I am in love with hope. -Mitch Albom

I have been out of the loop (polyvore's loop) for the looongest time. Why? You ask? two words: Grad school. It's been challenging, but I have been enjoying the challenges. One more year until I finalize my first two years as a grad student. There is much to look forward to.

I don't know what to think of it, really. One moment I'm here, seemingly content, and the next, I don't know whether to cry, laugh, scream, or blow my brains out (metaphorically, of course). It's those strange emotions we sometimes get where you just want to lock yourself up and hear yourself breathe to return to sanity. The moments we crave for ourselves. The moments we need to get in tune with who we are.
I feel intertwined once again into some kind of cloud of confusion. I'm free. I know that, but something just holds me back to see that what I need is there. I know that I have been freed from the barracks of naivety, vulnerability, and lamentation. I am free to do as I will, and that, I know.

This is my favorite part of a movie called Reality Bites--where Winona Ryder and Janeane Garofalo start dancing to the song My Sharona by The Knack at a gasoline station. That scene just makes you want to stand up and start dancing with them!

I got the idea for this set from a music video of Val Emmich from his song The Only One Lonely.
It is such a cute video. I invite you to go see the video first in the link that I have provided below so that you can understand why I did this set. :)
It's such a cute video, but such a sad song.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENosx1fct2c

Time and time again, I have passed through that same wretched fence--cutting me, piercing me, showing me no mercy as I try to untangle myself from the continuous pains. I try to fly free, and despite my perseverance, I am left with these scars.
I do not know what to think. I do not know what to do. What do you do in order to justify your stance? What do you do to just forget it all and move on?
My only glimmer of hope is that life continues. What better gift than that?--So despite the pain, I pass that wretched fence and come free.
I am still here, and that will always be.

I am currently reading a book called Wildflower by Mark Seal. A story about Joan Root, a major wildlife conservationist and environmentalist--a story that certainly is worth reading. I haven't finished the book yet, but from what I've read so far, this woman was nothing short of extraordinary! Her life was spent in endless safaris in Africa, helping her husband, Alan Root, shoot his Oscar-nominated wildlife films. She loved the wild, but above all, her love to animals was certainly unconditional. :)
Her life was ended in a tragic murder--a murder that should not have been. I haven't read too far into the details of the murder, but I do know one thing--I will not let her tragic death end her story. Her story must live on.

Yea, she may have a coffee mug that says "Daddy Rules," but secretly she's rooting for the Queen. An oath she made on her very heart!
Look closely.

...viene la calma.
 
Translation: After the tempest comes the calm.