A toast to your birthday. Thank you for making me feel like my opinion is important, even though I don't know half as much as you do.

Late night post.. checked my email and saw that grades are already posted for a test I took this afternoon.. WOW is all I have to say, never get grades that fast.. my teacher is awesome. My first test ever for grad school and I got a B+. Considering that's above the average, and my class has some frighteningly smart people in it, I'm very happy. Now I can finally sleep......

It took a lot of courage to say it, thank you for listening. Putting my life back together, bit by bit, I only know that I am lucky to have such great people as friends.

Test-induced post-traumatic stress is best alleviated with the drawing of Nikko cartoons. For those of you who don't know about these or understand them, be thankful.

A great sage sat alone on a hill, deep in meditation. Three visitors came to meet him on three different days hoping to ask him for wisdom.
The first walked right up to him and shook his hand.
The second, seeing that he was meditating and not wanting to disturb him, patiently waited.
The third, seeing that he was meditating, silently sat next to him and began to do the same.

I am the first; I want to be more like the third. Which are you?

My one wish for you would be that you find your way back to your dreams. I won't pretend to know how hard your life has been, but I hope you use that to help others- you can show the world the strength within you by telling your story.
How fitting that the place you call home is known for its tough winters.

Looking forward to the day I can teach you the art of eyeliner. :)

Fall snuck up on me. I miss driving the roads in Texas littered with leaves of gold.
In the desert, with its cacti and palm trees, what defines a fall day is that it is simply cooler than the day before. Today it was a gorgeous 85 with a cool breeze. It was a welcome change and an appropriate day to start anew.

Somehow people think that what they are going through is unique, that their pain is special somehow.

It's not.

Look around you: while the situation may be different, others have gone through their own struggles; thinking yours is somehow more important or more difficult than theirs only isolates yourself. Take strength in knowing you're never alone.

Somehow, amidst the craziness that is life, my brother ended up being one of the coolest people I know. <3 you lil bro.

Apparently blaring Black Sabbath while driving gives even dorky engineer girls like me street cred.