Day 6

Nothing gets the creative juices flowing like a midnight breakfast. 

And 22 hours later...

A portfolio including 4 compositions, two of those compositions revised (all in Spanish) and a reflective essay about my experience in the class.

A 10-page paper from the perspective of the Ann Taylor parent company, ANN INC. on Rana Plaza (an eight-story building that housed multiple garment factories collapsed in Bangladesh in 2013 and killed over 1,000 people) and what they are doing as a company to prevent issues like this from ever occurring again.

And a whopping 15-page argumentative essay on why Mindy Kaling and her show The Mindy Project perfectly encapsulate postfeminism themes.

It's safe to say Junior year kicked my ass...

But I think I kicked it right back.

Praying I receive that Dean's List letter in the next few weeks. It will be my first time making it since I started at Shepherd, and I can't think of a better way to showcase my accomplishments as I *finally* turn 21 and start my Senior year.

Everything is going pretty great right now.

So why do I have this terrible feeling in my gut?

Maybe it's from the three carne asada tacos, rice, beans, chips and salsa, queso and guac, AND churros I ate tonight for my sister's 10th birthday.

Maybe it's the fact that my sister is now double digits and watching every move I make that much closer...

But maybe it's something more.

I just have this anxiousness like I'm forgetting something. That can't be true though because all my papers plus the books I have to return plus the form I have to turn in to financial aid are sitting on the front table with a sticky note on top. 

Maybe it's because I don't think my papers are good enough. Considering I waited until the absolute last day and then feverishly wrote over a span of 8 hours while simultaneously taking breaks for Snapchat I'd say they probably didn't reach their full potential. 

However, I am also delusionally confident in my ability to bullshit a paper that will earn me an 'A' for the semester. Here's an excerpt from my Mindy paper:

            "Part of what makes "The Mindy Project" such a great postfeminist platform is its refusal to commit to any one role. Dr. Lahiri is not just a successful gynecologist in Manhattan that eventually will start her own fertility clinic. She is not just the outrageous outfits she dresses herself in or the white boys she obsesses over. She is not just the token colored person of the office. Mindy, both as her character and in real life, represent the highest form of gender fluidity in 2016. That is to say you can rock curves and love trash TV and yet be successful in your career all while being a single parent and you can depend on your friends and family for some things and yet be self-sufficient all at the same time. Postfeminism is about being the best "you" you can be whether that means becoming a doctor or taking a year off from school to travel the world or not going to school at all because you know it isn't for you. It's about not taking crap from anyone about the choices you make and still respecting people's opinion of you and knowing when to ask for help from the people that matter to you. It's about not letting your race or sexual preference or occupation define you but embracing that those things at the same time make you who you are. All of these things combined are what I believe make Mindy- both the actress and the character she plays- a good role model for postfeminism."

Inspirational, right? (And that's just the conclusion!) So it's definitely not my writing. Maybe I just haven't taken the time to myself the last few days. No, I know I haven't. But now I am done (after one last test tomorrow morning). So for now, I will try to relax- and hopefully finish Mindy's book Why Not Me? tonight. For all of you about to experience Hell Week, for the first or last time, I leave you with this, a quote from my spirit animal herself. (Spending the last day researching every tidbit of her life and career has made me fall that much more in love with her).

"Someday you will have the power to make a difference in the world, so use it well" -Mindy Kaling

Another? ""Why the fuck not me?" should be your motto" -Mindy Kaling