she's my person

I've been following a lot of the #BlogEveryDayinMay posts that are going around the blog-o-sphere recently and am happy to participate now that finals are over!   Today is all about providing a piece of advice to others. ANYTHING.   My advice to each and every person out there: HAVE A PERSON.  

via   Any Grey's Anatomy fans out there? That's right...find your Cristina to your Meredith, your Meredith to your Cristina. Have that friend in your life that you can depend on. Somebody who you can talk to about anything...no judgment. I've been so blessed to have people in my life who are there for me no matter what. One person that immediately pops into my head is Whitney! She's there for the good, she's there for the bad. She's my person!   The thing about life is that jobs and opportunities come and go but what holds us down are good people. You need incredible people in our life to keep you grounded.   So, go out there and find YOUR person.  

the ones who teach

I'm so happy to see that there is a week dedicated to appreciate the teachers out there. These men and women are so incredible and during my years in school, I don't think I really understood just how influential each of them really were. Now that I have finished college, I look back and am amazed at how each of these educators have played a role in molding me to who I am today. Below are just a few teachers that I want to take a moment and thank.

*Mr. Hershey, 2nd Grade: When I went into preview day the week before the first day of school, I was shocked to find out that I was going to have a guy as a teacher. It just wasn't a common thing in elementary schools. But he quickly became one of my favorite teachers. He knew how to make class fun for an easily distractable 2nd grader like myself. What I remember most from 2nd grade was Mr. Hershey teaching us sign language and watching caterpillars turn into butterflies in the classroom.

*Mrs. Corrado, 3rd and 4th Grade: Y'all, there are no words to describe my appreciation for Mrs. Corrado. I think that the fact that I am still in regular contact with her says a lot about the type of person that she is. When I found out that my family was going to move after 4th grade, I was absolutely devastated. Why? Because Mrs. Corrado wouldn't be my 5th grade teacher. But, she was great at comforting my anxiety (yup, anxiety was a regular thing even as a kid for me). She was always supportive of me, no matter what. Prior to the school year ending, she visited my new school and put my fears to rest. See? That just says so much about her character!

*Mrs. Heinbuch, Mr. Dahlin, and Mr. Indovina; Music Instructors: Lord, these three individuals were nothing but supportive of my piano career. They believed in me and presented me with opportunities all the time. I wouldn't be have been the performer that I was without them.

*Mr. Jernigan, AP Calculus: This man made me love Calculus. Yup, you read that correct -- LOVE + CALCULUS. It was probably the toughest class that I had in high school and while in the moment, I loathed every second of it. I spent endless number of nights practicing derivatives, anticipating any potential questions that he could ask. In the end, I understood that he was tough on us because he wanted to see us succeed. I'm sure glad that he did because I got to skip out of Calc at AU. On top of that, after our scores were released, Mr. Jernigan spent his summer vacation making calls to students congratulating them. LOVE IT.

*Mr. Jefferis, Physics: Oh Mr. Jefferis. My absolute favorite teacher of all time. This guy wrote all of my college recommendations. I met Mr. Jefferis on my first day of high school which also happened to be his first day teaching. I started out high school with Mr. Jefferis as a teacher and ended high school with Mr. Jefferis as a teacher as well. He made science FUN...and tolerable. Class was always exciting because of his dynamic personality. But the greatest thing was -- you knew he cared about his students. He spent all his free time helping students with whatever. Hands down, my favorite teacher ever.

I dug out this photo of Mr. Jefferis and I at senior prom. I mean, he has to be a fun guy if he agreed to chaperone a high school dance, right?

These are just a handful of teachers that I want to thank. The list could go on for days. What these teachers all have in common: they INVEST in the lives of their students. They actually really do care about our success! Too often, all of their hard work goes unnoticed because of the snarky attitudes of teenagers. We shouldn't just thank our teachers during this one week, it should be EVERY DAY.

Thank you to all the educators in my life and to those down the road.



Tuesday Tunes | Lennon & Maisy Stella

.This week's Tuesday Tunes feature is on two superstars on ABC's new hit show Nashville, Lennon and Maisy Stella. They play the daughters of Corinne Britton's character, Rayna James. How stinkin' cute are they. And let me tell you, they're even greater singers!

via

Lennon and Maisy started off as two gals posting videos of themselves singing onto Youtube. When I first heard them singing on Nashville I was floored. These girls are amazing! The timbre of their voices are mesmerizing!

After a rough week last week, I snuggled up Thursday night after class and vegged out watching the latest episode of the show. I was beyond ecstatic to see that Lennon and Maisy got the opportunity to sing. They covered the The Lumineers' song Ho Hey. I cried like a baby hearing it. Maybe it was the pent up emotions from the week or the plot line or when Deacon and Rayna had their "Ho, Hey" moment. ...maybe it was ALL OF IT.

Give it a listen. I promise you, you will be hooked. I have been since Thursday and it has been on loop all week.

PS: How dreamy is Charles Esten??

Happy Listening!



Monthly Goals: April

Oh, hey April. You snuck up on me there! March was a terrible month for me and I'm over it. I woke up on the morning of the 1st and was excited to start a new month. April is a clean slate, new mentality, and refreshed attitude.

 

As I sat down with my April calendar opened up, I was shocked. It's going to be a whirlwind. All of my weekends have been booked with up event after event. On top of that, it's my final three weeks of my undergraduate career. How crazy!

When I thought about my goals for this month, I didn't really know what exactly I wanted to achieve. Things have been so up and down lately that I just wanted to set some overarching resolutions. Resolutions aren't as focused as goals but they're exactly what I need right now.

April Goals Resolutions
1. Stay Positive
2. Allow yourself to cry....
3. ...but know when to let things go
4. Make the most of your last 3 weeks as a college student

in a haze

I'm sitting in Starbucks right now, trying to crank out [what I really mean is: figure out] this Finance report. These reports stress me out like nothing else in this world.

 

It's weird being back in school after a week-long break. I've been in this absolute funk since the end of last semester/beginning of this semester. I thought that it'd disappear during break but unfortunately, I'm still in this funk. Something just isn't feeling right. Nothing is clicking for me and it's completely throwing me off my game.

I can feel that my mood is at an all time low. To be honest, I'm not my chipper self and wallow. There is A LOT of wallowing. Focus is out the window and everything is a complete haze.

 

There isn't a fire lit in me right now. When that alarm goes off in the morning, I just lie there and stare at my ceiling for an extra 15-20 minutes, refusing to get out of bed. When does that ever happen to me? ....never.

 

I'm really hoping things clear up soon and I find my way through all of this haze. I'm absolutely over it.

 

#negativenancy

#myapologies

SPRING.BREAK.

Hey there Spring Break! It doesn't really feel like it, huh? It was snowing two days ago and it's literally freezing out there. You know what though? I'LL TAKE IT.

It won't be much of a Spring Break for me (still have a full-time job here!) but I'll be taking a short 2-day trip. Total spontaneity there.

I may have to work next week but at least there won't be classes! Woo! It's still a much-needed break. I will be spending my evenings with happy hours, crafting, books, stationery, and tons of writing. Most importantly, spending some quality time with my best friends! I could honestly not ask for more.



Life Defining Decade

More and more these days, I feel old. I know, I know. Many of you are probably thinking, "How can you feel old? You are only 21!" Well, let me put things into perspective here. I am actually turning 22 in July but according to the Lunar calendar (Chinese calendar) I am now 23 years old. In my mind, somehow I jumped 2 years ahead overnight. On top of that, my mom, at 21 was already married and I believe pregnant with her second child. Yeah, let that sink in for a moment.

So, in my world, 21/22/23 years old (WHATEVER AGE I AM) is....well, old. There's no beating around the bush on that one. After reading this Levo League article about the lies we tell ourselves about our 20's, I couldn't help but stop and think. Holy moly, our 20s truly is the most important decade of our lives. Like Levo League says, it's a LIFE-DEFINING DECADE. The most change occurs within these 10-years. We graduate from college, get thrown into the real world after spending close to 20 years in school, jump start a career, find love, get married, have kids, feel our way through life and independence, and experience everything else that is thrown our way. SO MUCH. 

I've now lived close to 1/5 of my 20s and hope that I've met my own expectations so far. I actually haven't had time to stop and think about it because the pace of my life is literally go, go, go. It's been a whirlwind. A lot of change has happened within the past 2 years without me even noticing. Most of it is really personal change in the way that I see the world. I'd like to think that I'm an optimistic person and for the most part, I am. However, there is a part of me that has become a lot more guarded. I tend to mask things extremely well, and that just comes with growing up...maybe??

One thing that I do hope to achieve during the next 4/5 of this decade is to slow down. Of course, I want to have a great career, start a family, still be involved with the community, and somehow find a great balance of it all. But, at the root of all things, I want to be able to slow down and appreciate all that the Lord has blessed me with. I want to enjoy things and not be so serious or goal-oriented every single second of my life to the point where I miss the little things. 

This life-defining decade is daunting and filled with uncertainty but you have to step out in faith. At the same time, keep in mind that while laying your foundation and building this so-called legacy is important, you also need to learn to enjoy life.