Breaking the Silence

Wow.

It’s been a while.

More than two months, which is kind of shameful. A semester has come and gone, and a new one has started. Sixteen credit hours again. I’m getting into the swing of it, establishing a routine that seems to work well. (Yet I, in an obvious state of deliriousness, decided it’d be fun to read 265 pages of a business novel (apparently this genre exists) in five days, on top of lab reports (torturous, in case you were wondering), exams, and other homework.)

The good news is that this semester is already a million times better than the last, and it’s only been four weeks. I think I prefer the more relaxed pace of spring semester over the rushed and, while completely exciting, rather hectic and stressful fall semester (football games and all).

While I’ve been away, there’s certainly not been a lack of delicious cooking. There was a divine gingerbread apple upside down cake, lots of Thanksgiving deliciousness, a really awesome cranberry wild rice, better-than-Starbucks cranberry bliss bars, and plenty of soup. And also my beginning-of-the-semester treat to myself: cheesecake for dinner, enjoyed while watching Friends in bed. Don’t judge.

But there’s also been lots of oatmeal. A lot. It’s almost too embarrassing to admit how much.

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You’re probably noticing a few changes in this space, too. I’ve thought a lot about these changes. I think it was important for me to take a break from this blog for an extended period. It really made me miss it.

I’m the kind of person who loves the idea of keeping a journal but is awful at keeping one. For this reason I really admire my mom, who has had a blog for nearly five years (!) and a series of Moleskine journals documenting the last five-plus years of her life.

If I’ve learned anything over these last two months of hibernation, it’s that I really miss blogging. I miss the connections I get to make with other bloggers, the thrill of seeing a creation published, and, most of all, the writing process. Writing is my oldest passion; it’s something I’ve kept with me in one form or another for half of my life. I really missed it.

When I started this blog eighteen months ago I wanted it to be strictly food-driven. I’m not actually sure why I thought keeping a food blog would be so easy while starting college, but then again I had a lot of expectations of college life dashed when I was a freshman.

But, as an engineering student, I’ve found that I really need a creative outlet. There’s only so many computer science and stochastics problems I can do before I go totally crazy. I am a soulful college girl, after all.

I’m going to see how it goes, but for now I want to shift the focus from cooking and baking to my life—everything from the music I’ve been listening to, cool things I stumble upon (but not on StumbleUpon, a site I really loathe), and other random bits and pieces. And, I suspect, from time to time there will also be a few culinary creations, because I might be the only person who is completely inspired by the thought of a graham cracker “cookie” that is legitimately just a buttery graham cracker crust. (Can someone please make this happen? Am I totally crazy for having craved this for the last two weeks?!)

So welcome to the new soulful college girl. I hope you like what you find here.