Loving Jesus

I went on a date this morning, no there wasn't anyone else physically with me. I am not sharing new of a significant other. Instead I went on a date with Jesus. I sat down this morning after yoga, I had a conversation with Him. I prayed, I read, and I journaled all about my new found love for Him. I found some piece of joy within myself that was not there before. I learned a few things that were surprising.

Giving yourself love

In light of recent events in my life, I have neglected my blog. (I was originally trying to post once a week and then build up to 3 or 4 times a week.) I have been taking time to work through things and work on making sure that I am doing well. This can be hard, for someone like me who would rather listen to and be there for my friends and sisters than help myself. Over the past two years, though, I have learned that it is important to love yourself and give yourself that time so that you can better support and help others but also so that you are healthy and happy!
I wanted to share some tips on how I work on myself and create a pro-self care environment. I am not perfect, I am working on this myself. Some days I do not want to stop and make sure that I am okay and healthy, it is always a work in progress! A lot of my tips involve yoga and my essential oils, you can purchase and learn more about them through my website!

Starting the semester right

After break it is really hard to get back into the schedule and routine of real life. So I have come up with a few tips and tricks that I use to help myself get into a routine, schedule, and be motivated to do it all. Use your break the rejuvenate and refresh yourself. Make those new year resolutions count and motivate yourself to work hard this year.

I am really trying to focus on everything my classes have to offer. I am in WSU's College of Education and I have realized that we are learning the most important things while in the program. I understand my first year of teaching will be really hard and I will stumble around a bit. However, they are giving us so many tools and resources that I cannot wait to use and take advantage of. I want to really take in the information and try my hardest to be the best student I can be, setting me up to be the best teacher I can be for my students. 

i just finished my first week of classes and I love my teachers, I love my advisor and could not be more excited to learn so much this year. When a new semester begins, it is important to feel confident and excited to take it on. Even in high school, I remember coming back from break with a fresh mindset and ready to start new. I have complied a list of tips that I found helpful to be motivated and start off the semester right.

Turning coffee into Education

This is kinda all over the place and two totally different subjects however, they are things that are dear to my heart and really been in my life lately. I have always been a fan of Starbucks but being in college and early morning (weekend) sorority activities make you LOVE starbucks, or just coffee in general! I love early mornings, I am beginning to get better at enjoying them and being peppy! I like that I can enjoy anytime of the day and Starbucks just makes it an even better time, am I right?!

1st semester of WSU

I believe that we all go into college or the next step of our live's after high school, with high expectations. We expect that we will thrive, create a new independent life and become who we are meant to be. We create goals and wait for them to be reached, however we want to skip a thousand tiny steps to get to the end result. (Kind of like final causation in Science 101.... I learned that this year, amongst many things...) We really like seeing to do lists, or at least i do, and enjoy crossing things off slowly hour by hour. It becomes the little things you accomplish that you feel most proud of. One hour of studying, CHECK! You can be amazed at how much one hour of solid studying everyday will do for you.

big diamond sister reveal

i remember this day being the hardest most emotional day EVER. it was like the week of recruitment all rolled into one day.. i cried, laughed and fell in love with my big!
so the night before i had been texting the sister i wanted, we were just talking about reveal and i was telling her I put her as my #1. i was a complete ball of nerves!!! i told her not to tell me how she preffed. a few minutes after i told her we both said goodnight but i didn't sleep a wink. i couldn't wait to meet my big diamond sis and form that bond. then morning came and i was freaking out, there were a mere 11 hrs until i would get to see my big diamond and hug her until i couldn't hug anymore. i went along with my day, crying randomly a few times terrified that she wasn't my big. i told her i couldn't text her until after the reveal, she response was "okay, see you after the reveal :)" that got me and i fell apart. i thought i knew for sure she wasn't my big diamond sister. i went through the rest of my day trying to stay positive. reminding myself that she still could be my big diamond sis.
then before i knew it, it was 6:20 and Karli and i headed over to the house. i was full of nerves and crazy excited! i couldn't wait even though we had to wait like 45 more minutes before we could go find them. once i got my clue i had no idea where to go or even who i was looking for. i believe i was the last alpha to find my big diamond sister, i had to ask for help and i passed her room like 5 times... it was a problem

once i got into the room and saw that it was Maddy, i hugged her and cried!!! I couldn't have been more excited that i got her, she is now my big diamond sister and i get to have that special connection with HER. i couldn't wait to make more memories laughing, crying, smiling and dancing with her!!

plans

i've been realizing lately how much God loves each and every one of us and how i want my every decision to be glorifying His name. I am beginning to make my choices on my own and making myself happy. I had to stop trying to make Ashly or Ashley or Melissa happy, I started making my choices based on how I want to live my life. It is bittersweet to think about August & all the BIG changes that come with it. not just August but this summer of 2015, my sister leaves in July for Germany and won't be back until June 2016, then in August on the 15th I move into my dorm at WSU. This summer & in March we have many trips planned to WA. I'm excited to be showing my mom where I will be spending the majority of the next four years! I can't wait to explore with her during our layover in Seattle.

I feel as if everything came together so quickly, like I was at WSU touring and then I blinked and got my acceptance letter; then blinked again and today applied for housing, also bought our flight tickets for march. every bone in my body is telling me and warning me for the possible pain that I will have when i start to miss home. All I can do is see a therapist at school, continue my meds, stay positive, & ask for help when I need it. Life is funny, it'll give you blessings in forms you never thought imaginable. I know that WSU is a blessing in disguise, one day I'll understand why I'm drawn to it.