"Originality is the art of concealing your sources."

Words. They have always amazed me. When I was younger, if I was lacking in reading material I would read cereal boxes, the Sunday comics, or even something from my dad's bookshelf until I obtained more books. I have been writing ever since I can remember, and have always been fascinated with the study of Literature. I write down quotes from song lyrics, movies, television shows, and books. I have a table covered in them, more hanging on my wall, and even more in notebooks. So today, a list of a few from the past few years.

"Love is not an affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained." -C.S. Lewis

"If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions. But we can't know better until knowing better is useless." -John Green from Looking for Alaska


"The imagination is not a state; it is the human existence itself" -William Blake

"But there is only one thing that has power completely, and that is love. Because when a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore he has power." -Alan Paton from Cry, the Beloved Country


"You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness." -Jonathan Safran Foer from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close


"When did we see eachother face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that, we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out." -John Green from Paper Towns


I could add so many more, but I will leave it at this. Read, and find your own quotes to inspire you and make you think a little more than usual.
Night,
Becks

"Smile! It irritates people."

I can't tell you if it's the weather, or the fact that WinCon 2011 was amazing, or maybe the grass is getting a little greener on the quad. But something has me walking around campus with this goofy grin that I can't seem to wipe off. Sometimes I realize I'm smiling and start laughing, thinking about how silly I probably look, but it doesn't matter! I am loving every minute of it. So, for now, a few things that have made me smile in the past few days...

Good music. On the drive home from Winter Conference, my car-buddies and I constantly alternated ipods, picking random songs. It started with a theme of songs that make you want to cry, went through an oldies stage at some point, and even had a segment devoted to Usher. Needless to say, it was FANTASTIC!

Nature. While at WinCon, the weather was nothing less than perfect for hiking. We walked around behind the waterfall, and that is one of the greatest places to be. Very awe inspiring.

Literature. Right now in my American Lit class we are talking about Modernism. I smile at the thought of reading new (to me) short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, two of my favorite authors.

Popsicles. No explanation should be necessary, but I'll tell you I ate my first popsicle of the year while walking to the quad this afternoon with a dear friend of mine with the prospect of a glorious hour in the sun on my mind. Life doesn't get much better.

Relaxation. Now this hasn't happened yet, so who knows if I will get any rest, but I am looking forward to getting everything I can out of my first weekend in Tuscaloosa in over a month! I have been out of town for some great adventures, but I am ready to see what my current home has to offer this season.

Now, go find something to make you smile,
Becks

And Now for Your Feature Presentation

Growing up, I didn't watch very many movies. When I got to high school, I felt behind on all the good ones and I've been catching up ever since. I have made many lists of movies I need to watch soon, though I have never made it through any of these lists. But I made a new one on the way to RUF Winter Conference this weekend (which was an incredible weekend by the way!!) and I am determined to actually make it through this one... and here it is.

-Brick
-Pie
-Teen Girl Squad
-Science of Sleep
-The Royal Tenenbaums
-The Godfather
-Memento
-Lost in Translation
-There Will Be Blood
-The Shining
-Reservoir Dogs

Hopefully I'll be successful.. but we'll see about that!

Here Comes the Bride

I spent this past weekend in Destin, FL for my cousin's wedding. Needless to say, I absolutely LOVED getting to spend time with my family. It is a rare occasion that we get to spend time with our cousins, and they are pretty amazing people, so it was great to catch up with them and enjoy Sarah and Brian's special day! At the same time, my sister is engaged so I seem to be surrounded by wedding plans. While I am most definitely not one of those girls who has a binder full of ripped-out magazine pages of wedding ideas, I have thought about a few things recently. My main concern is the music. Music can make or break a reception, and I've been to a few that weren't so fun because the playlist was trashed at the last minute. The music this weekend was perfect, and it made me think, what will I want played at my wedding? So here it goes, a short list of songs that will for certain make it onto my wedding reception playlist.

"Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra
"I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by the Darkness
"Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley
"Amor" by Ben E. King
"You Make My Dreams" by Hall + Oates

I realize this list is short, but it's not like I actually need to know this anytime soon, it's just fun to think about! Maybe more to come as Abby's wedding approaches.

Much love,
Becks