The Night Before Sophomore Year

Pretty sure my second year of college starts tomorrow.

Say WHAT?!

But we'll skip the part where I go on and on about how fast time flies, how I can't believe I'm already a sophomore, how excited I am to be back at college, how I'm looking forward to seeing what God does in the next year--

Oops I guess I didn't skip that part.

Aaaanyway -- let's see if I can wrap up the happenings of the past few weeks a bit more succinctly... ;)

So, summer in Washington state ended up being really great, and I made lots of memories while my family and I were out there. There was also some serious sister-bonding time (I'm lookin' at you, Dani), which was so great. Lots of laughs, too -- but that's a given with me, right?

Sorry not sorry guys, I laugh too much. Get over it and laugh with me. It's good for you.

Tonight, the last day before my self-imposed deadline, I am about to complete my ridiculous 50-movie summer watchlist, with the 1939 classic Stagecoach (which looks great I'm psyched). Honestly, I still can't decide if the 50 movies was a good or a bad idea, but regardless, I've had seriously so much fun glutting myself on films over the past three months. ;)

No, but seriously -- I feel so much more knowledgeable about filmmaking and films in general, after finally having seen the ultimate classics like Citizen Kane and Gone With the Wind. It's been great, guys. Not sure if I'll do it again (maybe on a smaller scale), but it was great.

Oh, and if you're at all interested in seeing what films the list comprised of... here it is. I must give the disclaimer that not all of them were good, per say -- you can see my ratings on the list there. ;) Sometime in the coming weeks, I plan to do an extensive post concerning all the movies that I DO recommend off the list, which is gonna be way fun.

Let's see, what else has been going on.... oh! Just this week, I helped out with the New Student Seminar (and other events of freshman orientation) at my university, to fulfill the required 20 hours of Christian/community service hours for the semester -- and let me tell you, it was amazing.

We stuffed and handed out tons and tons of bags and brochures and T-shirts to the dear freshmen, helped them find their way around the campus buildings, and I think all 35 of us helpers went home with heatstroke -- BUT, I also think we'd all say that it was totally worth it, just to be able to be a part of welcoming the 4,000ish new students. I know I do, anyway!

So, to wrap up this post, and for my final bit of news from the summer...

Drumroll please.

so enthusiastic

A new cosplay is iiiiin the works!!!

can you guess what it's gonna be can you can you

More on that at a later date -- for now, I gotta go pick out my outfit for my second first day of college... ;)

College Semester 2: ...And Accounted For

Current feels:

These past two weeks have been pretty much the fullest two weeks of my college experience so far.  And I loved every moment.

May 2nd & 3rd: Last classes, Monday and Tuesday.

May 4th: Wednesday off; HAPPY STAR WARS DAY hehe.

May 5th &6th: Finals Thursday and Friday -- as well as CIVIL WAR.

YES TWICE.

With screenwriting peeps. :D

First of all, Winter Soldier still has 1st place in my heart out of the Captain America trilogy. ;)

Second of all... IT WAS SO HYSTERICAL AND SPIDEY WAS PERFECT AND BLACK PANTHER WAS SO COOL AND THE REFERENCE TO STAR WARS WAS THE BEST REFERENCE EVER MADE EVER AND I LOVED BLACK WIDOW (AS USUAL) BECAUSE SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO REALLY CARED ABOUT UNITY AND I KINDA SHIP SCARLET WITCH AND VISION AND WHY DID THEY PUT BUCKY BACK TO SLEEP I SWEAR IF HE DOESN'T COME BACK IN BLACK PANTHER I WILL BE SO MAD BECAUSE DEAR BUCKY IS FINALLY KINDA OKAY AND CAPTAIN AMERICA PUT DOWN THE STINKIN' SHIELD AND SPEAKING OF WHICH AS MUCH AS I HATE TO SAY IT STEVE NEEDED TO DIE IN THIS MOVIE AND THE SHIELD NEEDED TO GET PASSED TO BUCKY BECAUSE SO MANY REASONS THAT I WON'T GO INTO RIGHT NOW

Ahem.

May 7th: Saturday, I participated in the first annual LU Four Hour Film Festival!!

I was assigned the manager position, which I thoroughly enjoyed, basically being a producer type of person.  But it was really a collaborative effort between all of us -- fun, crazy, nerve-wreaking, and nooooow I just want to do it again because there's so many things I would do differently and so much I learned about making a film in four hours. ;)

Overall, it was wonderful for just getting experience shooting a film off the cuff, with a group of people you've never met before, in a very tight time frame, with absolutely no prep, no budget, no actors, and no equipment except the cameras on our phones.  Plus, I had fun, and it made me even more excited to get into the film program where I'll be able to make movies all the time.

ONE MORE YEAR, GUYS ONE MORE YEAR.

Sooooo... a few photos from the day courtesy of the festival's Facebook page:

Our team, "Rogue Two," being given our genre to work with.

Shooting...

Hard at work editing before the 5:30pm deadline!

And if you'd care to see the amusing end result, entitled "Gum-Shoe"... it's odd, be forewarned.  We had to include a shoe as a prop, the line "Trust the process" at some point in the dialogue, and our assigned genre was "mystery," soooo... yeah.  This is what came about. ;D

Oh, and keep an eye out for my little cameo (heh heh)...

May 8th: Sunday was church, chilling, and studying.

May 9th: More finals Monday, and the last 2nd Monday Cinema of the semester.

2nd Monday Cinema is a movie night the film program puts on every month, and this month, they showed all the short films shot at the Four Hour Film Festival, gave out awards to the various winners, showed BTS from the day -- and, of course, had everyone dress up for the occasion. ;)

Accepting our award of "Best Use of Dialogue," at the 2nd Monday Cinema awards night!

May 10th: LAST FINAL, for Screenwriting class, that Tuesday!!!  My script was finally read out loud (the very last of the whole class), and I turned in the final draft of my script, The Final Truth.

(Speaking of which... if any of you are interested in reading it, shoot me an email @ adventuresofanelvenprincess@gmail.com and I'll let you do just that!! It's only 13 pages, so no time commitment. And, feedback, people. I'd love to get some. :D)

May 11th: Wednesday we went to a matinee showing of Beauty and the Beast, which I've been helping to create the costumes for, for the past two months!  So that was kind of awesome... and the show really was wonderfully done.

May 12th: Thursday was my last day of work at the costume shop until the Fall -- 'twas a bittersweet day. :)

May 13th, 14th, 15th, & 16th: Finally time to chill out and do all the things I said I'd do once the semester came to an end, because...

Summer is finally HERE.

Fifteen; Counting down to Summer and Civil War

I thought this last full week of classes of my freshman year would go by sooooooo slooooooow... but it really didn't.

A few things that happened this week...

• Friday was opening night for the production of Beauty and the Beast that we've been working on in the costume shop for the past few months!!  It's wonderful to have all those costumes finished.  And I'm so excited to go see the play myself Tuesday after next!  I've heard it's absolutely magical.
• In a literal throw back -- or rather, throw down -- to my childhood, I skinned both my knees and elbows quite nicely as I dashed to meet my sister, who was waiting in her car to pick me up from work.  Don't ask me how it happened. One minute I was on my feet and the next I was on my face.  Oh well.  Battle scars to add some realism to my Cap cosplay for next week..? ;)
• Also on Friday, I completed my apparel project in sewing class!!  I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but it's a winter coat -- and it turned out quite nicely, I'd say!  It's seriously such a lovely design.  I'll be sure to share some pictures once I get it back from being graded. :)

Now, a few things that will happen in the next two weeks...

• In only nine days, my first year of college will be over.  In just nine days!!  Half of me is thrilled, and the other half is kinda depressed...  But, honestly, I do think I'm ready for freshman year to be over, and to move on to sophomore year.  Sophomore year is gonna be fun. :D
• But, also in nine days, summer will finally be here!!!  So. much. excite.  I'm still waiting on God for direction of what exactly I should spend my three free months doing, but in the meantime, just the thought of being able to sleep in and not having to do homework... EEP.

Finally, to address the event we've all been waiting for...

IT IS COMING PREPARE THE MORGUE

Ahem. Only four days until we get to see Captain America: Civil War.  FOUR STINKIN' DAYS.  Need I remind you that I've been waiting for this movie since forevaaaaaaaaaah... basically since Winter Soldier, but mostly since Age of Ultron...

And now it's almost HERE.

Ah.  I'm so scared, guys.  Seriously.  I just know I'm gonna be traumatized.  At least it'll be fun to get all decked out in my ol' fem Cap costume again...and cry my eyeballs out, but ya know, it's all good.  UGH it's going to be so good.  SO GOOD.  All the review so far are stellar.  And, hello, according to Rotten Tomatoes it's 94% fresh, versus Winter Soldier's 89%.  And we all know how good Winter Soldier is.

Speaking of which, I'm gonna watch that piece of cinematic brilliance tonight in preparation for Civil War, following The First Avenger two weeks ago, so I better head off and continue plugging away at homework for COMS (speech) class.

Au revoir, mes amis.  If you don't hear from me next week, I think you know what my cause of death will be.

10: #Trails2Rails, Cosplaying, Sewing, & Wisdom

The tenth week of college has come and gone, and what a wonderful week it has been...

A few drop outs, a text, a squeal, and next thing I know, I'm a member of the official Trails 2 Rails off-campus snowboarding team, and set to compete November 12th in the games.  Can I just say, I am beyond stoked about this turn of events???  I'm literally so psyched.  But now it's time to up my game and start getting some tricks down before show time in 2 weeks... :D

I cosplayed all day at school on Friday.  As gender-bent Captain America.  And it rocked.  I got tons of awkward stares of disbelief / confusion / fear, but also so many comments and compliments, plus a few lengthy conversations.  All the geeks come out of the woodwork when Captain America walks by, obviously. ;D

This wasn't from today; you can actually go here to see the other
pics from this photoshoot. :)

Things are finally starting to amp up in FACS 222, sewing class!  We're all set to begin our apparel project on Monday: pajama pants.  I went to Joann yesterday with a classmate, and we had a fun time sorting out confusing pattern notions and laughing over odd prints.  In the end, I came home with McCall's 4244, some 1-inch wide elastic, and 2.75 yds of an ADORABLE flannel print:

And lastly, I want to share with you a little gift God gave me.

So, I've been struggling with the honors philosophy class I'm taking.  And one assignment in particular has completely stumped me: a paper due Wednesday.  I read and re-read the section we were supposed to discuss, and still couldn't figure out what the "central issue" was.  I emailed my professor a few times, but he wasn't helpful, and was quite explicit that I needed to figure it out on my own.

I was stressing.  My mental capacity was just not good enough to figure this out.

And then it hit me: pray.  So, I did just that.  I put into words the fact that I needed His help, that I couldn't do this without Him, and asked Him for wisdom.  Then, after working on the paper a bit, I decided to formulate one last email to send to my professor, presenting a final idea that I thought might be that "central issue."  As I thought through the email,  I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me: the question of what justice, rights, and laws are grounded in.

Oh YES, of course! That makes sense!

Buuuuut, how could I be 100% sure this was the elusive central issue?  I was still unsure.  So, I sent the e-mail, shoved the paper from my mind, and went shopping. Came home, and there was the moment of truth, sitting in my inbox.  I spoke a last-minute prayer, and opened the message: "Yes, in my opinion that is the most important point of the chapter, and in a philosophical sense, I think it is the central point. Well done!"

I could do nothing but thank God for His provision.

What I lacked in intelligence, He more than made up for.  He gifted me with the wisdom I needed, at the moment I needed it, for the project I needed it for.  It was such an amazing moment.  You know that verse, Philippians 4:19?  "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."  Let me tell you this: God wants you to come to Him for help, because He wants you to succeed in your efforts.

Don't be satisfied with your own mediocre attempts.  Let God infuse you with His power, and then show the world what GOD can do!

After 7 Weeks... Fall Break & Cosplay

This week, almost halfway through the semester, us Liberty peeps got to enjoy a 4-day fall break, which was quite pleasant.

My favorite part of the break was sleeping in for a few extra hours each morning.  And being able to linger over breakfast -- that always feels so luxurious to me.  Did I ever tell you breakfast is my favorite meal of the day?  It is.  It really is.  Whenever I can take the time for a big ol', 500+ calorie breakfast, I just feel amazing the whole day.  No coffee necessary.

That's another thing -- did I ever tell you I don't do coffee?  Partly because it's not recommended for us Paleo people, but mostly because I just hate the idea of it.  Fake energy that you have to drink every day in order to feel alive is not my idea of a good thing.  Oh, and don't even get me started on our country's obsession with Starbucks...

loki's pretentious-teenager eyeroll

So, basically, I'm so "hipster" that I'm above the whole coffee thing. ;)

Back to fall break.  Besides sleeping in and eating big breakfasts, I went on a marvelous thrifting adventure.  I came home with a pair of adorable, nicely used Vera Wang booties for $3 (so much win), and...........*drumroll*........... a pant suit.  Yes, a suit.  Why?

yes i know i use this gif too much but it's perf

THAT'S RIGHT, GUYS.  Fem 10th doctor cosplay, coming up.  Someday.  Not sure when.  Possibly halloween..?  Not sure yet.  BUT I have the suit (which just needs some slight fitting alterations done to the coat), I have the screwdriver (eheheh), so now I just need a pair of white Converse, the flowery tie, and possibly an awesome tan trench (if I can ever find one for a decent price). ;D

Awwhhh all this talk is making me remember how much I miss cosplay... agonizing over accuracy and designs and accessories and all that good stuff.  See, if I had the time, I'd love to make a costume more like this, but, like I said, TIME and motivation, so I don't think I'll be able to pull that off.  Which makes me sad.

OH I JUST REMEMBERED STAR WARS.  What am I going to do for The Force Awakens premiere???????  I need to get started on a costume... I've only got 2 months.  And those 2 months are going to be busy with college shtuff.  I don't even know what I want to make yet.  Either a sweet jedi costume, or maybe Rey's costume... I'd love to make Kylo Ren's outfit, but I don't think I'm quite up to it... aghhhhh too many options! ;D

So, looks like it's time to do some costume planning... see y'all next week. ;)

Snowflex (where I snowboard) at sunset.