1996 Eric Northman

True Blood is breaking my soul into tiny, little pieces. 1996 Eric Northman (above) doesn't make it better.

Anyway, work was fun. I realized that I have gone down a pant size while I was at work as my work pants kept falling down and they weren't doing that prior to ab challenge. Speaking of ab challenge, today was a rest day and I am so grateful for that. I didn't doing anything today but I need the break.

Storyline challenge: three lessons I've learned

The first lesson I've learned is that everyone is stronger than they think they are. It is a matter of empowering yourself to be stong that allows you to feel that way. The Storyline challenge has taught me (so far) that I am capable of telling my stories. Since the beginning of this blog, the biggest thing that stands out is that I have learned that not every choice is going to be one that you are absolutely, 10000 % okay with. And that is okay. We are allowed to make mistakes. 

Another Day Done

I am openly admitting that a sister shared this on Facebook earlier today and I snatched it from whomever she shared it from. While I don't agree with all of it, I do appreciate the quote's message of don't dwell on things. However, sometimes a failure or a slip up can lead to amazing discoveries about  yourself or can result in the motivation to complete a task. 

Today was boring but such is life when you don't have work (technically I did but no one told me so it's not on me) or plans or the ability to go do anything without inconvenicong someone else. June will see me in a motor vehicle. Scary, I know but I am going to make it happen come hell or high water. My life for the day consisted of watching wedding shows and laying around. And then I took a shower and got some Chipotle and a cupcake ( sweet nectar of the gods). As I was eating the cupcake, my sister made a comment about how I need to stop "doing that." And then she went on to call her 125 pound self fat. I know she was talking about sweets. I know that I have a problem. I like food, especially if it's of the dessert or potato variety.

Things I don't like, having to pay bazillions of dollars to join a gym and having that gym be full of body builders. That just kills everyone's confidence. It was one of my goals to get back to the gym at school and to eat better. It didn't really happen. I acknowledge that I failed. But in that failure I succeeded in gradauting from college and in maintaining an A- in all of my classes.  Hopefully, i can put that on the pther half of the year's goal list and actually get to it.

I'll be posting a final update on the year's first set of goals before the Hunter Hayes concert in 15 days. 

Sorority Girl Life

I Know a Girl...
"If know a girl...
Who is amazing.
She runs a few miles a day, aces her classes,
organizes social events, and participates in all sorts of campus organizations.
At night she may go out and have fun, but she always manages to get everything done.

I know a girl...
Who will let you cry on her shoulder and will be there for you in times of need.
She has lots of friends and makes sure she leaves enough time to hang with them all.
She will give good advice and listen to your every word and thought with an unbiased ear.
She will love you for who you are and accept you no matter what.

I know a girl...
Who will smile even though she didn't have the greatest day.
She always brings her positive attitude and it's contagious.
Those who are around her want to smile too!

I know a girl...
Who will bring out the best in everyone she meets.
She has friends in many different houses on this campus as well as friends who are not Greek, because she does not care what house you're in.
Who parties it up at fraternity parties, but goes many other places at night.

You might know this girl too...
Whether you're in her house or not, everyone knows one of these girls.
She is my sister.
She might be your sister, or she might be someone else's.
Those that know this girl know what sororities are all about because she represents them in almost everything she does."

I know that I have mentioned my sorority multiple times in my posts but I don't think I've ever posted about my sorority. Obviously I'm in one and we are fairly small. Our smallness however is probably one of our best assists. Not having five bajillion girls to get to know is a real benefit when it comes to my sorority. We are tight knit and have really close friendships throughout our group.
Especially in my family which I am so ridiculously proud of! I love my big and all of my (many) littles and my wonderful cousin Catherine (who has foreveryoneshappiness.blogspot.com) and of course the rest of them as well! Well last night and this morning were kind of a big day for both the established sisters and the new girls. Big/Little lists were sent in and pairs were established. Soon all of the new girls will know who her big is and  what family she's in! 
It's so exciting!!! So for today's post I want to share the poem above and the picture I made as well as some advice about bigs, littles, and sisters in general. Your big is supposed to be your guiding force in the sorority. Someone who you can trust with your problems and just be yourself around without worries. Your little is someone you must be prepared to mentor and have fun with! She is your friend and someone you should always be there for. You sisters are you backbone, you support system. These are the girls that are going to be in many of you college memories and who a few of will be involved with the rest of your life. 
While this comes early in the semester , I feel that now is as good of a time as every o acknowledge that this was y last rush, my last hayride, and will be my last semester as a sister. So to my sisters, thank you for two wonderful years of laughter, support, and many fun times. I thank my big for being absolutely perfect and understanding and the salt to my pepper. I love you and I can't wait to see you again soon!! To ALL of my extraordinarily PERFECT littles, it's been my pleasure and an absolute honor to have been able to help each of you find your place in our little home away from home as well as having been a part of your college experience in anyway. And to all of the Nu's, I hope you have just as awesome of an experience as I have with these girls. I can't wait to visit you all later on! 


SIDENOTE: yesterday's post was actually day 38... Today is day 39!

Learning Life Lessons

A friend of mine shared this picture a few weeks ago and I saved the picture in hopes of getting back to it at a later date. Well here I am getting back to this picture and I'm not really sure how I feel or what I think about it. I certain agree with numbers 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, and 10 but the others I'm not so sure about. 

Numbers 3, 4, 6, and 7 just seem as though they can be questioned and or negated pretty easily. For instance, I completely disagree that "there" isn't better than "here." Here is subjective to a person's experience and personality type. You can't tell me that a child who is adopted out of a dilapidated orphanage is going to eventually feel the same way about his or he adopted home as he or she did about the orphanage and then start searching for something better. Personally, when i accomplish getting to the proverbial "there" and making it a "here" I'm very satisfied with my hard work and I don't tend to try to go for anything better simply because to me there isn't a better here. 

Another number that I am vey dissatisfied with is number 4. I don't agree that you are repeatedly taught the same lesson until you complete it or that once you've completed it you move on. Life is about multiple lessons happening all at once, all the time. If life is school then rule number 4 contradicts rule number 2. School doesn't ever stop teaching you OR testing you. You will be taught the same lesson many times throughout life, it isn't a one and done kind of deal. Life will then test you and try you to make sure you still remember the lessons it's previously taught you. 

Subject of Loss

When we think of those companions who traveled by our side down life's road, let us not say with sadness that they left us behind, but rather say with gentle gratitude that they once were with us.

Author Unknown

I've lost quite a few family members in my time here on Earth. My uncle, my aunt, my mother. All people I had to say goodbye to at one point or another. I've lost pets that felt like family and I've been separated from people that were practically family. Loss isn't selective. 

In 1988, 27 people lost their lives in the worst drinking and diving related accident to date. 24 of them were children under 15 who suffocated or who were burned due to the crash. We watched a documentary about this crash at my internship as part of the behavioral adjustment program in order to deter the kids from drinking and driving. Out of the 9 or so students who were there to view the film, 3 were awake and paying attention. Yet another example of loss but in this case a loss of an opportunity to learn something. 

Missing a Day

I have no idea if C.S. Lewis actually said that or not but regardless I failed today. And that's not me being dramatic, it's true. I skipped my internship today because I was sick. I couldn't really breathe and my head was pounding so I slept in and took some medicine in hope to recharge for the rest of the week. 

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment to for the final appraisal of my foot. Afterwards I hope to be able to get back to the gym or at least being more physically active. Today's failure is just one of many and I know that. I just hope that there are fewer and fewer of them as time goes on.

Tearing Us Apart

"Our differences are what make us unique"

I overheard something today that saddened me a bit. I overheard a conversation between a few people basically trying to punish someone for something he or she could not control. It is not the person being punished's fault he or she is a bit different. It is not his or her fault that he or she has a mental disability. It isn't his or her fault that he or she physically cannot do something the same way another person would.

So why aren't these people doing the punishing realizing that? It isn't his or her fault. Would you expect to be punished for something when you literally cannot control your behavior? Is that fair? Is that something that would be considered social appropriate? Because I don't think that it is. I don't think that it's fair to judge a person based on differences they cannot control. Mental disability, race, sexual orientation all of it. If there is something that is beyond a person's conscious control what gives ANYONE the right to assume the role of God or karma over that person's life? Nothing. 

If you can't handle differences then I implore you to try to learn what makes the differences apparent. I beg you to understand differences at their roots and try to at least respect that someone else is different from you, that there is no way of changing that and that there is nothing wrong with this. It shouldn't be this hard. 

***I don't actually know the person I overheard the people talking about. I overheard enough of the story though to know that this person is mentally disabled which is why it made an impact in my life.