100 Days of Happy-Days 10-16???

It's been a crazy busy week as we are counting down to the very bitter end of the school year so I promise you I haven't been forgetting to be happy this entire time haha. I'm just going to do one post to cover the week for convenience's sake. But I have quite a few photos to get through, so let's get started!

Day 10: Mainly spent this day recovering from the day before. But like most things in life, it was easier to get through with a friend at my side. We managed to snag our favorite conference room in the science center. We were talking a lot so I don't think we actually managed to get all that much done but it was nice to take a few moments to not feel like a robot.

Day 11: Still a kind of weird day. We had a power outage earlier in the morning and since I was feeling exceptionally lazy, I took the time to journal a little bit. For anyone who doesn't know, I've kept a physical diary for about...9 years now? It's been a while. I think there is something incredibly cathartic about writing things down so that I don't have ten thousand thoughts swirling around my head, demanding attention.  Also, I'm going to break a rule and have a second picture that I took that day. It's not some superbly beautiful pictures but one of my friend Sophia when we were playing around in my room. She met my unicorn Frederick and was an incredibly good sport as I put bows on...like everything. I think it's really important here that we acknowledge that we can still be silly and childish and that that is completely okay.

Day 12: I took this on my way to class. I don't have a ton to say about this other than I wanted to capture a moment when it was beautifully crisp and clear out and I was early to class so I had the luxury of being able to take the extra second to take a pretty picture before scurrying off to 8:30 Organic Chemistry.

Day 13: I cheated a little bit with this one. So I didn't actually take this picture with my phone, for obvious reasons. And I also didn't go swimming the day that I posted this. I had actually gone swimming the night before and realized that the pool is actually my physical happy place and many times lets me access my mental happy place as well. I actually was thinking about writing a full post on this at some point but I think one of the reasons I like swimming so much is that it feels like there is endless possibility. Also like there is no way that I can really lose. Swimming is a different kind of catharsis for me than writing is-I think it's much more of a guarantee. Whereas I can still be incredibly upset after writing, that's hardly ever the case with swimming. Swimming let's me take out all my frustration and anger in a productive form. Best case scenario, I have a great swim and calm my mind a bit. Worst case scenario, I'm too tired to think about anything anymore. So I think the fact that it feels like I can never really go wrong with going to the pool is the reason that I keep returning to it. It's not a perfect system, I can't always make it to the pool when I want to because swimming kind of takes a lot of energy for me, more so than any other physical activity. But I feel like in recent memory, every time I have been incredibly stressed I usually also can remember going to the pool shortly thereafter.

And side note-I also realized that I've had a lot of different vistas by virtue of going to different pools at different times. Unfortunately I can never show you these views which is a shame because they are some of my favorite.

Day 14: Ruhlman Day. I wasn't presenting but that meant that I had a long day of studying in sweatpants while everyone was getting dolled up. I had been working with a lot of students though as a public speaking tutor so I was fine with this. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot in terms of the actual flow of the day that was interesting. I had an exam so mainly I was just focusing on trying to absorb that. But, when I relocated to my room, I remembered that I had a guardian unicorn and that he makes me happy. So everyone, meet Frederick my unicorn. He guards my desk.

Day 15: This day was really rough for me. My day started at 8:30 with an exam, I had three back-to-back classes, Organic Chemistry lab and then an insufferably long meeting after that. So really, I had to be a functional human being from 8:30AM-6PM. Eek. And did I mention that there was an essay, problem set and reading due the next day? When all of the scheduled madness ended, I went back to my dorm to eat a quick dinner and then prepare for the inevitable late night of p-setting. Before I got back to the Science Center though, I decided to stop by the campus center and get myself a treat. And I had run low on flex points so this was actually out of pocket. I felt guilty at first for making what seemed like an unnecessary expenditure. Who was I to buy myself something when it seemed like I hadn't done anything noteworthy to actually deserve it? I had probably failed my exam and didn't do so great on a presentation that day. But then I realized that I wasn't reinforcing mediocrity by doing this for just surviving the day. It was acknowledgement of the suckiness of the day and encouragement for the future. Furthermore, self-care and self-maintenance is not actually selfish. Or at least that what I told myself. Either way, it was delicious.

Day 16: Last but not least for this post. I took this picture when I was walking back to my dorm after a marathon problem set session early in the morning, which unfortunately was becoming a bit a trend. At the time I took this picture, I wasn't actually done with everything that needed to get done today (and yes, it did all get done somehow??) but I think I had finished enough so that I could appreciate this view. I walk past this every single day when I go between Tower Court and the Science Center but here's a picture of it, finally.

So, there it is. I am not sure if I'm going to be doing day by day posts this coming week. This past week was kind of hectic so the fact that I remembered to post pictures on the days of is kind of a slight miracle. It all really depends on the timing of everything from now on but i will definitely keep updating my instagram and tagging each of the days for your consideration.

Until next time.

100 Days of Happy-Day 10

The last 24 hours have been kind of long and weird for me but I've made it through to the other side with a little (a lot) of help from my friends.

I think that the times I was most unhappy at Wellesley, I felt like I was constantly surrounded by people and constantly overwhelmed with things that needed to be done...and yet I always felt alone.

And I think that the times I've felt happiest at Wellesley have been when I realized that that doesn't need to be the case. I can't really explain how you go from one to the other because honestly, I think I still fluctuate myself.

But, as crazy as this school drives me sometimes, I am incredibly grateful for the people it has brought into my life.

100 Days of Happy-Days 7, 8, 9

I've had an absolutely whirlwind last few days so unfortunately I haven't been able to elaborate on my pictures...so let's do that now! 

Wednesday was Day 7 in the 100 days and it was also housing night. I had already known that I got to stay in Tower Court for my senior year of college already. But I wasn't sure where exactly I would be. It's official though, back in Tower 242 for the final chapter! A lot of my friends are actually moving out of Tower which kind of stinks but new ones are coming in and I see lots of people outside of the dorms anyways too.

 Thursday was Day 8-a whole week of happy! My friend and I decided to go check out the newly reinstated Chapel swing. Technically the launch party was on Wednesday so we missed the cupcakes and fanfare. BUT. The swing looked gorgeous with all of our Wellesley class colors flying high. Another thing crossed off the Wellesley Bucket list! For those who do not know, there is a list of things all Wellesley students must accomplish before graduation and can be found here.








Day 9: I had class until 5PM to compensate for some weird scheduling nonsense that Wellesley pulled to make up for the long weekend. We had the windows open though so I managed to hear the bells playing A Whole New World and other lovely things. With the sun shining and flowers blooming, it was a rare relaxing moment at the College so obviously I needed to instagram the shiz out of it.

100 Days of Happy-Day 6

Short post today because I am incredibly pressed for time.

MarMon is truly over unfortunately so it's back to the grind for all of us. Somehow despite being a shortened week I am still getting my butt kicked.

Nonetheless, I got this super kawaii post it note from a friend while working on a group project. I haven't thought of a name yet but he and Totoro are the best of friends(and yes, I might be going insane right now. It is entirely plausible).

It's the small things.

100 Days of Happy-Day 5: The MarMon edition

The scream tunnel is one of Wellesley's most beloved traditions so naturally it makes today's photo.

Everything about today was perfect-the weather was gorgeous and cool enough for the runners(I hope), there was a course record and an American won the marathon for the first time in a long time. It was just really fun today. All the runners started smiling as soon as they hit the scream tunnel, and I think it's one of the few times that this campus is united to this extent.

 I grew up in Hopkinton which is the starting line and so I've been watching this race for basically my entire life. Therefore, I can say with certainty that this is one of the good years, I really couldn't imagine better conditions. And considering last year, I couldn't imagine it being any other way.

I think in my own life it is so odd to think of what happened a year ago. Of course, there's the tragedy of the bombing but for me personally it's odd to think of the person I was, the people I was with and overall where I was with everything in my academic life. And I am relatively sure that things have changed for the better. But absolutely sure that things are very different now than they used to be.

I wonder where I'll be one year from now.

100 Days of Happy-Day 4

So begins Day 4....in the science center!

You may be wondering why I chose to put up this picture as something that makes me happy but there is actually something really calming about working in this space. Nobody is really trolling around today because it is a 1) a weekend, 2) a long weekend and 3) Easter Sunday. These little corrals are technically reserved for thesis students but I actually quite like using them to do work. In addition to the sounds of water (which as a self proclaimed fish-on-land, is really therapeutic), there is actually also a decent amount of natural light that gets in here, more than in the Leaky Beaker and other places in the building and I have a nice view of Galen stone tower from my particular corral. I keep using the same one though so I might stake a claim to it soon. While I know some students hate the Science Center with their entire being, I really honestly don't mind being here. I don't mind being here on weekends or at nights. I think what makes me grumpy sometimes is the fact that it feels like I -have- to be here when I would rather be doing something else or if I have to wait around for something and can't leave. Or if I come back from classes, tired and grumpy, and still have to do things when I would rather sleep.

But today isn't like that, it's the first tie in a long time that I have been able to putz around here on the weekends at a decent time and hopefully get some work done. All things in moderation.

100 Days of Happy: Day 3

I have a really odd feeling that this album is going to become a compilation of various flowers that I find.

Though to be fair, I feel like that is somewhat justified after the crazy winter we had.

So earlier today my mom brought these for me and then I got to have lunch with her and my dad-yay for getting real people food! I didn't get a ton of time to spend with them because they had things to do and places to be and so did I. But, it was nice to have a reminder of the life and world outside of Wellesley. Like I said in an earlier post, I can get so caught up in all of the school work...but they don't even really know what any of my classes are really about unless I vent at them so there's the chance to remove myself from the academic things for a bit if I want to.
There were also lots of other parents on campus this weekend. I have been informed that this was due to Marathon Monday and Easter/the long weekend in general but I don't recall seeing these many family members putzing around campus last year.

In any case, I have a feeling that these lovely pansies aren't going to stay in my possession for very long but I am certainly going to enjoy them while they are here!