Just another small town girl parading around a concrete jungle. Addicted to travel, international news, public relations/ marketing, yoga, healthy living, and trance music. Being close-minded doesn't exist in my world. Ever changing, constantly evolving.
A new series I’m beginning. Mostly as a reminder to myself when I need some encouragement or maybe this will serve as a memoir that I shall view later on in life as a simple reminder of the lessons I’ve learned as I pursued “adulthood”. Who knows. I hope you find something of worth from it.
It’s Wednesday nights that I have come to love more then any other night of the week.
I’ve made Wednesday sort of like a “me” night where I cater to myself and do the things that I want to do.
I get home from work, relax, make a good dinner, get ready, head to the gym, then go to my yoga class.
This truly is relaxation at it’s finest. I highly recommend anybody to practice this routine once a week, it’s crazy how much it helps you with your self esteem.
The practice of making yourself dinner gives you empowerment, the early gym arrival allows you to feel motivated, and the yoga helps you relax. Simple living, big results.
“The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without, the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be.” -Horace Bushnell
I’ve been reading a lot of blog posts lately about the impact of Facebook on your self esteem. It’s alarming the statistics that point to Facebook’s success being centered around the human emotion.
I actually felt my first real low blow from social media Friday night. The anger, hurt, and frustration from something as simple as a “check in” made me realize how much I truly count on a Internet website to help me feel some sort of worth.
After this particular “low blow”, I realized this would be a great opportunity to essentially “walk away” from my Internet world and gather my thoughts in a new way.
Now, I’ve never been one to use Facebook like a diary. Ranting and raving about how I hate so and so or igniting some sort of dramatic filled situation, but I do however, love to engage my friends in discussion. I love to read people’s opinions and allow for a safe place of exchange without the pressure of judgmental ideas.
On the flip side, I have become hopelessly classified as a “social media addict” and have based my enter life around my MacBook. It’s been getting in the way of my normally ridiculous gym obsession and of course, my REAL life.
I’m tired of missing the day to day wonders that make life so special. Hence forth, the next week, I will be living my life without Facebook.
Wish me luck as I embark on what seems like the impossible in today’s ever changing society!
Last summer, nine year-old Caine decided he wanted to be productive while sitting around his dad’s auto parts shop. His elaborate and well thought out boredom landed him with his very own cardboard arcade. After months of begging customers to play, his man made idea made headlines after his first customer decided to make his small dream a reality.
You bet I’ll be heading out to East LA one of these days to play!
Passion and creativity has always been the backbone to my ambitions. Writing allows for me to express that passion through the only way I know how, words.
For months, I’ve neglected this blog because truthfully, I felt like I had nothing to say.
I’ve been reading and questioning just as much as I had always had, but I just couldn’t figure out what was missing. I just felt like I had put something on the backburner, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was.
After months of back and forth debate in my head, that piece finally hit me like a ton of bricks last week.
I’m growing up.
Then came the panic.
“Growing up? I’m too young for this! I can’t just grow up, I feel like I have so much youth in me still!”
All these arguments instantiously began popping up in my mind.
Than I began to feel overwhelmed as the weight of my decisions this past year hit me.
[Many of those decisions were for the better, in no way do I feel any regret, but I still couldn’t help asking myself if this is what I’m suppose to be doing.]
So I ran away to the only place I could think of - home. This meaning, my hometown. Not the place that I currently reside.
As I drove the 250 miles north, tears began to stream down my face as I began to realize how much I had put myself through, how much life I still had to live, and how truthfully in the past year, those that really care about my well being began to surface.
I guess in your own reality, you have this perfect “white picket fence” life you envision for yourself post schooling and then real life happens.
Those friends you thought were going to be there forever, could care less. That salaried, full benefit job of your dreams was no where to be seen. That boyfriend you were head over heels for, suddenly you’re not quite sure he’s the one.
I didn’t know how to properly express myself without creating conflict or feeling regretful for my actions. Which is why it has taken me so long to really accept my growth. I had put so much time, effort, and love into everything I had built that I had never taken the time to really dig deep into myself to discover what truly lies beneath these layers.
Well, I’m back and this is what I have learned.
Growing up isn’t that bad. In fact, it’s a blessing in disguise.
1.You will never truly discover who you are unless you really look within to ask yourself what you want. Sometimes you don’t know what you want, but that’s okay too.
2.You don’t have to have all the answers right away, but you need some sort of fulfillment that allows you to tread the path that you want to create. If you don’t like something, change it. Life is too short to take the backseat to your dreams.
3.Deep down, you have standards. Not just for others, but for yourself as well. Some people just don’t make the cut and that’s okay. You just have to take the lesson’s you’ve learned and move forth. The older we get, it becomes more apparant who accepts you for who you are. You can’t just sit around and wish that someone will love you for you. They should respect your beliefs just as much as you respect theirs and it should be a mutally benefital relationship. If you feel like you’re getting the shaft, you probably are. You just have to find the strength in yourself to be able to stand up for what you believe in.
4. Never forget where you come from and who raised you. In no way did I have a hard life, but my parents have always hammered into me the idea of responsibility. In essense, they never babied me. They forced me to grow up at a young age and find what enpowers me on my own. Truthfully, I couldn’t be more thankful for that lesson. I need to be more proud of myself for the hardships I threw myself into post college. The fact I was able to stay treading above water is a miracle, but I did it, and I really hope I can share this experience with someone else one day.
So in conclusion, this is my turning point. This is the moment where I say I think I’ve entered the next phase of my life and I’m [finally] okay with it. I know now that it is easier said then done, but slowly my confidence is coming back. I know I’m meant for big things. I just hope the next turning point reveals what those “things” shall be.
Just a little sample of my work with Sweety High’s Tumblr. It takes awhile, but eventually you learn to write like a grammatically correct fourteen year-old girl!
It’s our favorite weekend of the year, The Kids Choice Awards! Last night, our favorite stars (who happen to be the nominees and presenters this year), celebrated BIRTHDAY style at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills to help support The American Cancer Society. Gifts were passed out, laughs were exchanged, and of course, high fives were def on the menu! One of our favorite attendees was Kalia Prescott from the Hunger Games. Check out her uber cute salmon colored dress with nude heels. Love it! We wonder what amazing goodies she was able to snag from the party!
Don’t forget to check out our Mirror Mirror coverage from the red carpet here to discover what Kalia would see if she looked into the mirror! We loved her answer!
Good Morning 405 (my ode to Los Angeles) By: Jessica Irwin
Good morning 405 It’s another beautiful day I couldn’t help but push the snooze button a couple more times this morning So in bed I could stay But alas, I must get ready for work So up I get I brush my teeth, pick out my clothes, and hastily get set. It’s 8:25, time to go So I rush out the house and think to myself thank god I didn’t get towed. I get in my car and pull on to your freeways of gold It’s kind if chilly this morning, even a bit cold. As I cruise 75, merging through the snails Suddenly it happens, a familiar site The bumper to bumper FAIL. My car doesn’t have radio, so I’m forced into my own thoughts The normal phone calls to distract me, aren’t able to be sought. I slow to a stop, a low grumble in my chest. Why can’t just ONE morning be better then the rest? The time ticks away, my claustrophobia kicks in get me out of this car, this stupid box of tin! I’m starting to get a bit crazy now, this person just cut me off. So I flip them the bird, honk my horn, and then once again get soft. I’m almost to work! The end is in sight! I hold my breathe tight and merge to the right. The right lane has never looked so good, relief sets in I didn’t die today, that’s a plus, I wonder what I’ll make for din. So 405, in the past 9 months, we’ve become old pals. But not going to lie, if you were really a person, I would probably throw you in a canal. Nothing personal, it’s all business, I’m sure you understand. After all, you’ve just been named the busiest freeway in the land.
Between 250 and 500 (a definitive number is unknown) innocent Vietnamese villagers, consisting mostly of elderly men, women and children, are killed and their village is destroyed in what is later known as the “My Lai Massacre.” The incident is covered up by high-ranking military officers and not reported to the public until an investigative journalist catches wind of the story more than a year and a half later.
The massacre itself was finally put to an end after American helicopter pilot Hugh Thompson landed between a group of soldiers and villagers, threatening to shoot his fellow soldiers should they have continued.
The photo above shows one group of villagers seconds before they were killed.
I attended a conference today where the speaker was talking about a subject that most of the audience already knew enough about. But what made me sit and listen to her lecture was her passion for the subject matter.
I was amazed at how passionate she was. I was looking at her as…
