2016

I'm just going to say again what most everyone else has about this year–it [expletive] sucked. Between the election and the horrendous shootings and Aleppo and the beloved celebrity deaths and Brexit and literally everything else, it was just awful. The entire year felt like the flashback portion of some dystopian story–like what George Orwell imagined 1983 to be.

It was a rough year for me personally, too. I went through a really hard break-up, my grandfather passed away and my grandmother's health has been poor, half of my parents' house was destroyed due to negligent contractors, and more that I can't really mention here. I swear I'm not trying to complain (or depress everyone); I'm just trying to be real with you. If I was to average out 2016, it was mostly tough times.

But here I am, on the last day of the year.

This year may have been the hardest of my life, but there were so many good times despite that. I sat down with my journal last night and wrote out every good thing about 2016, and I was so happy (and, frankly, surprised) to find that it took up five whole pages. There is so much good in my life, and that's what this blog is really about. Below is a hodgepodge of the good stuff, so prepare yourself for some serious rambling.

I ventured out of Texas twice this year–once on a road trip to California and then for a weekend in Boise. In state, I vacationed in San Antonio with my family, took a day trip to Houston to see an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts (and drink the best mimosas ever), and visited Lubbock as often as I could. On a couple of those Lubbock trips, I was able to spend time with my best friend Kiera and her new baby, Andrew, who is very cute and squishy.

Natalie and Dillon stayed with me for a week in March, and we ate a ton of tacos, got tattoos, went kayaking, and danced all night at Barbarella. Natalie visited Austin again with her boyfriend Mikey on their epic #nikeygoeswest road trip in the summer, and Kaylie and Ted stopped for a night on their way back to Portland in the fall.

For my birthday in April, Melany decorated the apartment (complete with Tim Lincecum napkins), and my roommates gave me the only thing I really wanted for my birthday: Drunk Kyle. As a late birthday treat to myself, I got my pictures taken by Chelsea who is as talented as she is sweet. I also started going to therapy in April, and it was the best decision I've ever made. (Shoutout to Alicia, the real MVP of 2016.)

I registered to vote for the first time and was so proud to cast my ballots in the primary and general elections. I celebrated all of my LGBTQIA friends at my first pride parade. I volunteered at the Texas Book Festival, and it was such a cool experience. I can't wait to do it again next year.

I dressed up as super-'90s-civil-rights-activist Hermione for the midnight release of The Cursed Child at BookPeople and handed books out to hundreds of excited kids and adults. (Even though I only get to work at BookPeople one night a week, it's still the coolest thing I get to do.) My book club continued, and we've grown so close over the year. I'm so happy to call them my friends.

I went to a ton of concerts–Vance Joy, The Front Bottoms, The Temper Trap (so good), Mat Kearney, Quiet Company (twice), and The Lumineers (transcendent) to name a few. I caught a few old movies at the Paramount during their Summer Classic Film Series, and saw A Little Night Music and Baskerville at the Austin Playhouse. I also read a lot, of course, and my favorites of the year include Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, Big Girl by Kelsey Miller, and Lust & Wonder by Augusten Burroughs.

My roommates and I dressed up as the Spice Girls for Halloween and hosted the 2nd Annual Friendsgiving at our apartment. Melany, KaCee, and Kyle (and Gretel) make everyday life so ridiculous and fun, and living with them is my most favorite thing. When I was home for Christmas, I spent some quality time with my little brother, marathoned Christmas episodes of The Simpsons with my dad, and talked with my mom over coffee and pie.

I'm hopeful for 2017. I already have so many plans. Melany, Britny, and I are going to see Mamma Mia! at the end of January, and I already know what my first concert of the year is going to be (hint: it's Quiet Company). I signed up to (finally) take the GRE in February and will be applying to graduate schools in the next few months. I already have three trips planned and will hopefully be traveling out of the U.S. for the first time (hey, Canada!) come March.

Most importantly, I still have my people, my city, and too many books to read. Happy New Year, everyone.

-Maggie

2014

A few days ago, I decided that I wouldn't post a recap of 2014, mainly because we are already a week into 2015 and it seemed silly by this point. (2014 was so last year, right?) But after having plans cancelled today on account of freezing rain, I needed a little pick-me-up, and reminiscing on all the good last year brought seemed as good a way as any. Besides, too much happened last year for me to simply let it go without comment. It was a really big year. I think it defies the 365 day boundary that's imposed.

It was a year of change for me–a lot of change. I feel like I should feel a little off-balance, a little dizzy from everything that has happened, but I'm not. I don't know that I've ever felt more here. You know what I mean? I've never felt more aware of my life–everything that has happened, is happening, will happen. There's so much I can do! So many directions my life could take! I'm excited and nervous for all it.

I'm getting ahead of myself though. Let's talk 2014.


In January, I moved into a house with my dear cousin Julia. Our schedules were opposite roughly 92% of the time, but every once in awhile we'd be home at the same time. We'd eat dinner together, vent about our days, or maybe watch a movie. Sometimes we'd make runs to Taco Villa or United in search of the best sugar cookies. It was always fun, and I really wish our time as roommates could have been longer.

The months leading up to my graduation were generally hectic, stressful, and all around exhausting, but it wasn't all bad. I dyed my hair for the first time. On Valentine's Day, Melany, Britny, and I saw Craig Ferguson live and spent the rest of the night dancing at Barbarella. Over spring break, I got to see Mary and meet Whimsy for the first time. Sometime in March, my favorite show ended.

May (finally) rolled around and I graduated with my bachelor's degree. I may have come out bruised and battered (mentally, emotionally, physically) but dammit I did it. It was really difficult for me and I wasn't a star student by any means, but the doing it is reason enough to be proud. I saw it through, toughed it out. I'm very happy I did.

The summer was filled with a lot of trips. Melany and I drove to Arkansas for Shelby and Sam's wedding. After that, I spent a week in Austin as a way to detoxify, to finally rid myself of the stress and anxiety left over from my last few weeks of school. (It was also the week I got my second tattoo.) In July, I drove to Colorado to spend a weekend with Shelby and Dillon, and it was really, really great. In August, I saw Fall Out Boy (again) and Paramore in concert.

All of September and most of October was spent applying for jobs, packing, and saying my goodbyes to Lubbock. (Oh, and I saw Paul freaking McCartney in concert.) Those last two months in Lubbock flew by, and even though I was excited for my move to Austin, everything was going a little too quickly for my liking. It was hard to leave and I miss my friends and family there all the time, but I'm very happy to be in Austin. I love this city, and I have hoped and wished to live here since my eighteenth birthday. Getting to share an apartment with my best friend makes it even better.

After the move, Melany and I went as Wayne and Garth for Halloween. I started my first full-time job, and (thankfully) have really been enjoying it and the people I work with. I was fortunate enough to go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and both were wonderful. Then on New Year's Eve I rang in 2015 at 9:00 PM with KaCee and Kyle since they had to work early the next morning, and afterwards Melany and I went to Barbarella for the real thing.

So that's 2014 is a nutshell (a very large nutshell). Overall, it was a great year, and I hope that 2015 follows its lead. Over 300 days of the unknown lay before us. It's pretty daunting, right? We've just got to keep moving forward though. It's not like we really have a choice, but don't be scared! We did the same thing last year.

-Maggie

On college

Photo by Mary Boyden

It's been nearly two months since I last blogged, and I hate that, but I'm completely serious when I say that I simply had no time to do so. After my birthday, I was focused solely on just making it through the last bit of undergrad. After finishing my last final on the thirteenth, I worked, went home for my graduation dinner, worked some more, and drove to Arkansas for the Rauh wedding then to Austin (but more on that later). It's only now, sitting in Melany's apartment, that I've been able to really breathe.

But I did it! I have a degree now, and let me tell you, it was not easy. It's no secret that I did not enjoy college, but those last few weeks of school were especially terrible. I'm not exaggerating when I say they were the worst weeks of my life–full of panic attacks, emotional breakdowns, and self-loathing. I have never felt worse in my entire life (and while I do plan to go to graduate school someday, I think you can understand why I'm not quite ready to throw myself back in there yet).

Don't get me wrong–I did have some great classes and professors that I will remember for the rest of my life. But overall? It was hard–really, really hard. Not just mentally, but physically and emotionally. I learned a lot though. Some of which I've already forgotten (like Spanish), but what can you do? I've retained the important things though, and am here to offer my sage advice to those still toiling away. After all, since I am officially a graduate, I can now look back on the last four years with more clarity and candor than I could two weeks ago.

I think the most important thing I learned is that these past four years do not define me. It's okay that I didn't have the proper "college experience," that I hated it most of the time. It's okay that I struggled with classes and didn't come out with a 4.0 GPA. It's okay for you, too. It seems that for most people, college is a pretty crappy time. Don't feel bad if it's not everything you think it should be. Just do the best you can, and try to focus on the good.

-Maggie

2013

2013 was a good year. I was optimistic as 2012 ended, and it paid off. I'm so much happier than I was last year. I'm looking forward to the future, but don't see it as an escape anymore, and that is something I'm very thankful for. At the end of last year, I was extremely unhappy with school and Lubbock. While I am still excited to graduate soon/never live in Lubbock again, I'm no longer embittered. Sure, college hasn't been a barrel of laughs and, yeah, Lubbock's not for me, but that's no reason to be a dick about it. C'mon, Past Maggie.

The year started off great with a short trip to Austin and visit from Shelby (a.k.a. the Tina to my Amy). Then school started again, and while I had classes and professors that I enjoyed, it still wasn't the best semester. In February, Fall Out Boy made my life (and everyone else's), KaCee and I drove to Austin for Melany's twenty-first birthday, and I found this awesome spoken word poem (which is definitely worth noting in this recap). March brought Spring Break, and Melany, KaCee, Husmann, and I were reunited for the first time since September for the Mystical Road Trip of Magic and Wonder, Part II. A wonderful trip full of four-wheeler riding, gun shooting, and tequila drinking.

I turned twenty-one in April, which I celebrated with a weeklong trip to Austin. This included seeing Two Door Cinema Club in concert, which was fantastic. Fall Out Boy's Save Rock and Roll also came out in April, and it has my vote for Best Album of 2013. I also made friends in April. By that I mean I hung out with work friends outside of work, and they have definitely made Lubbock a much better place. So thanks to Kiera, Angie, Gabby, Austin, Brannon, and so on for being my bros.

In May, another less than stellar semester ended, but my professor did the coolest thing and I drank several margaritas. The next month, Britny and I got our Harry Potter tattoos. The next day we saw Fall Out Boy in concert and it was easily one of the greatest moments of my life. In July, I got to spend two whole weeks in my favorite place with my very favorite people.

August saw the start of the best semester I've had since I started college. I had wonderful classes and professors that reminded me why I loved school in the first place, and I can only hope my last semester is half as good as this one was. I drove to Austin to celebrate Britny's twenty-first birthday in September, and was reminded of all the silly things I'll miss once I move to Austin. October and November were primarily focused on school, but I did dress up as Kevin from Up for Halloween, and that was fun.

December, always one of my favorite months, did not disappoint. After finishing school, I drove to Austin for another visit which included a Frightened Rabbit show and kayaking. I went home for the week of Christmas and it was wonderful. Originally, my dad was supposed to work on Christmas Day, but his boss texted him late on Christmas Eve and said his shift was covered. Late Christmas night, KaCee, Melany, and I bundled up and went stargazing.

I'm ending this year in a much better mindset than I ended the last. I'm even more optimistic about 2014 than I was about 2013. My cousin Julia and I are moving into a house this weekend. I graduate in May. I'm (finally) moving to Austin in October.

2014 is going to be big, guys.

-Maggie

Rhinestone Studded Punks

I finished school over a week ago, but it took a couple days to set in that I'm finally finished with the semester. This probably has something to do with how busy I've been since I turned in my last paper. On Friday, I (finally) got the recall fixed on my car, went to lunch with Austin and Kiera, and then made the six-hour drive to Austin with Austin. (We carpooled since he was going to see his girlfriend that weekend. Also, let me mention here that we played the Alphabet Game and I won with Z for Zephyr, Texas. *self five*)

Upon arriving, Melany and I met Britny and KaCee at Magnolia for our traditional meal of omelettes, hamburgers, and mimosas. Afterwards, we went back to Melany's apartment, and Melany and Britny studied for awhile* while KaCee and I talked and drank rum. On Saturday, we slept in, ate Chipotle, watched this hilarious stand-up, and saw Frightened Rabbit.

Specifically, it was "A Solo Night with Frightened Rabbit," which meant only the lead singer was there with his acoustic guitar (so technically it should have been called "A Solo Night with Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit" to avoid confusion, but I digress). Graham Wilkinson opened for him and also had really great boots. Then Scott came out in all his bearded, Scottish glory and was like, "I thought I'd just sing all of Midnight Organ Fight and then take some requests," and everyone was like, "UM, SURE. SOUNDS GREAT, SCOTT." It was beautiful, to say the very least.

I could have listened to him sing for many more hours, but luckily he didn't because my car almost got towed. I say this nonchalantly, like it wasn't a terrifying experience, but it totally was. We paid for parking until eleven, and when we walked up at 11:24 my car was already rigged and being lifted. I, incredibly confused and beginning to panic, ran up to the guy and said, "Um, this is my car?" He never said a word, but immediately let my car down, took all the stuff off the wheels, and drove away to me (still confused) yelling, "Thank you?" after him.

The moral of the story here is this: If the only options for parking are until 11 PM for five dollars or until 6 AM for ten dollars, go ahead and pay the extra five even if you aren't planning on being downtown past midnight because you may not always have a nice, mute tow truck guy that gives you your car back.

On Sunday, we went to the Elf quote-along (which was a blast) and met KaCee and her boyfriend Kyle for a late dinner at 24Diner (which is a new favorite). On Monday, I finally got to go kayaking with KaCee. The day was relatively warm, we brought Gretel along, and ate sandwiches Melany made for us under the Pedestrian Bridge. I see many more kayaking adventures in our future. That evening, I went with KaCee to get her tattoo, which turned out so freaking awesome. I was incredibly tempted to get one of the three other tattoos I want, but resisted the urge. Mainly because I am incredibly broke at the moment.

And now, we are a mere THREE DAYS away from CHRISTMAS. I work tonight and am leaving to go home for the week tomorrow. Santa's coming. I'm stoked, guys.

-Maggie

* The fact that Melany was frantically trying to finish a paper for three of the four days I was in Austin is the real reason it took so long to realize I was already finished with school. I was stressed by association.

Monday, A List

● I'm currently in the library trying to check off a few things on my to-do list, like order my last two textbooks from Chegg, while I wait for my night class. Unfortunately, TTU's Internet is being fickle today and refuses to load certain websites.

● Fortunately, Blogger is loading just fine.

● Listen to this song.

● Thanks to an exhausting eleven-hour shift at work, I fell asleep at eight last night. I didn't get any homework finished, but I did get twelve hours of sleep.

● My bangs are much too long at the moment, but I haven't been able to find time to run to my hairdresser and certainly do not trust myself to trim them. It's a struggle.

● I made an A on my first two quizzes of the semester. *high fives self*

● In my History of Sexuality textbook (a.k.a. the most interesting textbook ever), I read about Thomas/Thomasine Hall, a resident of seventeenth century Virginia, who told his fellow townspeople he was "both man and woman."

● KaCee just called me sobbing. I couldn't understand most of what she was saying, but did hear "I'm so sad" and something about someone getting shot. Then I realized she was talking about Breaking Bad.

● (I should've known. It was just like the time she called me crying about Mr. Rogers.)

● If you're in search of the next great Pandora station, look no further than Sean Hayes.

● To no one's surprise, I made it about a day before I broke and bought Scholastic's fifteenth anniversary editions of the Harry Potter books. (My resolution is shaky at best.) In my defense, they were on sale and I had a coupon.

● Speaking of Harry Potter, I'm currently on the sixth one in my reread. Unfortunately, with the start of school, I have much less time to read for fun. (Read: I have no time to read for fun.)

● Yesterday, I found out there are grapes that taste like cotton candy in the world. What a time to be alive.

● Today is Britny's 21st birthday, and I'll be driving to Austin this weekend to celebrate. Holla at yo' girl.

● Have a good week, all!

-Maggie

Blogger Family Goes to Austin

You should be incredibly impressed with me right now. I finished this video in two weeks, which, if you ask me, is a great improvement from the first (which sat half finished on my desktop for nearly eight months).

Words and pictures coming soon.

-Maggie

P.S. Make sure you click the HD button. Facebook hates good quality.

Eight Months Later

I finally, finally finished the Seattle video. It's not the greatest as I didn't film as much as I should have and a lot of the time when I was filming I wasn't paying attention, but it's finished and that's what counts. So without further ado. . . .

Naturally, this has sent everyone into fits of nostalgia, but the Austin meet-up gets closer every day. Tickets are being bought, plans are being set . . . I'm stressing out a little, but it's whatever.

-Maggie

P.S. Make sure you click the little HD button so the quality isn't worse than it already is.

A Few Things

01.



02. September is my favorite month for many reasons–the main one being the fashion. And with the fashion comes the much anticipated September issues of all of my favorite magazines. I picked up Vogue a few weeks ago, and was very nearly moved to tears by the 900+ pages of perfection I held in my hands. Like, I had a legitimate emotional reaction when I saw the picture below. It is now hanging on my bulletin board. This is the kind of person I am.

03. "Find something you're passionate about and stay tremendously interested in it."

–Julia Child

04. The Color Me Rad 5K my friends and I signed up for was a blast. None of us were physically prepared to run an entire 5K, but the whole event was incredibly laid-back (most people didn't run at all) and we got free t-shirts and sunglasses, so it was great. KaCee somehow managed to get the most color on her even though she didn't run, and Melany barely got any, which is the kind of thing that would happen to Melany.

05. Joy the Baker is a fabulous recipe blog run by a fabulous lady named–you guessed it–Joy. Aside from the delish recipe posts (like, really, so good) accompanied by her funny writing, she has her Notes to Self series. Her most recent one struck a chord. Go read it.

06.

-Maggie

Ch-ch-changes

This is my three hundredth post! This is kind of a big deal to me, as I've had this blog for nearly four years. In those (almost) four years, a lot has happened and this blog has changed as I have. Well, I am here to tell you it's going to change some more.

For starters, in case you haven't been around before or you're a regular and have maybe gone blind since your last visit (Sorry about that, by the way), I've done a little redesign. There are still a few things I want to tweak and add, but overall I'm quite proud of it, and I hope you love it as much as I do.

I'm also going to be working on changing up other things on this blog–to make it a little more polished and, hopefully, a little more interesting. I'll try to make my recurring posts ("A Few Things" and "Things to Remember") more consistent, and maybe introduce a few more. I'm going to do my best to post more pictures (which would also help accomplish number eleven on my Twenty Before Twenty-One list). Most importantly, I'm just going to try to post more, but also be more particular in what I post so that my blog doesn't become an endless string of pointless ramblings.

I blog because I enjoy it. I blog because I love to write, and share stories and pictures of my family and friends. But I would also love for my blog to be a place other people enjoy, and, hopefully, will look forward to a post from me as much as I look forward to some of my favorite bloggers' posts. Blogging has become such a large part of my life, and I want to show it the same amount of attention that I would anything else I care about.

-Maggie

P.S. If any of you have suggestions or requests of things you would like to see, let me know!

April 11: Tiny List of Good Things

1. Finally finishing a paper
2. Watching New Girl
3. Getting my purse
4. Thunder and lightning
5. Listening to Fun.
6. Eating chocolate delight
7. Going to bed

-Maggie

April 4: Change of Plans

You know just three days ago I said that I would be graduating in December 2013? Well, I lied.

When I was laying out my pencil plan, I forgot about the two U.S. history classes I took in Cisco, so I had put down that I still needed two extra U.S. history classes. My English advisor spotted this when I met with her on Monday to do my degree plan, and my History advisor confirmed it when I met with her on Tuesday. Without those two history classes, and with me taking four hours in the first summer session and sixteen hours each for the next two semesters, I will be able to graduate May 2013.

In fact, I turned in my Intent to Graduate yesterday.

HOW WEIRD, RIGHT?

So, really, I have a little over a year until I graduate and move to Austin and start work on my Master's. Ideally, I would want my own apartment. Realistically, that probably won't happen, especially at first. So Melany and I have talked seriously of sharing an apartment, and we think that it is something we could do without hating each other. I am very excited.

Anyway, wish me luck that all goes according to plan for the next year, and that I will be handed a diploma next May.

-Maggie