“Go now and live. Experience. Dream. Risk. Close your eyes and jump. Enjoy the freefall. Choose exhilaration over comfort. Choose magic over predictability. Choose potential over safety. Wake up to the magic of everyday life. Make friends with your intuition. Trust your gut. Discover the beauty of uncertainty. Know yourself fully before you make promises to another. Make millions of mistakes so that you will know how to choose what you really need. Know when to hold on and when to let go. Love hard and often and without reservation. Seek knowledge. Open yourself to possibility. Keep your heart open, your head high and your spirit free. Embrace your darkness along with your light. Be wrong every once in a while, and don’t be afraid to admit it. Awaken to the brilliance in ordinary moments. Tell the truth about yourself no matter what the cost. Own your reality without apology. See goodness in the world. Be bold. Be fierce. Be grateful. Be wild, crazy, and gloriously free. Be you. Go now, and live.” ~Jeanette Leblanc

“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --Bill Shankly

I. Love. Football.

The crisp smell of an autumn morning while the campus is buzzing with students who can barely get up for an 8 am class but are more than willing to wake up at 4:45 am to get a good spot in the student lots. Mimosas in the morning, beer in the afternoon. An excuse to wear every piece of cardinal and gold clothing you own regardless of how it looks as you wear it. Game days at Iowa State are something I'll miss the most about college. Granted, Cyclones sometimes don't have the greatest overall stats, but the heart that goes in to every game is envied. I love college football. I love that these guys are just like me and go to classes and on the weekends are the reason 85% of the population of Ames wakes up on a Saturday morning. Of course, I love my Bears as well. But that's a whole different topic. (PS- sorry Detroit, you definitely got the shaft on that last call tonight.)

Yes, in my mind, football season IS the most wonderful time of the year.


(To the tune of "it's the most wonderful time of the year")
It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the leaves all a-falling
And everyone telling you "Football is HERE!"
It's the most wonderful time of the year
It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those tailgating parties and the morning bacardies
While the other team fumbles the ball
It's the hap-happiest season of all

There'll be parties for hosting
Teams all boasting
And Jayhawks left in the cold
There'll be victory stories
And tales of the glory
Of Cyclones headed to a bowl

It's the most wonderful time of the year
There'll be much trash talk going
While Cyclones are showing
Why fans all cheer
It's the most wonderful time of the year
--By yours truly :)

“After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul, and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security, and you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises, and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child, and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers. And you learn that you really can endure… that you really are strong, and you really do have worth.” ~Veronica A. Shoffstall