Life I guess

Friday night and the lights are low, looking out for a place to best watch Netflix.
The anthem of my month pretty much. February has been tough. Surprisingly tough. I spent too many evenings not being able to make myself move from bed, and I cried too many times and I spent too many thoughts negatively towards myself or towards the people I care about the very most. I couldn't, and didn't want to, do anything of significance. It was rough. But I talked it out with two of my best friends. I lay it all out on the table and maybe started yelling for no reason and they sympathized in their own ways and related to my own selfish issues and then they helped me start to get myself out of the nasty hole I dug myself. The simple act of a 'I hope your Monday is amazing' texts are what mean the most.
And although I try to blame all those tears and utter hate for the world on our terrible friend Mama Period, this week when she actually did drop by, has been by far the best week of the month.

I've been working out. Endorphins.

In other news. I'm obsessed with New Girl. Nick is my soul animal and Jess is my soul mate and the amount Hannah and I have been texting about it is embarrassing.
I spent $20 on books after reading Rose's post about We Were Liars.
This song makes me cry.
I babysat last weekend for 3 days and 2 nights and I don't ever want kids.
I've been really good about the food I've been putting in my body and I've been drinking green tea.
I've been reading The Bible more often and trying to remember to pray and things are looking up.
I applied to MCC for their Psych program for next fall.
Spring is coming and I can feel it.
I think the thing I've been learning recently is that life is hard and stupid and complicated. And it sucks. But it's also just life. And learning ways to deal in a healthy manner is the best thing you can do for yourself. Find things that are not only going to make you happy, but are going to give you inspiration and motivation and excitement. Find things to do that will have a lasting impact on your mood. And find the people who can help you feel excited about life.
I know these aren't new ideas but as I was rereading through your girls posts from the month, I saw a similar thread running through them all and I realized that maybe none of us having been doing our best lately. So lovelies, I hope that in March you all have the greatest of months and that maybe things start looking up. I know this is short, but I'm a procrastinator, what can I say? New Girl is calling to me.
I love you all immensely
Laura, we'll hear from you next week
<3 G

Okay so maybe I technically posted this on Sunday but at least I tried this time.

It's that time of the month, I guess.

Also it's Saturday. At 10:43 PM. I suck as a human bean. Also, I'm not proof reading this so you're just going to have to suck it, okay?

Same.

First, let me reply to your posts.
Grace, I entirely relate to your winter blues. There's something about the icky weather and icky effect it has on people that just makes February unbearable.

Laura, like so, being an  adult probably does suck. But like, I also kind of don't think adults really exist because like high school never really ends and all adults are children. But that's just me, like personally.

Donald Trump has convince me that adults don't actually exist.

Mercy, I entirely stand where you're coming from. I really just can't stand myself most of the time. Because, like honestly, have you ever heard the shit that comes out of my mouth? I mean really I should really just get my mouth removed because that would be probably be better for humanity. ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE FREAKING HAMILTON GRAMMY PERFORMANCE? IT KILLED ME.

AND WHEN THEY WON A GRAMMY JUST LIKE LIN'S SPEECH AND JUST I'M DONE

So, how's my month been, you may ask? It's been good, I might answer. Actually I wouldn't say that my moth has been good. Not to say it has been bad, of course. It hasn't really been a anything at all. Since last I wrote you, not much has happened.
Mercy turned 17 this past Wednesday, which is pretty cool. I hope my dearest, that you had the loveliest of all birthdays! And that your 17th year will be the year in which you grow in your understand of the world and yourself, and I also hope that it is the year that Larry comes out, because I know that would bring you countless joys.

Mercy, as you all know, stayed last weekend, which was so nice. The thing I love about The Foursome is that the is literally no expectations in our friendship. When we hangout, no one is required to wear real pants and the majority of what we do is take naps and just sit in each others presence. Because just being together is enough. And when we do talk, we hold nothing back. We don't have to lie to one another about anything. Our relationship is like coming home again after you've been away a while, and getting to sleep in your own bed. It is safe. It is comfortable. And I don't think I'll ever be thankful enough for it.

This is for all of you <3

Enough of this cheesy nonsense.

I've read some pretty great books in the last month. Well, I've read a couple great books because I have school (read: I require a sloth-like amount of sleep everyday) and literally no attention span whatsoever. So I only read a couple of books this month, but they were all pretty good.
Firstly, Room by, Emma Donnoghue, (which was just made into a movie that is nominated for best picture at the Oscars).
It's the story of a college student who gets abducted when she is 19. The story is told from the point of view of her son Jack, who is the product of the abductors rape. Jack, who is 5, has only ever been in a single room. In his mind, Room is the whole world.
I was expecting it to be like, really depressing and hard to read, because kidnapping and rape are kind of, you know, heavy topics. However it wasn't.
It was just really good and you all need to read it/watch the movie because I know none of y'all have time to read books.

Secondly, I read We Were Liars by, E. Lockhart. I picked it up because John Green had a quote on the back of it and I needed to read some crappy young adult fiction. I went into this book with zero expectations. But I came out of it internally screaming like a legiteral maniac.
I can't tell you anything about this book without spoiling it or making it sound really really shitty, but believe me when I say it was one of the best young adult fiction books I've read in a long time.
And the freaking ending. It has this great plot twist ending that will absolutely destroy you, but it's totally called for.
It was so good. Just so good. You have to read it.

Another good book I  read this month was Speak by, Laurie Halse Anderson but I don't really have time to talk about it because it's almost midnight. It was just really good young adult fiction that you should definitely read. It really made me think.


This month was pretty alright book-wise I guess. Except for when I woke up Friday morning (read: afternoon) to discover that Harper Lee died, which kind of destroyed me. I know it's unreasonable to think  that I would ever get to meet her or whatever, but just knowing that she was alive and could still possibly write another book made me really hopeful. After she published To Kill a Mockingbird she couldn't write anything again and became essentially a hermit. And like, I get that she wrote one of the greatest works of American literature ever, but it still made me sad that she never wrote anything else. I mean, at least she was alive to see Go Set a Watchman published, but I don't know. She was just one of my favorite authors and she's not alive any more. And that makes me really sad. I spent my Friday night watching To Kill a Mockingbird on Netflix and trying not to cry. So that kind of sucked.
Also Donald Trump won the South Carolina primary, which made me lose just that much more faith in humanity.
So that was February.It was...a month.
Write you again next month.
-Rose

what

good evening Grace, it's satuarday.

yes, saturday at 10:46pm. i am THAT lazy.

it's Galentines day!

Grace I have a bunch of Valentines for you bc you deserve them. these are so great, get ready 

i know Nicholas is your one and only true bae so i obviously had to pick out a few special ones ;)



okay i dont know what to blog about so I'm gonna talk about my subtle self-loathing bc why not :)

do you ever just get tired of yourself? like sometimes im just like why mercy why are you so annoying i mean how do you even have friends??? like actually? i guess it makes sense that like 99% of my friends are from the internet bc they dont know me irl so they dont know how actually annoying i am.

I just dont know anymore?? like im not sad anymore or lonely or upset i just dont feel anything? ever? like idk i show so many signs of depression (and anxiety) and i never really thought about it till recently and i feel like i should do something about it but my mom doesn't take me seriously when i try to talk about it so i just sort of leave it alone?? anyway that's neither here nor there.

i just watch friends and eat ice cream and forget about feelings.

okay its literally 12:30 and ive gotten nowhere i need to go right now immediately.

goodnight i love you guys so much

rosie ill hear from you next (this) week??

xoxo,
Mercy

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 :)

I still hate titles

Hey everyone,

I think I like this only posting once a month thing. It's kind of nice. Takes off the pressure and everything. I really miss the days when we wrote letters to each other every week and sent jam packed envelopes covered in scrawling, loopy written inside jokes all over, hopefully making the mail carriers wonder or laugh over us. And I miss when we had the time and energy to post every week on our very assigned days, and I especially miss when we could write fan-freaking-tastic round stories in November but since none of those things can happen right now (there is hope for the future), I'm happy with only posting once a month.
 So let's see. What have I been up to since last time I wrote, I hear you asking. Well, for starters, it's now 2016. In fact, January is almost over. Weird, but true. It's kind of awesome though because we've had only one real snow "storm" and we're almost into February which makes me believe in a winter as short as myself.

 But if your strife strikes at your sleep
Remember spring swaps snow for leaves
You'll be happy and wholesome again
When the city clears and sun ascends

Favorite song to listen to at this time of year. Obviously.

Which reminds me, I've been fighting January depression as best I can. All I do is work which is awesome because it keeps me busy and my mind preoccupied during the day, but it's when I get home and it's cold and I'm beyond tired and I lay down for a nap. Then I wake up and it's colder, and dark (most disorienting thing ever) and I have no motivation to move, and I lay in bed for hours, dreading going back to sleep because I know that I'll just have to wake up again to go back to work. It's a vicious cycle but I've been beating it (somewhat). 

One of my yearly New Years Resolutions is always "eat healthier" which I think everyone always says, but this year I didn't commit to that, and so, it's the only one I've been actually accomplishing. Life is weird like that. But I've been focusing on eating more nuts, seeds, vegetables, less red meat and I've been cutting out dairy altogether (almond milk ftw). So yeah, it's making me focus on something and giving me a sense of self worth, I guess. Sara and I are also considering going to the YMCA together, so Laura you should be proud that I might start working out.

Some of my other New Years resolutions were- 

read more. 

write more. 

draw more. 

play more piano and guitar. 

None of those things have happened yet, but that's okay. I knew they wouldn't but I desperately like making lists.  

Anyway. I feel like maybe I'm boring you. I'm boring myself. So goodnight from me and I can't wait to hear from y'all in February and you'll hear from me again in 4 weeks. 

<3 Grace

In which Rose roasts the presidential candidates, because she has nothing else better to do.

Okay so it's Tuesday.

I woke up early this morning at 7 and was craving poached eggs so bad that I couldn't get back to sleep so I got up and ate breakfast, and finished school super early and had some time on my hands so I decided to start my post. I'm not a person to do things on time or like, at all, but sometimes I get in really productive moods and I like just like can't stop doing things. It almost never happens and usually it's rare to see me in a vertical position at any given, so when these moods come around I try to make the most of them.
Long story short, I decided to start this post now.
Okay, so I'm supposed to be updating you guys on my life, right? I don't really do anything with my life...The Wife got me obsessed with Hamliton and I have done virtually nothing but listen t the soundtrack for the last week. It combines my 3 of my favorite things: history, politics, and underlying gay subplots. It's trifecta of awesomeness some would say. I of course wouldn't say that because I have class. Or I like to think that I do anyway.
I've done a lost of ranting about politics lately. I can hear people getting bored with me, but it just keeps coming out, like word vomit. I can't help myself. Every time I hear the name Trump I go on a verbal rampage about how The Don isn't actually a human being. He's a golden raisin with hair. He is a ignorant, racist, sexiest, idiot who does not need to be the president of the most diverse country in the whole entire world. I don't hate a lot of people actually that's a lie, I hate a lot of people. But I don't hate anyone quite as much as I hate Donald Trump.

The resemblance is striking 

Don't even get me started on Hillary. I mean, I would love, love, love a female president. But I don't think Hillary is the lady for the job. She changes her views every time a election rolls around and, even though she's just about the only candidate with foreign policy experience, I  think she would be a disaster on the worlds stage what with the whole Benghazi thing. Not to mention she has actually referred to the republicans as her enemies and I don't really think America needs a president who is unable to compromise their political agenda for the good of getting shit done.
Which brings me to Ted Cruz. Do you remember that time, maybe one or two years ago when the government shut down? Yeah, that was because of Ted Cruz. He would not compromise. He literally spent 21 hours on the senate floor filibustering because he didn't like Obamacare. I don't know about you, but these are not the qualities I look for in a president. Also, can we talk about the name people like Ted Cruz give evangelical cristians tians? No where in the bible does it give us the right to be arrogant and hateful. But people like Ted Cruz make it look like it does, and I don't like that.
Of course then there's Bernie Sanders. Now I will give Bernie that he has an awful lot of good ideas, (well kind of). However he is a self described socialist and, as history has proved time and again, socialism is a good idea that doesn't really work. Also, Bernie's foreign policy would, more likely than not, be an absolute disaster as he very, very liberal. And he looks like a Muppet.

But at least he's not a douche canoe like all the other candidates. He's a feminist and he supports Black Lives Matter so that's cool. Also he's promising free college tuition and since I'm looking at being in debt for the rest of my life, I'm willing to over look just anything he says or does because I really don't want to bear the weight of soul crushing debt until I can find myself a sugar daddy, ya know? I also don't want to have to find myself a sugar daddy.
Basically, I don't like any of the idiots who are ahead in the poles. Marco Rubio is okay? I didn't expect it to come to this, as I hated Marco Rubio just 2 months ago because he is very immature and a little too conservative for me, but honestly he's not as bad as Ted or The Don. He at least seems to have half a brain. He has basic republican points of view which, aren't so bad. He doesn't seem like such an idiot all the time, entirely.
There's always Jeb! but then again, there isn't Jeb! because this country doesn't really need another Bush this millennium.
There's Chris Christie, but honestly I don't really know any of his views because in every debate I've watched he's just complained about Obama.
Ben Carson blew his chances of becoming president because he's too quiet and logical, and let's be honest America does not want quiet and logical.
Is there anyone else really running for president?
I mean, there's Martin O'Malley. I just know the name and that he's the other democrat. But that's the extent of my knowledge.
There's also John Kasich, the governor of Ohio. Personally, I really like him and agree with the majority of his ideals, however no one knows who he is. He is, in my own personal opinion because of my own personal set of beliefs, the best choice. He's a more liberal republican, who could blur party lines and unite congress and the senate to actually get shit done, but again, no one knows who he is.
This is what I've been thinking about lately. I shit you not. I have spent so many hours in the last month thinking about politics. And talking about politics.

Anyway, that's enough for today.

     ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Okay so it's Saturday and I have nothing else to add to this post.
I know the purpose of these post is to update you guys on my life, but honestly I'm scotch tape: I'm so dang clear of anything I've got to do.
Rice, we'll hear from you next week?
Gurl please -Rose

and peggy

good evening gurls, it's Friday!! 

pretty much me (in my mind) all week

So the break was definitely worth it and I'm going to try and be better at posting this time around. I promise.

But today all I'm going to talk about it Hamilton and you're all going to just have to put up with that. 

SO THIS SHOW HAMILTON it's absolutely brilliant I'm in love with it and Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Ramos and the whole cast in general oh my god and literally I've been listening to the soundtrack nonstop (ask anyone in my family) and I'm working on memorizing every song bc I have no life and that's what i do. 

first off, there's a squad of 4 in it so you know what that means....

So basically in my opinion, Grace is Laurens (the first one on the right in the line of 3) because he's literally so precious and adorable and a sweet cinnamon roll who needs to be protected.

I'm Lafayette because he's my favorite (the last one, far left) 

Rosie is Hercules Mulligan (the black dude in the middle) because he's a boss a** b*tch

and Laura is Hamilton (far right) because... well idk, he's the last one left. Although I could also see myself as Hamilton cuz he's outspoken and stubborn and has no self control (AHEM MARIAH AHEM) 

Then there's also the Schuyler Sisters

In which Grace would be Eliza (blue) bc she's literally so precious and adorable and a sweet cinnamon roll who needs to be protected.

Laura would be Angelica (center, orange) bc she's witty and sarcastic and the eldest. 

and Rosie and I would be And Peggy bc everybody forgets about her and she never shows up to anything (well idk if she never shows up but she's barely in the show at all) 

also can we just talk about how Aham was like, bi??? like actually??? all his letters to Laurens were so romantic, and historians tried to hide the fact that A.HAM WAS BI AND HIM AND JOHN LAURENS HAD A SECRET RELATIONSHIP okay i'm sorry but I ship Lams with everything that is in me and I've never had a ship actually be cannon before so this is a whole new set of feelings for me. 

but anyway yes I'm pretty much obsessed with this show, it has consumed me and I want to see it so bad but tickets are like $300??? at the cheapest??? MMMMMMFLSKJJDSFJLKFGLKAL"KJ anyway 

i love/hate Aaron Burr. his voice is magical honey but i hate him for killing A.ham

remember when Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton had a rap battle?? me too. 

this picture is literally so perfect i cannot deal and LOOK AT LAURENS HE'S SO PRECIOUS I WANT TO HUG HIM

I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH MMFKAJSHJ (when Washington is actually the only white person in the whole show. i approve)

Anyway yes, Laura and Grace you need to become invested in this show too because it's absolutely beautiful.. 

UM that's all. I'm almost out of time so i have to go, but honestly I already have a method for posting that's (hopefully) gonna work really well so by my next post I will hopefully have something much longer and more interesting! 

i love you all a lot. 

Rosie, I'll hear from you next week??

xoxo,

Mercy