Out with the OLD, in with the NEW

This post has the potential of being just as cliche as its title. But it's New Years. The day that requires reflection on the past year and preparation for the year to come, right? So here it is.

This past year has been life-changing in so many ways. Yes, that is something that is easy to say. Of course a year of your life is life-changing, hello! One year older, one year behind you, one more year of memories and experiences that will inevitably change you in some way. But this year has been exceptionally different. 

I came into 2008 excited and ready for anything. I had just decided I was going to move to Galveston and attend UTMB. I was ready for a change, and ready for a challenge. However, the challenge that ensued turned out to be nothing like I expected. 

I moved (along with Baylie) to Galveston at the end of April, not knowing anybody in the area, anything about Galveston, or anything about the school/program I would soon be starting. The newness of it all was appealing, and scary. We had an all day orientation the Friday before the real school fun began. That weekend, my friend Rachel came and stayed with me. I can clearly remember a conversation with her from that weekend (and several repeat convos in the weeks that followed) saying how I wasn't really expecting (or even planning on trying) to make many good friends while I was there, but that was okay by me. After all, I had a million wonderful friends already, and this would be one year of hard-core focusing on school. I was there with a purpose, and a one-tracked mind. And so my plan for the year was to do what I had to do to get to the next chapter of my life...Study hard, work hard, and have friends and family visit as much as possible, if possible. After all, I had a 2 bedroom apartment for that very reason, visitors.  

The months between that weekend, that conversation, that mindset and today have been a roller coaster. All things unexpected have become reality, and all of my expectations were shot. This year has been wonderful. And awful. Happy. And sad. All in all, life-changing. 

The people I have met, and have come to call my friends, have taught me more than I could have imagined. Through these relationships, I have learned to love uniqueness, and embrace diversity. I am definitely not in the Baylor bubble anymore, and could not be more grateful for the experiences this has provided. It is so easy, and tempting, to only be friends with people who are just like you. But when you are thrown into a sink-or-swim situation along with 39 other people with vastly different backgrounds, that's not always possible. You are forced to cling to each other. 

Now add a natural disaster that disrupts every aspect of the life you just settled into to the mix, and you'll find yourself clinging to each other harder than ever before. There is something about understanding a shared experience that inevitably brings people together. Whether in a big or small way, we were all affected by Ike. While in the big scheme of things, this one bump in the road is probably not that big of a deal for us, but in the moment it was huge. Huge. The emotional ups and downs, and the complete uncertainty of everything, are unexplainable. But with these people, nothing has to be explained. Laugh so you don't cry became a trend. And we survived, with a couple of slip-ups where tears were involved. But life moved on. And I found myself loving these people unconditionally and appreciating them in a major way. I have therefore learned to never judge a book by its cover, people will pleasantly surprise you (and let the cliches continue, I know.)

And then there are those friends that quickly become your family. The people that you feel like you've known forever, and know will be a part of your life from here on out. Because I realize that friends like these are few and far between, and I have been blessed with so many special people in my life so far, I never thought that one year of nursing school would result in life-long, irreplaceable friendships. But once again, my expectations were trumped, and several of these people are just that. Friends as close as family. Friends I will have forever. Friends who love and challenge me in big ways. Family.

While there were so many things in this year that are worthy of being included in this post, it's the relationships that stand out the most. My family. My friends. Old. New. They are why I am who I am, and the reason I've made it to this point. That idea alone should be enough summation of my year and what I've learned from it. But why would I stop there? It would be very un-Jessica like to not ramble on and on. So a couple more things from '08...

Because I've seen random acts of kindness, humility, and generosity fleshed out, my own faith in humanity and in the good of people was refreshed. Because I have people in my life who truly care about me and desire for me to grow as a person, my thoughts and views on life have been challenged, resulting in a better understanding of why I believe the things I believe. Because I have been faced with situations where people have nothing, I realize that you don't really NEED half of the things we think we do. Because I've had people help me out when I've needed it most, I realize how far a simple gesture can go. 

And perhaps the most important thing I've learned is NEVER FREAKING TAUNT A HURRICANE! It will shift paths and come straight for you! ("Here Ikie Ikie Ikie!" was not so smart in retrospect. cool.)

So from my reflections on this past year, I should probably make the "resolutions" for this new year. (cliche number 100?) Yesterday someone asked me what my resolutions were and I was quick to rattle of things such as "lose weight" and "get more organized", as well as a few others. And she was even quicker to show me a list of the top ten resolutions people make each year, with mine right there at the top. Neat. No, that will not do. I don't want to do the same ol' same ol'. But what are worthy resolutions? I have no idea, let's be honest. I will think about it, and hopefully implement them, and let you know. I actually have some ideas floating around, but not sure how to word them just yet. Tomorrow, or the next day, I will hopefully post them. It will be a nice treat, like New Years Day numero dos. ;)

What I DO know is that I'm doing something called Project 365. Where I will take a picture every day for the next year, and put them all together. The result will be a pictorial history of MY 2009. I'm excited. I just pray I will keep up with it.

Happy New Year! Welcome 2009!

Home for the Holidays

After a longer than expected drive, I'm home for the holidays! Apparently I'm not the only one who headed home today, as it seemed like all of Texas was on I-45 at the exact same time, parked. I've gotta say, moving 55 miles in 2 and a half hours is not ideal, but whatever. I'm home, and it's my favorite time of the year!

I'm currently curled up in bed, in my new brown and blue snowflake sheets, courtesy of my mom. They were on my bed when I got home, and I love them. My bathroom is also festive, with Christmas candles and hand towels, and a mini tree. Yah, my mom's cool.

Baylie is snuggled up next to me...under the blankets, head on pillow, snoring. (no, I'm not making this up.) After about 15 minutes of giving me the cold shoulder, running from me, and hiding, she came around. The dog has an attitude. It's actually kind of ridiculous, I love it. I guess she decided that I abandoned her, and that was her way of letting me know? She's living with my parents post-storm, until I graduate. Not my favorite situation, but they love her, and she loves them, I just miss her. Now she won't leave my side. I will have a yorki-poo shadow for the next two weeks :)

My mom and one of her friends spent hours making homemade cinnamon rolls, cookies, and toffee tonight. As well as tortilla soup. My house smelled awesome, and it all tasted great. This next week will be filled with holiday baking for our friends and family. A Christmas tradition.

Our house and neighborhood are all decorated. It makes me happy. Several of my friends are coming to town in the next couple of days, and I can't wait to see them all. These are just a couple of things that make me happy to be home for the holidays.

And if you were needing something to look foward to, try this...over the next week my goal is to update y'all on the fun things I've been doing over the past couple of weeks, pictures included. What are these things you ask? Well, you will just have to stay tuned to find out!

I'm going to sleep now. I'm not setting an alarm. I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow, and I can sleep however late. This is the life. This is great. G'nite :)

In the News

First and foremost, Hurricane Season is officially OVER! Finished. Complete. Done. Yesterday's News. And the next season will not start until I'm off of this island. Thank God. This is great news!

[How's this for irony: Hurricane IKE had the highest IKE of any Atlantic storm in history. IKE stands for Integrated Kinetic Energy, and is a measurement of storm surge destructive potential. The highest, and most destructive rating, is a 6. Our precious little friend IKE was rated a 5.6. IKE had the highest IKE. Ironic. Ha]

And today's top 2 headline picks...

ARMLESS WOMAN PILOTS PLANE WITH FEET

AMPUTATION SURGERY VIA TEXT MESSAGE

Weird, huh? Nope, haven't read them. I will do that next. But thank you CNN.com for making me laugh at the headlines.

Off to clinicals. Ready for the weekend!

6th Album, 6th Picture

My friend Alison did this, and tagged me to do the same. What's the challenge? Go to My Pictures on your computer, open the 6th folder, and post the 6th picture. Here is mine!...

Me and one of my most favorite people, miss Katie Green :) Katie is without a doubt one of my best friends. In fact, I think my family sometimes forgets she's not a Frederick, and wish that she was. (my two little cousins named their puppies Jessi and Kate, haha)

This picture was taken just a couple months ago, at our annual McDonald's breakfast. Sounds weird, right? Let me explain...

Every year since 6th grade, a group of 5 of us (Amy, Alison, Katie, Ashley, and me) have gone to McDonald's for breakfast on the last day of school. The same five friends, and we have never missed a year. Even though we all live in different places, we make it a point to come back to Waco, and have our traditional McDonald's breakfast, at the same McDonald's. (Don't be grossed out...its not like we love the food. Tradition people, c'mon!)

It's funny how much things have changed since then, and how some things have stayed the same. We've gone from putting on blue mascara in the bathroom and hoping our moms didn't notice (we had a retro dance for the last day of school in 6th grade haha), to trying on our bridesmaids dresses for Amy's wedding after we left breakfast this past year. It's sad that we don't all get to be together very often, but it's awesome when we do!

I cannot tell you how much I love these girls. Each of them have been such an important part of my life. We are all so incredibly different from eachother, it's ridiculous! We laugh about how opposite we are, but it works. It's us. I'm blessed to have such great friends and to have friendships that truly are lifelong.

And for your viewing pleasure, a couple more McDonald's pics...

THEN....
and NOW

Okay, now it's YOUR TURN! And my people to tag are...(drum roll please)...

Laura, Jen, Nicki, Erin, Courtney, Rachel, and Katie :) [HAVE FUN!]

Just call me BOZO...

...because I look like a clown.

I have my infamous bright red eye look that I've come to despise so much over the years.

Left eye=painful, red, puffy. AKA, left eye is DISGUSTING.

So my question is: Would you still be friends with me if I had it removed? You would still hang out with "that girl one eye" wouldn't you?

Because I'm contemplating orogolomistician surgery. Or in layman's terms, eye surgery. (*Disclaimer: I'm not really sure if orogolomistician is the correct terminology in this situation, but according to my old friend Wikipedia it means eye surgery...and in my opinion it sounds way cooler. And it makes me sound like I actually learned something in nursing school. Nope, wikipedia to the rescue.)

Full removal of my eyeball is actually my preference at this point. I'm going to student wellness shortly, and will discuss my ideas with them to see how they feel about it.

Seeing as the UTMB student wellness center is temporarily relocated to an old office on the 3rd floor of the school of nursing building, which is still covered in butcher paper, tape, and sawdust and smells like formaldehyde from the cadaver lab that got moved to the 2nd floor, I'm not sure this is a perfect idea. I would think orogolomistician surgery needs to be performed in the most sterile of environments. But I'm weighing my options. Painful disgusting eye, or no eye at all. I think the choice is clear. Clean environment or not.

So after today, you might have to forever be friends with the girl with one eye.

50 is the new 20

Think back to when you were a kid. Now try to remember just how OLD you thought some people were...even your parents, who were probably barely even thirty by the time you were old enough to have the "I'm cooler than everyone" attitude. Even at a young age, you realized that past a certain point old=uncool/unfun. (minus the high school and college years of course, which were forever the cool years in your six year old mind).

Right then and there, you tell yourself that you won't let that happen to you. You will forever be fun, and forever be cool. Even when you're old, you'll be the fun one.

Then that dreaded day comes. The day when you're only 23 years old, sitting on the couch in sweat pants, socks, and an old t-shirt, eating honey nut cheerios out of a styrofoam bowl for dinner, complaining about how tired you are and how much your feet hurt...on a Friday night. And that's when it hits you. You're officially lame. And officially BORING.

This is my story. How sad, but it's true. I would love to tell you about all of the amazing adventures that have been going on in my life lately. But well, let's be honest, there's not really much to report. All of my days sort of blend together, because pretty much all of my days are the same.

My typical day includes: (in no particular order) Choosing between cereal or a mini jalapeno kolache from Home Cut Donuts for breakfast. Clinicals. Studying. Facebooking for too long. Homework. Noticing a new boat in a random place that we've somehow missed the first hundred times we drove past it. Working on ridiculous care plans. Talking about what we want for dinner for more than an hour, and inevitably settling on Subway or Fema tuna because that's often the only option. Case Studies. Driving down the seawall. Watching the news or some TLC re-run to avoid studying. Being frustrated with UTMB for new reasons. And talking about what fun things we wish we could be doing.

All in a day's work. Exciting huh? No. Not exciting. Lame, and boring. It's okay, I already know.

And tonight, as I sit here on my bed doing homework, there's a big party going on downstairs. Everyone's all dressed up and enjoying dinner, full bar, and DJ. Who's at this party? Old people. What the heck happened? All I know is they are for sure having more fun than me. And are therefore officially more fun than me.

Apparently 50 is the 20. And I just got a little more lame.

Awkward has 2 W's

Everyone goes through their "awkward stage", right? Some are more painful than others, but we've all been there. Glasses, braces, bad clothes choices, bad hair, acne, whatever...all awkward. Well I was fortunate to have it all. And even more lucky to be one of the chosen teenagers whose awkward stage lasted for years! Cool. And there are too many pictures to prove it.

I would show a picture, but now I won't. Why? Because I showed MA one just a minute ago, and she still hasn't stopped laughing. In fact, she's crying. Yes, she's laughing so hard she's crying. At a picture of me from Jr. High.

Her exact comment? "Jessica! It looks like your head got stuck in a three-speed blender!"

Gotta love honest friends? I guess. HA. And gotta love never having to be in jr. high again.
After all, I don't need the braces and blender hair, I'm doing just fine figuring out ways to be awkward enough without them.