No place like _____.

Ever since I started attending UCSC, my parents moved out of our home and got an apartment to feel a little more comfortable. Sadly, there is not place for me over there considering that it's not a very spacious place. Yeah so I was thinking what is a home? Can I call my temporary dorm room my home? This is what dictionary.com said:

home:
the place in which one's domestic affections are centered.

=(

According to dictionary.com, I am homeless.

Hmm..

Anyways, on a semi-happier note, I ran five miles in 45 minutes! For all you cross country people, I haven't ran five miles straight without peeling over from an asthma attack ... ever! Woo! And I could have kept going if I hadn't gotten sick of my two Beyonce songs. I feel like my heart is healthier.

MIA and 420

I figured M.I.A. (the artist) and 420, would go hand-in hand.

So M.I.A. came out with this new video called "Born Free" (I'm not going to post it because it's way too violent and explicit) and this video has begun to spark so much controversy! At one point there is a little boy getting his skull blasted by a soldier and you see this in slow motion... also there's a boy running for his life and then you see his body exploding into chunks, again in slow motion. Where is the line that determines if this is too far? As for M.I.A., you never cease to surprise your audience.

April 20 - UCSC's biggest celebrated holiday (sadly)

So that morning on my way to class, people were actually saying "Happy Holidays" and I just thought to myself "This is where I am paying thousands of dollars to get an education.. " HA. Anyways, UCSC is known for 420, and every year thousands of students (YES, THOUSANDS!) meet in a meadow in the west side of campus. At 4:20pm they all smoke weed. (side: I don't smoke). I thought it'd be interesting to go my first year of college and see why it's a big deal, so I went, but after being there for 1 minute, I left... overrated.

Here's a video.

Rev. Al Sharpton

"I didn't know I was under-privileged until my college professor had a lecture on urban education. I never though I was under-privileged growing up because my mother told me all the great things I had, not the things I didn't have."

Everything New

In the past 2 months:

1. I have been to New York!
(this was the pub that inspired the writer of How I Met Your Mother!)
2. Been to New Jersey. Stayed in the charming city of Rahway!



3. Learned how to make ringing sounds with a wine glass

4. Rode on a motorcycle

5. I had my first VALENTINE :)
my charming boyfriend took me to such a nice place :) it's called shadowbrook!

(deeelicious salmon)

That was a general recap. The past 2 months have been a very unfamiliar start to this new decade. It was about time...

Now! I am going to be off to try and actually live my life! Seize the day, be unconventional, and I will post more later!


-Esther

New Years!!

Knowing myself, I have to write things down in order for it to mean something.

1. God is a priority.

2. Work on not being apathetic. Apathy = ignorance and arrogance.

3. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."
-- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
this is what I want to live by every single day for the rest of my life. I've realized that throughout my life, you change people mostly through your own actions. It's beautiful in so many aspects because you know what love truly is when you have learned to be patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, humbled, not rude, not self-seeking, slow to anger, and forgiving.

Be patient. Everything happens for a reason. It may seem like a long time during the hard times, but it passes. Dad was distracted and gone for almost 12 years and look what had to happen in order for him to be the father he is today. World's greatest dad. Love is patient. God works in strange ways.

Be kind. Kindness repays you so well, yet do not expect any kindness in return. Be kind because you want to be kind, not because you feel obligated. Kindness is a trait that is undermined in society, yet when you experience it and see it, it never ceases to awe people. Love is kind.

Love does not envy. This is what I must work on a lot. I am envious when it comes to things I feel like I should have because "I deserve it," but if you think about, what do we actually deserve?. Still, envy is what will slowly kill a person. How can you be content if you are envious. Love does not envy.

Love is not proud. Pride is a self-inflicting weapon. Satan was an angel that was cast down because of his pride.

Love is not rude. LOVE IS NOT RUDE. As a Christian, I have to set an example to everyone around me through my daily life. Why not start with being polite?

It is not self-seeking. Do not mistake this for "please other people." This is talking about sacrifice. Learn to get out of your comfort zone to follow what God is telling you. Put others before yourself.

It is not easily angered. Being slow to anger is what I have been working on for the past couple months now. It goes hand in hand with patience, yet it requires a much higher level of understanding and compassion. I am going to continue working on this because I realized that being slow to anger exemplifies so much love. I hope that I can radiate this type of love as God has continued to regardless of my lukewarm faith.

It keeps no record of wrongs. Forgive and forget. Forgetting is hard, but I have to learn. Forgiving and forgetting go hand in hand. One can't fully forgive, if they don't fully forget. If people do change for the better, which they do, then by burdening them with their previous actions, you stall their progress. Forgive and forget not only for your own benefit, so that you don't hold any bitterness, but so that the other can continue to progress and learn, not be held down.

This was my personal New Years resolution list. What's yours?