The Panicky Pigeon

I love Snapchat. A lot.

Have you embraced it yet?

If you don't know what Snapchat is or you don't really understand it, allow me to explain. Snapchat lets you send a picture or a short video with a small caption to a friend (or multiple friends). Sounds like what we've already been able to do for years via text, right? WRONG, because here's the catch: Once they look at the picture or video, it disappears! It's gone forever!!

Get it? No? I didn't understand Snapchat at first either. What's the point of sending all these funny pictures that are just going to disappear? Or what if I look really good that day and I don't want the selfie I sent to disappear?? Or what if someone else looks really good and I don't want their selfie to disappear??? WHAT IF THOSE 7 SECONDS WERE JUST NOT ENOUGH?!?!?

"Just wait until you get to Provo," a friend told me. "You'll be forced to learn to use it." Well, ain't that the truth!

After a lot of practice, Snapchat makes perfect sense to me now. I mean, how else would we let our friends know exactly what we're doing, and how we're feeling, and how we're feeling about what we're doing?

There are so many ways you can use Snapchat, many of which involve selfies. It's sort of a dream come true for me, because, well... I love selfies. Am I allowed to admit that? I love them both for their comedic element and for the fact that I am in control of holding the camera above eye level so I'll never have an unintentional double chin. I ask you, is that so wrong??

Ways to put your selfies to good use include:

To complain...

Which might explain......

Just FYI I got an A in that class *hollaaaa*

To make fun of Mom...

She gave me permish to post this Louis Tomlinson
look-alike pic

To brag...

Best nightttt

Pretty sure I only sent this to my sisters... Is this why they hate me?

To brag specifically about Taco Bell...

Покой царит

To showcase your rebellion...

Yeah, we dyed our hair blue. It washed out the next morning
when I went running in the rain. Don't worry, Mom!

And let's not forget my favorite use of Snapchat: To be straight up weird...

Wut.

The majesty of the bald eagle.

The garbage bags in the background
really add to the ambience

Pics or it didn't happen

At 6 pm

*Tears actually brought on by laughter at my mom

Snapchat is the most effective way to share special moments such as these with our friends and loved ones.

I will admit, I'm a little sad that the snaps have to disappear after you watch them. I mean, obviously some snaps are completely ridiculous, but sometimes it would be nice to look back on the memories we've documented with our snaps!

Maybe that's just a depressing metaphor for our generation - we put all this time into creating our image for vanity's sake, only to find that all our efforts will soon disappear and be forgotten...

... I, however, like to think about it more positively. Snapchat is a refreshing reminder that, unlike Instagram would have us believe, the most important thing in life isn't getting tons of likes. By sharing the sometimes mundane details of our day, we can strengthen our ties with our friends even from afar. And, as stupid as it may sound, sometimes a well-timed snap has a way of turning a particularly lousy day into a sort of happy one.

So, Snapchat, I think I'll keep you.

Ready to hear my feelings about One Direction? Because I've got a lot of 'em. I think this might be my best post ever! *sing to the tune of Best Song Ever*

Be prepared for a lot of gifs, a lot of adorable, and a lot of me being really pathetic.

So, some of you may have noticed my seemingly sudden obsession with the group One Direction. I feel I should explain a bit of my history with these lads.

Ah, the early years

From the moment I heard their first single, "What Makes You Beautiful," back in my freshman year of college, I knew I would love One Direction. What I didn't know is that they'd stick around so long! I continued on the next few years as a normal human being who appreciated the adorable UK boy band - reading the occasional 1D update, watching their music videos here and there, googling when and where their concerts will be in hopes I could attend one, and getting a little offended on their behalf when ignorant, jealous guys my age insulted them.

Then I went on my mission. I think I was supposed to get more mature. The problem was that Harry, Zayn, Liam, Louis, and Niall also became more mature.

How could we not be obsessed?

Soon after I returned from listening solely to MoTab for a year and a half, the latest One Direction album, Four, was released. 1D had a lot of real top notch songs before. But for Pete's sake, Four just blew me away! It was the antidote to my weird post-mission limbo of undefined music taste - I needed Four.

My love of One Direction only increased from there.

Steal My Girl? Come on.

THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR NIGHT CHANGES RUINED ME

Let's play a game: Pick your favorite boy! Now pick your ideal date! Now pick your favorite boy in combination with his featured date! IT'S TOO MUCH.

It's just really convenient that there's a boy band filled with VERY cute boys my age who happen to have adorable british/irish accents and hilarious senses of humor (or should I say "humour"). How could I pass up such a perfect opportunity? Each boy has something to love:

Let's start with Harry Styles.

I, personally, think he was cuter when he was younger. Is that creepy? But he's obviously still cute now. Just very tatted up.

"I'm gonna win ya!" Yeah, you are.

What a charmer. Plus, his voice makes me want to swim to the UK and ask him to marry me.

We obsess over him not only for his looks, but for his personality. With his sly sense of humor and vast collection of expressive faces, we can't help but love him.

[HEART EYES EMOJI]

Awkward...

Wut.

Dat face, tho...

We also love how he says "rubbish" all the time.

And apparently he's caught on to the fact that we love it when he touches his face?

Give the people what they want.

And what we really can't resist? That clever, winning, classic Harry smile.

Yes. Just yes.

"Harry" rhymes with "marry," just throwin' that out there...

Now on to Niall Horan:

What's not to love about Niall? Can't think of anything, can you? He's perfect!

That infectious laugh...

Oh, Anne, you're such a funny lass

That Irish accent...

The rosy cheeks, maybe?

Just daydreaming of Anne

You know I like my boys with blonde hair and blue eyes (shout-out to my actual boyfriend - who I like more than Niall, just to be clear heh heh)...

Oh! Anne, you are so gorgeous.

Lack of tattoos anyone?

His body is a temple. Too far? Can't tell anymore.

Not to mention how he keeps us entertained with his constant antics.

Just skiing off to meet Anne!

WARNING: If you look him up, it can be very easy to get sucked into a Niall-vortex and you won't be able to stop looking at pictures and watching videos of him for days. (But if you do look him up, might I recommend starting with a "Niall laughing gifs" google search?)

Oh, how I love my Nialler. Can you tell that he's my favorite member of 1D?

Okay, okay, I could go on for days talking about Niall, so I'll move on to...

Liam Payne:

He was born just three days after me. Coincidence? I think not! Totes followed me to earth.

You're all welcome.

Don't try to choose which member of One Direction is the cutest. You'll just hurt yourself. But if you had to choose, Liam would be a serious contender.

Need more evidence?

Obviously the most built member of 1D.

So brooding.

Hey, here he is with a puppy, in case you felt like ugly crying right now:

BRB, DEAD.

*BONUS: Let's just enjoy more puppy pictures...

I can't even.

Anyway, back to Liam!

Sometimes I feel like people forget about Liam because his personality isn't as crazy as some of the other boys. But I like Liam because he seems the most normal!

Plus his X-factor audition was, like, way better than the others. His voice is killer.

Liam's the one I know I really should like the best.

Louis Tomlinson:

I tend to like Louis's outfits the best.

And his moves are always on point.

He's so into it! Some of the other boys are struggling (I see you, Niall and Zayn, bless your beautiful, beautiful hearts). *Side note: I think One Way or Another is one of my favorite videos*

Look up "sassy Louis gifs." You won't be disappointed.

Okay, so there you have my (extremely abridged) opinions on the current members of One Direction. Are you ready to talk Zayn? Things are about to get real, just fair warning.

Zayn Malik controversy:

I'll admit it, Zayn broke my heart a little when he left the band. My friends in my Russian class can attest to the fact that my eyes teared up when I found out, although I insist it was due mostly to shock and not completely to sadness.

Based solely on looks, Zayn used to be my favorite. But all that changed. *cue Night Changes*

Can't blame me for being sad he left, right?

I've always said, be careful when it comes to boys with dark eyelashes. They're always going to hurt you in the end. Okay, I never said that until Zayn left 1D, but now I know it's true!

Here's how I feel about it: If he didn't want to be there and he was going to flake out on the group all the time, it's better that he left. Watching videos of him, you can tell the twinkle in his eye was dimming toward his last year in the group.

So, yeah, he ruined a lot of our lives. But we're just happy he's happy now.

One more Zayn pic, shall we?

iloveyouiloveyouiloveyou

Let's not talk about this anymore, it makes me sad. Let's just say, I'm veryveryvery glad One Direction is still going strong without dear Zayn.

Just being four of the cutest lads around

Throughout the semester when I needed a homework break or something to keep me going while preparing for cleaning checks, they were always there for me.