Procrastination Nation

Exactly twelve hours from this very moment, I will be getting on a bus that is headed to Dayton Ohio for WGI finals (feel free to Google it if you are confused).

The biggest and possibly the most stressful component of traveling is packing. Most people plan ahead as to what they are going to pack so that they will have everything that is necessary when they arrive at their destination.

However, my version of packing involves me frantically running around like a squirrel that has lost its nuts.

In my head I realize that I have less than twelve hours to pack for a five day trip, but for some reason whenever I look at my bag I think that I have all the time in the world; so I decide to spend my time doing other things (like writing this post).

When I do finally decide to start packing, it is about two hours before I have to leave. In these two hours, I grab anything and everything that I think I am going to need during the time that I'm gone.

This may not sound like the most logical or sensible way to pack, but it hasn't failed me yet!

I now know that if there were ever a zombie apocalypse, I would be able to pack my things in a hurry and be on my way.

Everyone else is clearly doing this whole packing thing wrong. Obviously, my packing strategies are fool-proof and I am prepared for anything!

What Is Love...Baby Don't Hurt Me

As I sit here avoiding any chocolate that isn't filled with caramel from my 50% off box of Valentine's Day candy; curiosities of love and Valentine's Day are running through my head. Who invented Valentines Day? Hallmark? Hershey? Florists?! After conducting some research on Google I can honestly conclude that...no one really knows. There was a Saint Valentine who was a priest in the Roman Empire during the 3rd century A.D. who secretly married couples even though marriage was prohibited by law (a really stupid law). Saint Valentine was imprisoned for his "crimes" and was later beheaded as a punishment. I have no idea how love notes and candy spiraled out of this man's death, but I now have an interesting tid-bit of information for the next time Valentine's Day rolls around.

Valentine's Day is a day that is centered around the idea of love. Something that fascinates me is that there are so many people who absolutely loathe Valentine's Day... People who hate the day of love..(it sounds a little weird right?)  I can completely understand why people don't like Valentine's Day. You wake up the morning of February 14th and the first thing you see on Instagram is a selfie of a couple who are kissing with the caption "best valentine I could ever ask for!"(if this applies to anyone's Instagram photos I'm sorry that I'm using you as an example). It's photos/tweets/posts like this that make people who haven't found that special someone feel lonely. An unintentional slap in the face if you will, and like any normal person's reaction to getting slapped in the face, they are going to be angry towards whatever hit them.

There is a point however, where this anti-Valentine's Day movement gets a little old. It's a day to celebrate love! All these Valentine's Day haters have something that they can celebrate on this day, they just aren't thinking outside of the heart-shaped box (god I'm funny). If you aren't in a relationship and hate Valentine's Day try to remember that you can celebrate the love that you have for your family, friends, dogs, cats, chinchillas, and even your celebrity crushes! Please don't think that I am calling you or anyone out on hating Valentine's Day, I personally used to be miserable on this day and it was only within that past few years that I realized I didn't have to be in a relationship to appreciate Valentine's Day. Instead, I could use this day to celebrate how much love I have in my life.

I think Olaf had it right when he said that true love is when you put someone else's needs before your own. If you're reading this and you can think of one or more people that this applies to, then maybe think about celebrating that for next Valentine's Day. Or don't even wait till then to do it, celebrate it the next time you see/speak to them!

Until next time...

15 THINGS TO DO WITH A BAGUETTE

Comfort Zones

Whether it's finally finding that comfortable sleeping position, becoming comfortable with a new group of friends, or sitting in the most comfortable chair known to man, a Yogibo; we never like to think about leaving these "comfort zones" that we have found for ourselves.

 I am a huge addict of comfort zones! I never want to stray far from my normal routine and there are few instances that I can recall in which I have veered from my usual path. I just love being comfortable, both clothing wise and lifestyle wise, and there isn't anything wrong with that.
However, when I think about those times in which I did decide to do something out of my comfort zone, I realize how much fun I had and how greatly it has affected my life!

Some of these decisions included quitting Soccer after 11 years to pursue Color Guard, and that decision ultimately led to me joining the Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps in 2010. The last big comfort zone altering decision that I made was becoming an RA at my school. I am sure that I've made a few other decisions which drew me out of my comfort zone, but these three are the ones that I know have changed my life in the best way possible.


If you ever met me before I started Color Guard, you would've seen a girl who did not know a thing about make-up, a razor, or what a dress was. I was the ultimate tom-boy! I loved sports, wore my hair in a ponytail almost everyday, and when my Mom took me to the bra section at Target I would run away in embarrassment.

I didn't know how to be girly and trying to figure out how scared me a little. Yet for some reason when my sister started Color Guard, I wanted to trade in my cleats for a flag, show hair, and make-up. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

Transitioning from running soccer drills to learning dance positions and flag routines was one of the most awkward and challenging experiences of my life, but I don't regret a thing because I absolutely fell in love with the activity and I am still involved with it today.

I never knew how hot Summer could really be until I was running around and spinning a flag in the middle of a parking lot on a 98 degree day. My first year of Spartans was probably one of the most physically draining things I had ever done in my life, but by the end of the season I couldn't wait to go back for more. I ended up returning for three more years and now I am moving on to a World Class Drum Corps, the Bluecoats. 

Drum Corps is where I learned three values that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, respect, responsibility and commitment. Along with these values, I also gained some of the best friends in the world, and every time that I'm with them I think of how lucky I am to share such a close connection to a group of people.

I am still in the middle of my most recent comfort zone altering decision which was becoming an RA at my school. I don't have a lot to say about this so far because it's only been a couple of months, but  I really enjoy my position and I have met a lot of new people by taking on this role as a student leader. I am sure that I made a good decision, and I am eager to see what new things I will find out about myself through this experience.

I know that there are a lot more decisions that I am going to have to make which will greatly affect my many comfort zones, but thats life. It's full of twists and turns that will require us to make one big decision after another, and these decisions will provide us with many experiences that could either be good or bad. I will honestly say that I am both nervous and excited for some of the big decisions that I know are coming my way. But hey, you know how the saying goes. YOLO.