Smart?

What is it to be smart? Is smart when you make good grades, but don't remember anything you learned when 3 o'clock rolls around? Is smart when you can pick up almost any musical instrument and figure out how to play every scale or even a song? Is smart when you're a parent, and you can sense when your child is in danger, be it big or small? Is smart when you're an athlete, and you develop a strategy in the middle of a game that makes you win? Is smart when you get a high score on an entrance exam? Is smart when you can tell when people are upset and know what to say to make them feel better?

Okay, maybe I got a little carried away with that, but what does it mean to be "smart?" My friend Yellie came over last night and said to me,"Gosh, it sucks to be smarter than all your friends." Which was followed by a laugh. Then she goes on to brag about her 28 ACT score, three points higher than my own wimpy 25. But intelligence is more than an ACT score. Sure, she can score higher than me on an ACT, but I have a higher grade in Spanish. It's not from her lack of ability; she gets caught up in how smart she is and thinks she's the best at it. Therefore, she should not need to study or do her homework. Who wins there?

She has natural ability, academically and musically. That much is the solid truth. I do not have much natural academic ability; I have to study a lot. Musically, ha! Might as well forget that one. My point is, intelligence is more than that. I'm not saying she's not smarter than me, she probably is. It's just not about an ACT score.

Okay, maybe all this is just to make myself feel better for not scoring higher on my ACT. But I STUDIED. I don't think she even did. I TRIED. Well, can't really get any scholarships for that. Poo.

The Comfort of Consistence

Humans are creatures of habit. There are many things we do just because we have done them that way in the past; sometimes these habits simply change. People change as they get older, get more life experience under their belts. (No pun intended.) When we see our friends or our children or our younger siblings grow up, they can seem totally different from who we once knew. Yet every so often, in this chaotic world, they surprise us with what we least expect: consistency. When that friend bakes you cookies on your birthday like they used to, or that son or daughter looks at the Veggie Tales character on T.V. a second too long, or that younger-but-still-teenage brother swiftly wipes his freshly picked boogers on Dad's Sunday Best; we see that person who we have always loved and adored.

Today, all of this was expressed to me one single look.

I was going through some old favorite CDs for some inspirational song to add to a mixed CD for a friend. Slipknot's Subliminal Verses Vol. 3 stuck out like a sore thumb. On impulse, I immediately popped it into the player and switched it to Pulse of the Maggots, which was a favorite when I was a Freshman. Before I know it, I'm propelled into every word, every chord, every beat. With my brother's hairbrush/my fake microphone in hand, I start bouncing around the house in some energetic head-banging, bone-crunching, body-slamming dance while screaming the lyrics. Towards the end of the song, I begin to come out of my daze long enough to glance at Kali, who is staring at me with a look that said it all.

In this world of chaos, where some little tom-cat heathen infiltrated her magnificant palace (Keeran), there was something that had not changed. After the months (and years) of stressful essays, night-time work shifts, morning and afternoon classes, constant studying, and elaborate scholarships applications... I was still that same little dorky Freshman who frequently rocked out in their underwear before going to the school dance, only this time I was rocking out in the few minutes of free time that was squeezed from my primp-time for work. I realized in that moment, that I was comfortable being a kid forever (4 weeks before my 18th birthday, mind you), and so was Kali because it baffled Keeran long enough to stop stalking her for a few precious moments.

Making a List, and Checking It Twice...

Things to Do Over Break:
1) Apply to SWOSU for Pre-Pharmacy
2) Thoroughly Scrub Bathroom
3) Continue Working at The Cow
4) Visit Grandparents
5) Buy gifts for Parents
6) Find a Box for Bubba's Gift
7) Get gifts for Friends
8) Buy a New Work Shirt
9) Join the Y with a New Workout Buddy
10) Get into Routine of Blogging
11) Thou shalt not Text any Guys
12) Girl Time?
13) Finish Laurell K. Hamiliton Novel
14) Pwn Bubba at Any and Every Game Possible
15) Make Fun of Bubba's Braces
16) Make Fun of Bubba for Getting Beat by a Girl
17) Work on Scrapbook
18) Take new pics for Scrapbook
19) Sleep in Virtually Every Day
20) Refrain from any Activity that may be Potentially Stressful

Sound good, kiddies?

<3

If Everything Goes Through, Life Will Be Perfect.

How is it, that this morning, I was feeling so completely hopeless? And now, I feel so completely hopeful that I might explode from the excitement of new possibilities? This morning, I was so overwhelmed. I hated my job; I was scared for financial security. Aren't I supposed to not have to worry about that until I'm at least legal age, or something? Anyway, I was also mortified of the possibility of being completely screwed out of going to Pharmacy School. Yet again, because of money. This morning, my boss was just telling me to be at work by 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Lame-O.

This afternoon, I talked to my school counselor for an hour about what steps I need to take now to get into Pharmacy School in the fall. I've been so worried that a puny 25 on my ACT just wasn't going to cut the mustard. My counselor informed me today that a 25 paired with my 3.92 G.P.A. and my class rank of 4 is enough to get me into pre-pharm, and possibly to get me through it for only the cost of books and food. Was that a surprise?

You bet your ass. I nearly died when she told me. Died, I tell you. That is so mind-blowingly great, something has to go wrong now. I mean, it doesn't make sense that it could play out like that. That means I will hate it. Hate it with a red fiery passion. Right?

I just got home from going by The Cow to ask for my old waitressing job back. You know the one I'm talking about. The one I loved with a red fiery passion? The one where I could make $15 an hour on a good night? The one with the crazy bitch assistant manager that liked to harass little girls? Yeah, that one. The crazy assistant manager got fired for, guess what? Stealing, which is like dishonesty. Guess what? She's a crazy dishonest person. Who knew she was dishonest? Other than me, and everyone else that worked there.

Maybe now, things will all start to work out :)

The Pertinence of Pie

Thanksgiving is a time for people to give thanks for the important things in their lives such as friends, family, career, love, health, good fortune and food. Without these things, life is meaningless. My let's-smoke-pot-and-get-pregnant-so-we-can-be-cool school decided to make a scrumptious holiday dinner for students and family to all get together and have some food. I would say good food, but who am I kidding? Cafeteria food is still cafeteria food. Not that I'm complaining. Who can bring themselves to complain when we had pie? At let's-smoke-pot-and-get-pregnant-so-we can-be-cool school, this is revolutionary. So revolutionary, in fact, it dominated all intelligent conversation for the remainder of the afternoon.

In Spanish class, my fellow overly-ambitious classmates discussed why it is impossible to not like pie. There are so many different kinds! You can't just "not like" pie in general. It's a sin. A couple of classmates and myself began listing all of the different kinds of pie that there are. Our teacher started to get mildly annoyed at us and looked like she was about to throw a text book at me. Teachers, heh, they seem to get so cranky when you disrupt a test review to talk about pie. I'm telling you, there's just no imagination in people these days...

Because of the startling amount of wit and knowledge that I have aquired while attending let's-smoke-pot-and-get-pregnant-so-we-can-be-cool school, I quickly came up with win-win solution. We could continue to discuss pie's delicious variability in Spanish! Plus, it couldn't hurt to incorporate it into our readings. There's nothing like a good class discussion to increase the I.Q. of a classroom.

Me gusta el pastel:

1. el pastel de manzanas
2. el pastel de limones
3. el pastel de limonada
4. el pastel de papas
5. el pastel de cebollas
6. el pastel de guacomole
7. el pastel de pelo
8. el pastel de gato
9. el pastel de cafetero
10. el pastel de vaca