Relevant Quotes.

"If you are old enough to fall in love, then you are old enough to cry and face the music when it's over."
-Mama J

"...But the stars we could reach were just starfish on the beach."

-Ally Kwun

He stands calm and collected, owning nothing but his own ideas and experiences. 
He stands firmly, with dreams and aspirations.
He stands fatigued, struggling to not be left behind. 
He stands uncertain with his own identity, within a society demanding change. 
He stands alone, surrounded by a world spinning out of control.
He stands at the forefront of a life that promises him failure.

And when everything else brings him to his knees,
He stands.

--Anonymous

It's been awhile since I've felt the bitingly awful emotion of loneliness. And I can't completely understand why I'm feeling this way.

Yesterday, I spent the day with friends. Got picked up by Chris and Jonathanne. Stayed at Chris's with him, Jonathanne, and Roldwin until we went to watch Paranormal Activity 2 with a bunch of other friends. Then we ate In-N-Out, for my first time in months, and my last time for months. Went to my house with Jonathanne, Erschel, and Chris. Sleepover.

The rest of the days earlier this week weren't entirely uneventful. I had SOMEthing to do each day. But I think my feeling of "sadness" isn't because I want to stay here for longer; I'm a bit tired of the slow-pace of Oxnard. I do need to get back to Notre Dame. What I think it is, is this feeling that my time back here has fallen short of what I wanted. Now, I'm not entirely sure what I wanted to get from coming back to Oxnard for a week. Rest, sure. Relaxation, a bit. I think what I wanted mostly is to have obtained a confident sense that I would always enjoy coming back to California--that there's people and things I love waiting for me here. And I am completely sure that's true. But yet, I am still saddened.



Ryan

I'm heading back to Notre Dame tomorrow.

I feel like I'm going to be an absolute wreck.

"To live in the hearts we leave behind is to never die."

--Carl Sagan

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination.

J.K. Rowling <3.

Abroad.

So for my Political Science major, I only need to take 10 specific classes. By the end of this semester, I will have had completed two of the necessary classes, meaning I only need to take 8 more spread out throughout the rest of my 7 semesters at ND. Seemingly, I would have a lot of room for study abroad opportunities, except my aspirations for an English major may be slowing me down just a bit. Either way, I will have some freedom (at least two choices) for study abroad programs. I'm trying to decide if I want to do the one semester interning at Washington D.C. with some Congressmen or take a whole year at some other foreign country, either doing research or taking classes.

We'll see.