’t have

Biting my nails.  I've done it since I was a kid.  Not good.

Day 03- A Picture of You and your Friends

Sorry, I don't have any really recent pictures, but I like all of these a lot.

Day 02- The Meaning Behind your Blog Name

Breathe me in.

To be honest, I don't even know how I came up with it.  All I knew was I wanted to start a blog to start keeping track of my creativity a little bit better.  Anyone could read it and give me their thoughts on my thoughts.  I wanted them to experience what I was experiencing.  A good metaphor, I thought, for that was breathing.

Breathe me in.  Know what I'm experiencing.  Feel what I'm feeling.

My blog has changed a lot since I've created it; it's evolved just like I have over the last few years.  It's now more of a journal, but I still think that the title applies.

Day 01 - A Recent Picture of You and 15 Interesting Facts

1. I don't really like writing things about myself, but I'm going to give it a shot.
2. I hated that Shakespeare class that I took last semester, but it was hands down the best class I've ever taken.  I relate back to things I learned in that class nearly every day.
3. My favorite season, even though I'm happy we are finally getting into summer now, is fall.
4. After a ten year absence, I've started wearing a CTR ring again.
5. It freaks me out that people my age and younger are getting married.  
6. I love having breakfast food for dinner.
7. I 'm still kind of on the fence about my new job, but I love that I get paid $10 an hour. 
8. The new air freshener in my car smells like a pineapple snow cone, and it make me want a snow cone every time I get in.
9. I miss my roommates (including Jamie, our honorary roommate).
10. I'm proud of the new organization systems I've put into place in my room. Yes, I'm a nerd.
11. I ran a 5K a couple of weeks ago, and I'm training for a 10K that is at the end of July.
12. Mi manca la lingua italiana ogni giorno.  Che bella lingua.
13. And I'm going to go to Italy one day.
14. One of the skills I'm trying to master is being a kid and an adult at the same time.
15. I like finishing lists on number that end in 5 or 0.

30 Day Challenge

I'm so sorry.  I've been a horrible blogger lately.  I've been busy - two jobs and an internship can get kind of crazy.  I've also been knocking books off of my reading list, which has been a really nice feeling.  Anyway, to make it up to you, I'm going to be doing this blogging challenge.  So, I hope you enjoy the next 30 days!


Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 02- The meaning behind your Blog name
Day 03- A picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have
Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
Day 06- Favorite super hero and why
Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
Day 09- Something you’re proud of in the past few days
Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
Day 11- Another picture of you and your friends
Day 12- How you found out about Blogger and why you made one
Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
Day 14- A picture of you and your family
Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
Day 16- Another picture of yourself
Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future
Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
Day 23- Something you crave for a lot
Day 24- A letter to your parents
Day 25- What I would find in your bag
Day 26- What you think about your friends
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned
Day 30- Your favorite song.

Darth Vader

I want one.



(The kid, not the car.)

Super cute :)

Summmmmmer

Well, well, well.  Look who's got another semester done... ME!  I love school, but I am soooo ready for a break.  I have some new insights I've learned that I'm eager to incorporate into my life.

My summer plans:

• Work - Two part-time jobs.  I'm ok with this.
• Run - A few 5Ks possibly a 10K
• Read - At least book a week.  If you have goodreads, add me!  Or if you have any book suggestions for me, feel free to comment anytime.
• Paint my room
• Attend a few weddings - I'm a "bridesmaid*" for one!
• Take lots of pictures
• WRITE!
• Hang with the fam
• Soak in the sun

This is going to be the best summer ever!

But for now, I need to stop stalling and get back to cleaning and packing.  I can't start my summer until all of that is done!

*Amanda's wedding - technically I won't be a bridesmaid because she's getting married in Texas, but when they come back to Utah for their Open House, I'll be in a bridesmaid dress. Haha... so fun!

Kid History

Watch these.  They're hilarious and super fun to quote.  Episode 3 is my favorite :)

Happy Friday, finally!

You Are My Sunshine

In honor of today's sunny weather :)

Cali Trip Photos + Filling in on the goings on...

Here are the California pictures I promised a very long time ago.  It was such a fun trip; super relaxing - just what I needed.  Anyone who wants to go in the summer time - let me know - I'm going with you!

Well, so sorry for my leave of absence.  It has been a crazy couple of weeks.  I don't even know what to tell you about first.

My Shakespeare midterm was an exciting feat.  4 essays.  Single spaced.  Analyzing all of the plays we have read to DEATH.  (I've decided I never want to read Hamlet, Othello, or Merchant of Venice ever again.  I'm hopefully done with them for life.  However, since I am an English major, that probably will not be the case.  Oh well.)  It was really really hard to get these essays done.  She gave us two weeks to do the essays - However, I spent one week reviewing, and decided to spend the other week writing.  However, that last week, I didn't have ANY time to write.  So I wrote it the weekend before it was due - I even pulled an all-nighter (my first ever, as sad as it sounds) to finish it.  I averaged about 4 hours an essay.  Yuck.  Because of that, I refused to do any readings for that class this week.  I needed a break.

The rest is not as dramatic - I've had tests, and survived them all.  Now, I just need to bide my time until finals.  The sad thing is finals will not be as bad as these last few weeks of midterms.  In fact, finals as of right now, are looking like a piece of cake.

I'm itching to move back home to Lehi.  I miss my family and I'm tired of having no money.  One more month!  I'm going to try and quit Robert's too.  I'm convinced that place is sucking the life out of me.  So, if any of you hear of any job offers near Lehi for the summer that pay well - let me know.  I would greatly appreciate it, and love you forever!  I've got one I'm looking into right now - the pay is $10, but I don't know if there will still be an opening next month.  Even then, it's not going to give me enough hours.  I would still need a part time job on top of that.  Yay for money.  Not.  I hate money.  It's so dumb - can't I just knit you a sweater, and trade you for a book?  Can we go back to that?

Lastly, I'm thinking about serving a mission.  It's been on my mind a lot since September.  I was thinking I wanted to go in December, but now I'm thinking probably not until next year - I'm not quite ready yet, haha!  It's a big decision, and I'm not sure what I want to do.  I still have a lot of thinking and praying and talking to certain people before I decide.

So, now you're all caught up on my life.  It's still boring.
Happy Sunday!

School, Schmool.

Ok, guys.  I'm so sorry, these last few weeks have been super crazy, I promise next week I'll have my California pictures (finally!).

As long as this week of midterms doesn't kill me.

P.S.  Here is a happy picture, because goodness knows, I need it right now.  Yay for Zachary Levi!