The end is near.

Last few weeks of the semester = major stress. I have a 12 page paper to write, a portfolio to put together, three news articles to send in, flex points to finish, stats homework to do, finals to study for, French everything, an internship to apply for, and the list goes on. I'm sure everyone has their own lists comparable to mine. It's madness.

Here is a list of things I've seen lately that give me hope we'll make it through. And just hope for the human race/future in general.

• An old couple sitting on the overpass trying to get semi trucks to honk for them... and succeeding.
• A student and a man with autism singing Christmas carols in the PE building.
• The date December 15. It's coming no matter what grade I get in French poetry!
• People with broken legs zooming around on scooters. Are crutches not cool anymore or...?
• This video.
• Compliments. This does not include being honked at while you're crossing the street. At least roll down your window and yell something incomprehensible. 
• An old woman telling a girl "I love you" simply because they shared a short conversation on a Sunday morning.
• "Let go of the past and go for the future. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined." - Henry David Thoreau
• This song.
• Asian Star. Maybe if I graduate college, I'll be able to afford eating there without being forced to go during happy hour or with my parents' money.
• The preview for "Warm Bodies." Actually, maybe it's creepy that this gives me hope for the future. Let's change it to the preview for "Star Trek Into Darkness" even though the preview for that hasn't come out yet.

Okay, I'm done since I'm just rambling now and fresh out of uplifting quotes/videos. Happy finals, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

PS. This one isn't that uplifting, but if you want to laugh/cry yourself to sleep tonight, watch this video.

Weeks.

Sometimes you have a really good week, then a pretty normal week, then a very bad week. And you start wondering why every week can't be like the first week and why this semester has been pretty much the hardest four months of your life and why bad things happen to good people. And it makes you very sad and you spend four hours watching Modern Family and ignoring the homework you should be doing because life is hard and nothing's really worth it anyway.

But then the time comes when you have to take a step back and realize that really, you're just focusing on the bad things that have happened like a messed-up ignition and a flat tire (not a great time for my car) or how it was raining at the parade that you didn't even really want to go to (Rain on my parade? Irony anyone?) or how hard school is and how much you hate doing homework. And you think to yourself, what about all the good things that have happened this week?

• Good things like Tyler A. giving me six free tickets to the Twilight premiere and even though it's probably the lamest movie in existence, it was two hours of rolling-on-the-floor laughter that I quite frankly enjoyed.

• Like Pratt and Scott volunteering to change my tire even though they could easily have just gone home and I could have called AAA or something.

• Good things like Tyler C. bringing me a gallon of cookies-and-cream ice cream in the middle of the night even though he lives halfway across town.

• Like my friends asking me for relationship advice even though, let's be honest, I'm the last person they should be asking. But I enjoy it.

• Like the people who will sit and listen to me rant for hours and days about life and attempt to give me advice even though it won't help, but it's still good to talk.

• Good things like Phil giving me a Maggie Moo's gift card for no reason at all even though he really could just keep it for himself.

• Like how even though it was raining on the parade, the sun eventually came out and a rainbow spread across the sky and the cutest little kids were there and it was actually super fun.

• Good things like going to two parties in one weekend and making new friends even though the semester's almost over and I could have easily just stayed home and watched more Modern Family.

So, looking back, maybe it really wasn't that bad of a week after all. Maybe it's the less-than-good times in life that show us what we are really capable of. (For instance, the fact that I managed to write two news articles on my phone while sitting at Big-O tires for two hours. Or the fact that I ran 5 miles without stopping when the farthest I have ever run is 3... maybe I should be in a bad mood more often.)

Times like these happen I guess. There will be weeks when you feel like you're back in middle school or at BYU (or a combination) and weeks when it feels like no one else in the world possesses common sense. But then those weeks are over. And there are tons of other, better weeks to look forward to.

One week can change your whole future, if you let it. Or it can just be a week.

Karen and karaoke.

The place I live is called Crashpad 35. Once in a while it's called "Crack" pad 35 when we get crazy off of salt and potatoes (french fries) and have dance parties at midnight until someone falls off the counter and face plants into the carpet. But usually it's just Crashpad 35.

Crashpad 35 is known for many things. Sometimes it's a French café when we decide to make crepes on a weeknight. Sometimes it's a gym when the window is open and you hear Mumford & Sons blasting and girls screaming "Karen, no! My arms!" (Karen is the name we coined for our robotic personal trainer on the Nike Fitness app. We don't like her because she makes us do hard things.) Sometimes it's a psychiatric office when we have long deep chats about life late into the night. Sometimes it's a home for our very large FHE family.

This weekend, it was a karaoke bar (if you use the term "bar" very loosely) on Saturday night as we held the first of many Karaoke Saturdays to come. Food was consumed, reputations were upheld (or ruined), and embarrassing photographs were taken. Enjoy. And keep your eyes peeled and ears open for the next Karaoke Saturday at Crashpad 35, cause it'll be epic.