A record stuck in an excitement rut.

12 days until I graduate! Not that I'm counting or anything.

Along with this blog, I often have thoughts about wanting to post online in general more. Or at least improve the quality/content of what I post. Aside from varied demands on my time I have one other big hang-up that impedes this from happening.

Life is too spectacularly great. Or I'm too confoundedly happy. Or both.

Why is this a problem?

I suspect that I sound like a broken record. And I don't want to sound like a broken record.

Half of the things I invent to tweet, aside from being too meaningless even for Twitter, usually read something like this: "That makes me really happy."; or, "I'm loving life."; or, "Today was a good day."

For those who only see things from the outside, I promise my life is more than "sunshine, daisies, butter mellow," but I don't like spreading around negativity, nor do I usually have time enough to conjure up something more witty and compelling to say than, "I'm excited!"

But I think I do have a right to be excited. Perhaps. Aside from the unusual moments that come along in my life, my day-to-day living usually presents something to enjoy. My family makes me laugh. All the time. Especially my brothers. I'm not sure the average number of calories a person burns in a day or week, but I'd be willing to guess that my total is above average.

School also offers much to relish. The things I do in class are usually more than mildly interesting. Sometimes even extraordinarily interesting. Aside from that, the place is swarming with people. Highly populated areas always provide much to capture my attention. People-watching is one of my favorite pastimes. And I always seem to run across the most delightful persons.

I've often thought that cameras should follow me around. It's not that I'm seeking my own reality TV show (heaven forbid), but the funniest, most awkward, most entertaining things happen around me consistently. In the age of blogs and YouTube, it seems like a shame for the rest of the world to not have a chance to see it.

Added to all of this are things which come along that don't happen every day. Some of them happen more than others, and some truly are once-in-a-lifetime experiences. All of them are appreciated. Some recent examples are:

• My cousin and childhood best friend got married, and her husband happens to be another one of my best friends.
• I went to Wisconsin for the first time, the furthest north I have ever been, and caught my first glimpse of Chicago along the way.
• Several of my out-of-town friends have come for visits, and we've done lots of exploring and had many adventures on every occasion.
  
• After living in Nashville for 12 years, I went to the Opryland Hotel for the first time.
• I watched my dad finally graduate from college last spring.
• This spring, I'm going to be the one graduating!

Interwoven through all of this are people. I have some of the greatest friends and family members in the world. For someone who used to be too shy to speak to her own shadow and is still more introverted than some people might ever guess, the relationships I have are beyond imagination. The nights I spend staying up late talking to my family, usually my brother and/or mom, are too numerous to calculate. They have been so integral in the development of who I am and have cultivated a love of and willingness/desire to really get to the heart of a person or a situation. I cherish any connection that I make with a person, even if it's a brief exchange in the elevator, but I've grown to be open to those elevator moments becoming something profound, and quite often profound moments crop up in the first ten minutes of meeting someone. Life is more fulfilling when lived this way.

And the people I feel a deep connection to are spread all over the place. It's also beyond imagination how the girl I used to be could manage to know so many people beyond the immediate vicinity where I live. But God saw fit to let my horizons expand. And I've moved from place to place, bonding with people along the way, and have (quite unexpectedly on my part) bonded with some people in the comfort of my own armchair through the glorious invention known as the Internet. Although I certainly advise caution and do not recommend letting down your cyber-guard for just anyone, don't rule out the possibility of making friends in the right context. I'm living proof that it's possible and that some people out there really are who they claim to be. And meeting them in person isn't nearly as awkward as you might expect. It might actually be one of the most natural meetings you will ever experience.

So apologies that I don't have anything new to say. At the risk of continuing to sound like a broken record, maybe when I graduate I'll be able to be more compelling. I don't know why that's so important to me. Perhaps it's because I tend to see the world as something with infinite intrigue. And when representing it, I want to pass the magnitude of that intrigue on to others. Mostly in hopes that they will be as enamored with life as I am. That's probably a bigger task than I realize.

But what's life without a challenge? Boring, that's what.