Frozen Gum: Lesson One; Rushing Love

This entry begins my Frozen Gum series. Frozen Gum lessons are things that are so hard to learn that they don't automatically stick to you. They're there like a big lump you carry around, but until they thaw out you won't learn from them. For these entries, I'm going to let you in on a little secret so you can stick with my rambling...These are set up

Intro>Lesson>Story>What I learned> What you can learn.

I hope you enjoy these, and please leave a comment telling me what you took from the lesson!

Rushing Love.

In the age of technology, life has become fast-paced. If you want to send someone a document, you can fax it, scan it, email it, or even take a picture of it on your phone and send it to them. Want to talk to someone? Text, call, email, skype...the possibilities are endless. So when you meet someone new, it's easy for relationships to progress faster and for feelings to become public knowledge easier. However, something that has finally thawed out in my brain is that Love cannot be rushed. Think of the great romances...

Did Beauty and the Beast text each other from different sides of the castle to say that there must be something there that wasn't there before? No.

Did Prince Eric look at Ariel's Facebook and see that she was really a mermaid? No.

Did Snow White tweet that some weird old lady is at her door selling apples? No.

Love has to grow. We have all heard of love at first sight, and I'm not going to say that it doesn't exist, but I will say that love at first sight grows from infatuation at first glance. For a relationship to work, it has to last past infatuation. Past the honeymoon stage. And past the hostile stage.

So how did I become the expert? I didn't. I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to go about your love life, but if you can learn from my mistakes, then I've done my part as a writer. Here's my story:

This past January, I ended a 2 year 3 month relationship (speckled with mini break-ups). I had been living with him, and decided that the relationship was not going to work. I decided to move out (Jan. 7) and I began talking to an old flame of mine.

     History:

• The old flame and I only dated a month during one of my mini-breakups.
• I left him to go back to the original guy after the month.
• We originally started dating a week after we met.

Anyways, after we began talking, I told him I needed some time to get my head on straight and focus on me. This was all great in theory, but we continued to talk. And damn technology to hell because our relationship began blossoming through texts, phone calls, facebook, and e-mails. I was becoming infatuated with my rebound. We finally decided to just make ourselves an official couple (Feb. 16) I thought this was great. He offered me such a change of pace. He was kind, sweet....but serious. It was a refreshing change from the old guy. But he was just a rebound. At the beginning he was fabulous, and it seemed to get even better when he proposed (March 6)! *And now for a mini lesson:

1. Boys- Don't propose when a girl is drunk. Or even tipsy. Or even if she's only had a sip. Alcohol has no place in a proposal until after she has said a sober yes.
2. Girls- Just because he is down on one knee does not mean you have to say yes. And if he has already bought a ring, don't worry about the money; chances are that the ring is cheaper than a divorce lawyer. *

I think you all get the point...We moved really really fast. Stupid fast. We moved in together and by the time that I realized that I didn't love him, I had a beautiful diamond ring on my finger and we were making save-the-dates. In fact, I didn't realize how serious my dilema was until I was trying on wedding dresses with my best friend.

We were having a great time looking at all the dresses, and I was sure that I had found my dream wedding dress, but I kept joking around saying that I had guys lined up to come in and stop the wedding when the pastor says, "Speak now or forever hold your peace..." I could tell by the look in my friend's eye that she knew I was being serious. The truth is, I had talked to some guy friends of mine. They all agreed that I was being crazy for getting married, and I even begged some of them to come in and call off my wedding! I was making a mistake, and I was so caught up in proving everyone wrong, that I was denying myself the truth. As I was driving my best friend home that day, she looked over at me and simply said, "Are you sure this is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with?" I immediately began crying and spent the rest of the night talking with her and my make-shift mother (an old neighbor) about how I'm going to end the relationship. I had been contemplating ending it for a while, and knowing that people actually supported my decision filled me with the courage to do so.

That night (July 29) I told him that he needed to get his belongings out of my apartment. To this day, it was the best decision of my life.

So what did I learn? Obviously, Love can't be rushed. I also learned that I don't have to feel obligated to stay with someone because of a promise I made or money spent. No promise can bring happiness if you aren't behind that promise 100 percent.

So, ladies (and men too), don't rush love. If the person you're seeing doesn't want to wait, then they're not worth your time. This can seem SO hard to do when things are new and exciting, but guard your heart and try to think rationally about your relationships. There is always a honeymoon stage and until you pass that stage, friends and family can help you see rationally. (However, to the friends and family out there, do so nicely!!!) Another lesson to be learned is to put yourself first if you don't feel like you should be in the relationship. There is NO excuse to stay in a relationship if you do not truely love the person. It doesn't matter how much time has gone into the relationship, if there isn't love, passion, attraction, and commitment, there is no relationship.

Changing Your Mind

I was going to write a blog about changing your mind....but I changed my mind.

12 Lessons I've learned from my Mother.

As I'm reaching a time in my life where I'm engaged to be married, and having to seriously think about not being supported anymore, I'm noticing more and more how my mother snuck in little life lessons while she was raising me.

1. A hug or kiss can make anything better, no matter the boo-boo. I can't count how many times I fell down as a kid and hurt myself. In fact, I'm pretty sure from ages 5-11 I lived with perpetual scrapes on my knees. However, if I ever cried, mom would make sure I was okay, and follow it with a hug or kiss. While these didn't magically heal me, or take the pain away, it was her way of letting me know that she still loved me. To this day, when I get to see her, she gives me a hug, and it takes away any pain I had felt since the last time that I had seen her.

2. It doesn't matter what you're doing, singing a song can make it a lot more fun. Everyday I catch myself singing about something, and I always laugh because it's usually about what I'm doing. When I was little, every time we'd get into the car, my mom would sing, "Buckle up for safety, for safety, for safety, Buckle up for safety because it's the law." It would always just kind of happen, and I can't remember any other songs, but I know that there was always singing. These days, I still sing. In fact just the other night I was singing about taking my dogs out for a walk. I didn't want to leave the comfort of the living room to take them out, but somehow singing about it made it okay.

3. All those embarrassing things that she did? It was only to prepare me for future embarrassment. As a teenager, I can't think of anything more embarrassing than my mom or dad being around me. God forbid, I actually had to go somewhere with them and be seen by someone I know! However, I was always able to laugh with my parents. Being able to laugh with them, helped me know it was okay if others were laughing at me. Looking back, my mother and father should have been the embarrassed ones! When I was a teenager, I went through quite a few awkward stages...and I mean AWKWARD. Just for that, I'm sorry my parents had to witness me growing up, but I've gone through a lot more embarrassing things than being seen with my mom. There have been plenty of embarrassing things that have happened to me (giving a speech with my zipper down, falling down stairs, and stepping in dog poop in front of a whole group of peers-just to name a few...), but after each embarrassing thing, I keep my head up and laugh. I've learned that by laughing at myself, and keeping a light heart, I can get through any embarrassing moment.


4. Tough times never last; tough people do. My mom always had a sign that had this phrase on it. Whenever I was going through a tough time, she would bring it up. My favorite memory of this was when my best friend, Adrienne, was diagnosed with leukemia. As I was leaving for the hospital one day to visit Adrienne, my mom told me to give her a hug and tell her that "tough times never last, but tough people do!" While I told my friend this piece of advice, I took it to heart too. While she was in the hospital, Adrienne was so strong, and she pushed through and healed, but I had a really hard time coping with her illness. When my mom told me to tell Adrienne this little saying, she didn't even realize that she was reminding me to stay strong too. 

5. Always have a plan. Whenever the topic of drugs or sex ever came up, my mom made sure to say to always have a plan. If I ever encountered drugs, or got in a situation where there was sex, I was to have a plan. She made it very clear that I better have a plan before I get into the situation because once in the situation, I wouldn't be able to think straight. She also made sure to say that the plan can be anything from calling her, simply saying no, or accepting. Having this plan has made life so much easier. When I was first offered weed, I turned it down. To this day, I turn it down. I have my plan, and I stick to it. However, this doesn't only apply to compromising situations, but also to what seems like easy situations. There have been times that I'm just going to a dinner that might involve someone that I don't want to see, and I prepare myself for what I'm going to do in different situations. Just having this little bit of preparation helps so much in life. 


6. It's  okay to act like grandma and her. Just the other day I was out shopping for new glasses and I put on a pair of Burberry ones, looked in the mirror, and in a shocked voice, exclaimed, "I look like my mother!" A lady next to me laughed, but I looked again, and I kind of liked the glasses...guess which ones I got? That pair. I've told my mother countless times how she holds her hands just like grandma, and I'll look down and be holding my hands the exact same way. I used to get so mad- I wanted to be my own person, and be nothing like my mom or grandma, but then I realized that I'm proud to have them in me. Why? Because they are kind, caring, compassionate women. Because I have them in me, I help others and care about animals. I love to watch plants grow and I love to shoot a gun. I've got a tough Texan in me and I love to make others happy. I'm just like my mother and my grandma, but that's okay with me, because they're wonderful ladies. 


7. Family is important, but so is adventure. My mom was born and raised in a little town in the panhandle of Texas. The population was a little under a thousand people, and she graduated with 32 other students. Her entire life was in that town: her family, her friends, and even the little Dairy Queen where she worked. She left with her first husband, but ended up back in that little country town again. Some years passed, and she met my father. They fell in love, got married, and his job got transferred to Hawaii. What was a small-town country girl to do? She followed him to Hawaii. Then to Washington. Then to Kentucky. Then to Maryland. Then to Ohio. As a child, I was told that we weren't moving, but having an adventure. Looking back now, Mom was just on her adventure. She took chances, and that was passed down to me. Throughout her entire adventure, she always kept in touch with her family. I can't remember a week that went by that my papa didn't call early in the morning to talk with mom. And how many times did my aunt call in the middle of a movie, but mom still got up to answer the phone and talk to her? She stayed in touch with her family, and if it wasn't for the distance, it would be like we were all living together. Mom was able to keep her roots in that small town, but also branch out to see the world. As I go on with my life, my mom lives in Texas while I'm in Ohio, but everyday I'm on the phone with her, updating her. Now with technology, it's even easier to do this with webcams and picture messages. I would never be okay with living this far away if she hadn't taught me how to do it. 


8. Keep your house clean. So this may seem super simple, and easy to do, but when I moved in with my first serious boyfriend, I found it to be a lot harder. Without a dishwasher, we actually had to handwash all our dishes. Being two lazy people, we had to throw a lot of mold-covered dishes away. So what did I learn? When I left the guy, my next apartment had a dishwasher! My mother helped me move into this new amazing apartment (With a dishwasher) and gave me a lot of tips on how to keep it clean. I had a new puppy and she told me the most effective way to clean up its accidents. She made sure to tell me to rinse off my dishes before putting them in my new dishwasher. (Did I mention I finally had a dishwasher?) She told me to draino the shower drain often because I have long hair that gets caught in the drain, and she helped me unpack boxes and organize my entire apartment. Since she came up to help me move into my new apartment, I notice her all over it. I open my closet, and see a nice little box labeled "TOOLS :)" My bedroom closet has all my shoes organized, and my dishes all have a special place in my kitchen. If it was up to me, all my stuff would still be packed in boxes because I wouldn't have gotten around to unpacking them, but through her helping me move, I've learned that it's easier to just keep your house clean. 


9. Don't be a slut. I can't remember the situation that we were in, and I don't remember what I was wearing, but I do remember my mom looking straight at me and saying, "You're such a slut." Now, I know that she didn't mean it in a mean way, but she meant it in a do-you-know-what-people-are-going-to-think way. It took a couple of my teenage years, and growing huge boobs, but I learned that I needed to be a little more modest and cover up my puppies! It really does matter because first impressions mean a lot. 


10. Trust my intuition. This was the hardest lesson to learn, and it's something that I learned at the expense of my mother. On August 5, 2005, I got on a horse. I looked at my mother and told her that I needed off that horse and that I wasn't comfortable. I remember telling her that something bad was going to happen. However, she insisted that I stay on that horse and that I'd be fine. Well, I ended up getting kicked by another horse while I was riding that day. My leg broke, and I had a 3 day hospital stay, along with months of relearning how to walk. Like I said, this was a really hard lesson to learn, but I learned to trust my intuition. If I'm in a situation and my alarms start going off, I get out. 


11. God has a plan. This is something that my mom probably doesn't know that I've learned from her. She is such a strong woman and she's been through a lot. Her second husband died of cancer, and she's been through a couple divorces. But you know what? Through all of this, she turned to God for help. It's not much, but this is the best lesson I've ever learned from my mother: while I may not see it, God has a reason for everything that happens in my life. While it may seem trivial, I hated moving to Ohio, but looking back, I can see how God was giving me the best opportunity in so many things. For example, if we hadn't moved to Ohio, I wouldn't have been given the opportunity to graduate high school with my Associate's of Arts and Humanities and I wouldn't have my mom cheering me on through my entire high school career. 


12. There's no love like a mother's love. Every child knows this, and can tell you how much their mother loves them. Knowing how much my mother loves me and my brother makes me want to be a mother myself. I know that there's nothing she wants more than for us to be happy, and just being around her makes me the happiest I can ever be.

My Top 5 Most Annoying Animals

 5. Pandas- Pandas only reach the fifth spot because they're just so darn cute! Their cuteness isn't annoying, but what is annoying is their eating bamboo all day. It annoys me that they eat anywhere from 40-80 pounds of bamboo a day. Something else that annoys me about pandas is their teeth. They always look so yellow. I think that since their fur is white, it makes their teeth look really yellow. Other than that, they're really freakin' cute! Which leads me to much more annoying animals like....

 4. Jellyfish- Jellyfish are such beautiful creatures. Some of them glow in the dark, while others are made of all sorts of colors. They all have one thing in common though: they're annoying. These creations just kind of float along in the water, and sting anything that touches them. The reason I think they're annoying is because every full moon they wash up on the shore. So as a swimmer, surfer, beach go-er, you're just walking along minding your own business, when all of a sudden your foot is on fire because you stepped on a stupid jellyfish. What's even more annoying is the fact that if they're washed up on the beach, the jellyfish are most likely DEAD! Anything that can sting you is annoying, but it's also understandable because it's a defense mechanism. A more un-understandable animal is the...

3. Cicadas- For those of you that don't know what a cicada is, they're these huge insects that break out of shells during the summer time. A lot of people in the south call them locusts, but they're actually not related to true locusts which are like grasshoppers. The first annoying part of these things, is that their shells stick to everything. They have these fine little hair things on their legs that make it possible for them to stick to anything. In the picture, the brown part is the shell while the green thing is the actual cicada. As a little kid, when you climbed trees, you had to watch out for the shells (and the bugs!) because they would stick to your hair and clothes and creep you out! The actual live bugs are annoying because they make this awful sound. It's like the sound of a cricket, but mixed with death and amplified times a hundred. While most bugs are annoying, none of them are more annoying than...

 2. Mosquitoes-  I shouldn't even have to explain why these are so annoying. They spread diseases, bite you and make you itchy, they reproduce quickly, and they make annoying buzzing sounds! I was trying to do some research to even find out what the benefits of mosquitoes are and I couldn't find very much. They only reasoning behind keeping them alive is for bat and frog food. A lot of other people said that they keep the people that make bug repellent in business too! Bug repellent has never really worked that great on me, thus I don't really agree with the latter comment, but I'm sure that frogs and bats can find another food source! Plus, the buzzing they make is really annoying. The worst is when they land on your ear to bite it, and you can hear the buzzing, but you don't want to kill it inside your ear. This usually ends with a squished bug inside your ear. (I was going to search for and post a picture of a mosquito, but just looking at them started making me all itchy, so I had to stop) I just really hate mosquitoes, but not as much as...

1. The Canadian Goose- These top my list for most annoying animals for several reasons, but there are five main reasons why they're so stinkin' annoying! Reason 1: They're loud. As you can see with the rest of the list, most of these animals are annoying because the sounds they make; However, I feel that there is nothing more annoying than trying to take a nap on a warm spring day with your windows open, only to be woken up to fighting geese going, "HONK HONK HONKKK." The second reason directly follows this because the reason they're usually honking is because Reason 2: They're SO territorial! I have actually been chased down by a Canadian goose before. It was hissing at me, and not knowing what that meant, I hissed back. I ended up running down a Kmart parking lot in heels and being saved by jumping in the open door of my mother's jeep. For those of you that don't know, when Canadian geese choose a spot to nest in, they make it THEIR spot. There is no fighting with a Canadian goose because they have a ton of tiny, fine teeth that will latch onto your flesh and not let go. So we have all these damn territorial geese moving in, and hissing and chasing people, only to lay eggs and give birth to ducklings. Okay, say it with me, "Awwwwww!" No. I hate their ducklings. They're okay for the first month, maybe, but then they just get awkward! I think teenage Canadian geese are the ugliest things.  Reason 3: Teenage Canadian Geese are awkward to look at. They halfway have feathers and have long knobby legs with really big feet. I feel embarrassed FOR them because I know they probably aren't smart enough to feel embarrassed for themselves. Quite frankly, I don't like looking at them because it makes me feel awkward. Once they move in, and once they have babies, the amount of poop increases dramatically. Reason 4: They poop EVERYWHERE. There's a pond across the street from my fiance's house, and geese live there. I can't walk the dogs in the big grassy field by the pond because there is so much goose poop my shoes get covered in it! For fellow dog owners out there, you know that dogs LOVE goose poop! I don't know what it is, but I can't stop them from eating it! So, how do we stop all this from happening? Hunt them! But.....Reason 5: These damn birds are PROTECTED and can't be killed!!! Even though there are a TON of geese that live in Ohio, they are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Act of 1918. According to wildgoosechasers.com, "this Act makes it illegal to harm or injure a goose and damage or move its eggs and nest, without a Federal permit. Not complying with the Federal Act can result in fines ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 and this also applies to an untrained dog’s actions." Are you kidding me? This even makes is a federal offense to "accidentally" hit one of your car. 

Overall, while all of these animals are annoying, none of them even hold a candle of annoyance to the torch that the Canadian Goose holds.

Do you have a routine?

Have you ever noticed that throughout the day you follow certain routines? I've been paying attention to a lot of different routines that I follow and I'm scared that my entire life is just turning into a routine.

In the morning, before class, I know that I have to set my alarm at LEAST thirty minutes before the time that I really need to get up because I'll snooze it until I can't snooze it anymore. My morning routine consists of snoozing my alarm until I can't, getting out of bed, taking my shower, getting ready, getting dressed, letting the dog out, then I leave. I have the same way that I drive to school every day, the same path that I follow to classes, and the same things I do once I get to class.

The scary part is this: Within these routines, I have smaller more exact routines, and within THOSE routines, I have microscopic routines. Now, maybe it's because I have obsessive compulsive disorder, or maybe it's because I have created these habits, but they basically control my life. 

Here's an example:
Everytime I take a shower, I have to go through the same steps and if I dont do a step, I have to start over (That's the OCD in me!). First, I have to wet my hair all the way through and shampoo it. After I rinse the shampoo out, I wash my body. After washing my body (which has to be with body wash and a loofah or else I'm still dirty), I put conditioner in my hair and let it set while I wash my face. Now here's the tricky part... I wash my face with either acne wash of bar soap, and have to wash that soap off, along with  the conditioner while trying not to let any conditioner run over my face. If too much conditioner touches my face, then I have to re-wash it. 

I think that my obsession with routines is slightly ridiculous, but do you have any routines that you follow? Are you as crazy as I am? Or a little less exact? 

Just an FYI and a tiny end note: According to the Mayo Clinic: 

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions). With obsessive-compulsive disorder, you may realize that your obsessions aren't reasonable, and you may try to ignore them or stop them. But that only increases your distress and anxiety. Ultimately, you feel driven to perform compulsive acts in an effort to ease your stressful feelings.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder often centers around themes, such as a fear of getting contaminated by germs. To ease your contamination fears, you may compulsively wash your hands until they're sore and chapped. Despite your efforts, thoughts of obsessive-compulsive behavior keep coming back. This leads to more ritualistic behavior — and a vicious cycle that's characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

So how far do routines need to go before they turn into a disorder? I'd answer that- but that's a whole different subject. 

Setting Expectations

I have a question:

Why do we set expectations for other people?

My father has a thing that he says whenever we get upset, and it goes a little like this, "I had an unfulfilled expectation." This basically means that we set up an expectation of a person, event, product, journey, and any other thing in life, and it didn't go as we planned it. When you look at situations that way, you know that you can't always prepare yourself for how things will go, but that you also have no control over how situations will turn out. So I ask again:


Why do we set expectations for other people?

This also comes down to how we expect people to act. Your mother and father should love you and watch out for you, but we all know that somewhere in the world there's a mom or dad that it currently shooting up drugs next to their child. It's a sad reality, but it IS a reality. We also set up the expectation that our best friend should always be there for you, but we've all heard stories of best friends splitting up because one friend went for the other's love interest. And what about the infamous situation where a parent wants their son or daughter to grow up and not only be as good as them, but better? This can work in a good way too. What about the criminal that decides to change his life? Plenty of people expect him to go back to stealing, selling drugs, wrecking havoc, but aren't we all a little surprised when he's volunteering at a homeless shelter? So AGAIN:

Why do we set expectations for other people?

I challenge you, infinite internet readers, go ONE day without setting expectations. Can you do it? If you can't then pick someone in your life that you're not going to set expectations for. If they don't have the pressure coming from you, or anyone else for that matter, they just might surprise you. 

Polar Bear

I'll Just Never Learn...

to chew my food enough to be able to swallow it without throwing up.

5 Quick Things I've Learned in College

1. Dish washing doesn't have to be confined to the sink. My dorm room had a sink in it, which was great for rinsing things off, brushing my teeth before bed, getting something to drink, and being able to wash your feet when you're freaking out because they're dirty. However, when it came down to really washing dishes, it was impossible to get it done in such a small space. So every couple of weeks when the dishes began to resemble the Tower of Pisa, I would make trip by trip to my shower carrying dishes and preparing to wash them. This little lesson stuck with me when I moved into my first apartment. My ex-boyfriend decided he did NOT like to help with dishes, so I thought, if I don't do the dishes, then surely he'll get fed up with having so many dishes and he'll do them! No such luck. I ended up making trip by trip to our bathtub and doing the dishes there. Even though I was doing a household chore, I still felt like I was getting treated to a spa day! Haha. 

2. That guy with the lip ring? Yeah, he's a tool. We've all been in that situation. You're going out with some friends, and there's the one cool guy that everyone knows and he seems like a respectable guy. He's funny, he's nice, he's liked, and he can buy the alcohol! Well, I'll call my guy Frank. He was the one of the group that was over 21 (something highly needed in college, but not so much for me). Frank was talked up a LOT before I first saw him. I heard bits and snippets like, "Oh man, When is Frank gunna be here?" "Yeah, Frank is coming, isn't that great?" "Frank's on his way!" and pretty soon, a guy with dark shaggy hair, a lip ring, and tight jeans walks through the door and is met with hugs from the girls and high fives from the guys. As the night progressed, Frank talked to everyone and made us feel like we had known him forever, and by the end of the night, I thought that I may have fallen in love with Frank. In the early dawn, when the sun was just rising above the horizon, and all the drunks were walking home, I got a call from him telling me to let him into my dorm! Being excited that this "cool" kid was at my dorm, I was ecstatic and ran to let him in. He came in and we talked about the night, our majors, our dreams, and our old relationships, then something happened. We began to kiss. Things couldn't progress far because it was that time so I couldn't do much, which I look back and I'm glad. Strictly because, after that night, I never heard from him. Well, I did hear from him once, asking what I was doing one night because he wanted to come over. Luckily, I was busy. Overall, I think we all know what he was after, and I had to tell myself, He may look "cool" but he won't give you respect, and he's just a typical guy. Plus, he has a lip ring. 

3. Naps aren't just for children. I'm one of those people that love sleeping. When I go to sleep at night, I try to set three alarms because I know I'm going to be perpetually exhausted, and will not be able to get up with just one alarm. And on a side note- alarms don't work if you set them for the wrong time of day...say 9:30 PM instead of 9:30 AM. I had to figure that one out the hard way. Several times. A week. Throughout the whole semester. But, I never knew I could enjoy sleep THIS much! Every spare moment I have, I spend sleeping because my body tells me I need it. I also found that I could fall asleep anywhere; this includes hallways before class, chairs in the student center, in class, a booth of a restaurant, while driving, and at the computer. I don't know if this is just a phase, but I've definitely learned that taking naps can completely change your mood, make you feel better, and keep you healthy. The best way to combat feeling sleepy all the time? Don't take really long naps, you'll just wake up feeling more groggy. Plus, I found that being active helps, but makes you more sleepy once you slow down. I'm still searching for the perfect solution, but I keep falling asleep! 

4. Never underestimate the power of snail-mail. If you've ever received any type of mail, then you know that it's a great feeling receiving a letter in the mail. In this age of technology, we get things fast. You call someone, and tell them you've sent an email, and they check their email, and they have it. However, You call someone and say, "I just dropped a letter in the mail for you" and for the next couple days, they'll be checking their mail, excited to just get something. When you receive something in the mail, it's like a present! As a college kid though, one has to remember that the mail works both ways and a lot of times, to get mail, you have to send mail! So take a little time and write your mom, grandma, grandpa, and other family members. Heck, even mail your friends at other schools because the act is always appreciated. Don't know where to start? Send some cheap valentines (think the kind that you used to give out in grade school.)


5. Crafts are one of the best ways to de-stress. Speaking of making Valentine's...You'll get more than just mail from making them. According to Family-Friendly-Fun dot com, "Craft therapy nurtures children and adults, offers an opportunity for self expression, develops fine motor skills and reduces stress." I've been to a therapist before and one of the things she had me do was color a picture representing my brain. Not only did it help her take a peek into the way I think, but it also relaxed me and made myself ask some serious questions about my inner-self. So, during exam week, or mid-terms, take an hour to pause and do a craft. Go out to Walgreens and buy a coloring book and some crayons. Just by coloring a few pages, you'll notice your stress levels go WAY down, and you'll be in a better mindset to study! 
  

Mothers, don't do this.

I'm sitting in Panera Bread Company and I just witnessed something that I have a feeling happens more often than not.

So, I'm sitting in my favorite little corner booth, and there's a mother, her son, and her daughter in the booth across the way from me. The son looks to be around 10 years old, and the daughter looks about 4 years old. As I sit down, I don't really notice them, other than I saw the mother get up to get her food and then come back. After some time of me eating, and them eating, I hear a commotion. The mother is yelling at the son and jerking his fork out of his hand. "If you want to finish your salad, then you have to scrape the bowl!!!" And she shows him how quite forcefully, then returns the fork to him. Apparently he did not do it as she would have liked him to, because once again she's ripping the fork out of his hand to show him how to properly eat his salad. After a while, they both give up and decide it's time to go home. As they're getting up to leave, the mother jerks him out of the booth by the arm and says rather loudly, "You're a disgrace!"


I wanted to get up and tell her that he's a child, and he shouldn't be forced to eat SALAD. Also, that he should be able to eat any way he wants as long as the food is getting into his mouth.

So parents, should children be punished like this for not eating salad "correctly"? Is there a correct way to eat salad?
My only advice is not to punish your children out in public. It's a lot cuter to see a family eating together in whichever way they like to eat than for a mom to be ruining someone else's meal by yelling at her children.


Oh and by the way. The little girl was an angel and hardly talked at all.

My Battery is dying so I'll have to make this quick.

I've decided to start keeping a blog about things I see, notice, or feel that the rest of the world should know.

It was hard to decide to do this because I thought to myself, Why make a blog that no one will probably even care about? And there is NO answer to that question other than, It's important to me and that's all that matters.