Coming Home From Abroad Made Me Fat

People talk about America being the most overweight country in the world and we all know it’s true, but you’ll never really understand the difference until you’ve experienced both sides.

In the months before I went abroad I lost about seven pounds in preparation to gain weight while I was gone. I thought of course I’m going to eat whatever I want, whenever I want and that’s gonna make me blow up like a balloon. I mean going to a school where study abroad is such a huge aspect of the campus culture you hear all the time people saying things like “Oh wow that girl gained a lot of weight while abroad”, “Going abroad makes you fat”, “All you’re going to eat is bread” and so on.

Fast forward a few months and though I never held myself back from eating (except for maybe cutting to two pieces of bread a day instead of three…) and never spent time exercising (except for my twenty minute walk to and from class) I came off the plane into the arms of my family and best friend and they all stared at me and told me how skinny I looked. I think they even used the word “sickly”. I was very surprised and furiously denied that I had lost any weight, I actually was convinced in my head that I had GAINED while abroad.

When I got home I weighed myself and though I was not the lightest I had ever been in my life I was on the lower end of my weight spectrum. So once again we fast forward through my time at home and all I can realize is how nauseous and uncomfortable I feel after every meal. It was like I could feel my body puffing up slowly but surely. After the holidays were over I weighed myself again and low and behold I was five pounds heavier……in just two weeks. *Cue mental freak out here*. Now granted, it was Christmas and all and I hadn’t been home in months so I probably was indulging more than I should in the luxuries of food, but in no way did I think that it was five pounds worth.

Fast forward another week and a half or so and now I’m up to eight pounds heavier than when I touched down in the US. I spent less than a month at home and had already gained almost ten pounds. Which honestly might not really sound like that much, but when you’re not an intensely overweight person, 10 pounds can really change the way your body looks.

I began to question why this was happening. Why was I feeling so stuffed and bloated all the time? Why was the scale rising higher and higher when I hadn’t changed the way I’d been eating?

And then I came to a realization. Food in the US is packed with chemicals and additives and all that other scary stuff they tell you about that isn’t allowed to be in foods in Europe. Now don’t take my word as fact, I’m not a scientist or a nutritionist, and I haven’t done a ton of research on this topic but on a basic level I know that this is true. There’s a reason why tomatoes are redder, eggs are more orange, potatoes are more yellow, and so on in Europe.

I’m not gonna blame my weight gain and discomfort solely on the chemicals that are in and on foods, but it must play a role. The lifestyle of we eat, how much we eat, and what we eat is definitely more drastic than I may have realized before I left. I’m starting to think that maybe I didn’t walk off the airplane looking “sickly” but maybe I just looked normal, and Americans are just too used to everyone looked stuffed up, puffy, and bloated that they don’t even recognize what healthy looks like.

So now since my discovery of my rapid weight gain it’s become crunch time to get myself back into shape before I get back to school. And I’m super pleased to say that since trying to eat better foods in better quantities my weight has gone down (the puffiness is still there but yaknow…my additive and scary stuff theory). I guess there isn’t much I can really do about it except try to avoid processed foods.

So that’s it America. In my accidental food experiment I have come up with the conclusion that we suck when it comes to food.

OR maybe I just need to stop making so many batches of brownies…..

From me for you,

Julie

 

Going Back to School Freaks Me the Hell Out

Less than a week til I head back to Gettysburg for the second half of my junior year (that feels incredibly weird and scary to say). You’d think that by now I’d have a handle on the whole school thing, and obviously I do, but this time feels so different. Having spent an entire semester in another country, away from my campus and the routine and relationships that I’ve made there, makes going back to school feel like the weirdest thing ever.

The best way I can describe it is as if you graduated high school and spent a semester away at college and then returned back to high school the next semester (though this is a much more drastic change I’m sure). But can you imagine how that would feel? I created a whole, new “normal” while I was in Spain, and as much as I yearned to go back to the comfort of my school the entire time I was gone, I still had a separation from it for long enough to make it feel somewhat foreign to me. So now the idea of going back to that other life feels intensely weird to me, and to be honest scares the crap out of me.

Don’t get me wrong I beyond excited to go back, but at the same time I have this strange level of anxiety about returning. Will my classes seem harder? Will the atmosphere seem different? Will my friends be the same? Will I enjoy it the same way I used to? Will buff chicken Tuesday still be as delicious?!?! These are the questions that are floating around in my head.

I guess all I can say is I feel weird, excited but weird. Not to mention that I also am very behind on packing and kind of think I’ve now completely forgotten how to live in a dorm, so that’s just one more thing to add to the to do list.

All in all I know I’ll probably love being back and can’t wait to thrive again in my tiny little Gettysburg pond.

Hope everyone is prepared for my return, it should be an eventful one….. *insert tongue emoji here*

From me for you,

Julie

 

I’m Baaaacckkkkk!

Helllooooo everyone!

I’d like to start this off a la Emma Roberts:

Well you were wronggggg! I’m back and feeling better than ever.

It’s been way too long since I’ve posted on this blog. But in my defense it’s not like I was just not writing, I was just posting on another site. As many of you probably know, I spent the Fall semester abroad in Spain and I blogged my entire experience on the website of the program I had traveled with. (If anyone cares to read any of these posts you can do so here) (I also vlogged the whole semester which you can watch here).

But obviously since I am now back in the US (and back to my normal life) I can go back to blogging here on my personal page, which means no more rules. I can go back to saying whatever I want, whenever I want, which is the most relieving feeling ever.

Honestly I’m pretty excited to get back to blogging about my everyday life. I feel like I have sooooo many things to get off my chest. Now I just need to get around to making the time to actually say the things I need to say (which tends to my biggest flaw as a blogger I’ll admit). But I will try my best to be a better blogger this year.

I just honestly feel really excited for the future; for my blog, for getting back to school, for relationships, for friendships, for jobs, for literally everything. I’m optimistic for the new year and couldn’t be more ready for what’s ahead.

This break was a really great detox for me, I was able to spend a lot of time with my family and friends (and my bed) and it’s left me feeling really refreshed and eager to make some changes. (I also did a whole lot of shopping the past few months and although that has made my bank account very sad it has made me all the more happy).

Hopefully the coming semester will keep the positivity going!

I’M SO HYPE.

From me for you,

Julie

 

 

I Support the Republican Party

Let me start this off by saying that I get it. I really do.

I am well aware of what it feels like to have your candidate not win an election, and I am well aware of how much this election meant to so many people.

But I am a Republican. And yesterday my country voted to give the Republican Party the majority in the House and Senate, and for the next President of the United States to be Donald J. Trump.

Describing my emotions when I heard this news is something I cannot even begin to explain. I felt shocked, confused, and baffled. I was convinced that Trump would never see the White House, I had protested against his Republican candidacy since he first declared that he was running (Marco Rubio 4 life, amirite?), I watched his numbers in the polls obsessively and convinced myself that the uphill battle for my party would not be won, I had accepted defeat in the weeks heading into the election…but then he won, and I was faced not only with disbelief but with happiness.

Now let me stop all you Hillary supporters there and explain myself a little further. I was not necessarily happy that Donald Trump, the person, was President, but I felt overjoyed at the success of my political party.

And that’s the point of view I choose to take when it comes to the results of this election. Anti-Trump people can scream all they want at the members of my party and call us a racist, sexist, bigoted, xenophobic, horrible human beings who are encouraging the end of the world and freedom as we know it (I have to include a huge eye-roll here), but at the end of the day even if I don’t agree with Trump, the person, I support my political party and I fully believe that the majority of the people who voted for Donald Trump to be the President were doing the exact same thing.

I did not register as a Republican because of the negative words that I listed above, I do not live my life by the ideals of the negative words that I listed above, and my family did not vote for Donald Trump because of the negative words that I listed above. As hard as it may be for some non-republicans to imagine, my decision to be a Republican is based on so much more than the social aspects we all seemed to be focused on.

I will not sit here and tell you that I support Trump in everything he has said and done, but I will firmly stand here and say that I will always support my party as a proud, educated, Republican woman.

Yesterday there were winners and there were losers but today we are all still united under one nation, and a nation divided is not a nation that can prosper. So no, I am not telling you to support Donald Trump and compromise your own individual views if they do not align with his; but I am asking you to respect my decision to support my party in this election and for the next four years, just as I would have done for you.

From me for you,

Julie

Nashville Vacation Part 1: A day in Roanoke

Honestly I don’t really know what I’m vacationing from considering I don’t start work until I get back home, but nonetheless vacation has arrived! This year we chose to go back to Nashville, TN (we came here before about four years ago). We left Thursday evening so that we could stay the night in Roanoke, VA since it’s about halfway to Nashville. We didn’t get to our hotel until after midnight. In the morning we decided not to get on the road right away and ventured out farther into the beauty that is downtown Roanoke.

It was so pretty, I’m actually kind of annoyed that I didn’t know how nice Roanoke was until now. The city was a good mix of urban and historic. Overall it gave off a really nice vibe. There were really cute stores, street venders (one from which we bought cinnamon pecans….yum), museums, and restaurants along the way.

We decided to go into this little boutique called La De Da. First of all let me say that this place had some of the nicest decor I’d ever seen. The whole store had this natural, hippy vibe that I really liked. It also felt really homegrown, like the owner just decorated the place herself with whatever she could find. I couldn’t resist taking a few photos.

The clothes were very unique so I really wanted to get something, especially since I knew I wouldn’t be able to find it anywhere else. Plus, everything was very knit and slouchy and looked like you would just want to wear it to relax in every day. However, since it is a small boutique the prices were kind of out of my range. In the desire to support small businesses I decided to grab a pair of soft, gray, flowy shorts and my mom bought a necklace. This store has a website if you’d like to check it out.

We asked one of the ladies who was working in the store (who was super friendly by the way) if she knew of a good place nearby to get coffee. She sent us to Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea. It has the same urban, industrial vibe that the city had. I ended up getting a passion fruit, blackberry, vanilla iced tea (FYI it was delicious, not overly sweet at all).

The whole city was really cool and I’d love to go back there and properly look in every store. I feel like Roanoke is the exact kind of city I’d want to live in because it didn’t feel too big and overwhelming but also had the creativity and modernity that a city has. We got on the road shortly after our coffee trip and six hours later made it safely to Nashville.

I’ll keep you all updated in the next few days about my trip and all the adventures I go on (especially if I see and country music stars….). I’ve also been posting a ton of pictures on VSCO so if anyone wants to follow me there to see what I’m up to you can do so here.

From me for you,

Julie

Friday Fun: Lunch Dates & Primark

I actually left my house today. I know it’s a shock, but it did indeed happen. Delia and I made lunch plans because we hadn’t seen each other since moving back home for the summer. By the way, saying I had “lunch plans” kind of makes me feel super adult. We went to Corner Bakery Cafe in KOP, needless to say it was delicious. I got a sandwich that had turkey, bacon, tomatoes, cheddar cheese….basically anything I could ever want on a sandwich (including a pickle on the side, bless) and a hibiscus lemonade that was equally as great. (I’m told they also have great cookies, but since I just made an entire batch of brownies from scratch yesterday I decided against it….sadly).

My sister met up with us because her job is nearby. Honestly it was just really nice to catch up and eat good food. We probably could’ve stayed there a lot longer if Delia and my sister didn’t have to be actual adults and go back to work (lame).

Since I was just steps away from the mall I couldn’t resist the urge to shop (especially since I’m going through one of those dramatic I-have-no-clothes-and-hate-everything-in-my-closet stages of life). I’ve been trying so hard not to spend money on frivolous things because I really need to save for my semester abroad but Primark was literally across the street and I had heard a lot of good things about it. For those of you who don’t know Primark is a clothing store that’s really popular over in the UK (think of it as like the British version of Target). It’s super cheap but still decent quality so I figured my penny-pinching self could afford it.

I’m currently in the market for new bathing suits because 1. It’s summer 2. I’m going on vacation in a week and 3. I never shop for bathing suits because it’s the worst thing ever. However, recently I’ve realized that most of my bathing suit tops date back at least 3 years so I was interested in some new options. I tried on a few but decided to go with this one:

I’m probably just going to pair it with plain black bottoms because lord knows I can’t afford matching separates (I mean who really cares anyways). This top was only $10 and was actually the most expensive one I tried on! That must go to show you that Primark literally is the cheapest most wonderful place to ever be gifted to the world.

I then saw a rack with about a billion pairs of patterned flowy shorts. I am always looking for these because I think they’re a great balance of comfy and cute. I had the hardest time deciding what pair to go with but went for really neutral colors because I didn’t know exactly what shirts I owned to wear with them but figure it be easy to find something. These shorts were only $8! *insert excited dance*

As I was heading to check out I got distracted by the makeup section (whoops). Recently I’ve been much more interested in expanding my makeup realm. I started watching YouTube videos by Tati aka GlamLifeGuru (check her out here: https://www.youtube.com/user/GlamLifeGuru) and was inspired to try and properly do my makeup. I’m still learning but I think I’ve made progress. Anyways,  I was looking for a kind of powder that I could use to “bake” my face (yes I know that sounds strange) but they didn’t seem to have what I was looking for. Instead I got this:

It’s a highlighter stick as you can probably tell from the picture. I already have a highlighter that I like using but this whole stick idea kind of intrigued me. It was only $2.50 so I figured if it ended up being poor quality I wouldn’t lose too much of an investment. I also tried on a few dresses but didn’t love them enough to buy them.

(Side story: on the way out of the store I apparently stepped in tar…..only to realize it once I got into my car and got it all over my floor and my seat. My shoe is now currently sitting in the freezer because my mom thinks she’ll be able to get the tar off of it once it hardens. For some reason I think that it’s unlikely.)

So now I’m home and spent some time sitting in my backyard enjoying the nice weather and writing this blog post. I’ll probably go back in Primark one more time before my vacation to see if I can find any more cute things (I didn’t even make it into the shoe and bag section yet….).

I’ll keep you updated.

From me for you,

Julie

An Inside Look at Sorority Recruitment

I am a member of a sorority so it’s obvious to assume that I’ve been through the formal recruitment process as a PNM. Since becoming a member of an organization I’ve realized that I now know a lot more about the process than I ever did as a PNM. So that’s why I’m here today, to give you all an inside look into recruitment from a sorority member.

The cliches that people say about formal recruitment are endless. People always say to be yourself, don’t try too hard, you’ll end up where you’re supposed to be, and as cheesy as it sometimes sounds all of that advice is true. But at the same time I’ve realized since being on the other side of recruitment that there’s a lot of factors that you really don’t think about or realize as a PNM.

First things first, we’re all just as nervous as you are. A sorority woman told me this once when I was rushing and I didn’t believe her at all, but now being on the other side of it I fully understand. As much as each organization looks at every girl, each member still has her favorites. We’ve formed bonds with you, we’ve learned to like you, and we appreciate what you could bring to our organization, so the fear of you not wanting to be a new member of our organization, or another sorority wanting you equally as much is absolutely terrifying (honestly for me it’s almost as terrifying as going through formal recruitment as a PNM was).

We’re picking the girls who are going to represent our organization on campus for the next year, and who will then go on to select our future members. That’s a big burden for us to carry. Some organizations are working on maintaining their reputation (whatever that may be), some are working on improving their reputation, and some are working on establishing a reputation (being a member of the newest sorority on campus puts me and my sisters in this section). The members we choose this Fall will define how the entire campus and Greek community views us for a long time. Talk about a lot of pressure.

So now you can understand why we spend hours planning and setting up events for you, why we try to put our best foot forward when talking to you, why we have endless recruitment workshops, and why we talk about each one of you in depth before selecting who we would like to join our organization. We’re worried about impressing you just as much as you’re worried about impressing us, even if you don’t believe that’s true.

Not only are we fighting for your attention but we’re also fighting the other sororities around us. “Fighting” might not be the best term, we’re all one big Panhellenic community and truly we want you to join Greek life no matter what organization you end up in. But at the same time I fully believe that losing your favorite girl to another organization is almost equally as upsetting as being dropped by your favorite sorority during recruitment.

At the same time we all feel this huge responsibility to make your sorority dreams come true. Okay so maybe it’s just me, but being a PNM who almost got into the sorority she imagined only to have that ripped away was one of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with. And maybe that sounds silly and dramatic but it’s true. You spend all this time focusing on one thing and creating it into being everything you want only to have it all fall apart in the last second. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, which is why I feel this need to not let it happen to other people. I honestly wish that we could extend bids to everyone because I don’t want my organization to be the reason that you don’t get to join a sorority, because joining a sisterhood truly is an awesome thing.

However at the same time we can only show so much interest in you for fear of bid promising. That’s a HUGE no-no when it comes to formal recruitment and it’s something I definitely don’t endorse. We have to make you want us, we have to make you feel confident in us, but we can’t promise you anything. That really puts us in a hard spot because we can like you and want you but we can’t guarantee anything. It’s this difficult seesaw game for all sorority members.

That brings me to another point: cutting your list of girls to fit the amount of bids you’re allowed to give is seriously painful. Okay, so technically I haven’t been through the whole process of actually selecting girls yet, but I have spent the past few months talking to my sisters about PNMs, making lists for myself to organize my thoughts (….I find lists to be the most therapeutic thing ever) and freaking out. So I have dealt with the issue of knowing generally how many spots we’re going to have and knowing that all the girls that I like won’t be able to fit just because we only have so many spots. It’s frustrating to let go of girls who you think would fit in your organization just because someone else might fit a little bit better or might have more people rooting for her. It’s definitely not something that I, or any member of my sorority, takes lightly.

Another point I’d like to make is that every sorority chooses it’s new members differently. So I can’t honestly tell you what you’re up against. But I do know how my organization selects girls and all I can say is that it’s all about being a good fit all around. There’s a lot of different things we look at but at the end of the day my best advice for any PNM reading this is to really show interest in all of the organizations. Attend the events, follow the Instagram pages (like the photos?), reach out to members, act genuinely excited and happy to be around the members. We love to see your interest because it lets us know that you like us (or at least that you could like us). Any organization, no matter who they are, isn’t going to waist their time on girls who don’t seem like they really want them. Even if we are really interested in you. If we think you don’t want us you’ll be lost behind other girls who seem like they do care.

I’m sure anyone going through recruitment knows that making ANY organization uninterested in you (even if it is one you don’t think you want) is a terrible idea. You’re going to need sororities to keep you around in order to get to the organization you think you want, and even more so you are going to need sororities to keep you around in case the sorority you think you want decides they don’t want you. Putting all your eggs in one basket is the worst mistake you can make.

I could probably go on a lot longer about recruitment; what to expect, how to act, what to wear, etc. and maybe I will write blogs about all those things. But in an effort to not make this post too long or wordy I’m going to end this here.

Keep your mind open and enjoy your summer without freaking out too much. It really does all work out in the end.

From me for you,

Julie

For more posts from me about sorority life and recruitment click these links below!:

Why AOII Wednesday

The Ups and Downs of Recruitment: Hello AOII!

My Epic 20th Birthday Adventure

Okay, so maybe “epic” is the wrong word, but all in all it was a pretty kick-ass day. I went back and forth for awhile deciding whether or not I should write a post on my actual birthday. Is it weird to wish yourself a happy birthday? I couldn’t decide, so I decided to just wait til the day after my birthday cause that would make everything okay. Right?

Anyways if you know me you’ll know that I love my birthday. I start saying that it’s “almost my birthday” approximately around the beginning of April (if not earlier….). I think I’ve always just love getting older and, admittedly, I’ve always loved the fact that my birthday is an entire day dedicated to me (as conceited as that sounds). This year I wanted to have a really fun day with my family and friends. I went through a ton of ideas of what to do: skyzone, day trip to Philly, beach day, but ultimately decided to go with some paddle-boating on French Creek.

So that’s how the day was supposed to start but unfortunately my friends and I are kind of directionally and socially challenged…..so of course we couldn’t find the place where we were supposed to rent the paddle boats. After a long time of driving around we decided to just go to St. Pete’s instead.

Not pictured: Payton. She has a twisted ankle so walking on the rocks was hard enough without entering the water/slippy rock territory. But it should be noted that she was indeed there and was a great photographer in her crippled state.

It was the perfect start to my birthday to be out and about on such a nice day (even if we did more picture taking than swimming). I managed to not fall at all on all the rocks which is another miracle, the last thing I needed on my birthday is another broken foot. After adventuring outdoors for awhile we went to get some lunch and then to get me a birthday cupcake (you’ll notice that I spent a large percentage of my day eating way too much food, but hey, it was my birthday, it’s allowed). After much deliberation I decided on a cookies and cream cupcake, a classic if you ask me.

Needless to say, it was delicious. I barely made it through my front door before eating it. The birthday adventure continued for dinner at The Grand Lux Cafe where I continued to stock myself full of delicious food. Cue photo montage here:

Not pictured: the calamari and buffalo chicken bites my family also ate…..whoops. My brownie sundae, as amazing as it was, was really only half eaten due to the sheer fact that I couldn’t fit anything else into my body. Shoutout to my waitress for tossing on some birthday sprinkles and a candle, and for giving me a big ass spoon to eat it with.

Finally, it was present time! My parents gave me an AOII Alex & Ani bracelet and some extra money for my semester in Spain and my sister got me this American Apparel bodysuit in black (I already have this exact one in white but I honestly want to have it in every color because it’s my favorite piece of clothing ever).

Overall I had a great birthday and can’t wait to see what my 20th year has in store for me. Personally, I have a good feeling about it. I’m not a teenager anymore, how weird is that….I feel old.

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, I’m super grateful for you all!

From me for you,

Julie

I’ll admit it, I’m a homewrecker.

Okay, so I haven’t actually wrecked any homes, but at the same time I’ve noticed over the past year that I have a tendency to be into guys who have girlfriends.

Let me stop this right here to say that I am in no way saying that my homewrecking tendencies are anywhere near appropriate or okay in any way, in fact I think this whole thing is a large personality flaw of mine. That’s sort of the point of this post, to explain why I think I am this way.

I really discovered this problem only a couple months ago with the help of my roommate Kelli. We were sitting in our room and she was explaining to me how recently I had been too close and personal (aka flirty) with the boyfriend of one of my good friends. I was really surprised when she told me this because I honestly hadn’t consciously realized that I had done anything wrong. However once she pointed it out to me I realized that everything that she was saying was true, I was a homewrecker and I suddenly knew exactly why.

I wrote a blog post a few months back titled “Why I’m Ready To Embrace Being Single”. In this post I talked a lot about my relationship history (or lack thereof) and outlined my struggle with always feeling like the “almost” girl or a second choice when it came to boys. Once I recognized this emotional issue within myself, and subsequently when I realized I was inclined to talking to people’s boyfriends, I suddenly realized that the two were connected.

A lot of my “almost relationships” ended because the guy decided to be with another girl over me, and obviously that hurt. So I think that I developed this need to be the girl that the guy chooses. So essentially somewhere in my brain I believe that if I can get this boy to like me more than he likes his girlfriend then that’ll mean I win. Then I would be the chosen girl, the exact girl that I had always hated in the past for ruining my “almost relationships”. So I started not caring about the girl on the other end of the relationship, I just did what I wanted and that eventually spiraled into me having a horrible homewrecking complex.

Now let me stop and state again: I have never actually wrecked any homes. I’ve never been the cause of someone’s ended relationship, I’ve never really acted as a legitimate homewrecker. I just liked to get to know guys who already had girlfriends (which can in some circumstances be construed as innocent but also is completely wrong).

Let me give you some examples of what I mean. Recently I’ve discovered that I’m golden at letting boys in relationships talk to me about their problems. (RED ALERT: if your boyfriend is talking to a random girl who is not your friend about your relationship then break that ish up fast). Lets be honest, there’s really no reason for a guy to be looking to a dissociated girl friend of his for advice, and there’s really no reason why I would care to actually help his relationship, because in fact I really don’t care. But becoming the girl that he complains to about his girlfriend begins to feel really fulfilling and gives me the sense that I have control over something….and it is one of the first steps into ruining a relationship (hence the red alert). It seems innocent, like you just care about him and want to help him so he can be happy, but having emotional conversations with someone is not a surface level thing, and eventually you become the person he leans on/runs to when his girlfriend is pissing him off. Hellloooo if that doesn’t sound like a one way ticket into cheating then I don’t know what does.

I am a perpetrator of this type of homewrecking, but only the emotional relationship advice part. I let myself get to know boys in relationships, I try to become their friend, I try to steal their attention (I beg them to give me their Derby Days hats just so that their girlfriend can’t have it……).

Essentially I’m messed up (not that that is really news to anyone).

Since being aware of my inclination to be a homewrecker I’ve really tried to take control of it. I’ve realized that finding fulfillment through the destruction of someone else’s relationship is literally the most twisted thing ever (even if I’m unconsciously doing it).

I suppose calling myself a homewrecker is probably really crude and shocking to some people (sorry mom), but I use the word only to explain an idea, not to promote it or act like I’m embracing it. I guess I just figured that I’m probably not the only person who has looked to desire from other people’s boyfriends as some point of validation. I think that any person out there that does so really does have some kind of insecurity or emotional issues.

At the end of the day this is all really personal (I mean who wants to publicly admit that they’re an almost homewrecker? …..me apparently) and posting this could and probably will really embarrass me. But I don’t know, I just felt the need to say it.

It’s a flaw, a huge personality flaw that could honestly get me in a lot of trouble and that has put me in really hard situations in the past. And I should probably get it through my head that ending someones relationship so that I can be in one really only ups the chances of my relationship with that person being ruined by a homewrecker. I mean a cheater is always a cheater right?

But yes I’ll admit it, I’m a homewrecker. (Maybe I should call myself a recovering homewrecker? an almost homewrecker? Idk, any way you put it is still wrong).

…..Maybe I should start a support group, hahaha. I’ll keep you updated.

From me for you,

Julie

Life Update: I’m the worst blogger ever

Actually tho.

It’s been over a month since I’ve blogged and I don’t even have a good excuse as to why. I guess I could blame finals and unpacking (which believe it or not took me over a week to actually do), but if I’m being honest with myself I just really haven’t had any good blogging ideas.

However, at the same time that’s kind of also a lie. I definitely have things that I could write about, but lately I just don’t know if I actually want to write about them. I’m trying to balance this blog between being about my life while at the same time not getting into too much of the nitty gritty. I’m still currently working out that balance. I guess you’ll find out what I decide if I suddenly start posting really personal life stories (that probably won’t happen but still).

While I continue to work out what I want to write about for the future, I figured that I’d just use this post as a little update on everything that’s currently going on in my life.

I finished the semester about two weeks ago with the help of a lot of coffee and luckily without dying. Needless to say I am very relieved to not see the library basement for the next few months…roughly 7 months to be exact (actually thinking about that is super freaky). The reason why I will not be back on campus for 7 months (for those of you who don’t already know) is because I will be spending next semester abroad in Salamanca, Spain!! *Insert excited yet insanely nervous face here* Going abroad is a huge aspect of student life at Gettysburg College and the idea of spending an entire semester seeing another part of the world while simultaneously finishing up my Spanish minor was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Going with me on this trip is seven other Gettysburgians including my best friend/roommate Kelli, my AOII seester/abroad roommate Cynthia, and the ball of craziness that is my friend Emily. Expect a lot of updates from me about the four of us and all of our European shenanigans (I expect that there will be a lot). I’ll probably write an entire blog post about going abroad closer to my departure date, so stick around for that. I’ve also been brainstorming the idea of doing a series of potentially weekly blogs and vlogs while I’m abroad so that I can keep those of you at home (mainly my parents) regularly updated and so I can have a cool visual to look back on in the future.

Other than that, I recently went to graduation for the Class of 2016 and of course managed to cry way more than I expected (partially because I’m gonna miss them and partially because I have an irrational fear of the real world and the idea of myself graduating in 2 years gives me ridiculous amounts of anxiety). All in all I’m really sad to be losing such awesome people, especially all the seniors that I only just met this past year/semester (meaning most of my AOII sisters). But at the same time I’m super proud of them all and know they’ll do great things (and demand that they all visit as much as possible).

As far as the summer goes, I’ll  be spending it babysitting, being a counselor for 8 weeks at a summer camp, and interning for a local magazine (and frantically panicking over the fact that none of those jobs are going to be giving me nearly enough money to travel all of Europe…but I’ll figure that out as it comes). All in all I’m going to be very busy (and I’m going to need to get used to waking up consistently at 7 AM…..) but at the same time I’m excited to be more active this summer, instead of just the normal laying around that I usually do (except I’m really not happy about the awful tan lines that working outside is going to give me).

So that’s me, that’s my current life. This blog post was really just me rambling so I’m sorry if it wasn’t that interesting for those of you who actually read all of it. I really just felt the need to get something written so I could get back on the blogging track. I’ll try to come out with some more interesting content soon.

From me for you,

Julie

Side note: the feature photo for this post is Salamanca’s Plaza Mayor, feel free to be very jealous of my abroad city.