This morning, I logged onto my UNC portal to find a very disappointing letter from the board of admissions informing me that I had not been accepted to their school.

Not at all what I wanted to hear. (Or in this case, read.)

But, to be honest, I'm not as upset as I thought I'd be. Don't get me wrong—it's a terrible feeling knowing that for the next four years of my life, I will STILL be living in this state that I was so ready to part with, attending a school that I'm not exactly crazy about. But, as cliche as it may sound, everything happens for a reason... Right?

Maybe God knows that I would have been miserable up in North Carolina, so far away from my family and friends. Maybe He doesn't think I'm ready for a life completely separate from all the people I love. Maybe, just maybe, UT really is the school for me. 

Oh well, at least I tried. And that's what counts, I think. Chapel Hill, you were my first love, my true choice, my potential future home away from home. Sadly, we're just not meant to be.

Something good that will come out of this? Now that I won't have to pay the extremely large amount of money to attend UNC, I can look forward to studying abroad in England like I've always wanted. Austin and England in the next few years? I'll take it.

Now that it's almost the second month of the second semester of my senior year, I thought it would be a smart idea to begin searching for my perfect prom dress. But, just so we're clear, I'm not one of those girls that jumps up and down with excitement at the thought of prom. Actually, I'm kind of the exact opposite—school dances just aren't my thing. Don't get me wrong, I think they're fun (sort of) and important to attend (you'll never be in high school again), but there's just something about them that doesn't appeal to me. 

Maybe it's all of the "grinding" on the dance floor. I mean, seriously... We can definitely do without the constant rubbing up against each other, in my opinion. My ideal prom would only allow tasteful music (can we please get rid of the rap?) and dancing that is classy and graceful (ballroom dancing, anyone?). I wouldn't even mind the fun 1920s-style swing dance! Now, that would be amazing. 

Or maybe it's all of the little details and hectic planning that bothers me about prom. Like the transportation, the groups, the restaurant, the formal wear, the pictures, the dates... It goes on and on. Pretty darn stressful, if you ask me. But, I guess it will all be worth it in the end. Which is why I'm getting a head start on that dress shopping. Fifty years from now, when I think back to my senior prom, I want to remember feeling beautiful and confident. I want to remember the dress I wore.

With that said, I've been looking through tons of Prom magazines, and I stopped by two dress shops today to try on a few things. So far, these are my favorites:

Thank you for listening to all of my deepest stories and secrets, and letting me in on yours.

Three-day weekends are so much better than two.

It's amazing how much more I can do when I have one extra day to stay home (Martin Luthor King, Jr. Day is Monday!). I can take that precious time to edit pictures, memorize my lines for theatre, and even catch up on some (unnecessary) homework. I may actually decide to be productive before Tuesday rolls around. And, bonus: I made myself wake up early on Saturday morning to visit one of my least favorite places, the gym. I really hate exercising. Isn't that terrible? I'm just always so busy or tired to work out during the weekdays, and my excuse during the weekends is that I deserve to relax. Lame, right? But I forced myself this time to stop being lazy, and I'm very glad that I did. Especially since last night was my best friend's 18th birthday celebration, and a group of us went to a very nice restaurant (with very sinful indulgences). I ordered a pasta dish, and yes, I ate the whole thing. It was fantastic.

Right now, I'm sitting upstairs in my pajamas as I type this, and contemplating what to do next. I could do my homework, but that's what tomorrow is for. Hmm...maybe I will continue reading The Shack? Watch an episode of Gilmore Girls? Edit the photographs from last night? So many choices. This freedom is beautiful.

Oh! I almost forgot! I saw The Lovely Bones on Friday, just like I said I would. And let me tell you, it was brilliant. The movie definitely did the book justice, and that is pretty rare. I loved it so much that I can't wait to see it again! If you've seen it, I'd love to know your opinion... Apparently, the critics didn't think it was so great. But what do they know?

Even though I'm about five days off, I decided to jot down a few of my resolutions for the upcoming year.

1. Strengthen my relationship with Jesus Christ. All relationships take work, and this one isn't an exception. I'd like to say that He is my number one priority, but sometimes my actions don't follow through with that statement. I really hope to begin spending more time with my Savior, as well as reading my Bible every morning before school.

2. Exercise at least three times a week. Yoga, pilates, jogging, dancing. Whatever. I just need to do something!

3. Read at least one book a month. I love to read, but I am incredibly slow, especially when I have a ton of things on my plate. But I've been keeping up with my books recently, and all of this reading is quite refreshing. I'm going to try to stick with it.

3. Treat my family with respect at all times. Whenever I'm in a bad mood, my family members are always the ones to feel my wrath. It's sometimes easy to take my family for granted because I know that they'll always love me no matter what, but there is no excuse for my selfish behavior.

4. Stop complaining about things I can't control. This includes putting myself down because of my looks, talking badly about others (in any degree), or whining about the every-day hardships of life. This one might take some practice, but I'm going to try my hardest.

5. Learn a song or two on my (abandoned) guitar. My acoustic guitar was a gift from Santa last Christmas, and I was SO excited when I saw it under the tree. I only managed to learn half a song before I got tired of the thing and put it down for good. Talk about an epic fail! I think it's time for me and my lonely guitar to bond some more.

6. Turn my old magazines into beautiful collages. It would be a cool little side project, wouldn't it?

7. Finish Gilmore Girls! I can't believe it's taken me more than a year to watch this TV show from start to finish [that's quite an eternity]. I'm finally on the last season (thank God), and I'm ready to move on to something else. Sorry Lorelai, but your witty little one-liners are getting old.

8. Write in my journal. Ever since I began this blog, I kind of deserted my first love that is my Shakespeare hard-cover journal. It's such a lovely diary, and yet it is empty, except for the first few pages. This is upsetting to me, since I've basically kept a number of journals throughout my entire life, and I'm not ready to quit now.

9. Get accepted to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This is more of a wish than a resolution, but it's something that would be a really big accomplishment on my part. The moment of truth will be on January 30th, so wish me luck!

10. Make (a lot) more money and spend (a lot) less. I made a few hundred bucks working at Barnes & Noble over Christmas break, but now that school and theatre is starting back up, I have no extra time. As soon as summer comes around, I hope to begin working again (whether it be at B&N, I'm not sure) so that I can raise some money for college/traveling. Oh, and no more random trips to Target after school. That stupid store is putting a dent in my savings.

Ten seems like a good number. I think I'll stop there. Good night, everyone.