Is This Real Life?

This past week, I scheduled my classes for next year. My advisor was happy with my progress because I'm right on track to graduate on time. It was when he said that that I had one of those "I can't believe I'm growing up" moments. I'm right on track to graduate. From college! Am I really going to be a junior next year? It seems like just two days ago I was a scared freshman at Kent State. Now here I am, 20 years old and signing up for a class called Traditional and Modern Grammars. I'm researching literary journals where I could submit my writing to hopefully be published. It's quite odd to think about sometimes.

There are other things that make me realize I'm getting older. Four of my friends are getting married this summer. I couldn't be happier for them, but it's so strange to think I'm at that age now where people I know personally are taking that step. One of my good friends just released her first book. Her first book! I'm so proud of her. And yes, I'm going to shamelessly plug it. It's called Confessions of a Prodigal Daughter by Sarahbeth Caplin. You can buy it on Amazon!

While these things make me feel like I'm getting older, there's still a part of me that feels perpetually 12 years old. The first night I was home for Easter break, my sisters and I built a fort in our living room. I still like to watch cartoons (Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry are my favorite). It's not unlikely for me to read a Garfield comic book before bed. Or Calvin and Hobbes. And some days, all I want to do is sit on my couch with a blanket and watch Hey Arnold.

I honestly think I'll still have that side of me even when I'm seventy. And I would encourage you, or whoever is reading this, to not forget that part of yourself. Hold onto that childlike excitement. That carefree spirit. You never know how important it could be in your life.

The Great Bike Adventure

I have my bike on campus. Now, if there's one thing that's an issue at Mount Vernon, it's that people's bikes get stolen a lot. If you don't have a lock on it, chances are it's going to get taken sooner or later. I keep mine locked most of the time, but on Wednesday, I was running late to class and forgot the keys to my lock in my room. I biked to class and parked outside of the building. When I came back out after class, it was gone. Before this happened, someone had been taking my bike and putting it different places on campus. Why, I have no idea. So when I saw that it was gone, my first instinct was that I would find it somewhere again. But I didn't. I searched everywhere and couldn't find it. I stalked back to my apartment, ticked off.

About an hour later, some of my apartment mates came back from the store and told me they saw a guy on campus riding my bike. They followed him and asked him where he got it (of course he said he didn't know). This was when I went into stealth mode. I was determined to get my bike back. After finding out his location from my associate (aka my roommate looked up where he lived in the campus directory), I began my mission.

I walked up to his apartment complex and started scanning the perimeter. There were only two people outside, and they were walking away from the complex. There would be no witnesses to my act. Then, I spotted it. He had hid it behind the bushes next to his apartment. I casually walked up, grabbed my bike, and rode like the wind back to my apartment. No one was the wiser. The first thing I did when I got back was lock it up.

So, to my fellow Mount Vernon mates, if you have a bike, LOCK IT UP!