"Make New Friends and Keep the Old..."

"Make new friends, and keep the old,

One is silver and the other gold."

 

I'm sure many of you have heard the preceeding lyrics. Sung around a fire at camps or youth groups, the song has been used to encourage kids not to limit themselves to the current friends they have. There are so many wonderful people out in the world! Why would we want to limit ourselves to only a few close friends?

 

Yesterday, I made an unexpected friend. I am not very good at making friends; I am pretty quiet around people when I first meet them, but once I get to know them a bit I can be very bubbly. Sadly, sometimes people miscontrue my timidness and think that because I'm bubbly with some people and not others, they think I might be stuck-up. But that is not the case! I love making new friends, I'm just shy at first. Considering that, the way I made my new friend yesterday was amazing.

 

Before waiting for a bus to go to St. John's, I went to run in to the "Good to Go" to buy a piece of banana bread and I said a warm "Hello!" to a friend as I went in. When I came back out for the bus, I siddled up to her and peeked at the article she was reading. I asked her, "Whatcha reading?" When she looked up at me, she answered, "Oh, ethics!" By this time, I had finally realized that she was not my friend, but someone who looked very similar! Since I had already done the hard part of breaking the ice, I thought, "Why not?!" and continued to talk easily with her the whole bus ride. By the end of the ride, I had made a new friend named Josie!

 

Today was a day for getting reaquainted with old friends. First, I had breakfast with my good friend Hudda. She was born in Somalia, and she is the strongest woman I know! It is always inspiring to have a chat with Hudda.

 



 

I also had lunch with another friend, Audrey. I hadn't seen her since spring semester 2012! Studying abroad, I never saw her last semester, and this semester I have not seen her around campus, so I invited her to eat lunch with me so we could catch up!

 

Sometimes we need to take initiative in order to make and keep good friends. If I hadn't been so friendly to Josie yesterday, I might not have ever met her. And with Hudda and Audrey, it takes a little planning to keep up with our friendships. But it is worth it! So take initiative! You never know what awesome people you will find out in the world, so go say hi to someone you might not know.

 

With simple happiness,



"A Sweet Surprise Awaits You"

Today has been one of those days. The good kind! First, I got to sleep in this morning. All 8 am classes were cancelled due to the snow we have been getting. Besides that, I had lunch with one of my very good friends, Stella. We studied abroad in Ireland together last semester, and she has such a bubbly and down-to-earth personality. She can be both serious and silly, which is why I love her!

Meet Stella!

 



I love catching up with friends. College life is so busy; I'm always running to a meeting of some kind, doing homework, cat-napping, or something! Its nice to get a little break every once-in-a-while. While eating with Stella, I had a fortune cookie, since I was feeling so lucky today. Here is what mine said:

What sweet surprise could that be?! Well, as I walked into my 1 pm class, everyone was on their way out. That class was cancelled too! And that's the story of how I managed to find the time to write this blog post for you all. :D

I hope everyone finds a couple moments today to enjoy some simple happinesses, like visiting with a good friend, or eating a fortune cookie or two!

With simple happiness,

Nothing Says Spring Like Fresh Basil!

Even though its only the beginning of March and its snowing outside today, I'm already thinking of spring. Last night, I went to the student mass at the Abbey on the SJU campus with my sister's boyfriend, Ben Demarais. Afterwards, he let me take my Valentine from him home with me: a basil plant! A while ago, Ben planted several pots of basil, and yesterday they were strong and mature enough for me to bring one back to my apartment after waiting in the cold bus line. Now my plant is sitting on my windowsill, making me wish for spring! Say hello to Bailey:

Its a pretty gloomy day out today, but spring will be here soon! I am looking forward to making grilled chicken and goat cheese sandwiches, with fresh basil on top! What are you looking forward to most about spring?

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I published this post already today, but I just have to add one more thing! I made a cheese quesadilla for lunch and decided to add a little red onion and basil leaves... Dipped it in some pasta sauce. It was delicious!

Mm, I think I could add basil to just about anything. What's your favorite food to add fresh basil to?

With simple happiness,