Sorry there weren't any GIFs.

My name is Laura and I am an idiot.
    I'm also definitely breaking the "no post on Sundays" rule that I so vehemently insisted on making at the beginning of this year.
    But I had it in my mind that I was definitely posting the week of the 4th. And as usual, my math was off and I feel awful, because I got so annoyed that Mercy and Rose didn't post and then I went and did the same exact thing.
    Almost. I almost did the same exact thing. Except I'm here now.
    I'm going to respond to Grace's post now, because it was the only one written this past month:
    Grace, we all have feelings.
    Sometimes our hormones are coasting along perfectly at homeostasis, our menstrual cycle blissfully inactive, with perfect weather and a good song stuck in our heads and a date with The Cute Boy coming up.
    And other times it feels like every day of this past week has been Monday, and we have eleven adult responsibilities to complete, and we're running on crappy coffee and five hours of sleep and our messy buns aren't cute, they're legitimately messy buns.
    And it's important to know that our bad days are just as important as our good ones. That no matter where you're head is, your feelings are valid even if you want to punch a wall, or just curl up into the fetal position and cry.

***

    I understand being frustrated at us for being anemic in regards to remembering to post. And I apologize. I got so caught up in my ridiculous college life that I forgot to make a priority out of something which means so much to me, which I get to do with my three favorite people in the whole wide world.
    And I've been sad lately. I always get sad in the early springtime- the season changes, school gets more intense, and people graduate. These past four semesters have been a wild and wonderful blur, but I can't believe that I'm halfway done with college. Where did my life go? I want to enjoy every possible minute that I have left with the people I've met over the course of these past two years, but I have so much work to do that I can't do it all.
    I want to watch the sunset on the golf course with Rachel. I want to go to Ferris Acres Creamery with Libby. I want to have that Harry Potter movie marathon that Eugene and I have always talked about. I want to have dinner with Liam and Emily because we've been meaning to all semester but we never have the time.
    But I have classes, and I want to be a nurse, but I'm afraid of that transitional period between college and when I move out of my parents' house, because it's going to be scary and depressing and I'll have student loans up the wazoo to pay off.
    And I don't want to just settle down, have a small army of children and die. I want to see the world and make an impact.
    What if I never get to do that?
    For the first time in my life, I'm less afraid of ending up alone than I am of never going on an adventure to save the world.
    My thoughts are heavy tonight. I've been home for the majority of these past 24 hours, and whenever I spend a lot of time here I am reminded of the loneliness I felt in high school. It presses down on me and makes me tearful. I feel like nothing is ever going to change and I'm always going to live with my parents and never change anyone's lives.
    I have to remind myself that those are only lies. That God has a purpose for my life and it is my job to keep the faith and figure out just what He wants from me. But sometimes, when the sunset is just too beautiful or when I haven't seen my friends in awhile, it gets hard to believe.

    ***

    This post was supposed to be something lovely and uplifting but then it wasn't. And I'm sorry, but it's better than nothing.

    Mercy, I can't wait to hear from you this week.

Love, Laura :)

"Are These Allergies or Am I Crying?" A novel by Laura

Hello friends. Hello March. Hello spring(ish)time.

    Today is Saturday, March 5th. I leave for Roanoke Valley, Virginia, with Habitat for Humanity at 5:30 tomorrow morning. How crazy is that?

The Blue Ridge Mountains

    I'm literally going to be HERE.

    This is over 500 miles away- the farthest I'll ever have been from home. I've never seen real mountains before, as I keep on saying...

Current mood: pre-birthday party disappearance Bilbo

    I am so excited and ready and definitely getting no sleep tonight. This is an incredible opportunity to make the world a better place in a beautiful part of the country, and I could not be happier to be part of such a fun and proactive organization.

    I am also aware that my departure will occur in the wee hours of Rose's seventeenth birthday. But I am being an awesome sister by doing two of Rose's favorite things:

1) leaving her alone (for a WEEK, no less)

2) ordering her macaroni and cheese from Mac n Out

I'm the best sister.

***

    Going along with what Grace mentioned in the end of last week's post- The Foursome seems to have been in a funk. Stuck in a really sad version of the Supernatural episode "The Mystery Spot," where instead of waking up to Asia's Heat of The Moment 400+ times and going through the same day over and over again, our alarms are set to Boston by Augustana and we're reliving the same sadness all the time. To quote Rose's favorite pastor, it's like we're all making "Buttprints in the sand."

    Maybe it's the New England winter blues- did you know this is the only real area of the world where seasonal depression actually occurs? Maybe now that it's March we will all start to come alive again. I know that the tantalizing smell of the springtime breeze always makes me feel well, as it blows through the wind chimes on the patio and the familiar warmth of the sun hits my face and makes the pond sparkle.

    Or maybe we're all at that point in our lives where we wonder if we matter. If what we are doing makes a difference. If we're ever going to experience the world, have adventures, love fully, and make an impact.

    I believe that we matter, simply because we exist. God puts everyone on earth for a reason, we just don't always see what that reason is. 

    It can be challenging to remember that I am a difference-maker. A beloved child of my Creator who has destined me for something wonderful. An ethereal soul whose relationship with the One who breathed her into being makes her untouchable by the thorny trials of the mortal world.

    Hold onto the truth that who you are and what you are doing is not a waste of time.

***

    If I had a dime for every time I have wanted to drop out of school these past few weeks, I would be rich enough to pay off my loans, leave college and open an orphanage in the Middle East. I've had disappointing test grades, moments where I've forgotten how to breathe, and terse conversations with my boyfriend. I've also had professors who have sat and cried right alongside me when I've burst into tears in their office because I am the only person telling myself that I won't be a good nurse. I've had a mother who has tirelessly picked me up and dropped me off at school, day in and day out, and always reminded me to eat, breathe, and take a break when needed. I've had an endlessly patient, Godly man who has loved and supported me unconditionally, even when I've been myopic and dramatic and sad.

    Things are getting better. My grades will and are already pulling through. My anxiety will not get the better of me. I have friends who remind me to enjoy a good meal and watch the sunset and to not be afraid of admitting that I'm not perfect.

***

    I've developed this tendency to cry for other people, which is weird. I think it's because I have always had this habit of feeling sad or happy or embarrassed on other people's behalf, and now I've gotten so good at having too many feelings that I just cry for the sake of my fellow humans, because I think that the more tears I shed, the less other people will.

    Basically, I'm insane.

    Plus it's the start of allergy season, so my eyes are already watery 24/7.

    So, I look like I'm a mess all the time, but it's okay. It's just pollen and humanity. No big deal.

    I'll be okay, and so will you.

    I have to end this post and go to a potluck with my Virginia teammates (!!!!!). Mercy, we'll hear from you next week!

--Laura :)

Lamentations and parking.

Hello there, people of earth.

How I feel walking through the hallways of SHU in between classes.

    It's a rainy Wednesday. I would give anything to be sleeping right now, but instead I'm sitting on Eugene's bed (which smells like boy, EW) and eating some almonds (because I don't have time to eat red meat anymore and if you eat enough roasted almonds I swear to Jesus they taste like grilled chicken- with all the protein of steak too!). All I want to do is go home and take a hot shower and maybe cry a little and watch some Grey's. But I have a Habitat for Humanity meeting in an hour and a half so here I am, hanging out in the boy's dorm, avoiding NERF gun darts and watching Gene play silent video games.
    This is adulthood, friends, I swear.

    The thing is, I'm at that awkward part of life where I'm a legal adult but with only half of the responsibilities. I'm a full-time college student who lives with her parents, who co-sign her loans. I drive to school almost every day, but I possess neither a driver's license nor a car (props to Mama Backus for being my always patient co-pilot- side note: today I successfully backed into a parking space without killing any humans. Ten points to Ravenclaw on my behalf). I have a couple of babysitting jobs which pay for food when I'm on campus all day, but my parents don't charge me rent and I don't even pay my cell phone bill
    The moral of this somewhat boring, myopic tangent, is that twenty is weird. I crave so much independence and feel like I'm entitled to it because so many people my age are out on their own and fully responsible for their lives. I'm still in that awkward transitional phase, and half of me is so antsy and ready to move forward towards another season while the rest of me just wants to curl up with my cat and watch Disney movies.
    And I can tell that my faith has evolved considerably over the past year and a half. I've made it more of my own; I possess a set of authentic beliefs which may be a little different from those of my parents and the church I was raised in, but ones I know in my heart to be true. My relationship with God is being lived out to the best of my ability. I have bad days where I have poor self-image and compare myself to my peers and feel hopeless and lonely. But in the midst of this mysterious mess I know my heart belongs to the One who created it and calls me His beloved.

    I woke up this morning hurting, physically and emotionally, and I read these words in the wee, purple, post-dawn light and I felt just right amount of security and comfort. Sweet Bible verses and old hymns and the beauty of nature always remind me that I serve a sovereign Father and He is and always will be good.
    This is where I'm at, friends. Two weeks after I exited the teen years forever and I'm still such an awkward wallflower who says the right thing at the wrong time (or at too low of a volume for anyone to hear). I may look like I have some of my life together, but the reality is that being a grownup means making a lot of mistakes and acting like you're fine when you really just want to punch a wall and stuff your face full of Gushers. It's a balancing act that I am slowly getting the hang of.
    I'm really glad I had the opportunity to post tonight. My week has been hectic and I really needed to stop thinking about health assessment and blood pressures for forty-five minutes and simply reflect. My dear friend Rachel uses the word pause sometimes- whenever I hear that word I think of her. It's important to pause in the middle of this crazy rollercoaster called life, sit back, and acknowledge all God has blessed you with. Developing habits of positive thinking affect all areas of your life, including the relationships you forge with other humans.
    Time for me to unpause, and probably nap before Habitat. Mercy, we'll hear from you next week!
All my love,
--Laura :)

New year. Same blog. Different logistics.

And we're back! May the happy-dancing commence.

I looked up "we're back" in Google images and this majestic GIF popped up so of course I couldn't not post it.

    I think the abrupt hiatus was necessary. We all needed a break. Christmas and New Years came thundering down upon us, and I for one was definitely wrapped up in a tizzy of shopping and decorating and knitting presents while binge-watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix, not to mention the onslaught of finals and saying goodbye to college friends as we went our separate ways for holiday break.
    Today is Friday, January 8th, and I -Laura- am posting. I don't believe I have ever posted on Our Thoughts Are Stars on a Friday. But here I am.
    We have established some new rules on this here blog. Rules that seem a little less like rules- more relaxed and achievable, tailored to The Foursome's busy schedules. Starting out this year, 2016, we have some new regulations for the members of OTAS:
1) posting is being reduced to one per week by one member of The Foursome. This is my week, since I always seem to go first, Next week, Mercy can post on any day- no more assigned days, since everyone can't always find time to post before their deadline. We don't want to force anyone to pull lukewarm blog posts out of their butts at 11:59PM on their assigned day, as we have all unfortunately been in the habit of doing for these past few months.
    The concept of posting every week was way more doable in 2013, when we were all in high school, unemployed, and relatively antisocial. Fast forward almost three years, and the story is entirely different. I'm almost halfway done with nursing school. Grace is working and taking college classes. Mercy is juggling performing arts, work, and the increasingly intense workload which comes along with junior year. Rose is handling her last two years of high school while leading middle school youth group students and attempting to read every Kurt Vonnegut novel possessed by the universe. I think it's better that we cut down on posting, giving us more opportunities to set aside time to write creative, meaningful posts which are less rushed and more thought out. I personally feel as though my writing style has changed since the conception of OTAS, like I'm simply blogging to give you a brief update on my crazy life, or as if I'm writing to the vast expanse of the Interweb instead of my three best friends. I have made it my New Year's Resolution to gain back that old sparkle I used to write with, to try to inspire and challenge and change things for the sake of my people, regardless of who might see this post.
2) if you miss a post, you're a cottonheaded ninnymuggins. How hard is it to post once every four weeks? Unless one of us is a werewolf (and didn't tell the other three so we could all become Animagi, how rude) it seems near impossible not to blog once a month. Only under the most dire of circumstances will no punishment be inflicted.
    What punishment, you may ask? I have not thought that far in advance. I'm trying to live one day at a time here, friends. Please bear with me.
3)

    This is a rule for two reasons: one, because this GIF is perfect and I/we just really wanted to use it. And two, because Sundays are for church and resting. We need some structure, and it doesn't hurt to have one day a week without the stress of blogging hanging over our heads, a day to spend napping and watching football and drinking coffee in sweatpants.

Indeed, Richard Griffiths, indeed.

    In conclusion:
    This is my post for this week. Mercy, you're posting between Monday and Saturday of next week, and then Rose, and then Grace.
    On Sundays:

   And until Mercy posts next week:

    I'm sorry, but I found all of these high quality Uncle Vernon GIFs/memes and I went a little overboard because they are all fantastic.
   Bye for now!
--Laura :)

Hello from the other side...of the round story.

Hello. It's me.

Same, Miss Piggy, same.

    Quoting Adele is my favorite thing to do. It's the only way I answer the phone anymore. Joe has threatened to hang up on me countless times...
    ...a thousand tiiiiimes...
    Anywhoozles.
    I think I can echo everyone else and say that I am so glad NaShoStoWriMo is over and done with. I really missed writing normal blog posts. It seems like it has been forever and a day since I got to write a regular one, or read an update from one of you girlies.
    I loved reading Grace and Mercy's posts from last week *coughcough NOT ROSE coughcough*. I love how you each have your own individual writing styles. I also feel like we as a group of humans are very diverse- we have an actress/artsy fairy princess (Mercy), a perfect angel (Grace), a crotchety old man (Rose), and an industrious nursing student (yours truly). I enjoy our differences in lifestyles, activities, talents, and taste in male celebrities. It makes for lively discussions on OTAS as well as when we all get together (which needs to happen again soon, by the way).

For Grace, because I love how weird and 100% real we can be with each other

Mercy. I have always loved your green eyes. Like, whoah.

A second one for Mercy, because I know you're sad<33

Rose. This is definitely you.

    Moving right along, I feel as though I should update all of you people on my ever-so-exciting life, since you haven't heard much about it for the past month. So here goes:
    I have one week left of my first semester of sophomore year and then finals. And my grades are in pretty good shape. Praise the Lord.
    I am officially certified in giving vaccines, taking vital signs, and administering medications.
    Friday is mine and Joe's two month anniversary. And I feel like I've actually been dating him for twelve years. This is weird, man (he's also a weird man).
    Over spring break I'm going on a Habitat for Humanity trip to Roanoke Valley, Virginia. This will be my first Habitat trip and the farthest from home I will have ever been. And I can't wait to help build a home for someone who deserves it :)
    I'm going back to SHU five days early to serve as a student leader for CURTIS Week in January, where we will spend our days serving the Bridgeport community and immersing ourselves in its religious and cultural diversity. I participated in this program last year and am so passionate about it and am absolutely ecstatic to have been chosen to lead alongside some of my best friends.
    I have done absolutely no shopping for Christmas, nor have I started studying for final exams.
    *Crosses self* Jaquan, help me now.
    Finally, I am obsessed with this song, and you all should be as well:

    That's all, folks. Mercy, I'll hear from you tomorrow!
--Laura :)

I hate endings. And Grace Ege.

    Becky cleared her throat and looked down at the page. 
    

    "Um, Dad," she said, "this is a telephone book. And the incantation is an ad for Chuckles' Pancake House."
    "Chuck-les maaagic pancake house," Danny and Jesse sang together, "coooome on in and stuff your faaaaace!"
    "God, that's my favorite restaurant!" Danny exclaimed. "It brings a happy smile to my tummy."
    "Are you eleven? Or hooked on methadone?" Jesse asked, arching an eyebrow at his eccentric best friend.
    "SSSSSHHHHHH!" Becky and Sir Ernest hissed sharply. All of the sudden, the atmosphere of the kitchen changed. The temperature dropped several degrees and the lights began flickering ominously. 
    "What in the sam heck is going on?" Jesse cried, as a harsh, howling wind swept up from underneath them and around the countertops.
    "You boys must have set the incantation into action by singing that jingle!" Sir Ernest shouted.
    The lights flickered more violently, then abruptly went out.The wind continued to howl as a bright beam of light shone down from the heavens, directly onto Taylor's form. Slowly, she was lifted from her bonds at the breakfast nook, her gown trailing underneath her as she ascended. All at once, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke which decimated throughout the kitchen with a high-pitched ringing sound. The noise caused the three teenagers and Sir Ernest to flinch and squeeze their eyes shut.
    When they opened their eyes again, the lights had come back on in the kitchen and a merry fire was crackling in the grate. Stacks of pancakes in Chuckles' Pancake House's famous 45 flavors were stacked on silver platters on the counters, with pitchers of hot maple syrup, whipped cream and strawberries at the end of the magnificent buffet.
    "Am I alive? Or is this heaven?" Danny asked, blinking hard in an attempt to make sense of his surroundings.
    "Impossible," Sir Ernest muttered, stroking his chin. "The incantation worked, but neither of you are wizards...how can this be?"
    "Hmm...Dad," Becky said timidly, "I might know the answer."
    "Fire away, Beckindwarf."
    "Maybe...maybe because Danny and Jesse obeyed the orders from a magical authority -that man on the island of unfinished stories- they were granted the power to vanquish Taylor. Maybe this is all a part of them fulfilling their destiny."
    Ernest wrinkled his brow. "Becky, I do believe you're right...I only wish it had been you who had been able to beat the ghost."
    "Dad," Becky replied, "I think one of us needs to accept that that's never going to happen."
    Ernest gave Becky another painfully awkward hug. "My darling, I will try." Letting go of his daughter, he clapped his hands. "Right then- who wants pancakes?"
    The boys quickly jumped into action, grabbing plates and taking one of every flavor of pancake and drowning them in toppings. Becky and her father followed suit. "You know," Sir Ernest whispered to his daughter, watching Jesse out of the corner of his eye as the boy thoroughly buttered his pancakes. "If this boy really has magic powers, he might be a good candidate for my future son-in-law."
    "Daaaaaad!" Becky moaned.
    "I'm joking! Joking, I tell you!" Ernest replied, playfully tousling Becky's hair. She smiled. "Glad to know you approve." She said. Jesse caught her eye from across the kitchen, and the look in his eyes was that of fairy tales with all the colors of a bright and beautiful future.
    Danny belched. The sun began to rise outside beyond the trees of the enchanted forest, and the little makeshift family feasted on their heavenly pancakes and shared laughter. And in those wee hours of the autumnal dawn, everything seemed okay.

*THE END*

This was the best I could do with two minutes to spare before midnight. I was not expecting to have to finish this post. Mercy, It's back to normal for you tomorrow!

--Laura :)

In which Laura has no idea how to follow up after Gracie's masterpiece but she tries her very best because she's now on Thanksgiving break and actually has time to think about things that aren't related to nursing or choir.

"So now what?" Danny asked. "If we have this great wisdom, how do we put it to use."
"We could try to fly away now." Jesse looked questioningly at Rutherford.
"Your guess is as good as mine." He said, lowering a shoulder for the three friends to climb aboard...

...Danny was the first of the three friends to ascend the quivering dragon, followed closely by Jesse, who offered a hand down to Becky to help her up. Slowly, with wings that had not been properly exercised in ages, Rutherford lifted himself off of the sandy beach and high into the Robin's egg blue sky, gaining speed and strength the further up into the atmosphere he climbed. Eventually, when his wings caught a jetstream with just the right amount of buoyancy, Rutherford was able to fly west at a steady pace, racing greedily over the glittering ocean below.
    "I can't believe this!" Danny cried, spreading his arms out freely. "This is just like magic!"

Accidentally plagiarizing Gilderoy Lockhart. Oops.

    Rutherford flew on into a magnificent purple sunset, dodging clouds and other dragons in the dusky sky. Occasionally he would greet the beasts they flew past. "Hey, Quincy! Lookin sharp!" he shouted to a shimmery green dragon with a very long neck, who flashed him a sharp-toothed grin.           "Hi Teddy and Franklin!" He yelled at a black one with two heads.
    "Hi Rutherford!" Teddy and Franklin replied in unison.
     Eventually, Becky grew tired and absentmindedly laid her head on Jesse's shoulder, slipping her arms around his waist.
     When night finally settled in, Danny leaned forward and, with his head practically inside Rutherford's external auditory canal, (because once an anatomy student, always an anatomy student #nursing) shouted, "Hey! So exactly where are we going?"
     Rutherford looked up at Danny out of the corner of one of his luminous green eyes. "Home." He replied steadily. The dragon directed his gaze at the dark ground and began to make his descent.
     They landed softly in an empty field surrounded by trees. One by one, the teenagers slid off of Rutherford's back and onto the dewy grass. Besides the numerous stars and sliver of a pale moon in the midnight blue sky, the clearing was pitch black.
     "Hang on a second," Becky said, her voice rough and squeaky from disuse and turbulent air travel. "I know exactly where we are."
     "Where?" The boys asked at the same time.
     "This is the field on the other side of the cemetery behind the woods in my backyard. We're back in Salem!"
     "Great!" Jesse said. "But what are we here for? How does revisiting the field I used to get my butt kicked on in peewee soccer help resolve any of our stories?"
     "I think we all know why." Danny said solemnly.
     "Do we?" Jesse asked.
     "I don't think this has anything to do with the soccer field, Jesse." Becky said in a small voice.
     No one spoke for a few moments, letting the sound of the wind rustling in the tree branches fill the silence. Finally, Jesse began walking at a steady pace towards the cemetery. Without words the others followed, Rutherford bringing up the rear while Becky and Danny walked quickly behind Jesse's determined stride. Becky trotted up to Jesse and silently slipped her hand into his.
     Jesse was able to find his mother's grave without help in the darkness of the chilly autumn night. Letting go of Becky's hand, he knelt in front of the headstone, his breath coming out in visible, short puffs. No one spoke; Danny scarcely allowed himself to breathe for fear of disrupting whatever thoughts might be running through his best friend's head. Becky saw the anguish on Jesse's face and allowed a single tear to roll down her cheek. Rutherford stood very still and observed his new human friends with a strange sense of camaraderie and affection which the lonely dragon had not felt in years.
     After what seemed like several hours, Jesse finally stirred, throwing himself down in a bowing position and crying brokenly, "Forgive me." He remained like this for several minutes, shaking and crying and letting himself truly love and let go like he had never done before.
     Finally, Jesse stood up and wiped his eyes. Turning around, he found Becky and Danny standing side by side a few feet away from him. Becky's face was wet with tears and Danny had a look on his face that was either some uncommon form of affection or attributed to constipation. Jesse determined that it was the former when Danny bear-hugged him and whispered, "I am so proud of you, man."
     Becky slipped her arms through theirs and the three best friends stood in a group hug, sniffling and shivering in the still night air.
     After some time had passed, Rutherford grunted and said "Look, not to break up this little love-fest, but half of us have stories that need to be finished and the other half are tired and would very much like a donut and some black coffee from Dunks. So can we go?"
     Becky, Danny and Jesse broke apart from their group hug. "Becky, now it's your turn." Danny said.
     "My turn?" Becky cried.
     "Sorry kid. Proximity rules." Danny gestured in the direction of her house.
     "Becky sighed. "Fine then." She trudged off into the woods.

I liked this GIF because it reminded me of the call lights in the nursing home where I have clinical.

     Well, I tried. Mercy, we'll hear from you tomorrow!
     P.S, in the spirit of it being Thanksgiving-eve-eve I just wanted you girls to know how incredibly blessed I am to have such supportive friends who I can always be really weird with. You are all beautiful, inside and out, and you rock my socks. Your friendship reminds me of God's love with every private joke, fangirl session, and encouraging conversation we have. I love y'all to the moon and back and I'll stop being lame now.

--Laura :)

    

At least one of us posts on time. I'm passive-aggressive and annoying.

Sir Ernest Michael McGunnigal XVII gave a smile, an evil glint in his eye....
     "My age is of no consequence to anyone," he replied, an evil glint twinkling in his eye.
     "He's 439." Taylor stated.
      Sir Ernest Michael McGunnigal XVII glared at the ghost. "Things would have never worked out between us," He shot back bitterly. "You're mean."
      Taylor scoffed. "For a 439-year-old man, you're pretty childish."
      "You're an ugly ghost. Awfully pale."
     "At least I wasn't an ugly person while I was alive. Unlike you- you possess a complexion similar to that of an ogre."
     "I wish you would die...again!"
     The adults continued to bicker, their voices rising shrilly, paying no attention to the teenagers who stood wide-eyed before them.

I saw an opportunity and I took it.

     Becky, Jesse and Danny sat in silence for a few moments. Finally, Danny whispered, "You know, we could leave now and I guarantee they wouldn't even notice."
     "That's a great idea," Jesse replied, "But how do we get out of here? He must have enchantments all around the boundaries of this room."
    Becky furrowed her brow. "Hang on for a sec." She began intently pacing the room, staring at the flagstone tile floors with a fierce sort of determination. Finally, after a few minutes during which the arguing between Ernest and Taylor intensified, Becky exclaimed "I've found it!"
     "Found what?" The boys asked in unison.
     "The secret passage to the dungeon." Becky replied.
     "Don't you mean the basement?" Danny asked.
     "No; I mean the dungeon." Becky hissed, afraid of attracting the attention of one or both of the adults.
     Jesse and Danny moved stealthily across the floor towards the tile Becky had discovered. With a little leverage, they were able to move the trap door and uncover a dark opening descending far below the ground. One by one they slid into the hole and down a rickety metal ladder.
     Becky was the first to reach the bottom. The ground beneath her feet was damp and stony, and in the distance she could hear water dripping. Danny and Jesse jumped from the bottom rung of the ladder and landed on either side of her.
     "Now what?" Jesse inquired.

Sorry this sucked. But I know you girls can salvage this hot mess of a story.
--Laura :)

These Characters all Have Names from Full House? Was This Planned??

People of Earth.
    'Sup.
    Today is Tuesday, November 10th, and I am sleepy. This weather makes me want to go home, crawl under my covers and hibernate until Spring takes away these cold and dreary rainy days when nature looks especially Novemberish- gray, bare, ready for snow.
    But here I am, ready to compose the 5th installment in The Foursome's 3rd annual Round Story.
    Here goes nothing:

    "But then, surely you can help us." Jesse insisted...
    "I can help you," Taylor replied, "Under one condition."
    Jesse, Danny and Becky nodded their heads. Their eyes wide with anticipation, they waited for the ghost to reply with baited breath.
    "Upon completion of your task, you must grant me entrance back into the realm of the living."
    "Huh?" Said Danny.
    "That's impossible." Said Jesse.
    "How would we even attempt to do that?" Wondered Becky.
    Taylor laughed, a hollow, wispy noise that cut the three best friends to the bone with its eerie echoes of a life cut tragically short. "You think it's impossible to bring someone back to life?" She asked, her eyebrows raised as if she almost found their narrow-mindedness comical. "And yet you're entirely on board with a ghost, whose existence you were unaware of until tonight, helping solve the mystery of someone else's death?"
    "Becky told us ghosts existed." Danny blurted out. "Her dad's a wizard."
     Taylor's misty eyes became wide as dinner plates. "So do you know magic?" She asked Becky incredulously.
    Becky colored and looked at her slippers. "No." 
    Taylor softened her gaze. "Oh."
    Jesse spoke up: "There's a chance she could still have magic powers! Her father calls her a--"
    "Late bloomer," Becky finished, her voice in a deadpan. "But I know he's wrong. I'm sixteen. I'm the latest bloomer there is."
     Taylor was quiet for a moment, her brow furrowed in thought. "Well, since you are familiar with magic and its implications, you are aware that lingering souls can be brought back to life if they do a good deed for a living person?"
    The friends nodded in unison.
    "I'll cut you a deal," Taylor said. "I help you investigate the nature of your mother's death, you grant me life again. Sounds good?"
    Becky, Jesse and Danny were about to reply, when a thundering crash echoed through the trees in the forest surrounding the ceremony. Alarmed, the trio and their new ghostie friend whirled around, only to see--

    Sorry I'm lame guys. Mercy, we'll hear from you tomorrow!
--Laura :)

ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!!!!!

    GUESS WHO GOT TOO MUCH SLEEP LAST NIGHT AND HAD TWO CUPS OF COFFEE TODAY?????

that would be meeeeee (except I am not Blake Shelton. I'm about two feet to short and too far up north. Sorry to disappoint).

    I'm one of those little persons who thinks they can do anything and everything. So I tend to bite off more than I can chew, overstudy for exams, and drink too much coffee than is good for my small stature and fast metabolism. Yet I'm still surprised when I sit down for the first time at the end of the day and almost fall asleep, or get an insane caffeine rush after a single latte. I am the overachieving nursing student that your parents warned you about.

Ready to become a chihuahua with a license to stick needles in you. 

    As I am sure you are all aware, today is the start of NaShoStoWriMo, the 3rd annual round story writing event which takes place every November here on OTAS. This year, we wanted to go for a more haunting, ghost story sort of tale. So here goes nothing:

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT.

(I apologize, I'm horribly lame and incapable of starting off any ghost story without that phrase).

    The wind outside Becky's window howled like a football player with a stubbed toe. Becky sat huddled at the head of her bed, curled up in a quivering heap of fear. Today had not been a good day-the local trolls under the Toll Bridge had thrown bat droppings at her on her way home from school, and she had failed a calculus test on top of that. It was bad enough that Salem University only accepted students with the top math scores for their major in Accounting with a Concentration in Disappearing Leprechaun Gold. Becky had also informed her father that she was failing math, and had been read the riot act about how "McGunnigals don't fail math, we are born and bred to succeed at counting" and had been shouted over when she tried to explain that she just didn't feel like accounting was right for her- that she didn't even want to go to a magic school, that more than anything she wanted to attend UMass Lowell and study education to become a normal preschool teacher. But her father, Sir Ernest Michael McGunnigal XVII, would have nothing of it. "There are people who would kill to have The Sight you were born with," he barked. "You cannot be so willing to throw away your opportunities and become...normal." He had then shuddered, and sent her upstairs to review her calculus notes for the duration of the evening.

    But Becky was certainly not studying. As she sat atop her pillow, her head leaning against the bedpost in utter exhaustion, she thought again about how easy it would be to just leave- to climb down the rose trellis outside her bedroom window, sneak out through the garden gate, cross the stream and disappear into the woods until she reached the highway, with nothing but the clothes on her back and whatever she could stuff into her backpack.

    Becky was thrown out of her reverie rather suddenly, when a tapping on her window startled her back to reality. "It's just the old oak tree outside," she thought, but the tapping increased to the point where she thought that whatever it was would surely break the glass. Agitated, she jumped off her bed and hastened over to her window.

    Becky drew the drapes, pulled the shade up, and unlocked the window. Much to her surprise, what seemed to be hitting the window was a continuous stream of vibrant yellow BB gun pellets. When she looked down, she saw none other than--

    I am so sorry folks. This is all I have. Excuse me while I cram for pharmacology for the rest of forever. Mercy, please salvage this hot mess of a round story tomorrow.

--Laura :)

Happy Things.

Good evening, people of earth.
    I had a bad day, and I almost forgot to post. However, instead of crying about cancelled plans, biased professors, and crazy ex-boyfriends, I'm going to make a list of things that make me happy. Because it has taken me nineteen years to understand that I deserve to be happy, and I'm not going to let one bad day wreck me. This God-given life of mine is brimming with worth and potential, and I'm doing my best to keep my head above water and remember how passionately loved I am by the One who created me.
    So, today sucked. But there's always tomorrow. On Wednesdays I have lab at 8am and get to see my best friend and learn all about the profession of nursing. Later on I have choir practice, where I get to conquer the challenge of singing a capella and absorb that spine-tingling rush I get whenever we bring a piece together and it sounds angelic. I get to wear my scrubs all day, and Campus Ministry gives away free bagels from Panera. The performing arts Halloween social is tomorrow night, and as long as my firefighting friend Liam is my escort I know I'll be able to handle anything.
    Here are some other things about life which do not at all suck:
-Autumn. I looked at the trees outside the library at dusk and they took my breath away, their almost bare branches standing out against the sunset sky. I see the beauty of God in nature, and I'm so thankful for this season, which continually reminds me of His love and goodness in all its colors and natural wonder.
-Coffee. Nothing else motivates me to get up in the early hours of dawn like a hot cup of Mom's home-brewed coffee. Tomorrow Libby is buying me Dunkin- another reason why I'm anticipating the end of today.
-The chapel at school. Getting to go there and reflect between classes really calms me down. I find solace at the altar, where I have no problem achieving clarity of mind and thanking Jesus for all He continues to do for me.
-Singing. Singing is my antidepressant. That is all.
-My male suitor. He is too good for me, and I appreciate his compassionate and gentle demeanor, which constantly reminds me of the love of God. I'm a lucky lady:)
-Taylor Swift. Her music inspires me to be proud of who I am, love openly, and drink the blood of all the men who have done me wrong. She is my spirit animal.
-Running. I feel majestic when I exercise, even though I probably look like a diabetic sloth stampeding through molasses. I regret nothing.
    That's all I have for happy things today. I feel a lot better now, ready to go to sleep, arise at dawn and greet the day with as much gall as I can muster.
    Mercy, good luck with rehearsals. I'll hear from you tomorrow.
--Laura :)

Coffee&Jesus.

Happy Tuesday, people of earth!

It's my favorite time of year and even though I have been doing nothing but climbing over mountains of homework lately, I have been in such a good mood. Thank you hormones for being stable for once. :)

THE BEST

Rosie and I need to watch Hocus Pocus soon. I also took the Halloweentown movies out from the library on a nostalgic whim yesterday, and I think Lauren and I are going trick-or-treating on Halloween. I am 12 and I regret nothing.

I'm taking my driver's license test tomorrow morning and I just want to get it over with. Part of me is afraid I'll fail, part of me is hoping that the instructor will take pity on me in my bright red student nurse scrubs and pass me, even if I can't parallel park.

POSTING FALL GIFS TO AVOID MY PROBLEMS WOO

I got to school two hours before class this morning and got my period 15 minutes later. Go me.

#tooblessedtobestressed

I'm going to reply to all of your posts now.

Mercy: Andy Dwyer is love. Andy Dwyer is life. Keep calm and carry on chica.

Same

Rose: Titus Andromidon is love. Titus Andromidon is life. I can't wait until the stars (and our schedules) align so we can introduce Kiefer to Hokie Pokie.

fabulous.

Grace: Taylor Swift is love. Taylor Swift is life. Maybe, if I pass my test tomorrow, I'll drive up and visit you at work. Because I miss your perfect face like hell.

my spirit animal.

Every day, I'm on the go. I have classes and driving lessons and hours spent in the library and choir practice and lunch dates with friends and phone conversations with my male suitor before we go to sleep. But I start off every morning with a hot cup of coffee and my Bible. And I get to pause and prayerfully consider my actions for the day before me. And it's lovely. And I'm so thankful that I live in a country where I'm free to love Jesus and radically surrender my soul to Him.

That's all for today, folks. Mercy, we'll hear from you tomorrow.

--Laura :)

In Which Every Member Of The Foursome Is In A Relationship? Also, Laura Loves Alliteration

Good afternoon, ladies.

This is me currently- happy because life is great, sad because I have midterms to study for.

    I definitely copied Rose by using an Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt GIF, but I certainly don't regret it. I miss that show and will have to binge watch it as soon as I have free time again, which according my schedule should be in about two years and seven months.

Ayyyy someone kill me now please!

    It's impossible to describe how totally excited I am to be pursuing the career of my dreams while being in a constant state of dread over every test, clinical, and skills check off on my agenda. Only by the grace of God am I able to keep my head above water while juggling nursing school and a marginal social life.
    I love wearing my scrubs around campus and getting stopped by freshmen nursing majors, who nervously barrage me with questions about what professor to take for biochem and how much poop you see in an actual hospital (the answers to both of those questions: Fleming and a lot). I love being challenged personally and professionally by the nursing faculty and slowly but surely gaining confidence in my chosen career path. I love knowing that even though I am crazy busy and always studying, three years from now I will have my bachelors degree and be working in the field of my dreams, helping to heal other people physically, emotionally and spiritually.
    Anyhow, that's my spiel. I wanted to make note in this post that every member of The Foursome has a significant other? Grace has her male friend, I have mine (yeah, it's Facebook official) and Mercy and Rose are married to each other? Remember when we were all young single Pringles with crushes on Hunter Hayes and various Harry Potter actors? Look where life has taken us in such a short span of time. Wow. Just...Wow. -_-
    I thoroughly enjoyed all of your posts from last week. I would respond to them, but I am entirely too exhausted and need to get up for an 8AM lab tomorrow.
    Also, baby brother John is leaving for his flight to California in the middle of the night and I might not be okay with that.
    I need to sleep. Sorry for the sad excuse for a post that this dwindled down to. I love you all- Mercy, I can't wait to hear from you tomorrow.
--Laura :)

In which Laura and Grace are in the same boat.

Hey ladies.

I'm in a Pride & Prejudice mood today.

    It's autumn. The leaves are falling, and I'm back to wearing boots and scarves and sweaters again. Running in the mornings makes me chilly. The amount of pumpkin spice-flavored foods I have consumed since October 1st is ridiculous. And on Sunday, I am going apple picking with a boy that I met in a chapel over a year ago.
    I never ever saw this coming. I ended my last relationship thinking I would not date anyone until after I graduated from nursing school. I was an angry, emotional wreck with a low opinion of men and an even lower capacity for trusting them.
    And then along comes this lovely human, who agrees so much with my values, opinions, and (most importantly) my faith. This highly sarcastic, caffeine-dependent goofball who opens doors for me and loves holding my ever-freezing hands. This incredible man with such a positive attitude about life, who doesn't mind telling the world that he's totally into me and writing on my Facebook wall to make me laugh.
    This is really different, and a bit weird for me, and I think I like it a lot.
    Gracie, I am beyond happy for you and your recently acquired male suitor. I stalked all of his social media outlets and determined that he has a nice smile and seems to get along with his family, both of which are crucial to any sort of relationship that you two might eventually develop.
   Anyway, I'm done creeping I swear.
   I creep because I care.
   *Inserts heart kissy face emojis*
   I agree with what you had to say about cultivating a real relationship in our technology-dependent society. Romance and chivalry are still very much alive, and I think it is our job to use social media to augment these usually cute and harmless aspects of a relationship. There is a fine line between being genuinely happy and cute when posting all over everyone's feed and being gross in your efforts to prove the health and stability of your love life.
    My point is this: social media is highly overrated. Don't take it so seriously. If you find a cute animal video, and it reminds you of your significant other, then by all means post it on their wall. When you want to sincerely say "I love you," say it to their face. And don't be afraid of either extreme. Everything is beautiful in moderation.

One of my all-time favorite verses :)

    Again Gracie, congratulations. May God bless whatever path you go down alongside this boy who brings you so much joy.
    Mercy & Rose, you had better post this week lest I kick your scrawny, underachieving arses.
    Live long and prosper! (As my dear friend Eugene would say).
    --Laura :)

Hello joy.

    Happy Tuesday, fair lords and ladies!

I am in this mood today.

    I went to a Renaissance Fair on Sunday and had some major flashbacks to when I was younger and obsessed with faraway, magical lands.
    I used to dream about being a gentle yet fierce warrior-princess with an endless trove of bravery, intelligence and compassion stored up in her heart. I dreamed of riding into battle to fight dragons and hosting grand balls in a castle lit merrily by candlelight. I dreamed of a chivalrous prince in a suit of silver armor, swooping in and carrying me off into the sunset on some gloriously romantic adventure.
    I had a wonderful childhood, marred only by events which were out of my control and, as I have come to terms with ten years later, not my fault. I am in love with those happy years of imagination and laughter, yet haunted by that darkness which seeped in and robbed me of my innocence too soon.
    I let that darkness manifest itself inside of me, thinking I deserved all the guilt and anxiety and suppressed anger. I stopped trying to be a princess and did my best to simply blend in and survive, forcing myself to be ordinary. The dragons I battled waged war in my head- most days, I let them win. I pushed friends and family away, convinced I was hard to love and too much of a burden. I did not let myself dream of a Prince Charming, so convinced was I that the only boys who spent time with me wanted to use me.
    I lived in that hell, a bleak, cold, ugly ghost of all the potential God had so graciously bestowed upon me. It was during my first semester of college, the first real length of time I spent away from home, when I realized how completely not okay my life was. It took some serious self-evaluation, the gentle interventions of close friends, and a lot of the princess-like bravery which I thought I lacked for me to reach out and get help.
    It took a long time for me to remember how to dream again. I don't recall the exact day when I started actually laughing- deep, breathless laughter, complete with my signature shrieking. It took me a while, but all of the sudden I could smile in photos again. I looked in the mirror one day and thought "whoah, I'm a pretty lady."
    I stopped hiding my body underneath layers of clothing. I stopped regretting eating an entire sleeve of Oreos in one sitting. I stopped having emotional breakdowns before every test in school. I stopped looking for the exits in a room when I was alone with a boy.
    I stopped being bound by fear and started being set free by grace.
    These days, I am back to trying to be that warrior-princess, attempting to be that example of beauty and courage in the face of adversity, to be as fierce and assertive as I am kind and caring. It is my intention to fight for justice in this world, slaying the monsters of slavery, poverty and greed for the sake of those who cannot advocate for themselves. I have learned that princes are sometimes frogs, but once in a while you find one who treats you like a lady and opens a door- literally and figuratively. And those are the ones worth following into some delusional sunset like a dopey-eyed fool.
    I don't have happiness. Happiness is transient. I have chosen joy. And I pray that, if you are reading this, you will choose joy too. It is never easy. But it is always worth it. :)
   

yes and yes and a thousand times yes.

--Laura :)

Everything'll be alright :)

Good morning girls, it's Tuesday.

Me in regards to posting today.

I relate to John Green on a spiritual level. Props to him and Hank for inspiring us to create OTAS.

    I hope you all had a fun and relaxing weekend. It finally feels like fall, and I'm back to wearing long pants and sweaters and moccasins and enjoying the shivering chill at dawn when I go for a run. My mom bought pumpkin spice coffee creamer (dairy-free, so I can have it) and I put some in my late night cup yesterday and it was like I brought Starbucks home. My basic white girl thoroughly enjoyed the PSL-quality, as it kept me awake for my favorite, all-consuming hobby of studying.

What? Am I overwhelmed? Of COURSE not! *Dances to escape feelings*

    I've been having a better week than the last one. Music like this song has been keeping me going:

    I suppose I should reply to your posts now:
    Mercy: I am so proud of you for sticking to your guns (as a One Direction fan and as a talented thespian). Hope you are starting to recover from your PCD (Post-Concert Depression).
    Rose: I live with you. Do I even have to respond to your post?

I don't even know if this GIF is going to move, but you get the picture.

    Grace: I miss your squishy face and your text from yesterday made me all nostalgic. A Backus-Ege family escapade is necessary ASAP. I miss the melodious sound of your reasonable voice. I assume from your recent posts on the social medias that you are surviving and enjoying your much-needed gap year.
    I'm sorry that this post was so short. But I'm really short, so it works. Mercy, I'll hear from you tomorrow.
--Laura :)

This post was supposed to be about autumn...

'Sup, ladies.

LOOK AT THIS FRAKKING BEAR. LOOK HOW EAGER HE IS TO SAY HELLO. SEE HOW CHEERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL HE IS. I FRAKKING LOVE BEARS.

    I'm a little overtired right now.
    But not too tired to not reply to all of your posts from last week. Which I might have only just read ten minutes ago.

*cries silently*

    Mercy: I love you and your taste in music. That Ed Sheeran song was one I have previously never heard and am now officially addicted to.
    Also, best of luck with Much Ado auditions today!

(in which you are Benedick and Grace, Rose and I are Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato

    Rose: please write a science textbook directed towards people who are not science-oriented. You would never have to leave the house again because you would make so much money.

I'M SCREAMING

Sorry, kids. This post just got very punny and borderline PG-13.

    Grace: I completely get your individual love for the four seasons, especially the cool brilliance of October. I was actually going to write this entire post about fall, but then I got distracted by Ed Sheeran...HAVE YOU SEEN THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR PHOTOGRAPH? BECAUSE IT MADE ME CRY.

   A lot of things have been making me cry lately, actually. Here's a list:

1. Every Ed Sheeran song ever.

2. Talking about sharing hope and empathy with our patients in my Foundations of Nursing lecture.

3. Shamefully realizing that I am Cady Heron and my life is exactly like the plot of Mean Girls.

4. Apologizing for my horrible misdeeds and hoping for forgiveness from the people that I hurt.

5. Anxiety which eats up my appetite when people are slow to forgive.

6. The love and open arms of my very best friends and the grace I have been shown when I least deserve it.

7. The sweet love of Christ Jesus, which still wraps me up like an accepting blanket even when I have done so much wrong and wandered so far off the narrow road. 

    Ugh. When did I turn into Mercy?

    Anyway, prayers and positive vibes would be appreciated. I'm a little lost at sea in this moment.

    Mercy, I'll hear from you tomorrow.

--Laura :)