Huskies to Red Hawks.

I've probably blogged about this once or twice, in passing, without too many details, but due to a lack of any better ideas, and because people keep asking me about it even though it's been over a year since I left, here is the entire, comprehensive, detailed account of why I left Northeastern, if I like Montclair better, and if I miss Boston.

I started visiting colleges during my sophomore year of high school. I know, that's early. I don't actually remember every single school I went to, but a few were Cornell, Emerson, Northeastern, William Paterson, Rowan, SUNY Purchase, Sacred Heart, and NYU. My dream school is and always will be NYU, but they rejected me. Bastards.

I ended up only applying to three schools: NYU (my reach), Northeastern (second choice), William Paterson (safety). I thought about applying to Purchase, but in the end, I just didn't. I kind of regret that, but not so much that it's tearing me apart on the inside.

I got into NU and Willy P, like I thought I would, and was basically set on going to Northeastern, unless NYU accepted me. Which they didn't. So in September of 2009, I moved on up to Boston to start what I thought would be the first of five years as a Northeastern Husky.

And at first, it was great. I loved it, both academically and socially. I spent a lot of time wandering around Boston in my free time, getting to know the city, which was awesome, because I've always wanted to live in a city, though my preferred city is New York. No offense, Boston, but you can't live up to New York in my eyes.

Somewhere around Christmas break, I found myself thinking about leaving NU and going somewhere else. At first, there was never really a concrete reason as to why, but I wanted to. This will sound really weird to probably almost everyone, but it was after I left Northeastern for Montclair that I realized why I never regretted my choice to leave my school, my friends, and my then-boyfriend.

To put it very simply, I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life. I still don't. Northeastern has a great co op program, where you do internships during your time there. And that's fantastic, if you know what you want to do. A kid in one of my classes at Northeastern was telling me about he hadn't been on a co op yet because he'd kept switching his major because he didn't know what he wanted to do. He spent a lot of summers and winter breaks catching up on classes so he could do at least one co op.

I didn't want that to be me, struggling to keep up with classes and trying to figure out what I wanted on the spot. My roommate at the time summed it up with this aggravated Facebook status: "Please, as soon as possible, plan out the next four years, and the rest of your life. Sincerely, Northeastern."

Montclair might not be a big-name school like Northeastern is; most people look at me like, "wtf is a Montclair" when I tell them where I go to school, but I like it. It's perfect for me. Being at Montclair is opening up a whole host of opportunities I definitely would not have had if I'd stayed at Northeastern.

I got to play another year of girl's hockey with my old team; I'm planning on studying abroad next summer (were I at Northeastern, I wouldn't be able to afford going abroad with their tuition bill). But what I love best of all is that the pressure to immediately plan out my life is much less than what it was at Northeastern. I'm declared as an English major, and I think that's what I'll stay as, but I can take a variety of other classes, to see if anything strikes my fancy.

So yes. I like Montclair. I don't mind commuting. And yes, I miss Boston. I don't miss Northeastern; if anything, I miss the freedom I had while living away from home, but my parents pretty much just let me come and go as I please, plus I have a car now, so there's really not that much difference, except I have to be quiet when I come home drunk. I miss living in a city, I miss going to school in the same city as one of my friends; though now I go to the same school as two of my friends, and I can spend free weekends down at Stockton with my best friend/wife.

So there you have it. The next person who asks me if I miss Northeastern will be decapitated because I'm getting sick of explaining myself.

Things that annoy me: A general list.

Something ticked me off on Facebook today, a harmless comment made by someone that just unfortunately pushed me over the edge. So here it is, a list of things that annoy me.

• Stupid people.
• People who claim things without valid reasoning.
• Flyers and Capitals fans.
• Being cut off by another driver who then proceeds to drive extremely slowly.
• Getting stuck behind people driving BELOW the speed limit. Just get off the road.
• People who wear Uggs in late May.
• High school girls who think they're the shit.
• Obsessive Twilight fans.
• Being told that I'm too old to like/do certain things.
• People assuming things about me because I'm from New Jersey.
• School.
• One letter text messages. What was the point?
• When I keep dying in a video game and have to keep doing the same mission over and over and over and over.
• Being told I can't be a Rangers fan because I don't live in New York.
• Being told that I'm short. CONSTANTLY. Seriously, SHUT. UP.
• Not being able to find a job.
• Having to find a job.
• People who hate Harry Potter for NO REASON AT ALL.
• People who hate Harry Potter in general.
• When my parents harp on and on about how I'm fat and should lose weight. Thanks. You really know how to help my already crappy self-esteem.
• When my Nintendo DS dies and I'm in the middle of a Pokemon battle.
• Being broke.
• Being called "little one." Don't call me that.
• When I make lists like this and people are like, "haha, I'm going to annoy you with these!" and then they do and piss me off more. I make lists like this 1. for fun, and 2. so you DON'T piss me off by doing any of these things.
• Doing the dishes.
• Living far away from my friends so I can't see them often.
• This crappy, miserable weather.
• People being cheerful when I'm pissed off.
• Immature people.
• People who don't realize they've crossed a line and should step back before I severely injure them.

That's all for now.

Evolution of Disney princesses.

It's not exactly a secret that I love Disney movies, specifically Disney princess movies. Doesn't matter how old I am, I refuse to hide that fact. The only retail job I would probably actually LIKE is at the Disney store. Unfortunately, the ones near me aren't hiring.

But even though I'm a huge fan of Disney princesses, I still have my preferences. Belle is my absolute favorite, hands down, no competition whatsoever. I found this post here about her that basically sums up how I feel in a much more concise and clever way.

But anyway, I love the evolution of the Disney princesses. In the beginning you have the princesses like Cinderella and Snow White, who are old-fashioned and traditional. They don't do much for themselves and instead wish and wait for what they want.

Then you have the princesses like Belle, Ariel, and Jasmine, who want more out of life than what's expected of them, but they still need a little push out the door. I guess Rapunzel, even though she's one of the more recent Disney princesses, falls into this category too, because she never actually decides to leave her tower until she meets Flynn.

Disney improved their princesses even further, with ones like Mulan and Tiana, who don't just wait around wishing for things. They go out and do what they have to do. In this most recent generation of princesses, Disney finally fixed what everyone complained about; how girls are capable of getting what they want on their own and without a man. Mulan set out simply to protect her father and there's no romance in that movie. I mean, it's implied, but it's definitely not the main point. Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) wants her restaurant and works as hard as she can for it. She's a little single-minded when it comes to her restaurant but, unlike Cinderella, who just wishes on stars, Tiana goes for what she wants.

Even though I like to sometimes preach about women being independent and not needing men, I think I relate best to the Belle-Jasmine-Ariel category, because I know what I want but I think I'm struggling to stay afloat a little. That was like a failed metaphor. But whatever.

Anyway, this picture here sums up everything I just said with fewer words: