Author: katelynski

Sometimes it’s good to go outside your comfort zone. Take me, for example, self-proclaimed nerd and introvert — the last place I would expect to see myself is Rick’s, but there I was, dancing alongside my friends. The first five to ten minutes there were uncomfortable (see my above artistic rendition), but the minute I let go of the idea that people were looking at me, I started to have fun. I started to care less, giving into the early-2010s-pop remixes monopolizing my senses. Sometimes you just have to give into the music; life is too short and stressful as is. This is not my endorsement of Rick’s, as my opinion is still mixed, but it is to say this: at the very least, maybe consider dancing in your room with your headphones. There’s an inherently silly and unserious feeling to it, but that’s what makes it fun. Perhaps it’s “healing your inner child,” or whatever those self-help guides online say.

Do you ever have those nights where you sleep so hard that you wake up covered in sweat? Disoriented, blinking nonstop, feeling gross? Yeah, me too. I think I must have had some crazy dream I don’t remember. Either way, I slept in way past my alarm, which is extremely unusual for me. I guess it’s that time of year; I’m trying to be forgiving of myself, it happens. But to my lucky surprise, when I checked my phone, my first class of the day happened to be cancelled! I no longer had to worry about scrambling to get there, instead taking my time getting ready and getting ahead in my workload for the week. The stars were aligned (although perhaps not for my professor, who cancelled class on account of getting sick). Sometimes we screw up and get lucky — this is one of the many beautiful mysteries of life I choose not to question. Instead, I’m just happy I’m chilling out today. Enjoy the week, thanks for reading!

During fall break, I went home to see my family as I usually do. It was super relaxing and peaceful, and great to see everyone again. In a cartoonishly funny coincidence, though, I got invited to the same diner three days in a row. It’s one of my boyfriend and I’s favorites, and every time I go there I get the same thing – I can’t help it, the spinach and feta omelette is so good! Funny enough, the server was also the same each day. I was certain she’d recognize me, embarrassed about how silly I looked. On day two, I was saved; she either didn’t recognize me or chose not to acknowledge my repetitive eating habits. But day three, she brought it up. Even though she was sweet and happy about it, I felt like I was in a second-hand embarrassment scene in a sitcom. Right after calling me out for coming again, she asked for my order, and I avoided eye contact as I ordered the same thing for the third day in a row. Embarrassing. But so good. It was worth it.