Forts, Finals, Flights, & Freedom

To set the mood, a little Sufjan Stevens Christmas music here. And yes, I know it is slightly strange and excruciatingly ambiguous. But that's kind of how this Christmas has felt... in a good way. 

The strangeness started one crisp afternoon when my roommate Kristen informed me that we were building a fort for finals week. It was such a simple statement, but it marinated in my mind for days until it became more than just idea--it became the incarnation of every childhood fantasy I'd ever imagined, every guileless daydream I'd ever dreamt, every creative endeavor I'd ever pursued. 

And so, a masterpiece was born.

Okay, so it wasn't actually incredible, but to me it was a palace, a safe haven, a piece of architectural genius, a manifestation of my innovative power. I loved it with all my heart. We even slept in it one night.

Over the last week of school I often took refuge in the fort. Most of the time it was when I was on the brink of a complete meltdown and needed a quiet place to sort my thoughts and face my fears. 

And my biggest fear? ECON 110. My grades haven't all been posted yet, so this may be premature, but I'm pretty sure I failed my Econ class this semester. How it happened, I do not know. What I do know is that I am surprised I'm taking it this well. I've never failed anything. Ever. 

The day after I finished my last exam, I flew home to the good ole 3-1-4. St. Louis, that is. But I almost didn't make it. My flight to Denver was scheduled to depart at 6:05am. I got through Security at 5:57am. I have never sprinted harder in my life. Somehow, Kristen got to the gate about 7 minutes earlier than I did (yeah yeah, we all know Kristen's a better runner than I am). The kid behind me in line pulled a skateboard out of his backpack and wheeled his way through the terminal at the speed of light. I don't know how, but I somehow crossed the entire airport, boarded the plane, found a seat, and caught my breath before take-off. 

I can't even begin to describe the relief that surged through my body (and my soul) when I stepped off the plane in STL and realized I was home. All my anxiety and angst and anxiousness from the week before melted away as I walked into our sweet-smelling, tinsel-decorated, Christmas-ready house. I love being home. 

On My Mind

Here's what's been on my mind lately... besides Adele's song One and Only that starts with the phrase, "You've been on my mind." Because, let's face it, Adele is always on my mind. #girlcrush


First: snow. More specifically, the first snow (ha, see what I did there?). Winter has swept across this valley fast and furiously. Just last week people were wearing shorts and flip flops, and now they're bundled up to their ears in coats and scarves and hats and mittens. And boots. I love boots. I have quite a few pairs myself, but usually one pair monopolizes my wardrobe. In the autumn it's my brown leather boots that I wear with pretty much everything: dresses, skirts, jeans, leggings (yes, I know they're not pants), etc. When the snow rolls around, I switch over to my waterproof, coldproof (not a word), cuddly winter boots. In fact, my freshman year, I wore them for 3 months straight until my friend Mer had to instigate an intervention and insist that I not wear them more than 2 days in a row. I'm pretty sure I went through withdrawal. 
Here's a video I found of a snowfall in Gambier: 

A little boring, I know. 

And here's a picture of the mountains in Provo:

Second: house keys. Last year, we had a key pad on our door that made coming home with groceries or pumpkins (or whatever you care to bring home) much much easier. Sometimes the keypad would freeze up, and lock you out, but if you waited a few minutes it would go back to normal. I still remember the code: 50546. Now we don't have a nifty keypad. Instead we have regular old-fashioned keys. Mine got bent, and I'm pretty sure I lost it. It's become a real issue for our apartment--we always forget to bring a key when we go to class or running or to work or whatever, so we get locked out quite frequently. When my cousin was visiting BYU we got locked out and had to climb through Kristen's window. Not fun. 

Third: Bedtimes. On Saturday, I stayed up until 4am for the first time in... well, ever. Bad idea. Terrible idea. I'm still recovering. It messed me up so badly, I even set the kitchen on fire the other night. 

Fourth: Christmas. I know, I know, it's still November. Thanksgiving hasn't even passed--BUT they decorated the Bookstore with Christmas trees and garlands and red satin bows, and it might just be me but I'm pretty sure it smells like cinnamon and pine in there now. In celebration, my roommate and I put up lights around our room. They looked amazing until they burned out. But, I'm already starting to feel that little tingling sensation that means Christmas is near!

We are infinite.

I know, it's been a while. And by "a while" I mean almost a year. I would try to come up with an excuse like, "I've just been too busy" or "Nothing interesting has happened since then," but those are both lies.

I have been busy, yes. But not TOO busy. In fact, when I got home from school this summer, I had an entire month of doing absolutely nothing until my job started in June. I honestly cannot remember the last time I had so few obligations. That month felt like one very long Saturday afternoon where all you do is sit in bed and read. I did other things, too, but I did manage to read the entire Percy Jackson series and most of The Chronicles of Narnia and even the beginning of "Pride & Prejudice" in Portuguese. Let me repeat that: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE IN PORTUGUESE. I am bragging about that and will continue to do so until I feel satisfied. 

What else did I do during that month? I spent a lot of time with my little brothers. Here's a picture of them playing with some baby gators.

I also went on a little trip to New Orleans and spent some time on the Bayou and Lake Ponchartrain. (Hence, the baby gators)

Here's some pictures of the "camp," though I'm still not sure why it's called that because it was one of the quaintest and most comfortable cabins I have ever stayed in.

We also visited an old plantation called Oak Alley and went into the city to be obnoxious tourists and eat powered-sugar-drenched beignets. Here's some pictures of that. 

We're so cool. Okay, enough pictures.

Oh wait, one more. I got my wisdom teeth pulled out shortly after the New Orleans trip. This is what I looked like: 

So embarrassing. 

This summer I was a day camp counselor. My group of kids were 7-8 years old, and they were the best group in the whole camp, hands down. I loved them so much, and--bragging again--they loved me. At the end of the summer two of them even asked if they could come home and live with me. 

When it wasn't 108 degrees and 100% humidity, camp was bearable. We went to the pool every Tuesday and Thursday and I got a pretty intense tan line (for the first time in 5 years maybe?). Probably my favorite quote from the whole summer:

ME: Everyone get in a line behind Jacob, please! (I'm so polite, I know)

JACOB: Aw, man.

ME: Jacob, what's wrong?

JACOB: I don't like my name. I really wish my name was Mr. Fluffy Pants. (He also had a lisp and had a hard time saying his L's too)

Speaking of names... A little boy named Josh who wasn't in my group because he was only 5 years old came up to me on the first day of camp and said, "Hi, I'm Josh. I'm going to be your special buddy!" About a week before camp ended...

JOSH: Did you know that Aubrey is a good name?

ME: Uh, I didn't. Thanks. Why?

JOSH: It's just that... whenever someone's named Aubrey it's always a really pretty girl.

Boys, that is how it's done. But seriously, when I wasn't dying of thirst and exhaustion or crying my eyes out driving home because of things the kids told me about their lives, camp was great.

Next up: SCHOOL.

I declared my major last week--Actuarial Science. It's good to finally feel like I'm heading somewhere with my schooling. I was in a ballet class at the beginning of the semester, but I only made it one week. On the second day of class, our teacher said she was going to take roll a new way. "When I call your name, please do the splits," she said. That was my cue to leave, permanently.

What I felt like doing after watching the Summer Olympics...

What I look like trying to be flexible...

Yeah. Anyway, I switched into a basketball class instead. There's only one other girl, and most of the guys are at least 6 ft. tall, but I'd take elbows to the face and getting shoved halfway across the court over pliés any day. 

For my birthday (I'm finally not a teenager anymore!) I went to the Utah State Fair. My cousin won me a fish, who we named Jeff. Here's a picture of me with Jeff.

Side note--I chopped off my hair.Unfortunately, Jeff died last week. It was the closest my roommate has gotten to crying in... well, a very very very long time.

Speaking of crying, we went to the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower this weekend. Please go see it. Please. If for nothing else, at least to see Hermione Granger and Percy Jackson acting side by side. 

I hope to write a little more consistently, and maybe even take a few pictures in the near future. Until then, know this: "We are infinite."