The Old Tim Can't Come to the Phone Right Now

I have always tried to present my genuine and authentic self to you.

In the past month, I have done so by posting a series of photos captioned with Taylor Swift lyrics.

While it might have seen totally "basic white girl" to you, each lyric was a grouping of words that adequately gave life to my presently occurring events and emotions. 

There was happiness and tears. There were kisses and cold-shoulders. There was anxiety I had worked so hard to overcome only to be triggered by one's act of cowardice. There were second chances and let downs. 

"It was so nice being friends again

There I was giving you a second chance
But you stabbed my back while shaking my hand
And therein lies the issue
Friends don't try to trick you
Get you on the phone and mind-twist you"

Focusing on what is tough is simple. Moving on, overcoming, and being better than you ever were... well, that takes strength. Strength is something I am working hard to have more of.

"But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time"

Goodbye to heartache. Goodbye to mind games. Goodbye to one-sided connections. 

I have my life together. 

I am unapologetically moving on to something bigger and better for no one but myself. 

"If a man talks ...., then I owe him nothing

I don't regret it one bit, 'cause he had it coming"

How Do You Give?

It's the month of Thanksgiving and I have a ton to be thankful for. There are many wonderful people in my life who do so much for me. As I've started to look towards the upcoming holiday, I've also started thinking, what thanks am I giving? Of course, I say thank you to those who do so much for me, but I believe we can all do so much more than that. We can pay it forward. Now, how we pay it forward can be different for everyone. There are many opportunities for you to make a difference in the world and I just think that's so cool! There's an infinite amount of organizations that offer opportunities for you to lend a helping hand, you just have to find the right one. The best part is, if you find the right one, it's fun!

Sounds like I'm speaking from experience, huh? Surprise, I am! Back in the summer, I signed up to be a big for Big Brothers Big Sisters and this weekend was my first outing with my little. It was so much fun. I am working to make a difference and having a blast doing it. It is a great way for me to give back. Now it's your turn to find what works for you. Check out some organizations and see if there is a way for you to pay it forward. You CAN make a difference in our world.

Miss Caroline Krafft

Last weekend, I headed to our local theme park with my cousin for a day of fun.
Little did I know that by the end of the trip, I would be reminded of a life lesson I learned from the movie Mean Girls. That's right, Mean Girls. Think back with me if you will to the scene when Kady is competing against Marymount Prep with her fellow mathletes. She is chosen to compete against Caroline Krafft and in that moment she has a groundbreaking realization that I think we all need to have.

"Miss Caroline Krafft seriously needed to pluck her eyebrows. Her outfit looked like it was picked out by a blind Sunday school teacher. And she had some fifty-cent lipgloss on her snaggletooth. And that's when I realized, making fun of Caroline Krafft wouldn't stop her from beating me in this contest. Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George's life definitely didn't make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you."

That quote alone should be enough to make you think, but now I am going to layer it with my own personal experience. As we were walking out of the park we passed a man with his ears gauged. I'm talking huge gauges. Many individuals tend to think things like: Why would you do that?! He will never get a job! I'll be honest, that was my first reaction. Then I stopped and was real with myself for a second. That man could be the very best at whatever it is he does in life. His gauges don't stop him from being an incredible person. It was at this point that Kady and I had the same realization. We're all different and that doesn't stop us from being great.

I think the world would be a better place if we all strived a little harder to stop buying into the stereotypes many of us learn from a young age. I understand that there are many things that may turn you away from a person but I do not think appearance should be one of them.