Wistful Writings and Wonderings

When I remembered, like halfway through the day today that it was December 1st, I felt a mixture of panic and excitement. Panic,  because I have a fifteen page paper due one week from today that I've written about two page of, and another due four days after that which I haven't even written a word of. I should definitely be doing that now instead of blogging but Sir Kenelm Digby and his scientific pursuits have been on my mind for most of the day and seriously I am so tired of reading documents that write s's as f's. Like they had normal s's, I've caught one or two, they just decided not to use them. I can't read one freaking line without being tripped up by their stupid pretentious Renaissance syntax. Jerks.  This is the crap I have to deal with as an Early Modern historian.  "fo much attention." "fo long a time,""your goodneffe." THE CAPITAL S IS NORMAL WHY NOT THE LITTLE ONES?!?!?! JUST STAHP. So her

So, sitting here now getting ready to tell you how a slightly-more-adjusted human is dealing with the start of year two of grad school and Pittsburgh living, I realize I never told you all about the Dublin part of my Ireland trip. Which is for sure my bad cuz it was for sure amazing. I will not, however get into it right now as there are other things on my mind (but if you ever wanna hear about it, we can grab coffee and I'll talk your ear off about it for as long as you'll let me; my Ireland-talk has no end and no decrease in enthusiasm basically ever.) What is on my mind is that this time(ish) last year I was in a crazy-stressed, lonely, scary little bubble of insecurity from being in a new place facing a giant new challenge that I wasn't sure (and tbh am still not sure sometimes) will pan out in the end for all the trouble it's worth. And on top of all of that I was trying (very unconvincingly I now realize. like the worst.) to pretend that I was totally not feelin

So, once again I have traveled to and returned from my favorite country, and once again I can't believe it has all gone by so quickly. It's been over a week since I touched down stateside and amidst getting back into my normal routine and all the research I've been doing for various papers, I've begun to miss the emerald isle as I did before, and wonder when I'll be lucky enough to find myself there again. Of course, while missing and researching and working and binge-watching Gilmore Girls, I am also outrageously grateful that I was able to take ten days to visit Ireland after two years of longing-filled absence. As expected, It. Was. Incredible. There were places I had been before that we visited, and I felt somehow like I was coming home; there were places I had never stepped foot and I was awed and humbled by the outrageous beauty of God's creation; and even after spending months on end studying parts of this country and its history, it still surprised a

Ah life. Plans. Sometimes things just really do not go the way you want them to. Which is good in many cases: AKA my year is currently filled with uber exciting plans and trips with people I love and/or to places I love. In other cases, not so much.  So, if you have talked with me at all over the last 2-3 months, you'll probably have gotten a shpeel about my research on Londonderry and the Ulster plantation. I'll have told you about how difficult it has been to find even some of my secondary sources, not even to mention the hassle it is to even get in contact with people who could potentially help me with my primaries. You'll know that I have spent several hours every day, sometimes from the moment I wake up to the time I go to bed, doing this research. You will know I have complained and contemplated many times if perhaps quitting and becoming a stripper would be a better course for my life (that last bit was a JOKE for any family members or concerned parents, I promi

Well, here we are. My last post I was starting what became my hardest semester of school ever and being kind of grumpy. On many occasions I asked why I would do this to myself and fretted that I was going to fail miserably and all my hard work would be for naught. However, happily here I sit in my Pittsburgh apartment, having achieved a 3.8 semester in the fall and looking towards the next several months with excitement. Christmas break, though shorter than I had in undergrad, was wonderful. I'm so glad I was able to be with my family- the last few months have been difficult, with moving to a new city, loads of schoolwork, and a constant over-criticism coming from my own head, but I've thankfully had some rather spectacular support in my parents, siblings, and friends. This coming year I have some really interesting classes and some truly exciting trips planned, so at this point in time, I'm generally pleased. I'm only in the second week of the new semester, choosi