Step 59 Part C: Stand Your Ground

I told you guys today would be more exciting; though, I wasn't expecting the excitement to be first thing in the morning in the hotel parking lot--or so upsetting.

My mom and I were leaving our hotel in Bismark, North Dakota (I was wearing a wolf shirt) when a guy called to us across the parking lot and asked if we wanted to hear about how cruel the wolves are to the moose in Montana. "You know what piranha are? That's what wolves do to the moose."

People, I've done my research. I'm not just some crazy hippie who wants to look longingly into a wolf's eye and have a deep meaningful connection (and no offense to those who are--just, don't stare a wolf in the eye--that's a sign of aggression). I've looked at the "SAVE THE MOOSE" websites and seen the gory pictures. I've read the articles about farmers "losing" money when a wild animal kills their livestock. But you know what... the wolves are just acting in their natural way. Moose die. They get ripped to shreds by a hungry pack. They get eaten. Cows die. Sometimes wolves realize it's easier to get a penned in animal than a wild one. The government is supposed to be paying the farmers when this happens. This is life.

But of course, I couldn't say any of this to the angry white man. I was too busy trying not to cry as he confronted my mom. Not that it would have done any good. My mom tried arguing with him, and he just turned the piranhas on her.

I don't understand why people have to get so mean. I didn't care if he liked moose. We didn't go up to him and ask him to support wolves. I was just wearing a wolf shirt, minding my own business, excited to finally get back to Yellowstone. And because of him I was afraid to get out of the car the rest of the trip though ND.

I know I should be expecting this kind of prejudice. I know I shouldn't let it get to me. I know I should be prepared to defend the animals that I've loved since I was in second grade. But it's really hard when they get so rude about it. I'm naturally a shy, nervous girl anyways--throw in a stranger who is, by my definition and no one elses, yelling at me, and I run.

You shouldn't have to run away from the stuff you love though. I might not like arguments, but I do love wolves. And if someone wants to talk to me about how vicious they are, I will give them their chance. I'll listen to what they have to say, learn more about what is perceived of wolves, and when they've gotten their views out, I'll politely ask (not yell across a parking lot) if they'd like to hear my opinion. If they do, then I'll know they're good people who's concerns are just different from my own. If they don't, I'll know they're dicks whose opinions don't really matter and hopefully be able to laugh it off and feel secure enough to get out of the car when I have to pee, haha! :)

Step 59 Part B: Drive Through the Hometown of the Ringling Brother's Circus

Baraboo's not just a great name for a dog--it's also the sketchy little town that brought us one of the greatest circuses of America! The only downside is the lack of Zanzibar chocolate ice cream.

Step 59 Part A: Head Out West!

It's been a long time since I last traveled westward, but not much has changed. My mom and I still left an hour later than we said we would; got stuck in traffic; laughed at weird sights along the road (plastic cows standing on top of a propane tank were pretty funny); ate lunch at a cute little local restaurant in Crown Point that served a dish they called "Viking" (which of course I got--it was ok, but instead of American pancakes it came with skinny Swedish pancakes which are not quite as good); sang songs; and got lost around nasty Chicago and ended up headed to not-Minesota-Milwaukee, which didn't end up being such a bad thing 'cause we were still headed in the general direction of our hotel in Wisconsin.

All this, and this was the shortest day of travel! Tomorrow's 10 hours should be interesting (and by interesting I mean so boring that we both go crazy and start pretending that we're Hans Solo and Chewy driving through space, making little pew sounds as we shoot at all the semis driving past). Keep an eye on my blog to hear about all the adventures as my mom and I make our way to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park!

Step 58: Get WAY too Excited About a Children's Movie

Yes. Costumes were involved. Toy dragons were bought, a screening of the first How to Train Your Dragon movie was enjoyed while eating food from a Chinese restaurant named Happy Dragon (and one of us might have eaten a sea food dish, since fish is the primary diet of dragons), duck-faced selfies were taken, and pets were abused. All of this for a sequel to a children's movie.

Man, was it worth it. And not just because the movie was awesome (if you'd like to read my full opinion on it, you can check out my review by clicking here). It was worth it because even though I'm a college grad who's admittedly probably a tad bit too enthusiastic when it comes to children's stories (for this series alone, I've watched all the mini movies, every episode of the television series, and have even gotten through 8 of the 11 books), I was still able to find other college grads who had an appropriate amount of excitement for such affairs and joined (or tried to join) me in watching a movie that I'd been waiting to see since the credits started rolling at the end of the first film. Friends from college and friends from my hometown came together to see the early showing of How to Train Your Dragon 2 with me, and when you think about it, how often do your college buddies intermingle with your childhood friends?

That's why you should get WAY too excited about about a children's movie at least once in your life. Heck, I'll even allow getting way too excited  for a young adult movie. It's just gotta be one where you've got a special bond between it and a bunch of your friends--one where you can have a really good time with it. The How to Train Your Dragon series has been one of the best for me because it brought together everyone from middle school librarians, crazed college age kids, reluctant 20-somethings, and mature young adults in a fun way. Even the ones who weren't able to make it to the early showing were part of the discussions and had the "joy" of listening to me freak out. :)

So, my question to you: What's a movie that you and your friends get pumped about? Back in the good old days, it was Harry Potter for me.
And my challenge to you: Go see How to Train Your Dragon 2!

Step 57: Start Writing Reviews

This is a blog post actually promoting my new blog, How to Enjoy a Movie After College. I highly recommend reading the new site's "About this Blog" to get a better idea about why I'm writing movie reviews now and how I'm going to do it, but the jist of it all is, I just wanted to give it a try. I love watching movies and eating popcorn and getting lost in the story only to be pulled back when the audience erupts in laughter or sobs or applause. I like to talk about the movie afterwards and argue with my friends about who was the cutest character because that's way more important than the deeper messages of the film. And I like to write about movies (my fifth blog post on this site was about children's movies, for crying out loud!).

So, I figured it was time to make it all official (or as official as I can be--I haven't really written movie reviews before, so this should be interesting). I'd also like to note that if you're interested in reading any of my book reviews, you can click on the little bookshelf to the right. Like my movie reviews, it's something new that I'm starting, so the selection of books to check out is small and the reviews aren't always that great. But it might give you some ideas of new books to read!

So, my question to you: What movies and/or books should I review? Heck, I might even go so far as to review tv shows and plays if this all goes well.
And my challenge to you: Check out the Fault in Our Stars (both the movie and the book). Even if you're not into romances, you've gotta support your local authors and Indiana!

Step 56: Join the 21st Century

This post is going to be very short. You want to know why? Because I'm writing it up on my brand new smart phone using my brand new Blogger app! Exciting, yes?

Well, sort of. Though I am super stoked to have a smart phone and do all the importa t smart phone things (take selfies, look at funny cat pictures when I'm on break at work, and be disappointed when there's no new Facebook updates from the last time I checked the site three minutes ago), I still haven't quite gotten used to the touch keyboard. It's very small and very sensitive. If it weren't for auto correct, you guys probably wouldn't be able to understand a single thing I type.

So I don't think I'll be using my Blogger app very often to give your not - daily - advice on surviving life after college--I'll continue to be an old fart that likes to stick to the old ways of laptops and flashdrives--but it's nice to know that if I needed to do an impromptu blog or if I didn't want to lug my clunky computer across the world I could use my phone in a pinch.

So, my question to you: What's your favorite smartphone app?
And my challenge to you:  Not really sure how I can set a challenge for something that most of you already know way more about than me!

Step 55: Get Swept Up with Life

I never realized how busy life could be. I completely missed some major milestones this past month because I was too busy creating a super germ with my cold from hell and the sick dogs at the humane society, going crazy with my friends, helping my car fight through her cancer, joining the 21st century, and doing dishes. The biggest milestone being that I've survived my first year out of college! (And knowing that the few adventures listed above are only a small sampling of the what I've done with my first year of academic freedom, it's a miracle that I've made it this far!)

The second big milestone was on May 13--My first blog post. I'm a little bummed that I missed that anniversary. I should have written some grand reflective blog and looked to the future of this site, but instead I think I was blowing enough snot out of my nose to open up a hospital for snails with mucus deficiencies.

I do have a lot of plans that I want to accomplish with my writing (both here in this blog and outside of it), but since this particular post is about getting caught up in life I'll keep on flowing along and leave those words to be written another time. That's what we do when we get swept up with life--we put off one thing in exchange to do something else, and sometimes we miss really excellent opportunities. But the nice thing about life is the fact that even better opportunities are usually right around the corner.

So, my question to you: What's something that you regret missing?
And my challenge to you: Slow down and take a breather from life if you need to--sometimes it can be overwhelming when your constantly on the move.