Everything's gonna be alright

Things are good. At this very moment, things are good. Trying so very hard these days to live in the moment, not planning for next week or next fall, and it's getting a bit easier everyday I try to do it. Right now I'm burning a Beach Walk Yankee candle, waiting for my friend Jenny to arrive so we can make dinner, and listening to my German roommate Sandra sing German ballads in the kitchen.

Today started off positive, with a run. Meaning I RAN. Weird! I actually semi-enjoyed it! I then met up with my friends Courtney and Sari and went to this Opera Cafe that wasn't worth it but we roamed through La Boqueria and got some fruit smoothies. I then met up with Alejo y Elisabeth, my new private students!! Alejo is the splitting image of my friend Peter, though he's Argentinian and straight, and sometimes impossible to understand. They both want lessons, 2x/wk, and we're going to start on Monday. I'm so excited! They were wonderful, and every Argentinian I meet just makes me want to go to Buenos Aires even more, I love love love meeting people from that country, aside from their sometimes tricky accents. And they're almost always drop dead gorgeous, which doesn't hurt.

I then met up with Marta, a girl from Barcelona who is my new intercambio. We tried to find this elusive chocolate cafe to no avail and ended up getting fruit smoothies (My head hurts from all the sugar) and speaking in a mixture of english/spanish, and corrected each other though her English is practically flawless. She was super nice, and invited me to go to a beach in Costa Brava soon, which I definitely hope happens. I'm excited to have someone to help me with my language problems.

I also took a second last night and listened to my heart. I learned some really sad news about a dear friend of my family's yesterday, and as I sat grieving for the loss of this amazing person, I thought about how he lived his life, how I am living my life. I sat with myself and listened to what I want, and what decision would make me the most happy, in terms of deciding about grad school, a decision I've wrestled with for about 2 months now.
I also remembered a moment back when I was talking to my grandpa, when I was flirting with the idea of transferring from DePaul to a school in MA my freshman year of DePaul. I was applying to BC and my grandpa said "you know Shannon, you're going to go there. I can see it. I know it!" Well, I ended up getting rejected that time around, actually. But was accepted this time, and thought about that moment with Papa a lot yesterday. The answer is clear, it's always been. Boston College is where my heart is, even with the high tuition, annoying location and preppy kids, it's where I'm meant to be, to study international social work, and I think I've known that all along. I feel so elated and kind of in a daze about it, but mostly clear headed. Thank you to everyone who's listened to me deliberate between Simmons or BC for endless hours on end!

I don't mean to sound selfish, that someone's passing away made me make this seemingly insignificant choice, but to show what was going through my mind when I made the decision, and how some amazing people have led me and inspired me to listen to my heart and really go for it. For that, I am so very grateful.