"I regret to inform you that you have not been approved for graduation due to the following remaining requirement(s):1 hour BIOL elect > 4000. For a total of 1 hour."
Yeah, my transcript definitely said otherwise.
After trying to call them, freaking out while waiting for them to call back, and calling again, I was finally told that it was a mistake and I was cleared for graduation.
Yeah, that's what a thought. Thanks for that.
That was an unwelcome surprise. Without my degree, I wouldn't be able to enroll in UTMB...which would then kill over a year of work. I would have to reapply. Over 1 credit hour.
Yayyyy.........
So other than that...my sister finished sixth grade yesterday, and since then we have been watching this:
For two reasons:
1) My sister and i can watch it together, unlike most television shows.
2) Sherlock left a VOID IN MY HEART that could only be filled by another BBC drama.
And just like that, I'm hooked. On to the second season now...
So yeah...I should actually start running so I can counter all of this couch potatoness...
My life.
Today's YouTube video is in honor of one of my favorite British YouTubers, Carrie Hope Fletcher, who is playing Eponine in Les Mis on the West End!
It's more than obvious that I spend a lot of time on YouTube. Not only do I enjoy checking in on my favorite YouTubers, but I'm also fascinated by the business of it all. Many creators on the site make their living off of their videos, and some (like the vlogbrothers) are entrepreneurs on the Internet (Intentrepreneurs?). YouTube is not only a great place to find videos of cats, but it also is full of opportunity for creators and inspiration for viewers. If I could be a good vlogger, I would do it in a heartbeat.
Yes, I'm obsessed.
So I'm going to introduce you to just my five (technically six) favorite YouTubers, and I encourage you to check them out. These are the ones I watch regularly.
I'll just put a gif of each on here, but when you click on the username you'll be directed to a video that you can check out (either their newest or my favorite).
DISCLAIMER: If you're offended at language, some of these guys use it. I'll put a * next to the ones that like to curse routinely and not bleep it out.
Vlogbrothers. (Note: there's one link on "vlog" and one on "brothers") John (left) and Hank (right) Green. John is a New York Times bestselling author and Hank developed the blog EcoGeek. Both produce YouTube series like Crash Course, SciShow, Mental Floss, and Brain Scoop. Hank produced the Lizzie Bennett Diaries. They both organize VidCon and Project for Awesome every year. They are pretty much the coolest. Vlogbrothers videos come out twice a week, one from each brother, and cover a wide variety of topics, including politics. Their subscribers are known as "Nerdfighters" or collectively "Nerdfighteria". DFTBA.
Dailygrace.Grace Helbig. MY QUEEN. There's nothing else to be said...just watch her. She's fantastic and hilarious. She puts out new videos every weekday.
JennaMarbles.* Jenna Mourey. Out of my top 5, this girl has the most subscribers. She's well known for her two dogs, Marbles and Kermit, who appear in all of her videos. She updates every Wednesday. She loves to be crass. I love the crap out of her. She's pretty much the first YouTuber I watched on a regular basis.
And obviously...
Danisnotonfire.* Dan Howell. A 21 year-old British kid living in London. My soulmate and Internet cult leader. He and his flatmate Phil host a radio show on BBC Radio 1 that I often tune into. His videos are mostly about his socially awkward existence and existential crises, to which I obviously relate. Also, his face ruins my life. Just look at it.
AmazingPhil. Phil Lester. A 26 year-old British kid living in London. Dan's flatmate/radio co-host/best friend. Precious little cutie pie baby sloth. Obsessed with lions. Phil's a pretty traditional vlogger. He's also just the most adorable thing in the world.
Of course, Dan and Phil are often seen together...
Others that I would recommend are lacigreen, tyleroakley (my inner gay man), MyHarto (Hannah Hart/ My Drunk Kitchen), Mamrie Hart (You Deserve a Drink - both Mamrie and Hannah have a comedy show with Grace called the "No Filter Show"), Epic Rap Battles of History (duh!), and smosh (the most subscribed YouTube channel of all time). From the UK: kickthePJ and crabstickz (with Dan and Phil, they create the "Fantastic Foursome"), Jacksgap (the twins - Jack and Finn), charlieissocoollike (DEFINITELY recommended), nerimon (Alex Day), and ItsWayPastMyBedime (Carrie Hope Fletcher).
If you love me, you'll subscribe to all of them.
Just kidding. But at least The Five. :)
I'm posting this super early so I don't have many updates on my day. I woke up at 1pm and ate pizza rolls. So yeah.
Also I got the whole UTMB transcript thing sorted out because (thank goodness) somebody at that school has communication skills. YAY
So I'm going to go do laundry and start a new TV series on Amazon Instant Video.
BYEEEE
P.S. Oh look at that, seven YouTube Videos of the Day. You're welcome. (loljknotreally)
I didn't do anything...but I had to deal with a lot of stress brought on by unexpected finances and the fact that the UofA never sent my transcript (due today) to UTMB after two freaking weeks.
So if you're disappointed (I know you're not, just play along), here are some adorable baby sloths to cheer you up.
To be fair, I spent most of the day grocery shopping and watching Sherlock. It was super important and I couldn't be bothered to blog during all that. You understand, right?
Also...btw...the Sherlock Season 2 finale:
*flail*
Also this blog entry will be a bit short because I'm skyping Tyler and he is distracting.
He won't even realize he's on this blog because HE DOESN'T READ IT.
Today's topic is my debt. Because everybody wants to hear about that.
So basically I finally found out how much I get in direct (unsubsidized) federal loans for the year (about $38,000). It's meant for 9 months (which is the length of MS1); however, after about an hour of stressful budgeting with my father (the most frugal and stressful man I know), I figured out how to stretch it out over 11 months. This will make it last until MS2 starts in July 2014.
I also figured out that my parents will have to loan me about $3500-$4000 so that I can furnish my apartment and survive in Galveston before funding starts in July. I will hopefully be able to find somewhere to work briefly while I'm there, but that won't cover much more than food.
I am not one who enjoys owing people money. If you happen to recall an incident where I owed you money and didn't pay you back, it's definitely because I forgot. I make a point to be a lender, but not a borrower. So the fact that I will owe somebody (parents, the federal government, etc.) money routinely for the next 30 years makes me cringe.
And the concept of interest just terrifies me.
So I guess for me that's the hardest part about "the real world". I'm used to being on my own, feeding myself (although I've never had a kitchen...so that'll be fun), getting used to a new place, and even budgeting my money (I've never overdrafted or had to ask for emergency money). But loans and debt are new. I realize that I am incredibly lucky to be in my current financial situation, where my parents paid for any college expenses that weren't covered by scholarships and left me debt-free as a graduate. However, it's still intimidating to have to need to rely on loans for four years, defer them for residency, then start paying them off slowly with terrible interest.
Nevertheless, I feel a bit better now that I have a plan and budget set in place. I'm still not sure how the funds will be disbursed or if I will have enough to live on (expecting a packet from UTMB any day now explaining the process...), but it's better.
Like I've said before, baby steps.
Today's YouTube video is Charlieissocoollike. It is honestly one of my favorite videos of his, even though it's not meant to be entertaining, because it's so relatable.
It was requested (by Stacia) that I start posting earlier in the day...but as you can see, I didn't manage to get around to it early enough today...so there's always tomorrow, right?
So far none of my blog posts have really had a point to them. I just ramble about my day until I run out of things to talk about (quickly...because I'm boring). I figured I would do something a little different when my life starts being repetitive.
Therefore, it's about time I lay out everything that's happened in the last year, which was pretty much the biggest year of my life.
(Here, have an enthusiastic Niall to get you in the mood)
A little more than a year ago, things were much different from how they are now. Firstly, I had just lost all of my friends (well, not all...and not permanently...but you get the point). I had been dealing with a really killer bout of depression for several months, which had gotten worse when I suddenly had to juggle my thesis, studying for the MCAT, friends leaving, and change all at once. Instead of trying to control my emotions, I let them run wild. I lashed out at my friends and family, hurting the ones I loved and making things very difficult for myself. I wasn't fun to be around either, as I was always in a bad mood. It was horrible, and I hated myself for a long time. At one point, several of my closest friend had (understandably) had enough, and they distanced themselves from me and my problems.
To top it off, I honestly didn't see myself getting into medical school. I struggled with the MCAT especially. My baseline score was LOW. I studied and studied, but had no idea if it was helping. I had a bad habit of worrying about everything, and it killed my confidence. I also (for some idiotic reason) didn't think I could get into medical school, even if I squeaked out a fair score. I doubted myself hardcore, and I'm really surprised that that doubt didn't keep me from pursuing my dreams.
At this point last year, I was seeing things improve slightly. The semester had ended well grade-wise (despite the fact that most everything else fell apart) and I saw an increase in my practice MCAT scores (because apparently that's what happens when you study). I had pushed back my MCAT exam by a month, so that also helped relieve some of the pressure. I hung out with Tyler mostly, as he was pretty much the only person whom I hadn't alienated and he lived in the Quad with me during summer school. I attended summer school, studied for the MCAT, and went to counseling...and everything slowly got better. At the end of June, I took the MCAT (which was satisfactory) and left the country.
Since then, I've accomplished a buttload. I traveled all around Costa Rica, applied to 12 medical schools (while in Costa Rica), received 5 interviews and 4 acceptances, earned a research grant, completed an honors thesis, presented at a conference, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. All while continuing to be an influential student leader. On top of that, I rebuilt my social life and discovered some of the best and closest friends I've ever had (I'm looking at YOU Tyler, Conrad, Savannah, Rachel, and Ashton), to whom I owe everything. I also reconnected with those friends that I thought I had lost...because true friendships aren't so easily destroyed.
Moral of the story: Even when things seem completely ruined, hopeless, helpless, etc., there are much better things down the line, so use the situation as an opportunity to improve yourself.
Yeah, I know: tl;dr. BUT IT'S A GOOD STORY OK
And it's better than the story of my day...which was the usual: lying about and stressing out over my federal loans.
Today's YouTube video is in honor of my hero John Green, whose wife gave birth to their daughter Alice today.
As John would say, DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome), y'all!
P.S. I'm currently on Spotify accidentally getting addicted to Muse (a.k.a. turning more into Dan than I already was)...so that's a thing.
P.P.S. You can tell I'm getting lazy with the gifs when most or all of them are Dan or Phil or both.
P.P.S. Stop talking about Dan and get a life, Jill you obsessed crazy woman.
That could go on for a while...but I must remind myself that this is not Tumblr.
Yeah, so you know that condo we randomly called about yesterday after finding the flyer? We looked at that this morning before we were supposed to meet with the other condo owner. The property was definitely much nicer and a better deal: cleaner, newer appliances, lower rent, no pet deposit, friendly and considerate owners. We knew right away that we would rather sign with that condo than the other one.
As an added bonus, my landlord is a DO/MPH who is licensed in both internal medicine and preventive medicine...she works at a community health clinic in Houston.
If you didn't figure it out already...that means she pretty much has my dream job. I was sold.
As my Arkansas mentor Adam put it:
After awkwardly running into them again while at brunch at the Sunflower Cafe, which they had recommended to us (and it was DELICIOUS), we told them we wanted the condo and signed the lease.
So it all went to plan in the end. Now I'm back home to find a car and start furnishing the thing. I will move down there at the end of the month. YEAH
Btw...I'm looking for a way to decorate my apartment (with pictures and other nice things) without spending a crapload of money. Let me know if you have any cheap, Pinterest-y ideas.
Today's YouTube video is--you guessed it!--Dan's new video. Which is worth the watch, even if you are not unhealthily enamored with the man.
After watching this, I unsurprisingly found myself enjoying the things I use ironically...like run-on sentences...and caps lock...and the abbreviations "bb" or "omg"...and reading Internet drama on Tumblr...
Oh gosh.
See y'all tomorrow, when my life will be much less exciting!
GOODBYE from one precious angel (Phil, not me) to another.
Don't judge me. I was leaving town in the morning and Silver Linings Playbook, which my family rented and very rudely watched without me, was only going to be available for 44 more hours. I hadn't seen it yet. I had no choice in the matter.
It was worth it ok.
...Anyway. Today I woke up at 6am and traveled to Galveston with my dad. When we got into town, we went over to the condo first. It looked fine, even though the carpets definitely need to be replaced like the owner is planning. The complex itself is great and super close to campus. We also found out--because my dad was clever enough to look for flyers at the mailboxes--that the condo right above it is also available. This one is slightly cheaper, has brand new appliances, seems a little nicer (at least what we could see looking through the window...we'll be seeing it tomorrow), and is on the second level rather than the first (avoids floods). It's also owned by a former UTMB student who really wants a current student to rent out the property.
Needless to say, I have BARGAINING POWER.
That'll be tomorrow's task.
We also looked at my top apartment choice. It looked fine and there were several units available. It's a little bit cheaper than the condos, but the rooms are tiny and not super appealing. Regardless, I have myself a Plan C if Plan A (Condo 1) and Plan B (Condo 2) don't work out for some reason!
So our day ended pretty early and we were able to go to Murphy's Pub (apparently the place where a lot of locals/students hang out, drink, and eat the most delicious white pizza in the world), which is just off The Strand (the touristy, mediocre, Galvestonian version of Fayetteville's Dickson Street). We also drove around the island a bit. Then we went to check into our hotel up by the Texas Medical Center.
By the way...we drove through the TMC and I kept staring at all the hospitals, imagining my dream job, and thinking...
I'm ridiculous.
Finally, we had Buffalo Wild Wings and went to see a movie. After Earth. Which was...special. It's not Will Smith's best movie, and the story was a bit strange and full of nothing but convenient plot devices. Jaden did well though. Overall, it was a mediocre movie. Here's probably why...
Yupp.
Today's YouTube video was going to be Dan's new video, but he couldn't manage to upload it because he's a turd. So I'll just show you my favorite video in the whole world instead:
You're welcome.
Dad's already asleep, so I should probably get off the Internet now.
