Those Friends

So you know those friends you used to be so comfortable around and could say anything and not feel judged? Those friends where you’ve tried getting a hold of but never get back to you. Those friends you buy/do everything for but they give you nothing in return. Those friends who all get together but leave you out of it, or leave you out of a social media post and it makes you feel excluded, like you don’t belong. Well, I’m not talking about those friends.

I’m talking about the friends where you can go into a screaming rage and they look at you like you’re normal. You don’t feel judged. You feel like you can say anything without having to worry what others will think of you. You can finally be yourself and who you’re meant to be. The friends where you run from one side of the parking lot to the other side just to jump in their arms with a massive bear hug. They don’t put you in awkward situations and are always positive about everything. Those are the friends I want to be surrounded by for the rest of my life. I found those friends.

Today I went to my college baseball teams home game with a few of my close friends. A couple of friends I hadn’t seen in a long time and we’ve never ran faster through the parking lot to greet each other. We tailgated before the game with the music blaring in the car, and all of us singing at the top of our lungs not caring what other people were thinking. Drinks in our hands and the talk fest begins. Millions of pictures were taken and inside jokes that will last a life time. We all yelled our lungs out during the game to the point where I, personally, almost lost my voice.

I love baseball. I love friends. But I love friends who bring out the best and loudest of me the most. They’ve seen the true me and some of my friends haven’t seen the changed me yet. I don’t think they will but that’s okay because I have these friends who are getting to know me like the back of their hand. I was very light and carefree today for the first time in a long time and my heart was just filled with joy.

Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover

People are beyond judgmental and rude no matter where you go. People will look at you funny, at least one person will say something about you to the friend they’re with, people will think you’re weird and some people just don’t have a filter.

When I first meet people they usually think I’m three things.

1. Shy- because I don’t talk that much. I’m usually in the back of the classroom reading a book (I have branched out more and I couldn’t be happier about that). I also don’t want to say anything stupid and embarrass myself right off the bat.

2. Smart- I guess this is because I “look” smart (That’s what I’ve been told) and tend to focus on my studies over hanging out with friends, especially if it’s a big assignment. What people don’t know is that I work my butt off to get a B. It’s a struggle.

3. Weird- I am a weird person but you can’t judge a book by its cover. People think I’m weird because I would rather read a book than go out every Friday night. Or I would rather hang out with my family. I just have different priorities than other people.

That’s what people think of me when I first meet them. I met this guy and he knew a girl I went to high school with and when he told her that he was hanging out with me her first words were, “Why? She’s weird.” What does that even mean? It shouldn’t have bothered me but it did because she knew nothing about me. We simply passed each other in the halls between classes without even glancing at each other. We never even said a word to each other.

Now, my real friends would describe me as:

1. Outgoing- I love to travel and go to every concert I can afford. I love hanging out with my friends and going on late night drives with them. I like the rush of hiking and seeing the view at the very top. Singing at the top of my lungs in the car with my friends and learning dances at work with some of my co-workers. Doing fun, random things is a blast to me.

2. Caring- I probably have the biggest heart. I adore my family more than anything. I may not act like it sometimes but I don’t know what I would do without them. I have lunch with my grandparents at least once a week, text my cousin and brother at least once a week just to check up on them and see how they’re doing, I visit my other grandparents at least once a week and no matter how busy and chaotic my life gets I always set aside time to hang out with my parents. People think it’s weird how close my mom and I are but I don’t see how it’s weird when no matter what I always have a best friend to look up to. Family is my number one priority.

3. Hard worker – I don’t give up easily. I push to get my grades and force myself to learn something if I’m not doing well in a class. I’m taking 18 credit hours and have a part-time job on the side. I don’t get much free time and when I do I prefer to spend it with my friends and family. I try to balance everything out to where I can keep up my grades, still have a part-time job and fit in time with my friends and family. It’s hard work but it’s worth it.

Before you judge people, take a step back and realize that they could be the complete opposite of what you’re assuming. They could end up being one of your best friends.

What do people think of you when they first meet you? Are you the complete opposite? 

Dating

Why is dating so complicated?

I went on a date the other day for the first time in a long time. After my last date I practically swore off guys and dove into my school work, and building up my friendships. I just didn’t want to go through it again and have all these confused, mixed feelings. It’s a complicated process. What do I wear? What do I talk about? Am I going to embarrass myself? What if he thinks I’m a freak? The list could go on….

The most important question… Will there be another date?

First off, after your date on your drive home or while lying in bed at night you need to ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I see a future with him?

I’ve read somewhere that after 30 seconds of conversation with someone, women know if they’re interested or not. I believe that’s true. When talking with someone you find out if you have anything in common, and if you don’t then you might want to turn the other way because your future will be very dull and boring.

By saying, “Do I see a future with him?” I don’t want anyone to start thinking about marriage.I’m not talking about that kind of future, let’s not jump the gun too fast. I’m talking about do you see yourself going out a second time or potentially in the future do you see him/her meeting your parents/family?

2. Was I thinking about someone else while on the date? 

Do you think of someone while he’s talking? Do you think “oh, *so and so* wouldn’t do that.” Or “*so and so* would have opened that door for me.” If you’re still thinking of someone else, possibly an ex, then you need to take a step back and realize that you’re probably not ready to start dating yet. Don’t use a guy for a rebound or to make your ex jealous. That’s not fair to the guy you’re going on a date with.

3. Did we have anything in common?

They say opposites attract but if you have absolutely nothing in common what do you plan on talking about in the future? Don’t think “I could get into that” because more than likely you won’t. Don’t ever change for a guy anyway. I think it’s great when significant others support each other in the things their partner loves even if they don’t love it, but I’m sure they have other things in common. Having things in common is what builds bonding.

4. Did he make me laugh? 

If he made you laugh that’s a really good sign. Chalk one up in the pros column (Just kidding don’t actually make a pro and con list). Having someone you can laugh with is an obvious must in a relationship. You need someone you can have fun with and who’s going to be there to cheer you up, and make you laugh when the fun is sucked away on those dreary days. If he can make you laugh more than once in the time span of a short date then odds are he will be able to make you laugh a lot more in the future.

5. Did he constantly talk about himself?

No one needs a self-centered guy. If he asks about you then he cares and wants to get to know you. The goal on a date is to switch up who asks questions that way you both get to know each other pretty well. If he ends up just talking about himself the whole time then I would say he’s not worth your time.

Those are the questions I asked myself after my date. Are there any different questions you ask yourself? Or how do you decide if there will be a second date or not?  

New Years Resolutions and Reminiscing on 2014

First of all, I’m so sorry I haven’t written on here since May! I just got completely busy with school, work and all my summer travels. I can’t wait to write about 2014 though because it was one of the best years I’ve ever had. I learned a lot and worked harder than I ever have in school. Determination took over.

2014 was full of surprises, tears, stress, new friends, broken friendships and endless fun. I don’t  even know where to begin.

Remember my last post in May where I wrote about the friends I would be “friends with for life”? Yeah, we aren’t friends anymore. Things changed and once everyone separated we all feel apart. Drama kicked in for a couple of us and that’s when I left the picture. Friendships aren’t meant to last forever. They do fall apart and that’s part of life. In a way it’s heart breaking because you opened up to those people and spent so much time with them, time wasted. It’s not really time wasted though because you learned what you want in a friendship and what you don’t want. It’s still a learning experience no matter how old you are.

Speaking of friendships I branched out and made two really close friends in a couple of my classes. It’s something new for me because I’m so shy and laid back that it doesn’t bother me to sit alone in classrooms. I just grab a book and close myself off from the world. This past semester I decided it was enough of that and I started talking to the people around me. In every class there was at least one person I talked to and a couple of them stuck with me at the  end of the semester. Those are the friends you need to keep around.

I also connected with a couple of my professors this past semester and that’s something I highly recommend because who else are you going to get letters of recommendations from? Connecting with professors is huge in order to apply for internships.

One more thing about this past semester I buckled down and finally focused on my school work more than I focused on Netflix. It paid off, I ended up with 3 A’s and 3 B’s with a semester GPA of 3.3.  Hard work does pay off.

My New Years Resolutions:

1. Branch out more, get out of my comfort zone.

I’ve always had a problem with staying in my comfort zone because it’s obviously where I’m most comfortable and relaxed. Well, let me just tell you that you will get no where if you rest in your comfort zone for your entire life. It’s time to get out there and make a ton of friends, connect with professors, make connections with the right people, nail that internship and prove people wrong. Don’t let anyone say you can’t do it, because you can.

2. Write a book.

I’m currently writing a book. It’s slightly crappy but I’ve grown to really like it and I want to finish it before the end of the year. It may not get published and I may be the only one to ever read it but I’m okay with that, because I’ll have written a whole book. I never said I wanted it published, I just want to write a book.

3. Work out at least three times a week.

I’m already having problems with this. I can’t find a workout I actually like and want to do. If It wasn’t below freezing outside I would start running again. I need inside workout ideas. Help me with this one! Any ideas are welcome. And motivational tips to get me to actually do the workout would be nice, too…

4. Be more confident in myself

I’ve grown a lot in the confidence area ever since this past semester at IU. I kind of got in that mind set of not caring what other people think because I more than likely won’t ever see them again. Confidence will get you a long way in a lot of things such as your future career, and making relationships.

5. Get an Internship

I really need to get my act together and find an internship that will look killer on a resume. Internships are extremely important to get a future job, experience is key. I’m applying for a few out of state for the summer. Wish me luck.

I promise to write more. at least 3-4 times a week. I’m working on it.

What are your New Years Resolutions? 

Friends For Life

One thing I’ve always struggled with is making new friends. I have my group of friends from high school where we’ve been friends for 8+ years but once college hit some of us faded away. During summer time we make sure to all get together and catch up, and share stories about our college experience. It’s great to have those friends where you know no matter how much you talk they will always be there for you. I’m so grateful for them and don’t know what I would do without them.

My struggle is while my friends are away at different colleges I failed to make friends for the longest time. I’m not sure if it’s because I refused, because I thought  making new friends would mean I would lose my old ones. Now I know that’s not the case. When I transferred to IU I finally met a great group of people who I really connected with. I’m not going to lie, it all started with Twitter. I found out this one girl, Emily, was at the same concert I was at and attended IU. Basically, I messaged her and we hit it off. We now travel to concerts together and share our love of Scotty McCreery, that not many people understand. Now, I don’t know what I would do without her. Later on down the road we met up with two other people who became close friends.

We all hung out last night for the last time. One of them is moving back to California for good which practically broke our hearts. We stayed out until 2am shooting off fireworks, sentimental talks around the bonfire and laughing until we could no longer breathe. We each took a turn and mentioned to each person, “What would you say if this was the last time you were going to see each of us.” It got really deep for some of us and almost brought tears to our eyes, ending up with a tight group hug.

My eyes are closed in half of the pictures because the flash killed my eyes but I don’t care. I love these guys more than words can explain and I have a strong feeling that we will all be friends for life. ❤

Do you stay in touch with your high school friends? Do you think you’ll be friends with your college friends forever?

Can I be Five Again?

Ugh! Seriously though, can I be five again? In my whole nineteen years of existence I’ve never been so stressed and confused in my life. I’m taking seven classes at my university and I’m adjusting to the life at a university compared to a community college, which I was at last year. I’m realizing that professors quite frankly don’t give two shits if you’re taking seventeen credit hours and have other things to do (Sorry for my language). They want you to spend multiple hours a day on the class they are teaching not even considering that, yeah, you are taking more classes than just theirs. Now, this isn’t always the case and there are professors out there who realize how much stuff you actually have to do but usually that’s not the case. Basically, suck it up and deal with it.

Yeah, I’m having trouble dealing with it. I have to take buses on campus because I refuse to walk a mile in freezing cold weather (Granted it’s getting warmer but I’m lazy, and am still not walking a mile to class. My poor feet can’t handle it). At the beginning of the semester these buses were really good to me. Always got me where I needed to be on time without any problems. Well, suddenly the buses decided to pick on Taylor until she had a mental breakdown. I’ve had a bus breakdown on me where the bus driver refused to let me off until some girl burst through the doors and started walking. A bus driver, literally, left me in the pouring rain (basically he forgot I got off the bus to let people off, because it was so crowded, and he shut the doors on me, and drove off leaving me in the pouring rain). They’ve made me late, made me fall into other people, and been in a bus with at least 50 people all squished together. Yay, public transportation!

Well, I had my breaking point and completely broke down as soon as I stepped into work. I bawled my eyes out in front of my boss and it was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. After that incident I took five weeks off of work hoping to de-stress and unwind a bit, and focus on my studies. I have to say it’s helped a lot because I’m not constantly worrying about making it to work on time, hoping that the bus doesn’t break down and make me late. I miss my kids at work but the little stress that is lifted off my shoulders helps so much.

Why is the title of this blog entry, “Can I be Five Again?” I’m sure you’re wondering. A couple of weeks ago, during spring break, I babysat four amazing kids ages 2, 5, 9, and 10 from eight  in the morning until five. You would think it would be stressful and chaotic, but it was the most peaceful week of my life. At times it got chaotic but in the time span of a week those kids taught me something that I wouldn’t have learned if I hadn’t taken that gig. (Great timing too because it was the week after my mental breakdown). They taught me how to just live life and not worry. Some of you are probably thinking, ‘shouldn’t you already know how?’ In a way, yes. But after a week of tears and stress I forgot how to live and not worry. They brought me back to life by being the happy kids they are. We made up games, played basketball, tennis, football, swung on the swings, played in the mud, colored, and many hugs were exchanged. That whole week was all smiles for me because they silently said, “everything will be okay,” and that’s exactly what I needed to realize. Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay it’s not the end.

I guess what I’m trying to say is yes, you can be five again. All it takes is a huge smile without any worries and go relax by playing a fun game with friends, family, or even your own kids if you have any.

Have you ever been so stressed you just feel like it’s the end of the world? How do you get over it?

Self Confidence

One thing I majorly lack is self-confidence. No matter where I’m at or what I’m doing I feel like people are judging me from a far. I suppose this also has to do with why I’m quiet and don’t talk much to new people. I’ve slightly broken out of that shell and made a few new friends and have become closer with a few of my co-workers. It’s an awesome feeling knowing someone is there for you no matter what or talking with someone who has a common interest as you. Most people would consider me a follower instead of a leader because I like to blend in. I go to a huge campus, Indiana University, where there’s over 150 people in some of my classes. Those classes are my favorite because I can blend in and not be noticed, nor do I have to talk in front of the class like I do in my smaller classes.

In my classes I’m usually in the back with my mouth shut, refusing to say a word. Anything that comes out of my mouth I think people will judge me or I’ll say something stupid where I’ll be the talk of the day around campus, or social media. It’s how my mind works and I’m not happy with it so I’m trying to change it. I have to change it. So commence operation of self-confidence step number one is to dress the way I want to dress. That means all those outfit pins on Pinterest I’ve been pinning need to come to life. I’ve always been afraid to “over dress” because of what people will think. For some reason I care about what people think when I really shouldn’t. I need to just be me.

(My two favorite quotes about being yourself to get me through the day)

Last week, I dressed the way I wanted to. I’ve always wanted to try the layered look with a sweater and a pin striped shirt underneath. I’ve never had the guts to because almost everyone on campus is in sweats or something casual. Here was my outfit.

(Please ignore the mess in the background we are re-doing the bathroom. Also my mirror was dirty so ignore that too! :))

Of course I added pearls and a silver Paris bracelet, and hoop earrings to top it off.

With my self-confidence at a low I walked into class with confidence and with the mind-set of not caring what people were thinking. I felt as though I got a lot of looks and stares but my mind likes to take over and put these thoughts in my head. It was a good first step for me to branch out and try new things, and to not care what other people were thinking or saying. I guess baby steps lead to somewhere.

Do you have this problem too? What did you think of the layering?

#19 My Inspiration Board

I have been so unbelievably stressed out this past month that I practically forgot I have a blog. Woah. My stress levels have been outrageous. Most days I can hide it pretty well but on those days where everything has gone wrong I just have breakdowns where I have to text/call my best friend to calm me down.

Why am I stressing? Way too many reasons to list. I recently started school at a totally new huge campus where if you take one wrong turn you will be completely lost. Not to mention it’s been in the teens temperature wise so getting lost in the frigid weather is not fun. I accidentally hopped on the wrong bus at one point but luckily it got me back to my destination faster. I’m constantly swamped with homework and have already sent a complaining email to one of my professors about the way he grades papers. Yes, I’m one of those people. Also add in broke joke  to the stress list as I watch my bank account slowly dwindle down because one paycheck barely pays for my car payment, let alone my college books, new computer, and gas.

Basically my stress level has been at an all time high so I decided I needed some inspiration/motivation to get me through. Therefore, I made my very own inspiration board. (Also on my 101 in 1001 list).

It’s actually really simple and easy to make. All you need to do is type short sayings or just one word that inspires you to keep moving forward. I also printed out a few pictures of things/places I love.

The sayings/words I used:

“Hustle”, “The Best Is Yet To Come”, “Write”, “Travel”, “Be Happy Be Bright Be You”

The pictures I printed out:

Wilmington NC, Paris (The coffee cup and snowy pic), and books.

All of these things inspire me and put a smile on my face. I ended up stapling fabric to an old used up cork board and gluing the ribbon on. You can always just go out and buy a cute cork board if you don’t feel as crafty.

I love hanging lights in my room that way it’s not as bright in my room from the overbearing lights on my ceiling fan. It’s also more relaxing, in my opinion.

I hope you end up making an inspiration board to brighten your stressful dull days.

What things would you put on yours? 

#40 “50 questions that will free your mind”

Ever since I saw this on another blog I was reading I had to try it. So of course I put it on my 101 in 1001 list. Supposedly it’s 50 questions that will get you thinking about… everything. I have never read all the question thoroughly so I have no idea what I’m going to be answering. More fun that way.  Here I go!

These questions have no right or wrong answers.

Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.

1.How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
I would probably say 19, my age now. I don’t act like a child but I don’t act like an adult either. I love falling in love with boy bands and over obsessing about them but I have a job and pay bills. Therefore, I would consider myself 19.

2.Which is worse, failing or never trying?
Never trying. You never know if you’re going to fail or succeed until you try. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

3.If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
Money, fear, and laziness. We don’t like to work, or most of us don’t, but we have to to supply a roof over our heads and feed our families. I want to travel the world, I’m sure a lot of people do but that comes with money that I just don’t have and the fear of going to a place I’m not familiar with. Laziness describes itself. That’s America.

4.When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
Possibly. I tend to say I’m going to do something more than actually doing it. I should work on that…

5.What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
Violence. On the news every morning there’s always a death because of murder. I don’t understand how someone can take an innocent person’s life. Granted, some aren’t completely innocent but violence is never the answer.

6.If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
Anything creative. Writing, scrap-booking, taking scenery pictures.

7.Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
Possibly a bit of both… if that’s possible.

8.If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
I wouldn’t live it any different. I love the way my life is going right now. No need to change anything.

9.To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
About 90%. My parents control the other 10%.

10.Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
Doing things right. No matter where I am I always worry about doing things right. Whether it’s doing my job right or doing my homework right. I hate doing things wrong.

11.You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do?
Speak up and start defending my close friend. Never let anyone, no matter who it is, gossip terrible things about someone you’re close to. Lesson learned there.

12.If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
To be yourself and not care about what anyone else thinks.

13.Would you break the law to save a loved one?
Absolutely.

14.Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
Um, I’m going to have to go with no on this one. I believe insanity is a whole different thing from creativity.

15.What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
Talk to my grandparents everyday. I’ve grown so close to my grandparents over the years I refuse to go a day without talking to them. Whether it’s going to their houses or sending a quick text or calling them, I’m always keeping in touch with them. They’re my favorite people in the entire world. I don’t know what I would do without them. ♥

16.How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
We are all different and enjoy different things. It would be a boring world if we all enjoyed the same things.

17.What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?  What’s holding you back?
Get an internship in North Carolina. Move to North Carolina. Money is holding me back and the fact that I’m only 19.

18.Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
Yes, I can never throw stuff away. I just put it under my bed or in a shoe box along with all the memories/pictures that go with it. I struggle with letting go.

19.If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
North Carolina. I fell in love with it when I went on vacation there over the summer. It’s gorgeous, atmosphere is great, and  it’s someplace fresh and new.

20.Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
Yes, call me stupid.

21.Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
A joyful simpleton.

22.Why are you, you?
Because I’ve gone through things in life that have made me the way I am today.

23.Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
Yeah, I think so. At least I try.

24.Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
Losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you. You can always keep in touch with friends who move away.

25.What are you most grateful for?
My amazing family and friends.

26.Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
Oh, snap! I suppose I would rather lose all the old memories. I’m young I have more memories to live for.

27.Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
I suppose so, yeah.

28.Has your greatest fear ever come true?
I have a lot of fears but since my greatest fear is dying, no.

29.Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now?
I would have been 14 and it was probably over a boy. So no it doesn’t really matter.

30.What is your happiest childhood memory?  What makes it so special?
This is probably a ridiculous child hood memory to remember but my happiest childhood memory was learning how to tie my shoes. My grandpa, Papa, taught me how to tie my shoes and I remember him engulfing me in the biggest hugs and carrying me out on his shoulders if I did it right. Makes me smile thinking about it.

31.At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
Oh, gosh! I’m only 19 so I’m going to say when my creative writing professor told me I have a great future in the writing business and would love to read more of my stories. Hearing someone, who’s amazing in the writing area, say that to me made me become more passionate about writing. It made me feel good about myself.

32.If not now, then when?
Tomorrow.

33.If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
Nothing.

34.Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
Yes, but it’s been very rare.

35.Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
I honestly have no idea…

36.Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
No, there’s always doubt. You never know what is good and what is evil.

37.If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
No, a million dollars won’t last forever. Plus once taxes are taken out you won’t have much left.

38.Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
More work I actually enjoy. Who wants to do more work that they don’t enjoy?

39.Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
Yes. Seeing as how I’ve been snowed in before…

40.When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
Fear often takes over my ideas which dwindles into me not believing in them very strongly, therefore I don’t remember.

41.If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
My grandparents would be my #1. Then my brother and parents.

42.Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
No, I don’t think I could live in the lime light of fame. Everyone stalking your every move. Excuse me, I like my privacy… a lot. And there’s more to life than being attractive.

43.What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
Being alive is exactly as it sounds, you’re breathing on this planet. Truly living is doing things you want to conquer and doing things you thoroughly enjoy.

44.When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
Every time. Just do it.

45.If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
Because schools, our parents and society in general has made us doubtful and fearful.

46.What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
Talk to people. I’m shy because I feel as though people will judge me. If I don’t talk then people don’t know the real me and they can only judge you on the way you look. At least that’s my outlook on it.

47.When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
When I go to sleep.

48.What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
Family, friends, writing, music, and traveling. I’m sure they have..

49.In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?  What about the day before that?  Or the day before that?
Probably not. I remember the things worth remembering and laying in my bed watching Netflix isn’t going to make the cut.

50.Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
I have a problem with letting others make them for me but I’ve gotten better with making decisions for myself, and not letting anyone else tell me what to do.

Okay, questions done! What do you guys think of the questions? Do they get you thinking? If you have answered these questions post the link in the comments so I can read what you had to say! 🙂

Much Love ♥

New Year

I haven’t posted in a very long time and I figured what better time to post than right before the new year starts. This year has had its ups and downs but I have to say this has by far been the best year. I could recap on this year for days but I’ll list my top five favorite things from this year.

1. Going to Wilmington, NC. I’ve never fallen in love with a place so fast. As soon as we first entered the city I was in love with, literally, everything. The way downtown held history in the houses and brick roads, the way you could walk along the river to see the bridge in the distance as the sun hits the water, the nice generous people, the atmosphere, and of course the gorgeous ocean resting just miles down the road from the hotel I stayed in. I know, for certain, North Carolina is where I want to be when I graduate from college, even if it’s not in Wilmington (Although, Wilmington would be my #1 choice). Anywhere in North Carolina would be okay with me. It scares me to ever move out of my home state but if it scares you it might be a good thing to try, right?

2. Getting accepted to IU! I’ve attended Ivy Tech for the past year and a half, and I hated it so much I decided to apply to Indiana University a semester early. Once I got the acceptance e-mail the smile couldn’t be removed from my face. I am unbelievably excited to start at IU in a couple of weeks but I’m also extremely nervous. I have no doubt I will be getting lost on the first couple of days. It’s a 3 mile wide campus with way too many buildings for me to remember which one I need to be going to, let alone which direction I need to be walking in. I’m a terrible navigator. Other than all the nerves I’m so grateful to be accepted and attending IU for the rest of my college career.

3. Going to Gatlinburg at the beginning of the year! I went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee at the beginning of the year with my amazing family and my best friend. Gatlinburg is a gorgeous place to visit. The mountains are always my favorite and I will gladly take mountains over beach any day. Spending time with my family is one of my favorite things to do and the fact that my best friend could join on the vacation made it 10x better. We hiked, my best friend didn’t enjoy that too much, went downtown, rode on the skylift, and played family games. That will forever be one of my favorite family vacations. Not to mention our cabin was high up in the mountains and humongous.

4. I passed Finite! For anyone who knows what finite is then you know it’s the hardest math class ever. Seriously, it’s rough. Especially for a girl who’s already terrible at math. I studied for hours after I would get off work and I would do homework twice just to make sure it all clicked in my head. That studying paid off. I’ve never worked so hard in a class before. My stress was at its highest point to where it showed out in public. I was running on low sleep because of studying so late, people at work noticed my stress but they understood because some of my co-workers were taking finite as well. It all worked  out and I couldn’t be happier that I’m officially done with that torturous class!

5. Going to see my favorite artists live! I love music with a passion and to see some of my favorites this year was unbelievable. I saw my childhood crush, Aaron Carter, live and even got to meet him. That day will forever be implanted in my brain (He even gave me a kiss on the cheek, no big deal). I also won tickets to see my favorite country artist, Scotty McCreery at a close up concert here in Indianapolis. I was smiling for weeks before and after the concert. I was grateful for those opportunities to happen and I can’t wait to attend more concerts of my favorite artists in 2014.

Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the way 2013 turned out and I know even greater things are in store for me in 2014. I can’t wait to see what the New Year has to bring. My New Years resolution is to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people. Getting out of my little shell would be a huge accomplishment and I feel as though 2014 is the year for that to happen.

Wish me luck and I wish all of you luck with your New Years resolution.

Happy New Year!

What’s your New Year resolutions? Greatest moments of 2013?