Texas Fall

Delicious red hues and

Leaves of golden bliss

Drape rustling trees.

The wind crinkles all in

Sight. Leaves are swirling,

Dancing around my feet.

75 degrees today,

45 tonight.

Indecisive and fickle.

Stubbornly clinging to the

Last vestiges of summer.

That's my Texas fall.

Acoustic guitar players

Serenade passersby

From benches coated

In sunshine.

Squirrels scamper across the

Bridge, greedily gathering food

Before succumbing to rest.

Sugary redemption fills my

Kitchen with the smells

of pumpkin cupcakes.

Nutmeg and cinnamon

Are my autumn anthem.

Sweet and sultry fall -

Filled with the promise

Of cold winter nights

And the memories of

Summer sweat.

Beauty in all its simplicity.

Texas fall beckons me to join

In its love song to the senses.

Be Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Most of us are now stuffed with turkey and family stories. Some of us might be already heading out to Black Friday sales, and some of us are ready for a good night's rest. (If you know me at all, you know I'm staying far away from any placed that require shopping for the next few days) This year's Thanksgiving was more peaceful than most for my family, and I realized that was exactly what we needed. We decided to forego the extended family drama and just have a quiet day at home with our little family of three. We slept in, started putting up Christmas decorations (right on time, and not a moment too early, haha), and just gave ourselves a chance to enjoy each other's company. Some might call it lonely, but it was the best Thanksgiving I can remember.

In the quiet today, I realized how incredibly much I have to be thankful for. This time last year, my mom, my brother, and I didn't have a home to call our own. We were so blessed to be living with my grandparents, but it really took a toll on each of us. We lost a sense of identity without our family home, and we had to learn how to become "home" to each other. This year, we now have a small home of our own, and while it may not be much, it's becoming a place of refuge. Never again will I take for granted a family dinner table. The saying that, "You never know how important something is until you lose it" is really true. There's nothing like a loss to help smack you in the face with the reality of something's true value. Though we have lost much, my family and I have gained so much that we never expected to. Our history has made me appreciate my mom and my brother so much more. They mean everything to me.

Anyways, I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday with family and friends. And remember, Christmas is just 29 days away! This season, I hope you'll remember what really brings joy in the holiday season. It's not about the actual day of Christmas. Relish each day leading up to the 25th of December. Gifts and expectations of the "perfect holiday" don't make meaningful memories; usually, it's the time spent with the ones you love, and it's the simple things, like lights on a tree and candy canes and a cheesy Chrismas song. Be blessed, and be at peace.    

Sunday Soul Searching

Happy Sunday, everyone! Ever have one of those days that just seems brimming over with a rosy glow, even though nothing particularly exceptional happened? Today was one of those rare mornings when my body decided it would be a great idea to wake up at 5 am, even though my alarm clock didn't need me to wake up til 6:30. I dozed off for a bit before deciding just to go ahead and wake up. Those of you who know me well know that I am not exactly what you'd call a morning person, so this was quite an anomaly. And it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected! Maybe this is another one of those side effects of being a grown-up...

This afternoon, I decided to give in to some of my cravings. Let's play a game. Can you guess 3 of my favorite things? If you guessed books, coffee, and nature, you would be absolutely correct! Of course, there are a few more interchangeable concepts, but those are the best three choices for today. After running a few errands, I decided to submit to one of my favorite not-so-guilty pleasures: losing myself in the library. Getting lost is something I frequently do, and not always on purpose, but today was definitely intentional. I meandered through the shelves, flipping through pages of books on random topics. I didn't partake in my usual "power walking," and I breathed in deeply the scent of crinkled pages and years of handling. I dabbled in everything from philosophy to politics to education, before finally settling on the (you guessed it) psychology section. I can't help it. It's my lighthouse, and it always calls me home. I ended up leaving with two books I'll be reading for the next few weeks, just for kicks. I'll let you know how The Lost Art of Listening and Bereavement Counseling are.

After that, I worked with some friends to edit our papers for Psychology of Personal Relationships. Yet another thing I love. Pouring over the perfect word choice never fails to make me feel satisfied, especially during an afternoon of those final steps of writing a paper. Then I stopped by Starbucks to grab a cup of coffee. Even the excessively long line couldn't dampen my mood. Today was one of the few days where I wasn't in a hurry. Beautiful.

For the grand finale, I drove out to Cameron Park. I got there a bit later than planned, but the timing was still perfect in the early evening twilight. (For you safety Nazi's out there, it wasn't dark yet, so you can save the lecture) It's Texas, which means our "seasons" lack a certain organizational quality, and they only exist if you try really hard to believe they do. Nevertheless, the leaves are changing, and the foliage is filled with sultry reds and brilliant oranges and serene yellows. I'm a total nature nut, and it simply takes my breath away. I drove with the windows down, and by the time I left, I felt clean, inside and out, with hopeless knots tangled in my hair. If that's not poetry in motion, I don't know what is. Of course, there's always a soundtrack to my Cameron Park adventures, and today it was Jack's Mannequin. One of my favorite songs is "Bruised," and today really resonated with some of the lyrics in that song. One of the last verses says, "So read your books, but stay out late some nights, and don't think that you can't stop by the bar." It reminded me of one of my mom's mantras: "Everything is good, in moderation." She must have repeated this to me a thousand times growing up, and it really stuck with me. Have fun with life, and enjoy it because you truly have no idea what's coming up next. Be an intellectual and read to your heart's content; fill your head with knowledge and wisdom. But also know that it's ok to let go and stay out late with friends. Do it all while you can. Youth is a gift.

So today, dear friends, was a wonderful day, the kind that makes everything seem good, right down to your very soul. The only thing that could have made it better was if my "better half" was there to enjoy it all with me. I love you, Andrew Nordin. Thanks for the best 2 and a half years a girl could ask for. All the rest of you, I hope your Sunday was just as wonderful as mine.

Cameron Park at dusk

Wide Open Spaces

There's just nothing quite like driving across Texas. Fickle weather, fantastic views.

The Baylor Bucket List

As I write this, I'm slowly starting to realize what it really feels like to be graduating from college in 32 days. I'm terrified, I'm fidgety with excitement, and I daydream all the time. More exactly, it's 31 days, 11 hours, 27 minutes, and 34 seconds. I've been counting down since about 60 days, and it's the little things that happen each day that remind me how fast the clock is ticking. In 32 days, I will no longer introduce myself as, "Hi, I'm Alex. I'm a Baylor student." Instead, I'll say, "Hi, I'm Alex, and I'm..." I'll probably trail off, not knowing quite what to add to the end of that. I'll have to come up with something clever to add so people believe me when I say I graduated from college. Suggestions are welcome :)

I was somewhat reluctant to come to Baylor a little over three years ago. I thought I would be overwhelmed by Bible verses to learn and I wouldn't make any friends who didn't want to spend all their free time in church. I thought I would absolutely die of boredom in Waco. I thought I wouldn't know anyone, and I thought I would sink myself into endless debt. I thought I would become invisible in the crowd and no one would know who I was, even myself. On all these accounts, I thought wrong. Baylor became a home where I developed new sets of friends who became family. We ate together, laughed together, cried together, studied together. We changed who we were, and then we changed again. We grew closer, and some of us grew apart. Nevertheless, Baylor has been everything I hoped for, and much more. I have been so blessed.

To celebrate my "break-up" with Baylor, I've decided to make a bucket list. Before graduating and leaving Waco far behind, I want to:

1. Visit Cameron Park.
2. Make a trip to What About Cupcakes?
3. Give a Baylor squirrel a hug (seriously...)
4. Tell each one of my amazing friends how much I treasure them.
5. Do some people watching at the Waco mall.
6. Make a pilgrimage to Common Grounds.
7. Tell some of my favorite professors "thank you" for all their dedication.
8. Go to Vitek's one last time.
9. Avoid being caught in any armed robberies (kidding...kinda)
10. Drive around Waco just to truly appreciate how glad I will be to not have to deal with Waco drivers anymore.
11. Walk across the stage at graduation and not fall flat on my face.

 I'll probably think of more brilliant ideas to add to this list. For now, it's back to studying!