You Are What You Read

     Anyone that knows me knows that I love to read. Like the annoying kind of love to read. Like stop-talking-to-everyone-put-off my-homework-stay-up-all-night-and-skip-meals-to-finish-a-book-love to read. I also have the most annoying habit of finishing a book and then re-reading all of my favorite parts, repeatedly. I can't help it. I've always been this way, and while I do have a little bit more self-control these college days, some books get the best of me.

Pure Bliss

    Another weird thing that happens -- I'm VERY easily influenced.  I really do become what I read.  

I read about some girl who does/is __________, and suddenly I want to do/be that too. This can be a bad thing or a good thing depending on what I'm reading.  Recently I've been reading some summer chick-lit (insert groans/eye-rolls here -- it's not really "summer" chick-lit as much as "all seasons" chick-lit.... my family is always teasing me about my chick-lit addiction, but I just love it so much even though I KNOW it's cheesy and stupid) about some really cool characters, so it's been a very good thing!

   One book that I really LOVED was called "The List" by Melanie Jacobson. It's about a girl who made a list of things to do before she got married. She was very committed to not getting married until after her list was complete. Of course some Romeo sweeps her off her feet -- she questions her list -- throws it out the window -- and her and Prince Charming get together!

 

  After reading this book, my friend Chelsea (who also read the book) and I decided to do the same, except the part about refusing to get married until after all the goals are all done.  More like I want to have things to do and goals to accomplish to keep my life upbeat, fun and adventurous.  So here's the list to date, but I want to get it up to 25 (suggestions are encouraged):  

1. Get a passport. 
2. Leave the country
3. Learn a foreign language
4. Road trip 200+ miles (with friends)
5. Stop at a U-Pick Farm
6. Go Camping!  (accomplished -- see last post!)
7. Read all of the standard works
8. Try internet dating
9. Go kayaking
10. Complete a race (harder than you've done before)
11. Redevelop a musical talent
12. Try a (new-crazy) diet for a week
13. Learn to eat with chopsticks
14. Learn to tango (I'm pretty positive I want to replace this one!)
15. Eat an authentic Chicago Deep Dish Pizza/Boston Cheesecake/Philly Cheese-Steak (pick one)
16. Go hot air ballooning. 
17. Go slack-lining
18. Buy myself some nice jewelry
19. Read a (foreign) classic 
20.   
21.  
22.  
23.  
24.  
25.  

To calm my sweet mother's heart and redeem myself in your eyes-- I have also been keeping a steady diet of the textbooks, Shakespeare (for my Shakespeare class), and the scriptures these past few months so not everything I'm reading is totally pointless.. just most of it! :)