Joshua Tree.

I am almost ashamed that it has taken me almost four years to make it up to Joshua Tree National Park. Before going all I knew about it was that U2 had an album named after the iconic tree (which to be honest is by itself a good enough reason to visit). 

Pre-wilderness. 

Phil's next album cover. 

Jumbo Rocks.  

Moral of the story is that although Joshua Tree is about three hours away from San Diego, it is definitely worth the drive.

It is beginning to look a lot like finals.

As I sit at a starbucks in sunny San Diego, I hear over the radio various Christmas anthems including "Baby it's cold outside." Ironic. 

Finals week has commenced and I am feeling anything but motivation to study for finals. The only thing that has lifted my spirits as it relates to classes is the discovery of a life-changing pandora radio station called 'Avatar film score.' This station is incredible. It is a continuous station that has the most epic soundtrack from movies such as Avatar, Lord of The Rings, Gladiator, Da vinci Code, etc. 

Listening to such music makes studying thermodynamics and chemical kinetics almost bearable. In the least, it makes it seem like I am doing something more important that differential equations. (even though I'm not). 

Although I don't have elaborate explanations for the photos below, I thought I would still share as they are random fragments from my life the last couple weeks. 

A John Muir quote at the museum of photographic arts in balboa park, san diego. 

Luke, Doug, and I after receiving the Molecular Science Award. 

Only a class like Pchem could make me do this on a saturday morning.

Until next time. 

San Diego and fake winters.

So I like to act like San Diego actually has seasons. It doesn't. I'm pretty sure I like the idea of seasons, but I don't really know if I would like the whole shoveling snow bit. Nonetheless, every year about this time, which coincidentally is when classes get the most crazy, the weather gets slightly colder and if we're lucky we get San Diego's version of snow; really cold rain. Saturday was one of those days.

On Saturday, Julianna and I being hiking enthusiasts, decided hiking would be a good way to celebrate her birthday. We thought it only acting like it was going to rain, but we were wrong. We got to the halfway point of a 7-mile hike and the floodgates opened and it started pouring. Once at the top, the only thing that could be more romantic than a picnic/hike, would be trying to eat the aforementioned sandwhich as fast as possible before it became soggy. Overall a great success (although my trunk still has wet hiking boots in it).

This computer screen....

This computer screen tells me I am officially registered for my last semester of classes at PLNU. I know you cannot see the actual classes, but one of them listed is outdoor adventures. Now that is what I call a liberal arts education. 

Medical school here I come.

This is the way Fridays should always start:

Breakfast burrito and latte. 

This weekend we have fall break which I'm still trying to figure out why we even have fall break (not that I am complaining). For the past several weeks I have been traveling to medical schools around the country, most of which in the midwest. The trips have been exciting, exhausting, and surprising all at the same time. It has been really interesting visiting new places and realizing that my time at Point Loma is coming to a close in the next several months. Very strange.

But all of that to say, I am excited to finally have a weekend to spend in San Diego. So here is to quite possibly the most beautiful city in the united states. 

Also, more related to school, I got my first acceptance to medical school this past Monday. It is surreal knowing that I will actually be a medical student come next fall. I am grateful that all the hard work has paid off and am incredibly lucky to have had the support of family, friends, and Point Loma professors and classmates through this crazy process of preparing/applying to medical school. This is where I shamelessly plug the PLNU pre-med program. It has been absolutely amazing, and would love to talk to any prospective students about it, even if pre-med only sounds remotely interesting to you. 

Until next time. 

The craziest two months so far.

So I am back at Point Loma.
I am a senior.
I am engaged.
I am interviewing at medical schools.

Pretty packed two months eh?

Most importantly, I am engaged. Besides being shocked she said yes, I am absolutely ecstatic. After much planning and preparation, I proposed to Julianna. I had asked her if we could go on a date, and told her I'd pick her up at 3:00pm. When it was almost 3:00 I left flowers and note saying I was running late and asked her to meet me at a huge tree on campus (which is where I first told here I loved her). Then when she got to the tree there was a bunch of black and white photos mounted on black matte board. On the outsides of the tree were photos of things that have been significant to each of our journeys separately, such as study abroad, missions trips, summer jobs, etc. As the photos got closer to the center of the tree the photos were of us together and experiences we have shared. Once she had looked at all the photos there was a laptop sitting on the nearby bench that had instructions to watch the video on the desktop. The video was of me cutting, mounting, and organizing all the photos as I am narrating why I had chosen certain photos and the significance of the tree. The last line of the video asked her to turn around because I had a question for her. (You can probably guess what question that was)

The definition of nervous wreck. 

Let the wedding planning begin. 

In the midst of my blog absence, I made my way back to the US from Costa Rica in August. Just in case I haven't said it before, if it is even remotely possible to study abroad during your time in college; DO IT. Such an amazing experience. Below is the photo with my host family the night before we all left.

Costa Rica Recap

Costa Rica from Chris Evans on Vimeo.

Lastly, I have started interviewing for medical schools, actually I am writing this blog from the airport waiting for a flight to my next interview. It is crazy to think I will be living in a new place in less than a year.

That was confusing.

So after two months of a blog account login mishap, I finally have access to my own blog again. Victory.

I promise the next entry will be worth the wait. At least I hope. In the mean time, watch this video of Bon Iver. Hands down the BEST concert I have ever been to. Unreal.