Life.

In the wise words of Brandi Glanville, It's been a hot minute.

Senior year of high school was a breeze and college is the absolute opposite. My classes last semester seem like a walk in the park compared to this one. The last time I blogged actually doesn't seem that long ago, but so much has happened. I finished my 7th semester at Purdue, I went to Mexico, came back, started my last semester EVER, resumed my internship, studied my life away, and now I'm on Spring Break. Also, Gossip Girl ended, forever. It's like perfect timing because since I'm the same age as the characters, it was good to see them grow up. Except now I know I'm next and in two months I'm officially an adult.

Some days I sit in my apartment and get really sad because I'm going to miss this place like crazy. I have so many wonderful memories and I am the person I am today because I came to Purdue. But, then the weekends over and I remember why I'm ready to graduate. Counting pre-school, this is my 18th year of school. I turn 22 in April and have spent like 80% of my life in school, I think it's time to move on. This would sound so much better If I knew I didn't have to work the rest of my life working, at least until I retire, that is. Life. I know I will be really sad to graduate, but hopefully I wont get too emotional about it. Who am I kidding? I'll cry like a baby.

For those wondering, I did recently change my favorite housewife show to Beverly Hills. As much as I love Teresa, all the family drama is crazy and that show has gotten too incredibly negative that I feel bad even watching it. Beverly Hills on the other hand is funny and while they do have drama, families are physically tearing each other apart.

People wouldn't be surprised to learn that I've been purchasing some of the housewives' products. I bought (and read in one day) Brandi's book and I purchased Teresa's third cookbook. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to make anything yet. Also, I decided to give her haircare line a try and I am pleasantly surprised with it. So everyone needs to go out and buy it.

But enough about me, I hope everyone is doing well. I promise I will try to get though senior year in one piece and blog about my adventures doing it.

Until next time xoxo,
Edith

The Most Important Thing of All

The downside to amazing things, is that it all must come to an end. Life changes so quickly, that it's necessary to enjoy the moment while one still has the chance. 

I saw a girl, who I had not gotten along with sophomore year, last night. It was great. We said hello, talked, and it made me realize that there is no time for anger or pettiness. I genuinely felt happy that she is doing so great in school and in life and I know everything that happened is a thing in the past. We can't build a time machine and travel back in time, but we can make things better in the present. I've said it before and I will say it again, I do not hate anyone. While I do wish somethings would have been done differently, we can't change it, so it's better to move on and forgive and forget. 

It's hard to look back and remember the negative aspects of life, but being stuck with those memories is definitely not healthy. I look at my dads story, where at the young age of 8 his father died, and shortly after was abandoned by his mother. He had to fend for himself and along with his sibling survive the cruel actions this world can have on us. But, I can honestly say, that I have NEVER heard my dad say one negative thing about his childhood. Yes, it was not a typical one and most definitely not one I would want for anyone, but he moved past it. He made sure that he would work hard and give his family the life that he never had. He didn't have a childhood, but that didn't stop him from being the best dad to me. He's my hero and I will love him forever. 

Life has been busy. Internship, school, homework, projects, finals.. it's been hectic. I tried to not let stress get to me this past month, but it's inevitable. The past couple of weeks were the worst as far as due dates, but I realized that I will only get to do this one more time. I am not ready to head out into the real world. I see so many people from my hometown, that count the minutes until they graduate, and I'm the opposite. I value my time here and I will make every second of my second semester count. It's a scary world out there, but I feel confident that with my degree from here, and my work experience, that I will be fine. 

On a happier note, Ryan and I recently celebrated our two year anniversary. Time sure does fly. It seems like it was just yesterday when I first met him, I remember that day so well. We spent a weekend in Cincinnati and everything was perfect. I seriously have no complaints about anything. We watched the Cowboys vs. Bengals game there too and it was great. It was my first time at a Cowboys game and I loved it. There were SO many Cowboys fans there you would have thought you were in Dallas. I honestly had an amazing time and I can't wait to see what we do for our three year. 

Well, I finished my only final I had last night (how did I get so lucky?). It was worth having hell week last week to have a more relaxed week now. As a drove back from my final (yes I drove back from Beering to my apartment, it was cold), I purposely drove right through campus, and it was sad. I don't want to leave this place. Purdue has given me so much. I am who I am today because of coming here. I met so many amazing friends that will always be in my life. I met my boyfriend, things would be so different without him. As a I drove by the academic buildings, I realized that even though I only have one semester left, I will always be part of the Boilermaker family. I will always have a degree from here and will always be proud of the school I graduated from. I love Purdue, I love West Lafayette, and that will never change. 

I'm leaving for Mexico next week and I'm really excited to see my family. My moms cooking is amazing and I plan on taking full advantage of eating it while I'm there. I already have all my Christmas shopping done and I can't wait for everyone to open their stuff. I hope everyone has a great break and enjoys the holidays. There is no better way than to spend it with our family and loved ones and at the end of the day that is the most important thing of all. 

School, Texas, and the East Coast

Wow, it's been a while.

I'd be lying if I said I haven't been ridiculously busy the past month. I always knew my Senior year would be crazy, I just didn't know it would be this hard. It's been hard to make time to everything, but once I get every project, exam or homework done, I always feel so accomplished and proud of myself. Thanksgiving Break is right around the corner and then Christmas Break will come before we know it, and then I will begin my last semester EVER at Purdue.

I went to San Antonio for Fall Break and it was so pretty there! The River Walk is amazing and it's definitely something everyone should go see. I got to see the Alamo and we went horseback riding. A lot of my friends couldn't believe that I would do that, but yes, I definitely did something out of my comfort zone. In all, it was a great time and I was glad I got to relax and take a break from school. Here's a few pictures from our trip.

Ryan and I infront of the River Walk

Ryan and I infront of The Alamo

We stayed at Hotel Contessa. Our room had an amazing view of the River Walk

We went horseback riding at Rancho Cortez, just south of San Antonio

It was a really fun time, and I'm glad Ryan's parents invented us to go with them.

I can't write a blog without including Gossip Girl in it. Bare with me guys, there are only 8 episodes left EVER and then it's done. No more Gossip Girl. Anyway, the only thing I like about this season is that Blair and Chuck are together, nothing else is really that interesting. I mean, Serena dating and older guy, and Nate dating a girl in high school just doesn't seem that interesting. Oh and Rufus and Dan, SERIOUSLY? NO ONE CARES. Ugh. I heard Little J comes back. Great. I can't even. I'm ready for the scheming to start. The final episode will air the Monday right before I leave for Mexico, so perfect timing.

Speaking of NYC, seeing all those images on TV of the entire East Coast after the disaster left by Sandy is heartbreaking. I can't imagine losing everything and having to start over with nothing. But, this is America, and if they got through 9/11, they can make it through anything. Our Country always comes together in times like these, even with an election literally just around the corner. Even if you can't donate a lot, $10 to the RedCross can make a difference.

xoxo
Edith

There is nothing wrong with change.

I decided to change the name of my blog. Not because I hated my old title, but rather it’s just time for a change.

Every time I am working on a project I always find myself changing it up completely. I always feel like I can do better and know that I haven’t reached my full potential. I took college credit English my senior year of high school and on the first day of class our teacher told us to not expect an A+ because there is no such thing as a perfect paper.

At first I thought she was crazy and started to imagine sleepless nights working on completing homework for that class. Luckily for me, it was her last year to teach, so she could care less what we did. Seriously, we had a substitute teacher all the time and all she would write in the lesson plan for her was to just let us get on the computers and “play bubble shooter”. Dead serious.

Back to my point, I completely agree with her now. It’s gotten to the point where I just have to stop myself, because I know that if I go on and on editing my papers I will never stop.

I chose this title for many reasons. One, it’s simple. Who doesn’t love simple? Two, it’s true; we should all live our lives. We only get one, so we might as well focus on the positive and enjoy every second we are on this earth.

I’ve been so busy with work, my internship and school. Can someone please remind me why I decided to take 18 credit hours again? Anyone?

I decided to quit my job, so two weeks ago I gave them my notice. Not without buying as many candles and tarts as possible, obviously. I’m going to miss Yankee Candle, but I’m going to love having free weekends again.

My internship is going great. So many things are happening and I am so happy I get to be a part of them. I no longer have to share my desk with another intern so I can finally make it my own. I can’t even begin to describe how much I enjoy interning there. All the people are so nice and real. I know that I can be myself and try my best to contribute positively to my projects. I can’t forget to say how they ALWAYS bring in delicious snacks/desserts/bagels and I LOVE them for that. Especially because most of the time I’m literally running around before work so I have no time to eat. I love it there.

Classes are good. A lot of projects, but I’m learning a lot. Hard to believe this is the 6^th week of class, but I’m enjoying it. I actually have my first exam of the year tomorrow and what am I doing? Blogging.. yeah. I know it’s exam week for a lot of people and thankfully I only have one, but I do wish everyone luck.

Another thing I’m happy about is that fall is finally here. It’s my favorite season. Not only because I love the weather, but all my favorite T.V. shows come back on. I still have a few weeks though, so I’ll just watch season 5 of Gossip Girl because I JUST FOUND OUT IT’S OUT!!! I am beyond excited.

Well I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying this beautiful weather, well when it’s not raining.

Xoxo, Edith 

Reality Television

Whether it's Jersey Shore or Keeping up with the Kardashians, there is always some form of reality TV on. But, how "real" are these shows?

MTV hit reality show The Hills was watched by millions of young girls wanting to one day have the fabulous life of Lauren Conrad. After being on air for 6 seasons the show came to an end with a shocking season finale. The last scene was shown to be shot in a Hollywood production set with the characters clearly acting out the final minutes of the show we all grew to love. So what does this mean? They didn't come out and say that it was completely fake, but it was definitely implied.

After Kim Kardashian's infamous 72 day marriage many questioned if she had done it for ratings. The obvious facts are that she did do a 4 hour special on her nuptials and the next season of her show focused on the troubles the young couple had.

So why are we so attached to these shows? What is it about them that makes us watch every week to find out the obvious? I mean, we all knew Kim and Kayne were dating. We all knew that Lauren would be present at Heidi and Spenser's wedding. What was it about seeing it on TV that made it "official"?

The minds of Hollywood producers don't focus on giving us something we don't already know, rather they want us to know what is behind it. After Lamar Odom was let go from the Dallas Mavericks earlier this year everyone wanted to know what was going through his head at the time, and the only way to know was watching Khloe & Lamar, which conveniently filmed the whole thing.

While many of these reality shows are heavily criticized, truth is these personalities are laughing themselves all the way to the bank.

Forbes reported that Kim Kardashian made 18 million last year. Snooki made 4 million. Who knew staring in a sex tape and being a raging alcoholic could make you rich? Truth is, we love watching it happen. I will admit that I love seeing Kim K crying on TV because she doesn't look like the perfect women who is on the cover of the hottest magazine. When Snooki got arrested, we were all thinking it was hilarious and she deserved it.

As long as reality TV has people watching it, it will never go away. It may not be "real", but the more we want to know about people's lives, the more they are going to let us in.

Living the Senior Life

Seeing all the new freshmen walking around campus makes me remember when I was their age. It reminds me of my move-in date, my very first college class and what it was like to no longer have my parents around.

I was so used to seeing my parents every single day that I thought this was going to be a huge change for me. Truth is, it really wasn't that bad. I feel like I transitioned right into college life as soon as I moved in. 

I have always been a firm believer that everyone should be able to experience the college life. Everyone should be able to go away to school and have the best four years (or more) of their life. I honestly can't imagine what my life would be like if I wouldn't have decided to study at Purdue. 

Senior year I was having a hard time deciding what school I wanted to go to. I was between Purdue, Ball State and University of Evansville. After visiting all three schools, doing some intense research, and talking to my parents, we decided that Purdue was the right school for me. Basically it was deciding between a big, medium and small school. I went to a small high school, and I knew that I wanted to experience something new. I wanted to be able to walk around and not know every single person. People say it's great to live in a small town because you know everyone, but I think that can also be a negative aspect about it. 

When I graduated from high school, there was no looking back for me. Very few people from my school go on to attend big state colleges, and I'm so glad I was one of them. I know because of financial, academic and other issues people decide to stay at home or only go an hour away, and I am no one to tell someone that they went to the wrong school, but I can't help but hope that one day my school feeds more students to bigger schools. 

And now here I am, almost four years later. The past three years have gone so fast that I don't even know where the time has gone. I have learned so much here though, and not just for my future career. I think I have become a better person. In high school, I held so many of my emotions in that it definitely was not healthy. I've learned to love myself for who I am, and to be proud of the person that I am becoming. I've learned to let go of the past and to live my life for myself and the people I care about. When I get older and have kids of my own, I want to be proud of the things I tell them. I don't want to feel like I didn't follow my dreams. I want to know that I did everything that I needed to do in order to become happy. One of my favorite quotes by Marilyn Monroe is where she says that "happiest girls are the prettiest girls", I couldn't agree more. 

My advice to people in my high school? Live your life for YOU. I know it may sound selfish, but at the end of the day if you are not at peace with yourself, you won't be at peace with anyone else. Go away to school, meet new people, do something out of your comfort zone and let things go. If you don't move on, you will always be stuck in a small town and everything will stay the exact same.

College goes by so fast. I feel like it was forever ago when I graduated high school, but just yesterday when I started college. I'm going to make this year count. Senior year is not only my last year I will ever be in school, but a time when we realize how much things have change, how we are about to become "real" people, and how life will go on without us if we don't work hard to move forward. 

I was looking through old pictures and thought I would post these.

From high school senior year to college senior year. Looking back I don't know what I was thinking, but that's part of growing up.  Now I feel like if I go back to dark hair it's not me. I'm a completely new person, looks and everything. When I was in high school I was to scared to try new things and now I feel like I just do whatever I feel like doing. I'll show these to people and they don't believe it's me. Something happened that summer after I graduated and I became happier and then college definitely brought out the best in me. 

This is a long one, but I feel like I had a lot to say. Here's to hoping life stays as wonderful as it is. Boiler up! 

xoxo 

Back to Reality

My summers used to consist of me working an easy part time job and enjoying my time off from school. This summer was the complete opposite of that. I knew that I needed to obtain an internship in order to expand my resume to get a job after graduation. But what I got was more than just an internship. I met some amazing people that I will always remember. I was given the opportunity to continue with the department as a PAID intern. In my field of Public Relations, it is very rare to find a paid internship, so this is an amazing opportunity. I knew that it would be worth it, and I'm glad to know I was right.

I also accepted two part-time jobs for the summer. It was definitely not planned for me to work so much. I got called back to the second one after starting the first, and they both seemed fun, so I thought I could handle both. Even though I was extremely busy, I liked working with the people I met. I became great friends with most of them and we share many great memories together. This really was a great summer.

I was surprised to know I am able to manage my time very wisely. As much as I worked (I can count on 2 hands how many days I didn't work) I still managed to spend time with my boyfriend and our friends. That was very important to me and I'm glad I was able to handle it. I don't think there is one thing I would change about the last couple of months.

I started watching Pretty Little Liars. It's no Gossip Girl, but it's pretty good. There is so much mystery and I cant wait to find out what's going on. I finally got around to getting Netflix and so far it's been worth it.

School starts in a little over a week. I think I'm finally coming to the realization that I have one year left. In a way I'm ready to get started on a new chapter of my life. I always say once summer is done I'm back to reality. This is the last time i will have a summer vacation and I know I will miss it. Good things are coming my way and I'm so ready for them.



Xoxo