Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere! I want it more than I can tell.

Yes, this was the title of my last post, and it's a phrase that's been on repeat in my head lately {and not just because I've been listening to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack on repeat for the last few weeks}. I've really been feeling a sense of wanderlust and craving for adventure lately, and the feeling just won't go away {nor do I want it to!}.

The last few nights, I've laid awake in bed just thinking about all of the things I want to do in my life. I want to travel and explore and experience the world in so many different ways.

Honestly, I think Beauty and the Beast is part of the reason I've been feeling this way. It may sound silly, but that movie just really got me thinking about adventure in the great wide somewhere! I really relate to Belle and her longing for grand experiences. It's not that I'm unhappy or stuck where I am; I've never really felt that way at all. I absolutely love where I am and where I come from, but I really want to experience new and exciting places.

She was blindly following whatever impulse moved her, as if she had placed herself in alien hands for direction, and freed her soul of responsibility.

It is a time to refresh! There are many reasons to let go and relax a little bit right now, which always helps me to feel refreshed. While I'm not the biggest fan of change, as you know, endings and beginnings can be good and exciting. I've got three exciting and refreshing changes happening right now, so I wanted to share a little bit about them with you.

The semester is over

Another semester at the University of Iowa has come to an end. It's hard to believe that I've finished five semesters at Iowa and only have two left. Having only two semesters left technically makes me a senior, and I've got many mixed emotions about that.

This semester went by so fast, and it may have been my busiest semester yet. While I took fewer semester hours, I also had an internship this semester. Logging on and working during those set hours during the week meant there was less time during the day to do homework, which meant I was doing more of it at night. Overall, my internship was an amazing experience, and I'm so happy that I did it. It's hard to find internships to do during school, so being able to do it remotely worked out perfectly. I didn't post much of my work throughout the semester, so if you want to check out everything I wrote for Her Campus (nationals) during the semester, you can check out my author page.

It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.

I've never really been one to stand up for myself.

Usually I'm content with just going with the flow, which can be a good thing. It's good to be flexible and to just go with it. But sometimes being so passive can result in letting people walk all over you. I'll admit it: I've let people walk all of over, take advantage of me. I just let people do what they want, and I go along with it simply because it's easier than standing up and making waves. And usually I've been okay with that, but lately I've started speaking up more.

If something's bothering me—whether it's with my friends or my roommates or my classmates or my professors, even—I've started voicing my opinion. I'm not that great at it yet, but I'm learning how to stand up for myself day by day.

Confrontation is still not my favorite thing in the world. In fact, it's probably one of my least favorite things. But I've learned that it's a necessary life skill, so I'm trying to become better at it.

You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand.

I have a love-hate relationship with the word shy. And with the word introvert. And with the words quiet and wallflower. Though people usually use these words to describe me, they sometimes use them without knowing what they really mean. So I thought I would clear a few things up about these words, particularly in the way they apply to me.

I'm the first person to admit that I am shy or an introvert. As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, I prefer to step back and listen and observe rather than jump in and speak all the time. Don't get me wrong, I'll speak up when I have something to say or when I want to be heard, but most of the time I prefer to take it all in.