2012 In Review

So this is it. The end of 2012. It's been a weird year--a great year, but weird. So many unexpected, great things happened. I've definitely grown up a lot in the past year, whether it was learning my way around a foreign country or figuring out how to balance multiple friendships and relationships at once.

Here is my 2012 retrospect:

• I started this little blog! At first it was just an outlet for me to vent about my frustrations with organic chemistry, but it's grown so much within the past nine months or so. Thank you all for following my adventures! I know I've kind of slipped off the radar since the end of summer, but I hope to get back into the blogging mode this upcoming year.

• I saw the Dalai Lama! His visit was the coolest thing that's ever happened to Loyola. It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience--especially seeing him wearing a Loyola baseball cap!

• I went to take classes in Rome. And it was, in the words of Barney in How I Met Your Mother, "legend-waitforit-dary!"

Via

• I began working in a research lab. I might not know what I'm doing all the time, but who knows? My cultivating bacteria could possibility contribute something to science. If anything, I've learned that plaques of bacteria don't smell all that great.

Via

• The Olympics were on! I'm a sucker for the Olympics. Although I didn't enjoy these games as much as I have in the past (due to NBC's absolutely TERRIBLE coverage!), I still loved the thrill of watching the opening ceremony, the U.S. "Fab Five" Woman's Gymnastics Team, and Michael Phelps win one last time in the pool.

• I was a Welcome Week Leader, meaning I led new freshman in orientation activities at Loyola before their classes began. I gotta say, I had as much fun doing all the fun activities as they did. I was basically a freshman all over again, at least for a few days. 

• I worked as an academic coach to high school freshman through Target New Transitions. Yes, it sucks to get up at 6am on Saturday mornings, but, once I get enough coffee in me, I love the whole experience. I'll save it for another post, but the gist is that I coach freshman in all things to do with high school, from math to meeting new friends. The students I work with amaze me every Saturday, and remind me how tough high school was. 

• I became a lifetime member of Alpha Chi Omega. Being in a social sorority is something I never planned on doing in college, due to the stereotypes that surround "sorority girls". I've spent my Christmas vacation telling my relatives that sororities are not what they look like on Animal House. I've met some AMAZING friends that I never would've had I not joined my sorority. Our saying goes "Alpha Chi, Alpha Chi, Alpha Chi, 'til I die", and it's true: I'm going to have these friends for the rest of my life!

• I turned 21! Enough said.

• I voted in the presidential election. My only regret about voting absentee is that I didn't get one of those cute "I voted" stickers they give out on election day. Bummer. 

What's in store for 2013? I honestly have NO idea. I have the MCAT coming up in April and sorority events, of course. I'm continuing my jobs and will probably be a Welcome Week Leader again. This summer I apply to medical school. But other than that, so much is up in the air at this point. I'll just have to see what life throws at me...and I can't wait.

Happy 2013 everybody!

Books Read 2012: And the Bookie Goes To...

I'm pretty proud of my reading accomplishments this year. I read thirty books and, although it may not seem like a lot, it is to me! Here are all the books I read this year, followed by my "Bookie" awards (think Oscars)!

Any questions? Check out my Goodreads account and friend me to see more recommendations and books I'm dying to read. 

Bookie for Making Me Keep the Lights on at Night: The Passage by Justin Cronin

The book is about a vampire apocalypse, but these aren't your Twilight vampires that are taking over the world. One difference? Their teeth are described as being as long as toothpicks. And that's only part of the picture. The book might not seem up my alley, but you'd be surprised. You really become attached to the characters--a colony of people who have survived 100 years after the apocalypse--and follow them as they venture out to look for others like them. (And there's a sequel!)

Bookie for Being a Surprisingly Amazing Book: Tie between Villette by Charlotte Bronte and The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

I love it when I dread reading a book that's required for class, and it actually turns out to be great. Villette was required for my Victorian Lit class, and I spent a whole Saturday in my bed reading the 400-plus page tome. I couldn't wait to see what happened to the main character, a teacher at a foreign all-girls school.

The White Tiger had a similar effect on me. The book is about a boy who rises from the slums of India to become a wealthy entrepreneur. It reminded me of Slumdog Millionaire, yet seemed more realistic. I really was able to understand the caste system in India, and the conditions of those living within it.

Bookie for Being Overrated: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Ugh, I hated this book. Okay, hate is a strong word, but I was expecting so much more of this book due to the glowing reviews I had read of it. The book is told from an eleven-year-old girl's perspective as the world ends due to the rotation of the earth slowing down. It's a genius idea, but the narrative of the young girl brings the whole book down. I feel like having the girl narrate the book was just an excuse for the author to write at a lower level.

Bookie for Not Being Able to Put Down: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I can't say anything about this book without spoiling it--it's just amazing. The book opens with a husband who's wife has gone missing, and he's the number one suspect. That's all I can say, for the book takes so many twists and turns from there on that I don't want to spoil anything. Just read it!

Other Favorites:

• The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

What were some of your favorite books this year?