Things I Know to be True

A brief list:

• The relatively new album by The Lumineers, Cleopatra, is PHENOMENAL (thanks Maddie, if you're reading this, for introducing me)
• Working at an ice cream shop is fun but not very lucrative (like, at all...)
• I may be getting cavities from said job
• Donald Trump is either the biggest doofus or the smartest con artist I've ever seen, but either reality is terrifying
• Urban Decay makes really good lipsticks
• JoJo picked the wrong Bachelor (!!! so mad about this !!!)
• A lot of bad stuff still happens in the world and some people are really sucky but sometimes people do nice things or are just genuinely good people, and the world is just a little bit better

This post was brought to you by a sheer lack of motivation to do anything else, and peach iced tea.

Example #1 of some really good people, my freshmen hallmates

Example #2: NKE fam, the best & brightest

Example #3, last but certainly not least, my real fam <333

Is Anyone Out There?

If you're reading this right now, I want to extend a virtual hug to you for sticking around even though I am the literal worst. The last time I wrote for this platform was in 2015, for New Year's. That's awful, if I say I have a blog, I should damn well write for it! So that's why I'm here today, because even though I have so much school and extracurricular work to do I'm actually dying a little bit more everyday, the guilt for neglecting Slow Lane was eating at me just a tad more.

So yeah, here we are.

I'm currently 3 weeks away from the official end of my first year of college. Which is CRAZZZYYY. It's insane how fast this year has gone by, and what I've managed to accomplish in the span of 9 months. I've joined a music sorority, become a staff writer for a campus art/fashion/photography magazine called ROCKET, and gotten involved with various miscellaneous things around campus that I never would've believed I could do a year ago. I've taken classes that have pushed me to intellectual, musical, and physical limits, which scared me at first, but now excites me when I can accomplish something I doubted I could in the beginning. Just as an example, one of my classes is Intro to Stage Lighting, which I stupidly thought would be easy. Instead of being easy, I've put in more labor hours than I've ever done in my entire life, and got over my intense fear of heights in the process. Even though it's the most intense class I'm taking, I've learned the most from it. Even if I'll never really admit it.

This year, I've also made some really great friends. The sisters in my music sorority, Nu Kappa Epsilon (NKE for short),  are astounding, wonderful, glorious people that I'm so lucky to know, and I couldn't be more grateful to them for creating a place and an organization that's allowed us all to feel comfortable being our 100% true selves. It was weird, at first, because I was new and didn't really know anyone, but slowly and surely I was able to connect with so many of the sisters. I have my "family" that I love, and people who aren't part of the fam that I also greatly appreciate for how welcoming and friendly and genuine they are. I'm so, so glad I found at least one little corner of my school to which I know I can always come back.

My fam, the greatest there ever was

The WHOLE NKE fam, <3 (less-than-three)

(Most of) my pledge class, fabulous as ever

In addition to NKE, my hallmates have been absolutely amazing. I live in one of the smallest freshmen dorms on campus, and as a result, nearly all of us have gotten to know each other pretty well. I didn't realize that was abnormal until I talked to people from other dorms who didn't even know the names of everyone on their floor, let alone their entire building. So I'm glad I've had this random, wonderful  bunch of weirdos to live with and get to know better. Every single one of them, even the ones I don't speak to as often, has contributed something pretty great to the dorm dynamic, and being a person who can appreciate a heartwarming communal atmosphere every once in a while, I couldn't have gotten luckier with my dorm arrangement. Next year is really going to be hard, not being around them as much. But I'm glad we had this year. <3

You know friends are good friends when they get burgers with you for your birthday when your birthday is during finals

Snowed in, watching Broad City, stealing my dill chips, it's casual

Fancy dinners for fancy people (*jokes*)

A complicated arrangement in which the loser of  a Yu-Gi-Oh battle would also lose a game of Assasins. Idek. 

But yeah, as the year winds down, the work sure as hell doesn't. I'm going on my fourth hell week in a row. That's a month of non-stop ridiculousness that I've only barely gotten through. Just this past weekend, I pulled an all-nighter from Sunday to Monday trying to finish a paper for one of my classes, and even though it was cool to be able to take a shower at 7 AM but not have to wake up for it, I hadn't been that tired since graduation season. Actually that might be a lie, it was probably earlier this school year, but I try to block painful memories. Anyway, I'm just excited for the summer. For me, it officially starts May 4th, and I don't have to be back at school until the end of August. Somehow I feel like I'm cheating the system, with a break that long. But I mean, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, amiright?

As for next year, I have a few plans up my sleeve. I intend to rush a social Greek sorority, which will be stressful but fun. I'll also be the Features Editor for ROCKET, which will also be stressful, but I'm going to try my hardest to make it worth it. I don't know if I'll become a big and take a little for NKE during the fall, but I definitely will by the springtime. (Don't hold me to that, though, I feel like I don't yet know what I'm getting myself into....) Also! I did a piece for ROCKET about people who do shows for the campus radio station, and it fascinated me. I'm very intrigued, and I kind of want to try it out, even if I'm limited to playing only songs my parents will know because they'll be my only 2 loyal listeners. I'm cool with that. I just want to get involved, but we'll see. My goals for next year are to do well academically, and get super involved with extracurricular activities, like I was in high school. I don't know how to not be busy, what can I say? ;P

Pathways from the Wren towards my ***bright*** future

I'd end this post here, but I feel like my legions of loyal readers will be disappointed if I don't arbitrarily state my favorite songs at the moment. So here's a ~*brief*~ list.

Carry You - Phillip Larue
Barcelona - George Ezra
Slow Dancing - Two Worlds
Elizabeth Taylor - Clare Maguire
(Girl We Got A) Good Thing - Weezer
All Downhill from Here - The Summer Set (their entire new album, Stories for Monday, is amazing btw)
When Did Your Heart Go Missing? - Rooney (an oldie but a goodie)
Chronic (The Knocks High in Harajuku Remix) - Phoebe Ryan (I quite literally cannot stop myself from dancing to this, it's such a good remix)
Tilted - Christine and the Queens
Where You Are - Hillsong Young & Free (Sometimes Christian Rock has deceptively good beats also I didn't know this was a Christian song until just now)
Loch Lomond - Peter Hollens (an a cappella group on campus sings this as a senior goodbye song and it's absolutely stunning)
Send Me on My Way - Rusted Root
Come and Get It - John Newman
Can't Sleep Love - Pentatonix
WHERE THE HELL ARE MY FRIENDS - LANY (they capitalized it like that, not me. But I agree)
The entire new 1975 album, which I will review in full at a later time, but oh my GOD it is so GOOD (link is one of my favorite songs from it)
Post-Breakup Sex - The Vaccines
Teenage Idol - The Vaccines
Virgins - Death from Above 1979 (Sam, if you're reading this, I only know this band bc of you, so thanks)
White is Red - Death from Above 1979
All My Friends - Snakehips, Tinashe, Chance the Rapper
River - Leon Bridges
Gold - Kiiara
The Rules for Lovers - Richard Walters
Leave a Trace - CHVRCHES
Lemon Eyes - Meg Myers
All I Wanna Say - Lontalius

I'll stop here, for real now. Although I haven't recommended songs in so long, I could honestly keep going and make this ridiculously long post even more ridiculous. But I digress.

The important thing is...
 I'M BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER*

 (*overstatement, but like, whatever)

New Year's Eve is For Sequin Sweatpants

Let me preface this by saying I've always kind of loathed New Year's. I never saw the sense in celebrating the end of something good in favor of welcoming something unknown. The older I get the more I realize the allure is more about an excuse to wear outrageous amounts of glitter and drink fizzy things from fancy cups.I hate sentimentality when it means change, because change is one of the things I hate the most. However, I think this year is an important enough year to reflect on, for a lot of reasons. I want to keep this a relatively short piece, though, given that we've all got things to do for New Year's Eve, and not a whole lot of time to dedicate to some dumb 19-year-old's blog. So, on with it then.

2015 was probably one of the weirdest years of my entire life. Don't get me wrong, I loved nearly all of it, but I've never experienced a year like this before, and I probably won't ever again. This year, I graduated high school, said goodbye to my best friend who went from across the street to across the country, left my academic responsibilities behind for a summer for the first time, and started a little thing called college. Not to be presumptuous or anything, but I always kind of knew stuff like this was going to happen in my life. I just never anticipated what it was actually going to be like. You know, in real life instead of in my imagination.

While I knew some parts of this year were going to be sad, like saying goodbye to my childhood friends and letting go of being at the top of the academic food chain that I had waited 12 long years to get to, I also knew that new and equally great things were to come. After a little bit of a rough adjustment, college started to become what I'd always hoped it would be - this independent oasis of a place where you could finally, finally decide what was important enough to dedicate all your time towards. It was amazing. Not to mention all the crazy antics and dumb stuff my new friends and I found time to get into. Senior year was by far my favorite academic year of my entire public school experience, but now that I've started college, I have high hopes for the future.

I don't think I'll ever like New Year's, or change, but I think I'm getting better at looking towards the positive side of things. I think the sweatpants I'm wearing that are entirely covered in sequins may have something to do with this change in attitude, but I'd like to think being 19 has made me a little less shallow than that. (But let's be real, sequins solve most of my problems.)

P.S. Happy New Year, you sparkly, fizzy weirdos. :) <3

The sequin pants in question 

Singing in the Shower

I'm in college now, so I no longer sing in the shower, as much as it pains me. However, I feel like I could out of sheer joy, because I'm recognizing that I'm making friends and getting acclimated to being away from home, and it's so great I could burst into song. Living in one of the smallest freshmen dorms on campus means that within 3 short weeks, we've all gotten to know each other at least relatively well, and that means that you never have to eat alone in the dining hall, or study by yourself, or be alone if you don't want to be. Today, the girls on my hall spent all afternoon going back and forth between each other's closets borrowing clothes, and shoes, and accessories. It just  made me feel like I was a part of something really cultivating, like we were becoming each other's unofficial sisters and it was a great feeling. I can't wait to spend more time with all of these girls and get to know everyone even better. This year is going to be great.

The other reason I mentioned singing in the shower is because I have SO MANY new songs stuck in my head and I just have to share them with you. Get pumped. :)


House of Gold - Twenty One Pilots [I am fully aware that this song isn't new, but I just learned how to play it on ukulele and I love it. Oh yeah, ukulele is a thing I do now. #college.]

Aquaman - Walk the Moon [the Discover playlist on Spotify that updates weekly is a Godsend. This song sounds like it's from the 80's or something but IT ISN'T and I just love the vibe.Very Wham! meets Sting.]

Dollhouse - Melanie Martinez [This song is like the lyrical version of the entire Pretty Little Liars series, but like, better, and not as frustrating.]

WILD (album) - Troye Sivan [Either you know of Troye, and you're excited about this, or you know Taylor Swift, and you can recognize that she was excited about this. Either way, get more excited because this whole entire album (actually it's an EP but whatever,) is FRICKIN PHENOMENAL. Go listen to it right this very minute. Also, this video for the song "WILD" is amazing.]

Sit Still, Look Pretty - Daya [This song is the ultimate anthem for girls who don't want to conform to gender norms and stereotypes, as well as wanting to be badass. Love.]

Nobody to Love - Alex Newell [The newest song to add to your Thursday-Night-Study-Break-Pre-Weekend-Dance-Party playlist. You're welcome.]

Beware the Dog - The Griswolds [I don't really know how to describe this song other than the fact that it repeatedly uses the line "She used to suck the fun out of me" without making any reference to a vampire, which gets it bonus points in my book.]

Mother & Father - Broods [I mentioned this song in my last post, but honestly guys, go check it out and then go call your parents, maybe spend a weekend at home. It just makes you feel all the things, and also want to spend more time with your family and I really, really, like it.]

Crayola Doesn't Make a Color for Your Eyes - Kristin Andreassen [A very acoustic sounding song, but I will bet you $3 that you will find yourself humming it to yourself within an hour of listening to it.]

Hard Out Here - Lily Allen ["Forget your balls and grow a pair of tits./ It's hard out here for a bitch." All you need to know about this song is contained within those two lines. Go forth and be feminist.] [Maybe don't watch this at work or in front of children or the elderly. Just saying.]

Octahate - Ryn Weaver [Ryn Weaver is a person I wish I knew in real life but at the same time I feel like she is way too cool for me. Just watch the music video for this song and you'll know what I mean. Her whole album, "The Fool" is probably one of my new favorites of the year.]

You Don't Love Me Like You Should - Hey Violet [This band opened for 5 Seconds of Summer, and you all know how much I love me some 5SOS, so of course I checked them out. But I didn't seriously start listening to them until recently, after I saw them and 5SOS live in concert about 2 weeks ago. I *love* girl rock bands, and even though one guitarist in this band is a guy, I still give it credit as a mostly-girl rock band.]

Jet Black Heart - 5 Seconds of Summer [I couldn't end this post without mentioning 5SOS at least three times. But aside from having to meet that quota, this song is really good. It's a little slow for my taste but it is so reminiscent of early All Time Low, I couldn't resist. I am so exceedingly excited for their new album "Sounds Good Feels Good," I cannot wait for October 23rd. Yes yes yes.]





ALSO: In the one in a billion chance you haven't seen it yet, here is the music video for Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams," which may or may not whitewash the plains of Africa, but also may or may not have done that on purpose in order to emulate the 40's film era. Decide for yourself. But other than that, the video kills me every time. I'm also 99.99% sure it features Cecil the Lion, which means I'm officially in love with this video.

Craziness in Multitudes

Do you know what one of the craziest things ever is? The fact that you can know someone for only 2 weeks, and feel as if you've known them forever. That is currently what I am experiencing here at college. I live in the smallest dorm on campus, the entire building holding less than 60 people. That means that I know at least half of those people better than I would've in any other instance in my life. I have friends that I've only known existed since August 21st. That's insane to me, the more I think about it.

You know what else is weird? I know how to do laundry now. And decide when I eat my meals. And get myself to and from where I need to be all on my own time. I became a quasi-adult without even realizing it. I kind of like it but I also kind of wish my parents were still around to do the adult-ing for me. It exhausts me if I think about it too much, and I haven't even been doing it that long.

I feel like college isn't so much a process you get used to but an experience that you jump into headfirst, in which you do what you're supposed to do as you are simultaneously learning what it is that you're supposed to be doing. Sometimes it's lonely, and sometimes it's hectic, and sometimes it's overwhelming. Sometimes all I want is to go home and sit between my parents and never leave. But at the same time, I'm surrounded by strangers that are all desperately trying to be friends with each other and it works, weirdly enough. My dorm room feels comfortable already (despite the lack of A.C. and that it's hot as balls outside), my hallmates feel familiar, and my classes have become routine. I never thought I was capable of getting used to something so totally different than anything I've ever done before, but from what I'm learning, college is a place where you learn you're capable of way more than you could've ever imagined.

Here's a song that pretty accurately sums up how I feel when I get a little too anxious about the fact that I'm part of the "real world" now. 

I Forgot How to Tie My Loose Ends

I don't know who reads this blog. Honestly, I think my family forgot I still had it, and I don't think my friends even know. I don't expect people to care who I am or what I write or what happens in my life, I just write about it because it helps me to think about it all in a way that helps me understand. Sometimes, I write about specific people, knowing they'll never read what I'm saying about (or to) them. Like now.

I want this to be an open letter to all the people I'm leaving behind in less than two weeks as I move to college. All the people I sort of knew, but didn't know as well as I would've liked, you are all very special people and you've impacted me in countless ways. To the girl I wanted to hate but couldn't because she was just so sweet, I hope you go far in life and I can't wait to root for you. To the boy in my 9th grade gym class that got bullied by the self-righteous douche-bags, you are ten times the man they will ever be and never stop being absurdly yourself, because you're awesome. To my guitar teacher, and my homeroom teacher, and my 11th grade English teacher, and my physics teacher, you all believed in my abilities even when I sometimes couldn't live up to your expectations, and I will always be grateful for that. To the boys I thought I was in love with, I wasn't. I know that now. But all 3 of you are still very important to me, and even though I know you never really thought of me that way, you will hold a place in my heart forever (even if that part is very small in order to make room for someone more important).

To all of my friends going to different colleges in different cities and different states, if I don't see you for a while, I hope you are doing well, and I hope you're getting everything out of life that you deserve, because you are all exceptional people, and I love you with my whole heart. Expect a HUGE hug the next time I see you.

And finally, to my family. I will miss you indefinitely, but the great thing about family is that they're always there. I can see you whenever I want, and I am so grateful for that. I hope you all continue to grow while I'm gone, and I hope I make you proud.

Courtesy of girlpansy on Tumblr

I Guess I Suck But What Else is New?

I haven't written since the day before Valentine's Day. Which was a LONG ASS TIME AGO. So I'm back. And here to tell you about my life in all it's mediocre glory. I'm a nearly-creepy teenage version of a suburbanite blogger mom. Oh well.

Alright, so. I'm officially a high school graduate, so that's cool. I graduated a month ago yesterday, and it was such a surreal process, I don't even fully remember all of it. I remember getting up really early to straighten my hair and do my makeup really nicely in a last-ditch effort to impress peers I'll probably never see again (if I'm lucky). Then my best friend/neighbor came over and we took a few pictures before driving off to get our other friend who lives across the divided highway in our town. We all then drove to school and took a shuttle bus from the elementary school where we students had to park to the high school, where our ceremony was to be held in the gymnasium because of the threat of rain that day, (it never ended up raining but thank God we were indoors because we all got outside after the ceremony and it was effing HOT). We all had to go to the lower level of the school and line up alphabetically up and down the hallways, and we seemed to wait like that forever. After a decade and a half of anxious chatter and cap adjustments, we finally got to process into the gym. From there, we found our seats and proceeded to sit through 3 hours of redundant speeches. Our principal that no one really likes apparently gave the same speech she gave the previous year, and the valedictorian's speech made me want to vomit a little bit because of how subtly condescending it was. And don't even get me started on the guest speaker, who fully admitted to have never done something like that in his life and blatantly didn't even attempt to write a speech. But anyway. I digress. Somewhere between getting our diplomas and tossing our caps, someone started tossing blow-up beach balls and an inflatable flamingo, and everyone loved it except the administrators but there was nothing they could do at that point. After that settled down, we all stood up, moved our tassels from right to left, and tossed our caps haphazardly into the air, which the administrators also didn't like but again, could do nothing about. Which was probably the best part about graduation, the realization that as soon as we got our diplomas, we were free of the public education system. We had no one left to dictate to us exactly what to learn and what to do and how to be. It was so weird, but also long overdue.

That night after graduation, the PTO sponsored an All-Night Grad Party at the local recreation center, and it was actually so much fun. We had access to the indoor pool, there was catering from literally every popular restaurant in our area, karaoke, gambling for raffle tickets, game show simulations, nail/hair/massage salon, candy bar, photo booth, volley ball, basketball, mini car racing, a magic show, huge and expensive raffle prizes, and this thing that's a cross between surfing and a mechanical bull. You had to be there... It was such a great way to spend the hours between 11 PM and 4:30 AM after graduation. I'm really grateful that the parents involved at our school pay more attention to us than our admin. It was also a really fun way to spend time with my peers before everyone splits up for good. Thanks to social media, I'll be able to keep up with people, but it definitely won't be the same. In some ways that's a good thing, but in other ways it's not because I am definitely going to miss people. Especially after I took the time to realize a good chunk of my friends are going to college out of state..

Speaking of college, I know where I'm going! I guess I'll let you in on the secret - I'm going to the College of William and Mary, and I absolutely cannot wait. I've been talking back and forth with my roommate, whom I have not met yet but she seems really cool and she's also from Egypt so that's cool. I've already planned out which classes I want to take and which clubs I want to sign up for and I'm just so excited to get started. I went to a New Students/Parents reception today at an alumni's house, and it was really informative because some current students were there and they answered all of our questions and were super nice and friendly. They also had W&M themed sugar cookies, and that always leads to good things. I'm about a month away from move-in day and orientation, and even though I'm a little nervous about leaving home, I am SO INCREDIBLY PUMPED to get started with the College Experience.

Hopefully I'm not so incompetent that I actually remember to chronicle it here.

My friends from homeroom shortly before the ceremony

Galentine's Forever (AKA Bows before Bros)

As I write this, I am sitting in my room with a full face of (might I say pretty fabulous) makeup, listening to a girl power mix-tape, happily recalling the best chocolate cake I've ever had in my life and how much I love my friends. Why am I doing such strange things? Because today is Galentine's Day, of course. For those of you who may  not be familiar with it, it originates from Parks and Rec, and is quite possibly the best idea to come out of television (that was a hyperbole for you literary geeks, but you get it). Today also being Friday the 13th kind of added to the grandeur of it all - like, let's go out and celebrate friend-love and gal pals but also HERE'S A MIDDLE FINGER, superstition, I'm gonna have fun anyway. 

Anyway, today at school everything just buzzed by in anticipation for tonight, in which three of my bestest friends in the world and I dolled ourselves up and went out to a fancy (AF) restaurant and pretended we were way more sophisticated than we really are. But it was awesome, even if I may have swore a little too loud and had to pull over because I didn't have money for a toll booth. Despite all of that, tonight was great. We ate delicious food and talked about anything and everything, and if it hadn't been for a curfew, we probably could've stayed there longer than the two hours we did. We talked about boys, and Senior Beach Week, and people we hate, and sketchy gas station attendants, and super-awkward religious people, and cats, and it was such a disgustingly good time, I'm honestly kind of sad it's over already. Every time my friends and I plan outings like this, even if they aren't as fancy as this particular evening, I always come away feeling like "Wow, I love my friends not just because they're my friends, but because they are genuinely amazing people." I love that we can talk to each other about practically anything, and that we're so comfortable with each other. And I think that's the whole point of Galentine's - friend-love is just as important, if not more important, than romantic love, because even when you're single, you still have your friends, who love you even when you feel ugly or sad or crampy or bitchy. And if your friends are anything like mine, they'll love you even when you're ugly, sad, crampy, and bitchy AT THE SAME TIME. I hope you, ubiquitous reader, have a wonderful Valentine's Day, even if you don't have a Valentine, because honestly - who needs one when you've got your Galentine? 

We were both wearing black shoes, black bags, red coats, red dresses, and we both drove red cars. We may or may not be the same person.

This dish had a very Italian name that I can't remember, so just know it was shrimpy and spicy and fantastic and the best pasta I've ever eaten. 

Chocolate cake with strawberry mousse layers, AKA the reason I will never eat Costco cake again

My Galentines <3

At the restaurant, looking super snazzy and red-velvety and floral

The Day We Thought We Were Irish-Italian

Yesterday, my friends and I went to a shopping center/downtown to celebrate the birthday of one of these said friends. Her birthday happens to fall on St. Patrick's Day, so naturally, this town center was having a St. Patrick's Day festival, complete with shamrock clothing, green wigs, and so much beer you could smell it in the air. We're underage, so of course, we didn't drink, but we definitely took advantage of the free cotton candy. Anyway, that's not entirely why I'm writing this post. I'm also writing to recount the day we had, because it was by far one of the most fun days I've had in a while. It was so nice to get a little dressed up for once, and spend some time outdoors window-shopping with my friends. We are so swamped with school work and extracurricular responsibilities, we hardly ever have time to just have fun together anymore. But yesterday, we made it an unsaid point to talk about anything other than school. We walked around with our hair blowing maniacally in the wind and took an unnecessary amount of pictures, had lunch at the insanely posh Vapiano's Italian restaurant, looked around at Anthropologie and cried at how expensive everything was while also taking advantage of their free Mason Jar Iced Tea (I took the jar home, by the way), tried on purple lipstick and green eyeliner at Sephora, and  got some ridiculously delicious gelato. The weather was beautiful, the crowd was just the right amount of cheerful, and they blocked off the roads within the town center so we walked in the street, which made me feel totally badass. I was so grateful to be there with some of my favorite people, and I really wish there was a way to ditch school completely and just have moments like these forever. :)


PS. - We originally thought the huge Irish flag hanging from the stage thing in the middle of the town center was an Italian flag, until we realized it was St. Patrick's Day in two days and that we are incredibly stupid. That, and the fact that the only food we ate that day was Italian, is why we thought we were Irish-Italian for the day.

Vogue-ing out in front of a flag mural

Lunch (which was homemade and delicious and expensive)

Looking fierce with her new round sunglasses (c'est adorable!)

Caught lusting after unattainable clothes 

Lost but unwilling to admit it ;)

Staring dreamily at the theater marquee 

Valentines Day (And All That Jazz)

So as we all know, yesterday was Valentine's Day (or as the legion of bitter people refer to it, Single's Awareness Day,) and all things considered, it went pretty well, for me anyway. (I hope it went well for you, too, anonymous blog reader.) Anyway, I spent the day with my friends, walking around downtown where we window-shopped, drank fancy coffee (iced lattés,) and discussed all the boys we hate. We didn't have school because, for the second time in my life, the accumulation of snow is waist-level and therefore "inclement." Sucks for the school system, but fantastic for students who would rather not graph functions and analyze rhetoric devices for Valentine's Day. Even though none of my friends have boyfriends, we still managed to make sure Valentine's Day was filled with (amicable) love. Because, let's be real here. At the end of the day, all we have is our friends, and I'm perfectly ok with that. **Insert some cliché friendship quote here.**