Thinking Out Loud #17

Guys! I’m done with my first year of college! Finals and prepping for finals have been the reasons for my absence, but I’m back now and so excited about it. I think it’s really appropriate that it’s Thinking Out Loud Thursday because, well, the end of the school year has left me with a lot of thoughts. I’m going to keep the subjects in this post to the last couple of weeks, but I’ll write a full-year recap soon, as well. Thanks for the link-up, Amanda!

1.) When you finish your finals and some extra credit assignments, have mostly done your packing, and are left with no real responsibilities, nothing quite sums up how you feel like this shirt:

2.) And now I get to catch up on blog reading and writing! Any time I thought about it over the past week or so, I pretty much told myself that if I had enough time and energy to blog, I had enough time and energy to study more. I’ve been a super fun person to be around, let me tell you.

3.) My favorite study spot is not on campus. There are a bunch of really great places to hang out and study at UChicago, for sure. But my favorite place is the lobby of the hotel where my parents usually stay when they visit. The staff members are so nice and there are a ton of huge windows. They also have great study fuel. 😉

{Chicken tortilla soup… minus the extra chips the host gave me}

{One of the hosts said she might need to cut me off from the Peanut M&M’s}

4.) My week has been absolutely fueled by water, Diet Coke, candy (see above), and carbs.

{I haven’t found my name, but my “Spanish name” kind of counts, yeah?}

{(Slightly mangled) bacon-chocolate chip pancake}

Not included in the pictures but heavily included in my study fuel were Nilla wafers, Cinnamon Life, Wheat Thins, baby bell peppers, sugar snap peas, pistachios, Crispy M&M’s, and S’Mores Oreos.

5.) Speaking of which…

I found them! I’m pretty sure this was meant to be. I went to Target before I went into my finals-induced hibernation. I looked and looked and looked… and there were none to be found. There wasn’t even a spot for them on the shelf! But then I found one buried in with all the regular Oreos. They’re really quite good, and definitely are reminiscent of s’mores (though it took me a couple cookies to really taste that). Hmmm I think I need to do an Oreo ranking sometime.

6.) Amidst all that sugar, I thought it might be good to include some healthier things. I had an interview at Starbucks, and took it as a chance to pick this up:

I’ve tried a few green juices and really liked them. This… tasted a little too green for me. I successfully had about three tiny sips. Pass.

7.) After putting in a lot of study time at the end of last week, I took a little bit of a break on Friday night for a bonfire at Promontory Point.

{We might’ve dropped a burger into the fire}

{First s’more in a while}

It turned out to be more of a “let’s grill meat with nothing but sticks… and also marshmallows” since we didn’t have firewood, but managed to gain access to a grill. Either way, it was beautiful and fun and a lovely study break. Also, I still somehow smelled like a bonfire for about two days.

9.) My parents helped me start the move-out process, something for which I am endlessly grateful. I had no idea where to start. Oh, wait. I started by doing my laundry and throwing away old papers. But after that, I got overwhelmed by all my stuff. I definitely don’t need nearly as much as I have. Also, I have too many clothes. So, I think I should work on selling some of it when I get home. Advice?

10.) I successfully moved two boxes taller than my torso full of my stuff this morning on my own. The guy who opened the storage room for me looked surprised. (I might have been a little surprised, too.)

11.) Now that I’m done with finals, I’m back to appreciating how gorgeous campus is.

I don’t know. I might miss it a little when I leave on Saturday.

How do you like your pancakes?

Do you like green juice?

Any other Thursday thoughts?