Birdie

This is the second post I have written under the same title. A year ago today, our dog Birdie died and without a doubt went to heaven. The real, golden-gate-billowy-white-cloud heaven, not simply dog heaven.

A year ago, I avoided calling my mom from Spearfish because I knew what she was going to tell me. Once I had called her I perched myself on my grandparents' deck with my feet propped up on their patio table and cried. Normally when I cry, I cry without heavy tears but that day I cried and tears fell from my eyes into my lap. And then I wrote this post 

I feel like my mom has been braving herself for this day all summer. Losing our dog was a significant loss to our tight little family. My mom recently ordered bracelets for each of the three of us to wear. The three bracelets are strung on different colored cords to suit each of us individually. Brytten's is on a purple cord- fittingly as it is the color of royalty- mine is on orange because I love little surprises especially orange ones and my mom's is on turquoise because it is a happy color. The silver band on the bracelet is stamped with the word, "Aisling" which is Gaelic for "dream." My mom picked the word as a symbolic representation of the three of us. Also on the silver band is a sketch of a bird. For Birdie.

About a week ago I was scrounging through my bedroom for a piece of paper and found a card that accompanied a bouquet of flowers I sent my mom after Birdie died. I now use it as a bookmark.

It is amazing what an impact a four-legged family member can leave. I know that even decades from now when our family has multiplied by other two-legged and four-legged members we will still think of Birdie and wish all the new people and pets could have known her. Those lovely future people will probably even want to hear her bark along to Christmas carols "sung" by mother.

I found this on Pinterest today which seemed very fitting for this day of remembrance for Miss Birdie who was notorious for a good french-fry-bribing.

Love.

Killing It

The Killers is one of my favorite bands and I am so excited for their new album to come out this fall. Listen to this great new song!

Creating

My birthday is one of my favorite things and yes, even though it was nearly two months ago I am still talking about it. Mainly because my aunt, Jackie (my first Jackie) gave me my birthday present a couple weeks ago when we were in Spearfish. She is notorious for giving birthday presents late but I have always loved that about her because it keeps my favorite day going for months. Honestly, I was a little disappointed the one time I received a birthday present from her on my actual birthday.

Birthdays are so great because it demonstrates how well the people in your life know you. Jackie always hits it right on the head. This year she gave me a black running skirt after my incessant chatter about running in a skirt rather than boring old shorts or pants. I am convinced it makes me run faster. She also gave me a large pendant tucked inside a red velvet jewelry bag. One side of the pendant says, "Sometimes there was a storm in her brain" and the other side has an image of a girl with the word "Create" sprawling across her forehead. It was up to me to find a chain of some sort to sport the pendant.

Jackie picked out the pendant because it reminded her so much of me and thus needed something more original than simply a silver chain. So, I decided to make my own. I scrounged around through all three bedrooms and the kitchen, you know the normal places you would find crafty and jewelry-making materials...

I started with a big heap of things and redid three strands of the necklace until I was content with my creation.

Story-Telling

I fully realize that I have expressed my thrill about being asked to comment on other college-oriented websites on my own blog, but I am still amazed by this and rarely do I ever shy away from hiding my excitement. Thus, WOO HOO! 

This article sent to me from onlinedegrees.org is titled, "15 Storytelling Techniques to Boost Your Career" and can be found here: http://www.onlinedegrees.org/15-storytelling-techniques-to-boost-your-career/

At first glance, I thought it was peculiar to pair "storytelling" with a job hunt. But these tricks of the trade clearly explain the validity of doing so and how it can make you a more successful interviewee. 

The first suggestion is to not limit stories to your work life. I have given my residents applying for a PA position the same advice for several years. Employers, even if they are campus officials want to hear about what makes you, you and what you will bring to their working environment beyond just technical or trained skills. Show that you are an intriguing person and rock at life! 

Doing Good

An interesting facet of my generation is that as emerging college-educated adults, more and more of us are looking to fulfill a passion rather than to make a certain amount of money. We want to feel as though we have a noble purpose and feel our impact through tangible or intangible measures.

This article written by bachelordegreesonline.com focuses in on this mission to make a difference rather than a million. "The 10 Best Nonprofits to Work For" can be found here: http://www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/blog/2012/the-10-best-nonprofits-to-work-for/#.UBAbORwvl74

1. DoSomething.org
This one is awesome because it targets young adults and teens to start fulfilling their passions and seeing the world change through their own efforts.

2. LiveStrong
This famous company of the iconic yellow rubber bracelet has this motto, "unity is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything." That should be every company's motto.

3. Year Up
This company is all about assisting young adults in urban areas to be successful students and working professionals.

4. Wounded Warrior Project
Organizations like this one will unfortunately be inevitably part of our society because of the vast number of military veterans our country has that have served. This company strives to demonstrate service and gratitude.

5. NOLS
The leaders of the National Outdoor Leadership School lead students on trips through the wilderness and instruct the importance of leadership, ethics, and outdoor skills. I would be all up for this!

6. Parents as Teachers
This organization fascinated me. Every person involved in the organization is committed to helping children reach their full potential. I truly believe that the more people a young student has involved and invested in their education, the greater they will succeed.

7. National Resources Defense Council
This company is composed of 50 very committed volunteers who work at preserving and defending the environment.

8. NatureBridge
This is another organization that educates kids in the great outdoors. I feel as though learning in the most natural setting possible would be very beneficial for a plethora of students.

9. Make-A-Wish Foundation
This is probably the most well-known organization on the list. I am sure seeing the reaction that their work does for people would be one of the most rewarding experiences.

10. Boys & Girls Club of America
This organization strives to teach kids to grow into responsible adults that want the very best for their communities.

Favorite Flower

One of the reasons I am always so readily thrilled to jump in my 15-year-old car and drive either twelve hours east or 6 hours (5 when I am driving) west is because I can see fields and fields of my favorite flower. There is something both magical and whimsical about sunflowers. I blogged about them a lot last summer because my grandpa appreciated them too and we would have surprisingly in depth conversations about the loveliness of sunflowers.

My mom, being the good bird friend that she so prides herself on being, sprinkles about a gallon of birdseed in our drive way and front yard daily. Thus we now have about 8-feet tall volunteer sunflowers that have popped up like a security fence at the end of our driveway in front of the antique headboard that serves as a trellis for a pink rose.

Go Girl!

I am obviously thrilled every time I receive a request to comment on an article on my blog. This article, "11 Brilliant Businesswomen Who Were Way Ahead of Their Time" is probably my favorite I have been asked to include on my own blog. The entire article can be found here: http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/11-brilliant-businesswomen-who-were-way-ahead-of-their-time/

This article not only highlights these 11 highly impressive women, but also stresses the importance of women in societies no matter what era they may live during or what field they contributed to. The women comprising this list either didn't see obvious hindrances in their lives or simply chose not to see them, which is usually the best option.

As a Peer Advisor for freshman college women, I try to research and develop my own ideas on how to inspire young women to strive for all that they can be but may not realize it yet. Often, we can feel somewhat depleted by our backgrounds and lack of what we feel are necessary means to attain our biggest and greatest goals. Or more frustratingly, young women feel as though they ought not strive for humongous goals because there are better people suited for such plans. Incredibly false.

Nike had it right when they said, "Just Do It." Several of my girls can attest to me saying these three words quite frequently.

Of course, all 11 of these women are phenomenal but these two stood out to me because of my own interests.

This list presents Mary Katherine Goddard as the first woman to have a paper published under her name. I really liked reading about her because she truly did not see any limits in what she could do or wanted to do in her lifetime. She did everything from being the first female postmaster to running a bookshop. Her printing company even printed the first copies of the Declaration of Independence.

Mary Katherine Goddard

Also included in the list was Christine de Pizan who was considered Europe's first female professional writer. She supported herself and her children during the 1400's not only writing but marketing herself as a writer. Additionally she is considered one of the first working single mothers.

Christine de Pizan

Amazing-Ness

Everyone I know needs to watch this video. This 5-year-old has painting abilities that go way beyond her age. Watching her do what she loves is incredible. You will be blown away!

My mom has already instructed me to be the type of parent that instills such creativity in my children... That seems like a lot of pressure! 

To Be An Adult, Or Not To Be An Adult

For the past couple weeks, I have delved into my graduate school quest a little each day. And it is a tad overwhelming. Starting from the time we are about 17 to well into our 20's if not later, we are searching for the thing or things we want to spend the rest of our lives doing. This search can seem like a fairly daunting task. Parents are very important in this whole process, hence why I readily agreed when my mom told me I should go on and get my doctorate... why not?

This article titled, "12 Ways to Make Sure Your Teen Doesn’t Boomerang Back" was sent to me by bachelorsdegreesonline.com and can be read here: http://www.bachelorsdegreeonline.com/blog/2012/12-ways-to-make-sure-your-teen-doesnt-boomerang-back/#.UAgXEhwvlX8

Yes, parents want us out of their houses and to be fully independent but they want to make sure we get to that point successfully and of course, happily. This article discusses the importance of parents sharing with their children at an early age the multitude of steps it takes to becoming a successful individual. So I guess when I bring my 7 and 5-year-old cousins to hang out at Augie and subtlety tell them to go to Augie in oh, a few years, that's not a bad thing?

Starting early

Roger

Last Friday evening after greeting my grandma I strolled out to find my grandpa watering the 25 juniper trees he planted recently. The 7 ducks were roaming their grounds and the 30-or-so chickens were bawking waiting for the surprise raspberry. He was dressed in his traditional gray t-shirt and work shoes with dirt everywhere. He is such a grandpa.

He and my mom are a lot alike in their sense of humor and their acceptance of Brytten and I. All weekend we had little exchanges and even danced our way away from each other after saying goodbye for the weekend. I have discovered in my few years of adulthood that it is in your best interest to be friends with your mom but I love that my grandpa and I have a relationship that goes beyond grandfather and granddaughter. He will always be my absolute favorite person and I am fairly certain I am his, too!

I was talking to him about how my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary is coming up this September. His response: "Wow thats a long time. It's been good."

One for the Team

I love early Saturday mornings during football season, being out there in the middle of the field in a silent stadium. Its just me and my teammates doing what we do best. There is the occasional glare of sunlight off the glass press box or the eager longtime fan waiting outside the entrance gate with his foam finger and body paint meticulously applied. Our coach lovingly barks drills and we mentally prepare ourselves to perform to our best abilities later that afternoon.

And then we take off our dance shoes, shake out the turf pebbles from our worn pompoms and apply our Ole tattoos on our cheek and spritz our hair one last time with a coat of hairspray.

Ok so it may only seem like I am at football games for the dance team but I do appreciate the camaraderie that a college football team ignites.

This article, "10 Colleges with the Most Powerful Coaches" was sent to me by onlinecolleges.net and can be found here: http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/07/17/10-colleges-with-the-most-powerful-coaches/. It is quite intriguing. Coaches take on a different persona than anyone else involved on a college campus and what makes the good ones, good is inspiring and hopefully can mirror the values of the college.

Ramen-doomed No More!

The words "poor" and "college kid" have been glued together for generations. Its practically inevitable that once you give yourself the title of being a college kid, the word "poor" will also become part of your identity. Such is life.

Onlinecolleges.net sent me an article that every media-savy, poor college kid should read. "50 Best Twitter Feeds for the Frugal Student" can be found here: http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/07/16/50-best-twitter-feeds-for-the-frugal-student/

Many of these twitter feeds offer suggestions on how to budget a minimal income and many also promote deals and coupons that college students would benefit from.

While we are working on our education we should also be better educating ourselves on how to live thrift-ly well beyond our college years. Check out these feeds for some excellent suggestions!

Here are my favorites from the list:

@poorstudents

@FrugalFeeding

@thefrugalista

@Green Panda

@collegebudget

@frugaltraveler 

Being the Coolest Person Possible

This post follows on the heels of yesterday's post that discussed how to create your own customized area of study. This next article titled, "15 Ways Parents Can Promote Entrepreneurship" from onlinecollegecourses.com.

What I really liked about this article was the running theme of how important it is for parents to take on a role of encouragement for their children as they are trying to figure out what kind of people they want to be. Suggestion 5 is to Encourage Them to Follow Their Ideas. My sister and I often have new ideas or variations to existing ideas of what we want to pursue and what we want to conquer in this world. And my mom just supports us through all those thought processes.

Parents are the foundation for the people we will become and I love that this article tells parents that their role is to be very involved in their children's lives and to encourage their children to think outside the box and be in control of the people they want to become.

Check out the article here: http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/07/16/15-ways-parents-can-promote-entrepreneurship/

Coffee, Swimming, and Skunks

This past weekend, Jackie, my mom, and I drove out to Spearfish to hang with the fam. We spent the weekend in coffee shops and one particular visit we happened to walk into Common Grounds during a folk band's practice session. They sang about not eating hot soup with your hands- to give you an idea of their musicality.

Jackie, Brytten and I hung out at the water park and I had one of the most adorable grown-up sister moments with Brytten. She and I went down a double-tube slide and she insisted on sitting backwards so we faced each other on our tube and giggled during the entire trip down. Its an odd realization when you and your only sister are both grownups. In the last year Brytten and I have only seen each other about half a dozen times which is completely different from living in the same house. She and I appreciate each other that much more because of how infrequently we see each other and when we say goodbye after a weekend we aren't always positive when we will see each other again.

On Friday night when we first got there we were all sitting on my grandparent's deck and my grandma started explaining how during a recent ending-of-a-skunk's-life on my grandpa's part, my grandma wanted the skunk's death to be used as a life lesson for my 7 and 5-year-old cousins because as she said, "Bad things get shot." This phrase became quite the thing particularly with my mom and my grandpa naming off the "bad things to be shot" in recent history. Everyone from Al Capone and Bonnie and Clyde was named. The next morning in the newspaper my grandpa read an article about Bonnie and Clyde's entire gun collection being sold and my grandpa joked that he was going to mortgage the house to buy the coveted collection.

Sunday morning brought another skunk's death. My grandpa had trapped it in his garden by placing a duck egg in a trap and the skunk ate the entire egg, shell and all. So because no one else was awake at the time he asked my mom to go help him. As she started to say something he thought she was going to complain about having to shoot a gun and kill the skunk when in actuality she was about to complain about her being the last thing the skunk saw before it died. Then to enhance matters as only my mother could, when my grandpa fired his gun (which keep in mind- they live in a very peaceful residential neighborhood) all my mom could think was, "He popped a cap in his ass!" Then she got the hell out.

We didn't see my grandpa for a long time and when he finally emerged and thank god, smelled normal, I got in trouble for not being willing to rescue him if he had indeed needed rescuing. He said he would never rescue me. I don't really believe him.

Spearfish Creek 

It should not surprise anyone that I didn't get a picture of the skunk...

Pastiche

Upon the many occasions in which I have to somehow put into words how wonderful my mother is, I often describe how she doesn't care what either me or my sister do with our lives or study at school, just so long as we do something that is fulfilling and makes us joyously happy. Brytten and I have both looked at our college experiences as a time to try out our plethora of interests and both of us have an idea of what we would ideally like to do for the rest of our lives but those things don't necessarily exist as a solidified career just yet. 

If I could somehow combine working in Student Affairs with freelance writing, creating pottery, dancing, hiking, running, swimming, roadtripping, have school spirit and creating artistic masterpieces I would be all over it. Well I will probably end up doing exactly that...

This article, "7 Tips for Creating Your Own Degree Program" was sent to me from top10onlineuniversities.org and encourages college students to pursue a modified career path that perfectly fits their interests and isn't necessarily a set major or area of study. The article details specific ideas on how to enter into a hand-created career that will best suit you and enhance your already rockin' talents! 

Check out the article here: http://www.top10onlineuniversities.org/7-tips-for-creating-your-own-degree-program.html

On a separate but somewhat related note, when I was looking for words to use as the title for this post I was looking for something that described the hodge podge of abilities, interests, and ideas that combine for an awesome career. I "thesaurused" hodge podge and found these lovely new words. 

Pastiche: work of art formed from disparate sources

Farrago: mess

Olio: miscellany 

Road-Trippin'

Nearly a month ago, Jackie, Molly and I were roadtripping to Indiana in my car that now I am so thankful survived the 1500-mile trip. Many college students look to road tripping as the ultimate way to bond with their friends and explore new areas of the country that they may have never taken family vacations to as children with their families. Hence why the three of us eagerly stopped for a picture in a 'put-your-face-in-a-hole' at a winery in Iowa. Side note: the great state of Iowa has a ton of winerys!

Road trip pic taken in a gas station somewhere between Sioux Falls, SD and South Bend, IN

Touchdown Jesus! Never would have happened if it weren't for an epic road trip 

Take hotel pics while taking a break from jumping on the bed. All the best road trippers do it

This article presented to me by top10onlineuniversities.org is titled, "Top 7 Road Trip Destinations for College Students" and can be found here.

The typical Florida and Las Vegas destinations are listed but one that I thought was an excellent suggestion is New Orleans, Louisiana. I have been to New Orleans a few times and I agree that it is a great road trip destination. There is so much rich culture that is utterly unique to that area of the country and the houses are absolutely stunning.

I am, of course always up for a Spearfish road trip which is happening for the second time this summer tomorrow with my mamacita and Jackie! Woo hoo!

Home Again

As any good Norwegian Viking - or at least an Augustana Viking - would say, "Ufdah!" I am on a roll. Here is once again another article I was asked to comment on that was sent to me by homeinsurance.org and the article is "8 Clever Ways to Turn Your Home Into a Summer Getaway" and can be found here: http://www.homeinsurance.org/8-clever-ways-to-turn-your-home-into-a-summer-getaway/

I liked the article's theme of pretending. We can feel like we are on a vacation even if we are in the same house we spend nearly 365 days a year in. The article also incorporates ideas on the importance of pampering oneself and enjoying the space you occupy throughout the year. We can make our living spaces our own with minimal effort usually.

The first suggestion was to redecorate. We can easily feel stagnant if our house encourages us to feel that way. Simple things like displaying different photographs or artwork can be easy changes to make to any space whether its a dorm room or your first home.

Another suggestion was to act like you are on vacation in a very real way. Thus leave chocolates on your own pillows. Love that idea!

The next suggestion was accompanied by this gem of a photo-

This suggestion encouraged spa days and pampering yourself. A simple way to do this, I have found, is to regularly invest in Walgreen's nail polish stock and rock a power nail, or two. 

Business-Savy

Yet another article I was asked to comment on can be found on onlinemba.com and is titled, "The 25 Best Business Novels to Dig Into This Summer." Ok truth time: I have only taken one business-related course at Augustana and rely a whole lot on my mother to explain the business-y things I will someday only hope to understand. I should probably start tackling this list now...

Or watch the movies that several of these books have been made into...

After just briefly browsing through the list I was impressed by the general theme that these books take on: Try with all your might to succeed in a designated area.
A.K.A. Be a good college student.

Check out the article here: http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/the-25-best-business-novels-to-dig-into-this-summer/

Additionally I love F. Scott Fitzgerald and never looked at The Great Gatsby as a business novel but rather a look at one of the most fascinating decades. I love reading books in a new light so maybe I will attempt to put on my businesswoman hat and reread this American classic.

Stuck in School?

Another article I was asked to blog about doesn't exactly hit home for me during this lazy-of-all-laziness summer but it definitely does for a lot of my friends that are taking summer classes to get ahead. And on a side note I am once again grateful for my major and minors that overlap one another with several classes. This article titled, "8 Ways to Make Summer School Feel Like a Vacation" was presented to me by onlinedegreeprograms.com and can be found here: http://www.onlinedegreeprograms.com/blog/2012/8-ways-to-make-summer-school-feel-like-a-vacation/

Because its me and I live the 9 months of the year that aren't technically classified as summer like its summer -which is hard to do when you live in South Dakota- I think this list could apply all year round.

1. Study by the pool
I definitely agree that alternative study places are necessary especially when you can soak up some Vitamin D

2. Take mini vacations
These could be anything... a quick weekend road trip, a bike ride in the middle of the day, a pedicure...

3. Read for pleasure
This should absolutely be done all year! As college students we have to read a lengthy list of books as a requirement. Reading books that we choose to find intriguing keeps your interests sparked, thus making you a better learner.

4. Reward yourself
I would suggest the same things as the mini vacations

5. Explore your college town
This is proving to be more and more important! I wasn't really aware of this since I went to a college in my hometown but when my sister went to school 6 hours away I saw how important it is to not only invest yourself in your campus but in the town you will spend more of the next four years, if not many after that, in.

6. Go out and have fun
Duh! You will exhaust yourself basically immediately if you are in school mode all the time

7. Take classes in subjects you love
... Hence why I will graduate with an art minor

8. Sleep in
Definitely. You need it. One of the most relaxing things is going to sleep without an alarm set.

Give Yourself a Project

This has been quite the week for blogging! Since Monday I have had 6 requests from websites and organizations geared for college students to blog for them. The first request came from onlinecollegecourses.com and invited me to share their article, "50 Fun Self-Improvement Projects to Assign Yourself This Summer."

The article came be found here:  http://www.onlinecollegecourses.com/2012/07/08/50-fun-self-improvement-projects-to-assign-yourself-this-summer/

This blog started as a self-improvement project to improve my writing and dedication to writing and now over a year later I am glad I have kept it up. Hint, hint...

Summer is the perfect time to try something new that you think about doing during the school year but a huge list of other priorities always pops up. I am impressed by this list that includes 50 different ideas and people with numerous interests could get some inspiration from this article. It is divided into categories with ideas pertaining to each category.

In the Arts section two of my favorite suggestions are to write your autobiography and to tackle a "Best Novels" list. Sometimes when I tell some of my friends a quirky story about my life they inform me that I have to write it in my memoir. At this rate my future memoir will be a series. Yesterday, my friend Abbie told me the books she has read this summer (a whopping 11 so far) and one of which she found on a list that college women should read. I found another list that the Huffington Post compiled for some suggestions: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/best-books-college-students_n_721365.html#s141789&title=Flatland_by_Edwin. One of my favorite books that takes about 45 minutes to read is "The House on Mango Street." Its a perfect summer read, including the fact that a lovely summer fruit is in the title, but also that you can read it during a quick break from swimming at a lake.

The next section of the article is Food and Health. One of the ideas is listed as "Acquaint yourself with wine." I love how that is worded. My friend Cady and I visited a local winery a couple weeks ago. Calico Skies is just south of Sioux Falls in what may be the most beautiful building in this state and every person I know should go there. We got to sample about 6 wines and then enjoyed a glass. My goal is to be able to identify wines beyond how my friend Adam would describe them... "Well, that's winey."

And because I am just that informative today check out Calico Skies website here: http://www.calicoskieswine.com/

My other favorite idea in the Food and Health section of this article was to explore yoga. For comic relief I suggest doing yoga in the backyard or front yard if you are really daring and see how your neighbors react. Win Win! Since yoga and laughter are both so good for us!

The next section was simply listed as safety. I wasn't able to relate since I am always living on the edge. Haha totally kidding. One of the suggestions was to take up Krav Maga which I guess is a grown-up, uber-serious Tae Kwon Do. Or if you are me you can just go to your sister's boyfriend's Martial Arts class that he teaches and get some more comic relief from watching the little kids grunt and punch the air with all their might...

The fourth section was Communication. The first suggestion was to learn Morse Code which seems a tad unnecessary but just the other day I watched the episode of The Office in which Jim and Pam take a Morse Code class with the sole intention to irritate Dwight. So I guess if you have a Dwight-like character in your life, this would be an excellent way to spend your summer! The other suggestion that I really liked in the Communication section was to learn new vocabulary words. My mom discovered the word, aisling, which is Gaelic for dream. Lovely.

The next section is Home and Garden which should apply to me since I am the first born of the world's greenest thumb. So obviously the suggestion that says "Start a Garden" should excite me. But I do love picking out flowers with my mom and strolling around greenhouses and having different smells of flowers waft into my nose. I love watching my mom plant those flowers and she puts as much consideration into the colors that go into a single pot that a professional painter would consider when picking and mixing paint colors.

The other suggestion I enjoyed in this section was to build a rocking chair. Ok, I really don't have any desire to build or even own a rocking chair. But I love spending my summers watching my grandpa work on his various crafty-man projects and this summer will include welding a torch for our Olympic-themed Viking Days homecoming celebration so I guess that could be in the same category...

Technology of course took up its own section and again, this isn't really up my alley. However I think there is so much we can learn from technology and I am in awe of the way it connects us with the rest of the world. My friend Katie left the other day for a month-long trek around the world and luckily she is keeping a blog so I can be in the know about her awesome trip. This post is getting link-happy so here is a link to her lovely blog: http://asummerwithmysiblings.blogspot.com/

The final section of this article was titled "Miscellaneous" which I think could be renamed to "Pinterest-It-Up." Make those lace-trimmed shorts! Paint your own lamp shade! Create your own stationary and wax seal! Make your own clutch out of placemats! You get the idea..

I also like the idea of learning how to tie a necktie. I feel as though men look at this skill as a step to becoming a grownup. And women, as independent as we view ourselves, we like the idea of knowing how to tie a man's necktie.

This article is a very well, compiled list that could inspire nearly anyone to stretch their skills and imagination! Use these 100-or-so days to learn something new that you are able to do and didn't even realize it!

My sister had this as a Facebook status the other day that seems perfect for this post and to use as a mantra.


“Your 20s are your ‘selfish’ years. It’s a decade to immerse yourself in every single thing possible. Be selfish with your time, and all the aspects of you. Tinker with shit, travel, explore, love a lot, love a little, and never touch the ground.”
—Kyoko Escamilla

Forgiveness.

This post is going to be my most candid ever and if you think blunt honesty is not an attractive quality then please don't read this. I am even finding myself taking a deep breath as I delve into this one.

Five years ago, I was anorexic. For about ten months starting in the middle of my sophomore year in high school until the middle of my junior year in high school, I struggled with this. I dropped nearly 35 pounds from the weight I am now. I became a completely different person and can recall very few moments and memories from those ten months. All of my mental capacity went to being "good" at anorexia. Even though I am practically swimming in my own self-confidence now at this stage in my life and ridiculously proud of the fact that I am known as a very happy person, it is still something I think about everyday, only now I don't think about it all day, everyday.

Last night for the first time ever I told my mom that after I gained the weight back in a very necessary manner, I developed stretch marks on the inner part of my right thigh. Just the one thigh, though which is kinda weird. Even though our society regards stretch marks as flaws, I look at mine as a constant reminder of what it felt like to be so disconnected from myself and to shut out the things I now could not get through my normal day without.

Up until basically this summer, I was very ashamed of what I had done to myself. After dealing with an eating disorder, a lot of forgiveness needs to be learned and instilled in oneself. I feel as though I have finally reached that point of forgiveness for myself.

Now that I am so confident and very sure of myself and recognize my plethora of capabilities and the positive presence I can have on this world, I am that much more aware of the struggles I see in women all around me. I truly believe that a skewed body image can be one of the most detrimental things in the life of a woman of any age. It is a continuous cycle that bounces off of women all day, everyday and women need to want to end the cycle not only for themselves but for every woman they ever encounter and come to know through the duration of their lives. Loving oneself will always be better than hating oneself and really, there is absolutely no point in the latter.

For some reason, my legs had always been a personal strife. My strong, dancer legs that taught me to move gracefully and learn to get exactly what I want. In the last year those legs have done a lot for me. I have hiked a 14,000 foot mountain, danced at every Augustana football and basketball game, performed in a Lady Gaga-inspired dance - who wouldn't want to do that?? - swam in lakes, introduced my little cousins to the joy of swimming at water parks, and ran my first 5K among other things, like simply standing which we should all be grateful for.

5K Runners

Lake swimming 

Just a casual rock-wall-climbing 

Hiking in the Bighorn Mountains

Swimming in the lakes in the Bighorns

Doing what I do

AC/DC sang "...knocking me out with those American thighs" NOT "...knocking me out with those toothpick thighs."

American thighs

In the past couple of months I have seen too many examples of what shockingly poor self-esteem can do to women. One of my friends regarded me as her confidence yoda. Confidence is not something you can come by easily but once you do, I guarantee the results are so much better than you could ever imagine.

I have compiled a list that may seem like a bunch of random, very Sanna-like ideas to attempt to develop self-confidence but let me tell you, they work and I like to share this list with anyone that needs a little boost... or a big boost.


Paint your toenails red
Always wear at least one accessory
Go barefoot frequently. Feel yourself grounded on the earth
Wear clothing that reflects your personality
Write the word "Lovely" on your mirror
Lay outside and breathe
Listen to John Legend
Listen to the music your friends give you. They know you.
Pamper yourself on a regular basis. Go to Walmart and buy those $2 facial and foot and hair scrubs
Make your own jewelry. Simply buying a bag of beads and stringing them one by one can be very therapeutic
Listen to your favorite music while getting ready in the morning and at night
Run, skip, jump
Be friends with your mom
Have regular solo dance parties
Realize who should be in your life and who you shouldn’t and make sure you have valid reasons for both
Smile at yourself
Accept compliments

LOVE YOURSELF!

Augie (Dis)Advantage

For all of us Augie Vikings we are well aware of what the few men on campus refer to as the Augie Advantage and what the far greater number of women on campus refer to as the Augie Disadvantage. The shocking ratio of 6 female students to 1 male student has been a wee bit depressing during my last three years at Augie. The men obviously love it and it always cracks me up when tour guides from our Admissions department explain the ratio and the male prospective students who are merely Juniors and Seniors in High School get really excited and then their moms roll their eyes and ask about the all-important topic of academics.

One of my residents once asked me, upon hearing for the thousandth time how much I love Augie, if I would change anything about this place. At first I said no, then I said that I would plant more flowers around campus. She appallingly asked if I would change the whole 6:1 thing. She brought up a good point...

Well after being asked by Onlinedegrees.org to comment about their recent blog post about gender gaps at colleges and universities I realized this problem was not just at Augie. Thank god! In their article "10 Coed Colleges with the Biggest Gender Gap" they explain the reasons for a large gender gap on college campuses. Surprise! Liberal Arts schools like Augustana attract far more women than men. Other reasons for gender gaps include the fact that technical and engineering programs draw more men while fashion programs draw more women.

Check out the full article here and read up on the 10 schools highlighted in this article
http://www.onlinedegrees.org/10-coed-colleges-with-the-biggest-gender-gap/

Onlinedegrees.org highlights ten colleges with notable gender gaps. I was kind of surprised Augustana wasn't listed...

Summer Reading

Summer is the season of sunshine, hammocks, swimming, hiking, and of course reading. From the time we are able to read we start drafting a summer reading list. Much to my mother's unwarranted perplexity, I read the same four books every summer to kick off my own summer reading list. I, of course, then add new reads to the list but I think of these four as a staple to my summer. My absolute favorite book, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, is the foundation of my summer and I make it a personal goal to get as many of my friends as possible to adopt it as their favorite book as well.

I blogged about this book last summer here and quoted some of my favorite quips and passages. It was interesting to read it again this summer and underline/highlight/dog-ear different parts of the book that jumped out at me. That's the thing about reading the same book multiple times... It stays the same but you are different. Thus its definitely like reading a totally different book, Mother! And she is the woman that reads books multiple times simply because she forgets that she has already read them. At least I do it with a purpose.

And now here is what 2012 decided were my favorite parts of this lovely book:

“Susan Scott said you took to the audience at the luncheon like a drunkard to rum - and they to you.”

Ok, maybe I just liked this line because this happens to be the summer I turned 21...

“I can’t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can’t talk to, or worse, someone I can’t be silent with.” 

So true...

“The hairs, they are a disaster.”

This is my sentiment basically every day..

“He had no imagination, either- fatal for one engaged in child-rearing.”

After living with my mom again I realize that an imagination is necessary in one's hopes of being a good parent...

“I am a grown woman - mostly - and I can guzzle champagne with whomever I choose.” 

Again, that whole turning 21 thing...

“I didn’t ask if you were in love with him, I asked what his favorite animal was.”

That is obviously an important characteristic in a person

“... defying her will be such a pleasure.”

I have become quite defiant in the last year

“increasing personhood”

This may be one of the loveliest things I have ever read. I hope I have increasing personhood throughout all my days.

“Now he talks to himself, which I find terribly endearing since I do, too.” 

Who doesn't? 

“I remember lying in our hay-loft reading The Secret Garden with a cowbell beside me. I’d read for an hour and then ring the bell for a glass of lemonade to be brought to me. Mrs. Hutchins, the cook, finally grew weary of this arrangement and told my mother, and that was the end of my cowbell, but not my reading in the hay.” 

This is precisely why summer reading is so necessary