Supported, thankful and incredibly grateful.

So I'm taking a minute to count down my days till I'm done with this school year, and then I'll be back in the safe confines of my hometown.

Three.

Only three days.

I'm shocked, excited, nostalgic, perplexed and antsy all at the same time. I cannot believe this year has finally gotten over with - but I'm also shocked that it's over already. It's like having a duel timeline living inside my brain.

This has been the hardest year of my academic life, because coupled with a more challenging school environment - I was also faced with living alone for the first time ever, in a new city, where I knew so few people it was nearly ridiculous to have come at all.

But I did grow as a person. I found out I could do it, and that I wasn't helpless on my own. I'm a capable person; I'm a resourceful person; I'm able to confront problems and deal with them. These are things that, while I had guessed at before, I'm certain of now. However, I could not have learned any of these things if it weren't for the amazing people in my life.

I really could not have accomplished any of this if it weren't for all of you who've helped me through it - my friends who put up with my whining, bitching and moaning constantly. Those are the people I cannot thank enough, can not adore enough.

If it weren't for your willingness to put up with all my complaints and qualms, I would not have been able to keep (what's left of) my sanity during this extremely confusing time in my life. I know I could not have survived if it weren't for my friends who, even being miles away from me, stayed close to me.

Whether you're a new friend or an old friend, nearby or far away, I say thank you.

Everyone needs a support system, a group of people who they can turn to in times of need, in times of hardship - and I found out who those people are in my life; even if we're not able to always be present in each other's lives in the flesh, we're still able to share our woes and joys via so many other means of communication - whether it's Facebook, Twitter or just old fashioned emails.

I'm so incredibly grateful to have you all in my life, you are absolutely wonderful - each and every one of you.

Sexting, field-trip fun and ghosties.

So, you ever have a really good sext-athon?

Yeah, it's been one of those nights.

And somebody has got to take my phone away from me, because honestly, it is not a safe place for it to be. I am pretty much willingly setting myself up to be crushed. Again. By the same person. Awesome.

First off, I admit to knowingly starting the conversation - but I take no responsibility to where it has gone. Well, I take some responsibility. Like halfish.

Okay. It's mainly my fault for nudging it in this direction.

But it's not my fault that my intentions got all distorted and sextish. I just wanted him to admit that I was not the only one affected by last spring. Things just went in the wrong direction is all. A very wrong, sexually promiscuous direction.

Up side? He did admit it. Albeit, in a slightly different manner than expected.

I think that sort of counts as a "win" in my book. That is, if I were keeping a winning/losing book. Thank gods I'm not, that beast would be heavy-handed in the lose column. And that would just be depressing, y'all.

In another vein, I'm almost done with the semester! Huzzah! One week, one day. That's it baby, then home sweet, pollen-infested home.

Also? Had an awesome two day field-trip for my Historical Geology class. It was filled with lots of rocks, minor woundings, awkward pool participants and, unbeknownst to us, a lot of haunted shit. Yeah, so not in the tour guide, people. All sorts of mental asylum deaths and suicides apparently occurred at the quarries we went to. Comforting. Really.

I just hope none of us brought home any paranormal hitchhikers, y'all, because I do not need that during finals.

You hear me ghosties? Not right now. Just check back in a week or so.

It's called courtesy.

Engagement-ring heist, abnormality and social convention.

I've decided that trying to get into beach body condition is hard. I still feel flabtastic, but I also feel healthier, so I guess that's okay. And-

Wait a second - hold on -

OKAY. That's it people. If one more person I know gets engaged I'm going to go on an engagement-ring heist. Understand? For Pete's sake.

Sigh.

Okay. I'm done raving over that tidbit. Really. Sort of.

But it does seem as if everyone keeps telling me how natural, how normal it is for someone my age to be single. Then why, may I ask, is it that everyone else my age seems to be not only in a committed relationship, but also tying that oh-so-sacred knot as well? Are you honestly telling me that I'm the normal one and everyone else is abnormal? That seems a bit far fetched. And trust me, I love far fetched tales, but this one seems a bit stretched even for my tastes.

So world, I'm pretty sure that it's mostly abnormal for someone my age to be single - and to have been, for the most part, single for two years prior to this moment. Awesome.

Well, I guess I never have been one for maintaining social conventions. So this isn't anything terribly new for me. I suppose I will survive - survive right into my grey-cat-years, that is.

(Take that, Grandma.)

But seriously, it's not so bad being single. I have a lot more me time, which I adore - of course. Being mildly self-centered helps in that regard. Plus I get to peruse for cute people any time I want, without feeling any guilt afterwards. Huzzah. Also? I can do anything I want for myself, and not have to consult with anyone else about it. Chya. That's pretty fabulous if you ask me, which I know you were going to.

Of course, there are downsides too - like being lonely. But then I remember how awesome I am, and I just talk to myself. Problem solved.

Overall, I'm still a little sleep deprived from the past few nights of insomnia, so I'm not entirely sure writing this was a wise decision. If you walk away from this with anything meaningful, congratulations.

Growing up, growing apart, and one best friend.

So this is going to be a sappy / depressing / disparaging post - and yes I know, it's terribly uncool - but I've never really been that concerned about it, so deal with it.

Well, I've come to realize that my (previous? ex? once?) best friend has sort of given up on me, or on us. Years of mocking other people, taking masses of ridiculously staged photographs and eating tons of junk food just couldn't save us from growing up and growing apart it seems. It's been this way for several months when I come to think of it, but at least several months ago we were still talking. Honestly, it's pretty ill-timed, since college is supposed to be the most awesome time of your life - or not, whatever.

Heck, I love my college - and I love what I'm going here for - but what good is all that when my once-upon-a-time best friend wants nothing to really do with me? Sure sure, I could just go and pick out a new one - maybe a slightly flashier one, with less mileage and a wicked wardrobe to borrow from. That'd be the easy way out of this situation. However, it's come to my attention that I'm not the easiest person to get along with. And she sort of accepted all the dramatic flaws and insensible opinions with little, if any, complaint. That's pretty hard to come by, I'd say.

I had tried to persuade her to leave our small-town-roots for awhile, to come see what the slightly-less-small-town life was like. To no avail, of course. She couldn't possibly leave her boyfriend or family (despite how infrequently they see each other, due to schedule conflicts) to move in with me and enjoy our last years of young-adulthood before we have to become real grown-ups. Of course not. How selfish I was, to think of pulling her away from a monotonous job (that she's never cared for) and a mainly-weekend schedule of seeing her boyfriend (even though they live together).

It was complete madness on my part. I see that now. Because, honestly, after expressing my explicit desire of having her here - things fell apart.

Blame me or expunge me, I'm still minus one dearly sarcastic best friend.

Tired, guestless and filled with pizza.

So, I am honestly too tired to be writing a post - but I cannot sleep. I'm being taunted by half-waking dreams of extremely attractive people, who are obviously out of my reach. It's kind of cruel of my own mind to play tricks on itself, but apparently even sleeping pills are not helping. Seriously, messed up.

Anywho, I just got an invitation to a dear friend's wedding for August 7th - and it's all "you can bring a guest" (insert swirly, cursive font and cherry-blossomy tree decoratives). Now I feel pressured to find somebody to go with - when I hadn't even planned to bring a date when I'd found out she was getting married in the first place. It's a little taunting as well (taking tips from my dreams?).

It was an odd day today though - I even broke down and ordered pizza (shame, shame on me). I'm totally going to do extra sit-ups and yogaing tomorrow to make up for it - and I'm going to do it happily (sort of). Exercise does make you feel good afterwards - but I think it's just the accelerated heart rate and light headedness, which I like. A lot. Probably in an unhealthy way, but whatever health-lover-people, screw you and your judgements.

I'm going to go pass out now, even though it's not really that late - however, my body thinks it's 4 am after a long night of dirty love making.

Night y'all.

Friends, family and semi-useless knowledge.

So I was trying to come up with a super, trendy "cool" post earlier - and guess what happened? Nothing. Well, okay, I did write some stuff - some really crappy stuff, but it was writing still, right?

Anywho, I saw the most beautiful sunset last night while I was traveling back from home. It was unnaturally pink. Most likely because I was still wearing my sunglasses. You'd think someone would have told me it wasn't bright anymore. No one did, because they obviously knew the sunset would be prettier for me in pink. Thoughtful. Presumptive, but thoughtful.

Which leads me to more important things (well, the sun is super important...). I just want to address some exemplary things in my life, and show that while it doesn't always seem like I care, that I do - and I don't want to take all of it for granted all the time - just you know, when I'm being human and careless.

For me, in my life, I've got my (limited) cache of friends, my (dysfunctional) family and of course, my mass of (semi-useless) knowledge. These are the things that I think are most important to me - because I need those specific people in my life. Those are the dear souls who keep me from permanently floating off into the never-never-land in the recesses of my chaotic mind - and trust me, you don't want to vacation in that black hole. And, Knowledge, you mysterious minx, you keep me on my toes and ready for battle. I thank all the pretty green things on the plant that education has been available to me throughout my life, because honestly it's a precious gift. And when it comes to people who want to remain completely ignorant of everything in life, I just want to jump off a cliff. Preferably with sharp rocks or something beneath them (I don't want to suffer). It just kills me that people take the journey for knowledge for granted all the damned time - and yes, I do blame you and your ignorance for homicidally trying to kill me as well (so knock it off).

(I didn't want to jump, you made me.)

So, to the cosmos, I tip my glass in your honour for dealing me a starting hand consisting of a family that, while obnoxious and often defective, has been my rock and guiding light through all the pitfalls and hailstorms. And thank the stars that my friends have stuck by me, because I've been a real bitch to every single one of them at some point or another - and by gods, it's surprising they've not run far, far away from this mess. I know I would have. They're a tough lot.

So, here's to being thankful for what you've got in life.