104. January 10

"Have you ever had the feeling you're meant to do something extraordinary?"

~ Peter Petrelli

66. December 3

For the past couple weeks, I've been helping out with the opening and closing some cold frames here on campus.

They are sort of like mini greenhouses; boxes of soil with glass lids that need to be opened in the morning and shut at night. It's kind of fun to finally start seeing growth, the green push its way out of the dark soil. Nobody told these little plants it's winter, so they just keep growing.

I had the chance to attend an open mic night tonight, where a few friends performed (and did awesome). I'm not one prone to stage fright, but I'm also not one to ever put myself out there like that. I really admire it.

Sometimes, I think I play life a little too safe. Sometimes, I wish I was more like the plants in the cold frame or the performers on stage--both willing to stick their necks out in the cold, not knowing the outcome.

There is too much of life you miss out on for the sake of staying comfortable.

"Fate loves a rebel."

~ Arabian proverb

44. November 11

Tonight I attended an open mic night on campus. The night consisted primarily of vocals and guitar, with some random banjos, a ukulele, and one poor poet thrown in the mix. I loved it.

I admittedly have an undying weakness for the sound of live acoustic guitar and vocals.

My favorite guitarist? My little brother, of course.

This beautiful (and slightly dusty) guitar belongs to my suitemate, who just so happens to be amazing at playing it.

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

And, may I just give a nod of thanks to our veterans. Isn't fantastic to be an American?
Happy Veterans Day and thank you to those who have fought and continue to fight for America.

40. November 7

I love grocery shopping.
I think it's the shopping honed to a careful, controlled art.
And, it's an acceptable reason to spend money.
I realized today, I not only like grocery shopping, I like the grocery store itself.
I like the variety of goods, the strange coloring the lighting gives everything, the elevator music, the people watching, the ads, the produce... Its just pleasant.
I went with my roommates today and while they shopped I took pictures of pretty things,
like these flowers.
Tiger lilies are my most favorite flowers.
I love their color, their personality, and their uniqueness.
Every time I go grocery shopping I am continuously drawn to the little florist sections to admire the tiger lilies.
(They are tiger lilies right?)

Aren't they beautiful in glow of fluorescent lighting?



"There are flowers everywhere, for those who bother to look."
~ Henri Mattise

34. November 1

Left over Halloween cupcakes at a get-together with friends...

The season isn't over yet!

And, coming up, Thanksgiving, followed by the happiest season of all,

Christmas.

Life is good. Even if it is November.

"November is the most disagreeable month in the whole year."

~ Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

32. October 30

Yellow...

"And it was all yellow."

 ~ Coldplay, "Yellow"

22. October 20

Well hello autumn! 

Today was both The Changing of the Maples Ceremony on the quad and Apple Day in the caf. Can you get any more fall than that?

Just a few reasons I'm falling for fall:

• Apple cider: I don't actually enjoy it, but the concept is so appealing
• Pumpkins: What is it with those orange gourds that is so endearing?
  
• Harvest time and corn mazes
  
• The color of the changing maples: Its a vibrancy I just cannot seem to capture with a camera. Any tips?
  
• Halloween! I love the trick-or-treaters, the candy corn, the costumes... So fun
• Thanksgiving: More on this come November
  
• The scents of ripe apples, fallen leaves, and smoke curling out of a chimney

And I loved these fading flowers this autumn morning...

"It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life."
- P. D. James

17. October 15

This shot was obtained leaning out the window of the science lab into a tree top. 

There is beauty to be found even on gray days.

But.

This little girl needs her sunshine.

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

~ Oscar Wilde

7. October 5

After the rain...

"The only world that exists for you is the one you invent yourself."

~Richard Chess, today in Modern Poetry

Does anyone know how to make uploaded images slightly larger? I don't ask for much, just a little bit bigger.