Day 7: What Is The Hardest Thing You’ve Ever Had To Experience

I’ve read quite a few people’s answers to this question and the majority of them center around a dark theme whether it be the loss of a loved one, financial hardship, getting laid off, etc. However, I want to stray from that and focus on a happy topic that was difficult.

Love is hard.

If you’ve never been in a serious relationship before, or even fallen in love, it’s a big change. It’s not to say that loving the person is hard, but the lifestyle adjustment you must make is completely new. 

Let’s face it, when you’re single, you’re selfish. Don’t even try to deny it. You go out whenever and wherever you want with whomever you want. You can do what you want when you want because you don’t have to take into consideration your significant other. 

Yes, it sounds harsh, but you know it’s true.

When you’re in a relationship you have to consistently put in effort and time into nurturing the bond you two have in order for it to progress. You have to be conscious of the other’s likes, dislikes, and feelings. You have to learn to become a “we” instead of a “me.” 

It is a beautiful experience. Challenging at times, but beautiful and rewarding.

Day 6: List 5 Things That Make You Happy Right Now

1. God. In recent weeks I have taken great leaps towards my relationship with God. In the past few months I have become closer to Him than ever. I feel a change within me. Something amazing is going on and I couldn’t be happier. This change is influencing every aspect of my life for the better. It’s bettering me, my personality, my choices, and my relationships.

2. Abraham. This actually goes along with #1. Growing closer with God has helped Abraham and I grow closer too. It’s incredible to see the change that has not only occurred in us as individuals, but us as a couple. Now, arguments are rare, conversations are longer, and trust is deeper. By no means did we have an awful or even bad relationship before, it was actually quite beautiful. This change has just strengthened that beauty.

3. School. I’m exhausted. I spend all of my time studying and going to school. I feel like my brain is going to explode. I couldn’t possibly cram any more information in and yet I do. I keep at it. The hard work is paying off. I took Anatomy 1 in 6 weeks and didn’t get lower than a 94% on any test or exam. When grades officially come out I will be doing the happy dance. I don’t mean to brag, I’m just really really really proud of the effort I put into this class and the product of it all.

4. This blog. When I started this blog, I didn’t think that I would stick to it. I didn’t think I would find my passion for writing again. But here it is, I’ve found it. I find myself randomly inspired to write new posts. I’m excited that this website is growing the way it is. I enjoy being able to share my thoughts and not feel pressured to rewrite in fear of judgement. It’s a very freeing and very therapeutic experience.

5. Life. Life is so wonderful. I’m learning to be thankful for every little thing I’ve got and not be so easily upset. There are so many things to be happy about. I’m thankful for the fact that I am healthy and that my loved ones are healthy. I’m thankful for the ability to go to school and have the resources available to me to be able to excel. I’m thankful for the privilege of being able to express my love of God and not be silenced. I’m thankful for the relationships I have and the people I’ve met who have influenced me. I’m thankful that I was woken up this morning and given the chance to have yet another day to experience life.

That is by no means the only things that make me happy, it’s just a shortened list. What makes you happy today? What are you thankful for?

Have You Lived Today?

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’. – Erma Bombeck

Today I went to lunch with my Mom. We got into this very intense conversation about life and how we think it should be lived. My Mom thought that she hadn’t ever really done anything exciting with her life. She began to reflect back and I pointed out that yes, she has in fact done some pretty spectacular things. She’s made bold, life changing decisions. She’s pursued her passions and made some great memories on the way.

It got me to thinking, When I’m her age, what am I going to reflect back on and smile about? Right now I feel like everyone my age is getting their life started. They’ve moved across country to a new place, they go on vacations, they do whatever they want without worry. I recently ran into an old classmate from high school and he asked me what I’d been up to, Oh, just the usual — going to school and working. When I asked him the question you know what he told me? My buddy and I are moving out to LA to pursue our DJing. We leave in two weeks! Yes, he was leaving. Just him and a friend. He packed up all of his belongings into a few boxes, said goodbye to his parents and left.

It got me to thinking. What am I doing? I’m in school and working my butt off. I eat, sleep, go to school, and hang out with Abraham. I love school — I love learning, and I love Abraham to pieces. But I feel like I don’t do anything. I want to be able to look back and say that I lived during my 20s. I don’t want my only answer to “What did you do when you were in your 20s?” to be, I went to school. 

This is the time when I am not tied down to one place with kids and a career. I am free. I am me. I want to live it. I want to experience everything I can.

My goal? I want to learn. About everything. That is one of my greatest joys in life – learning. I feel like this world is filled to the brim with lessons, experiences, and challenges. So much so that there isn’t physically enough time to deal with it all.

But I want to. I want to spend my life learning, not just from textbooks and lectures, but from people, through experiences. I want to soak up everything I can. I want to use everything I have to propel myself through my life. Never stopping, just experiencing.

I’m tired of just sitting idly while my life flies by. Lately, I feel like the weeks are just speeding up and the birthdays are coming more frequently. It’s making me realize that you only have one shot at this life. Why should you just sit around, lazy, when you could be out living it?

So here it goes. Time for a change. Who’s with me?

Day 4: Describe Your Relationship With Your Parents

 

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Exodus 20:12

My Dad and I don’t exactly have the strongest relationship. We butt heads quite a bit. He’s very hard-headed and stubborn. He’s sarcastic yet very quiet. It’s unfortunate for the both of us, as he is the only Dad I’m ever going to have. We’re just…complete strangers who live together. My Mother tries and tries to make up the difference. She does very well at filling the gaps but it’s just not the same as being Daddy’s Little Girl. I only hope and pray that my future husband will be able to fill the void I’ve been left with and do for my children what my Dad didn’t.

My Mother is my role model. She is the woman I aspire to be like as I progress through life. She is someone who constantly gives without selfish expectations. She, like many mothers, constantly puts her children and their needs light-years ahead of her own. She’s the woman who taught me to respect without judgement, to love unconditionally, and to always strive to do my best. She gave me my great work ethic and my love of sci-fi movies (the ones with the big, mutant bugs and animals). She taught me to love others and treat them as I’d like to be treated. She held me when I cried, calmed me when I was angry, and congratulated me when I succeeded. She sat front row in every basketball game throughout my 10 years playing and coaching. You could always hear her voice above everyone else’s, “Body check ’em Sara!” She is a wonderful woman. She’s done so much for me and the only way I can ever dream of repaying her is to grow into the woman she’s taught me to be.

Relationships and God

This post is regarding something that has recently occurred in my life and I honestly can’t stop smiling because of it. It is part of my list of things I wanted to alter in my life. My own self-improvement plan. Because of it, the smiles have outweighed the (unhappy) tears, the laughter has banished the anger, and conversations have filled the silence. What is it, you may ask? God.

I was raised Catholic. I’ve always had a firm belief in God. But I’ll be honest, growing up I was more of a “Sunday Catholic.” Not that I was a rebellious teenager: I’ve never smoked, consumed alcohol, done drugs of any kind, or slept around. However, within the Church I never…felt alive. I didn’t grow up in a family that said grace before meals. I never really prayed at all. I just went to Mass and tried to be a good kid. My faith was always there, but there was so much I wasn’t doing to strengthen it and profess it.

Abraham is a Christian who is very involved in his Church. He plays guitar and bass in the Youth Group band and he is one of the Youth Group leaders. He comes from a very devoted family who actively participate in Bible Study and the Church.

Abraham and I have always had God in our relationship but it wasn’t until recently that we centralized him within it. Before, we never went to service together or prayed together. Recently though, we’ve started attending the same service together. It has really helped me become closer to God. Before, I used to go to Mass and (like a lot of people) just went through the motions. The Word never hit me.

That is, until this Group. Weekly, I find myself being impacted by what is preached. I find myself reading my Bible more and more and studying it. Before, I never read the Bible and was ashamed at how lost I was when people would quote scripture. Now, I find myself praying a lot more.

The most interesting change I’ve seen is that if I do something wrong (cuss, get angry, etc.) I find myself being aware of it almost immediately. Not that I have a sailors mouth but I would say a cuss word here and there and I would just glaze over it. Now if I say it, I’ve begun to correct myself and feel guilty for it. I love that I am noticing change.

This change has done wonders for my relationship with Abraham. I love going to Service with him and being able to share that time with him. I can’t tell you how blessed I feel being able to Worship with him. It has brought us so much closer! Before I was terrible at communicating. If I was angry, I was the Queen Bee of the silent treatment. I just couldn’t bring myself to talk. Now, that barrier is completely gone. I am not as angry of a person as I used to be. I am so much happier. This change has affected not only myself, but Abraham too. I can tell he is so much happier. Being able to share this and love God together as a couple has completely altered our relationship for the better. 

Day 2: Discuss Your Current Relationship

Today’s topic on my 30 Day Blog Challenge is entitled: Discuss Your Current Relationship. It’s a topic that I’m excited to write about but nervous at the same time. Why? Because there’s just so much I could say.

But let’s start at the beginning.

I met my beau on December 22, 2011. I was his brother, M’s, close friend. M brought me home to meet his family at a baseball game they were going to play at the local park. We went to M’s house to go and grab the bats and that’s when Abraham walked downstairs.

Initial reaction? Holy crap. This guy is cuuuuuuute! 

I’d never met or seen Abraham before, I’d only heard stories. Anyways, we went to play baseball and he was very funny. He was pitching and I could tell he was showing off for me a lot. I’d never played baseball before so I was trying really hard not to screw up and embarrass myself.

After the game we all sat around eating pizza. When I got home that night I had butterflies and all that girly mushy stuff. Even though nothing happened between us aside from joking around I was all giddy on the drive home.

That night, Abe found me on Facebook. We spent from 11pm to 5am IMing. We played the “question game” and got to know each other. He was amazing.

Over the course of the next few days we talked more and more. However, M started getting upset. He didn’t want me and Abe hanging out. There was a whole love triangle drama that ensued where M was basically forbidding Abraham and I from even speaking to each other. M basically asked me to choose between him and Abraham the third day after we met.

Now, I’d known M for about a month or so before this happened. I really cared about him. He was a great friend and someone I really enjoyed talking to. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I wouldn’t see Abraham.

Meeting Abraham, it was like a truck hit me. He took me completely by surprise. He was everything I’d been looking for. I knew I’d be with him long term three days after meeting him. Call me crazy if you want, but I knew.

Anyway, Abraham flat out refused to stop talking to me and we continued to talk. Things cooled down after a few weeks and M slowly became to be okay with it.

(Side note: M and I are now on really good terms. He’s become like my family at this point. All is forgiven, no need to worry!)

Abraham and I were inseparable. We’d spend the whole day just talking with each other. We never ran out of things to talk about. About a month after meeting, we said our first I love you.

That was a year and a half ago. Since then we’ve had our ups and downs. I’m not going to say it has always been perfect, there have been arguments. But luckily Abraham is the type of man who really values communication. He will do anything to make things right. He never fails to take care of me and be there for me when I need someone to talk to or just cuddle with. We’ve been through quite a bit in our year and a half. Deaths of loved ones, a serious hospitalization, and some rather tough challenges God has thrown our way.

Abraham is constantly surprising me. Seeing him grow into the man God wants him to be and be able to share that journey with him is a blessing. He may frustrate me sometimes but there is honestly nothing I would change about him. He is everything I ever wanted and everything I never knew I needed. He’s helped me to grow closer with God and made me a better person.

I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us!

Day 1: List 20 Random Facts About Yourself

1. I am a child of God.

2. My favorite color is purple, but I don’t discriminate: I like blue, green, red, orange, and yellow too!

3. I will travel the world someday. I want to learn from people of different cultures. I want to visit places that haven’t been tainted by modern practices.

4. I hate painting my nails with a burning, fiery passion but my nails are always painted. C’mon, who in their right mind enjoys spending so much time carefully painting their nails just to accidentally touch the wet paint or chip it on a door 45 minutes later?

5. I am studying medicine.

6. I’ve been in love with and dating my best friend since January 2012.

7. Every year since I was 12 I’ve been volunteering on my birthday.

8. Spiderman kisses aren’t as awesome as Spiderman and Mary Jane made them out to be.

9. I can eat peanut butter with a spoon straight out of the jar.

10. Since I was a little kid I’ve had a VERY strong maternal instinct. Kids are awesome. But I don’t want any until I’m married.

11. Giraffes are awesome. Did you know that zoos actually let you FEED THEM?

12. I absolutely detest the following: YOLO, swag, swerve, and LOL. C’mon people.

13. Ice cream has to be the greatest comfort food ever made.

14. I love school. Really.

15. I hate ants. So much.

16. I am a VERY organized person.

17. I will never get tired of ham and cheese sandwiches.

18. I’ve never done drugs or drank alcohol in my life.

19. I have had a mild obsession with Chinese food lately.

20. If I wasn’t studying medicine, I’d be studying criminal justice.

And She’s Back!

Good morning Lovelies! 

Phew! These past two weeks have been so jam packed I don’t even know where to begin!

First, I want to thank you all for sticking with me – it means a lot that I didn’t come back and see 0 followers. A round of applause to you!

So, in the past two weeks I had two anatomy exams INCLUDING my practical exam. 

For those of you who don’t know what a practical exam is, it’s pretty much where your professor gives you 25 models of anatomical parts (bones, muscles, etc) and asks you two answer three questions at each station. You are given one minute exactly to answer all questions before you rotate.

After many hours of studying and sleep deprivation I took my exams and got A’s on each! 

YESSSSSS.

Okay, enough of that. 

Something major happened to me on Friday night. It involved God and a group of close friends of mine and a lot of tears. It was a life changing experience and honestly, one of the most beautiful moments of my life. 

Stay tuned for the details in my next post!

So while I write up all of my pending posts, I’d like to know what happened to you all over these past two weeks. Comment with the most exciting thing that happened to you! 🙂 

 

Have a relaxing Sunday!

Job: A Hard Lesson To Remember

This quote is a true testimony to surviving the tests of our relationship with God. I feel like so many people believe in God because they believe He brings them great things. While this is true, people fail to understand that He also brings obstacles.

Humbled in Comparison

Last night I went to a youth service my boyfriend and I regularly attend together. Towards the end of service his brother got up to share a Testimony. In it, he began to discuss his path to finding God. His story went like this:

A few yeas ago he started working full time. His job would regularly require him to work almost 80 hours a week. His life began to revolve solely around work and sleep. He had no time for family, friends, or hobbies. Just work and sleep.

He got so caught up in his job and making it through everyday that he lost sight of God.