Dipping In To New Waters

Hello to all! I realize it has been much too long since my last post but I have been overwhelmingly busy with moving back to Montana and getting settled into a new apartment and getting transferred successfully to MSU. Anyways as I am lying here not able to sleep I figured it would be a perfect time for a quick little update as well as some exciting news! I have for many years now really wanted to start pursuing photography....not as a career but just as a stress relief hobby! But for years now I have always put it off and only occasionally taken some outdoor photos as we were driving along. I am happy to announce I have finally committed to starting portrait photography and am having my first couple shoot tomorrow! I am nervous but so excited to see what talent I can hopefully find and eventually get good enough to compete with the amazing other photographers in the area! I am extremely excited about this new opportunity and that I am finally going to jump in and try it! I can't express how many blogs, videos and books I have watched and read to prepare myself so please feel free to leave any tips tricks or comments as all would be greatly appreciated!

Fishing in 303

One Sunday afternoon back in September Archie and I took a little Road trip to his childhood home in Glenwood Springs, CO. We met up with one of his old buddies and while the boys fished I snapped some awesome pics....tell me what you think :)

Walls

Do you ever have those days when you just feel like you can't win!? WELL I apparently have them a lot lately. It seems like absolutely everything I do is not the right choice or everything I thought I wanted I begin to second guess. When I try to talk to people it feels like I'm talking to brick walls and I feel totally forgotten! Anytime I try to help it seems like it's never what anyone wants to hear and I just don't know how to win. I get so overwhelmed trying to help everyone else that when I feel down no one is there to try and help me....it just gets so exhausting! This has just been a really downer of a day :(

Update on Life

Hey Everyone,
I had a request from family to write an update on how things have been (College, Colorado etc.) I didn't know exactly where to start so I decided to begin at my Graduation. So in the beginning of June 2012 I graduated from Bozeman Senior High School....GO HAWKS (that goes double for the Spartan and Bulldogs fans in my family...yuck ha ha). Anyways, that was a good time some of my family was able to make it to the festivities and made it that much more special to share the time even with family that couldn't make it.

(Getting excited before the ceremony)

(Archie and I after the Ceremony)

(left to right: Pam I call her second Mom, Grace going on 9 years as best friends, me and my wonderful mother)

For the rest of the summer months I worked in the Garden center at Walmart...the paychecks were nice but the hours were long and we will just leave at saying it was an experience. I did however save up a nice chunk of change to take me into my next adventure.........

( After a long 10 hour drive we finally arrived)

I moved to Colorful Colorado and began my schooling at the University of Colorado-Denver. For anyone who has been to Denver my school and house are both about a mile away from the center of Downtown....talk about culture shock for a girl coming from a small-ish town in Montana. I started classes and declared my major in Biology (my hopes were to eventually go into PT). My first semester was pretty rough to say the least...I had some pretty time consuming classes and tough professor's who weren't so willing to help. I did however have one professor who really changed my educational path. I was taking her 'Fresman Seminar: Intro to Psych' class which was extremely demanding but she really made the difference...throughout the semester she required us to sit down with her and talk about everything (housing, life, her class, etc.) and that really stuck out to me. This especially helpful in the toughest months of the semester dealing with roommate issues...but I am fortunate now to be in a room with a sweet new roommate that I get along with very well. 

I also celebrated in November my year anniversary with Archie. Archie and I met our junior year as just friends ( sort of) and things turned out really good for us. Archie is in Denver as well pursuing an education in Auto Mechanics in hopes of taking over his Dad's business in the near future. Archie is a wonderful, well- rounded guy and has been such a blessing in my life especially during my homesick spouts here in CO. 

(Our anniversary)

(Archie is a very big hunter.. this was his hunting trip to Africa summer 2011)

I also got hired at Victoria's Secret at the higher-end mall here in Denver and I love it. Working in retail has been such a great lesson in life and although at times I want to rip my hair out I love the people I work with and the amazing things they have done for me. 

At Christmas Archie and I were able to make a short trip back to Montana to see some family and friends. We probably both wish it could have been longer and our loved ones probably would have preferred that as well but we were very fortunate to get any time off at all. 

When we returned I still had almost a month left of Winter Break from classes. I worked as many hours as I possibly could to fill up the days and keep boredom away. 

On January 22nd classes started up again and I am so far enjoying every single class. I was very lucky to get into classes that are more focused in my newly found educational direction which I hope to be is majoring in psychology/education to potentially go into educational guidance counseling or something along those lines. I am so eager to continue with these classes and learn about the things I find intriguing including the mind and how people work together etc. 

My plans as of now include moving back to my lovely home in Montana and becoming a Montana State Bobcat in Fall 2013! GO CATS!!

Roommates

The very first thing I want to talk about dealing with College is roommates.....If you don't need one (or in my case forced to have them) DON'T GET THEM! Now don't get me wrong living with someone new is a lot of fun and if you have a good roommate that you get along with then everything is peachy! I now have a wonderful roommate after a sort of rocky start and a quick room change....But as many have said before me living with someone is the quickest way you can discover all of your pet peeves! This is EXTREMELY true! In the first month of college I learned so many things about myself that I never actually knew! However there are many things you can do that can make a roommate experience much more enjoyable!

1. Talk about things......no seriously! I know everyone says this one but it is so f**king true! Roomies are not our mommies and they CANNOT read your mind!
2. Decide what battles are important enough to talk over....if sleep is REALLY important then make a deal about a reasonable quiet time or a time when she/he needs to get the h*ll out if they can't be quiet or maybe sleep isn't a huge issue and food is...talk about what is cool to share and what is keep your paws off!
3. Drugs/ Alcohol.....OK let's be real no one is the perfect princess... you are away from all parental units for a whole 4 years at least.... don't tell me you won't at least try it... but be SMART about it....also talk about rules of it being in your room... remember just because it's not yours does not mean you won't get in trouble
4. Schedules...honestly from personal experience I cannot stress the importance of knowing each other's schedule.....it can really have a damper on the situation if your study time is during his/her sexytime....it's awkward.
5. Finances- going to college is expensive and I don't just mean tuition, books, etc. because we all know how painfully expensive that is... I'm talking about personal expenses. Especially if you are put in my position coming from a smaller city with not the greatest selection of fashionable clothing to a huge city where it's hard not to find something you don't "ABSOLUTELY LOVE"....it's hard to force yourself to spend money on shareable things like toilet paper or cleaning supplies. Work out a plan so you are both sharing those expenses and learn to budget your funds to fit these lame things in as well.
6. Also do not loan money unless you know they can pay you back by the end of the week...the pressure and stress caused over money can really tear a relationship apart.
7.Get out of your room.....I may be speaking for myself when I say this but if I hole- up in my room all day I get extremely irritable and the last thing I want to do is talk or have someone in my personal space! Join a club...take a walk.....meet new people....go tanning....whatever it takes to get you out even for just a bit! It's worth it!
8. spend time with your roommate....get to know them.... You might not be BEST friends and seriously that's okay! You might end up wanting to rip their throat out at  some point and its a lot easier if that person isn't your BEST PAL...just kidding....somewhat! But really go shopping with them or do something they enjoy even if you don't like it at least you know a little more about them.

These are just a few of the most important things I can think of right now! As always do not hesitate to comment or email me! I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANYTHING! Also in need of any ideas for my next blog! Comment, email or find me on facebook!

XOXOXO
Callie Ann

Intro

Hey Everyone!

My name is Callie and I am 18 years old. I was born and raised in Bozeman, MT and a true country girl at heart. I am currently attending University of Colorado-Denver but plan to move back to my roots as soon as the semester is over! 

I love Denver and recognize how much it has to offer but Montana is where my heart is! 

(A photo I took of the city looking out of my apartment window)

I decided to start this Blog for many reasons. First, I have started a blog as an assignmnet in my Intro to Geography class and it gave me somewhat of a rush. I felt that I could write and customize it however I wanted and I feel like it is a good way to interact with people. Second, after my continuing year of experience in both college and a big city coming from a little city I feel like I can offer a lot of good advice to those who may go to college or move to a city in the future. Lastly I want to create this blog to connect with people. I want a place to write down thoughts and feelings and let others interact with my posts so that I can see other perspectives and 'broaden my horizons' (like that saying is never overused). This being said I want TONS of feedback whether its just stopping bu to say hi, asking me to write about a specific topic/ rant about my opinion(which I'm up for doing anytime) or telling me a personal story! I WANT IT ALL!