I Want To Write A Book

Writing a book is one of the few things on my bucket list that would make me feel completely content with what I did with my life had I accomplished it. To write a book you need organization, imagination, creation and dedication. I do not want to write a children's book, or a book that would not interest me in the least bit. I want to write a book about something I would like to read. Something my age group would enjoy engulfing their minds into. I want to make a name for myself, ya know? So, for starters, I googled "how to start a book", which was already very uncreative of myself. I should be able to start a book however I would want to and not take advice from people on the internet who probably never even had the motivation to write a book so they just decided to mindlessly tell us how we should write a book. I should have known to get off of google and start for myself when the first thing google told me to do was to "create a concept". Hold up. If you do not know that you need an idea to base a whole book on, why are you even trying to write one? It goes on and on with "consider your audience", "choose themes" and oh, my favorite, "develop your characters". I was thinking about just having blank pages as my book. No themes. No characters. No nothing. Now I know outlines like that can get you started and are probably very helpful but how nice would it be to do a project completely on your own. I feel like that accomplishment itself would make me completely content with what I did with my life.

FOMO

Fear Of Missing Out. It happens to the best of us. This 4th of July was not like my past Independence Day experiences. To start out, the 4th of July in Lititz, my hometown that is also known as "The Coolest Small Town In America" (I am not making this up), does July 4th like no other town. Downtown Lititz is buzzing all day with food, live music, events and activities for us Lititzians to participate in. Not to mention the Queen of Candles at 8pm and fireworks following shortly after. Sadly, this year the whole shabang was postponed to July 5th, which conveniently was my first day on a new job as a wedding server. Loved loved LOVED the job, hated missing out. When I got home my dad explained to me that you know what, it may seem like I missed out, but every party is the same old same old and that you need to miss one sometimes so people realize that they miss you. I loved that advice.

Kirby

Transferring from one school to another is tough as it is, but when you move out of your parents home as well, your life changes right before your very eyes.

Donte William Kirby, 21, born on September 30^th, 1992, from Philadelphia, Pa. attends Temple University as a junior majoring in Journalism.

            Under the harsh lighting in the tech center on Temple University’s campus, Donte Kirby entered the computer-filled alcove wearing a black sweatshirt and beaming with a shining smile on his face.

            Slouching back in the black reclining chairs, it is evident that Kirby is ready to get down to business and answer some questions.

            From PACE University in New York and back to his home roots of Philadelphia, Pa., Kirby realized what a huge accomplishment it was for him to move out on his own and attend a new university.

            “I was already focused on what I wanted to do. The big reason I came home was to stop putting a hold on my life. There was no reason to wait until after college to do what I want to do,” he said, relaxed and collected as he leaned forward with his hands in a loose clasp.

            What he wants to do is write books and he chose Journalism to be able to pay the bills while he does so. His genre interests include fantasy, young adult and urban fantasy.

            Kevin Chang, Kirby’s friend from his freshman year of high school projected his opinion of his transfer from one university to another.

            “His decision to transfer from Pace to Temple was definitely good in the aspect that he was able to experience a new culture and take it back with him.”

            Not only has he experienced a new culture, Chang mentions how Kirby has grown as a person and is “an individual who is able to support himself as well as the ones that are around him.”

            Learning new skills has turned him into who he is today, Chang said, and he can thank his transferring experience for that.

            Speaking of skills, supposedly writing isn’t Kirby’s only skill. Friend of Kirby’s, Kevin Scott, said, “Donte and I met in high school as we were both in the breakdancing club.”

            Kirby also mentioned how he has other hobbies in the journalism field like writing fiction and short stories in his free time.       

            While speaking to Kirby, it was evident that he always has a smile on his face and that he is truly a one-of-a-kind human being, affecting people for the good in ways he probably has no idea about.

            “Donte transferring to temple has affected me because he was the only one in our group of friends from high school who went to school out of state. Since he has been back we are able to hang out more often, and he also ended up becoming one of my roommates,” Scott said.

            Scott and Chang had nothing but nice things to say about Kirby, which shows that if anyone were to go through an experience as difficult as his they would need to get some pointers from Kirby first.

            “Donte is a very intellectual and humorous person who sees things for what they are,” said Scott.

             As for Chang, he describes Kirby as “an individual who knows how to appreciate what there is to appreciate, and suffer what there is to suffer.”

            Although the experience of transferring and moving out was great for Kirby, there were still some areas where he struggled.

            “The most difficult part about transferring was the paperwork, and the most difficult part of moving out other than the physical act of moving was the wait. I got mixed up about how a refund check works and had to wait until December when I could have moved in August”, said Kirby.

            Kirby mentioned how it was not the fact that he did not like PACE University that made him transfer schools, but there were some financial aide complications that Temple University would help out with.

            Despite his first choice of school not working out, Scott thinks it was for the best.

            “I think that transferring from a smaller suburban campus to a large city campus like temple changed Donte's attitude for the better because he was able to experience both sides of the spectrum,” said Scott.

            Although he may have had some struggles, Kirby pushed through them with great motivation and a strict mindset to be the best he could be, coming out of this experience with no anguish.

            “In retrospect, I probably should have come to Temple first, but I don’t regret it,” said Kirby.

TU's Not So Turnt Up After All

Recently there have been a lot of attacks, bomb threats, break-ins and theft here at Temple University. Comforting, isn't it? I haven't told my parents because I don't want them to worry but if they read this, to hell with it (hi mom and dad). A girl got her face smashed and teeth dislocated by a brick because a little girl in a group of about 8-10 kids were taunting her and her boyfriend. Then this group of girls went up to a girl and started punching her and in another instance these girls tried to take another girls purse, all while it's light out might I add. All Temple students are getting harassed and the best part is that it is by children who are up to 6+ years younger than us. The local children around here are cruel and it is not fair for us students to not feel safe even in our own homes. There is a petition going around for more police to expand to deeper areas of where the off campus student housing is. This week, there were two suspicious devices found in two buildings on campus that even had helicopters circling the premises. Funny story now though because they ended up being an electronics project and a prop for theatre or something like that...but they looked "suspicious." So yeah, just another super safe week at Temple. Hide your kids, hide your wife, and ALWAYS have your mace ready.

12:30 AM

It's 12:30 AM and I swear to God I heard birds chirping outside my window. It's funny to think how I just wrote a post two weeks ago about how frigid it was outside and today it was in the 60's and people are wearing shorts. My word do happy things just creep up on you sometimes.

it was so nice out this past weekend that we even got to go hiking, despite there still being snow on the ground.

Brrr

The absurd thing about the world we live in today is that the weather is never what you expect it to be. Not only because the weather people suck and never predict what will happen correctly, but you also don't expect below freezing temperature's going into March. Is this not supposed to be Spring? Another storm is set to happen on Sunday and let me tell ya I am just sick of the whole gloves, scarves, and hats shabang. Not to mention my long black coat attracts hair and fuzzies like no other and having to keep lint-rolling it is getting real old. So let's just take a moment to stop what we are doing, and pray that the Weather Gods will pull through for us who have chapped hands and lips. Please?

Grammys

Okay so I wasn’t going to write a post about the 2014 Grammy’s but I decided to (take a sigh of relief ;)) because OH MY GOD GUYS DID YOU SEE LORDE WHO ELSE FELT SO UNCOMFORTABLE?! Kelly said it best with “SHE’S FRIGHTENING.” And idk who frightens me more, Steven Tyler or Lorde. But her dance moves looked like she was getting tased and was she singing over one of her tracks? Dude idk so confused slash she looked like Kylie Jenner’s twin. Katy Perry’s set was so amazing and sick but her outfit was very unflattering. BUT the award for the smoothest voice and cutest little smirk goes to John Legend. If that man didn’t make you fall in love with him while he was serenading the audience you need to get checked out. In all honesty though, his wife looked BANGIN’ and don’t hate me, but so did TSwift. Her performance dress and her red carpet dress were stunning and anyone who disagrees is just disagreeing to disagree. But her dance moves…hahaha omg so lanky and uncoordinated LUV IT.
Beyoncé obviously rocked the stage, because, when doesn’t she? But can I just talk about how BOMP Kendrick and Imagine Dragon’s performance was? If I wasn’t so lazy I totally would have gotten up and danced to it or something along those lines idk. As for Stevie Wonder…what a legend. I could not even imagine performing at the Grammy’s and not being able to see one thing. He’s so talented.
For Lorde winning Song of the Year..it’s not that I hate her, I just don’t think that she deserves it. She slammed so many artists whether it was for the sake of feminism or for some other reasons that I forget and to be honest don’t really care about, but Royals has nothing on Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. My roommates and I were shocked. Smh smh. I love Lorde’s songs don’t get me wrong, but you have to look at the meaning and influence that a song has had on the people who listen to it. Idk, in my opinion Same Love just has such a great message. You can't tell me you didn't get goosebumps with all of those couples near the end! Not to mention Queen Latifah. How awesome did she look?
I didn’t really comment on the winners of this years Grammy Awards because I did not think any were really spectacular but let’s end this on a positive note. My roommates say that I remind them of Bo Bice (so thankful for their confidence boosting opinions) and Jared Leto...so where’s my Grammy?

Golden Globes

2014 Golden Globes. Let me start off by saying my mom made me a little less than happy tonight. First, she interrupts MULTIPLE times while Leonardo DiCaprio was getting interviewed by Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet. I literally had to shush her, and not just once. AND THEN she has the audacity to say "Enough already!...oh that's Matt Damon", when the cameras zoomed in on an actor. Yeah, she thought it was Leonardo DiCaprio, she thought it was Leonardo DiCaprio and she said "enough already". I'm done with her. Okay moving on now, Margot Robbie is literally a goddess. She was my favorite look by far. Perez said it best when he stated that she "glistened in gucci." It's not just her look, it's her whole demeanor, her whole personality. She radiates! The woman who everyone is talking about, Lupita Nyong'o, had one of the most amazing dresses to ever be seen at the Golden Globes. The color, the sleekness, and the cape made for an exquisite look. Okay now on to the trash-talking y'all! Kaley Cuoco Kaley Cuoco Kaley Cuoco. Will you ever learn? I swear you took my grandmother's floral blouse with dull, faded colors and just duplicated it into a messy gown. And I know you should never talk bad about a pregnant woman's look but Drew Barrymore's dress was just as bad as the pipe bursting on the red carpet.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler KILLED it from the beginning. I truly do think that they should ditch all of those mediocre comedians and actors who painfully try to get a kick out of at least half of the audience and just face the fact that Fey and Poehler should inevitably be hosting every awards show. Those two women just got what it takes with such ease. One of my favorite jokes of the night was the tv-film side with Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Classic.
In my opinion, I love Jennifer Lawrence I truly do, but I did not think she was even the slightest bit "award worthy" for her role in American Hustle. Amy Adams I could see. She was bad-ass yet put together and actually pulled it off. But that movie was all sorts of wrong and I would have stopped watching it if such big actors weren't in the film.
Amy Poehler, bravo. Well-deserved. In what world is it okay that it's 2014 and Amy Poehler is just winning an award?! She literally makes everyone happy.
oh HOLD UP though...how did Modern Family not win for best comedy or whatever that award was?! Literally Phil Dunphy is the King of Comedy. I'm pissed to say the least.
When Leonardo DiCaprio won for best actor for The Wolf of Wall Street I kid you not I threw my hands up in the air. Ugh and when he did his two thumbs up?! SWOON I CAN'T TAKE HIM I CAN'T TAKE HIM I TELL YOU. Oh and when he said "To my friends, to my family, you know who you are" I just wanted to call him up right there and thank him for giving me a shout-out. I love you, Leo.
If you saw my previous status, I wrote a good amount of this status and then sadly safari quit. So as if my night was not already stressful enough, my tv went out for a hot sec when Leo was presenting for best actress and let me tell ya so did my heart. I couldn't breath, I had a hot flash, how could this happen?! It ended up being fine but like come one GG don't mess with me when Leo is in the picture.
I want to end this rant on a positive note, well for Margot that is. I give you, Margot Robbie, my blessings to date Leonardo DiCaprio. It would honestly make me so happy because if I can't have him, no one can (except for you) and you're perfect and i love you and i love him so it will be a match made in heaven okay? Now after about 5 hours of the Golden Globes, I'm going to bed. TT for the win, goodnight to everyone who thinks I'm mentally insane bc you are the ones who like this status and fuel my fire.

Huge Comeback

Growing up in a family full of girls (including the dog), how do you think we would turn out? Most would say as those pretentious "daddy's girl", loving the color pink and wearing only frilly clothing, well...let's just say we were never considered "one of the guys". My dad tried to get us to be the sons he never had but we can only make trips to Bombergers for tools every so often. My sister Dani went through a tomboy phase, but that was short lived. What would you describe as a tomboy? Hanging with the guys, the occasional helping out with being a "handy-man", and of course, delving deep into the world of sports. I tried every sport that my town of Lititz offered. Soccer, field hockey, dance, cheering, basketball, gymnastics, softball, lacrosse, and horseback riding. You would think that after about my 3rd season of quitting a sport I would get the memo that maybe God didn't put me on this earth to be an athlete (and I can't tell you how thankful I am for a couch and a bag of Grandma Utz), but maybe he put me on this earth to be on the sidelines.
I work for Temple Athletic Communications and have definitely gotten sports to be a bigger part of my life. I may not know all of the abbreviations on the stat sheet or why everyone doesn't do a slam dunk every time they have the ball (because lets be honest, so much cooler than a regular basket), but I'm learning. Working the Temple basketball games and noticing how excited I get when Lee, Pepper, or Cummings makes a basket makes me realize that hey, I actually do like watching sports. The thrill you get when your team wins is a feeling like no other. Your team is the winner, #1, the big shots! Well...for now.
Today at the Wells Fargo Center Temple played Texas, and let me start off by saying...those damn longhorns! We were down in the first half by as much as 16 points bringing it back to a neck-and-neck game in the second half. Whatever Coach Dunphy said to those boys in the locker room at halftime definitely perked them up. Not only did we tie with them, we were ahead of them several times. By the end of the game, the score was 73-73, which inevitably means: OVERTIME.
The whole arena was going crazy. The energy was at an all time high as we led in OT 79-78 with 41 seconds left. Pepper was fouled with 13.6 seconds left in overtime, making only 1 FT. Eventually, we get down to the last 6 seconds of the game. Temple fans believed we had this in the bag despite Texas now having the ball. My hands were sweating and I had that terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach when I thought someone was mad at me, but I thought it would wear off soon because come on, 6 seconds left, 80-78, we're gonna win right? Wrong. Javan Felix makes a 3 pointer, leading the Longhorns 81-80. Heartbreaking. Temple had an unbelievable comeback and despite the loss, I wouldn't want to be working for any other school. Let's go TU.

Landon James Nuss

Another young life taken too early. Why does this keep happening? Have fun up there Nussy with Diff, you two will never be forgotten. Mad Love, you two beautiful souls.

I Got It!

After thinking long and hard if I want to take on another responsibility..i caved. I thought to myself, "Don't go through life taking the easy way out." Also..great resume booster. So, without telling anyone, I sent in my resume to the staff of the Templar Yearbook. I got an email saying they were looking for a Director of Social Media. Umm...is that not exactly what I did at my internship this summer? It was perfect. After I sent in my resume, answered pre-interview questions, and had a meeting with someone on the staff, they picked me for the job. I am super excited to be doing what I love without feeling like I am wasting away the day.

...

Getting closer :D

Fingers Crossed

It's like that feeling when I applied to colleges, but on a lesser level. Still, here's to hoping!

A Little Re-Doing

A little re-doing never killed anybody, now did it? For my first ever big girl apartment (despite the fact that i have 3 roommates and am still in college), i decided to take the anthropolgie-esque route for my bedroom. As a very scholarly, straight-A type student (duh), a desk was one of the first things I bought. Getting it at an auction thanks to my cousin Jess made it easy to redo considering it was simple looking. Antique-y, yet simple. I used Annie Sloan chalk paint and let me tell you it is the paint of heaven. Goes on perfectly with no sanding beforehand. Here are some before and after pictures of what I have done:

One Direction I Love You Long Time

About a year and a half ago, I remember laying on an air mattress in New York in my Nan's bedroom scrolling viciously through the ticket master website on the tiny screen on my phone. As I was getting pictures sent to me and calls from my friends back home who were at a party...I...well.. I was ordering One Direction tickets almost 2 years prior to the concert in Hershey. Being obsessed with Harry Styles for the past two years (which i will deny till the day I die if I ever meet him...you know, you cant come off as a crazed fan, DUH!) has not only made me insane, but has also made me anticipate the concert of my lifetime more and more each day. So this friday, Taylor Stork and I took a mini road trip to Hershey, PA to hear the hottest Brits serenade us that we don't know we're beautiful. Even though we do know that, I mean we are well aware.. but that's besides the point. Anywho..the concert was all I expected it to be. Bright lights, screaming girls, and not being able to understand Liam, Harry, Zayn, Louis, or Niall when they spoke. We even bought tickets the next day to see them again in Hershey since they were playing both friday and saturday. Savannah Watkins and Libby Kramer went to the concert saturday as well which was awesome to get to go with them too. Zack Artz actually got to meet Harry Friday night (and you bet your bottom dollar that we insisted to touch his hand that gave Harry a high five), so we were hoping mayyyyyyybbeeee just maybe we would get to meet him Saturday since Zack was working again. Well, Zack, we all still hate you, because that didn't happen. Why One Direction didn't want to meet a couple of crazy stalking fans is beyond me. Okay now this is becoming a novel and at this point in my life I don't know why I'm not writing one about all of my celebrity obsessions, probably because my mom is the only one who would buy it. So, in the words of One Direction, you got that one thing, boys. AND ILL ALWAYS LOVE U BYE.

Beautiful Linda

Waking up Sunday morning at 7AM after going to sleep at 4AM was tough, let me tell you. Not only were my eyes so tired that they were actually hurting, I was dreading what was yet I thought would come. Red, puffy eyes, a runny nose, and an aching heart is what I was expecting.
Instead, I experienced a wonderful, joyful remembrance of my beautiful third cousin, Linda. Her unexpected death shocked our whole family when the tragedy took place a little over a year ago. To admire the person Linda was, her father and step mother set up a Butterfly Release to celebrate Linda graduating into the next afterlife. I have never experienced such a unique way to acknowledge the life Linda lived. "A butterfly release expresses by sight what the soul feels, and these unutterable emotions ride on the beating wings of an equally speechless butterfly. These soul sounds are carried through the air by the butterflies, and all who observe their flight are connected by a special understanding of the event that has taken place."(http://www.butterflyreleases.com) What made this event even more special is when a butterfly landed on her fathers chest, and just stayed there for a little. It was like Linda was hanging out with us. She knew we were all there for her and could feel how much we love her. The releasing of the butterflies show that this doesn't mean she is gone, it shows the celebration of "a most exquisite life to come", if that is even possible. We love you Linda.

Some Things Never Change

This may have been the only truly spontaneous thing I have done. While battling the ever so tough decision that I know faces me every weekend, do I have a night in? Or be young and fun and go out? Despite the fact that I got 3 hours of sleep on Friday, Saturday I finalized my plans to take a trip back to North Philly for one of my best friends' party to christen their new house. And although I had to wake up at 7AM to take a trip to NY the next day, that didn't stop me from enjoying the night. I never thought that people I knew for less than a year would seem like such old friends to me after not seeing them for awhile. That typically only happens with long time friends, I assumed. But I was wrong. Even Quabs showed up and surprised us, which definitely topped off my visit. Most of us were together again, and that visit definitely reminded me of how excited I am to have a house in Philadelphia. Here's to our college years, everybody! Our tough but exhilarating college years.

From Now...

A change of scene is always needed every once in awhile. The anticipation of knowing that something unpredictable is going to happen tonight is kind of an adrenaline rush. I've come to the conclusion that music is more meaningful if it took heartache, sleepless nights, and ambition from all band members to become the best band they could be. The Districts played an amazing (I had a smile on my face the entire time) show at the Chameleon Club on Friday night. Seeing people I know follow their dreams and have their peers along their side dancing and singing along to their original songs makes it all the better. The Districts went to my high school, by the way. I would look behind me, seeing everyone from my highschool dancing, and then look back at Rob, Mark, Connor, and Braden up onstage and I could see the happiness in their eyes, and their performance definitely showed it too. All I needed that night was old friends, good music, and food. Yes, the Neptune Diner hooked us up. So, here's to a night that I spent with people who helped me get out of my comfort zone. But in some odd way, I felt more comfortable being at that concert than usual.

Healthy Shmealthy

Would anyone like to join me in laughing in the face of all skinny people out there slash giving them insanely high credit because I have no idea how they do it. Remember when I said I am getting myself back on track and I am going to start eating healthy again? Yeah, apparently I do not remember that either considering I ate almost a WHOLE bag of Grandma Utz's BBQ potato chips in one sitting. Once I saw them on the shelf in all of their crunchy, barbequey goodness I knew I was doomed. Why me? Why must my will power be so low? Why did the food God's decide to make me their little minion and eat everything in sight?
Apart from my raid through the potato chip bag to find all of the folded chips (I'm surprised my fingers aren't stained BBQ), I attended the Fig Summer Launch Party tonight. I could not be more thrilled to work for such a unique, creative, and free magazine that portrays what Lancaster really has to offer. It's not all Amish County after all, is it folks! I met more of the staff, fellow interns, and even the owner who I have a meeting with tomorrow morning. Things seem to be looking up (and I'm not only talking about my weight!).

I also want to show what I wore to the launch party. So, it may not have been as summery as most people were dressed. But, this is me. I'm more into the dark colors. Despite the sweltering heat, this maxi skirt was very light and airy keeping me (somewhat) cool. The black fitted tee? Not so much. I'll be skipping that next time for a more loose shirt.

MOTIVATION

I've been back from the not-so-bright North Philly for about two weeks now. My days have consisted of waking up at noon (or later, but come on...I don't want to seem TOO lazy), re-watching the seasons of Gossip Girl, and playing Sims 3 (don't judge). With Fig Magazine taking me under their wing and giving me the opportunity to intern for them this summer, I am not too interested in getting a serving job considering Fig Magazine is in my field of interest. I have applied two places, but lets face it, who really wants to be dealing with cumbersome trays of food, large, grumpy groups, and work hours that are not appealing? This is my first summer since being in college and by no means am I saying I shouldn't get a job, but I want to dive right into the fast-paced world of working for a magazine. Unfortunately, money does not grow on trees, so no, that is not realistic, Taylor Lee. Feeling disgusted with myself with not doing anything productive yet this summer (except for meeting with Theresa, who I am interning for:) ), I decided it's time for a change. Time to put my Sims lives aside for now and focus on mine. That means cracking down with the chores I need to do around my house, get healthy, and get back to blogging, taking pictures, painting again, and figuring out my future. This may sound odd but as I was going through 100 pages on Perez Hilton's site, what motivated me was the heat flash I had as I was snuggled in a fleece blanket with a hot laptop on my lap. I was just so irritated and could not take it anymore. So, here is to a new me (and heat flashes apparently). Tomorrow I'll get up at 10AM, mow my Great Aunt's lawn, go to my dentist appointment, then attend my first Fig Launch Party. Who knew heat flashes were so inspiring? Time to get your energy back, Tay.