Memorial Day

I know it's a day late, but Happy Memorial Day. I know that we have many veterans on campus, and I hope that you all thank them for their service to this country. I know memorial Day is about remembering those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country and our freedom, but as I said yesterday on Facebook, it is impossible for me to do that without thanking my loved ones, my family, and friends who have served and are currently serving.

I feel blessed that someone I care a lot about is back home from the war, but many still have loved ones deployed, have lost loved ones, or have never come home quite the same. You may not agree with war, or the war we are fighting, but I hope that you are never the people that disrespect our service members. They chose to sign their lives away so you didn't have to. Anytime they go to war, whether they agree with the war or not, they are prepared to take the ultimate sacrifice for you, even though they don't know you personally, even though many people have disrespecting them, they risk their lives for you. That is a huge thing, and having people I care about in the service I know how upset it makes me when people don't understand that.

I do hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend, but hope you remember what ultimately it is for. My parents arrived in town, so I was able to spend it with family and have a great time, but I know the reason that it's a national holiday, and hope you all do as well.

Remember to tell someone thank you today that has served for our country.

And remember to value life!

Serena

Happy Happy Joy Joy

So I have realized that the "norm" for this blog is not doing it on Wednesdays anymore like I used to! But at least I am now consistently late with the blog!

This has been a great week. First, because I am done with finals and I hope you guys that are also stressing about finals are close to being done. Next, a loved one returned from Afghanistan which is truly exciting, and now my parents are in town for my graduation. And last night I finally got a full night of sleep. I woke up quite a bit, but I am pretty sure I slept more than 6 hours!

In January I had to go to the Emergency Room, and I have been trying to fight the bills for that since then too, and I got a letter saying that my last efforts of trying to apply for the assistance program brought my balance to zero!

Okay so that's all my good news this week and I am sure it's really not blog worthy but I couldn't help it because I am just so thankful, and this helps my stress decrease, which in turn probably helps me sleep.

So as we enjoy this weekend, figure out the small things that make you feel truly blessed and thankful. I know I am guilty of focusing on some of the negative in my life, but there is so much beauty and positive things in my life which is what I need to be thinking about. Trying to keep positive through the muck is what I think has made me a hopeful person. As I was leaving a loved one who I hope can attend my graduation, I mentioned it to him again, and he told me "you are such a hopeful person, a positive thinker." Well I am not sure if he meant it in a good way but I took it as a compliment. It is why sometimes I have been really disappointed and hurt because I keep my hopes up and sometimes it does not work out, but my spirit is one thing that will always bounce back and remain high. I hope in life that people can learn to do that. We have enough negative thinkers out there. Some of them really do not like it when people are hopeful and have high spirits. People have often tried to rain on my parade before. If people are not happy they do not like others being happy. That saying "misery loves company" well it is true. So this weekend I encourage you guys not to be the one to spread misery but the ones to spread hope.

Don't be afraid to be hopeful!

Serena

Life Lessons

Happy Monday everyone! And Happy Finals!!!!!!!!! I can not believe we are already here facing our finals this week, and then next week graduation! This month has really flown by. Just remember to get enough sleep (even though I am not one to talk about that, if you don't know why you can read my previous blog!), eat a good meal, and don't sweat the small stuff because you have learned what you can and now you just have to take the test!

So I have been learning a lot about myself lately. As a person I think that it's always important to learn and grow and be the best that you can be. The thing about me is I have a hard time living moment to moment. I worry, stress about things that are not even here instead of enjoying the moment. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the moments too, but stressing out about the small stuff when there usually is no need to is what I am learning to do. It's crazy that sometimes it takes you so long in life to realize there are certain behaviors you need to change in order to not push people away. And all this needless worry could be why I sometimes struggle with insomnia. Are there things in your life you wish you could change, need to work on, feel is not a great quality? Remember that it's never to late to change. Just don't mistake the good qualities about yourself, with the ones that are harmful. What I mean by that is that sometimes people think I am too sensitive, this I wouldn't change about myself because just because people do not understand this, does not mean it's a bad quality. You just have to know yourself and know what actually needs to be changed. I am no guru, but I strive for better things in my life daily.

Well all who have their first finals today, good luck! And anyone who does not have any finals either because you are not a student, or because somehow you got lucky, then to you all have a great week.

Remember to make each day count.

Serena

Insomnia

So I realize that I have been posting later and later than I normally do, but this week on top of school I got scheduled 37 hours at work and feel like I am a little forgetful!

So does any one else struggle with insomnia? Some days, weeks, and months I can sleep like nobody's business! But then I get into an insomnia stretch and life is difficult. I am tired, and will want to sleep but no matter what I do I can not fall asleep, and if I do it's like for a short period of time. I am really tired right now, and I did a dumb thing because of being tired the other day. I was driving to work from school and I was so zoned out I almost missed the freeway I needed to be on, and then from being so zoned out, I was driving and didn't see the ambulance behind me and did not pull over! I felt so bad! This is when you know you need sleep, rest, or quite frankly a day off!  Between work and school I have realized that I have not had a day off since Spring Break and so I am quite thankful that summer will be here soon, and I want to take a break!

Do you guys have any summer plans? I am not taking summer classes, but will be doing some stuff for my transition from Fullerton College to UCI. But I also want to try and visit my sister who lives in Seattle, because she is having her baby in June. Other than that I think maybe some time at the beach, hanging with friends, and relaxing is in order.

I am going to go off on a tangent here, so forgive me. But do any of you have Pinterest? Well I have had my account and just now have figured out how to install the pinterest button on my web browser! I am so excited, now let the pinning commence! I wasn't pinning as much because I couldn't figure it out. I think it is so crazy how we can get so interested in something such as Pinterest. But people find really interesting things and it's a very easy way to find how to do things, or interesting things and share it with people. Also you can steal people's pins that seem of interest to you. Okay let me reword that, you can repin it...stealing is not nice! haha! Okay now that I am distracted by pinning and need to get off the internet so that I can be productive, I am going to end it here. It's early and I have lots to do before work as long as I can not let my insomnia affect my day again!

So sleep well for me friends, since I can't seem to do that for myself! But have a funtastic weekend! (Yes, I realize funtastic is not a word, but it should be!)

Serena

We all Do it

Procrastination.........I am guilty of this and I'm sure you all have been known to do it from time to time. The thing is I tell myself I am going to do things ahead of time, get them done before the due date, and don't get me wrong sometimes I am great at that. Sometimes I get things done way before they are due, and it feels great. But there are those instances where I forget about something, or I get too busy and I wait until the last minute to do it. Not only does my stress increase when I do this, I also sometimes lose sleep over it. Both are not good for your health, which I know, and I do intend to improve on this.

I guess I bring this up because finals are around the corner, things are due and deadlines are approaching. Last night I had an abstract due for an entry to be considered for a book called Building Bridges. I had started it, and intended to finish it when they emailed the first reminder emails. But I worked all weekend, and I started to slave over it furiously when I got home from work last night. I was really happy with it, had hit the save button, or so I thought, and went to email in my submission, and couldn't find the file. I looked everywhere, even on the program I used to see "recent documents", and it was no where to be found. All that hard work had to be started all over again, and I was stressed because the deadline was yesterday. I finished it, but part of me wonders if this whole mishap could have been avoided if I had not been in such a hurry to finish it in the first place.

So with finals right around the corner,and all of our stress levels increasing, try and not wait till the last minute to study, to write those papers, and finish any reading. I know I need to take my own advice, and in some of my classes I have finished everything early so that I would not have as much to worry and stress over. Right now it's important to finish the semester strong since we are so close to the end, so don't make silly mistakes like me because of waiting till the last minute.

Happy Monday everyone, and don't forget to make today count!

Serena

Happy Mother's Day

I apologize that I am even later in posting this week than normal. It really has been a crazy week!

First I wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there. My mother passed away when I was 13, but my stepmother has been in my life since I was 14 years old. We have had our ups and downs, but I love her and both her and my father are coming to my graduation at the end of May.

My oldest sister is pregnant and has the sweetest 2 year old you will ever meet, and my middle sister has 6 kids, 4 that have been adopted into our loving family and 2 others that were foster kids but that they still get to share some time with.

My stepsister, also has 6 kids that have been adopted into our family. I have a family of amazing mothers, mothers who step in when other mothers refuse or can't do the job, mothers who love their kids and want the best for them, mothers who make mistakes but are not to ashamed to admit they are human too.

Mother's day has always been hard for me though because I miss my mom. My Stepmom has never tried to get me to call her mom, which I am thankful for, but she has been in my life longer than I was able to have my own mother in my life, but I hold a fondness and love for both of these women. My mother shaped my heart, and character, and my Stepmother gave me room to grow and be myself even though she was now the mother of 5 instead of the mother of 2.

I have many inspirational stories of people I know who are mothers. One of my best friends in Florida, saw that her cousin couldn't take care of her kids. She had 3 little boys and all of them were split up into different foster homes. She fought very hard to get them to stay in the family and took them in and was able to adopt them. Her cousin ended up having another baby girl who was also taken away, and she is currently fighting custody for her as well. NOW these are people who just inspire me. I have a life full of inspirational people all around me. Sometimes I forget to see their struggles when I am going through my own, but on Mother's Day these women should be thanked, and just blessed. I personally think they deserve more then one day though.

I hope you all remember to say thank you to the mothers in your life. And a mother does not have to be the one who birthed you, but can be the one who has been the mother figure in your life. The saying "It takes a village to raise a child" is very true and I know that I have many women in my life who are  like mothers to me. So don't forget to thank those women.

I will try not to be so late on the next blog!

Serena

You are your biggest hold up

I hope you all had a great weekend especially since it was very nice outside.

A conversation sparked today's blog. Someone in one of my classes overheard me talking about my college choices. I have one acceptance letter but I am waiting for 2 others, and in those options one happens to be an Ivy League college. As he was asking me questions about it, the things he said made it seem like he thought I had no chance of getting in, because I did not have a 4.0 GPA, and that I was not from some great family legend. I told him that you never know unless you try, and that the biggest set back is yourself. Every college and every major has its own requirements. He told me not to hatch my eggs before they were ready. I am not quite sure what he meant by that. But it got me heated a little, and I told him "I don't like anyone telling me I can't do something."

It got me thinking though about how many times people label us, make choices for us, and ultimately try and change us. I don't think we should listen to them. People don't want us to achieve what they think is impossible. I have been told I have bad luck, that I am too nice, too sensitive, that I assume things. I have been told I am this or that and I don't like it. I want to stop it but sometimes the harder you try to prove that you are not a certain way, the more people's minds determine that you are in fact that way. So I have decided that I know me like NO ONE else knows me. You can't tell me what I can and can not do, because the only person who knows what I can not in fact do, is me, and sometimes I think that I can't do something and I do it. I just wish people sometimes saw the person I see in me. The person I want to be, the person I am capable of being, instead of telling me constantly what I am not or the negative things they perceive in me. When negativity surrounds you it's hard to be positive, so I choose to be the positivity in my own life. I hope you all can do the same in yours.

Make today count!

Serena

May Day

I realize that I am a day late on the whole May Day Business. As a young kid I loved May Day. I have not heard people doing this but when I was little, we would prepare baskets full of candy, which were usually handmade, and we would go to our friends houses, run up to the porch, ring the doorbell and try and get away before they saw who it was. I do not remember what we did when we got caught or caught them before getting away. It was fun and I loved doing it and loved seeing these little baskets with my name on them waiting for me on our porch. Did you guys do that when you were little?

Today though I decided to look up what the history behind May Day is. In my research I discovered that it is not a holiday that many in America celebrate. I found a lot of great information, but I love research so I won't try and bore you all with all the research I found. In different countries it represents different things, and some may celebrate with May Day poles that you may have seen decorated with lots of vibrant colors of fabric.

In my research though I found that it was also the beginning of an 8-hour work day. This all was quick research so I didn't back up my resources and check for validation, but I found that interesting. We take for granted the fact that if we work more than 8 hours we have to get paid overtime, when it was not always the case.

One thing, and this is a random thought, but I love research because you find out so much useful and also USELESS information. But I love being able to find information about things that some may know nothing about.

For myself I am just happy it is finally May for many reasons. I know this month is going to fly by. For those of us graduating from Fullerton College, it is a month full of figuring out which colleges we are going to attend (I got my first acceptance notice and now waiting to hear from some others), full of awards banquets, graduation notices, finals, and anticipation of our next step in this journey we call life. I am excited and scared about this next chapter in my life. But I am excited mostly because my parents are coming to my graduation and I have not been able to see them for over 2 years. Also I have someone special in my life coming back after a long tour overseas. So yes, I feel like celebrating that it is finally MAY! Even though I have no May baskets left on my porch I feel like celebrating! I wonder if we are ever really too old to celebrate the things we did as a kid. Who wants to relive our childhood and do the May baskets again? I think it would make me feel so happy if I had one waiting for me. How about this, I will bring you one if you bring me one!

Remember to make someone smile today, and never be too grown up to be a kid every once in awhile.

Happy May Day (a day late!)

Serena