"Don't be embarrassed of who you are, they're gonna judge you no matter what you do." — Melina Kanakaredes

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." — Dr. Seuss

Everyone has been in a situation where they do not "fit in" with the "it" crowd. Children go through it growing up, teens in high school and to me, in college, it didn't seem to be a HUGE issue. But even as an adult there are these same issues where people don't "fit in" and whether one admits it or not... it still hurts.
Now, I know that as you grow up it gets easier and you don't let yourself get affected by it as much. But I want to point out some things to y'all. I am a single girl (unmarried) and I have no kids, however, I would still like to be asked to hang out if you go to the park and then lunch with friends who also have kids. Just because I am not married and do not have kids does not mean I can not relate nor does it mean that I do not want to hang out just because there will be kids there. Just because I do not have a child of my own does not mean I do not understand you. Basically, what I am saying is; If you have a child and/or are married DO NOT ignore your single friends. We want to hang out to.
On to another thing that irks me... I hate when people ignore me. (I am talking about friends and even my family.) If I text, call, email, Facebook, etc. you and you don't respond after a certain number of times I will get the hint. But you cannot think that I am going to forget (easily) all the failed attempts when I tried to communicate with you. The audacity of some people calling for favors after I have been trying to get a hold of you for months just to talk, hang out or check in with you! (Not to ask you for anything) But me, being me, WAY too nice always offer the helping hand. That is not the only reason I keep doing those nice things.... In the Bible it says, "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-15
And also in Luke 6:35-36. "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
People, you have to know that when you burn your bridges there is a chance you will get stuck on the island. You have to think about what's REALLY going on. Remember to treat people the way YOU want to be treated. It is not fair to expect someone to go over and beyond for you when you constantly refuse to meet them in the middle.
I want to finish out saying that I am grateful for the few close friends I have, I love and appreciate them dearly. They know who they are.

Yesterday's Natural Disaster

As you all know we had several tornadoes touch down in North Carolina yesterday. Last time I checked there was a total of 62 confirmed to have touched down. One came though our neighborhood, right down our street. I will be putting up several pictures for you to see. I have to say that I am thankful that my family nor any of the other families seem to be hurt. The houses seem pretty much in tact and we all have power. However, there is about a tree down in every yard on our end of the street. We have 2 down in our yard and we will have to replace the back fence. The debris on the ground is unbelievable.
I have been following the news with the other parts of Cumberland County and it is incredibly sad. I got a call from my principal saying that there were several families in our schools area that were affected by these tornadoes. I hope all my students and their families are well. There are other parts of the county that were not that lucky.... Yadkin Road, Ramsey Street area, Riley Road, Morganton Road. I am praying for the people who live in those areas because some neighborhoods have been flattened. The damage is breathtaking and will literally choke you up and bring tears to your eyes. Fort Bragg is closed down. Cumberland and Harnett Counties are operating on a 2 hour delay and there are 2 schools in the county that students and teachers will not be able to return to.
It just breaks my heart to see all this and for it to be so close to home. We hear about Tsunamis in Japan and Haiti, or Earthquakes around the world, we saw the coverage of Hurricane Katrina and it seems surreal because it is so far away and we do not physically see it. But we cannot deny what is in front of us. Natural Disasters can and do happen to all of us no matter who we are or where we might reside. We are not invincible! That being said, it brings me to my next point. One word. God! He was with each and everyone of us yesterday. So much more harm could have been done. I know God was in my house yesterday with my mom and sister and he was with me when I was working at the Kangaroo sitting on 4000 gallons of flammable gas and numerous cylinders of propane. There is no denying it.
So.... I challenge you.... to volunteer your time, energy, money (all are needed) to the people of our community, I know I will be! Just think, that could be your neighborhood we see on T.V. that is destroyed. It could be your family without a roof over their head, without anything to your name. Wouldn't you want help?

UPDATE...

So... I have not died. I am very much alive. I started this a few years ago and forgot about it... Here I am again... starting over. Well, since my last post a lot has changed....
1. Circuit City has closed.
2. I finished my certification in Elementary Education.
3. I found a job in teaching. ESL- Not my favorite job BUT a job nonetheless.
4. I am engaged now. :-D
5. Dustin and I are planning to move to Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

That is it in a nutshell. I cannot say that I miss working at Circuit City even though it holds 6 years on my resume. Miss the people, NOT the place. I am proud to be a teacher. I love teaching in fact, I even love teaching ESL, and however, I hate the whole NOT having a classroom thing. I have also realized by teaching ESL that I love the high school level. That being said I will probably be looking into getting my License in Secondary English... (Teaching High School English).

I knew coming into the year 2011 that this was going to be my year. I plan on owning it. Life is all about being the best YOU! That is what I am going to do. I am coming up on the end of my first year teaching. It has been such a learning experience but I am excited to see what the next few years bring and PRAY that I can find a job in Florida. I made a personal goal to see how many books I could read by the end of the year. Right now I am at 24 books. I don't have A LOT of time for reading but I drive more than an average person in society and I am in the boonies so the only thing left for me to do is audio books. That is how I get the majority of my reading done. I hope to be in the process of moving to Florida by July, which is another goal I am setting for myself. The whole wedding planning thing is still up in the air. I am not sure what we are going to do yet. Guess we will play that by ear... if nothing happens by December of this year then I am aiming for July 2012.

I am excited for the upcoming events and CANNOT wait for what the future holds....

Until next time...