My life the past six years

Things I like about Utah Valley:

-Lots of ethnic food everywhere

-Lots of people who speak random languages and lived in random places everywhere

-Easy to make fun of

-Pretty safe

-Great spring and summer

-All four seasons (it has its pros and cons)

-People tend to be pretty smart overall

-Not having to feel weird for being a Mormon

-Cool mountains

-IKEA close-by

-Not having to worry about people getting drunk and thus fairly annoying pretty quickly
-International Cinema

-Peaches in the summer

Things I don't particularly like about Utah Valley:

-Snow. Too much. For too long.

-Everyone looks too nice; there's too much pressure to be perfect outwardly

-Lots of judging (based on outward appearances)

-No options for a nightlife

-Movies frequently and unnecessarily edited

-Far from most of my family

-Dogs aren't allowed in nearly all student housing

-Being contrary (argumentative) is considered a sin, at least socially if not morally

-Everything has significant potential to be awkward

The Dead of Winter

Music That Makes Me Happy:
-"The Rise and Fall of Ziggie Stardust" by Bowie
-K'naan (especially "Dreamer" and "When the Lion Learns to Speak")
-Tété
-Francoise Hardy (especially "Le Premier Bonheur du Jour")
-"The Great Escape" by Blur
-Some Beyoncé ("Freakum Dress" especially)
-"Dead Flowers" by the Rolling Stones
-"Norwegian Wood" by the Beatles
-Debussy
-Ragtime music (Joplin and James P Johnson)
-Early jazz (especially piano in stride style- ie Fats Waller)
-ABBA (mostly just the upbeat disco songs)
-Dick Annegarn
-"Mercedes Lullaby" (and most of the other songs off the Pan's Labyrinth soundtrack to a slightly lesser degree) by Javier Navarrete
-"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" by the Grateful Dead
-"Je Me Suis Fait Tout Petit" and "Mauvaise Reputation" by Georges Brassens
-"Ne Me Quitte Pas", "Le Plat Pays", "Marieke", and several other Jacques Brel songs

What Exactly Is Getting Me Through My Final Semester?
-I actually like the subject matter in my classes
-I'm taking my classes for fun
-I refuse to fail
-It's my last semester, so I should make it the best one
-The actual class part of my life is the easiest part of my life currently
-The above point makes it an excellent method of escapism from the rest of my life
-I am slightly perfectionist, and must do as well as I can
-School is one of the few things I'm competitive about. I have to be above average in my classes or else I won't function.
-Did I mention the rest of my life is harder than classes? Thus homework is a way to distract myself from other problems
-I think I've finally got the whole undergrad education thing figured out. It's time to move on...