Breath of Fresh Air.

The past few weeks have been the hellish and infamous days of midterms. Ugh. Papers, quizzes, midterm exams, in-class essays, assignments, you name it, I had to do it. I was a grumpy, rude, hot mess these past 10 days or so. Thankfully, it's all come to a close, and I can breathe again.

In case you haven't picked up on it, this is why there has not been a new post here in nearly a week. Priorities, priorities. Oh, to be an adult... Tis a weird reality.

One of my proudest moments of the week came from a moment of desperation... caused by a lack of preparation. Unfortunately, I realized 2 hours before it was due that I had a paper to turn in for one of my classes. It wasn't a high percentage grade, but still, it's an essay--those, for me, are the things that I can always count on to boost my grade! Granted I do well. However, racing to spit out a little blurb of an essay in under two hours... and guarantee an A... unlikely. Muttering some unfriendly language under my breath (to the chagrin of my study buddy Jacob in front of me at our booth in Jittery Joes @ the MLC), I click-clacked away til I had before me the assignment requested.

Two days later (an extremely fast turn-around!) I got this back: 100. And this -->

I must say this: I just don't feel like a lot of professors thank their students for their work. It's kinda like my dad says... if you're just doing what's expected of you, there's no pride in that (paraphrasing a concept here). It is when you go above and beyond (in school, your job, relationships) that people notice and appreciate it. As you can see, my professor not only felt that the paper obviously met the grading criteria perfectly (hence the 100), but that it was a breath of fresh air. And I guess I realized then that I wasn't the only one needing that sweet intake of rejuvenating oxygen in my lungs during hell week. [Here's to the professors, TAs, faculty and staff at UGA who also have hell weeks. I hope as a student I never lose my appreciation for the fact that we are all fighting a hard battle, as Plato so simply and eloquently stated.]

This made me realize two things.
1. Words are my chi.
   I can bust out a short writing assignment in 1.5 hours and get a 100 on it. Words are kinda sorta my thing. So that settled it, something I was already positive of, and I officially changed my major to English last week.

2. We all need some air after midterms.
   So, I packed up and took a weekend and got the hell outta town. I spent the weekend with some friends at a school in south Georgia, and it was exactly what I needed. Meeting new people, watching movies (The Thing, Forrest Gump, Ghostbusters), going for a million walks and running all over the place. I ate good food and enjoyed the company of people I love and people I could grow to love. That's a good feeling. I tried Sushi for the first time! I had California Rolls, Phillie Rolls, Tuna Rolls, and EEL ROLLS. Funny thing is, I think I may have liked the eel the most. Weird, right?? It was just the perfect mixture of textures and flavors. Nom nom nom. The trip as a whole was exactly what I needed; it was my breath of fresh air. Even upon returning to my beloved Athens yesterday, that itself felt like breathing anew. I guess this is why it's so important to get away sometimes. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and not just with people, I now know. Athens, I Love You.

One unfortunate thing that happened this weekend is I severely sprained my thumb. It swelled up really bad, and I not only did it once, but since it was already injured, when I put weight on it again, I like, re-sprained it. So I'm not sure what this means about yoga (no rolling through your vinyassa for a while, if I can't put weight on my thumb:(.), no push-ups, and probably no climbing wall. I may go to the doctor tomorrow if it doesn't start feeling better... but right now, bending it makes this painful and weird clicking sound, and all I can do is just not use it at all. Meh.

All that said, now that midterms are over, and the rain is gone, it's time to get back to the gym and Botanical Gardens and kick some booty! I'm thankful for the balance of life that I'm learning to reside within. To trust the process. To breathe through the pain, to send the breath where it hurts the most. I'm thankful that I have incredible friends that I wake up each and every morning without fail with some sort of greeting... that still makes me shake my head, I am so blessed. Life is good, above all else, and for that... for that I can breathe happy.

p.s. here's a song that you'll love to kick some butt too... weight lifting, biking, or running... i love this symphony orchestration remix.