Nobody Wants To Be Left Alone

This week was my first week of classes. It was nice to see some familiar faces again as well as meeting new people who share the same passions of History and Teachong as I do. I am in 18 hours this semester which consists of all Education and History courses, with one political science course called "Presidency". I absolutely love this presidency class; it is so interesting to see how politics have changed, more or less, over the founding of America to present-day.
I have also begun my senior thesis research on the murder of Emmett Till. Freshman history is where I read the story of this young soul, whose life was taken far too early, and to be considered a martyr in the modern-day Civil Rights Movement. Now I get to dedicate a whole year of research where I will read more in-depth and try to find holes in this story. I'm not sure what exactly I want my finished product to look like, but it would be nice to focus on how his life affected the movement. However, this is extremely draining (emotionally) research. Two of his cousins, one in the house, the other sleeping next to Emmett the night he was kidnapped, are still alive. Of course this clicks a light bulb on in my head!!! Why not try to contact either of them for an interview? So, as of right now I am trying to secure an interview with one of his cousins. I am so excited and honestly want this to be one of the major capstone's of my whole career as a Historian. Needless to say, after a few days of reading excerpts from books, magaizine articles, FBI files, you name it...I was kept up for a very wreckless night of sleeping last night. It's easy to forget that Emmett wasn't the only lynched African American, however when reading these articles, it is almost impossible to not try to imagine what a young southern boy from Chicago was thinking and feeling when he knew that his life was about to end, in the racial violence of Mississippi.

Moving away from my research and school....and on to plain old life. I really feel as if this next year cannot get here fast enough. I know that everything will work out, or at least hope so, the way that it's all planned. I know in the back of my mind that up to this point I'm right on course with what I had hoped for these last 2 years. Indulging myself into schoolwork is not something that I mind, but I also miss my dear friends in Lawrence and Oklahoma, along with my family. It's been about 6 months since I was last in Ok., and this makes me sooooo sad! I'm hopefully going to be able to make a trip down in a couple of weeks or so, because honestly, I really am not the biggest fan of living in Topeka. I feel so far away from everyone :(

I hope that everyone is enjoying the weather especially as it cools from those 100 degree temps to Fall weather! Fall is my favorite season, so I know that I am!

Wow, what a day. What a weekend...WHAT A SUMMER

So in true fashion of a Sooner/Jayhawk hybrid named ME I closed off my summer committing a major shopping spree in KC. After a long hold up I finally made it out to what I consider my 2nd home in Kansas, Overland Park. (My first Kansas home is Lawrence of course...and well, Topeka just does NOT count!) My first stop was one of my favorite stores in the universe, ULTA. For anyone who has never heard of ULTA nor been there, it is amazing. The store has perfumes for women and cologne for men, a salon, finer hair care, nail polishes, makeups, etc. However it also sells their own brand of ULTA makeup, along with drug store brands such as Revlon and Covergirl, etc. ULTA carries almost any haircare brand, styling tools, brushes, mirrors...basically ANYTHING and EVERYTHING for a feminine female such as myself!!! I have loved this store since I first drove past it in 2003 in Oklahoma and screamed my little heart out when I discovered one in Kansas City. Being in there makes me very homesick and miss all of my shopping trips I make with my mother to ULTA!
After ULTA I went to Oak Park Mall. As sad as it is, I made it in and out of Coach without buying anything although I really wanted a new scarf :( I met up with a good friend; we had lunch and she took me to a sweet spot in Nordstrom's that I had never been before! I scored a sweet tank top on sale. Forever 21 and Mrs. Fields were also destinations. Unfortunately my cell phone died early in the trip so I feel technology-less. After the hour and a half drive back home, I realized that I had no food in the fridge. Max and I are about to indulge in an amazing pizza...delivered of course.
It's been an amazing, and sometimes stressful summer. I am so glad I was able to cut the strings in my life that were keeping me from moving forward. After those strings were removed, I was able to find complete happiness.I hope that this school year is everything it I've dreamed it to be. I have had an entire summer to enjoy my time and strengthen bonds...For all of you reading this who are about to begin yet another semester of college...Good Luck, Focus, Study Hard :)

I'm Moving...To Kansas!

Those are the words that left my mouth in late fall/early winter of 2004. I followed my heart to Kansas, believing I had found my "Happily Ever After". I moved to Lawrence in January 2005, 2 days after adopting Max. Here I was, 300 + miles away from all of my friends, my family, everything and anything I had ever known. I followed empty promises. Looking back at that, I was so young and had no idea what I truly wanted out of life. I came to Kansas unaware of the turns that my new adventure would take me through and I was also unaware of all of the amazing, and to be honest not-so-amazing, people that would come into my life. All of these new people, some of whom would play huge roles in my life throughout this whole journey and others who were just passing through, as we each went about our lives. I can't imagine being that same girl who blindly moved in 2005, however I also know that she is with me every day waiting to blindly move on to the next journey with me...and reminding me not to make the same mistakes twice. There is also no way in the world that I can imagine the last five years of my life any differently than it has been.
On August 14th, 2005 I made the journey from Oklahoma back to Kansas. This time the trip was a little different. I wasn't following anyone else's promises this time. I was following the promise I made to myself. On the whole 5 hour ride I was scared to pieces. I didn't know if I was making the right decision by going back, but I promised myself that I would take advantage of this opportunity. That first week in Lawrence I had never been completely alone. This time I was. I didn't know what to do with my time, where to go, where to begin, or how to even make friends. My friends in Oklahoma always came so naturally to me. Five years ago today, I was scared of the road ahead of me. Today, I'm optimistic and anxious about the road I'm on and the road I will be on next year.
I've discovered that the happiness and bliss that has come to me within the past year wasn't because of what anyone else said to me or did. It wasn't because I had a boyfriend, it wasn't because I got a new pair of jeans or amazing shoes. I found this happiness because I built this road for myself. I promised myself to make the trip worth it. I began to focus on 'me' and what I could do to make myself happy. My number one goal was to set a date for graduation and stick to it. That's what I did. My next step was ensuring that even though I went to class, that wasn't enough. I wanted to excell in the courses I took. Then I realized that I needed to clean out my life. I de-cluttered the toxic energy that had surrounded me for 2 years. Once I de-cluttered, I found myself. I was happy again. I had the energy to accomplish what I needed to. They say that sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same; I believe in this. Once I began to listen to the people that loved me and respecting that these people were all in my life for a reason, I realized how blessed I am(from someone somewhere) to have come to Kansas and met these people.
Don't make excuses for yourself or anyone else in your life. Either you want to accomplish it or you don't. If you don't want to commit, you'll find an excuse to not follow through. If something has been holding you back, let it go. I believe that anyone can fulfill their dreams...Although there are things I would have done differently, I would not change a single minute of my life or my amazing friends who inspire me or the family support I've been given.

That Annoying Student

With the impending first day of classes, I started wondering exactly who would be that "annoying" student in my classes and how many classes would have that "annoying student". Then I started thinking of the one annoying student last semester. His name will be *Donnie* for this blog. I began noticing him in my World History class when he would sit there as if he knew everything the professor said and then speak out about the dumbest stuff. Finally, it came to the day where I overheard him ask a girl in the class where she was from. She replied Honduras...do you know what he said?!? He said oh so you like spicy food.
Really? Where does one make that generalization? Theeeeen, he was in another course of mine. One day I overheard him ask a woman in the class if she was "nesting or something"! I walked away feeling nothing but embarrasment for the guy. Eventually he was reported. As annoying as he was, it made the class somewhat interesting. The whole time I would sit there thinking..."I wonder when he's going to say something". There was another annoying student in another History course I had last semester. She talked nonstop and sat right behind me. Finally, one day I sat there rolling my eyes until the professor kindly asked her to stop talking. So, I"m hoping out of the 6 classes I'm taking this semester, I will have a couple of annoying students in them that ask dumb questions, ultimately making me feel smarter! hahaha

I'm trying to enjoy my last week of summer. Over the weekend I went with Eric to Lake Shawnee and we rented a paddle boat. It was so relaxing to be out in the middle of the lake with him. This week is probably going to fly by simply because it is the last week of summer. Hopefully I will get my car "Rosa" back on Tuesday. She has been in the shop for about two weeks due to the negligence of an elderly man not looking behind him while backing out. Thankfully, I wasn't at fault.
-Be blessed and be a blessing-

Sitting in the paddle boat

Why I Think Walmart Is Dirty...And Other Life Statements.

So, this totally makes sense and the world needs to know and be aware. I live by a "Super Walmart". And as convenient as the 1 minute drive or the 7 minute walk is, the second I set foot in that store for the "super savings" I feel the need to sanitize my entire body, every single inch of it. I know that most grocery stores have everyday people roaming their aisles, but for some reason walmart seems to attract the people who haven't bathed/groomed/learned sanitation common courtesies/etc the most. I entered walmart for groceries. "Why?" I ask myself...because it is cheap and literally right next door. I seem to make the trip relatively smooth, all of my normal items are still in the same spot so there's really no hunting around. The problem comes in the checkout lane. I pick a checkout that seems as if the wait won't be too long. As fate would have it however, the line still went slow. As I'm waiting patiently for the customers in front of me to finish up, I observe the checkout lady DIGGING IN HER EAR AND LOOKING AT THE DEBRIS ON HER FINGER AFTERWARD, BEFORE WIPING OFF SAID DEBRIS. I'm thinking how disgusting that is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, really does walmart NOT train their employees to not tend to their bodily malfunctions at the register? SERIOUSLY?!? The next thought that plagues my mind is that hopefully she will use her non-earpicking hand to scan my groceries. Naw, that thought only lasted a split second before I saw the cashier use her other hand to scratch her scalp!!! Whatever, I tell myself to remember to wash my hands even after touching all the things I bought while using them at home. Because that is just unsanitary. To make the situation worse, after the people in front of me left, I stood in their same spot to pay for my items. However after standing in that spot for a nano second my nose is engulfed in the stench of bodies that have been unbathed for a loooooooooonnnnngggg time. Any other store I go to I NEVER encounter this. Why is this walmart so dang convenient????
Getting off the ranting now. I hope everyone had a safe weekend:)