Seemingly Impossible

My last couple posts have been on the longer side, 

so today I wanted to keep it short and sweet.

Something to remember on this lovely Thursday.

via

Music Gives Life To Everything

As I've mentioned before, I am a massive music lover (my iTunes library recently surpassed 6000 songs) so today I'm going to share with you guys some of the songs that have been on repeat recently on my iPod.

VIA

1. The Civil Wars: Yes I know I mentioned them yesterday, but the album is just so dang good. I'm obsessed. I think my favorites are "To Whom It May Concern" and "I've Got This Friend". I also love that people don't know how to categorize their music. The Grammy's have nominated them in both Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Folk Album. As a big country fan, I personally don't see them in that category but I would love nothing more than for this group and others similar to it to begin creating their own niche, and a place for that niche in radio.


2. Lily Allen- Never Gonna Happen: Okay, call my super late to the party on this one (her most recent album came out in 2009) but if you have listened to top 40 radio at all recently then you have heard T-Pain's 5 O'Clock which uses the chorus of the Lily Allen song "Who'd Have Known". In any case I went back and listened to her album "It's Not Me, It's You" and I just love her peppy way of tearing someone down. Yes I realize that sounds like an oxymoron, but only this girl can sing about never wanting to see someone again and still sound so sweet. "Never Gonna Happen" is my personal fave on the album.

3. Taylor Swift ft The Civil Wars- Safe and Sound: Taylor is my girl. Call me a teenage girl if you want to, but I love her. She recently released this single that is going to be on The Hunger Games soundtrack. It is different from her normal, bubbly, country-pop. Her voice is much more folksy, airy, and light in this song (I'm sure the influence of The Civil Wars helps). Also, if you've read The Hunger Games, I think this song is perfectly written for the novel and even evokes a specific scene in my mind (I won't say which scene though just in case some one reading hasn't read and plans to).

4. Jake Owen- Obviously I have to give my country people a spot on here. I recently downloaded his album, Barefoot Blue Jean Night. I had loved the title track this summer but hadn't heard the rest of it until hearing his most recent single "Alone With You" (WHICH I LOOOOVVVEE) on the radio. I like "Settin The World On Fire", "The Journey of Your Life", and "The One That Got Away".


5. Kate Voegele- This one is not exactly new either (hey, at least this album came out in 2011), but I've loved this girl ever since she was on One Tree Hill (two shout outs to that show in two days hehe). Her most recent album, Gravity Happens, wasn't my fave at first but it has grown on me since. My initial favorites were "Impatient Girl" and "Sandcastles" but I also love the title track, "Beg You To Fall", and "Enjoy The Ride".

VIA

Let me know what you guys have been obsessed with lately-- seriously I am ALWAYS on the hunt for new music!

-- I think I was tired when I wrote this post because I just went back through (Thursday afternoon) and fixed multiple typos... whoops!

Tonight, We Are Young

In a time when myself and many of my friends are going through dramatic changes in our lives- you know, with the whole job search/real world stuff- I think it's important that we remember... WE ARE YOUNG. We still have so many things ahead of us. It's easy to get scared or depressed and think that our best days are behind us, but that is simply not true. We are young. There is still so much fun to be had. Let's set the world on fire... Over and over and over again. And to all my friends, I will always be there to carry you home.

I love the original version of this song by Fun, but I'm not going to lie Glee's version is pretty freaking amazing!

I'm Ready

I'm a bit late on this post, but a couple weeks ago a friend took me to see Jack's Mannequin as a graduation present. Admittedly, I hadn't listened to Jack's in quite awhile, but in high school/early years of college I had absolutely loved their music. After learning about Andrew McMahon's story, I could not help but love him. I seriously need to see his Dear Jack documentary. The concert at a relatively small venue in Ventura was beyond amazing. I took way too many videos on my phone (one of which is above), and am so glad I did. Watching them back is almost as cool as experiencing it the first time. Honestly one of the best shows I've ever been to. Mind blown.

Maybe Someday My Blogging Will Compare To These People

I have been reading a few different blogs somewhat obsessively lately; 25 Before 25 -a blog all about an average 20-something girl trying to 25 things before she turns 25, Not That Kind Of Girl - whose blogging initially started with the idea of doing completely  uncharacteristic things for a year and she is now on year number two, and of course Life So Sweet- my wonderful friend Bethany blogs as she embarks on the adventure of life in the real world.

I'm taking notes from these to improve my own blogging (which would seriously improve if I could get myself to stick to some sort of schedule... just sayin). 

Yet another blog I was reading recently (Yes and Yes) had a guest post by Not That Kind of Girl in which she shared her Daily Self Satisfaction Survey. Now, some of these questions are super tough to answer on a daily basis, but they certainly get you thinking. What I find makes some of these questions more difficult to answer is the fact that my days are becoming more and more routine. Wake up, work, home, homework/TV/YouTube/blog-reading, bed... Wake up and do it all over again (Except on Thursdays when I replace work with class). Therefore I think something I would like to add to this survey is "How did I break the routine today?" Here is the survey she posted. Let me know what you think.

1. In what way have I contributed to my personal excellence today?
2. What did I create today?
3. How did I reach one new person today?
4. Who did I tell I loved today?
5. Who did I love without telling?
6. What did I go out of my way to do for someone else today?
7. Who or what inspired me today?
8. What was today’s small, good thing?
9. How happy am I with my progress today?
10. What lesson from today am I going to take into tomorrow?

Do tell me if there are any other questions you think should be added to Not That Kind Of Girl's survey. Also, let me know what your favorite blogs are! I'm always searching for new blogs to add to my quickly growing Google Reader.

Dance Til Your Feet Ache and Your Eyes Want To Close

UCLA's Dance Marathon was this weekend. This was my second year participating in this awesome event that raises money and awareness for Pediatric Aids. On Saturday morning I entered Ackerman Grand Ballroom with the intention to dance and stay on my feet for a full 26 hours. 700+ dancers all stood up together at 11am, and we did not sit down again until 1pm on Sunday. The event was even more amazing than the first time I did it. Standing on your feet and staying awake for that long is incredibly difficult, painful, tiring, and INSPIRING. I had a wonderful time with all of my friends. And when I got home I went to sleep for 16 hours =)

As a whole, all those participating in Dance Marathon raised $410,530.68. Team Alpha Delta Pi, with our 50+ registered dancers raised $13,079.21! We were the number two fund raising team of the entire event! We more than doubled what we raised last year as a team, which is absolutely amazing!

Sitting down before dancing for 26 hours

Two of the AMAZING kids who spoke of behalf of one of the organizations DM benefits. Both of the boys have HIV and they spoke so beautifully about their lives and how things like DM make it better. It was fun to see them having such a great time.

The senior dancers and our moralers who came and hung out with us from 12am-3am

The three seniors right before POWER HOUR (the final hour)

$410,530.68. The total amount raised this year by UCLA Dance Marathon-ers. The most in UCLA's 10 years of putting on Dance Marathon!

Inspiration

Lately I have been far too obsessed with reading tons of different Tumblr blogs, but I didn't feel like that was the right place for me to start actually, legitimately blogging. My friend Emily, an Alpha Delta Pi leadership consultant has created a fabulous blog that I enjoy reading quite frequently (http://emilysnowden.blogspot.com/), as such I've decided to follow her lead and create my own.

With my senior year rapidly coming to a close, and my future closing in on me I've noticed myself and my priorities beginning to change. College is and has been a wonderful experience; I've had (too much) fun, met fabulous friends, and gotten an education from one of the top schools in the country. I've struggled, grown, matured, and succeeded. And now, I am ready to move on to a new city (maybe multiple cities) and a new challenge.

My recent interviews for the job I want (more than anything) after graduation, have forced me to reflect on the many things I've done throughout my four years here at UCLA. I've examined my successes and failures, questioned my actions and emerged from it all with such a confidence in myself and a readiness to take on whatever my next step may be.

All of that, and all the people I've met who've helped me become the person that I am now are my inspiration. With the future somewhat unknown, there are times when I feel that I might as well just flip a coin... Heads-Carolina, Tails-California.