Sunday, July 6, 2014

Weekly Inspiration 7.6.14

I hate not knowing what is going to come next.  But I realize that no one knows, and it's better to be positive and hopeful about what could come than to be negative and worrying over something you can't change anyways.  I'm trying my best.  Happy week, everyone! 


Sunday, June 29, 2014

Weekly Inspiration 6.29.14

So I'm currently FAILING at posting weekly... However this one is a healthy reminder that I think can make up for a few weeks 


It's simple, yet resonating.  We live in a world where nothing is ever good enough.  We always want more.  We're all guilty of wishing we have someone else's life at some point or another. 

We've each been given this life to live and we've been dealt our cards.  If you're reading this right now, you are blessed enough to live in a first world country and to have some sort of access to internet.  I'd like to wager there are many more things that you've been blessed with.

Now I'm not trying to be self-righteous, preaching that we all need to be grateful. I'm saying this because this is something I currently find myself struggling with.  I've been feeling particularly pessimistic and sad at this point in my life.  I'm at a plateau.  I'm not finding a teaching job and hating the part time job I currently have.  I'm seeing all the exciting updates of my friends moving into post grad apartments on Facebook (which is a whole 'nother topic for another day) while I'm living in my parents house.  Needless to say, my spirit has been feeling low.

Seeing this made me think.  This is the only life I get on this earth, the only chance I have.  I need to love my life and the things I've experienced.  In addition, I need to be more grateful.  I'm lucky enough to have a job, even though it's not my ideal choice.  I'm blessed enough to have parents who love me and a place to call home for right now.  

I need to stop the comparison.  I'm never going to be that other person, never going to have their life.  And that's okay.  I have a fabulous life.  It's time I start loving it!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Weekly Inspiration 6.8.14


Yes, I am a Harry Potter fanatic.  But even if you aren't, this is still a fabulous quote.  All too often we have all of these dreams and ambitions, but are afraid to act and take the necessary steps toward these dreams.  This week (and beyond) I'm trying to be more deliberate and take action in order to make my dreams come true. 

:)

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Scurrying about our lives

Today while at the daycare I work at, I happened to notice a hole with thousands of ants wandering in and out, to and fro.  

The picture does it no justice, there were literally thousands of ants.  As I stood there and watched them, I noticed how the ants would sometimes run into one another.  The ants would bump and some of them kept going the direction they were originally while others seemed to bounce back and head off into a completely different direction. Some ended up in good places (back to their hole) and others ended up in some not so good places (under my preschool students' shoes). 


As I stood there staring at these ants, I couldn't help but think about how these ants lives and paths were changing, and how this parallels to our lives.

As much as we like to say we are in charge of our own lives, the people around us affect us.  People come into our lives, even if only for a brief period of time, and really change them for the better. God made our paths cross for a reason and to help us become who we are.   And as much as I firmly believe in loving everyone, there are also people who can change our paths for the worst. They can influence us in a seemingly harmless way, but actually cause us to end up in some not so good places in the long run.  It reminded me of a quote I've heard many times, but never really applied to my life personally, until now. 



I'm at a spot in my life where the people I'm surrounding myself with are really starting to change.  It's exciting to be making new friends, yet heartbreaking to be leaving the old.  Thinking about these ants and how they parallel human life has helped me gain a perspective.  I'm going to love those around me as much as I can, but I'm going to be extremely conscious of who I allow to influence me and change my path.  After all, you only live once. 

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Weekly Inspiration 5.25.14

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.  All around people are talking about how excited they are that it's the beginning of the summer season, how they're so glad to have a three-day weekend, etc.  

I'm excited for all of those things too, but sometimes I think that we forget the true reason behind many holidays and that Memorial Day is a biggie.  It's not just a day for picnics, but a day for is to pause and be grateful for those who died so we could have our freedoms. Now I'm not trying to get all preachy, I just think it's nice to pause and reflect and be thankful.  Happy Memorial Day!






Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Smile because it happened...

Well, I did it!


I am officially a graduate of THE Pennsylvania State University!

This is such an unbelievably strange feeling.  Part of me feels like it's just an ordinary summer and that I'll be going back in August for the fall semester.  Another part of me already feels like graduation was ages ago!

The Thursday before graduation, Nannerhead and I decided to of take some nice graduation photos in our caps and gowns.  It was a gorgeous day, and while we only had iPhone's to use, I must say the pictures turned out pretty great!








This girl is my very best friend.  Sometimes people enter your life seemingly insignificant and turn out to be forever friends.   The story of our friendship is fairly comical.  It was the very first day of classes my freshman year and,  as fate would have it, I was running 15 minutes late for my 8 AM bio lab.  I snuck into class and took the only available seat which, as you guessed it, was next to Nannerhead!  We were assigned as lab partners and had to work together a lot in and out of class.  We became friends and realized that we had so much in common.  We were both majoring in elementary education and had nearly identical schedules.  We were also both from Pittsburgh and went to neighboring schools.  We had many mutual friends and even took dance lessons together as children!  How weird is that?!?!  Throughout freshman year, we became very close friends, decided to live together for the next three years, take all of the same classes, and the rest is history! 

 I have no doubt in my mind that we are kindred spirits and are meant to be lifelong friends.  She is the Lucy to my Ethel and the peanut to my butter.  I have no idea how I would've made it through college without her!  I'm going to miss not being able to just walk up the stairs of our near-campus house to see my best friend.  Just typing this is making me teary!  I'm so grateful to have her in my life and cannot wait to be her maid of honor at her wedding in November!  Love you, Nannerhead!






Commencement was held on Saturday, May 10th.  It was an exciting and fun-filled day.  My Mom, Dad, Step-Mom, Siblings, and two uncles all came to Altoona for the day and it was a great time!

(Nannerhead and I, of course)

(The Elementary Ed Grads!  Love these ladies!)


(Can't resist taking a selfie during commencement!  We snuck in line next to each other for seating purposes.  It's preposterous that they should try to separate us during graduation!)

(The Rotondo siblings- Christopher, Cidney, me, Caylin, and Chloe)


I still can't believe my four years at Penn State are over!  It's sad, yet exciting.  As sad as I am to see it go I am so, so grateful that I was able to call myself a Nittany Lion and have such a great experience.  We Are!


Sunday, May 4, 2014

Weekly Inspiration 5.4.14

So I'm going to try out this "weekly inspiration" thing.  Each Sunday (hopefully) I'm going to post a quote that's either particularly inspiring overall or is currently speaking to me as extra motivation for the week ahead.  Quotes are some of my favorite things and can actually be life changing.  I'm so excited to share some of my favorites! :)

And without further ado, here is Weekly Inspiration Number One:


a healthy reminder that not everything we want happens immediately and that some things are worth waiting for

PS:  May the Fourth be with you :)

Saturday, May 3, 2014

The end is near...

disclaimer:  this post is very personal and not sunshine-and-rainbows.  to some, it might seem complain-y.  but i'm trying my best to "keep it real" on this blog.  this is a part of my life that i'm going to want to look back on and remember, so that in the future i can tell myself "i did it!"


Sometimes God sends you little things that are exactly what you need exactly when you need them.


Today, I read an article entitled The REAL Reason You're So Afraid To Graduate. 

(Here's the link right here http://totalsororitymove.com/the-real-reason-youre-so-afraid-to-graduate/ .  Yes, I realize it's from a sorority blogsite, but that is not the point.)

And let me tell you, the writer hit the nail right on the head with this one.

For the past few months, I've had the biggest pit in my stomach that just seems to get bigger and bigger the closer it gets to graduation day.  Last week, I realized I am truly dreading graduation with a passion... which is really, REALLY confusing.  Why am I dreading it?

Graduation is supposed to be this exciting, momentous occasion that you look forward to since before you're even in college.  It's the big hurrah to end "the best four years of your life"- it should be one big party!  Now that it's looming closer, why am I dreading it so much?  It's certainly not because I'm going to miss the classes or homework, and definitely not because of the student apartment I live in that is located in the worst section of town ever... so what is it? And even worse, why do I seem like the only person feeling this way?  Everyone else is so ready to be done.  They are going to have in-demand degrees and have had job offers since Christmas, or they have fiancés or houses or other exciting life happenings when they're finished.  So what's wrong with me?

Those are literally the thoughts that have been swirling around in my head for weeks and have caused many tearful nights.  I am so so grateful that I happened to stumble across this seemingly silly article exactly when I needed it.

The author sums up the expected reasons why people might be afraid to graduate... no more partying, having to get a real job, etc.  But she continues to say:


"It’s not the real reason the word 'graduation' seems to be synonymous with 'death.'  You knew you’d stop partying someday. You knew you’d have to get a job someday. And you knew that getting a job might be really, really hard.  What you weren’t prepared for was this unshakable feeling that you don’t belong anywhere."



BAM!  There are the exact words I couldn't put together to describe this feeling.  I have no idea what exactly is coming next.  While I've done some interviews, schools don't really open up the hiring process until mid-to-late summer, which means I have no real job at the moment.  Scary.  I also don't know where I might be living once I do get a real job, which means I'm going back to my parents'... Scariest.  There are very few things in life that make your self-esteem take a huge hit like having to move back in with your parents.



While reading the article didn't make stoked for graduation, it made me feel a little bit better realizing that I'm not the only person who feels so unsure. I'm still so grateful and thankful that I was able to go to college and graduate.  I know I'm lucky and that this is a huge blessing.



With that being said...





Friday, April 18, 2014

Easter Eggstravaganza




My best friend and roommate, Nannerhead, and I love dyeing Easter eggs.  I'm not exactly sure what the draw of it is to us (maybe all the fun dye kits??) but it's a tradition we've grown to love.

This year we went to Walmart and bought five dozen eggs.... EACH!  That's ten dozen all together!! 



(We've been buying one or two here and there for the past two months!)

Because we didn't have school, this afternoon was the perfect time for us to get down to business! And let me tell you, boiling and dyeing ten dozen eggs is a team effort! 


(We went through this four-pots-going-all-at-once boiling process three times to get all the eggs!) 


Finally, it was time to start dyeing!


I've really been into polka dots lately and was dying to dye some eggs with white polka dots!  I found these stickers in the office supply section at Walmart and thought they would be perfect for helping me make my polka dots!


So I stuck 'em on...


...plopped the egg into the dye cup...


...took the egg out, peeled off the stickers and voila!





I would say the polka dots were a success!!

Altogether, we only lost nine eggs to breaking casualties. 




Another year, another Easter Eggstravaganza with my very best friend (who doesn't like eggs haha! :)














Monday, April 7, 2014

Choosing to be Grateful

This weekend, I listened to a talk telling the importance of being grateful for everything in our lives, including blessings AND trials.  I have never had something resonate in my heart so much! Here is my favorite quote from the talk:



I'm at a point where the future is extremely uncertain and all I do is worry or compare myself to others who have their lives all figured out.  Lately, comparison has been getting the best of me.  It's frustrating, but I still know that I am extremely blessed. This talk was meant especially for me right in this moment and has inspired me to try to be more positive and grateful for the hard things in life.  These are the moments that make us who we are. 

(One of my favorite quotes)

Mondays need a little extra inspiration   :)


Happy Monday! 


Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Here Goes Nothing

Well, here it is. My first blog post, ladies and gents. (Or well, whoever is reading this, aka just me.)

I decided to start this blog for a few reasons. I'm about to graduate from college next month and move away to..... Well, that's to be determined.  I want to make sure I have some way to document all of these crazy new changes in my life. I'll be (hopefully) living on my own and (also hopefully) teaching in my own classroom.  I know that the next year of my life is going to be exciting, but hard.  I'm going to have days where I'm going to be lonely and frustrated. This blog isn't going to be all sunshine and butterflies, but those are the things that shape us and make us who we are.  I want to be able to look back on these currently unknown yet upcoming trials and be able to think to myself "I made it." 



(And I would like to note that I am writing this first blog post at 6:30 in the morning on my way to student teaching with a cup of blackberry vanilla tea, my very best friend, Nannerhead [obviously name has been changed] and Closing Time by Semisonic [not Third Eye Blind! ] blaring on the radio.  Check out this sunrise! Life is pretty swell :)