Kawledge all over again

63

OH MY GOD I MISSED MY BED!

Nothing says a good night's sleep like plopping down on a queen sized mattress and dozing off (even if that sleep started at 4am) on a plushy mountain of pillow pets and blankets.

I woke up early Friday morning feeling refreshed, even though the day before had been a roller coaster mentally and physically. After showering and getting all ready for the day, I was SO much more than excited to take on the day. 

Because today was my first grad school interview in person! I looked sooo professional in my fitted blazer and fancy earrings that I didn't even think about how much sleep i'd had (or didn't).

Me and my parents headed off to the college, and during the whole trip it was really nice to just catch up, talk about anything and everything, and all without putting any pressure on me or making me nervous about this interview. They're really good at evaluating things rationally but with a person's own feelings in mind. So that helped a lot with the butterflies in my stomach. 

We pulled up into the small parking lot, and surrounding us were older homes and campus buildings. It felt more like a little neighborhood than a typical run of the mill campus. Also, there was snow... Everywhere! 

I got to meet up with an old friend/sorority sister at the beginning of our visit, and she made me feel so much more at ease when we got talking. She loves the program she's in now (the same I'm applying for) and she gave me some words of advice that just made me feel like, hey, I got this.

This was the building my tour and interviews got started in, and the one that would hold all my classes. My favorite part was the library- where you could literally borrow thousands of therapy tools to use with real clients! It all seems so real all of a sudden to be in this kind of environment, where so many people share my passion. 

I expected the whole tour and visit to feel just like I was back in high school, but this time, instead of selling you their sports and school pride and amazing hoodies from their bookstore, these schools mean business. They have to tell you the exact things you'll be doing in their clinic, otherwise it's a bust. So while I loved hearing about all this information, I couldn't help but miss the nostalgia that comes with going into undergrad.

I'm sure it'll be different once I get started into a program, but for now I'll just enjoy kinda putting the breaks on worrying about the whole process, and kinda cruise on by. I gotta remind myself to let things ride once in a while.

After the tour and interviews, my parents took me out to dinner for a beautiful steak, broccoli and potato meal. My parents really helped with letting me know that everything is going to work out no matter what. I loved talking with them about it all, and even more that they're always going to have their ears open for me.

After the four hour trip home, I was greeted by my adorable dog Abby with her wagging tail and bright energy! She's literally the sweetest dog, and never fails to make me smile :) 

LOOK AT THAT FACE!

Ta Ta for now babes!

XO

Amanda

Good thing I have a good travel playlist

64

Because I'm home for the weekend and I don't have a working computer at the moment, these next couple posts will be a wee bit late and not as fun looking as normal, I'm sorry!! Bare with me ❤️

So Thursday wasssss..... Interesting!! I'm not going to go into details because I don't want to, for several reasons, but I will say this:

Learn to forgive, people. It's so important in life, and I still have to remind myself to do it all the time. It could save the relationships you have with people you love. Just try to be understanding of what a person says, because you never know if they were stressed at the time and didn't mean what they said.

That was very redundant but you get my point hopefully!

Also, thank you to a few people who helped me remember that entire piece of advice- you know who you are and I love you dearly. 

So to spruce things up a bit, lemmie tell you about my favorite show on Netflix. Bob's Burgers!!

So it's about this family and every character has an awesome quality about them that makes them...well awesome (again I'm writing this at 3am). Youtuber Laci Green talks about it in one of her videos on how the show really embodies being who you are as a person and accepting people who are different. That, and the fact that it's super funny makes it one of the greats in my opinion.

So how that came up was I started watching Netflix in between bus rides home on Thursday night. I made it in around 3am on Friday morning and have been really busy since. It's been tiring but I'm trying to think on the positive. All I'm saying is that no matter how bleak a situation seems, know that you DO always have friends and family members who care about you and who will listen to you when you need them to. 

Stay smiling, you're beautiful babes

XO

Amanda 

Lame posts at 2am

65

Today was all over the place, and so is this blog, fair warning.

I'm actually going to start backwards, so, Wednesday night.

I'm pretty sure mtv has been on for like 5 hours straight now (it's currently 1am) and my roommates Liz and Mavis and me have seen everything from Lil Wayne's daughter's sweet sixteen, to liars and cheaters catfishing left and right! Also, me and Mavis just watching youtube, as per usual. 

Which, those two up there are our baes. Aka future husbands. 

But really nothing too exciting today. I did pretty well in this morning's group presentation (sorry, literally just flipped from the end of today to the very beginning) and our teacher was pretty happy with our info and such. That class is nice because every person likes to talk to each other, and share ideas about how to interpret different psychological theories and how to apply them to a classroom. For me, that's super interesting, for real.

After class, I wanted to treat myself with some delicious, perfectly fluffy puffy pancakes.

Chocolate chips are a must.
The pancake flip game is strong *insert hair flip emoji girl*

Basically that's all that happened noteworthy today, not too much, but I'm just starting to get excited for this weekend. So trying to save energy for that is most important.

Ta ta for now babes!

XO

Amanda

All we do is win

66

This week is feeling like one day should be two. On Tuesday, I kept thinking it was Wednesday, which really isn't convenient when none of your classes are the same on any one day.

Luckily my brain turned on at some point and I didn't miss anything - that was a close call. 

But my Tuesday made me so happy. A lot of good stuff went down, so I couldn't wipe that smile off my face even if I tried.

I'm actually starting to feel somewhat recovered after PDM, which most people say takes a week to recover from. Aside from a few sniffles here and there, I was feeling good.

During the day, this physical exhaustion finally leaving my body kept me going mentally too, so even though I just worked on an assignment all afternoon, I wasn't distracted or even groggy at any point, which I totally would have been if this was Monday we were talking about.

So I felt confident in handing in my paper for my music class, which, when we got there, we watched a very interesting movie on blues singers.

Then, as always, time for cycling! I had my workout gear on and ready to go, but I wasn't sure how good this class would be considering the weekend we went through. But, to my surprise, Mavis and I did so well! Our teacher definitely turned up the intensity on us, but we totally killed it. I don't even know why, but the classes are seeming shorter and shorter every time. 

The best part though, was I was never tired this entire class. Not to be confused with not working hard - no. I worked my body extremely hard. My legs throbbed and my lungs were desperately trying to keep up, and the boob sweat was so so real.

But I was never mentally tired. I wanted to keep going even. When the class ended, I thought, that's it? Is there a part two? 

I never thought to myself that the interval climb was too hard to do, or I can't make it through this next sprint. Like, I pretty much just silenced everything that could have stopped me from going, and I loved it.

Don't ask me how I got to this point, all I know is that I want to keep doing classes like these, even after graduation.

So I got home super proud of Mavis and I, and got ready to head out to the basketball game with Liz! Oakland Zoo here we come!

Liz and I got there right in time for the guys to let us in right away - there were literally like 20 people ahead of us in line. Definitely a slow game day.

But it was cool because we got front row in the Zoo! Our student section has an amazing rep, and I was happy to finally get to be a part of it. Thankfully, Liz knows all the traditions and helped me along the way of what to do and when.

After a while the seats started filling up, and after a bite to eat we were ready for game time. Beat Boston College!

I swear, there's gotta be invisible trampolines under these nets. 

Also, Roc paid us a little visit - er, serenade.

During the game, I caught on quick of when to cheer what, how to distract the other team, and that you cannot, I mean literally cannot sit down.

Which is good, because that got us on ESPN.

Oh heyyy!

Thanks to Matt, Liz's boyf for snapping this candid of us on the big screen. I'll be signing autographs all week ;)

Such an exciting game too! I mean, for someone who hasn't been to any Syracuse or Notre Dame games. But hey, I had a good time.

And we wonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!! 71-65

Couple close calls there, but we managed to stay ahead or tied the whole way through. Our boys were playing more than well, so we had a lot to cheer for!

So I'm so excited that I made it into the zoo! Hey, it may not have been the biggest game, but I did it. So it counts.

Thanks for reading! Sorry it's a long one. I'll try to keep the blogs easy and fun =)

Hail to Pitt!

XO
Amanda

Letters from Mom

67

The Monday after PDM... need I say more?

I gotta admit, on Sunday I experienced most of the physical pain, but the day after it all, my brain was the one suffering and acting all weird.

I could barely fixate my eyes on the words in my class powerpoints, let alone answer questions with actual words. 

I didn't realize such an event took so much out of you. And I'm used to pushing my body to do things on little to no sleep. But, this was a whole new level for me. My roommate even informed us that our 24 hours of dancing counted for a total of over 7,000 calories burned. Good thing we literally kept eating the entire way through!

This was totally us by the end, not even gunna lie. Dance moves on point.

I'm starting to feel like I'm possibly, maybe losing weight, especially in my midsection. Although I didn't visit the gym Monday (I would have been absolutely crazy to), I was feeling stronger, and not as much like my body hated me for pushing it physically to the max. I just want to feel confident this upcoming spring break (in like 10 days!) and be happy with where I'm at.

When I got home from my morning class and working in the computer lab on my reading assignments, I opened up a letter addressed to me, from my mom. I found this little gem in there:

She knows me too well. Cookies are my biggest weakness - it was even my first word as a baby.

Every week, without fail, my lovely mom sends me a letter. Sometimes with quirky newspaper clippings in them like this one, sometimes an article about a topic she knows I'd be interested in, and even the occasional gift card to food places (god bless). But each and every one contains a handwritten note from her catching me up about her week, or encouraging me that what I'm doing is somewhat right, you know all that mom stuff. But I love every bit of her little notes. Love you mom.

My Monday ended with a sorority meeting where I got to sit next to my adorable GL, and then just doing work for classes at home. So, not too exciting, but I was glad I could get through the day without falling asleep in class, and getting to talk to family during the day too.

Call your mom, or grandma, or aunt, dad, brother, sister, friend... whoever makes you smile. It'll put even the slightest bit of positivity into your day that you didn't even know you needed =)

Ta ta for now babes,

XO

Amanda

Dancing for Gracie (and for, well, everyone)

68 & 69

Okay yes I'm combining two days into one but lemmie explain (I'm not trying to cheat I swear!)

This weekend was one I will never forget. I won't be able to explain this just right to anybody, but I will do my absolute best. 

Saturday and Sunday, I made memories I'll tell my kids about. I never thought I could do something like this - push my body in ways I thought were impossible, and all while literally saving someone's life.

PDM 2015... you were real good to me.

I've always wanted to be a part of something so big and makes such a huge impact on someone's (or many people's) life. And this weekend, I did just that. I literally danced for 24 hours straight!

These are my sorority sisters that also participated in the 24-hour all day, all night event. With our game faces on, we were ready for a challenge. Our goal? Raise $100k for the Children's Miracle Network. Bring it on!

So my roommate Mavis and our friend Lauren started out Saturday morning on the snowy/slippery/mountainous climb to upper campus and got to the event around 10 or 11am. Needless to say, everyone there was already up and ready to go at like 8 or 9, so the next 24 hours seemed extremely far away. Luckily I got an amazing sleep Friday night after painting my nails to match our purple team shirts, so I was more excited than nervous. But trust me, the nerves did come across my mind once or twice.

And there we were- The Pitt Dance Marathon! Walking onto the plushy, bouncy turf made me wonder if my feet were actually going to be okay throughout the event. I was thoroughly mistaken... to say the least!

First order of business was to meet the child our purple team was supporting closely. Her name was Gracie, and she had two cochlear implants.

My heart melted. Not only was Gracie such a joy to be around and learn about, but she exerted such a positive energy. I was especially excited to meet her, because I've learned so much about cochlear implants because of my major. I knew how they worked, what the procedure was to get them working with her brain, and why she qualified in needing them in the first place. When her mom told us how hard she fought to have her child get the care she wanted for her, it brought tears to my eyes. Needless to say, her mother was clearly Gracie's number one fan. 

12:00 noon was quickly approaching, meaning the time we had to relax on our butts was shrinking faster and faster, with my heart pounding in sync with the ticking time.

Time to start dancing!!! I raced onto the dance floor with my friends and we began to tear it up!!!

Aren't we adorable?

On the backs of our shirts we wrote "I dance for Gracie" to honor our new little friend. 

So here's where all the hourly activities started. To break the time up, the leaders of PDM had all the dancers (the ones staying the whole 24 hours) and moralers (people who stayed for 8 and helped cheer on dancers) learn this line dance to be performed every hour on the hour. It was kinda cute, until they had us singing about "some tragic things." I thought this dance was supposed to be positive? But, good try I guess? I liked the part most at the end to the tune of "Uptown Funk." Still, the point was to get us motivated to raise that big 100k.

Of course, we had to take a step inside the gigantic bounce house set up. Lauren, Katie, Mavis, my big, gl, and my little and me ran inside to play duck duck goose with two of the children!

While we still had the energy, we played games with the kids and that made time fly by, even just for a little while. It's so cute seeing how the kids can just run on seemingly endless energy and still be laughing the whole time.

Fast-forward to some new DJs entertaining us for their assigned hour. One was completely on-point with his mixes and really got us pumped up! (though our feet were starting to feel it) My mind though was starting to trick me into thinking those lasers were some kind of object being thrown directly at my face. No sleep + constant dancing + house music will do that to ya. 

And, as the night went on, our hourly line dance became second nature, and pretty much shocked any newcomers seeing it for the first time.

Techno hour was the most crowded by far. Most people came for the rave-like nature of the scene, and honestly I had a lot of fun during that span of time. This is also the time when we all go a big new surge of energy to keep us going, so it was definitely a great time dancing with a mix of my friends in Her Campus, and my sorority sisters!

More activities! As the wee hours of the night approached, our little group of Her Campus Cloggers (yes, bloggers who dance!) stayed strong. There was one point where we had to pile on as many TSwift tees as we possibly can. 

By this hour (I wanna say like 2am?) we started getting a little loopy. I think this is when our words turned into broken English, but with just as much spirit. Also, our legs were getting kinda annoyed with us.

Whoops. Spoke too soon. 

By 5am, I was not me. This hour hit me, smack dab in the face.

I literally felt like I couldn't even remember how to curl up and rest. There was just no energy left in me that I didn't even know what normal felt like anymore. Staying on your feet that long really gets to ya, and I had no idea what it would feel like.

It hurts. And it is HARD.

It basically felt like somebody took each individual muscle and threw an anvil on top of it, then set fire to it and burned it to a crisp. No body part felt this way ever before.

Everyone left out that little bit of it, but I guess it's because looking back at it now, that was only a small portion of the entire night. 

As the morning went on, a few of us in our group went home. Me and Mavis knew this was our last chance to finish strong, so we stuck with it. Thankfully, we now had Jess from HC also, and a few more friends to come visit. My body was pretty much in horror at this point. My mind... I don't even know what it was doing to be honest.

The awesome thing is seeing how much people truly care for you during times like these. I cannot even describe the amount of love I received from friends and sisters offering to bring us coffee, snacks, anything. I don't know how I would have made it without you all believing in us, and how much you wanted us to finish this.

Alyssa woke up early to come see us when we absolutely needed her most - about 30 minutes before the big ending. Everyone came around here too, my big, little, gl, my iris, and so many more sisters. It was amazing how much they amped us up again and were now minutes away from being finishers.

Ten minutes left. We can do this!

Here's where things got really cool. 

Our graduated sorority sister Merel got up and gave an inspiring speech about how Children's Hospitals saved her life. She said how it became a second home to her as she was growing up, and now she works there. She truly is an amazing human.

Now for the big reveal....drum roll please...

WE HIT OUR GOAL!!!

PDM raised over $153,000 for Children's Miracle Network! That is so incredible. I literally cried when that number was shown and we sang "Sweet Caroline" afterwards as a group. My teams and I helped do that. We helped someone live our their dream, like Merel did and Gracie will.

It was an experience, to say the very least. I know I absolutely never could have done it though had it not been for this girl right here. We stuck through the entire 24 hours as seniors, and will always be able to tell this story. I'm so incredibly proud of us, of Her Campus, and of Delta Phi Epsilon. Without these people in my life, I would not have the fulfillment that I do today. 

Much love to PDM and to Children's Hospitals everywhere.

Dance on babes,

XO

Amanda

Shining brighter than a Pittsburgh sunrise

70

Up and at 'em Pittsburgh! Today I woke up at the crack of dawn to get ready for my second graduate school interview. I did not regret it one bit!

Look how beautiful my city is!! Living in such a pretty part of Oakland definitely has its benefits.

So I picked out my interview outfit (a white turtleneck and pretty statement necklace) and did my makeup in a simple yet put together way. I was getting so excited with every piece of the outfit!

Heading over to Hillman for some peace and quiet, and to not disturb my sleeping roommates, I was ready to set up my little interview station. But first, Cathy was lookin' oh so gorgeous.

Mahhvelous.

Anyway, I set all my things down in my little private area (which didn't have a door, but I didn't mind) and look who I found watching over my little nervous self.

HEY ARNOLD!

Good old football head. Nothing like one of my favorite 90s Nickelodeon characters to make me feel at home.

But then, a guy started working on something super loudly! Out of all the areas in the whole library, he's right next to me and starts drilling on something with his power tools. So I had to get my butt out of there before the interview, and thankfully I made it in time.

The interview went well, I just couldn't really read it too well. But we'll see in the future how it went!

I thought I ought to give myself a reward for getting these interviews done the past couple of days, so I made myself a hearty stack of chocolate chip pancakes. Om nom nom.

And I finally mastered the pan flip! Super chef master manda, yep that's me.

Afterwards, my day was full of cleaning, a social media meeting (where Abby joined us via Facetime! Hi Abby!), laundry, checking emails/sending thank you emails, and more of that adult life. Also, talking with my parents so they know what's up.

Then, my roommates and I all watched The 100-Foot Journey while eating a big pasta dinner to carb load up for the big day tomorrow. Wish us luck, our feet will need it!

So basically I won't be updating this blog until Sunday night after I die from the 24 dance marathon. Hang tight until then! I promise I'll have stories to tell =)

See ya next time with blisters on my feet, and one more check mark off my bucket list!

XO

Amanda

Adulthood Here I Come!

71

GUYS. GUYS!

I am SO happy to tell you that the recent slump I was in (and by slump I mean totally negative nancy over here) has been BROKEN!!!

My Thursday rocked my socks.

Woke up, flawless.

Yep that was me. ALL DAY.

Haha no but I wish I could be that perfect!

(every good post needs a Bey gif right?)

So first things first, me and Liz make the trek up to Victoria Hall for our morning exam. Which, neither of us did amazing on, but hey, you win some you lose some. I was just happy to finally get the physics unit out of the way (not my strong suit by any means) and learn more about the different parts of sound and how we actually hear things in the environment.

Whoops sorry, nerd coming out.

After our test, I felt really really relieved. Because now, I got to go home, and look forward to a perfectly planned out schedule for the day. And that makes me very very happy =)

First order of business: three words.

GRAD. SCHOOL. INTERVIEW.

Ohhhh my god.

Can we talk about how real that sounds? 

Well whether I like it or not, it's time to get real.

I got home, wrote out my list of questions, and got myself all mentally prepared for this interview. I don't know what it is about interviews, but the second they start, I'm in the zone. My mom just says it's because I'm honest, but I always just feel like someone comes around and sprinkles some pixie dust all over me and I transform into this perfectly articulate person. Like, who is that?

Haha, but I really loved this interview. It put me in the best of moods. Just like floating on cloud 9, knowing I did something possibly really, really right.

I was so happy I didn't even care that I had 300 pages left in my book to read the whole rest of the day. I literally was weirdly smiling as I was reading -  like one of those people that laughs at a joke they heard 3 years ago and randomly thinks of it in the middle of class so everyone turns and looks at you. Oh wait, that's also me!

So according to the entire world of Snapchat, Pittsburgh was a beautiful ZERO outside with a windchill that felt like -17. Awesomeeeee.

I literally ran to class in my 600 layers and made it with time to spare to class! Woohoo!

I walked up to my door and:

"CLASS CANCELLED"

Yeah...probably should have checked my email sometime today!

I hardly cared I walked all the way there and back, because now I could spend some more time with my roommates and just have fun for a night. We needed that so badly.

Clearly we were feeling silly!

Mavis rented a move called Men, Women and Children. So we grabbed our desserts, and got to it.

The movie was so good! Definitely not the funniest ones out there, but it was so true to a lot of things in our generation. It made you think, but had a cute flair to it. Plus, Ansel Elgort (TFIOS star) was a lead character. Hello favorite new bae. 

We had such a fun night just laughing at everything and spending time enjoying ourselves after a super tough week for all of us. 

Pretty soon, I'll be dancing for 24 hours and getting more photos up on these blogs, promise.

For now, let's just enjoy the friends we have and the time we've got =)

Ta ta for now babes!

XO

Amanda

Weird Wednesday

72

My Wednesday was wow.

Not wow, like incredible and uplifting and amazing and full of spectacular memories, but wow like I can't believe this is happening wow.

I woke up trying to turn the day into something positive by convincing my roommates to come to yoga with me. Sometimes, you need a minute to just breathe.

So we hiked over to the union for a free yoga + class. 

But, to our luck, the teacher was a no show. 

So we all went our separate ways (sorry guys) and I worked out for like 3 hours straight to try and clear my head. Nothing crazy, just a couple light cardio exercises and strength training.

Here's where my day really took a turn for the worse.

There was a mixup with my email going through for a class, that had my midterm essay attached. So, while I did hand it in on time, my anxiety shot up to the max thinking I was going to receive a failing grade. My first ever. Being a second semester senior is more stressful than everyone thinks, that's for sure.  

In the end, everything worked out. But, I really let that get to me. All day I was freaking out over this elective, and for what? I wasn't sure. But I know that my energy should have been going towards something else. 

So my hump day was just straight up strange. I did not like it. But it's over and done with and I never have to relive it again. Sometimes we have days where nothing seems to be going right, or you're just in a mood that's not typical you. That's okay. Just remember, not every day can be peaches and cream.

Much love to you babes. Sorry for the recent turn of events. I promise, the week will get better.

Ta ta for now,

XO

Amanda

Good things are going to happen

73

Just keep swimming.

Thanks Ellen/Dory for the little Tuesday motto I (and many people around me) absolutely needed. 

My day started out normally, but everything seemed to just spiral into a bit of a chaos as it went on. 

Let's start off on a positive note: Ed Sheeran's Birthday!!

This is a pic I snapped of the Ginger Jesus two years ago when actually my now roommates and I saw him live at Stage AE. It had to have been one of the best moments I've experienced since living in Pittsburgh. If any of you ever get the chance to see Ed, do it. It is life changing.

After a couple of my normal Tuesday classes, my afternoon one got cancelled. This is the one where we discuss lots of very heavy subject matter, but mixed in with one of my favorite things: music. So, although the class is interesting, I was not complaining when I saw that email announcement.

Okay so I was planning on telling all you guys why today wasn't perfect, why me and a couple friends were not in the best of moods, but I decided not to. And for the sake of reminding myself that life does go on. 

We may worry about an assignment or even something bigger than that, but what we have to realize is that while it's completely normal to be upset about it for a little while (and however you deal with that, make sure it's a healthy way) we have to get back to the present and realize that whatever this is that's making us upset, it's not the end of the world. I looked up in my living room and saw my favorite little art piece hanging, and it gave me a little push I needed to forget about my worries.

A gift from one of my sorority sisters, this canvas is a daily reminder for us to just take a breather sometimes.

I decided then that it was time for a distraction to amp up this little momentum I had. Free movie playing on campus? With popcorn, candy, and let's not forget the FREE part? I'm down.

Horrible Bosses 2!

Okay, if you haven't seen the first one yet, go do that. Then, go watch this sequel. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was not disappointed! My roommate and I were crying laughing throughout the entire thing, and anything with Jamie Foxx in it, I'm a fan. Go see it with a friend or a group of people, and you guys will be thoroughly entertained.

Also, another good thing: my cycling teacher said to us right in the middle of our toughest workout (today's was by far the most brutal) "Challenge yourself, or you'll never get anywhere." 
Tomorrow is a new day. Let's keep thinking like that!

Ta ta for now babes

XO

Amanda

20 Varieties of grilled cheese... pick one.

74

I cannot feel my toes.

Or pinky finger.

Or...any body part for that matter.

My entire body pretty much numbly walked through campus, like I'm almost sure if someone kicked a soccer ball at my body I would not have felt it at all. It was just sooo cold.

My Monday was pretty packed with studying, an exam (that I seriously don't wanna even think about) and meetings.

So, I invited my leopard family to head over to dinner before our meeting so we could have a little girls' night to get our minds off our crazy days.

Thank goodness for my big having a car on campus! I don't think we could have survived bussing over to Shadyside. After battling with the amazing parking options in Pittsburgh, we sprinted out the car (the only way to move in this weather without getting hypothermia) to The Yard for dinner, another new place I haven't gotten to try yet.

THEY HAD LIKE A MILLION GRILLED CHEESE OPTIONS!!!

My head was spinning I could not decide!! I literally asked the waitress to come back three times before I picked one, and I was super happy with the pick. Mozzarella, provolone, steak and lettuce on a grilled Texas toast sandwich and a side of garlic Parmesan fries.

Half-off the grilled cheese menu, which also comes with fries and tomato sauce is my kind of meal. My little suggested this place, and I always trust her opinion since she knows all the best places around Pittsburgh.

So the three of us got to catch up after a little while, and we left full-bellied and way happier than before we went. 

Then, after meeting, I met up with my roommate to get a little workout in before finishing up some schoolwork. After a meal like I had, I was SO ready to work off a little bit of those calories.

Abs, cardio and butt. Those are the three workouts that make me going home feeling accomplished. I've found that whatever activity makes you feel stronger, even if it's just a little bit of it, sticking with it every day works wonders.

One of the best things about college: being able to go to a gym for free until 11pm.

And, doing that with one of your close friends to make it even more fun!

Stay healthy babes!

XO

Amanda

Quarter blog crisis

75

"Can we stop saying the number please?!" - my roommates after I announce how many days left until the big day.

I just can't believe I'm a quarter of the way done with these blogs! Thank you to everyone who has been reading even little bits of them. You make my heart sing.

Anddd there's the Build-a-Bear worker coming out. I knew that would happen one of these days =)

Fun fact: Outside I couldn't feel my cheekbones all day, they were so frozen.

Not a very exciting one today. I just had a lot of meetings to attend, my Zumba workout class, and in between all of that, studying for my three exams this week, a midterm paper, group project and two interviews. 

Two words will be my motto this week: Power Through.

I'm mostly excited for Thursday and Friday, talking with two schools that are on the top of my list. Interviews are usually where I shine, not gunna lie, and I think this might be my chance at possible good news up ahead. So, cross your fingers for me!!

This one's getting wrapped up early, since a) I'm cold. b) I need sleep. c) I have to wake up early to get more work done. 

Love you all, let's get through the next three-quarters of this time together!

Ta ta for now babes

XO

Amanda

"I think I'll go to Law school today!"

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If you've ever met me, whether it be knowing me for two minutes or 21 years, you automatically know that I am absolutely 100 million percent the least spontaneous person ever to walk the earth.

It's actually true. I have to plan out everything. If something ever happened to my Lily planner, I honestly think I'd forget my name, where I live, how to spot Cathedral... yeah I'd be a hot mess basically.

So this morning, I felt like the ever amazing Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. Waking up and doing something spontaneous, like go to law school!

Granted, I didn't up and change my entire life path in one morning, but to me it was a big enough to document! 

I cut my hair!
I'm pretty proud of myself for just up and doing something I've been wanting to do for a long (like literally since September) longggg time. 
I still like how you can see some pink at the bottom too! 
But being quick to make a decision put me in an AMAZING mood. I felt lighter, happier, and freer, not to be tacky. 
You're probably wondering why I'm wearing all this fancyness. Sit tight, I'll get to that later!

After my little spontaneous fling, I ran into Lauren! And of course, since she was headed to Dunkin, I absolutely HAD to change my course around (again, second time today, look at me go!) and grab a dozen nom-nuts for my roommates. Since it was Valentine's Day and all, I just wanted to show them they're lovedddddd and blah blah blahhhh. 

Haha no but really. My roommates are awesome.

Also, I just had to try a bite of those heart-shaped cookie dough-filled donuts. 

So now it was time to do a little house cleaning, homework, and organizing (again, planning stuff out) before heading downtown to pick up Mavis from the bus stop. 

And literally out of nowhere, a HUGE snowstorm started! Like right as I was about to leave!!!
Talk about more spontaneity. It was so fine all day and then Pittsburgh had to just be like "nope" and plop a big white-out in my face. You could not even see Towers from our window - and that's like a block away.

So I prepared myself with two pairs of pants, two scarves, earmuffs, three sweaters, and an extra set of gloves and hat for my friend.

After basically being dragged over to the bus stop by the wind, we got to catch up after her trip away on an awesome New York Fashion Week experience. 

Now here's where the dress comes in: Tonight was the annual Black and White ball held at the gorgeous Carnegie Music Hall. 

So of course, Fredrika, Mavis and I got all dressy and headed out together for a little Galentine's Day celebration. 

Winged eyeliner? Check. Red lip? Check. Wearing sweatpants in heels outside in zero degrees? Unfortunately, check.

I had such a fun time at the dance though! We found this group of single ladies and literally just sang a bunch of throwbacks with them in a giant circle beside all the couples. 

I'll miss dances like this next year. But this was definitely a good way to leave off on a good note.

Keep on dancin' babes!

XO

Amanda