I’d like you all to know that tonight I am posting straight from my head. Ordinarily, I have pre-crafted funny paragraphs floating around whenever the time strikes me, I write them up, and save them for later when inspiration is at an all time low and my archives are the only interesting things I can offer up. Weeks ago, I crafted a blog post dedicated to the best day or, arguably, week of the year: my birthday. It was stuffed to the brim with tasty stories of me as a child, and pictures for reinforcement. I realized though into my second paragraph that my birthday wasn't really about me, or only in the literal sense, without my wonderful friends and family that made September the Fourth so wonderful. Author’s note: capitalization for effect. So today’s post is for you, as a thank you to everyone in my life that made Tuesday such a wonderful day to wake up and celebrate me; those that I came home to, and the ones far and near that I wish I could, and to those who took time to make sure my birthday was memorable. This is for you, thank you.

My incredible roommate Molly crafted these cupcake-cone cakes for me, just like the ones my mom made for me to share the first week of school, up until the e-coli outbreak banned birthday treats from classrooms everywhere. One kid gets diarrhea and it's prepackaged Little Debbies for everyone. I might also add, these delicious cakes are perched upon a wonderful pillow I call the Sunday Times, a treat that Molly sister brought to me Sunday morning.

Aside from celebrations, my senior year has commenced! I will be officially graduating in spring with a double major in biological aspects of conservation and environmental studies. Classes are going very well so far, or as well as I can tell in four days. Of my five classes, two are being taught by Karen Strier, an expert in the field of primatology, who is doing research on the muriqui monkeys of Brazil.

Needless to say, I am very excited to see how my Primate Behavioral Ecology and Primate Conservation classes progress! Due to necessity and nothing else, I’ll also be taking an introduction to statistics this semester, as well as an environmental ethics course that is focused on climate change and ethics around the food industry and consumerism. Some of the best people I know are vegetarians, and I understand and respect different opinions around consuming meat. But that won’t stop me from sharing arguable the best beef bourguignon recipe out there. Don’t worry, more to come on that. And finally, I’ll once again be taking orchestra this semester! Nothing fancy, no auditions, but another semester to keep playing, keep the brain ripe, and reduce some stress.

I’ll leave you at that; much more to come once things settle down and the hot muggy nights fade into something much more enjoyable.