A Very Lucky Girl

It's 2:08 pm on a Monday afternoon. I would usually be in appointments with potential students or calling new leads, but instead I'm sitting in bed with Netflix and a frozen pizza. How did I get here? It's a snow day. But it didn't begin that way. My alarm went off at 7:58 as usual and I began my morning. I saw a dusting of snow outside, but I hadn't heard from my boss about whether was campus was open or closed so I showered, ate breakfast, and left for my commute with plenty of time for cautious driving.  On my way to work I fought the internal battle of wanting to go. It's a daily struggle to get up and go to a place where there is a high probability of facing rejection. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I love that I have the opportunity to change lives everyday. But it does get hard. It can be hard to pick up the phone and call a potential student who has hung up on me 5 times that week already. But the job requires that kind of persistence and tena...

This week is the halfway point in my academic semester here at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Before I left America I received many well-wishes and one in particular sticks out to me at this stage in my journey. My friend, Tracy, told me in a Christmas card: "You will start seeing the world through new eyes." She should know, she spent a fall semester during her college years studying in Vienna, Austria. I FaceTimed her when I packed for my adventure and she urged me to NOT bring my entire tshirt collection. I admit, she was right. I really didn't NEED two pairs of Nike shorts.  I wanted to take a post to reflect on what I've learned about the world and about myself through my experiences at Dundee.  This semester is spurring me on to graduate as soon as humanly possible. December 2014 looks to be the magic date, which means...I've been a senior without realizing it.  Beyond an academic future, my weeks abroad have reaffirmed what I thought I already kne...

What I learned outside of the classroom of Thursday: Optional, but "encouraged," Shakespeare screenings are so not worth waking up for.  Getting bus sick is a thing and it's not particularly enjoyable.  North Americans are rad (and this in no way diminishes the rad-ness of people from other continents that I've met). Even the best Fish&Chips in Scotland can't beat a good chicken strip.  Hail down, hoods up, that's the way we like to hike.  Hiking to castles makes the end structure that much sweeter.  You'd think castle ruins are uninhabitable, but then you'd see a rat scurry across a crumbling bedroom.  When you're locked inside a castle and it's quickly getting darker, answering questions from a faceless boy who may or may not be trying to flirt is the last thing you want to do.  I think we have a 5th sense. It's like ESPN or something. We can tell exactly when a bus is going to leave a station and arrive mere minutes befo...

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...

It's very humbling to come to a brand new (to me) country, that is in fact older than my own country, and interact with several different cultures at once. Classes don't start until Monday, but I've already gathered a wealth of facts that I never knew before. Boots are not the most comfortable shoes to get lost in It's never too soon to watch Orange Is The New Black with a new friend and then comment on the phallic shaped crackers in our soup. Thanks Nat.  Time changes are the bane of my existence. You mean I have finished lunch and my American friends have barely touched breakfast?  Always carry a grocery bag with you because you never know when you might come across Tesco/Poundland/Lidl and suddenly need to grocery shop. On a related note, large market trips are impossible.  Lemon vodka is the direct equivalent of Smirnoff ice and I will continue to drink it shamelessly. Sluuuurp. Don't believe Aussie's when they tell you they live in fear of the dropbe...

I might be jumping the gun considering it's still high 90s in Oklahoma (and Houston) and September has barely begun, but the season of autumn is near and dear to my heart. As are the other three seasons. They all have wonderful things to offer; moments I forget about until I remember why I hate the current season (summer is too hot and I'm sick of sweating in my cute clothes). But FALL. Fall is full of promise. At least for now. Candy corn. I snuck some into my cart at Walmart the other day. It was actually still August when this occurred. But it's never too soon to sink your teeth into a waxy corn substitute, amiright? October 3rd, National Mean Girls Day, is only weeks away. If you ask me what day it is you can't sit with us.  The trees rain crunchy leaves that snap satisfyingly underneath my Uggs. I seriously will never stop wearing Uggs no matter how much of a fashion faux pas it makes me. IT'S LIKE WEARING SOCKS WITH SOLES. Halloween approaches rapidly. St...

I am a total nerd. I love school supplies. I love organizing for a new year. I make color-coded file folders on my computer. I get excited when I enroll for the next semester. And this year is no exception. Fall 2013 is going to be legen...waitforit...DARY. I'm going to be in class 19 hours every week...but I think I'll love every second. Women&Film, Native American Literature, Sociology of Deviance, Religion&Society, my LAST semester of French, and teacher assisting for Gateway will rule my weeks. Reading and writing and thinking about people are some of my favorite activities. I wonder if I'll even feel like I'm in school.  But you know what I love even more than school? Getting mail. So, y'all get to writin' cuz I know A Very Lucky Girl is worth 46 cents for postage.  316 Cate Center Drive Box 5012 Norman, OK 73072

I undertook a 40 hour roundtrip roadtrip at the end of my summer. From Oklahoma City to Nashville to Wilmington to Carolina Beach to Raleigh and back through Nashville! It was an 8 day whirlwind of the best kind.  40 hours in a car gave me a lot of time to think. And eat lemonheads. And listen to audiobooks. And sing songs at the top of my lungs. I actually didn't think all that much. But I did take note of several things during my cross-country journey. photo by E. Bell Thank God for Google Maps. I would be at a loss without the calm and collected automated voice telling me which exits to take. She didn't even yell at me when I took a wrong exit and had to backtrack. A human navigator probably would have.  This was the first summer I visited every single state I lived in. In late May I first took to the highway to surprise Moriah Jo, and my overnights in Nashville and Raleigh fulfilled the other state requirements. What a treat to reconnect with so many friends in t...

The infamous Miss Johnson I had quite a tumultuous education growing up. I started Kindergarden at New Hope Academy and completed third grade with the wonderful teaching of Mrs. Utley, Mrs. Fontenot, Miss Johnson, and Mrs. Peabody. I couldn't ask for a better beginning of school. From there I attended fourth grade through ninth grade at St. David's School. I learned Latin from the legendary Mr. Davis and labeled the African countries in Ms. Newsome's class. Mrs. Crutchley aided my seventh grade heart and placed me next to my crush in her assigned seating chart. Mrs. Purvis instilled basic grammar rules into my fifth grade brain and Mrs. Durham endured my crying fits in math class. LETTERS DON'T BELONG IN MATH. It's a disgrace to the alphabet. Sophomore and junior year were spent at Legacy Christian Academy in the presence of educators like Mrs. Maxey and Mrs. Brunson. I learned extensive amounts of European history and American Government from Dr. Hamel and Dr. ...

And fortunately, so do all bad things. This semester reigns as the worst semester of my college career. Too many emotions for one 20 year old girl to handle with aplomb. Dead week is almost over and finals finally begin next week. I'll be OKC bound for the summer on Tuesday. 6 more nights.  To wrap up this academic semester, I had a few thoughts. First and foremost, S/O to everyone who thinks their major is harder than everyone else's. Everybody is busy. Especially this time of year. Your busyness is not special. I'll be happy to empathize with anyone, but don't expect sympathy from me. Prioritize your time; it will amaze you how you can fit school AND play into your schedule. #mindblown. I've heard dead week referred to as "I wish I was dead week," but I personally have had an excellent past few days.  Puppies visited the South Oval. There was a crowd around them all day long, but I managed to cuddle with two precious babies. I now have a serious case...

This time last year I was prepping for an excursion to the Big Apple, the City that Never Sleeps, THE New York City, with Megan to visit Hannah. And now I'm going to embark on another adventure, this time with Tyler and his wonderful family. I'm taking my bikini collection, several books, and SPF 4 on a cruise to Jamaica, the Grand Caymans, and Cozumel.  It is a long overdue break. When I come home I will only have 8 weeks left of classes this semester. And then I'll (finally) be a junior, with only 3 semesters left at OU and one semester overseas in DUNDEE, SCOTLAND.  I won't be posting during this cruise so it truly was God-ordained that the Bachelor ended on this previous Monday so that I was able to keep my recap commitment. 7 days of rest is just what A Very Lucky Girl needs to tackle the world again. If you need me I'll be on a lounge chair somewhere in the middle of the Caribbean sea. Just look for the Tyler-lobster nearby. 

Successfully completed the first week of the 2013 spring semester--HOLLA ATCHUR GURL. 15 weeks to go. It's like I'm counting down a pregnancy, except you know, not at all. 2013 is turning out to be a bit more challenging than I originally bargained for. My life seems to be spinning out of control; but I recently realized that I completely control my academic success. So, long story short, my classes aren't going to know what hit them when I'm done in May. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday I kick off the morning with a nice dose of Introduction to Logic at 9:30 AM. This is the class that I had to take the math placement exam in order to get permission to solve word problems at the University of Oklahoma. Professor Dan Cheon seems nice enough. He doesn't bother with an attendance policy and all of his quizzes are announced and clearly assigned on the syllabus. The downside is that logic is still in the math family, just heavier on the words side. I saw "proofs...

It's that time of year again when I need to study instead of writing blog posts. So I will be momentarily abdicating the throne as queen of averyluckygirl-taylor.blogspot.com until next Sunday, when I will resume the customary 3-posts-a-week routine. My sincerest apologies for not providing you with fodder for your procrastination attempts.  One final word of advice before posting the obligatory #finalsprobs tweets and status updates: your finals are not worse than anybody else's. Everyone's final projects and tests are the worst thing to ever happen to them in their opinion. So don't bother tooting your negative horn.  Happy finals from A Very Lucky Girl and may the odds be ever in your favor!

I'm well into the second step of preparing to study abroad, which in my case is saving, saving, saving. I met with a study abroad advisor a few weeks ago to discuss destination options and we came up with three different ideas. Reading, England. Dundee, Scotland. Hertfordshire, England. I'm already in love with the idea and opportunities that Dundee has to offer. I still need to wade through the process of selecting which courses I could take that would match what OU offers for my major. The worst case scenario would be to come back from a life-changing journey, only to discover that my credits won't transfer. I am determined to graduate in 4 years, after all.  That is one daunting sheet of financial math. And unfortunately, I did all of my math right for once. So I have a question for all of those that have traveled and studied abroad. Is this an accurate assessment of cost? What would cut back on expenditures? Obviously, keeping outside travel to a minimum would s...

Sharbear asked me a hard question the other night. I had just finished holding a two hour review session for my Gateway kids. Two hours that absolutely sped by, I had so much fun with them! I answered their questions about the study guide with some help from the book (but seriously, I probably could have aced this test with minimal outside studying) and created a jeopardy review game to further insure knowledge that would STICK.  The best part was the last 30 minutes or so. I had promised to stay from 7-9 so I didn't feel right about leaving early, just in case someone else showed up. Two students hung around with me, talking about everything from home to dirty roommates. I was so honored that they would sacrifice some of their own free time to continue keeping their TA company.  Anyway, back to the tricky Sharbear question. I spoke to her on the way home (almost cementing my demise: cause of death? by bicyclist) and apparently something in my voice when I recounted the ev...

As if I already wasn't 1000% positive that I never want to work in the medical field...Health and Exercise Science is only confirming my negative position towards the intricate workings of the human body. It is going to be my cross to bear this semester.  Test One is coming up on Monday and I'm in over my head with the cardiovascular system, pulmonary system, asthma, cancer, sleep apnea, ischemia, myocardial infarctions (fancy word for heart attacks), and hypertension.  When my Venezuelan professor (reason number zillion why it's hard to understand this class...it's taught in an interesting variation of my first language) tells us to remember the difference between the right and left sides of the heart, this is what I think: left side right side Unfortunately, I don't think that's the diagram she will be checking for on the exam.  Based on the amount of time she has spent espousing the dangers of smoking, you'd think cigarettes are the pitfall of...

Okay guys, I'm really sorry but I cannot keep up with the Bachelor Pad recaps AND school AND a social life. My other posts don't require the watching of a show to write so they are less time-consuming. I want my recaps to be something I look forward to watching/writing and not something I dread/procrastinate. Again, I hate to quit right in the middle of the season, but I haven't even had the time or inclination to watch the show on Hulu this week, let alone blog about it.  I'll try to get my act together for the premiere of the next Bachelor, but no promises.  "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final Bachelor Pad recap this season...."-our favorite host, Chris Harrison.  Sincerely, A Very regretful Lucky Girl

First day of classes has been conquered. And I'm utterly exhausted. I fell into bed around 10:30 pm last night and awoke before my alarm at 7:00 am. Since I was awake I decided to get a jump-start on my workout and headed to the Huff for my daily treadmill/abs/squats routine. I was school-ready by 9:00 and didn't know what to do with my time until Megan met me at Cate Main to catch up on life.  From there I headed to French, arriving 24 minutes early for old times' sake (I used to get there early in hopes of seeing Tyler). Tyler and I placed bets on whether Natasha would make it to class. We were allowed 6 unexcused absences in that class and Natasha had a grand total of 17 at the end of last semester. She made it with about 30 seconds to spare. Final verdict on French class: The teacher seems relaxed and not hardcore about speaking the language all the time. And I have the most attractive partner for speaking activities in the room ;) Next up: Health and Exercise Scie...

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts."-Winston Churchill What a brilliant guy. During their series "At the Movies", Craig Groeschel used the movie "Moneyball", starring the ever-handsome Brad Pitt to illustrate a sermon. I really liked Craig's points, some of the verses he highlighted for the congregation, and the close-ups of Brad's face.  "For though a righteous man falls seven time, he rises again..."-Proverbs 24:16 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."-Galatians 6:9  I remember the first time I failed a test in school. I was in 6th grade in Ms. Newsome's history class and we were learning the African countries and capitals. Well, the rest of the class was learning them. I didn't, as evidenced by my failing grade on the quiz. This previously straight A student was DEVASTATED. Think hiccuping ...

August 1st signaled the start of school for my young charges so Tuesday was my last day of work for the summer. Monday and Tuesday were as action packed as possible, sprinkled with neighborhood mama drama. Brother and Sister are participating in a miniature triathlon on Saturday morning so their mom encouraged me to include some training in our outdoor activities. I invited the three right-side neighbors to train and their mom and I held a trial triathlon on Tuesday morning, complete with a stopwatch. It was a nice way to blow off steam, especially considering that Monday was overwrought with emotion.  The right-side neighbors invited me and my kids to go bowling with them on Monday afternoon (since when did bowling become so expensive?! For two kids to bowl two games I spent 24 bucks!). Alas, the left-side neighbor girl was over at my house on Monday when we received the invitation, and I, being completely oblivious to any neighborhood tiffs, mistakenly told her she could tag al...