It seems as if I haven’t updated my blog in what seems like 3 months… guilty. When life gets in the way, I tend to take care of bigger issues before sitting down to write. And when all is good in the world, I’ll then sit down on my couch under a big blanket and reminisce on all the good things.
Throughout my third semester at Indiana University, I’ve embraced most challenges with my head held high. With the support of my friends old and new, I got through the most emotionally draining span of time of my life. I mean really: when life gets me down the only thing I can really do is push it aside and order a pie of pizza. That’s basically how my semester went.
Of course, there were plenty of highlights this semester. I moved into my sorority house, met this amazing guy, and after three months, we’re still happily dating, and I passed a class I didn’t think I’d make it through. Truly phenomenal. A miracle if I’d say so myself.
To be quite honest, I haven’t had many memorable meals, but the few that were noteworthy were fantastic.
Starting off with a Bloomington classic here’s inBloom Juicery’s PB Açai bowl with an açai base, chia seeds, berries, and a peanut butter drizzle. The small but mighty juicery never fails to keep me energized throughout the semester.
When eating on campus, I tend to prioritize healthier options, because, well, I can. My go-to snack is yogurt with berries or oatmeal with toppings. Eating healthy is a fairly simple lifestyle hack, and I now prefer to splurge on healthier options instead of, I don’t know, a cookie.
Of the great things that I accomplished this semester, something I’d like to highlight is getting accepted into the Kelley Global Sales Workshop. As my major focuses on marketing and sales, this workshop is an extension to my education as it works to develop my professional skills while giving me exclusive access to all things sales and networking. When I was accepted in September, we celebrated with something sweet: Baked! of Bloomington decorated this cookie cake just for us, and I got so excited that I snapped a picture. Of course, I was in a room with total strangers, so naturally, their first impression of me was that I was that b**** that took pictures of everything. Oof.
During Yom Kippur’s break-fast this October, my greek family (my “big” in my sorority and her “big” and so on) and all of our friends all came together for an epic meal of Jewish food galore. With bagels flown in fresh from New York and kugel to feed an army, we had one of the best Jewish spreads I’ve ever had. For a bunch of college kids, we sure do know how to make our bubbes proud.
With regards to other big milestones during the semester, for fall break in late October, I went home with my boyfriend to the epic Chicago suburbs. Beyond exploring the farms and cows (kidding, Naperville is quite nice), we meandered into the city for a full day of adventuring. My boyfriend took me to all the touristy spots: the Bean, the Skydeck and Navy Pier, too. I got my much-needed city fix and had my personal tour guide to show me the ropes. Before we headed back into the suburbs for the evening, we went to Velvet Taco to indulge in epic tacos “without borders”. Soft-shelled tacos are what they’re good at; I went for a spicy tikka chicken taco (think tikka masala) and a grilled salmon taco with avocado and lime crema, roasted corn salsa, cilantro on a hibiscus corn tortilla.
A few weeks went by, and once I finished trudging through exams and taking care of responsibilities (ugh), I packed my bag and went on home for Thanksgiving break. I indulged in all things fresh and far from anything found in Indiana: bagels and lox and Tomatoes’ pistachio-crusted tuna from down the shore. The highlight of my time home was going into the city (New York, to be specific) for a day of perusing and brunching. My mom and I went to the Vessel, this new structure of stairs and steel meant for only climbing, but really for pictures and selfies and enjoying the view from the top. Situated in Hudson Yards, the Vessel is in the perfect area to grab a meal in Midtown, or Chelsea if you’re feeling adventurous. With our luck, we brought rain with us into the city, so after climbing the Vessel in a slight drizzle, we went into the mall next door and found lunch at Bluestone Lane. With its Australian-inspired coffee, fruity toasts, and hearty bowls, this cute restaurant provided us with a great meal away from the rain. My mom and I had rich bowls with veggies galore and on the side, we shared the strawberry and ricotta toast with a honey drizzle. Here are some snaps before we inhaled our food:
Throughout the semester as a whole, in between the stress and tears and eating pizza at 4am (because what better thing is there to do?), there were great moments of my third chunk of college. From getting into the Global Sales Workshop and then landing an internship for summer 2020 (catch me in Benton Harbor, Michigan!), to finding best friends and dancing the weekends away, I enjoyed just about every minute in Bloomington, Indiana. And best of all, I found myself a guy who buys me Chipotle with guac(!!!!!!!) and chips and a drink. Everyone deserves the love of Chipotle.
As 2019 comes to a close and we open the doors of opportunity in 2020, I look forward to embracing every hurling challenge and new adventure. I strut into the new year with dreams of a 4.0 GPA (LOL) and Korean Barbeque (just you wait).
A resolution of mine is updating this thing more frequently, so let’s hope that happens!
Signing off for now. It’s about to get real steamy in the next decade~~
Xo
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