Waiting.

A lot of nothing has been going on since finishing another semester of college, I've been spending time dreaming of the future and I've been thinking. I've found myself in the middle of the Summer, with nothing going on except for an overabundance of time to think. I can understand why time to think scares people so much. However, maybe people need to do more of what scares them.

If some minor circumstances had been different I would've been heading into my senior year of college (I'm currently heading in to my junior year), and I can definitely feel the "senioritis" seeping in. My body and soul longs to move on in life. I long to move past the dreams and into the reality of it all. One of the toughest seasons of life is the season of waiting. Sadly, it's not just a season, it's a single step in the endless cycles of life. Waiting. But it's in the waiting that you prepare for the next step, the waiting is necessary. Without the waiting, you take the blessings for granted. 

However, it's also in the waiting that the doubt sets in. Along with the doubt comes opinions from outside sources, it's in the waiting that you search for purpose. It's in the waiting that the fear of straying comes and it's in the waiting that you begin to wonder if turning your attention elsewhere is better than fighting towards your goal. Fighting is messy. It's dirty. But, the waiting promises so much if you can only focus on the goal. The problem with that is if you only look towards the goal, what are you missing in the here and now? The waiting promises so much, but the waiting, though giving the appearance of calm, is a period of testing. 

What if in the waiting you lose sight of yourself? 

What if in the waiting all you focus on is yourself?

What if it's in the waiting that you lose sight of Him?

What if it's in the waiting that you burn out?

In the waiting you prepare. In the waiting you have to take the time to face the fears. You have to face the doubts. You have to face the doubt from those around you. If you don't face them now, you face them later. It's in the waiting that you decide. You decide if you're going to settle for what life offers now, for the shiny things whose insides are caked with mud and grime. You decide if you're going to take what is easiest, what "makes sense". Or you decide if you're going to fight for the things that are dirty and tough. Will you fight to grasp the things that are "crazy", "dangerous", "impractical"? Will you fight for the things that you long for. Will you fight through the doubts and fears, will you fight through the sacrifices? Will you make a way for it to happen when everyone else is settling? Will you face the temptation of easy? Will you wade through your emotions and your doubts and make a decision? Maybe you'll just settle. It's easier. It makes sense. It's what everyone else is doing.

Maybe waiting doesn't make sense. But maybe waiting is what the world needs. Maybe we need to try something different. After all, we wouldn't need a "do over" if we could just get it right the first time.

What's Up Lately

Hey everyone! I just wanted to do a quick little update one what's been going on lately! I started an online philosophy course at the beginning of the month and it's been pretty tough for me to get a grip on it even though I've taken online courses almost every semester! It's a lot of reading and I've been procrastinating more than normal. However, enjoy this plethora of things that I've been enjoying!

**The books mentioned in this post contain affiliate links, I will receive a small commission for every book that you purchase through my links. To find the book for purchase, click on the title! I have used Thriftbooks.com to purchase a number of books and have had no problems, their prices are hard to beat and their customer service is wonderful.

What I've Been Pinning

I've had the travel bug lately and, consequently, I've been pinning a lot of travel related things! Check out my Travel Board below.

Follow Jessica's board Travel/TESOL on Pinterest.  

What I've Been Listening To

I've been attempting to work on school work a lot recently. I said attempting! :) Music is a must when it comes to studying and I've discovered that everybody has their own methods. My methods include these two stations below. Oftentimes I listen to Songza, it works better for me than Pandora and I enjoy being able to choose my activity and mood in order to get music recommendations! Check out the two stations below by going to Songza.com and searching for the station name!

I know it sounds ridiculous, however, I promise that the Songs from Animated Movies station does wonders. For some reason, when I listen to this station, I get down to business. (hehe, Mulan reference) I don't know what it is about it, but it works. Sometimes, though, I need a break. That's when I put on the Acoustic Versions of Pop Songs station. Typically, I listen to this station for non-studying related tasks.


Songs from Animated Movies

Acoustic Versions of Pop Songs

 

 

 

 

What I've Been Baking/Cooking

In addition to studying and pinning travel-related things, I've done a bit of cooking and baking in the past few days.

What I've Been Reading

In addition to my philosophy textbook, I finished an audiobook this week and I'm in the middle of two other books. I'll spare you the boring details of the philosophy book; however, you know that I'll gladly share my other reads!!

                      Something Rotten                                                 Sisterhood Everlasting                         Searching For God Knows What 

What I've Been Watching
Recently, the fam and I have been watching Revolution on Netflix. We just finished season one and it's been getting pretty intense. I'm also highly impressed with the creators of the show. They've somehow created a show where I've hated almost every single character and, yet, I keep continuing to watch. That takes skill. My mom and I have been watching Dollhouse together. I love the show and felt the need to share, because.... Joss Whedon. Also, I watched part of Honey Badgers: Masters of Mayhem on Netflix while cooking dinner one night. Let me tell you, it was life changing. Who knew that Honey Badgers were so ferocious?? Not me!!

Book Binge

 

**Most of these books can be purchased on Thriftbooks.com. If you purchase any of these books through my affiliate link, which can be found here or by clicking on the title of a specific book, I will receive a small commission for every book that you purchase. I have used Thriftbooks.com to purchase a number of books and have had no problems, their prices are hard to beat and their customer service is wonderful.

 

Guys, I did it again. TWICE. I went to 2nd and Charles and I bought more books. But, I promise you, this is the last book purchase for awhile. I have a special project in the works that I'm saving for.

Top Five Wednesday: Female Characters

As you all know, I love lists and books. So in order to combine both I've decided to start a Top Five Wednesday series. Top Five Wednesday is a series created by Gingerreadslainey. To see the complete list of participants look here! On the Goodreads group YouTubers or Bloggers can find a new book-related topic posted every week. Bloggers are encouraged to list their top 5 books that fall within that category on their blog and share it.

 

This week's category is Female Characters. I perused my bookshelves and pulled out all of the books containing my favorite female characters; then, I quickly realized that I would need to reevaluate and get rid of a few. So, I have my top 5 plus one honorable mention. I'm not planning on going into a full bio of the book, if you're interested in what the book is about and what others thought of the book, check out Goodreads. Keep reading to find out what they are...

 

**Most of these books can be purchased on Thriftbooks.com. If you purchase any of these books through my affiliate link, which can be found here or by clicking on the title of a specific book, I will receive a small commission for every book that you purchase. I have used Thriftbooks.com to purchase a number of books and have had no problems, their prices are hard to beat and their customer service is wonderful.

 

This is the pile of books that I started out with... definitely a few too many!!

Top 3: TV Shows On My Screen Recently

Recently I've been working on homework and working non-stop, it feels like. I'm a wimp, though, when it comes to having things to do. I hate having things to do. As a way of keeping my sanity, I've been watching a fair amount of television.

I want to share with you the TV shows that I've been watching recently. However, let me warn you that these shows in no way have anything to do with each other. They all come from completely different 'genres' (if TV shows have genres...??) and have completely different audiences. Just as a preface, these are in no particular order because to ask me to order these is like asking me to choose between chocolate and chocolate. It's extremely difficult, practically impossible, and doesn't even make sense.

September Reads

Remember how I promised that I'd update you on what I read in September? Well, here it is! I read a large amount of books this month. I can't figure out how or why since I've been (1) babysitting a lot and (2) starting school.

This month, as a result of the large amount of books that I need to read, I decided to categorize my reads. I attempted to read a classic, a book that is a part of a series, a book that I've already read before, a nonfiction book, and just a general fiction book. I'm unsure of whether or not this actually worked. Some of the categories I fulfilled and others I didn't. Without further ado...

How do I Sunflower/Selfie?

I bought my mom sunflowers. Because I'm her favorite daughter. After purchasing these sunflowers I stared at them and tried to figure out what to do with said sunflowers. I don't know how to sunflower. I thought to myself, what would be better to do with the sunflowers than take some selfies? However, I am incapable of a successful selfie. My friends would agree. I have an endless amount of failed selfies on my phone and computer. In fact, my blogging process has, thus far, started every time with a 'weeding out' of failed selfies. Here is the evidence. I hope you know the amount of trust I'm putting in you guys to share this.