Happy Birthday, Sara!

Today is my best friend Sara's 24th birthday! We've known each other since we were elementary kids, but have been best friends for about 7 years. Not that long ago, she and I celebrated our birthdays together by taking in a fantastic show in Montreal featuring the Cirque du Soleil performing to the music of Michael Jackson. For today, allow me to rewind and  take a look back at our friendship which hopefully help to explain why I consider her to be my best friend. 

~ the memories we have shared on the Band and Choir trips of our high school days 

~ cruising to Tim Horton's in my purple Grand Prix

~ road kills 

~ always being my back up singer :) 

~ all of the hilarious sleepovers 

~ holding my hand through some of the toughest times in my life 

~ thoughtful presents, like the dreamcatcher 

~ taking me out on my 19th birthday when all of my other friends were still underage 

~ guitar hero, ddr, and singstar battles 

~ Montreal 2012 

~ seeing Tegan and Sara together <3

~ and all of the Hey Rosetta! concerts 

~ prom crashing!! 

~ cheering for my brother at many of his hockey games with me 

~ having your family take me in like one of their own 

~ the laugh attacks 

~ bath fall fair! 

~ (you being a bad influence haha) and getting tattoos together 

And as we approach this new phase in our friendship, I see our bond getting stronger and sticking through the distance. 

Happy Birthday Sara! I hope your day is just as fabulous as you are <3

Guys, I Graduated!

And with that, it's over. Wow. So surreal. 

On Wednesday, I graduated with my Education degree at St. Thomas University. It's hard to believe that 5 years has flown by with the blink of an eye. I guess it's true, time truly does fly when you are having a good time. 

St. Thomas University is a beautiful campus! The landscaping and architecture shine in the summer time. So as tradition has it, graduation is normally held outside weather permitting. Unfortunately, my graduation last spring for my Arts degree was held inside because of rain. Still a beautiful ceremony, but having an outdoor graduation is part of STU's charm. With fingers crossed and prayers had, the weather was gorgeous on Wednesday and we got to have our ceremony outside Wednesday evening. The scenery and atmosphere couldn't have been more perfect. 

With family and friends watching, I crossed the stage in front of George Martin Hall with smile in tow and accepted my hard-earned diploma from Dawn Russell. She congratulated me and wished me well, and I left the stage with butterflies in my stomach. Not the kind of butterflies you get when your sad or feel loss, but the kind of butterflies you get before you get on a roller coaster with four loops and you hang with your feet dangling. Butterflies of excitement! 

Thank you to my family and friends for constantly supporting me, encouraging me, loving me, and reminding me that everything gets done. There were difficult times, happy times, and times were I just wanted to give up. Memories were created, best friends were made, and I thanked the stars everyday for granting me this life changing experience.

Goodbye student life, hello adulthood.

Best Friend Adventure.

You know what's great about having a birthday so close to Christmas? You become one of those lucky people in the world who gets to celebrate "Birthmas!" I was born on January 9, 1989. Yes, that makes me 23. Fun fact: I was actually due on December 24, 1988. How great would that have been to have your birthday on Christmas Eve? - NOT! Anyways, the point of this post is not to boast about my birthday, or how old I am. It's to tell you of this awesome adventure I went on this past weekend with my best friend, Sara. 

WAYYY back in October, Sara sent me a link with a message that said something along the lines of: "Have you seen this?!" The "this" was a video trailer for Cirque de Soleil: Michael Jackson "The Immortal" Tour. For those of you who don't know me that well - I LOVE MICHAEL JACKSON! Adore. Admire. Respect. Love. Pure talent. I responded to Sara saying, "I have to see this!!"

Long story short, we did away with getting each other Christmas and Birthday presents this year, and went in on (expensive) tickets to see this show and take a mini vacation together - which we have never done before (unless you count high school band trips, haha!) 

Talk about the best "Birthmas" present ever. Words can not explain the emotions, the joy, and the pure awesome that was this show. Several times throughout I would lean over and say to Sara "I think I'm gonna cry!" or "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!" I can't pick a favourite performance, they were all my favourite. I found myself dancing in my seat, singing along, crying, and clapping throughout the whole show.

Seeing as this was a Cirque de Soleil show, I went in thinking that it would be full of acrobatics and jaw dropping stunts - which it was. However, what got me even more excited was how close this show was to some of the visions Michael Jackson had for his final tour before passing away. Many of the dance sequences, backdrops, effects, and performances were inspired by the ideas he had for his own show. In all actuality, this is the closest I will ever come to a Michael Jackson performance, and I am beyond excited and thankful for that.

Besides this amazing show we took in on our last day in Montreal, Sara and I did some other fun and exciting things together on our trip. We took in some shopping in the Underground City, went to the Biodome (sans otters, to our disappointment), went up the Olympic Tower, explored Old Montreal, and met up with an old friend, Schyuler! We titled our mini-vacation the "Best Friend Adventure!"

Seeing as I am moving out west in a little less then a month, I am so glad she and I got to do this together. We've never done anything one-on-one like this before, and it really gave me a chance to truly appreciate our friendship like I haven't before and solidify why we're the best of friends. My moving to Calgary will be the first time we haven't lived within 10 minutes of one another - we grew up in the same town and moved to the same city after high school. Change is a scary thing, but everything happens for a reason and I know this move will only make us stronger. 

And So It Ends.

Yesterday was my last day of classes at St. Thomas University…ever. Where has the time gone?

Let me paint a picture for you. 5 years ago in September I was 18 about to embark on my university years. Prom and graduation had come and gone, and time and time again I was being asked by friendly face after friendly face: "What are you doing in the fall?" You see, ever since the days of travelling to Fredericton and passing the steeple atop George Martin Hall on our way to the Aitken Centre had I dreamt of coming to STU. I remember when I took my tour in the summer before coming to STU and saying to my mother "This is definitely where I want to go to school!" What I quickly learned when left alone in Holy Cross House is that maybe university life wasn't for me. I was soooo homesick. 

I'm a small town girl, from a place where everyone knows your name (or at least your family name). And in what seemed like a matter of minutes, I was ripped from my comfort zone and forced into this new world of different personalities, backgrounds, and beliefs. I remember the first thing I did after Mom and Dad said bye to me - I went onto my computer and searched the dates of Thanksgiving weekend so I could start the countdown to when I could come home without an excuse. 

Now, hopefully as your reading this you are beginning to realize that this story doesn't end in tears and feeling bad for myself. After the (extended) Christmas holiday (due to the faculty strike) in my first year, and upon returning to residence at STU, I pulled myself out of my "self-pity coma" and put myself out there and made some friends. And here begins the best experience of my life. 

The people I've befriended in my five years at STU and shared my numerous university memories with are some of the most inspiring, unique, and beautiful people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

From Holy Cross House traditions

To parties at 860

And the many classy winter formals

From nights at the Pub (whether it be Snooty or the Cellar)

To birthdays in Sussex

 Pubcrawl, after pubcrawl

And buckets too!

From 2nd dirt side

To four memorable Welcome Weeks

And winning a cheer off, too!

 Graduation #1 

To the first day of a new program

 And meeting some fantastic new friends along the way

This one small blog post hardly does any justice to the emotions and memories I hold inside. I can only scratch the surface and try to relay to you how much this university means to me. STU and the people I associate with it took this insecure, quiet, reserved girl and turned her into an independent, strong, and lighthearted woman. 

Five years have come and gone with the blink of an eye. Through the laughter, tears, heartache, and love, I am in disbelief that another chapter of my life has come to a close. But with that, opens a new and exciting one. 

To my family and friends, thank you for making this university experience the most life changing and rewarding experience of my life. As cliche as it sounds, I honestly wouldn't be who I am today without the impact you've had on my life. 

Love, 

Melissa 

Update.

I had to remind myself again this weekend that I started this blog for me, as a means for journaling and recording down the moments in my life that I don't want to forget. If you're reading this, you being dedicated to reading my blog and taking an interest in the goings on in my life is just the cherry on top that puts a smile on my face day to day. Like I said to my mom this weekend, "It's good to feel loved." 

On April 29th, almost 2 months ago, I moved in to my very own first apartment. It's a small bachelor apartment in an apartment complex that (if you cut down the trees in front of my window) looks over the St. John River. Prior to moving into this apartment, I lived in a university owned house with four other girls. I thoroughly enjoyed living with them, and we certainly had some good times. However, I felt that I was at a point in my life wherein I needed to see how well I could live on my own and discover what it felt like to really be independent. In addition, with ideas floating around in my head of moving away to another province possibly on my own, I wanted to see if I was capable of really being alone and if it would cause me to be lonely. I am a firm believer in there being a strong difference between being alone and being lonely. I am happy to report 2 months in that there has yet to be a day living in this glorious apartment wherein I have felt lonely. Considering that I am rarely ever home due to the fact that I am in school 6-10 hours a day Monday - Friday and work every weekend, it's nice to come home after a long day and go about at my pace not worrying about disrupting anyone else. Might I add that it's nice getting to decorate and set up your living place however you want. Here's some pictures of my new digs: 

Alberta plans are moving along nicely. Still no luck on the job front, but I see those prospects looking up when I finally arrive in Calgary. Pretty sure that my soon-to-be roommate and I have secured a place to live, which is comforting to know. Once school is finished and I've graduated, packing will begin and farewells will be in order. Speaking of which…

HOLD THE PHONE! This is my last week of school. Where did the time go? Remember back in August when my gut was dragging on the floor because I was so nervous about starting and the butterflies in my stomach were sickening - Literally - Was sick as a dog during the first week of school. And now, with only a week left of classes, two small assignments left to write, and four group presentations, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter. Really, my reflection on the last five years of university needs its own blog post (or two, or three) but let me just say right now that the Melissa of five years ago is very different from the Melissa today. These changes for the better have much to do with the amazing people I have met and befriended over these years. You know who you are, and I'm sending you all hugs of thanks and love.

So, to the Melissa reading this down the road - you're doing just fine :) 

Happy Father's Day

After a full day of work, driving home, and spending a fabulous and relaxing evening with my family, it's time to take a minute and wish a special man a Happy Father's Day! To my rock, my source of joy and comic relief. Not a day goes by where I don't thank the stars for the father I am so blessed to have. Thank you for always supporting me in my endeavours and reminding me that a life without a smile isn't worth living. 

"Father's be good to your daughters. You are the god and the weight of her world." 

- John Mayer

2000

This weekend I hit 2000 views (today's count = 2010)! I want to just take a minute to thank all of my family, friends, and friends of friends for viewing my blog and taking an interest in the things I write about. 

With new prospects arising, I promise there'll be more frequent posts so that I can always remember the adventures that were part of my life. 

Speaking of adventures, anyone wanna do this with me sometime?