A Very Lucky Girl

I’ve been back in the States for barely three days now. It’s honestly hard to say considering all of the days run together and I’m still operating on Scotland time. Which means I can barely keep my eyes open past 9 PM (3 AM) and wake up anywhere between 5-7 AM (11AM-1PM). Which wouldn’t be a terrible schedule if I had any reason to go to bed and wake up that early (I don’t). It’s strange to be here. I feel as if at least half of my heart is   missing. I go through pictures from my time in Scotland and feel as if I’m there. I close my eyes and hear "Timber" and taste the jagerbombs at the Union. I can feel the biting wind at Broughty Ferry and see the magnificent sunsets from Zee’s kitchen window over the River Tay. The night my blanket stops smelling like Dundee is the night I will cry myself to sleep. It’s hard to be excited to be in America. I love being able to see my friends (and dog) whenever the urge strikes, but I’ve now lost that same connection with Dundee. I ge...

If you see me at any point on Sunday, chances are I've been crying, am crying, or will be crying. You see, my other half leaves me to start her journey to Alberta, Canada, the land of maple syrup and moose. I would not have made it through this semester without her. We've essentially been inseparable since January 4th, when I first met her. I had flown in from America just that morning and was taking a much-needed nap. I woke up to the sound of someone moving around next door and I flew to the door and poked my lovely bed-head out, "HEY! My name is Taylor! What's yours? Where are you from?" I'm 99% sure she thought I was psycho. She introduced herself and we made plans to attend an introductory meeting at the university the following evening. After the meeting we went to braes and got our first drinks together. There have been many more. We grocery shopped together from the very beginning, making meals for two every night. You could say we're dating, we d...

I played hostess over the past two weeks and, let me tell you, I slept like a rock on the first night that my room was empty. Not because they were gone, but because I ran them (and myself) into the ground with a rigid itinerary. I wasn't about to let them come visit me and then us sit around looking at each other wondering what to do. Nope, every single day had a schedule. We may have strayed a time or two, but for the most part we stayed true to the plan. Plans are bliss, y'all. Hannah arrived on Tuesday evening, March 11th. We dragged her suitcase from the bus station back to my flat before heading to Dr. Noodles, a delicious Asian food joint, for some pasta in a box. Then, after scavenging for appropriate Carnival costumes in my closet, I brought her to the flat party of the evening. This particular Tuesday was also the start of the Dundee Hunger Games so I was armed with a blue water gun to match my Kevin Durant Thunder get up. I also lent Vanessa, my flatmate, one of my...

I haven't been on any big trips since going to Dublin, but a lot of exciting things are coming up in the next few weeks and I can't wait to share them with you all! I've been saving my cash for my upcoming adventures and writing my final essays. I will be done with all things academic related on March 31st! Which means I'll have almost two full months to travel and just soak up Europe without the drag of having to go to 4 hours of class a week. Like ugh. My goal is to complete all of my assignments before Hannah and Megan arrive next week! I've finished one essay and am 1,000 words into my Shakespeare one. It's slow going, but I only have four days until Hannah gets here!! She arrives in Dundee on Tuesday and I am so excited, considering I haven't seen her since August. Megan arrives a couple of days after her and then we have a few days as a trio, recreating our SB12 vacation in NYC. I cannot wait to show them around my home. Being the obnoxious planner th...

I hope you sang the title in your best "no one on the corner has swagga like us" rendition. I love my class schedule! Oh, pardon me, my module schedule. Classes are modules here and a major is your course of study. Slowly learning the lingo. On Mondays, Daniel teaches Scottish Literature from 1-3 pm in Dalhousie. And I am telling you right now that I will not miss a single class. For one, there are only 11 weeks of module instruction! Therefore, I only have 9 more of those classes! Tragedy. I could listen to his accent for an entire day. Weeks. But I'll take the two hours I get every Monday. I find it infinitely easier to pay attention to what is being taught when it is pleasant to listen to. Also occurring on a weekly Monday morning basis is the fire alarm for Belmont Flats. Similar to how the tornado siren is tested every Saturday at noon in Oklahoma, someone tests the fire alarm at 11 am every Monday. I expect Nat to remind me every week so that I don't pee my f...

I've shared before my dream of studying abroad. On Friday I was informed of my acceptance to the University of Dundee for Spring 2014. I've been saving and saving to make this dream a reality and I'm hoping to make my savings stretch as far as I can. And I am talking geographically. I'm thrilled to be moving to Dundee, Scotland for a semester, but I'd love to explore as much as Europe as I can while I'm in the vicinity! My location bucket list includes: Italy: This is my number one, would-pee-with-happiness-if-I-got-to-go, destination. Rome, Venice, Florence. I'd love to do it all, but I'd settle for just Rome. Also, POMPEII, PLEASE. Mount Vesuvius is practically the only thing I remember from middle school history.  Ireland: This is a far more realistic location, considering it neighbors Scotland. Also, St. Patrick's day will occur while I'm abroad, and where else would I celebrate such a holiday!? England: I'm coming for you, Prince H...

I saw one of the most uninformed and ignorant tweets on my feed last Monday afternoon. It honestly made my blood boil and I had to refrain from going off on the boy's literal DUMB ass. The gist of the tweet was: America should just do away with all pills in general and rely solely on the use of medical marijuana and natural remedies because it's much safer.  Excuse me?  For me, personally, the idea is ludicrous. The manufactured drugs I take multiple times daily honestly keep. me. alive. Unfortunately, getting high isn't going to prolong anyone's life span when they are seriously ill. While medical marijuana may have pain killing benefits for those suffering from diseases like cancer, I'm no medical expert, but I think chemotherapy and radiation are far more adept at combatting the root of such illness.  I'm not sure where his thoughtless tweet stems from, but it's certainly not from a place of knowledge or experience. A Very Lucky Girl will continue to t...

Because really, it shouldn't ever be forgotten. No matter what calendar day it is. 12 years ago I was in the fourth grade in Mrs. Robertson's class. My biggest fear was the cafeteria running out of cupcakes on cupcake day. But on this day, the carpool line for school pick-up was a little bit more frantic. On this day, my parents were more somber. I remember gathering in the living room of our white-painted Raleigh home, and hearing two announcements. First, our Tennessee home had finally sold and, as promised, we were going out to celebrate. Second, some bad people had crashed into important buildings in NYC and were attacking the government of the United States of America. I listened, not fully understanding (do I even understand now?), and innocently asked, "But our house is white like The White House, are they going to crash into our house?"  I was honored to be a part of the Sigma Alpha Lambda flag project on the South Oval yesterday. We pressed flags into the g...

The lyrics I relate to the most from Norah Jones' inspired political song, is "And I don't know who I can trust." Election years bring out the scum in a candidate's background, and Twitter and Facebook are crowded with updates, making sure that I can't miss the (reputable?) news reports. November 2012 provides two choices for America: current President Barack Obama or Governor Mitt Romney.  I'm going to spare you any poetic political waxing, because I honestly don't know enough about politics to sway any opinions. That's why I'm not on the ballot (among other reasons, I suppose).   The most accurate description I've seen about the election came in an email from Paul. He forwarded a twitter update that he scrolled by on his timeline from the ever-popular account @shitmydadsays:   Justin's dad has a point, and it's one of my favorite personal spins on the election so far this year. I've seen countless status updates disco...

"I deserved it more than he did." "He deserved it more than she did." Entitlement was the name of the game in Bachelor Pad's grand finale on Monday night. $250,000 was up for grabs and each player thought they deserved it more than another. None of them DESERVED the money. They are regular people like the rest of the world. They got lucky enough to be cast in a show that sees fit to dole out half a million every year to one of twenty-five sluts. If anyone DESERVES that money...it's the families that were immediately effected by the tragedy that occurred eleven years ago. The one that altered America, and New York City's skyline, forever. It seems petty to witness the irrational twitter fights that broke out all over my timeline today, a day that should have been reserved and observed. So you lost out on $250,000. Did you lose LIFE? A Very Lucky Girl and America should never forget. 

Americans will take any holiday and turn it into a drinking fest. Even ones that aren't ours. Exhibit A: Cinco de Mayo. And during the summer Memorial Day, Flag Day, The Fourth of July, Canada Day, etc become another day on the calendar to mark with a beer, a tan, and some Zac Brown Band while the stars and stripes fly subtly in the background.  I had to work from 4 to close at Jamba to celebrate the day (somehow people don't think "hell yeah Amurrikahh, let's grab a Strawberries Wild!") and was frustrated about it. But then I thought about what I was really sacrificing. Maybe some pool time, nap time, or blogging time. But that is a ludicrous comparison when contrasted to what the men and women honored on this day sacrificed. I could surely blend smoothies for 5 hours without complaint.  I entertained the idea of being in the Air Force ROTC program at Tulane or TCU during my senior year of high school. I decided on Air Force because planes are the coolest. Fl...

If you haven't heard by now..there is a Kony Kraze sweeping the world (and no, it's not the coney hot dog). And if you haven't heard then you are living under rock, but it's time to scoot the boulder over, blink a few times at the sky, adjust, and watch this. Kony 2012 Is your pathos vibe shot to pieces? Are you searching for your wallet now? Wait. I want you to take a look at the ethos side of the situation.  Controversy That article has nearly every piece of criticism handily wrapped up into one page. Among the information, what strikes me is the unfortunate use of the money given to Invisible Children. I don't have a problem with the purpose of the organization at all, but when only a bare percentage is being directed towards the causes that they are marketing (which involves spending money that is DONATED) I get irked.  I also disagree with their current mission to "make Kony famous." That's all well and good but I think there is a b...