I feel smart!

So, I went to this really cool conference yesterday for PR professionals to learn about social media. Social media include blogs, podcasts, wikis, etc. So, now I have decided to put a little more effort into my blog. Also, I have decided to perhaps maybe start a podcast. I just need to get the right audio equipment. However, it would be a ton of fun. I never realized how much there is to learn and how neat everything is. I also never realized how fast a blog can get popular from people linking to it. I'm working on this. I'm also working on trying to figure out exciting, real things to talk about. I'm sure my life isn't too exciting to people - besides those who know me.
I now have a Second Life. Yes...my name is Dafney Congrejo. Find me...even though I'm not wearing any pants...I haven't quite figured out the thing yet. Who knows. I can't even walk straight using the arrows on my keypad. I'm in the Super Nintendo generation. I can't help it.
Oh, and add this blog to your feed so you can see when I update. It's very helpful. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, talk to me...if you have Internet Explorer 7.
I actually sound like I know what I'm talking about!!! This is quite exciting for lil old me.
Ok, back to life I suppose. Today I interviewed for the editor position of the Women's Center newsletter. I would be so happy to get it, but the fact that I'm only a sophomore really is against me. It is just that this job would combine both of my passions: communication and feminism. I really hope it works out.
Well, I'm done for now, but I'm going to start fooling around with this thing and see what it can do! :)

"It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy;-- it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others." - Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

Now I'm breathing deeply walking backwards...Roller coaster favorite ride let me kiss you one last time

Can I ask you a question? How'd you get that pretty little face on that pretty little frame? :)

Today is such a pretty day!!! And for some reason I am in such a good mood. I think it's perhaps because I woke up early which I love doing for some odd reason, and I have no more homework officially! The only work I have left to do is make study guides. I'll work on that when I get the urge to because I have over a week until finals. Yes!

This just can't be summer love.

Justin just butted in right there, sorry folks.

The trees are finally starting to actually bloom for real! Green green green... I like flowers personally though.

Oh wait! Justin said he can't wait to fall in love with me and honestly, I can't wait to fall in love with him. It won't be just summer love...you'll see.

I am people watching right now. My window is open and the breeze is coming in. I have the perfect view to admire people. Oh there goes a runner! Speaking of that, I should prolly start exercising...bathing suit season begins soon. Haha!

I need to find something fun to do. Or I need to find a friend with the same exact boredom problem as me as well as the same exact schedule as me. Because someone needs to entertain me. This is just torture for me and for you.

P.S.- There's a cute pic from Saturday night at the Reds game. There are my three roomies!

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." -Alan Cohen

I always thought this was cute...and if you haven't seen it yet you should...so here it is.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.
I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.
I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.
And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.
It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.
I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.
I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.
When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.
I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.
On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.
If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.
I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.
When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.
I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy\girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.
May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.
I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it. And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he is not your friend.
I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.
May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.
I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Hanukkah/Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.
These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

I never had to knock on wood...

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous outside!!! This is the kind of weather I'm talking about...now if only I had my motorcycle. That's what is missing. I even catch myself staring longingly at scooters...come on hold it together for 2 more weeks.
So, my last day of classes for the semester is Wednesday. I'm so happy the semester is done, but I am so dreading going home for the summer. It's not because of summer; it is because I'm going to miss my friends so much. I'm hopefully going to make it to visit UD a couple of times because I have friends here. I can't wait for Spain! Although I'm getting nervous excited the more I think about it. The traveling will not be fun let me tell you. Yuck. Long flight.
So, I went to a Reds game yesterday. That was pretty fun. Baseball games are fun to go to. They are relaxing and it's always nice to be outside in the pretty weather. I got some ice cream. It's a must at any sporting event...well really anywhere ice cream is great!
Today I woke up early and got the rest of my homework for the entire semester finished. Man it feels good, but I really cannot figure out what to do with my extra time. I'm really bored. I started a new book though. That should hold me over for like 3 days. Dang it.
Other than that, life has been pretty slow. I have a lot of stuff going on this week. I have work meetings, a conference, and a job interview. I kinda hope I get the job, but I don't think I am too qualified for it. It's the editor of the Women's Center newsletter and communications intern at the Women's Center. I've never written for media yet. Oh well, we'll see. What's meant to be shall happen I suppose.
Ok I'm boring myself. And I'm bored. Plywood! Ok.

"Love is willing the good of another. Joy is diffusive of itself. Patience bears with the troublesome. Kindness makes the other gentle. Generosity benefits the neighbor. Faithfulness is a dedication to a partner or friend. Self-control restricts the havoc that the ego can cause." -Robert Barron "The Strangest Way"

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

This whole week has been quite depressing, eye-opening, and humbling. A good friend's dad was diagnosed with cancer over Easter. The family was told it would be simple and not serious. However, Friday I spoke to her as she rushed home because he took a turn for the worst. Yesterday, he passed away. I can't imagine that about three weeks ago he was fine, and this thought would have never crossed her mind. Her world was turned upside down in a matter of days. It hurts to think this could happen to anyone at anytime. It makes me grateful for my family and friends. I can't even imagine.

Then Monday was the Virginia Tech shooting. This really hit home because it's almost like college students just bond. A university is a haven; I feel so safe here at UD, but the reality is that the campus is so open and free that it could happen to us. It's so sad that someone could have so many problems to take it out on others. The whole thing has me extremely freaked out, and we talk about it constantly in every class. I think it is something that should be discussed; it is just such a heavy topic.

I guess my heart has just been heavy this week. Heavy for those who are suffering, for those whose lives have been turned completely around this week, for those whose safety -both physical and emotional- has been compromised. From my little dorm room in western Ohio I can only sit and reflect and offer my prayers and thoughts. A week that will forever affect my life.

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

In 6 months I'll be 21!!!

AJ walked in today and said, "Hey! Do you know what today is?!" And I stuttered for like an hour before she yelled, "It's your half birthday!!!" Yay!!! What a lovely roomie I have.
Anyhow, the weather really has me down. It's just so rainy and crappy lately. It's definitely affecting my mood for sure. I wish it would be in the 70s or 80s again. The sun could at least be nice and make an appearance.
N is coming tomorrow!!! I am super excited to have a nice distraction, and I always enjoy a visit from a best friend. It's refreshing in a way. I'm pretty happy. Oh, and this time, I swear we will make it out of this building.
Finals week is coming up so fast, and I have so much to do before finals. I can't believe how fast it is coming. I keep thinking I have so much time to get stuff done, but in reality I don't. Then I get to begin working at the flower store. Then I get to go to Spain!!! I am so ridiculously excited for Spain it's unreal. It's going to be such a great experience.
AJ and I have rounded up the last movies and series we will watch. We have about 60 hours of television to make it through before the semester is over. Good luck with that! I guess it goes with our bedtime rituals which is just fine and dandy.
Ok...enough boring stuff again. This is my number one procrastination tool though. Plus, I had to mark my half birthday!!

"Be gentle with one another --
for trying to change another person
is like trying to catch the wind
or stop the sun from rising.

Try to keep your mind always free, bright and open.....
This openness of mind and heart is indispensable
for acquiring a true interior spirit.
It is essential that you be open, simple and gentle with everyone....

Be master, then, of your own soul
and you will be master of the whole world."
- Venerable Francis Libermann (1802-1852)

Mi horario es muy dificil!

I hate scheduling. Is it a bad thing that I wish my entire life was just planned out for me? I had a hard time picking a college, and now I'm having a hard time picking my own classes. It's not like I don't care, cuz I do care. But I wish I didn't have to worry about times and professors. Gee whiz.
Today wasn't so bad of a day weather wise. I still miss the 80 degree days. Where did they go?! It's not even supposed to get all that warm in the next week. Dang it. I have all these cute spring clothes, but the weather just doesn't want me to be able to wear them.
N is coming to visit me on Friday! Yay!!!
Idol is on. It's Latino week. It would be freakin awesome if someone actually sang in Spanish. That would just make my life!!!
Ok...I'm boring myself so I'm stopping now.

"You don't need dozens of suitors. You need only one... if he's the right one." -Little Women

I got to use cacti in a real, meaningful sentence today.

Today was my favorite holiday, and I've been awake for all but 5 hours for it! I have been so sleep deprived this weekend...and coming home I'm supposed to catch up on my sleep. I just cannot relax here. Anyhow, Easter was lovely and wonderful and everything I'd hope it to be. Except the snow flurries were not appreciated by this girl.
So, I got to catch up with some very special, close friends over this break. It was very necessary and made me feel really great. I feel like I've made some bonds in my life with some amazing people. I am truly lucky to have the support system I have. :)
Anyhow, I started to look at my senior year yearbook tonight. Goodness. Sometimes I like looking back, but this time I did not at all. It's such a mix of emotions. How I thought things were going to turn out and now looking at how they are veering completely off of my plans. It's crazy. Then some people I will always have a special soft spot for - even people who don't deserve it. It's weird to make plans and have almost every single thing fall through. I have been through so much in the last 2 years. I have had my heart broken. I have had my beliefs challenged. I have had my outlook changed. My plans have been shattered. I have been hit with surprises. I have made some incredible friends. I have lost some pretty cool friends. Everything has changed. I think it's for the better...I feel good about the changes. It's just weird. Weird to look back and see how far I have actually come.
Well, driving 4 hours tomorrow is no small task and this chica needs sleep.

"Nothing you love is lost. Not really. Things, people - they always go away... sooner or later. You can't hold them anymore than you can hold the moonlight. But if they've touched you, if they're inside of you, then they're still yours. The only things you ever really have are the ones you hold inside your heart."

I've lived in this place and I know all the faces...Each one is different but they're always the same

Back home again...this time for Easter break. I just spent tonight with some great people and some not so great people. I dunno...it's funny but as soon as you come home, you are filled with emotions and labeled all over again. High school ends, but with the people you will only know from high school, it lives on. Every road, every corner, every place holds a memory. How can one place hold so much for one person? I think maybe the memories are why I don't want to come back to live here. I am not myself here...or am I really my complete self here and not myself at Dayton? Who knows. What I know is that in the four walls of my home I'm myself and in Dayton I'm myself...at least the self I want to be. Who even knows. All I know is some of my favorite people are here and will forever be here and some of my least favorite people are here and will forever stay here.
Anyhow, life is good other than all that confusion coming home stuff. Easter is by far my favorite holiday! I love chocolate and spring (although it is snowing here). The end of the semester is coming soon. I still get sad thinking about it, but this summer is going to be incredible and hopefully life changing...if I'm lucky.
I went to visit my cousin today. He's definitely much bigger than me, and he's only eleven years old. Craziness. Anyhow, I feel like his 3rd mother - that is, after his mom and my grandma. I help him with school work and his ipod and life in general. I love him so much, and with his situation I just want him to turn out the best he can. And if I can help that, damn it, I will.
Ok well I believe that's all I feel like writing tonight. I'm a sleepy girl. I can't sleep well at home. I don't know why. I guess my comfy bed is at school now...weird.

"I've learned that things change, people change, and it doesn't mean you forget the past or try to cover it up. It simply means you move on and treasure the memories."