Technically a Senior?

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Let's recap:

Almost as soon as I hit the middle-marker for the fall semester (my last semester of junior year - I know, I'm confusing), I spilled coffee on my laptop. And yes, it was completely fried. No, I did not save any of my work on an external drive or even Google Docs, and yes, this was insanely dumb. Did I completely lose all of my important documents, including the book I was working on? Yes. Sadly, the way that I ruined my computer isn't even a good story: 

I was at Starbucks with some friends, and the barista gave me a venti americano instead of a grande. When we sat down to do homework, I sat with one friend, and the other friend was at a table by herself. That friend at the table by herself started talking about a TLC show she watched, and my ears immediately perked up because I'm a sucker for TLC reality shows. I turned to tell her a funny little quip about the show and somehow hooked my arm around the cup and knocked it onto my computer. Miraculously, the lid didn't fall off, but only a tablespoon or so of coffee fell on the keys. But, it was enough for the computer to never fully turn on again. (Cue Sarah McLachlan). I was so in shock at what had just happened that when the barista came over to make conversation and check in, I was completely silent. 

Now, fast forward to the tail-end of the spring semester, and I'm officially a first-semester senior! (Insert a fun little jig). It's kind of surreal, actually, because after the next summer and fall semesters, I will be a college graduate. Woah.  

This semester has been the best semester thus far; I feel like I have grown as a person, student, and writer. And I've finally updated some things on my website! Hello, new "Words" folder! Here, I have 3 pages that you can peruse through; the "Poems" page, "Essays" page (which I will post essays on shortly), and the "Published Works" page. 

Currently, I am...

Reading: The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp 

I'm reading this book for my Young Adult Literature class and using it as a primary source for my senior paper. (Let me just pause for a moment and say how great it is to be studying things in college that I truly enjoy.) It's a really good book, but it's a fantastic movie that stars Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller. Fun fact: it was produced by the same movie production company as Lady Bird!

Listening to: Troye Sivan and Dermot Kennedy

Honestly, I never get sick of Troye's music - please, oh please, go on tour.

Watching: 30 Rock and new episodes of New Girl

I mean, did we really think that I wouldn't be watching 30 Rock all the days of my life? And the newest season of New Girl isn't terrible! 

Reagan Fleming

These Words

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These last couple of weeks have been rough, to say the least. But, thankfully today marked the beginning of my Thanksgiving break (praise dance), so I decided to leave campus and read at a coffee shop. I got a chai (I know, who am I?) and read for a few hours. Every reader has a few authors or some books that just get them. Sarah Dessen? Yep. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green? (So far, even though I'm only on chapter 10?) Yes indeedy. Now, this may not be the most beneficial thing for my mental health, but I often lose myself in fiction books when I don't particularly want to focus on what's happening in real life. However, this becomes beneficial when a book causes me to think about my own life in a different or new way. For instance, when I first started reading TATWD the other night, I read a passage that made me immediately start crying. I don't cry very often, so for a book to make me cry was really something. Writers can make their readers feel things - really feel things. It takes a good writer to produce something more than just words on a line that become intermingled with all the other thoughts fumbling around in the reader's brain. Good writing consists of words that change the reader's point of view and/or make them feel understood. 

So, as the first few hours of Thanksgiving break began - one that will inevitably be filled with homework - I sipped my chai and read these words: "Your now is not your forever." 

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Reagan Fleming

Gap Year

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Fall break is upon us (at least for me and my classmates) and I could not be more excited; Ohio has never looked more green and sunny, and the trees have never been more lush. Like how I want to spend most days, I am sitting outside at a coffee shop, with the sun beating down on my face. Today's drink is an iced americano with pumpkin syrup and cream. A girl to the table next to me is gabbing to her friend on how "okay" she is that her boyfriend isn't ready to commit, and some weird rock music is softly playing on the speakers overhead. Ahh, home.  

Some of you know that I took a year off of school. Some of you don't know that I did that, nor do you know that I'm even back at school. So there's your update on my life. 

I was at the point in my academic career where I wasn't settled on my choice of major, and I didn't know if I wanted to be at that university. So, I took a year off to work. I initially told myself that it would be just a semester, and that slowly turned into a year. But, I can honestly say that it was the best decision that I could have made; taking that year off helped me realize that yes, that university was the best one for me to attend, and yes, I wanted to finish my degree in Writing. I realize that some people take time off of school and they never go back - that was a possibility for me. Yet, during that time of being away from my college friends and not having a typical "student" life, I realized that I missed all the studying, the midnight Sonic runs, and most of all, the writing projects I had to do for my writing/English classes. My dad told my sister many years ago to "get a degree in something you love." I love writing. 

Now that I'm back in school - even though it took a while to get acclimated to everything again - I know that I'm supposed to be here. And that's a really good feeling. 

So. If you're ever unsure about college, or a job, or whatever it is - just take baby steps. It's okay to not know the whole picture.

Reagan Fleming