2014 in Review

Wow there, long time no talk! I took a blogging break because I wasn't really sure where I wanted my blog to go, what I wanted it to be, and I had a small fear that it was just super self centered of me to be talking about myself all the time. But as I go into 2015, I realized that I should stop thinking about all of that and instead keep the blog for myself - as a place where I can document my year, share my pictures (I just got a new camera and I'm really excited to start learning the ins and outs of photography), and write about my day to day life so that I can go back and look on it in the coming years and remember what I did all the time. So today, as the last day of 2014, I'm going to be reflective and look back onto all the craziness that was 2014 - some super highs and some really low lows.

Here are my biggest moments of 2014:

1. I am half way done with law school!!!
2. I can run 10 miles (something I never thought I would hear myself say)
3. I am still loving life in Los Angeles with Brett, new friends, and old ones too!
4. My parents got divorced and it was not easy to deal with.
5. My childhood house that I grew up in was sold.
6. My brother came and visited me and we went to Disneyland 2x, which was the best thing ever.
7. I visited San Francisco and San Diego.
8. I went to my first Seahawks game (that we lost).
9. Finally going to Pullman, WA to see WSU and the Huskies win the Apple Cup (in 10 degrees)
10. The Seahawks winning the superbowl.

2014 Recap.

January
I started the new year off at the same place that I will be ringing in 2015 tonight - in the shadow of the Space Needle surrounded by most of the people I love. I traveled to Whistler with my dad and brother for our annual ski trip which was so much fun and provided a sense of normalcy into the beginning of a weird and uprooting year. I got my grades back - for better or for worse - but in the end was mostly happy about my first semester of law school.



February
Lilly came to visit me in LA and we had lots of fun. The Seahawks WON THE SUPERBOWL in the most boring game of all time. Brett and I hosted our first party in our apartment for the games and had tons of fun. Brett's dad and stepmom came to visit and we went exploring - to the Getty Museum and to Huntington Library. Brett and I went on an LA brew tour, which was really fun! I also started looking for summer jobs - and started experiencing a lot of rejection/frustration.



March
Peyton came to visit for the first time and I had the best time showing him LA. We went to Disneyland from open to close, rode space mountain multiple times, and watched the light show at California Adventure for the first time and had a blast. Brett and I celebrated spring break by amusement park hopping - Knotts Berry Farms and Magic Mountain. I got over my fear of crazy roller coasters, so theres that!

April.
I turned 23 during finals time of school, which was not exactly the best birthday ever but I had donuts and a yummy steak dinner, so I can't complain. I celebrated Easter without my family for the second time in my life, but Brett and I went to church at St. Monica's in Santa Monica and then brunch in Westwood.

May
Finals finals finals, but I finished 1L Year! I celebrated with my friends by (literally) burning our notes in Sarah's backyard. I reveled in having nothing to do for about a week before I started work. This was also the month I found out my parents were divorcing. I also did a week long write on for law review - and then didn't make it on law review. Going back, would I advise doing that? Probably not. May was probably a month I wouldn't care to remember.

June
First day of work at the City Attorney's office! My dad came down to visit and we explored Malibu and went to Magic Mountain (again). Brett graduated from UCLA with his masters in Structural Engineering and got a big boy job. Kelsey also came down to visit and we discovered Newport Beach. Brett and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a trip to San Diego for the night.

July
Peyton and my dad came back to visit (again) and we went to Huntington Beach for the US Surf Open! It was so much fun. We also went to Disneyland. I went to San Diego again to visit my bestie Angela, who was in Pacific Beach for her birthday! We went to the beach, went out by the beach, and ate tacos and acai bowls by the beach. Lots of beach. Brett and I went to a Mariners game at Angel Stadium and a Dodgers game in the same week.

August
Melis moved to LA! I explored with Melissa and started my job search (for next summer). I had a week filled with interviews in LA, and then left for Seattle for a week filled with more interviews. After far too many interviews, I took a job in LA for this coming summer (and I'm super excited!). Brett and I went back to Seattle for our annual Lake Chelan trip and I got to go to the first home UW football game in the Coach Petersen era. School started again, and just like that I was a 2L.

September
Lilly came down to visit Melis and I and we went bike riding, out downtown, and went hiking to the Hollywood sign. I jumped back into school and got busy with extracurriculars - I became a part of the Women's Law Journal, an events planner for the American Constitution Society, and began preparing for my moot court competition. I was going back and forth from Seattle to LA basically all month for various reasons and to help my dad sell our house.

October
I tried to embrace fall in LA - but I didn't do some of the things I usually try and do (pumpkin patch, anyone?). Instead October was SOOO jam packed with school things that I barely remember it. I went to San Francisco to go see the UW v Cal game and to visit my bestie Lilly. I also had to turn in my moot court brief the morning of the game. Brett's mom and stepdad came to visit the weekend of my moot court oral competition (which was terrifying but also really fun). For halloween, I went out with Sara and Sarah to a club in Hollywood with other law students.

November
I went back to Seattle for the UCLA v UW Football game with my dad, which was heartbreaking but fun. Peyton came home too so I got to hang out with them. I went to my first Clippers game in LA. I got ready for finals and then came home to Seattle for thanksgiving. I went to Apple Cup in Pullman. I did my last blog post (oops, sorry blog). I enjoyed a yummy turkey day dinner with my dad, brother, grandma, and aunts and uncles. I also enjoyed the thanksgiving night NFL Seahawks game against the 49ers fourty-whiners.

December
Finals! They were not as brutal as the previous two, so I am thankful for that. I think I kept my cool a lot better too - no panic attacks this time! But I did have tension headaches for most of the month. I volunteered at a Girls on the Run 5k which was super fun, went to Seattle for half of the month, caught up with old friends, went into the mountains for a night with my pledge class, did an annual Seattle downtown Christmas night, ate yummy food, ran through my favorite parts of the city, hung out with my family, read a lot, celebrated Christmas a little differently than in years past since it was the first one with divorced parents, but it was okay.

All in all, I'm thankful for another year, but also extremely happy for what the future is going to bring.

See ya next year! :)

Nice to meet ya, 2015!

New year! Fresh start! Clean slate!

I'm all about all of those things. I can't WAIT to see what 2015 brings and all the exciting things that will come with it. I just have a feeling that it's going to be better than 2014, and I'm so very excited. So to start the new year, I'm going to be all cliche and share with you my new years resolutions and what I'm looking forward to.

2015 Resolutions: 
More efficient study habits - I can easily go down the internet black hole while studying and then things take twice as long as they should. I really need to get better about that and it will help me have more free time.
Explore LA by studying - It can be hard to have time to see different parts of LA while in law school, so I'm going to try and go see some new places by way of study spots. Plus, I study better when I'm not at my apartment anyways.
Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day - never can hurt, folks
Keep in better touch with my friends, near and far - It can be hard when school takes over, but I need to get better about that. One way I want to do this is by writing more snail mail, because who doesn't love getting a card in the mail?
Keep running - I'm proud of myself for keeping to a pretty strict running schedule while I'm training for the 1/2 marathon in February, but I want to make sure that I keep it up once it's over as well. I think I might sign up for another 1/2 at the end of the year too. And maybe, just maybe, 2016 will hold a full marathon in the cards for me???!
Eat at least one veggie every day - Some days I love eating my salads, but some days I can go an entire day without eating a single vegetable. I've tried to get better about this in the past few months, but I need to keep working. How is the suggested serving 3 a day!?
Read one book for fun a month - also trying to read each night before I go to bed because it clears my mind and helps me sleep better 

Blog more

Take a second of video a day

What I'm looking forward to: 
Whistler Ski Trip with my dad and brother next week
Cruise with my law school friends in January
Starting my new job at UCLA as a research assistant for a professor
1/2 Marathon on Superbowl Sunday
Going to NY and DC over spring break!
Starting my summer job in June as a summer associate
Going camping this summer
Taking another trip to Disneyland with my brother
Learning photography

Reading more

Trying to live more stress free! 

Thanksgiving Break

Took a blog hiatus for a little bit there. School has been crazy and finals are looming. This weekend has been my "last hurrah" until December 16th, when I will reemerge from the craziness of studying and finally be actually able to enjoy my most favorite time of the year!!

I went home to Seattle for break and made my first trip to Pullman, Washington for the apple cup! Huskies dominated, of course. It was 10 degrees and soo freaking cold. I've never been to a football game so cold and it was quite the shock, especially since it was 85 degrees in LA on Monday before I left. However it snowed and I'm not complaining because I love love love the snow!!! 

My little brother goes to WSU for school and so I finally got to see where he lives and what life is like at my rival school. 

Photo dump from my weekend:

(Have you ever tailgated with bonfires? I have never but I can say it was awesome.)

Running High

Monday I ran 7 miles on a treadmill. Three months ago I could barely run 3. And if I did actually make it to 3, I would stop at least twice. Monday, running 7 was almost a harder challenge to me than I think the half marathon in February is going to be. Mainly because running for over 30 minutes on a treadmill is SO BORING. But I did it. I mean, it wasn't fast. And it wasn't pretty. And I stopped once. BUT afterwards I felt so happy and accomplished. And it made me reflect on the past year a half. 

I've always been a goal-oriented person. I define my own success by achieving my personal goals. Once I reach them, I set new ones. And I've been pretty lucky thus far in my life because most of my biggest goals that I set for myself I accomplished. 

Once I got to law school, though, I had one of those *news flash* moments - everyone here is just like me. Everyone has super high goals. And everyone works really hard to achieve them. (I am not at all saying that the people in my life before law school didn't set goals because they totally did. And everyone I've been close to in my life has without a doubt helped shape me and push me to reach my goals). But this was one of the first times that the people I was around were working towards the same exact goals as me. 

When everyone is working towards the same goals, that means that not everyone can necessarily achieve them. Because there are only so many slots for those goals. And in law school, it's usually called the curve. Since all classes are on graded on a curve, that means only a very small percentage of people can get A+'s. Or only a small number of people can land that prestigious U.S. circuit court judicial externship after law school. And law review only has small number of spots. And landing a biglaw job as a 1L is basically like winning the lottery. 

Basically, what I am trying to say is that it is easy to get discouraged in law school if you don't accomplish a goal that you sought out to accomplish. And usually, people are disappointed more than one time during their 1L year and many more times before they graduate. Therefore, it can be easy to fall into a funk where you almost forget the good feeling of accomplishment for a few months on end. This is perpetuated by the fact that the only feedback you get is on your final - so you really don't have any idea how well you are doing for 4 months out of the semester. 

But running 7 miles on the (effing) treadmill brought me back to one of those accomplishment highs that I have so craved for the last year and a half. And it really made me realize that this half marathon is something that I need to do for myself, for my personal and mental health. It's centering me and reminding me that I can do anything that I put my mind to. And I also think that it will help me in school because it will bring me that sense of accomplishment and confidence that I have seem to sometimes forgotten. 

So for that, thank you, treadmill. 

I swear that I ran 7. But I accidently ended the run .5 miles in so I had to start over.

Life is Precious

One of the most loved teachers at my high school passed away tonight from cancer. He is survived by his wife of only 5 months, another teacher at my school. He is also survived by his 2 daughters who are only in middle and elementary school. My heart aches for them and all of the people that Mr. Connors touched. 

Be true, be kind, be brave. 

Rest in peace Mr. Connors. 

http://www.gofundme.com/Chris-Connors

Most Embarrassing Moment of my Life?

You know when you are in a situation where it's great to have a "most embarrassing moment"?  Whether it's an icebreaker or it just comes up in a random conversation, sometimes it's great to just have one in the back of your pocket. Well, today I realized that sometimes I would rather not have one because it just sucks to actually experience the "most embarrassing moment". Sooo here's the story...

I was sitting in my first class. I sit in the very front row (but against the wall, so that is sort of my saving grace). It was during a period when my professor was asking a student a question and so there was a little bit of a break while the student was re-reading a problem in the book. Naturally, I took this as my time to check social media.

So I look on Twitter and I see Chelsea Handler has tweeted something along the lines of 'this is cute' and so naturally, I thought she was talking about her adorable dog Chuck. And so I clicked the instagram link to see Chuck. Turns out IT WAS KIM KARDASHIAN IN THE FULLY NUDE.

No, it was not the butt picture. It was the full-frontal nudity picture of Kim Kardashian and all her greased-up glory.

Did I mention I was sitting in my law school class in the front row?

This means everyone behind me saw.

I was so embarrassed that I turned bright red for the remainder of class and I couldn't turn around and face the people behind me.

So how was your Thursday?

Half marathon - halfway there!

It's time for the half marathon training update! The half marathon is currently 11.5 weeks away, so most people who follow the standard 12 week training schedule have already started. 

I'm feeling pretty good actually. This weekend when I was home, I ran 7 miles with my mom. I think I've mentioned this before, but my mom is an avid ironman triathlete and coach sooo lets be real she's 55 and WAY more fit than me. And way faster than me. But she ran at my pace and was a good motivator. But before we get to that run... Let's go back in time 2 weeks.

Sunday - 6 mile run part 2. I did another 6 miles (night run, eff you daylight savings time). It felt good! Except for the last mile: that hurt. But the scenery was pretty... Until the sun went down 1 hour before it was supposed to. Seriously I could bitch about daylight savings forever. 

Monday - spin class. Where I died. 

Tuesday - rest day because I stupidly decided spin after a 6 mile run was a good idea 

Wednesday - I was STILL sore so cross training swim. I've been a swimmer my whole life but it's so hard to go swim laps by myself because i get bored without someone yelling and screaming at me, telling me what to do. I swam for 45 minutes and probably did 2,500 meters (ugh long course, ammiright?)

Thursday - rest day (but really I have

class all day so let's be honest by the time I get home I'm too lazy to do anything so I just make myself feel better by calling it a rest day).

Friday - gym workout. 3.2 miles on the treadmill (descending mile time) before I had to run and catch my flight to Seattle. 

Saturday - 3 mile fast run around my most favorite place to run ever, Green lake. It's the most wonderful park/lake in Seattle. It's 2.8 miles on the inside loop and 3.2 on the outside loop. It's 2 minutes away from my high school, so for freshman PE we had to run the lake as our midterm and final each semester and we had to run it in under 30 minutes. I think my fastest time in high school was a 23 and on Saturday I ran a 24. But in high school, I was swimming 2-3 hours a day, 6 days a week soooo im not gonna dwell on that. Don't we all wish we could go back in time to our most athletic/energized days? 

(Greenlake)

7 mile run (Sunday) It was hard. It was extremely hilly. At one point, I'm pretty sure a hill was a full mile long. This girl does not do hills well. That is exactly why I signed up for possibly one of the flattest 1/2 marathon courses out there (it's basically right next to the Pacific Ocean the whole time - hence flat.) So when my mom and I were running up that hill, my pace was probably above an 11 minute mile (I had accidently pressed pause on my Nike app so I didn't get accurate splits). But I'm so proud I finished and so I am happily admitting i was running at an 11 mile pace.

Monday was my rest day/ travel day. 

Tuesday - I did 20 minutes on the stairs and 15 minutes on the elliptical for cardio. Then I lifted weights for another 30 minutes. 

Wednesday - 5 miles around UCLA campus. I was only planning on doing 4.5 but I felt good when I was supposed to be done, so I kept going. Don't you love it when that happens? Doesn't happen all the time but when it does, it's so motivating. When I finished that run, I felt so great and I was so happy. The feeling you get after a great run makes all the other bad runs and runs you really have to drag yourself to do soo worth it.

(Splits from the 5 miler - mile 2 was also a hill. Another example of how this girl and hills so do not mesh). 

But the best feeling of finishing a run - 

(Ignore mismatched socks) 

Thursday (today) - another gym day. 

As for the rest of the week, I'm going to try and get in 2 more runs to make the total up to 4. I'm not going to increase mileage this week though - I think I'll stick to 7! 

ITS ALMOST FRIDAY :)