Leah of the Pack

Going on a quick hiatus because I have way too much going on in life right now, don't even really have time to type this post. See ya soon.

As you walk out of the tunnel, you are amazed at the immensity of the stadium. With the capacity to hold thousands, it finally hits you that you will be in front of a crowd larger than you ever imagined. You can feel the Greatness in the air. The familiar smell of brats and beer is wafting around from the tailgaters outside. The roar of the crowd is louder than anything you have ever heard. You can practically feel the energy pulsating from the arena. As you gaze around you see  a sea of green and gold. With every passing moment the crowd manages to grow louder. Your excitement is rising like a river after a monsoon, swelling at the banks and overflowing to create the biggest grin on your face. As you stretch, nervousness beings to take over, mixing with adrenaline to create the most potent combination. Falling into the familiar routine of warming up, you begin to relax. Lining up on the field gives you another chance to take it all in. This time every seat is filled, almost everyone is supporting the G-Force in some way. Suddenly the crowd explodes. The team runs of out the tunnel, shouting out words of encouragement to their teammates, pumping themselves up for a victory. The intensity of their energy is contagious. The crowd feeds on it, their spirit spilling over the walls of the arena. The national anthem begins and you can't help but to get goosebumps. The crowd is silent with the exception of those singing along respectfully. The fire works explode in rhythm with the lyrics, it's quite a sight. Standing in the heart of all the action, this experience is one of a lifetime.

I survived the first week of classes and came to the conclusion that this is going to be one of the most difficult semesters of college yet. Between classes, my internship, countless group projects (the joys of being a Communications major), cheerleading practice, Packers games, and both men's and women's basketball games, I don't have time for any naps and I need to stay on my organization grind. Quick shout out to my planner for keeping my life in order. As a particularly motivated person, here are a few of my goals for this fall semester.

1. Get an AB or an A in all of my classes: I could shoot for the stars and try for solid A's across the board but by setting my standard at an AB or better I'll be happier in the long run when I reach that A and I won't be as hard on myself if AB is all that is attainable.

2. Get at least a 3.0 GPA for the semester: Or higher. I completed last semester with high honors and made the deans list (go me!) and am hoping to do something similar this semester. I think a 3.0 is a solid goal to work towards and if it's higher I'm not going to complain.

3. Make time for me: I'm kinda upset that I'm not gonna have anytime for a nap during the day but I'm going to do my best to at least set aside 40 minutes each night to watch Friday Night Lights which I recently restarted on Netflix.

4. Cheer: I always have cheer goals. First I need to make sure I can still throw all my running tumbling. Then once that step is complete I need to throw a layout on the gym floor during a game because I still have yet to do that after tearing my ACL/meniscus during a game almost two years ago. I also want to get a full up and a toss lib with my awesome stunt partner.

I probably have at least 5 more mini goals for this semester, but these are the big four. Here's to hoping I can accomplish them!

I'm  about to get all high school english teacher on you right now and for that I almost apologize for that but I want to take a moment to appreciate the wonderful words F. Scott Fitzgerald. They way he writes, everything flows so seamlessly and beautifully and I can't get enough. I just watched Great Gatsby so that might be the reason behind this post but anyways, here are a few of my favorite quotes.

This is easily my all time favorite F. Scott Fitzgerald quote. My friends like to make fun of me because they say basically it's just about a glorious hook up, which yeah maybe it is but I think it's so much deeper than that. When I asked what they thought it meant the response was "uh someone is having really rough sex and they got bruised and didn't recover, idk". Incorrect, it is so much more. It's about falling so in love, opening up yourself to someone to create such a sense deep intimacy that it over takes you. Even though you can move on from that person you still have never let go of that love and it's something that stays with you forever. And how would I know that, right? I don't know because I've never slipped briskly into such an intimacy but I can bet it's more than just a really fancy way of saying it was just a hook up.

Do I sound nuts yet?

In the spirit of Throwback Thursday, I thought I would do a #TBT playlist of some of my favorite "old" songs. I guess old may not be the correct word to use but they're certainly not the same 15 songs we hear repeated on the radio these days. I suppose this taste of music can be credited to having an older brother, strangely enough there's not a single female artist on the playlist.

Dashboard Confessional: Hands Down, Vindicated, Again I Go Unnoticed 
All three of these songs are so fantastic. I feel like I can really relate to all of the lyrics. Hands Down is easily one of my most favorite songs of all time.

The Maine: Everything I Ask For, If I Only Had the Heart

Fall Out Boy: Dance, Dance, Sugar, We're Going Down, I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me, Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy Tonight, This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race, I'm Like A Lawyer,  Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year, Saturday, Just One Yesterday
Okay, so I guess it's safe to say I'm a Fall Out Boy fan. Besides having some of the longest and most creative song titles, all of their songs just bring back tons of memories. Although I do like them, I prefer their older songs. My favorite of their songs would have to be Where Is Your Boy  and Sophomore Slump.

Sum 41: In Too Deep
Sometimes this song describes my life so perfectly.

New Found Glory: 47

blink-182: All The Small Things, I Miss You

The All American Rejects: Dirty Little Secret, Move Along, It Ends Tonight, Swing, Swing
Dirty Little Secret is another one of my all time favorite songs, I can never get sick of listening to it. And Swing, Swing? What a classic.

Modest Mouse: Float On, The View

Sugar Ray: Is She Really Going Out With Him, When It's Over, Someday
I can still remember listening to Is She Really Going Out With Him every day on the radio during 3rd or 4th grade art class. Whatever, always good stuff.

Good Charlotte: Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, I Don't Wanna Be In Love

Yellowcard: Dear Bobbie, Ocean Avenue, Everywhere
Their Cover of Michelle Branch's Everywhere is definitely worth a listen.

Motion City Soundtrack: Everything Is Alright, LG. FUAD, This Is For Real
Love. That's all.

Panic! At The Disco: I Write Sins Not Tragedies, But It's Better If You Do

Gym Class Heros: Cupid's Chokehold, Clothes Off!

Hope you enjoyed my playlist. If you have any suggestions of songs that would fit I'd love to know!

I was nominated for the Bloggers With Class award from Ellen at A Pop of Pink. I am so excited about this because it is an awesome accomplishment and the nomination came from one of my favorite blogs to read! This award started through the Bloggers With Class community. Writing this post seems like the perfect way to start my week off. I hope you enjoy my answers and thanks again for the nomination!

• If tagged, please copy the rules into your post
• Please also link back to this post on Classy Cathleen
• Recognize the blogger that tagged you (share a little about them and their blog, and link back to them)
• Answer the questions that are part of the award
• Tag 5 bloggers that you feel are classy to receive the award as well
• Be sure to include the link to the Bloggers With Class community (And don't forget to join!)
• Include the image in your post

What do you think it means to be classy?