what i've learned my senior year

My senior year of college. Wow. This year has seen some of the highest highs and lowest lows. I can't believe I'm almost done! This year taught me quite a few things indeed.

This year, I have learned...

- that playing the in-house therapist is the most rewarding thing in the world.

- that 90 miles is a totally doable distance, but can seem a world away sometimes.

- that the best friends will stick by your side NO MATTER WHAT.

- that your dearest friend's engagement is the most exciting time in the world.

- that hot lemonade is the best home remedy for just about any ailment.

- that Paris can beckon you, and you must answer.

- that breakups absolutely suck.

- that multiples of twelve are the best of numbers.

- that having a majority of your friends (old and new) all move back to the same city is thrilling.

- that a part of me will always wish I were a ballerina.

- that there's the conversation, and there's the sub-conversation.

- that forgiveness is the most honorable trait to behold. And incredibly difficult to fulfill sometimes.

- that hospitals (still) suck.

- that taking a third class from your favorite professor is always the right choice.

- that taking classes with your roommates is so fun. Especially when you're giggling during the entire lecture. Every single day.

- that rocking chairs in an airport make layovers fun.

- that Target is the Nordstrom of College Station.

- that your friends' siblings can make the coolest friends too (especially for an only child like me).

- that Cary Grant represents pretty much everything I want in a man.

- that when the Starbucks barista asks for the correct spelling of your name, your whole day is made.

- that a new exhibit at the Met merits a trip to NYC.

- that Houston doesn't know what's coming for it this year.

- that spending Christmas Day in NYC isn't too shabby, especially if you're with the ones you love the most.

- that your plans for your life can be changed as late in the game as you would like.

- that Netflix Instant Queue is a perfectly acceptable form of escapism and makes a great coping mechanism.

- that sometimes you have to let people make the wrong decisions for themselves.

- that road trips across the state of Texas with one of your best friends are truly the best things ever.

- that it is okay to blame Vet School for stealing one of your roommates.

- that going to see a movie by yourself is a guilty pleasure and not at all lonely.

- that the idea of my roommateship with Kath, CLang and Sterl ending is enough to bring me to tears. Daily.

- that receiving texts from your grandmother is so excellent.

- that knowing a lot about football is a great quality to have as a girl in Texas.

- that, in general, people haven't started dressing any better in College Station in your four years here.

- that being 100% honest and vulnerable with someone can be a surefire way to get hurt, but also can be incredibly rewarding.

- that Seth Meyers will always be the cutest guy in television.

- that hearing one of your oldest friends talk about how excited he is to be an uncle is enough to melt your heart.

- that Gossip Girl ending is a travesty.

- that it is so wonderful when you can pick up right where you left off with an old friend.

- that apparently I'm pretty bad at hiding my emotions.

- that the prospect of sharing an apartment with your oldest and closest friend is just what you need to get through the last set of final exams.

- that some of the best books to movies have come out in the past twelve months. I die.

- that sometimes someone cares about you more than you care about them. And sometimes you're the one who cares more.

- that Barry Manilow always wins.

- that the death of a young person can hurt so very deeply.

- that the return of Excedrin Migraine to the shelves could not have happened at a more perfect time.

- that just because you can manage alright with some people out of your life doesn't mean that your life is better without them.

- that dads say the darndest things. #brantleyquotes

- that it is not possible to overplay Thrift Shop, I don't care what anyone says.

- that Beyonce is a goddess. And a Houstonian. Basically we're best friends.

- that taking a sociology class about marriage is enough to bring out some deep-seated commitment issues.

- that you can never take too many personality tests.

- that math is a use-it-or-lose-it skill.

- that apparently I have a very strong Texas accent...?

- that when your friends and family get more upset about a situation that you do, you feel truly loved and protected.

- that commentary from you dad while watching The Bachelor is more entertaining than the show itself.

- that waking up in the middle of the night with a high fever is one of the worst things ever.

- that finding out what other English majors are doing after college is always fascinating. No, we're not all becoming teachers.

- that Downton Abbey is appealing to all people.

- that having read Hamlet in three different classes in the past can be more beneficial than you think, and in the least likely of circumstances.

- that Russian literature is very confusing, but also very awesome.

- that I am much more old-fashioned when it comes to certain things than I ever thought I was.

- that meeting a kindred spirit is a rare and wonderful thing.

- that magical things happen on Broadway.

- that poetry (sometimes) isn't so bad.

- that the world is entirely too small.

- that it is okay not to have it all figured out.

- that a part of me always knew that I would graduate from a SEC school.

- that text messaging is no way to have a serious conversation.

- that family will always be the most important.

- that the right song can capture your emotions better than you can yourself.

- that the displacement of stress is not at all helpful.

- that an incredible support system of family and friends is the biggest blessing you can imagine.



Further reading: what I learned this summer, what I learned junior year, what I learned sophomore year