women in 2012: miss representation

this was so absurd I'm not even sure how to formulate words to respond to it besides anger. welcome to my feminist side.

motto for 2013

via pinterest

hellllllllllllllo 2013!

long time no talk! I decided to take an impromptu break from blogging. this allowed me some time to think and reflect. it was great.

Highlights of 2012:

• Spring Break Trip: Savannah, Orlando, Daytona Beach with mah best friends. still missing that butterbeer. stuff is DELICIOUS.

• Graduation Week: I was the student speaker at my college's scholarship brunch, and my momma threw me a bomb graduation luncheon. it was so great to spend the week with my near and dear.

• Guatemala: life changing. I know I fall in love with a lot of places, but I truly left part of my heart here.

• Tunisia: this whole trip was so so inspiring. I also made great friendships, and was convinced to at least think about joining the peace corps. still miss this place everyday.

• spent my last summer in chicago: so thankful for all the friendships I have made, and I look forward to seeing them evolve. 

• Started The Abraham Project: moved to north carolina in july, and began this crazy year. I had no idea what this year would become, but it's been beyond all my expectations so far.

I know the whole resolution thing is over done, but I do like the idea of a fresh new year with brand new goals. I also thought it would be interesting to look back and see what my goals were last year and if I held true to them...

goals for 2012:

1. Get my heart fixed. so far, it's looking like open-heart surgery so 2012 is gonna be a big year. but this also means I have an excuse to slow down/make friends with 80 yr old ladies in the cardiac dept/eat a bunch of ice cream (cause it's totally like getting your tonsils out right?!) -CHECK. I do have a heart defect but I avoided open-heart surgery because it's a smaller hole. winnnnnnning

2. Get Healthy. More running, more fresh/natural food, more remembering those vitamins everyday/run a 5K. -CHECK. I ran my first 5k this fall. vitamins have been taken, and clean eating is a work in progress

3. Have a fresh start! I want to graduate and go some place completely new where I know no one and just work and have a fabulous time.  -DOUBLE CHECK. pretty sure moving to winston and starting The Abraham Project fuifills this one.

4. Have long hair. so superficial, but I want it. no. shame. -CHECK.

5. No regrets. -CHECK. there's been moments of doubt, but never regret, and only moments never lingering.

and without further ado... 

Goals for 2013:

1. Apply to Grad School (Masters of Public Health) and Peace Corps.

2. Travel.

3. Work at maintaining meaningful friendships from a distance.

4. Clean eating.

5. Worry less.

love this. via pinterest

wwiw: keep it simple

it's autumn, and north carolina has started to get chilly.

so outfits are getting simpler and involving more and more layers.

also, I work up with 15 mins to get ready. oops!

hello bedhead!

linking up here today:

on 3 months..

I've officially been a part of The Abraham Project for three months as of yesterday. (yaaaaaay!!!)
yesterday also marked my first break-down cry-fest of year.

to be honest, right now I'm really frustrated. this week marked a year since I had last seen my ex, which is a HUGE deal in my life since I have known him since I was 3. it also showed me that I was strong enough to get out of an unhealthy relationship, and have the courage to walk away. but I when I realized it had been a year, I also realized I had no one to share that with in winston. through this program, I feel like I have a great support system at the church and with my roommates, but no one who I'm really close too. I'm not sure if it's because I still have trust issues.  Also, both of my roommates are in great relationships, which is great for them but honestly just makes me feel more isolated.

but in the end, it's not a terrible place to be. I need to learn to trust people more, and to open up to them. and I realized an important thing last night...I'd rather be where I'm at right now in life and a little lonely, than where I was last year. that's a huge accomplishment.

I  also found this gem on Kelsey Nicole's blog. It's written by Brenda Dell Casa.

"It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn’t know and may or may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now. You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren’t exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you. You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared. You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren’t so great after all. You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not. You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward. You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can’t meet anyone decent enough to get to know better. You love someone but maybe love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap and getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while winning the race would be great, right now you’d just like to be a contender! What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out."

source: http://strollwithoutshoes.com/older-favorites/

wwiw: fall colors and no shame november

blazer: thrifted banana republic. shirt: aerie. scarf: h&m, jeans: gap, shoes: steve madden

I cannot believe october is almost gone....but that means No Shame November is coming up.  This is a project started by my best friend last year (check out her blog: http://kathleenleahy.tumblr.com/).  Basically, the idea is that so many of us walk around feeling self-conscious every single day of our lives and ashamed of so many silly little things but these things seem so BIG to us.  by recognizing and owning the things that make us ashamed, it's so much easier to move forward.  we all have so much potiential and it's time to get rid of the shame that's holding us back. 

no regrets.

no shame. 

here's links to some of my posts from last no shame november:
intro: no shame november

no shame november: daddy issues

no shame november: food

no shame november: grief

no shame november: I'm lost

also, linking up here today:

wwiw: it's officialy boot sock season

ok so really cliche but I love fall. I love dressing in layers, and I especailly love wearing boots with fun boot socks. I also feel really lame saying all of this but it's true. gold boot socks make me incredibly happy. it's the small things people.

breaking out the portable heater in my room was definitely not fun though. 

linking up here today.