#37 Learn How To Brew Beer

Hey guys! I'm back! Thanks to some really good friends of mine, Ciara and Devin, I got the opportunity to learn how to brew beer, which is number thirty seven on my never-ending bucket list. This whole process was quite the science experiment, and unfortunately I was only there for about half of it because the night Devin was brewing was the same night "The Sound of Music, Live!" premiere was on, and Lord knows I can't miss a chance to laugh at an attempt to remake a classic.

So here's my understanding of brewing beer, which I'm sure Devin will have some corrections or additions for because let's face it, I'm sucky when it comes to this stuff.

1) First the malted barley is soaked in hot water to release the sugars, and if I remember this step correctly, Devin had this cool sock-looking thing that was comparable to stockings to soak the malted barley in.
2) The sugar-malt stuff is boiled with the hops in order to season it. The hops grows on these giant tree-like stalks that kind of look like something out of a Dr. Suess story.
3) After all of this cools off, yeast is added and fermentation begins. I got this handy dandy definition online because as we all know, science and Bridget do not really mix. I'm trying, people, I really am! Fermentation in brewing is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions.
4) After this process if over, you can begin to bottle the beer

So I'm pretty sure this is the super condensed, cliff notes version of this, but I do have to give a super big thank you to Devin for teaching me, because it actually was way more interesting than I thought it was going to be, and there's a lot more to it than I anticipated! Also, thanks to Ciara for making an awesome dinner for us and just for being awesome as always. I'm sure I sound like a huge idiot trying to explain this whole process, but it also wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.

Now that we've checked that one off the list, the new number thirty seven is, "Read Fifty Shades of Grey," which will no doubt be an interesting experience. A friend of mine actually suggested that I read this, so shout out to Melynda for giving me something super uncomfortable to read for the sake of blogging.

Until next time,
Bridget

#73 Get My Cartilage Pierced

Hey everyone! I've had a really successful week in terms of this bucket list. I actually completed two items on my bucket list, get my cartilage pierced and learn how to brew beer! The beer brewing post is taking me a bit longer because that process was much longer and their was so much to it, so I'm going to double check my facts before I make that post. My friends have been so supportive of me doing this blog, and so have a couple of my readers who have sent me messages related to some of the stuff I've been doing. Thanks to everyone who's been supporting me, and anyone out there who has stumbled upon my scribblings. I love you all for it!

Anyways, I came home for the weekend because my roommate and I are pretty much weary of the world. This past week I felt very defeated and down, I guess because my finals are coming up and academically, I've had a rough semester. We decided to come home to my parent's home because I'm only two hours away from campus, and how a complete girls weekend. I've been absolutely relaxed and just grateful to get away from it all, even though there's only a week and a half left in the semester. We were at the mall doing some Christmas shopping, and my roommate Amanda exclaims, "Let's go get our ears pierced!" just as we walk out of Sephora. I looked at her and I was like "Really? Are we actually doing this?"

We ended up at Claires, and Amanda got her first holes done while I got my cartilage on my left side pierced. It doesn't hurt as much as everyone told me it would! I've heard the absolute worst stories about getting your cartilage pierced and I can honestly say, it was not that bad. It definitely hurt more than getting my first holes pierced, because it was more of like a lingering stab in the soft bone of my ear. That being said, I love the way it turned out, and what I love even more is how spontaneous this decision was. It was such a spur of the moment thing, and I did it with a very good friend of mine and I feel like it turned out great. I will always remember how we did this together and how much fun it was to just do something and not think about the consequences later. Anyways, I hope you guys like it. I promise I'll post my beer brewing extravaganza post asap!

See you next time! (Pictures below!)

What I've Learned From College...so far...

This week sucked. I know, that's not the best opener for a blog post, but truly, this week sucked. I had planned the entire week to have this night to be able to sit and reflect and watch stupid movies and just not focus on schoolwork, because all I have done all week is stress over midterms and grades. Granted, I am a college student and this is just going to be a fact of life until I decide that I'm done with school. Everyone always told me how much fun college is and how it's a time to figure out who you are and what you want to do with your life, but I think they're wrong.

Don't get me wrong, college is fun and I love the experiences I have had here. However, I got to college and everyone expected me to know exactly what I wanted and exactly what I wanted to do with my life. What happened to being able to figure that out on the way? What happened to taking a good old gap year? I feel fortunate to be at a school in a competitive program that is exactly what I wish to spend my entire life studying, but I have met dozens of people who have absolutely no idea what the hell they are doing with their college career. Everyone says that's okay, but that doesn't take away the pressure of having to have everything figured out.

This is one of my favorite quotes from my favorite movie, Elizabethtown:
"Sadness is easier because it's surrender. I say, make time to dance alone with one hand waving free."

Even if you're not sad, take some time to dance with one hand waving free this week. You'd be surprised how freeing it is to not think about tomorrow for just a few minutes. Someday I want to take an entire summer, perhaps even an entire year and just...be. Not be worried about what's going to happen tomorrow or the next day. I guess that's what I'm striving for with my bucket list, to always have something just around the river bend, and to always have something to accomplish. I never want to feel trapped in my life, I want to feel like I have endless options.

I know that this post was long and arduous and didn't really pertain to my bucket list directly, but whatever. I'm living in the moment now.

Until next time,
Bridget

#2 - The Pixie Cut

For as long as I can remember, I've seen girls with pixie cuts and thought "Wow, that looks amazing! But I could never pull that off." Thus, I added getting a pixie cut to my bucket list. My mom always told me she liked my hair long, so I grew it out, then cut it again to a bob, which suited me much more than the long hair. However, I think the pixie cut suits me better than any other haircut I've ever gotten. I feel much more feminine and beautiful, which is odd because most women feel that way with long hair. There's something about this new short haircut that is just working for me. Anyways, I get to the salon and I show my hairdresser a photo, and she normally fights with me to keep my hair longer, but this time all she replied with was "okay, let's do it!" and then began cutting. I am excited to go back to school and see if anyone says anything about my new hairdo.

I do feel like this was an excellent first official bucket list project. Since my bucket list is never ending, I get to add a new item to the list now that I have completed the pixie cut project. In its place, I am adding on, "Send a message in a bottle" We'll see how that goes! I'm not sure what my next plan is, or what I'm planning to do next on my bucket list. Like I said, I'm trying to live more in the moment. so I'll be attempting to play that by ear. Pictures of my new haircut are down below.

Until next time,
Bridget

Before (June 2013)

Before (August 2013)

After!

After!

Introductions

When I got to college, I realized how much time I had spent looking to the future instead of living in the moment. After all, there is no time like the present, and I will never get this time back once it's gone. After having a particularly stressful week at school, I decided that I needed a new outlet for my feelings, and that I needed to start enjoying every day for what it is.

This concept came to my mind after I decided to make a finalized bucket list for myself. I had made one with a friend awhile ago, but things change and I decided it would be smarter to have my own, one I know that I can stick to. I was sitting with my suite mates and I was showing them what I had come up with, and a lot of them questioned the items of my list, and the sheer amount of items on my list. Some of these things cannot be accomplished in the immediate future, while some I could accomplish this afternoon if I wanted to. I decided to make this blog for the following reasons:

1) To document and hold myself accountable to the items on my bucket list
2) To share the stories behind why I want to do certain things on my bucket list
3) To discuss my real life goal, to live in the moment.

I have 99 items on my bucket list, and I decided that once I complete something on the list, I am allowed to add a new item, so that I will always have 99 things to complete on my bucket list. There is always something new that I can try, and I never want this to be something that just ends. I want to live my life with the idea that I can always learn something new and accomplish something great. That being said, I hope you join me in this journey I'm about to take, and I hope you get something from it too, whoever it is that's going to be reading this.

Until next time,
Bridget