This was my first week of grad school and I'm already kind of in love with it. I'm a little bit stressed out, a little bit frazzled and tired, but I'm surrounded by so many great people at the writing center that I have no doubt in my mind that I'll make it through somehow relatively unscathed. The above pictures are of my own personal shelf and mailbox. I feel so official!
These pictures are of the consultant's office in the back of the writing center. I spend the majority of my time in this room with about ten other people. Somehow we all seem to fit comfortably. We work, we eat, we talk, we laugh, drink coffee, and walk to class in general swarms since we all take the same or very similar schedule of classes. We've even established weekly Thursday dinners since we all have a couple hours free before our night class.
I wore this ensemble on Tuesday. I ordered the skirt online from a little shop called "Style by Marina." She sells multiple colors and the tulle/silkiness of it all makes me feel like a bohemian ballerina. Plus, I'm rocking my Fool's Gold necklace from Target and a basic white tank from Old Navy.
Wednesday night I was reading for my writing center class and I kept thinking, Man I could really use some ice cream right now. Well, my dad comes home later that evening (while I'm still reading) and throws me a pint of cotton candy Graeter's ice cream. Cotton candy wouldn't have been a choice I would've made but it tasted like Lucky Charms and had these little crunchy, sugary bits within so it hit the spot.
Also, I ordered this poster and frame separately for about $14. I love butterfly specimens (like, pictures of them, not actual dead butterflies). I love it now and I feel like it will fit in with the aesthetic of any place I move in the future. Woot!
On a sad note, a friend of a friend passed away on Wednesday, named Rachel. She's the sweet girl in the green sweater. Julie had always spoken so fondly of Rachel and never had a negative thing to say about her. Rachel was just the kind of person who could light up your life in the moments you spent with her, even if you didn't know her that well. Not even a couple of weeks ago, five of us girls went out for Shiraz and Comfy Cow ice cream. I remember Rachel ordered lamb at Shiraz and cookies 'n cream ice cream at Comfy Cow. We had each other laughing and found ourselves in our own personal conversations throughout the night. I honestly felt like it was the beginning of a really great friendship. How could you not fall in love with a spirit like hers?
When I found out about her sudden passing, I felt so shocked and confused. I could only imagine what Julie was going through, her having been very close with Rachel. It's been a difficult couple of days and every time I see someone post a new photo of her on Facebook, it's really hard for me to believe she's gone.
A mutual friend of Rachel ran into Julie in the library on Thursday when we were on our way to lunch. Rachel had had such a tough time growing up that the girl asked, "God obviously kept her around for a reason... but why?" And thinking more on that, I realize that maybe people aren't supposed to be in our lives forever, but when they are for a little while, and when they are people like Rachel, they make you want to be a better person. Rachel's purpose was to prove to anyone who met her that pure kindness exists in the world and opening your heart is a good thing. I didn't have the chance to become as much of a friend as I wished I could have been, but she left a big footprint on my heart nevertheless.
Life really is short. And sometimes we feel like we're invincible and we take people in our lives for granted. To anyone out there who reads this thing, I love you and hope that you are blessed with a long life and that you open yourself to the kindness that Rachel shared with the world for a short time.
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