words of wisdom//believe in yourself.

Prom Garters from Marti & Co.

Marti & Co. is my mother's fabulous small business!
She makes cute little things like these prom garters:

and now I'm going to do some shame-less promotion for her Etsy shop....

there is currently free shipping on all prom garters! so if you know someone 

in need of one, please consider directing them to her shop.  if you don't see 

one to match your dress, just let us know, and she can design you a beautiful 

custom one for the same price! 

take action.

"An easy way to begin implementing this practice is to go about your day, and whenever you notice an opportunity where you could be assertive, take the lead, speak, or move, do it. From spreading out on a couch, to complimenting a friend’s shirt, to illustrating a point by diving into a personal story and opening up emotionally, there are a million tiny moments throughout the day when you have the choice between taking action or remaining passive. Start noticing these moments and begin choosing action."


The above passage is from the article, "How to Pick Up a Stranger (or Produce Brilliant Work)" by Emilie Wapnick  ....and no, it's not about pick-up lines. It's actually about how taking small risks in your daily life can make you more productive, and it makes so much sense. By taking these small risks in your daily life, you'll also begin to take risks and be more productive in you professional life (or academic life for me).


This is incredibly relevant for me right now also. I was chosen to be the student speaker at Loyola's Scholarship Banquet, but I have been so scared to sit down and write my speech. The student last year had such an incredible speech and such an amazing story...and I'm not sure I can live up to that. But this article reminded me that everyone is unique, and as long as you are taking a risk for yourself personal, then that's a win. So just by writing this speech and getting up in front of all the big-name donors, that'll be a win for me. 


so take action.
and take a risk. 




ps. you should also read the article, it's wonderful (:

love always

so many good things have been going on in my life.
but yet, I still feel like something is off.

and then it hit me.
i miss my oldest brother jeff.
and i miss my dad.

I have already addressed grief here and here.
I still feel really weird talking about it,
but it's such a big part of who I am.

and I know I'm still running from it.
even talking to my best friend tonight,
and hearing her say I barely talk about it,
and that she knows nothing about it...
really made realize how much I do avoid it.

graduation tickets also got me down.
loyola gives you four tickets total.
and my dad and brother won't be there.
that's rough.

also rough to realize that you'll most likely end up outliving your brother.
i really don't know how to describe it.

beyond the fact that I really miss them,
and just hope that I can live my life in a way that honors theirs.

because they were pretty great.
and right now, that's how I know how to cope with the loss.

jeff on his wedding day.

i was pretty good at ruining photos

love always brother.

jeff and baby me.

weekend of food.

I seriously baked so much this weekend. why? I have not idea, but now I have enough food to feed the neighborhood!

Here's all I made:

Crock-pot Taco Chili with Chicken

so easy to make!

finished product

apple cinnamon muffins 

not really cooking but so good! strawberry/feta cheese spinach salad with raspberry vignette 

and lastly, quinoa mac and cheese. aka bomb.com

and I actually made it out of the kitchen to go church!

church outfit

updates!!

this last semester of college has definitely been a whirlwind!

and overwhelming...and exciting...and pretty much any other emotion you can come up with.

so here's some updates:

1. I accepted a position for next year!

I got offers from San Francisco, LA, St. Louis, and New York...but ultimately Winston-Salem stole my heart.  It's a smaller and new program but more importantly, this program really made me feel like I could do something there. Like my skills were needed, and that I would be able to grow as a person there. Also, I got offered the position 30 minutes after I interviewed!! Never in my life would I have imagined I would have gotten so many wonderful offers, and I am so grateful for this opportunity. The Abraham Project, here  I come!

here's a link to the website:

http://theabrahamproject.net/

added bonus: there's a great awkward photo of me on the homepage.

also, I get to live in a cottage...with a fireplace! what the what.

so.beautiful.

future home with fireplace, winning!

2. I will be staying in Chicago this summer until I move to North Carolina! My original plan was to move back home, but after receiving an offer to sublease from this lovely lady...

jennifer!

I decided to to take it!

here's to a wonderful summer filled with beach days, chicago adventures, and good friends

3. I will be officially graduating from Loyola with honors! My GPA is locked in for graduation, and I am so happy that all those late nights and crazy amounts of studying will finally be worth it. added bonus, my momma is planning a great graduation luncheon for me!

4. I got accepted to study abroad in Tunisia this summer! and I bought my airfare this week as a graduation gift to myself (: 

additionally, I will be participating in a service trip to Guatemala this summer also.

jet.setting.

beautiful tunisia.

5. I have two jobs lined up for this summer. One at the library where I currently work, and one with the Lawyer I interned with last semester. this means is will be a crazy busy summer for me, but it also will give me the opportunity to save money for next year since I will be living off a modest stipend.

plus, I plan on wearing only classy outfits like this all summer!

6. life at loyola has been especially good lately. lots of friends, lots of fun. I'm slowly learning to appreciate being single and all the freedom that comes with it. but I am so excited to go home for easter because I miss my family dearly.

life is good.

a day in the life

today was especially busy. and especially awesome.

here's what a typically day in my life looks like:
7:30am wake up/make coffee/shower/realize you're running late. you know, the usual
9:00am power walk to campus to sell coffee till class
11:30am-4pm class on class on class
4-6:30pm site visit to another loyola4chicago volunteer site (it.was.awesome.)
6:30pm-7:30pm quick like speedy gonzales quick work out
7:30pm-9:15pm lead/prepare a reflection for my own loyola4chicago volunteer group with another leader

also include 2 trips to the library, a trip to center to community service and action, and two trips to the gym before I actually went to work out in all of that. getting all those supplies for reflection was a pain in my behind.
also, college why you no have lockers?
 (hence all the trips to my gym locker to store stuff. plus my makeup was there and I decided not to look like a zombie today)
plus I spilt coffee on myself and smelt like french vanilla creamer all day. aw yeah.
and add in my momma purchasing my plane ticket to africa. seriously winning.

and then finally go hooooooome!
and then proceed to do a mound of homework.

sweet life eh?

surprisingly, I feel really good about today.
rejuvenated with life.
not sure why, but I'm going to just go with it. (:

scenes from the day:

entirely.too.happy.

above the scale at the gym. loving it!

making those posters at reflection!

beautiful!

so proud! they turned out so much better than I thought they would