The Journey

It was the longest drive home tonight. This semester has been the toughest in my academic career. It's weird though. Even with the death of my nephew and as hard as that has been, this semester,academically, has been twice as hard. If that is possible. Last semester, I was on top of my game. I had straight A's, made the Dean's List, and had an article published. This one, I am struggling and I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water. I will be happy to just pass these classes. Sometimes we question ourselves. We wonder if what we are doing is the right thing. When we make a decision in our lives that decision can have a lasting effect on us. I have no doubt that I should be here going to school. However, I didn't anticipate being here for four years. I didn't anticipate it being this hard. And I certainly didn't anticipate how I would feel in the process. The title of my blog is called, The Journey. It's not about the destination, but the journ...

It's funny. When I chose to take a movie history class I didn't expect to be challenged the way I have been. We are only half way through the semester and I thoroughly enjoy this class. My professor, Dr. O, is a great teacher that really makes me think. Of course this class is about movies, but I guess I see it in a much different light. Last week, he gave us a quote from a former teacher of his: "If you are satisfied with this, then you will never amount to anything." WHOA! Pretty deep for movie class. However, that statement struck me like a ton of bricks. We should never be satisfied with ourselves or our lives. We should always be striving to make ourselves better. Whether it be going back to school, committing to be healthy, volunteering, or striving to be a better parent or spouse. There is absolutely no reason to stay in the exact same place for the rest of your life doing the same exact thing. If you are, then my speculation is that you are not happy or sa...

Have you ever seen the movie "Julie and Julia?"  Julie decides to cook everything in Julia Childs' cookbook and blog (or blob as my mom says) about it. When she is about half way through she has to cook something that was the toughest thing to cook. She attemped this reciepe many times and failing. I remember the one failed attempt resulted in her on her kitchen floor balling her eyes out in a complete meltdown. Funny as it was, recently I had my own meltdown. I will admit, living on my own is tough; it's tougher when your college fails to process your loan application so you don't have any money to pay any of your bills. Before that, I went to the leasing office to ask to check my old mailbox in which I was certain that my school check was in. After they initially told me "no," I preceded to get in my car and cry like a baby. Believe me I am just as shocked as you are. I have not shed one tear since my nephew passed away back in March of this year. I ...

So today I had the pleasure of killing three spiders. Just to fill you in, I HATE spiders. They are creepy and they totally freak me out. These were not your normal run of the mill spiders. No, they were huge brown striped spiders. Two of them took over my balcony, and the third spider, I believe, made a nice little nest to lay eggs. Needless to say, I called my mom in a panic. I kept thinking, "I need a man!" My dad, my brothers, or a boyfriend I don't care just someone ELSE to take care of this problem. The only male in my household is my cat Starbucks and he probably would sniff it and then played with it. Alas, my mom said to grab something with bleach and I got my Mr. Clean bathroom cleaner until I realized that earlier this year I bought a bug barrier spray from Raid.  I was spraying those suckers and drenching my new patio furniture and they didn't seem the least bit phased. Of course, they left and havent returned. THANK GOD! Who or what in your life has i...

Well, I have officially been living in Baltimore for four years. I am surprised and happy that I have made it this far. To be honest, I didn't think I would be here this long. I really thought I would have quit by now or maybe would have graduated. It's a good thing that I don't rely on my feelings or emotions or I would have left a long time ago. I admit, it hasn't been rainbows and daisies living here. I have struggled greatly. I remember for about the first six months I cried almost every day. I knew God brought me here, but I didn't necessarily want to be here. Then, I thought I could rush through school by taking a ton of classes at one time all while working. I was really hurting myself there because you cannot rush God's plan for your life. Believe me - I've tried. You also cannot learn a completely new language in less than two years. That took me about 2 years to figure out. Even with all of the stuggles and disappointment in myself, it hasn...

On Saturday, August 28, 2011, I spent most of the day working and watching the weather map on weather.com waiting for the dreaded Irene to get here. I kept a vigilant eye on the radar map and the big green circular blob going up the coast. A Hurricane typically brings strong winds, rain, and causes tons of damage. Once the hurricane is gone, we are left with the task of cleaning the destruction it left behind. As a result, I began to ponder how many if us cause our own hurricane. This life can present itself with many challenges, but my question is how many of those challenges are self inflicted? What decisions, actions, and attitudes cause a hurricane in our life? Our choices today determines what we do tomorrow.  So if your life stinks right now, blaming other people, places, or things isn't the best way to solve your problem. Complaining and having a bad attitude just makes everything seem worse. Take charge of your life by owning up to your mistakes, learning from...

I was coming into my apartment building and the Blood Bank posted something on the bulletin board. Obviously, it was about donating blood, but the tag line was, "Do something Extraordinary." It really caught my attention and I began to think about how many of us do something extraordinary or at the very least something for someone else? In this fast pace, ditigal, instant drive through kind of world it is SO easy to forget about those who are less fortunate and those who just need a friend. We get caught up in our own day to day life and neglect to be caring about others. It's kind of sad if you really think about it. As a society and as people we should really keep an open mind and heart for those who are hurting and not just those people we know or are related to. It's about time that we stop acting like spoiled little selfish children and get out there and do something. Make life worth living. Better yet, make someone's day. However, it is easy to say, but ...