Let It Go Day

Today is Let It Go Day and in 2014 this is a day of great awesomeness and irony.

*CUE FROZEN GIF*


Now, on to the more serious side of this post.

I will admit that I have a hard time letting go. It's my need to process everything thus I make it into something reasonable and understandable.

What do I want to let go of? That's easy, the past four years. The past four years have been a mix of craziness and changes. People change, grow, and move on. Sometimes I feel like I haven't changed, and I'm still the same person, just older.

Letting go of the past is the hardest thing to do. While I was unhappy about how things turned out, someone told me that I can't judge the past based on how things turned out. So when things went sour I can't look back at my memories and see them all as sour because things didn't work out the way I wanted.

Things didn't turn out exactly as I imagined, and that's life. In another four years I imagine things will be very different from how I plan and want them to be.

“I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” ~ Marilyn Monroe

Tech Talk: iPhone 5S

I am the happy owner of an iPhone 5S. It was a crazy experience and weekend, but I'm glad how it turned out. After going three hours with a black screened iPhone 4, anything was an improvement.

It was a roller coaster experience, first I was going to get a 5S, but Verizon couldn't get me the discount I needed, and then I almost settled on a 5C, before we finally got my iPhone 4 to respond to a soft reset.

Sunday when I walked into Verizon to look at the 5C I wasn't sure what would happen. I'll admit to being a tech snob, and I don't like the 5C. I feel it's was meant to be a starter phone to introduce people to iPhones or for markets in countries in Asia and Europe that can't sell the iPhone 5S easily because it is an expensive phone.

Happily, I walked out with an iPhone 5S in gold. I was in the story all of 2 minutes when the amazing sales accosiate told me I was eligible to upgrade early(I was due until August for an upgrade) AND get a 5S.



I was definitely like this in the store and for the whole rest of the day.

I bought a gold iPhone 5S for me and my mom got the silver 5S. She also got the pink Otterbox, which made a little said, but then I went to Best Buy and bought a teal one. Everyone is happy now!

I'm still learning some of the small changes, but it is amazing how fast this phone is! I love it! I'm also super excited for IOS 8. I have been addicted to reading all the new updates from Macworld. Check out their coverage of WWDC 2014 here. Apple has some great updates in store for us!

My love for Apple products grows with every gadget I get. I'm the proud owner of a Macbook Pro with Retina Display, an iPad 3 (soon to be either an iPad Air or iPad Mini with Retina), an iPod Nano 5th Generation and now an iPhone 5S. Will I continue to buy more product from Apple? Probably, I've never been impressed by anything that makes me want to switch and the ability to have my information linked and accessible on all my devices is a big selling point.

Another factor is that Apple improves a lot with IOS and OS updates. I'm excited for IOS 8 and OS Yosemite. Both with offer more to the basic Apple user and to the advanced user.

Check back for another post on how I feel about Apple's Customer Service.

Celebrate Life For It Doesn't Last Long Enough

This week has been so hectic and exciting! So many great things have happened and so many decisions have been made.

I think the best part of this week was Wednesday. Wednesday was World Autism Awareness Day, and for my Women and Gender Studies class my group partners and I set up a table where we passed out cupcakes and other sweet treats to students and faculty in a way to help raise awareness about Autism. Everything was blue, because there is a campaign known as Light It Up Blue, which is meant to "Help shine a light on Autism". It was great to be a part of this event and to organize it at school.

After we closed down our booth I had to go to English class. My mom decided to wait for me in the hallway outside class. My professor saw her sitting there waiting and invited her to sit in class. Yes, I am that person who is absolutely chill with the idea of dragging my mom with me through college. She goes to pretty much every event I attend, she eats with me on campus, goes with me to the library or to meet partners in group projects and now she has gone to a class with me. It's crazy that people see her and automatically recognize her because she is my mom.

Later on, when my mom and I were on our way home she mentioned that Wednesday was April 2nd, the day that 18 years ago my GaGa passed away. I felt bad because I had forgotten, but my mom said not to worry because GaGa would've been proud of me for working hard in school and being so involved and passionate about it.

This got me to the thinking. April 2nd is the anniversary of her death and also World Autism Awareness Day. Two very important things in my life. It's a coincidence that these two events occur on the same day, but for me it's more than just a coincidence. To me it is a sign, maybe she is watching over us and that instead of being sad she is gone, she wants us to be happy and work hard to improve the world for Ethan, and other children like him.

While working the table for my group, a guy came up, and I instantly knew. It's hard to explain but after years of basically being immersed in a group of children you know when someone is different. Being different isn't bad, sometimes it's actually the best thing ever. This guy came up and asked if we were for inclusion not separation of those who were on the spectrum. My answer: Of course. He smiled and then began to talk to my mom about how he had gone to DC to talk with them about why there should be more inclusion. It is so wonderful the work he is doing.

This past week has had me thinking a lot about life and I have come to this conclusion. Life should be celebrated and enjoyed because a lifetime is not very long at all.

Picture collage of my family

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Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Spoleto, Italy, the sister city of Charleston. My soul yearns to visit. To enjoy a month of Italian food, history, art, architecture, and maybe some Italian guys (Or at least fantasize about Italian boys and write tons of short stories about them).

There's more to Italy than all of that. There is the experience of being in another country and best of all having nothing to do but write. I have the opportunity to go on a month long study abroad trip to Spoleto in May of 2015. I would be writing and studying, and enjoying the sights of Italy. How amazing would that be?

It would be probably the most amazing thing I've ever done in my life thus far.

But then reality sets in, and it's a heavy one. The trip comes in at about $7,554.00, that's the trip and tuition for the classes I'll be taking. Plus about $500 for fun money. That's a lot! It's gonna take a lot of work, but I could do it.

The problem I struggle with is that there are a about a million other things I could do with about $8000.00 dollars. Buy a car, go to Disney World, pay off all of my credit cards, or some other practical thing.

But I don't want to be "realistic" or "practical". I want to be frivolous and adventurous. I want to soak up the sun in another country. I want to breathe the air filled with history. I was to walk on the ground where one of the greatest civilizations stood.

That's why I have finally made up my mind. I'm going to Spoleto, Italy in May 2015. I'll never have another chance in my life to spend a month just writing in another country. Once I come back I will have to face the reality of the world outside of college coming closer as I enter my senior year. I'll have classes to finish, graduation to plan for, apply to Master's programs, study and take the GRE, and worry about getting a car.

To prepare for the financial part of Spoleto, I've been looking up scholarships and crunching the numbers furiously. It's gonna be close, but it is doable.

Also, in preparation I have been Pinning furiously every tip for traveling. I've also make a wish list on Amazon to keep up with the stack of things I will need or want for the trip.

Ciao! Buon viaggio! (This means goodbye, have a good trip in Italian).

Ten Reasons Being Single is the Best

Today is Valentine's Day, which literally means that I'm consuming about 4 times the normal amount of chocolate today. It also means that every radio station is playing sappy love songs or those breakup songs that remind you how awful and pathetic your love life is.

As usual I'm surfing Facebook and an article from Cosmo pops up in my newsfeed. I've reached that stage in life where I only learn current events from Twitter, Cosmo and my mother. Otherwise, I am blissfully ignorant to the world.

This article was about being single on Valentine's Day, and I got to thinking that being single isn't too bad. Cosmo's Single on Valentine's Day article made some decent points, but I have my own.

Here are my Top 10 reasons why being single is amazing.

1. You can buy your own candy. No worries about seeming like a bitch when you mention that you only eat Hershey Hugs, and that Hershey Kisses are okay, but it better be Hershey Hugs or you'll throw the bag at them.

2. You pick how much candy you get. None of those tiny little heart boxes that cost $5.00 for the tiniest and most disgusting piece of candy you have ever been forced to consume.

3. You don't have to go overboard looking pretty. Let's be honest, they aren't concerned if you spent 2 hours shaving, waxing and primping. They're just gonna take you to a cheesy restaurant where every other cheesy couple is, and you'll smile and post it all over the Internet. *Grimaces at the camera for the millionth time*

4. You don't have to compare your date and relationship to your friends. Her boyfriend bought her the biggest flowers, or her boyfriend took her to the nicest restaurant. Guess what? My boyfriend is soft and cuddly. He also has claws which he digs in my feet at night (my cat, Artemus).

5. You don't have to take off from work. I work Friday nights and it would be hell to take off for Valentine's Day, or to go out after work when I have to open at 7:30am tomorrow. I like my sleep, and if I had a boyfriend he would understand that without sleep I am the worst person on earth. Just give me my damn bag of Hershey Hugs put Clue! or Winnie the Pooh on for the millionth time this week and let me sleep.

6. Never worry about going overboard. I had a boyfriend for two Valentine's Days. The first one we celebrated almost a week late, but it was nice. The second one I went all out and he didn't even send a stupid card. I feels it's kinda important to be sorta equal. Damn, if all you get me is a card and candy (again, Hershey Hugs) then that's cool.  But get me something!

7. Benefits of Singledom are pretty nice. I have more money to spend on myself, which at twenty is nice. Hello to that sweet Lane Bryant dress.

8. I don't have to listen to a guy complain about how overrated Valentine's Day is. Yeah, I'm single and I'm always complaining that if you love somebody you don't need a specific day to do it. Of course, being a girl when I'm in a relationship I except that my boyfriend acknowledges the day, no matter how stupid he feels it is.

9. I can continue my love affair with Netflix. Angel, Spike, Booth, Mulder, and Castle are the best kind of guys. Cute, sweet, smart, quirky, hot and best of all, fictional. When I'm bored I just turn the TV off.

10. I CAN BE ME. If that's bitchy, loud, snarky, sarcastic then cool. If I wanna be sweet, silly and smart, even better. But I don't have to stress myself out trying to impress some guy.

Tomorrow I'm gonna stock up on chocolate and continue to enjoy being single.