Frozen, but My Heart's Warm

Friday, February 28, 2014

from Pinterest (lol)
Y'all, I finally saw Frozen. And yes, I'm kinda late to the party.

My friends had all gushed over how amazing this movie was, and I could only find a single solitary pin at Disneyworld of Anna and Elsa, so I had very little exposure to this movie beforehand, other than a couple plot points.Thank goodness for on-campus movie theaters to change that, though, as my happy crew and I saw a weekend showing.

Let me just tell you that my friends and I already made plans to attend the sing-along showing that's playing in a couple of days.

There's something about the story that feels so genuine. Not that any of the past Disney movies I'd seen weren't genuine also, but I felt like I could identify with both Anna and Elsa on some level. So when the ending came, I really felt like I was totally invested in the movie. I'm pretty sure I was invested when the opening scene started, though.

But one thing I love about this movie is that one of the main lessons is that love drives out fear. There's a Bible verse that references this - 1 John 4:18. It gives me chills thinking of how closely this movie went with this verse. A large part of the movie centers around Elsa keeping herself isolated from those she loves out of fear that she might hurt them with her ice powers, but eventually she learns that the opposite is true, and that love always conquers, even in ways that one would never expect. There are other lessons to be learned from Frozen, but that was one of the biggest ones I saw.

I guess I need to brush up on my lyrics now if I'm going to the watch this movie a second time and sing along to everything. :) And I'm looking forward to it.

My Experiences with a Little Blue Phone Box

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Once upon a time, my mom was watching some DVDs. I was curious and probably asked her what she was watching.
"Doctor Who," she'd said.
Soon after, I decided to borrow Mom's region-free DVD player and watch some of this Doctor Who show myself.

And then I was hooked.

from Etsy

So I like this show. A whole lot. Throughout the years, I've become friends with people who love this show too, and I've even hooked some of my best friends on it as well.

My university even has a pretty substantial Whovian culture. Not just students, but faculty and staff as well. I had a Dalek keychain at one point and a librarian noticed. 
I didn't know how substantial that culture was until I found out that there was a new class being offered: Doctor Who and Philosophy.

Yes, I'm taking that class now. I mean, why not? I'm a senior in my last semester of college, I finished my English courses for my major, and I needed electives.

The other day, I had to give a presentation on Time Travel. Yes, time travel. This class had me researching the implications of time travel and how it can affect history. It was quite possibly the coolest presentation of my college career. Maybe even my entire school career.

Here are a few snippets. I asked one of my good friends to tape it. :)


When I finished and sat back down, one of my friends told me I did a good job, and added, "You just talked about the possibility of time travel. No big deal."

I'm about to get really deep for a second, so indulge me:
I really want my future son or daughter to have this much interest in something to pursue it, even if it's something as inconsequential as a TV show. Even before I got into Doctor Who, I was fascinated by the idea of time travel. I'm so glad I was given the opportunity to research something I really loved, and I think having this skill will help me later on in life.

For now, I guess I'll keep dreaming of what it would be like to travel in a blue phone box.


The Day After Valentine's Day/Galentine's Day/Singles Awareness Day/what is it called again?

Saturday, February 15, 2014

The other day, one of my friends told me that she was wanting to paint her nails black…for Valentine's Day,
…What?

I've always had happy associations with Valentine's Day. It brings back memories of when I was a kid wandering through the classrooms in the various homeschool co-ops I attended handing out adorable valentine cards to my classmates. It also brings back memories of candy. SO much candy.

However, as cheesy or even nauseating as Valentine's Day can seem on the outside, there really are upsides to February 14. 

I think Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate love in general. Sure, you may or may not have a significant other, and yes, that can affect your outlook on Valentine's Day. Your gender also affects how you look at Valentine's Day, too. In fact, I've heard the day before Valentine's Day called "D-Day" or "Desperation Day" because of the daunting task it can be for the guy to plan a surprise Valentines Day for his date, especially on Valentine's Eve, so to speak. But, coming from a girl's perspective, just spending time with the other person is the most important, not all the bells and whistles.

Some of my fellow single friends call Valentine's Day "Singles Awareness Day." As clever as it sounds, though, look a little closer.
Each letter in "Singles Awareness Day" spells SAD.
SAD.
Do you really want to celebrate a day that is both literally and figuratively…sad? 
Honestly, it sounds like "Singles Awareness Day" is a day that gives people the excuse to be bitter about being single. That is not okay. Complaining about being single in such a blatant way just tends to make you bitter about everything else, especially the massive amounts of pink and red that come with February 14th.

What I'm trying to say is, plan to do something, either for yourself or someone else, or better yet, both. Pass out candy to your very best friends. Order flowers and surprise a family member. Call a family member you haven't seen in awhile. Stuff like this puts you in such a better mood, no matter what day it is

One thing that I'm so glad my friends and I planned was having a crew photo shoot. We all agreed to dress in pink and red, and it was awesome. It didn't matter if we were couples or singles. We just took pictures and had a blast.


So, dear readers, I hope you all had an amazing Valentine's Day, and I hope you enjoy all the candy that goes on sale today!


January Favorites

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Hello and Happy February! :D

I really, really love watching Monthly Favorites videos on YouTube. So much so that I decided to try my hand at writing my own Monthly Favorites posts on my tumblr. Those posts kind of dwindled off, which is a shame, just because I love seeing how my own tastes change over the course of one month, a few months, or even nearly a year.

So, without further ado, here's what I loved in January 2014! :)

People, Places, Things

Candles
Over Christmas break, I became obsessed with lighting candles in my room. I'm surprised I hadn't before, but since I don't have the pesky no-candle policy at home like I do at school, I discovered how joyful candles can be. I really enjoy vanilla/fruity/sugary scents, with the exception of Mistletoe during Christmas.


Flavored Syrups in Coffee
Also over Christmas break, Mom and I took a trip to our local World Market. There, I found flavored syrups for coffees, teas, what have you. I'm no stranger to these; I used raspberry syrup to make Italian Cream Soda for a High School project. I picked up some raspberry syrup there and mixed it in with some Tim Horton's regular coffee. (Side note, if you're Canadian or live up in the Northern parts of the US, you are awesome for having Tim Horton's. Seriously, it's awesome.) Needless to say, I enjoyed that. A lot.

Los Angeles, California
If you haven't read my post on my recent trip to California, I highly recommend that you do so. I love the state of California so much, and I did and saw so much on this particular trip. You can check out my trip post here.

Brightly-Colored Eyeliner
I used to be into colored eyeliner during high school, when I wore uniforms (yes, plaid skirts) and could only really express myself with makeup and jewelry. I got some eyeliner from Urban Decay for Christmas, and now I love colored eyeliners again. Lately, I've been going for darker colors in fun hues alongside my neutral darker colors. I've been wearing some brighter colors, too, like iridescent purple. I just pair it with neutral eyeshadow to keep things balanced, and I only line my top lashline during the day.

Gravie
This is a video app that came out on Christmas Eve of last year. Basically, this app turns Instagram videos into gold. I am a huge Instagram fan (I just passed 1000 posts :D) and I'm always looking for fun apps to edit my posts. This app allows you to add texts, graphics, filters, and music to videos and generally makes them awesome. I'll probably pair this app with Squareready Video for some of my posts, too. You can find both apps in the App Store.
Here is a video I made:



Music

"Galaxies" - Owl City [This is a longtime favorite, and I love the message and story behind it. Adam Young is a Christian, and he actually brings his faith out in this song, which I LOVE.]
"Reflections" - Misterwives
"Radioactive (ft. Kendrick Lamar)" - Imagine Dragons [this is the Grammy's version. GO LISTEN TO THIS.]
"Demons" - Imagine Dragons
"Royals" - Lorde [Mom and I listened to this a LOT in California]
"Team" - Lorde
The Convergence EP - Danny Olson and Billy Van [If you like dubstep and orchestra and wonder what it would be like to mix the two together, check this EP out. These guys are awesome.]