3 THINGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME

In case you haven't heard, today is honeybee's birthday! In honor of this wonderful lady, I thought I'd write a blog post. For starters, we're almost completely opposite - my mother will always be the vivacious spirit in the room and I'm the bookish one in the corner. She has tapped into a part of life I haven't quite grasped, and I only hope one day I can live these lessons fully.

• Live A Little: Lord knows most days I just want to snuggle in bed and catch up on Young and the Restless. I remember once being called a homebody, insultingly, and my mother saying that that's okay (I was, looking back at it, over-upset by that comment.) She has always done a great job at accepting my less-social qualities, but challenging them at the same time. Having lived in Germany at 22 and traveling Europe, my mother recognizes there is a lot of the world out there I haven't seen. She challenges me to be adventurous and make memories. Our oppositeness is probably strongest in this area as I take after my workhorse father, but my mother reinforces that you have to make time for fun. You have to invest in relationships, and you have to make every day about doing something new. And she's right - what am I going to do 30 years from now? Think back about the time I stayed late at work to file some papers and make some extra phone calls? I hope not.

• Live Fabulously: I truly think it all started when she was named after Jacqueline Kennedy (Onassis.) She has always been one to put time into her appearance, and I absolutely love her for that. As a tomboyish child, we did not always see eye to eye, but now with 60+ dresses hanging in my closet, I'm thankful for all her attempts to introduce femininity into my life. But I think living fabulously isn't so much about what you wear, but about how you wear it - living fabulously is about confidence. Wear what you love, wear what makes you feel good. Put thought into your image and how you want to be represented to the world. Is life all about appearance? Of course not, but if you can look fabulous while doing whatever it is you're doing, why not? Every day is a good day for your favorite pink lipstick & Madonna's Immaculate Collection.

• Practice Selflessness: My mother has always gone out of her way to do things for me, and she's a mom, so I get that that is sometimes a part of the job. She'll send me homemade dinners and boxes of goodies out of the blue, just to brighten my day, and it always does and I always appreciate it. Mostly she has taught me it is always important to make time for others. Treat everyone lovingly and compassionately. She has taught me that it is the smallest of things that may mean something. When people ask you of a favor, why not do it? Don't keep tabs. Life isn't about exchanges. I'm still not sure how she does it, but she knows a secret art to making everyone feel special - extended family, coworkers, random strangers. She always puts her best foot forward to stop and really listen to what is going on in people's lives and show them she cares.  I will always admire her giving nature and huge heart for people.

I love my mother somethin' special and am so grateful every day for her. Looking forward to yet another year with this lady!

SNAPSHOT SUNDAY: TWO WEEKS

One of my staff members made me this at her floor
event! It says "Be Silly, Be Honest, Be Kind."

You really never know what you'll get in Oklahoma.
From pretty skies...

... to warm sunny weather ...

... to epic fog! It was foggy for a good 3 days.

Went to cheer on the Housing & Food Coma IM
Basketball team. They won!

This month's "passive" - making choices.

Staff dinner at Zios!

Then we went to hockey game! My FIRST to be exact.
A whole lot of fun for sure.

Crawfish Boil at Couch Restaurants! While I don't eat
crawfish, it was a neat experience & fun to see how many
residents really enjoyed the event.

Remember skies & sun & fog? We got snow too.
Only for about 5 hours though, and it was sunny the
next day!

Dr. Barker brought us treats to Practicum :)

Valentine's day! I gave my staff One Direction valentines,
& a staff member gave me this cute little monster one!

Yesterday two friends and I went to a local winterguard
competition - so much fun to be in that atmosphere again.
It'd be fun to work with HS extra-curriculars.

#BoomerSooner

JOB SEARCH JOURNEY: FINAL DESTINATION?

I've debated what to blog about this morning, first wanting to write about my love of animated film of all things, but have decided to blog about my impending job search since it's just around the river bend (see what I did there?)

I have heard that if you're really searching for something, you should make other people aware in case they have advice or can help you in some other way. So while I've had many a conversation behind closed doors, contemplating what to do and where to go, maybe there is something somebody outside of my most immediate circle knows or can enlighten me about.

Currently I am a second-year graduate assistant in Residence Life and prior to my GAship, I was a resident adviser for three years. I'm primarily searching for something that allows me to utilize my creative energies within Housing. 

I particularly love programming and graphic design, and am looking to gain more knowledge in the realm web communications. When I started college, I wanted to pursue film, and my undergraduate degree is in public relations - so ResLife marketing seems like a logical next move that will allow me to marry those interests, but I am unsure of how many and which universities actually have those kind of departments. While all my experience has been Housing related, I am also wondering if this might be a time to look into other areas of Student Affairs. And with that said, I am not so sure that I wouldn't mind working for a non-profit as well. I am really just looking for an opportunity to do things that fulfill my creative spirit and make me happy.

As much as Google may be my friend, she hasn't been incredibly helpful in exploring these career options - so my hope is by putting these thoughts in the blogosphere, maybe you have knowledge or advice I haven't yet found or heard. 

Best of wishes to all the other #SAgrads who are going on this journey with me, and if I ever may be of any assistance, please let me know! To the professionals who are aiding us, or anyone through a job search, know that your time is valued and your efforts appreciated. Your support makes the process all that much easier.

perspective, pacing, growth: do you need new glasses?

While laying in bed last night, I caught parts of the #leadfromwithin Twitter discussion, topic being "focus." For me, what became glaringly evident throughout is that learning to focus is a lot like going to the optometrist to get new glasses.

When things start to get blurry, you begin to recognize it is time for a change. Where are you going to go? To someone who can help you gain clarity - be that a mentor, a colleague, or a friend or family member. They help you find what works best, but only you know your eyes - your heart - and what exactly it is you need right now. Lenses 2 or 3? 3 or 4? 3 or 5? You begin to see what will best benefit you, what change will help you focus better. And although your prescription may not change, it is important to reassess your vision periodically, to make sure everything is as golden as it was last.

On the other hand, there are times we don't know, or someone else doesn't know, how weak their vision may be. I recall being in third grade and not being able to read the board from afar. My teacher talked to my parents about possibly needing glasses, as she recognized the troubles I was having, but I was in denial. At the time, I'd rather have had to squint than have to get glasses. And don't we all know people like that? Someone in our lives who would benefit from change, needs change, but maybe can't come to terms with the change necessary. How do we, as teachers, get them the help they need? More importantly, how do we, as students, recognize and accept the change that we need in our lives?

There is an indescribable excitement that comes with getting new lenses. The first time you put them on and you see everything with greater clarity... you see things you may not have noticed before, and suddenly the world is new.

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT: RESLIFE FUN

Just wanted to share some quick pics that have documented the fun over the past couple of months :)

Went to a Taking Back Sunday concert with one of the RAs!
Such a blast.

Candy Cane-grams was the BEST! RAs made grams for
staff members of their choosing and then we delivered
the holiday notes to the other centers.

Gift I made for staff Elusive Elf.

Staff holiday party. Love them.

Ah... returning to the Residence Halls in the spring :)

Scheduling - way more time consuming than I had expected.

Staff training banquet (way to go training committee!)
My friend Ashley and I: first RAs together
and now SAgrads together.

Aftershots from banquet.

SheTreat 2013 was a success! Fun girls night for our staff.

Hats off to the RA who decorated our floor - I love living
in Bikini Bottom! Floor Dec blog to come next week.
You can check out last semester's here and here.

This semester I was missing the RA side of life, so I decided
to make a passive like our staff does!

So excited for this this semester.

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT: WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

I know.

It has been such a long time since an update.

Life got really busy at the end of last semester, I couldn't upload pictures over break, and life is finally settling back down again!

Most of my winter: coloring & reality TV.

A final class project that contributed to the whole
"life got really busy" statement.

Christmas at home :)

Made tamales with my family over break!

Winter break attire - duh!

Made time to shop - got new stationary! Super cute.

Finally organized my earrings. These are two ring trays,
from Michaels. 

Came back and dove right into RA training, a post about that to come soon. And this semester is sure to be an adventure with the job search and all - so promises that the blog will pick up soon! It could get really interesting...

xoxo e

A NOT-SO-TYPICAL POST ABOUT POLITICS

Politics have always been a thing that have kind of gone over my head, or that I have dodged purposely. From what I had seen, politics always tore people apart. My father and I would get in heated debates about once every six months and I tried to never talk about issues with my friends - I just didn't like the discomfort of disagreement, and honestly in my younger age I would say I wasn't the most even-tempered person to have a conversation with.

I write this to say, please don't write off people in your life who seem apathetic to politics. Please don't write off the hotheads you may encounter, please don't write off those who disagree with your beliefs (easier said than done, I know.)

I am so very thankful for the people in my life who pushed me to question what I thought: Ryan and Bobby when I didn't fully understand the larger picture of women's rights, my dad when we would debate the impact of socioeconomic status, my mom when I wasn't sure where I stood on capital punishment, Diana for showing her disdain when I publicly (on Facebook) said I wish people would stop talking politics.

Thank you to Kiera for being so open to conversation over the past year and allowing me to realize that talking about perspectives is not only okay, but crucial in further developing your own viewpoint.

Thank you to Mina for your endless posts and tweets of political coverage. I am honestly so glad people like you exist, working to make people aware of the issues.

Thank you Dr. Pasque and classmates who opened my eyes to a world of real life experiences I didn't know about, and never realized how much politics impacted. Our class was one of the biggest wake-up calls to realize you can't sit idly waiting for change, waiting for others to act.

The list could go on.

I am no political all star, by ANY means, but I'm trying to move in the right direction. I will try my best to reserve judgment, exercise patience, and practice open-mindedness when talking politics with others and it is my hope that you can do the same; a country is not made solely of a president, but of its people, and we will get absolutely nowhere by shutting people out.