4. Growing a Garden

Okay, so it's not exactly a garden, but growing basil plants is close enough. After three or four days, seeing their little green heads poking through the soil is definitely enough to evoke a smile. I could carry on with the whole "cycle of life is beautiful" topic, but that's too cliché, and the theme of this blog is already pushing the sentimental angle. Let's just leave it with the fact that I was very tempted to sing "A very merry unbirthday!" to my babies. Once they get past the moody adolescent phase, I have a nice large pot to put them in. And after that...oh god, delicious paninis.

Why do I feel like a murderer...?

3. Singing in the Car

The first thing I did after getting my license? Speed down the highway, belting my little heart out to songs whose lyrics I could only really guess at. After all, the lyrics themselves don't matter. Neither does the pitch or even quality of what terrible sounds come out of my throat. I'm no singer, despite the two singing lessons I took when I was young and hopeful in middle school. But honestly, singing in the car without any concern for what neighbors or random strangers may think of you is nothing less than free therapy. Even after the roughest of weeks with a million different things stressing me out, I still manage to scream-sing until my throat is raw to anything I can find on the radio.

It may not be pretty, but it feels great.

2. NBC Thursday

There is nothing like coming home after a long, stressful day of school, eating as much food as I want, and then crashing on the couch to watch Community, The Office, Parks & Rec, and 30 Rock. These shows are clever and witty when I'm too tired to say anything more coherent than, "Ehhhh." I've loved following these TV shows as they've developed, and tonight, as Michael Scott said goodbye to The Office, my eyes were more than a little moist. Perhaps it's silly, but I couldn't help but feel that I was watching history in the making as his plane took off for Colorado. It's cheesy, I know, but it just seemed to parallel my soon-to-be college journey all too well (something that's actually been concerning me a lot lately). Fortunately, April and Andy's newlywed antics were more than able to remedy my anxiety and stress - after all, what can't a marshmallow shooter fix? - while 30 Rock reassured me that I'm not the only once concerned with change (more specifically, mortality). After all, sometimes you can't control life. Sometimes that plastic bag stuck in the tree right outside your window is going to taunt you, and sometimes your wife is going to be captured by a North Korean dictator. That's just life.

Thank god for the little things that are within our reach. Namely, the remote control.

1. Silent Section of the Library

The dull murmur of the chattier, more lively students sitting together at tables further off sets a nice background for the clearer sounds of typing, page-rustling, and occasional sniffing. It's peaceful here. Even if we aren't studying, we're at least pretending, which is half the battle anyway. (...Right?) It's a school library, implying that some students are bound to get away with snacking or laughing obnoxiously together over a youtube video, but nonetheless it's a safe haven. Some of us here are refugees from the voracious appetite of petty teenage drama, some have last-second work to scramble to finish, while others are simply in need of a place to relax on their loner breaks. Regardless of social status, age, or personality, the silent section of the library is a magical, welcoming place, especially to those in desperate need of a social life...like myself.