Hi all, if you couldn’t tell, 2018 was a pretty eye-opening year for me. I learned a ton, so I wanted to make another year-end post about what this year specifically taught me. Here are 18 things that I learned in the year 2018.
There are not enough hours in the day – Use them wisely.
Sometimes professors are nice enough to bump up your grade by .75% to get you a 4.0
Knowing how to cook at least 5 things and having those ingredients readily available is vitally important to keep you from eating out every night
Sometimes a night out with friends is the only thing you need.
Other times, a night in with a bath and a good book is what you need
While face masks and bath bombs aren’t the epitomai of self-care… they definitely make you feel like you have your life together
Use your planner! Unless you want to schedule 4747 things in the same 45 minute period.
There are few things better than baking on a Sunday morning while drinking coffee.
Cold brew coffee is a gift from the Heavens
Coffee from a coffee pot at home is also a gift because you are still caffeinated and $4 richer.
A hike is never a bad idea
Neither is yoga
You may never know what happened between you and that person you were once so close with. Accept that fact and move on.
Harry Potter World is 10x cooler than you’d expect it to be.
Always choose comfort when wearing shoes for over 12 hours. Those blisters you have for the next week are NEVER worth all that pain
No chip manicures always seem nice BUT they’re $40+, always chip AND one nice bottle of nail polish is less than $10. So, treat yourself for special occasions but a DIY manicure will, in the end, make you and your wallet feel much better.
Your dog can never have too many toys.
Put your phone down and be in the moment. You can answer those texts or play that game in a few hours.
In one of my previous posts, I remarked at how I was not going to be making a huge list of resolutions, which I’m not. I am however going to be creating intentions as I did last year. These are different than goals [thanks to CHAARG for introducing these to me] in the sense that they aren’t necessarily accomplished. Instead of “Don’t use my phone when I’m with friends” I would say something along the lines of “Try to live in the moment when with others.” It’s more ambiguous and less strict because odds are, I’m going to use my phone when I’m with others to text someone back, take a picture, check the weather etc. However, by saying to live in the moment, I know I mean to not have my eyes glued to my phone and be refreshing twitter and Instagram when I don’t need to be. These intentions are also usually not something you do once like “Get a 4.0” but more like “Never put your grades on the back burner and remember to always be learning.” These are obviously 2 completely different things but if I were to put “Get a 4.0” and I got one A-, I would beat myself up about it for weeks. Whereas, with the latter, I know that even if I get an A- or two, I put my all into my learning. So, now that the resolution vs intention lesson is over; here are my intentions for the year 2019.
Follow through on things I begin.
Get stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Never put my grades on the back burner and remember to always be learning.
Try to live in the moment when with others.
Pour my heart into the things I am passionate about.
Write; as much as I can, when I can.
Read; as much as I can, when I can.
Don’t be afraid to try new things – foods, cultures, ways of living, etc.
Put effort into all of my current and future relationships.
Make an effort to use less screen time, especially during the week.
These are my 10 intentions for 2019 and always. What are yours?
Hi everyone and happy last day of 2018. This year absolutely flew by + It’s a little bittersweet that it’s ending, however, I’m hoping 2019 is everyone’s best year yet! Just like last year, I wanted to make a little year in review to showcase my 2018 [especially these past few months with no posts]. Here was my 2018!
In January, I headed back to Athens to begin my second semester at Ohio University. Nothing significant happened to me, but my roommate got a boyfriend (sort of…) so go her!
Me and some friends from high school
My roommate and some friends
I met some amazing people through CHAARG in February and worked out with 2 of my best friends for the first time! Crazy how time flies. OU also flooded and we got a 3 day weekend because of it! February consisted of a lot of interviews, a lot of rejection, and a lot of teaching myself how to handle it. It was rough during the time but I’ve learned so much because of it. Rejection is never easy but sometimes those things just weren’t meant to be.
Fest season began in March. I’d never experienced a “darty” quick like OU in my life. It’s very crazy and hectic but with the right people can be fun! I also headed home for Spring break in which I did pretty much nothing besides catch up on homework and hang out with my dog. It ended with the CHAARG formal [in which I was given the award of “Boss A$$ Bitch”] and me being chosen to be on CHAARG’s exec team.
With mom’s weekend, finals prep, and CHAARG coming to a close, April was a whirlwind. Trying to squeeze as much time in with my friends before heading home for the summer, more fests, and simultaneously trying to not fail all my classes was rough but I conquered. I ended the semester with all As [one A- but who’s counting?] for my best semester [grade wise and others] yet!
Upon returning home on May 1st, I had a whole lot of nothing to do. The lady I nannied for the summer before, who ensured I’d have a job this summer, didn’t get a job herself so my service to them was unneeded. I applied for a few jobs that were close by but none of them wanted a college kid who would only be there for a summer or two. So, I was left jobless and bored counting floor tiles in my kitchen. Nevertheless. I spent May catching up with high school friends, celebrating my dog’s 2nd birthday + 1st gotcha day and reacclimating to my life at home.
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Did somebody say road trip? In June, my family + I took a road trip to Orlando Florida to visit Universal studios for the first time! We stopped in Chatanooga TN to see Ruby Falls, St. Augustine Florida to see one of the oldest colonial cities in the USA, hit Universal for 3 days, and then back up to Sarasota Florida, to visit some family friends. I was able to live out my dream of being a witch in Harry Potter World, turn 21 + enjoy my first few legal drinks poolside, and get some much needed Vitamin D. I was able to finish off the month with some FREE tickets to see Harry Styles [the love of my life] on tour with a good friend of mine!
Back to school already? Nope! In July I did make a trip to Ohio, but for reasons besides school. I visited my friend Olivia + her friend Kennedy in their hometowns for an early birthday celebration for Olivia. It was cool to see where they are from, spend more time with their dogs than with them and meet their families.
I headed back to school 2 weeks early in August. It was nice to be back in Athens when there’s no one else around. It’s peaceful and the feel, in general, is much different than the following 8 months. I was able to bike a lot, go to the gym a lot, see my school friends, do CHAARG stuff, and then also do early move in for my work. Finally, school started. I had a whole one day with my business classes, realized it wasn’t for me, headed right back to the education building, switched my major back and it was as if my business career had never happened.
Once I was back in the swing of things with all of my education classes, my education friends, etc. I was able to focus on working hard in all aspects of my life. On September 11th I did a stair challenge with some CHAARG girls. We ran the number of stairs that were in a twin tower building to remember the lives lost on 9/11. It was HARD but I’m so glad I did it because it was SO motivating doing that with other CHAARG girls. That following Tuesday, I broke my pinkie finger, I was lifting an 85 pound ball of cement, picked it up wring, and then it landed on my pinkie. 6 weeks in a splint, a lot of pictures, and some makeshift physical therapy to learn how to bend it again, + I was healed.
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I began my student teaching in October. The school was 50 miles away and I had to get 40 hours there, so 8 or so time throughout the remainder of the semester, my friend Sara and I would drive there, grab coffee, and then do some student teaching to get ourselves one step closer to an education degree. Also in October, I participated in the NEDA walk, where I was a top overall donor and helped CHAARG become the highest group donor.
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November started out strong with Dad’s weekend, in which my dad and I drank a lot of coffee, watched a lot of movies, and just hung out for three days. The following weekend was the CHAARG retreat which was just as magical as I imagined. I put SO much effort into that retreat + everyone loved it! The month ended with my being home for Thanksgiving, dying my hair again, and catching up on sleep
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The semester ended just as every other one does; my orgs ending, an ungodly amount of group projects, and a lot of work. I got promoted at work so I am now a Student Manager which is very cool. I ended the semester with a 4.0 and then I headed home for the rest of December which is where I am now, surrounded by a lot of good people and a lot of good food.
Hi all, I hope you all haven’t forgotten about me. The last time I wrote [besides essays for class] was 138 days ago. August 14th to be precise. I hadn’t started my junior year of college, I hadn’t started my first semester on CHAARG exec, I hadn’t been promoted at work, I hadn’t dyed my hair, I hadn’t changed my major [more on that later]. I hadn’t done so many things 136 days ago.
I’ve been sitting at my computer over the past few days, pondering on what to say. Why haven’t I written anything in 136 days? Why have I rarely even logged onto WordPress in these last 136 days? Why haven’t I had any motivation or longing to write?
While I don’t know the answers to those questions, I do know I’ve been pretty miserable this semester. From school, to CHAARG, to my other orgs on campus, to work, to pretty much every other aspect of my life, has been miserable.
As I’m sure you all know by now, I put far too much on my plate. I take on every activity, every class, every extracurricular, every new position that I can. I try to do it all. I’ve exhausted myself. I could not find time to write this past semester because I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. When I wasn’t at school, a student org meeting, or work, I was studying, eating, showering, or sleeping.
This semester was rough, I’ll give myself that, but next semester with a new promotion at work, and more classes, along with all of my previous commitments… how am I to handle it? Over the past few months, I’ve realized on very large thing: there aren’t enough hours in a day.
I pride myself on being busy, on filling up my planner so I have to allocate time for working out, eating, showering, etc. Why do I do this? I can’t do everything in the world and still have time for my absolute favorite thing in the world: curling up in my bed at night and doing nothing; ie. staring at my phone or reading a good book. I need to start prioritizing my time and prioritizing what I do with my time and I need to do it fast before I exhaust myself next semester as well.
2019 is in two days. I don’t want to set a million resolutions for 2019. I want to set one: follow through. I am notorious for starting things. A new school, a new major, a new job, a new application, a new blog, a new journal, etc. Yet, I can never seem to finish these things I start. I love doing SO many things but there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do everything. In 2019 I want to follow through. I want to start [or continue] things that I am passionate about and I want to follow through with those things. I need to leave things less important to me in 2018 and bring what is vital to me into 2019.
I’ve got a few more posts of life updates, year wrap-ups, etc. on my to do list before the year’s end. I just wanted to make this to show you guys I’m not done with my blog, I’m not done with my writing. I just had to take a few months to really realize what was important to me and how to keep it in my life.
Hi everyone + Happy Tuesday! If you’ve been a follower for the last year or so, you may remember that I made a Back to School series last August. I got really positive feedback from it so I’ve decided to do it again this year!!! Let’s get started with it!
I am officially moved into my apartment at school + I’m very excited! Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I am living with 3 girls I do not know, all from other countries. One of them has brought her dad to stay for about 2 weeks + removed the furniture last night (unsure why) so I’m just trying to stick to my own schedule and live my own life until school starts.
So, from the title of this post you know I’m not sharing a tour of my apartment today (if I do one it will probably just be of my room) because it’s not fully finished, but it is a packing list for apartments! I definitely forgot some things and I brought things I for sure don’t need. Also, a ton of girls (freshmen) have no clue what to pack but with 22938 different packing lists available for freshmen, I figured I would make one for people in apartments because there are far fewer lists to get inspiration from but a lot more things to get! So, here is this artsy list of what to pack for an apartment (or at least what’s working for me).
Is there anything I’m forgetting or anything on this list that doesn’t need to be?
Hi everyone + Happy Tuesday!! I wrote this post last week and totally forgot about it! I head back to school in 3 days + I’m SO excited!!! As I prepare for the school year to begin, I have a lot to do + I’m putting everything on my intentions list for August. Here they are!
Pack for school // I’m about half way done with this and after another load of laundry or two + some final purchases, I should be done soon!
Make my apartment homey // I have been doing a bit of DIY (+ buying cute things) to get my apartment feeling like it’s all mine
Prep my planner // I just got new pens + markers yesterday so I’M PUMPED to get my planner ready for this semester
Develop my school routine // I’m getting back to school 2 weeks before school starts so I have plenty of time to get my workout, work, school, sleep, etc. schedules down pact.
Work out 5-6 days a week // This is part of my school routine + 2 of those are already covered with CHAARG!!!
Eat only things that make my body feel good // I’ve been having more stomach problems lately so I’m going to be doing a sort of experiment with foods I eat to see what is bothering my stomach
Conquer my first week of school // Junior year here I come!
Make some new recipes // I actually just tried a new one today (Chocolate Cherry energy bites… SO MUCH YUM) so I’m definitely ahead of the game!
Start meal planning + prepping // With 6 classes MWF, eating good foods is going to take some prepping so every weekend I’m going to prep + plan my meals so I am eating healthy foods ++ enough of them
Hi everyone and happy Tuesday! Somehow July is already over!!?!?!? I’m not sure how that is! I head back to school in 11 days and I’m so excited but also so shocked that it’s time already! In typical Alicia fashion, let’s check out how my month of July went for me, goals-wise.
Organize everything I own // Not nearly as far along with this as I’d like because of how overwhelming it is. But slow and steady wins the race!
Keep planning for CHAARG // I’ve planned every social, welcome party + end of semester party so I just have our retreat which is going not as planned because the camp has stopped responding to my emails and calls. So.. we’ll see.
Get everything for my apartment bought + ready // A few things have been bought but I do have everything I still need on a list ready to go!
Start DIYing // Yikes I haven’t done anything :(( I actually forgot I wanted to! I’ll have to start soon!
Work on training my dog // We’ve been working daily and I see improvements in her behavior on walks daily so let’s see!
Happy Monday everyone! Friday was the last day of CHAARG’s summer fitness plan “CHAARG Bootycamp” and I had the opportunity to be involved with it this summer. I wanted to reflect on my experience in this fitplan as I gear up for another in October (which I get to help lead as an exec member) so why not do it here for the whole world to see?
I am and have always been very black or white. I either love you or can’t stand you (if I know you that is… if I don’t I can be indifferent), all in or all out, I work out every single day or not at all, etc. and that can be good and bad. With fitness plans, however, it’s usually pretty bad.
I’m not sure why I’m like this // how I can change this about me, but the day I take a day off (that isn’t already listed in the actual plan) I just stop with it completely. I feel like a failure even if I’m not (it’s one day, not every day haha) and can’t bring myself to get back in the swing of things.
I was doing SOOO good the first 2 weeks of the plan… and then I went to Ohio to visit some friends. While I was there I didn’t workout, I drank a lot, ate a lot, etc. and when I got home the last thing I wanted to do was workout, let alone make up the workouts I missed. So, I didn’t workout for a week-ish (seems pretty backward I know). Then I made up a few workouts, got overwhelmed, + took another break. I did, however, get back on track for the last week + did all 3 strength workouts but I still didn’t feel that great about not really finishing the fitplan, especially because I spent money on it.
I think this is mainly due to my planning, or lack thereof. The fitplan started the day after I returned from Florida so I didn’t really have time or energy to plan the next 6 weeks of my life when I had been in a car for 10 ish hours. I had one thing on my mind, sleep, and the last thing I wanted to think about was planning the next 6 weeks.
Due to this, I was off on the wrong foot to begin with and I did persevere through my unplanned workout routine for a week and a half but I desperately needed to and should have planned out my workouts. Until I have written down a time or carved it into my planner, nothing is going to happen and that’s exactly what I didn’t do. I knew this would happen and it did, so I can’t really be mad about it now. This is definitely my major takeaway from this fitplan going into my next. I need to spend a few hours of my life the days before the fitplan starts planning my workouts, my foods, etc. if I want to get it done. It’s not that fitplans don’t work // it’s that you don’t make yourself work + I know that in order to build muscle (I have the upper body strength of a newborn baby) I need to plan and stick to that plan to see the results I want.
I do want to share a positive thing about this fitplan! There was a 10 day meal plan included and it was so useful! I didn’t follow the meal plan but I did love trying new recipes that I’m definitely going to incorporate into my faily life!!
So, while this may seem like a “wow Alicia you suck” sort of post, it definitely helped me realize my faults + how I can improve them for the fall! I also will say that this week I am sort of starting fresh with these workouts and doing the ones I like the most so that I can say I did not waste my money!
Are you as black + white like me? Or is there gray area for you?
Hi all and Happy Thursday! I leave for school in 2 weeks so I’m taking full advantage of all the higher quality kitchen appliances that I won’t have in my apartment! One of those is my food processor. I’ve been making protein balls (expect a recipe on these too because they are DELICIOUS), hummus, and this week nice cream!
I’ve been vegan for 2 and a half-ish years and I’ve never made quite possibly the easiest (and most delicious) vegan dessert to exist. I started googling nice cream + when I saw the bananas that I had planned on making banana bread with (overripe bananas are the best for nice cream), I chopped them up, froze them, and then made some tasty chocolate nice cream. I love making my non vegan family members try my creations because if they love them anyone will (my sister says my taste buds have definitely changed because I find weird vegan foods tasty that she claims she wants to vomit at merely the sight or smell of), however, I ate all of it (about 3 bananas worth) right after making it so I knew I had to make it again and soon.
So, when my 2 bunches of bananas were 100% overripe 3 days after I bought them, my opportunity arose. I chopped up all 8 bananas, tossed them in a plastic bag, and plopped them into the freezer while I headed to Target to get ingredients for all my potential flavor combinations
One flavor I was DYING to make was mint chocolate chip. I am a mint chocolate chip lover from way back and have yet to find a vegan option. So with peppermint extract and chocolate chips in hand, I kept searching for other flavor ideas. I also wanted to make a strawberry flavor too, so I scooped up a bag of frozen strawberries (which were ridiculously overpriced in my opinion) and headed home since I already had mixed berries and cocoa powder for my very berry and chocolate flavors.
As I arrived back home, I set up my food processor and placed ¼ of my bananas in it, blended them up, and then added my first flavor ingredients, strawberries. I started by adding a half cup to the mixture, however, when it tasted like a frozen strawberry banana smoothie, I added another half cup of strawberries and I could not tell there were bananas in it at all.
I repeated the same process for each of my flavors, about ¼ of my bananas, and then adding cocoa powder, peppermint extract, berries, etc. to taste until I would be comfortable eating these and serving them to my family.
For those of you who want to make these yourselves
Strawberry Nice Cream
Place 2 frozen bananas + 1 cup of strawberries into a food processor and blend until creamy
Chocolate Nice Cream
Place 2 frozen bananas, 3-4 tbsp cocoa powder (to taste), 1 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt into a food processor and blend until creamy.
Very Berry Nice Cream
Place 2 frozen bananas + 1 cup of frozen mixed berries into a food processor and blend until creamy
Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream
Place 2 frozen bananas, ⅛ tsp peppermint extract (or more depending on taste preference), and a pinch of salt into a food processor and blend until creamy.To achieve the green color you can add a handful of spinach or some green food coloring ( I did both)
*If the fruit isn’t blending, add a splash of almond milk to help*
Have you made nice cream? If so, what flavors did you make?
Hi everyone and Happy Tuesday! As I mentioned in one of my last posts, I recently finished Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, and I decided to share my review with you all!
This book shows Rubin’s journey through her 12 month-long Happiness project. After realizing that she isn’t as happy as she wanted to be, she set intentions, created secrets of adulthood, paradoxes of happiness, and set off on a journey of being happier. She deals with family frustrations, work frustrations, and more but she always remembers her goals and tries her hardest to not be set off her path and be the happiest she can be.
First off, I should say that I loved this book. I found myself, multiple times, thinking “Wow I do that and I want to stop.” or “Wow, I’ve never thought about doing that but I should.” and also “I love doing this so why don’t I do it already?”
There were 2 chapters of the book I didn’t really care for, April “Parenthood” and August “Contemplate the Heavens” were the two. I’m 21 so I don’t plan on having kids anytime soon (if at all) which is why the parenthood chapter I didn’t resonate with. Also, the Heavens chapter I didn’t care for because I’m not religious or care to learn about religion so while I liked reading about the comical life of Saint Therese in the convent, I wasn’t really feeling the rest of the chapter.
However, all 10 of the other chapters I absolutely loved. March, July, September, and October’s chapters about work, money, books, and mindfulness were my absolute favorites in the whole book. I have so many pages folded over in the book of quotes, ideas, and inspiration for my own happiness project (look for a future post about this soon)
My absolute favorite part of this book, however, is the extra material section at the end of the book. Throughout the book, Rubin mentions her secrets of adulthood and paradoxes of happiness and at the end, she adds a list of them all so that the reader doesn’t have to go back and find them one by one. She also adds tips and tricks for life and a little guide on how to start your own Happiness Project which I will definitely be utilizing sometime soon.
All in all, I would highly recommend this book. I now want to read another one of her books, Better Than Before because I’ve heard rave reviews on that one as well. I also highly recommend her podcast “Happier with Gretchen Rubin,” as I am learning a lot from that podcast just as I’d learned from her book.
What book(s) // podcast(s) would you recommend to me?
Hi everyone and happy Friday! Yesterday I got a comment on my July intentions and realized that the year is now over halfway gone. Last year I made a 17 in 2017 update post because I wanted to hold myself accountable for my goals + resolutions so that’s just what I’m going to do today! Let’s see how disciplined I am at a list I almost never look at !!!!! ( sense the sarcasm haha?)
EVERY DAY
> 1 hour of journaling//meditation//reading /// this one is totally not happening. It has been the past 2 weeks and a bit at the beginning of the year but I always forget about reading (re: my last post) so I’ve been sucking at that. Hopefully, with my newfound reading love, I’ll be better at that.
> 64 oz of water /// I’ve been kicking booty at this one. I’ve upped my water intake to 128 oz every day and hit even that almost every day!!!
> Exercise /// With CHAARG’s Bootycamp and my morning walks I do this almost every day, however, some days (usually weekends) I don’t do much of anything
EVERY WEEK
> Coffee//Lunch//Workout with someone /// lol this hasn’t happened. I do love this idea so it looks like I’m off to text some friends of mine
> Write /// I write at least once a week… at least something. Whether it be an intro to a book I’ll never finish or I blog here… I get those creative juices flowing somehow.
EVERY MONTH
> Read one book /// HAHAHAHAHA I’ve read 3 books this year (working on my 4th) so maybe if I read enough books during July and August that will counteract my garbage self from the pasts 6 and a half months.
> Discover a new podcast series /// I have 4 podcasts that I’ve been listening to, but I WOULD LOVE SUGGESTIONS SO DROP ME A COMMENT OF YOUR FAVE(S)
THIS YEAR
> Go on a vacation /// My trip to Florida so check
> Take care of my physical and mental health /// This will always be a resolution of mine and some days I am better about it than others and that’s okay.
How are you all doing on your New Year’s Resolutions?
I took a nice weekend trip to Ohio at the start of the month, and that paired with some family issues I’ve been pretty lackluster when it came to writing.
Something I’ve been doing quite a bit more recently is reading. I just finished The Happiness Project last night (more on that to come) and I started wondering why I don’t read more often. I love reading, I love writing, yet I don’t do it nearly as often as I’d like.
When I was part of my high school’s yearbook, I did almost exclusively design. I edited captions and stories, etc. but only because I was an editor and therefore it was my job (despite the thrill I got from turning a paragraph of spelling and grammatical mistakes into a perfect package complete with sparkly bow).
But, you all may be thinking… Alicia… you run a blog, you must like writing. And I do, I adore writing, immensely, it gives me a way to be creative without wanting to rip my hair out over my inability to draw anything better than a stick figure. So, then why did I refuse to write copy for my yearbook unless absolutely pressed to by my writing editor? Well, in my opinion, it’s because I was conditioned to believe I hated it.
School, high school, in particular, forced you to read and write things that you have little to no interest (or at least think you don’t) in and it is downright dreadful. Having to read books that you have no interest in, then having to write a 3-5 page essay in 45 minutes on a book you hated and therefore skimmed is almost worse.
I can remember being in elementary school after visiting the library that week, cozying up in my bed on a Friday night with Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty and staying up until the early hours of the morning to finish it because I WANTED to. No one told me to read the book, no one even recommended the book. I read that book because I wanted to. I read that book so many times and for a while, it was my favorite book… maybe it was because it was one of the only books with large font in my library… I’m a slut for large font. Whether I liked the book or merely the font size, there were many more books after that in which I read and loved doing so, but one day it stopped.
In 4th grade, I won a short story contest (and even got it turned into a claymation movie by my advanced class) with a 2-page short story called “Where’s Coco?” My sweet little white dog (based off of the American Girl Doll mascot Coco might I add) who went missing on Friday the 13th… in October nonetheless. While I can’t remember how it ended, I do remember that the title was written in a yellow polka dot angled Word Art font and that it was riveting to my entire class, which is why it won… obviously.
We were given a prompt to write a mystery story. Nothing more nothing less. I poured my heart and soul into that story because I am such a sucker for mysteries that I got that all done in one day (I do that with essays today but more so due to procrastination rather than passion). If I could muster up the idea of an American Girl Doll dog going missing and also find the dedication AND motivation to finish this story, why did I not write anymore? Why do I struggle to blog, when I adore writing? Why?
The answer to this is that high school ruined me. Plain and simple.
Something I always wanted to do was to be a teacher. I didn’t know I wanted to be a teacher because I hated learning, or at least I thought I hated learning.
Something I love is learning. So, why did I hate learning if I love learning? Pretty contradictory don’t you think? I think something that myself and so many others my age have come to realize is that high school is not about learning anymore, it’s about getting grades satisfactory enough to get accepted into the university of your choice.
I cannot tell you a single thing I learned from my junior year of high school other than the fact that I can read The Awakening in 90 minutes. The 90 minutes before I had to write my final exam on that book I may add. I can’t tell you so many things I ‘learned’ in high school because I did not learn them.
I memorized them hours before I needed to know them, regurgitated them onto a scantron or scratch paper, and then one by one, they were discarded into my brain garbage can (told you I didn’t learn much in high school).
High school was never about learning, yet I didn’t realize that until much later. I thought I hated learning because high school made learning the last thing I wanted to do.
It wasn’t until my year off that I realized that learning was fun. I learned more from the 6 and 8-year-olds I nannied than in my entire AP US history class. I learned more in my time in Peru than I did Honors Physics.
Learning doesn’t always take place in a classroom. But learning should always be fun.
How fortunate are we to learn that the moon’s orbit affects the seas’ tides? How fortunate are we to learn that you really can start a sentence with And or Because?
I wish high school hadn’t ruined me. I wish I knew my passions 4 years ago. I wish I never thought I hated the things that set my soul on fire. But here I am, still undecided on my life choices with the same fire and passion I had for reading, writing, and learning but this time.. I know I have it.
Hi everyone and happy July! The year is halfway over and it feels like just yesterday I was ringing in the new year and now we’re halfway done! Crazy how fast time goes by (even though time is an illusion but whatever). You all know the drill, here are my goals/ intentions for July!
Finish CHAARG Bootycamp // I’m doing this workout guide along with Insanity and Bootycamp ends at the end of July so I want to give it my all and finish strong!
120 oz of water daily // you already know
Organize everything I own // This is an ongoing process. A month ago I cleared out a lot of stuff I own and now I need to organize it!
Keep planning for CHAARG // I am SO excited for fall and getting back to school and in order for me to be prepared… I need to get planning!
Get everything for my apartment bought + ready // I move into my apartment August 11th, so naturally, I want everything ready to go by August 1st.
Start DIYing // I keep watching DIY videos + I’m so obsessed! I want to start DIYing things for my apartment and back home
Work on training my dog // She is such an angel in the house, but she’s crazy on walks. I need to get her to keep her cool around bunnies, squirrels, and other dogs!
How in the heck is June already over? How the heck is 2018 already halfway over? This year has flown by more than any other in my opinion and once school starts 2018 will be over before I know it. Let’s see how well I achieved my goals in June
Plan for CHAARG // I’ve been doing a bit of planning here and there, working on retreat, socials, etc. It’s hard planning things in 1 day when people don’t email you back but I’m working on it
Start CHAARG Booty Camp or Insanity // I’m almost done with week 2 of them both, and I will be taking a mini-break in a week or so because I’ll be out of town but I’ve already planned it so I won’t be missing a workout!
Eat better // I’m eating much better, eating out much less, and making almost all of my own food
1 gallon of water daily // Doing so well on this!
Figure my whole major thing out // I’m in every single class I need for the fall which is all I needed!
Read // I haven’t finished a single book. I’ve been in a weird funk and the last thing I’ve wanted to do was read… I started one and I just haven’t had the motivation to finish
Go to bed earlier // Most nights I’ve been in bed by 9 and sleeping by 10 but other nights (weekends) I haven’t been asleep until 1 or 2… Balance I guess?
Less screen time // This hasn’t been happening but I’m working on it I guess haha.
Happy Wednesday everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your week so far. If you read my last post, you may have noticed that I completely ignored my entire trip to Universal. I did this so I could make an entire post dedicated to Universal Studios and all of its glory!
My family and I arrived in Orlando Sunday night (after driving from St. Augustine), checked into our hotel room, went for a dip in the pool, and then hit the sack to save our energy for our 3 days at the parks.
View from our floor
One of our hotel’s pools
My Monday morning wake up call was about 5:30 (thanks dad) so that we all could shower, eat, and chug some coffee and still get to the park at 8am when it opened (we got early entrance because we stayed on a Universal resort… highly recommend!!)
First and best view
The first thing we did was head to Diagon Alley to ride Escape from Gringotts. Another thing I would totally recommend doing first thing in the morning (honestly just do both Harry Potter Worlds first because it gets SO crowded later in the day) because the line was a breeze so early but we went back later and the line was much MUCH longer.
Entrance at Escape from Gringotts
Since we were running to the roller coaster, I wasn’t fully able to appreciate Diagon Alley in its glory, however, when we emerged from the ride (as a changed woman I might add because it was INCREDIBLE) I was completely in awe of Harry Potter world (and was still in awe each time we came back after). The attention to detail, how interactive the whole park was, and how I actually felt like I was getting ready to go to Hogwarts; after I bought my books, wand, and robes of course.
After we had thoroughly explored Diagon alley (don’t you worry we come back 2 more times), we took the Hogwarts express to Universal’s Island of Adventure, which held Hogsmeade. Just as Diagon Alley had done, I felt submerged in Hogsmeade. They captured everything, from the snow and icicles adorned by each building, to the various characters, to Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom, everything felt, looked, and smelled real.
There were 2 rides in Hogsmeade, The Forbidden Journey and the Flight of the Hippogriff (nothing special… just your typical kiddie ride). We rode the Forbidden Journey first. This ride navigates you through Hogwarts, where you can see Dumbledore in his office, moving pictures, the Gryffindor common room, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione sharing a bit of information about what the ride will entail. Once aboard the ride, you begin soaring through Hogwarts (you’re told that you’ll be watching a Quidditch match), battling dementors, seeing dragons, dodging the Whomping Willow, and getting an earful from Draco Malfoy. This ride is pretty much stationary, tilting you up, down, and every which way, moving when scenes change to shake it up with real-life figures (dementors, trees, etc.). Finally, you make it through the ride where Dumbledore and the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team thank you for helping them with the game. This ride was my personal favorite across the 2 parks because of the tilts, turns, movie screens along with actual moving parts.
The sorting hat in Hogwarts
The photos in the paper moved!
Hogwarts!
Once we mustered up the courage to leave Harry Potter World (you wouldn’t want to either… trust me) we explored the rest of the Islands of Adventure park, riding the Jurassic Park water ride (kinda cool kinda scary and I didn’t even really get wet), seeing lines quickly getting longer before we decided to just ride the rest of the rides in this park early the next day, grabbed lunch, and then heading back over to Universal Studios.
Once back at Universal Studios, we explored LA, New York, London, and San Francisco (the park is divided up into cities) before going on the Race Through New York ride (hosted by Jimmy Fallon), a 3-D ride where you literally do not move but it 100% feels like you’re bouncing around New York streets, rocketing to the moon, and falling from 75 story buildings. To finish off this day at the park, we went on the Shrek 4-D ride where Lord Farquad somehow comes back to life ????? and we have to kill him again ???? before retiring to our hotel, grabbing dinner, waited for the pool to reopen post lightning scare, and then hitting the sack early for a long day ahead of us.
Tuesday was definitely the longest day of activities for us (I walked more Monday though because of all of the exploring we were doing). Our day started out once again at 5:30-6:00 with our assembly line of showers, teeth brushing, getting dressed, coffee drinking, getting HYPED for my birthday, etc.
For my birthday, I requested that we eat at Harry Potter World (because if you’re going to have your birthday at Universal, you might as well have it at the best part) so we ate at the Three Broomsticks at Hogsmeade. We had a cute little bird join us for a few minutes, who finally left after she figured out we weren’t going to feed her. I tried pumpkin juice for the first time (very good BUT SO SUGARY) and enjoyed a nice first meal of my day.
Well what did you expect? Pumpkin juice?!
Right after breakfast, we hurried around the park trying to get in all of the rides we wanted to ride but didn’t want to wait long for. These included the Kong, Fast and the Furious, and Hulk rides. The Kong and Fast and the Furious rides were basically the same just different plots. You’re on a bus, there’s a conflict, and the driver and you have to save the day. Neither were that great to me. Had we waited 85 minutes for the Kong ride the day before, I would have been highly disappointed. The Hulk coaster was definitely very cool. Your standard roller coaster: first drop, upside down, corkscrews, a photo taken at the WORST second, etc. It was nice to ride a real roller coaster in the midst of all of the CGI and 3-D features.
We were then taken back to our childhood days as we visited Dr. Seuss’ world. We rode all 3 rides (carousel included), visited all of the shops, and reminisced about the good old days. We were the only group there without a kid under the age of 10 but we didn’t care.
By this time today, our feet had begun hurting again so we took the Hogwarts express (the only way to get from park to park without leaving) to head back to Universal Studios.
There, I had my first legal drink in San Fransisco at a wharf-style restaurant, before returning to our hotel for some more drinking and a dip in the pool.
Once we were feeling up to it we headed back to Universal’s city walk for dinner. We ate at the Cowfish (contradictory since I’m vegan I know), a restaurant with the most amazing black bean burger and veggie sushi I’d ever had! My mom then proceeded to tell the wait staff (without my knowledge) that it was my birthday so I was sung to in front of the whole patio of people. Was I embarrassed? Yes. Will I remember it forever? Also, yes. Happy 21st birthday to me!
With much chagrin, my time in Universal had to come to an end. That morning, after packing up our car and checking out of the hotel, we got into the park early so we could ride Escape from Gringotts again only for it to break while we were on it (we got to ride it again). We took the Hogwarts express one final time to Islands of Adventure where we ate at the Three Broomsticks again (my mom bought us a meal plan for the trip and we’d only used half of it so we had to spend it all today and that restaurant accepted it), rode The Forbidden Journey again, explored the rest of what we hadn’t seen, including a SpongeBob store and an E.T. ride (which was actually super adorable). We completed one final lap of the park, grabbed some Ben and Jerry’s and a few trinkets before making our way out of the park.
Have you ever been to Orlando? What parks did you visit?
Living off Leesh 