O-H-I-O

Happy summer, fellow readers!

Since I last wrote to you on this (woefully neglected) blog, I not only finished my first year of grad school, but I also took another trip! This time around, I made a visit to the “Buckeye State,” better known as the “Birthplace of Aviation,” “The Mother of All Presidents!” or “The State with Eight Million Slogans!” Okay, I am being rather facetious with the last one. As you could probably infer from my obvious title, I took a nice vacation to Dayton, Ohio, to meet my boyfriend’s family as well as check off another state on my list.

Seeing as we were in town for a week, we had plenty of time to explore what Dayton has to offer, which is surprisingly more than one would think. I have to say, I went in with no expectations and came out pleasantly surprised! The city has no doubt seen its ups and downs (see: the Rust Belt and one serious flood back in 1913), but it also has plenty to boast about. Rather than discuss every waking moment of a trip jam-packed with museum visits and some really good food, I figured I would provide you with a few memorable moments from our trip!

One of the first activities on our to-do list was to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and kayak down the Little Miami River with Jeff’s mother. I had only kayaked once before on Town Lake my freshman year at UT, so yes, my novice skills showed. Immediately after embarking, me and my little green kayak darted off to the side and got stuck in some rocks. Did I feel like Karl Pilkington on An Idiot Abroad? Oh most definitely. After a bit of encouragement and a whole lot of help and patience from our whole party, we went on our merry way. Other than the (literally) rocky start, I did pretty well, and I enjoyed a relaxing day on the river.

Dayton is also home to some wonderful museums, including the Dayton Art Institute as well as Carillon Historical Park. The Institute has a great collection of art from around the world, including Grecian sculptures, works by Monet and Reubens, clothing and weapons from Japan, and much more. Some of Dayton’s historically elite residents may have seriously breached the code of ethics while bringing these items back to Ohio, but I think our society can be enriched by observing these artifacts and learning about cultures we may not interact with on a day-to-day basis.

Will I ever touch the top of anything?

Carillon Historical Park opened my eyes to the truly innovative spirit of Dayton. The city is home to the airplane, cash register, pop top can, ice cube tray, Frigidaire, and countless other patents. One of my favorite exhibits displayed hundreds of historical cash registers, including one from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Another exhibit at Carillon was devoted solely to the Wright brothers. While many may think the duo hailed from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where they made history in 1903 with the first power controlled airplane flight, any Daytonian will adamantly tell you otherwise. The Wrights were born, bred, and buried in Dayton, and the city dutifully pays their respects to their inventors that changed the world. In one of the buildings at Carillon is the original 1905 Wright Flyer III, aka one of the first successful planes ever. While I would not ride it anytime soon–there’s no drink and pretzel service!–I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the history of flight.

Speaking of flight, Dayton is also home to the massive Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which houses the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Seeing as it was Memorial Day weekend, it felt appropriate to go and learn more about one of the branches of the U.S. military and honor their service and sacrifices. The museum has four hangars, with each one devoted to different periods of U.S. involvement abroad, such as World Wars I & II, the Cold War, Vietnam, and others. Naturally, my favorite part of the exhibit was the Cold War gallery. It had spy gear (bugged electrical sockets and pens, disguises, and briefcases that could explode), intercontinental ballistic missiles, and various planes from the era. We walked approximately four miles moving from hangar to hangar, but we also got to see moon rocks and awesome paraphernalia that the USAF has used over the past century. Next week, the fourth hangar will be open to the public, and it will include a few Air Force Ones and a space shuttle. Looks like I’ll just have to go back!

As if you could not tell from this post, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Ohio. Jeff’s family is kind, funny, accommodating, and proud of where they live, and they made my visit all the better.

What’s next?

Oohs and Praha-ahh’s

Greetings from 30,000 feet over Canada! By the time I post this, I will be safely home in Waco, but I am incapable of sleeping on planes so this is how I pass the time on 9.5 hour flights. Before I discuss my time in Prague, please let me describe to you the sights, sounds, and smells within mere feet of me on what may be the world’s most ratchet flight:

• a man with my name tattooed on his forearm
• a man (sitting NEXT TO ME) with the Bubonic Plague
• a woman who has never encountered deodorant
• a woman walking barefoot up and down the aisle who has had no fewer than three Bloody Mary’s
• a flight attendant who forgot to put the brake on the drink cart and almost sent it flying out the back of the plane

So now that I’ve set the scene, let us reflect on happier times in the magical city of Prague! Ashley, Kaine, and myself were fortunate enough to spend 3.5 days here, and we definitely saved the best for last. It would be ridiculous of me to give you a play by play of 72 hours of activities, but I’ll give you a taste of some of my favorite moments. I was very #blessed because Ashley and Kaine actually met on a study abroad trip to Prague in the summer of 2012, so they were very familiar with the city layout and all the highlights we had to touch upon.

One of the best parts of our time in Prague was the snow, especially because it was new for us all. Europe is experiencing one of the warmest winters on record, so our Christmas Market European Tour Extravaganza up to this point included fake snow and ice rinks instead of the real deal. However, it snowed for the entire duration of our stay in Prague, and y’all, it was indescribable. I cannot even put into words how beautiful it was, but let’s just say that during a tour of an ancient observatory known as the Klementinum, we climbed up to the observation deck to see the town covered in snowfall and I shed a few (frozen) tears. The same thing may or may not have happened when we climbed up to Prague Castle. It was not always easy walking around on slippery cobblestone–I held on to Kaine for a majority of Prague to avoid my Bratislava mistake–but boy oh boy were the views worth the cautious steps.

Klementinum views

I’m not crying you’re crying

A must-see in Prague for all three of us was the National Gallery (Národní Galerie because I have become fluent in Czech!!), which houses not only a plethora of works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, but it is also home to Czech artist Alfons Mucha’s Slav Epic. This cycle of 20 paintings depicts the mythology and history of the Slavs. These paintings are larger than life and absolutely awe-inspiring. How on earth do people paint on canvases with such detail despite the fact that the canvas is roughly 20 feet tall? It’s certainly epic (ugh I hate myself too after that pun)! While I enjoyed every single painting, one of my favorites was The Abolition of Serfdom in Russia, because of course it was.

A central feature of Prague is definitely the Charles Bridge, which was built in 1357 and is an Instagram requirement for Millennials who make the pilgrimage to this city. For most of the day, it is sprawling with people and difficult to traverse without wanting to yell at other tourists in frustration. With that in mind, Ashley had the idea of experiencing Charles Bridge early in the morning in order to beat the crowds. On our last day in Prague, we woke up and made it to the bridge by 8 am and y’all, there were probably only 3 other tourists there. It was covered in snow and so peaceful. We spent a good half hour taking in the sights while reflecting on the memories made on our trip. It was the best part of the trip until we saw a corgi frolicking in the snow in a park! Sorry Charles Bridge, not even you can beat that!

we’re not tired, you’re tired!

Lastly, Ashley and Kaine were kind enough to entertain me and go to the Museum of Communism on our last day. Housed in a beautiful building along with a casino (post-communist societies, ya feel me?), this museum told visitors of Czechoslovakia’s trials and tribulations with communism during the 20th century, so you know I was turnt reading about all of this! Not only was it full of great information, it also had plenty of artifacts like old busts of Lenin, Stalin, and Marx, as well as school textbooks, farming tools, and spy tools. Too bad the Stalin statue pictured below couldn’t fit in my carry on!

If I had no self control, I would tell you all about Narodni Kavarna breakfasts, Cross Club and Fruko Bar, my shameful moment in St. Vitus Cathedral, and a myriad of other unforgettable moments in Prague, but it’s time for this weary traveler to nap. This trip was full of highs (Sound of Music tour, seeing the Viking Cruise docks, the organ concert in a Budapest cathedral) and lows (watching a man pee in a train station, learning about my inability to ice skate, this flight), but this trip exceeded all of my expectations. I spent 12 days with two of my closest friends, and I’m proud to say that we are even closer than before and that some of my favorite moments of 2015 (dare I say 2016 already?!) were spent with them in Central Europe.

So where to next?

Three Little Piggies Went to Vienna

Greetings from a train bound for Prague!

I had to arm wrestle Ashley in order to get my blog back, but don’t worry, I won (jk she would kill me; I had hardly the upper body strength to put my backpack in the overhead cabin today). I hope you enjoyed her guest post yesterday! But enough about her, let’s discuss Vienna & Salzburg! Bear with me, this post will be lengthy!

We arrived in Vienna on New Years Eve, so once we got the AirBnb situation figured out, we quickly set off to see where all cool kids were celebrating. The NYE celebrations were all around town, so we checked most of them out, including my two favorites of the evening, the Opera and Town Hall. We found a booth that sold punch in 2016 ceramic mugs in the shape of a pig, so you *know* we hit that up and purchased those while watching Die Fledermaus (spell check me I dare you) being streamed to us plebeians outside the Opera House. It was magical and perfect. But we weren’t going to settle there! After a brief potty break at a bar with the world’s most heinous and uptight barista (Ashley can probably describe her better in her post seeing as she had to deal with the aftermath of my bathroom break), we took the metro to Rathaus, a house full of rats! Oh wait nope it’s Town Hall. Surprise, I know absolutely no German! 

 

wow so pig cup

  

rathaus hangs

 

We found ourselves at the town hall’s celebration, which had a great live band and DJ who played the hits of the 80s and 90s. We found a stand selling warm sangria in, you guessed it, those pig cups. In order to avoid paying extra for the cups, we may or may not have exchanged our Opera House cups for the new ones. Luckily, our server had a great sense of humor and we all laughed about how ridiculous the moment was. Sangria in hand, we danced and danced for a few hours until the fireworks went off at midnight. It was, without a doubt, my favorite New Years to date. 
The next day, we woke up to snowfall! This lifelong Texan was pumped, so we quickly got dressed so we could walk to the Belvedere while it snowed. We walked around the Belvedere gardens before going inside. We got to see Gustav Klimt’s famous Kiss painting, and I got to see a Van Gogh, so color me pleased. We spent the rest of the day walking around the city center, including a few churches and the Hapsburg Palace, my new home. Vienna is by far the most clean and opulent city I have ever been to and I know I’ll be itching to come back as soon as possible. 4/4 stars, would recommend. 

Belvedere’s Next Top Model

We found ourselves up at the main train station (hauptbahnhof; see, I’m learning!) to catch a 6:55 am train for a day trip to Salzburg. Luckily, we got to witness a drunk man pee right in front of us while waited for our train. Ugh, it must be so easy being a white male these days!! We grabbed a very American breakfast full of eggs and bacon at a restaurant the size of a closet upon our arrival in Salzburg, then we made our way to the Hohensalzburg fortress via funicular. Apparently the views are so beautiful from up there. We wouldn’t know, because the fog reduced visibility to like 3 inches. The fortress itself was awesome though, apparently it took over 600 years to build, thus it is an amalgamation of many different centuries of popular design styles. We funiculared down and made our way to the Mirabell Gardens (where the Do-Re-Mi song from Sound of Music was filmed!). Naturally, Ashley and I recreated the final scene from the song on the famous steps. Most of the gardens were closed because of the winter, so we ended up heading over to the pick-up point for our Sound of Music Tour. 

You didn’t think we would go to Salzburg without doing the Sound of Music Tour, did you? 

Let’s just say this was by far my favorite tour of all time. Not only did we get to see many of the filming locations, such as the gazebo and the church where Maria and the Captain got married, but we also got to see some beautiful mountains and lakes outside the city with the funniest tour guide of all time, Peter. He had a great sense of humor that pretty much only the English speakers on the bus found funny. We all sang along to the soundtrack, and it is by far one of my favorite moments of the trip. If you ever find yourself in this charming city, you absolutely have to do this tour, even if you haven’t seen the movie! Fun fact: Kaine has never seen the movie because he is insane, and he loved it! 

And thus concludes our time in Austria. I know I will come back if I have the opportunity. Also, I am 100% certain I probably forgot some details, so hop over to Ashley’s blog again if you want another take on these past few days. 

Auf Wiedersehen (or as Peter says, “our feet are the same”)!

Three Americans walk into a bar….by Ashley Dowell

Hello fellow comrades, it is me, Ashley. It is nice to meet you. Allow me to briefly interrupt your regularly scheduled posts by Kelly to bring you my take on our time in Bratislava. And, because I am a white girl born in the 90’s here is a link to my blog if you feel like reading more of my ramblings. Don’t worry, Kelly is safe and sound–she’s writing a post for my blog as we speak. She also told me to tell y’all to go to my blog to read my post about Budapest because she isn’t going to write one (am I being used??) Ok ok, now that the introductions are over, let’s get on with this Slovakian tale of freezing wind and roads that lead to nowhere. 

Our story begins on Wednesday–we left our cottage under the Budapest castle and headed to the bus station to catch out afternoon bus to Bratislava. We went round and round that bus station looking for our yellow bus and no thanks to an unfortunately unhelpful Information desk lady, we found the bus and went on our way. I wish I could report back on the beauty of the Hungarian countryside but alas, I was either asleep or watching Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets the entire time. You’ll have to ask Kelly about it. 

We arrived at our tenth floor penthouse apartment, wept at the view of the city, and then scurried out the door to take advantage of the remaining daylight before the sun set at 4pm. We walked through Old Town, admiring the smattering of random statues and remaining Christmas market stands. We ate a traditional Slovakian dumpling dish and were borderline held hostage by a waitress who just really wanted us to order more food. 

  
There was a seasonal ice skating rink outside the restaurant and I was able to convince Kelly and Kaine to go ice skating with me, which I realized was a terrible mistake as soon as we realized that we had to know our  European shoe sizes. We were definitely 100% the only native English speakers at the rink (and possibly the city) so after one of us fell (I won’t say who) (it was Kelly), we realized that this could end poorly so we decided to find some mulled wine instead. 

 

Kelly here. Please note my absence from this photo because of sustained ice skating injuries!!

 
We went back to the apartment to warm up and then rallied to go back out into the cold to grab a beer. We walked into a small bar on a little side street and were “greeted” by a waitress who wasted no time telling us that the kitchen was closed. That’s quite alright, Miss, we’re just here for beer! Can’t get rid of us that easily! We sat in the 90% empty restaurant and enjoyed our beer, until we noticed two men ordering food. Apparently the kitchen is only closed to American students, we’re onto your tricks, Bratislava!!

We woke up the next morning bright and early and began our trek to the castle at the top of the mountain. The castle is the highest point in the city so while you would think that it would be easy to get to, you would be wrong. We walked along a sidewalk that turned into nothing more than a narrow passageway along a major road, we walked into a tunnel for about half a second before we decided that it was not really intended for pedestrians, we walked through tour buses full of more non-English speaking tourist sites, but then we made it to the castle! The view was as spectacular as it was cold–rumor is you can also see Hungary and Austria from the top. We took the worst selfie in the history of selfies at the top and then walked around the castle grounds. We walked down a path that went straight into some apartments??? It was the most nonsensical tourist attraction I’ve ever been to. But alas, these three master’s-level students figured that former Soviet madness out. We then walked back down into the city center to the palace via a sidewalk that seriously just ended midway through and about 34 crosswalks. At the end of our Escher inspired walking tour, we grabbed lunch and went back to the most Eastern Europe bus station ever to catch our bus to Vienna. 

 

I dare you to find a worse selfie than this one

 
Overall, I would recomemend stopping by Bratislava the next time you just happen to be passing through Eastern Europe. It was a small town with incredibly inexpensive beer and charming cobblestone passageways. True you may end up walking into underground tunnels only to immediately turn around, but that’s a risk you’re going to have to be willing to take.

Grad School: The Force Awakens*

If I don’t start off each post with an excuse for my long absence, did I even really blog?

For the record, however, I do have a legitimate excuse for not writing a post in four months: I experienced my first semester of graduate school. If you have interacted with me at all in the past four months, you are probably well aware of this new development due to my constant fretting and worrying. I apologize. I am also terribly grateful for the support you gave me.

This week, I wrapped up my first semester here at Baylor, and I figured I would reflect back on the semester with three of my favorite memories, as well as what I am looking forward to in the next few months.

ACL

Austin’s famous ACL festival back in October served as my first real mini-vacation away from school, and it was much needed. I joined best friend and former roommate, Alyssa, for two days in Zilker Park to see many of our favorite artists. Highlights of the weekend included: being 10 rows back from Florence + the Machine (despite almost being trampled and having every muscle in our bodies ache from standing for hours), drinking Juiceland’s fruit refreshers, UT football beating OU, Of Monsters and Men, and literally passing out in the park for an hour listening to Lord Huron and Halsey.

Wurstfest

Known as the festival where your attendance requires posting a photo of yourself to social media with a “wurst” pun as your caption, New Braunfels’ Wurstfest is a wonderful experience that I would recommend to anyone (preferably to those little nuggets 21 and up). I went with Alyssa and Liz last month and we ate a very healthy diet of beer, sausage on a stick, a pretzel bigger than my face (which is an impressive feat), and the dopest bread pudding. And yes, I did engage in the cliché wurst puns because being a good Millennial is a lot of pressure, okay??

Cohort Christmas Parties

After spending nearly four months with the same 8-10 people everyday, it was only fair I dedicated one of my favorite semester memories to them as well. This semester we experienced moments of euphoria, fluctuating self-esteem, and unbelievable stress. But we also worked harder than ever before, and we were treated to a week of parties to celebrate successfully completing the first of four semesters. Two of our professors were gracious enough to invite us rowdy kiddos over to their homes for dinner. Coming from a large state university where classes on average were 80-100 students, this was a nice change of pace. At the end of the week, one of our classmates held a cohort party for us, complete with a white elephant gift exchange, Cards Against Humanity, a home-cooked meal, and delicious drinks. These parties were exactly what I needed to close out the semester, and I am very appreciative of those who opened their homes for us.

Next on the docket:

While I am always hopeful that I will blog more frequently in the future, I am also realistic. In the next few weeks, I will be traveling to Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Salzburg, and Prague with best friends Ashley and Kaine. For those of you at home counting, that’s four countries. In twelve days. It’s chill. So yes, you will see some frequent blogging from me (and maybe some guest bloggers) in the next month. After school resumes in January, I will most likely be absent once more. But who knows what Spring Break will bring?

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays,

Kel

 

*Please note that it was not I, but Ashley, who came up with this great title

 

The One with Move-out

Much like many other college students this past weekend, my lease in Austin finally came to an end. That’s right folks, it was time to bid farewell to the CAAKE House after two years (and many, many memorable moments later). My original intention was to write a long post full of my favorite memories of my time at CAAKE, but I decided that pictures would better satisfy my nostalgia. There are some photos I wish I could include, but let’s just say I do not want to tarnish the angelic reputations of the CAAKE members….

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Thank you to Cody, Alyssa, Ashley, Elizabeth, Sabina, Shelly, and the twenty (yes, TWENTY) other people that lived at CAAKE within the last two years for always providing great entertainment. On to Waco!

76011

“Oops.” –Rick Perry (and Kelly Williams)

Another three months have come and gone, and I have failed once again to produce a new blog post. To catch you up, in those three months, I did the following: completed my thesis, spoke publicly about my research findings without fainting, graduated from college, and learned that I really do not like El Nino. There were so many possible blog topics, but I really did not feel like I could accurately put into words what graduating meant to me or how much I love my school, and I did not want to bore you all with the specifics of the blossoming relationship between Russia and China. In honor of Father’s Day, I want to write about something else I did this summer: I went to a Rolling Stones concert with my dear ol’ dad.

Let’s rewind the clock a little bit to Spring 2010. Yours truly is watching a video on the Vietnam War in AP US History. The video, unsurprisingly, is extremely depressing. However, the video has a phenomenal soundtrack–Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” (because you can’t have a Vietnam montage without it), Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” and The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” My parents did a great job of educating me on the music of their generation, but this video opened my eyes to The Rolling Stones. After listening to their music for the years to come, I decided that if they toured in Texas, I was going. I didn’t care if they were all in wheelchairs and only had dentures!

When The Rolling Stones announced their Sticky Fingers Zip Code tour in April, I knew this was my chance. Dad always said that was one of the concerts he dreamed of going to, so it absolutely had to happen. When tickets went on sale, I literally spent 20 minutes on my personal laptop during my internship in order to get them. Dock it out of my nonexistent pay, guys! Regardless, we scored two reasonably priced tickets to see The Rolling Stones at AT&T Stadium (aka Jerry World). I was hardly able to contain my excitement in the grey, windowless office at work.

On June 6th, we made our way to Arlington for the Zip Code Tour. Fun fact: Arlington’s zip code is 76011, hence the title of this blog post. Despite the fact that Jerry Jones cannot ensure quality audio despite possessing roughly 15% of the world’s wealth*, the concert was everything and more. These men may have been in their 70s, but they can still put on a show. Mick never stopped running or dancing around the large stage, while Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood did a phenomenal job of smoking while simultaneously playing the guitar. They played all their hits, plus a few bars of “All My Exes Live in Texas.” While all 55,000 people in the crowd sang along to the closer, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” I kept thinking about how I didn’t want the concert to end. Pretty soon after, the band ran off the stage and flew away in a helicopter and Dad and I could finally check this concert off of our bucket lists.

Happy Father’s Day to the man who made my school lunch until I was 18, went to every single one of my golf tournaments, still likes going to rock concerts, and supports me even when I use my selfie stick.

*Jerry Jones does not in fact own 15% of the world’s wealth.

Baylor Bound

Oops, has it really been six months since my last post? Sorry friends. Who would’ve thought a 70+ page honors thesis and grad school applications would be so time-consuming?

Speaking of graduate school, have you ever wanted something so badly, but once you got a taste of it, you realized you actually hated it?

Well, I have.

Last month, I was invited to interview for a graduate school with a stellar International Affairs program. I researched this program for at least a year, and I was sold. Awesome classes, no thesis, 95% job placement rate, affordable, you get the gist. It was at a rival school, but I was prepared to be the better person and get over it (unlike literally everyone there). All I had to do was rock the interview, and I would be set. If only life was that easy, friends. Lets just say that one of my interviewers was a former ambassador in the State Department who could not have cared less that I wanted to attend this school. Y’all, he asked me how to solve the Ukraine crisis…

THE U K R A I N E CRISIS.

Regardless, you get the picture. I did not get in to this program, nor did I even want to by the end of the weekend. It was too intense, and I realized this was not the path I wanted. I went through a bit of a quarter-life crisis. Did I want to enter the job market or get a masters? I had two great options in front of me, but was I ready to pursue them?

Well, folks, I have officially made my decision. Beginning this fall, I will be attending Baylor University for an MA in Communication Studies! Right now, I am unsure of what kind of specific career I want, and I know this program will help open many doors and help me find the perfect fit. I will have the opportunity to be the graduate assistant for Dr. Medhurst, the editor of Rhetoric & Public Affairs. Plus, the classes and professors sound phenomenal, and there’s even a study abroad program! I’m sold.

Who would’ve ever thought this Longhorn would become a Bear?

P.S. If any of you are curious as to how I spent my spring break, the always wonderful Ashley has perfectly summed it up on her blog!

breaking the (facebook) chain

Usually when I see a Facebook chain status, such as “like my status and I’ll tell you what I think about u!!!!”, I roll my eyes towards heaven and ask God why such websites exist. But a few weeks ago, one Facebook challenge caught my eye: list ten books that have had impacted your life. As an avid reader, I had no trouble listing off my favorite books, so I saw this as an opportunity to update my poor, abandoned blog (and procrastinate on all of my homework). However, I will only be discussing my top seven favorites, because I feel as though ten might be dragging it out too much.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is one of those books where I try not to lend my personal copy to others (even though I recommended it) because this book means so much to me. It grabs you by the first page, and it doesn’t let go. Ever, actually. Narrated by Death, The Book Thief follows a young girl, Liesel, living with her foster family in Nazi Germany during World War II. The story moves through Liesel’s relationships with her family and friends with such a mastery of language that you wonder why you cannot communicate as effectively as Zusak. The Book Thief taught me to look at both sides of history and the importance of empathy and understanding those different from myself. You’ll laugh and you will definitely cry, but I give it 11 out of 10 stars.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

After reading Great Expectations in 9th grade English, I was left disillusioned with assigned reading. I used to love it and I could breeze through the books we were forced to read (except Johnny Tremain, you know what you did). Then we had to read To Kill a Mockingbird. I was skeptical at first, but man did this novel surpass my expectations. It’s an American classic, and it is still relevant in today’s society. Is there a character with more integrity than Atticus Finch? Side note: the first dog I own will be named Atticus. Scout is an enchanting narrator that I wished I had known personally as a child. If you haven’t read this yet, what is it like being a Communist in America?

3. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

This book was my companion on my solo international travels this summer and I honestly want to reread it again right now. I always tell people that it’s “delightfully creepy,” and I stand by that statement. Narrated by the nameless Mrs. de Winter, she tells the story of falling in love with the charming, yet mysterious Maxim de Winter in Monaco, and then marrying him and moving to his Manderley estate in England. There, her life is forever changed when she learns more about his first wife, Rebecca de Winter. Her true colors and the events surrounding her death are shrouded in mystery, and the narrator seeks to learn the truth. I felt like I too was at Manderley watching the fantastic plot unfold the entire time.

4. Every stinkin’ Harry Potter book by JK Rowling

Honestly, do I even need to explain myself here? Harry Potter brought out the book nerd in me that was longing to break free, and I haven’t looked back. I was pragmatic enough at 11 to know that I would never receive a Hogwarts letter, but that doesn’t mean I never got to experience the magic myself. Re: me crying at the Harry Potter studio in England this summer.

5. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Y’all, I haven’t even finished this book and it’s already in my top five. Do yourselves a favor and read it now. It is a true story about Louis Zamperini, an Olympian and World War II veteran who survived 47 days on a raft in the Pacific Ocean and two years in Japanese POW camps. It’s almost too wild to be true! Louis and his peers showed such strength and resilience despite the unimaginable circumstances. If I learned anything from Louis, who passed away in July at 97(!!), it’s “if I can take it, I can make it.”

6. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Besides Harry Potter, this series is one of the main reasons why I love reading so much. Snicket’s voice is so different from most children’s literature. These books have a wicked sense of humor, yet the Baudelaire’s world is a dark one. The references went over my head as a child, but now they’re absolutely perfect. I learned new vocabulary, such as austere, ersatz, and penultimate. The Baudelaire orphans taught me that adults are not always right, and a child’s opinion matters. Also, I still use the movie’s soundtrack as study jams. I love Lemony Snicket so much that I’m even reading his new series, All the Wrong Questions.

7. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

11/22/63 was my introduction to the world of Stephen King, and man, I don’t what took me so long. I’m obsessed with the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination, especially since my Aunt Ginny was in the Secret Service in Dallas at the time. My mom recommended this book to me, and I was wary at first: it’s upwards of 850 pages. I tackled it in the summer of 2012, and I’m so glad I committed to it. Jake Epping, a high school English teacher, is asked by a friend to use the time portal (stay with me, ok) in the local diner’s storeroom to travel back in time and stop the Kennedy assassination. Jake agrees, and he begins his new life as George Amberson, a teacher residing in Jodie, Texas. He soon realizes that the past is obdurate, and each change results in a butterfly effect that may not always be better in the end. This book is suspenseful, yet it is a wonderful tribute to a simpler era that I’ve always wanted to visit. If you have time for 850 pages, I couldn’t recommend this novel enough.

So there you have it. I hope I inspired you to snuggle up with a book. And if the last three on my top ten are really that important to you, then why are you so obsessed with me?

Baby Steps

Fact: an Asian baby is the inspiration for this post.

Let me clarify this: next door to us is an Asian family and their precious infant. Everything about them is shrouded in mystery, and instead of knocking on their door and engaging in conversation with them, we decided that creating a story of their lives was more entertaining. Almost every day last fall, the father(?) would carry the baby boy up and down the street, using the baby’s tiny hand to wave at passersby. And yes, it is cuter than you can imagine. Then they disappeared without a trace. Even their cars were gone. We went months without a sighting and concocted all sorts of theories about where they ran off to. But do not fret, they returned in the spring and all is well. Now, the baby is beginning to walk. I have to say, this choked me up a bit. Where did the past year go? And when did I become so invested in a baby stranger? I don’t know which is more concerning. 

Last August, I moved into a house with four of my best friends. Two of them have now graduated from college. Cody found out on Tuesday that he will be moving to Japan in three weeks to teach English for a year, and Ashley has returned to Dallas to begin her master’s degree. At CAAKE, Elizabeth will be graduating in December, Alyssa will start her practicum with local little kiddos, and I will take the GRE (#pray4kelly), apply to grad schools, and look for jobs.

It looks like we’re all taking baby steps.

(Was that too sappy? Did this post cause your eyes to get stuck in a permanent eye roll? I have a lot of questions on my mind today.)