3/30 - Describe Your Relationship with your Parents

Describe Your Relationship With Your Parents

As a teenager I had a "strained"relationship with both mom and dad. We got along well, and I could laugh with them, but I never felt the need to confide in them. I went through a pretty rough time in middle school and the beginning of high school and my dad just couldn't wrap his head around what happened to his happy-go-lucky little girl. I had friends struggling with mood disorders, divorce, and abuse and got so wrapped up in feeling bad for friends, I forgot to be thankful and appreciate the things I was blessed with. As I got older my relationship with my parents continued to be stressful. While I did well in school, I decided I needed to be more of a hard-ass. I took up smoking for at 16 while working in a restaurant and had been drinking since my freshman year of high school. To this day my parents have no clue the tangled web of lies my friends and I used to weave so we could go do things we knew they would never approve of. Despite my attempts to rebel, my parents had a tight hold on me. I had a very stable home life and resented them for caring so much. My 10:00 curfew didn't cut it for the badass image I was trying to portray.

Eventually, I grew up. I realized that everything my parents did was for my sister and I. My dad and I grew closer, but it was the relationship with my mom and I that really took a turn for the better. We went from being in a constant state of bickering, to being on the path to really being friends. Now that I'm away I call my mother at least 2-3 times per day. I spent last spring back at home due to some health problems, and my mom and I continued to grow closer. She is such an inspiration to me. Her and my father were both first generation college students who worked their butts off for everything we have. My parents are hardworking and never take no for an answer. While neither of them will ever dote on money, they both came from nothing and have allowed my sister and I to lead very comfortable upper-middle class lifestyles. I love these two people more than I normally let on, and am blessed to have parents as supportive of my every decision as they are. 

Obsessed

One of my coworkers shared this video with me on Sunday and we watched it 17 times on repeat. It's silly and ridiculous, but makes me smile every time I hear the song. Enjoy Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Ashley Tisdale rocking out to the newest canadian pop-star. You heard it hear, Call Me Maybe is going to be HUGE

2/30 - Fears

Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears

Birds

My fear of birds is by far the most irrational, and probably the one that I have to deal with the most on a daily basis. This irrational fear began way back in 3rd grade, and has only been growing. We were pet-sitting my next-door neighbor's cockatoo, Elvis, and my sister and I went next-door to feed it. While Cait was filling Elvis' water dish he squeezed out through that hole, and began dive-bombing my sister and I through the next half hour. We were 13 and 9 respectively and spent the entire time screaming and crying until my dad eventually came by and got Elvis back in his cage. Even after this incident I was attacked by a bird in college, been pooped on 3 times, had a bird fly at my car windshield, and generally had them wreak havoc in my life. Since then I have lived in constant fear of these winged rats. Growing up near Chicago I was especially terrified of going downtown because it meant I would be surrounded by birds. Even writing this post has given me goosebumps. 

Disappointment

I have big shoes to fill (both literally and figuratively, my sister has HUGE feet). Both my parents were the first people in their families to go to college. They worked hard to put themselves through school, and to be in the place they are now. My sister graduated at the top of her class at the Academy and has determination like no one I have ever met. Cait works harder and is intuitively smarter than 90% of the people she has ever met. Throughout high school and my first two years of college I spent my time trying to live up to the standard she had set. Straight A's. No nonsense. It took me nearly six years to realize that we aren't the same person and never will be. It took my parents this long to realize it as well. While they eventually realized I don't have the same internal workings as seeing the world in black or white, I have strengths that come through in a different way. With that being said, I am still terrified of disappointing my family at any given time. Be it academically or with any other decisions in my life, the last thing I ever want to do is alienate the individuals who have done so much for me and continually do.

Being Alone Forever

This fear has kind of evolved over time. It began with me hating every second of being by myself, I was constantly surrounded by a group of people. Over time I began to tolerate my alone time, and even crave it sometimes now. This fear now lives more so in that forever aspect. I'm terrified of never finding someone to spend the rest of my life with. I crave that daily contact with someone who will love me eternally. It scares me that Bry and I have been long-distance from day one. We spend too little time together to have time just to be bored. It terrifies me that the first time we are living in the same city (hell even the same part of the country) he will realize that I'm too much for him. I can be any combination of loud, cranky, bitchy, messy, moody or sad in a matter of five minutes. I'm scared that someday I will do something to scare this wonderful man away.

Most of my fears are irrational, but they're just that - they're mine. These are things that in some capacity I deal with on a daily basis. Describing what I fear I think is a pretty unique way to describe facets of my personality that may not normally come into play. 

Tomorrow's Topic: Describe your relationship with your parents

1/30 - Random Things

Day One - List 20 Random Things About Yourself

[[Family Vacation, Hawaii, Circa 2008]]

1. I am the biggest child at heart. Despicable Me may be one of my favorite movies ever, I'm obsessed with all things Harry Potter, can name all 151 original Pokemon, and can think of few places that make me happier than Disney World.
2. All I want to do in life is help people. Children with special needs hold a huge place in my heart, and I would love nothing more than to spend every day of the rest of my life with these individuals.
3. I have a not-so-secret love affair with musical theater. I grew up singing and dancing, and later finding my true passion behind the scenes, and very few days go by that I don't miss it (I fill the void in my life by blaring musicals whenever I think no one is listening).
4. I use men's deodorant.
5. Cheese is my favorite food in the entire world. I love any and all kinds of it.
6. I hate watching baseball on TV, but would give anything to have Cubs seasons tickets.
7. My legs are two different lengths by over an inch, and my feet are half a size different.
8. I am terrified of birds (side story: my sophomore year of college I was walking to class and a bird swooped through the air and hit me in the chest, I fell on the ground screaming and got such bad anxiety that I had to turn around and go home. This is completely unreasonable and I understand that)
9. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love the holiday cheer and the general attitude that surronds the season.
10. I love roller coasters. and big drops. and cars that drive fast.
11. I have great hair.
12. Glittens are the best winter accessory in the world. If you have never worn glittens, you're missing out.
13. I am a youngest child, and you can tell that in many of the things that I do.
14. I love leadership development, I've taken many classes about it in college and think it's incredibly important to foster leadership development in young people. 
15. Positivity-Adaptability-Empathy-Includer-Communication (StrengthsQuest is my favorite leadership inventory of all time. These are my top five strengths. Everyone should take this.)
16. There are few things I enjoy more than a good glass of wine or an ice cold Diet Coke.
17. Despite my age I still sleep with a teddy bear. Schnookums has been in my life for too many years now, and I just can't let him go.
18. Making a long distance relationship work with someone in the military is the hardest thing I've had to do. In my opinion being a Navy girlfriend/wife/fiance is the hardest job in the service.
19. From the first time I stepped on the Ohio State's campus the university had my heart. I am a proud buckeye and cannot wait until the day I can say I am an Ohio State alumnae.
20. My family is my biggest source of inspiration in my life. My parents are two of the hardest working people I know, and my sister has intelligence and drive that is unrivaled. I spend my days trying to make these three people proud.

30 Things

As much as I have tried to keep a blog, it seems that either a) I can't find anything to write about or b) once a great idea for a post hits me I forget by the time I get back to a computer. To combat this I went to Pinterest (as any red blooded American female would) and found this lovely 30 Things list. I figure through having something to write about every day, eventually it would become habit so I may not need a prompt anymore.

Here are the "30 Things" aka 30 Days of Blogging Prompts
1. List 20 random facts about yourself.
2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.
3. Describe your relationship with your parents.
4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
6. What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?
7. What is your dream job, and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have?
9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.
10. Describe your most embarrasing moment.
11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your current life.
13. Describe 5 weaknesses you have.
14. Describe 5 strengths you have.
15. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
16. What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
18. What has been the most difficult thing you have had to forgive?
19. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
21. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it first?
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them.
24. Describe your family dynamic of your childhood vs. your family dynamic now.
25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What is your love language?
29. What do you think people misundertand most about you?
30. List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.

Urban Development

Let's just clarify, at a Big10 school, football is life. So when your head coach gets caught up in a scandal [coughJIMTRESSELcoughcough] it can be heart wrenching. But, here is Ohio State's newest ray of sunshine. Head coach Urban Meyer!

[This image is 100% false]

Urban Meyer joins the Buckeye family! Could not be more excited about our new head coach. I'm upset I have to wait until September 1st to see all the wonderful things he will do. 

#gobucks

525,600 Minutes

While individually some days this year have dragged (as is expected) as a whole the past 365 days have flown by. For me it has been a year of change and a year of transition. But best of all it has been a whole year with Bryan. I honestly don't know if I would have made it through the last year without this kid. This picture is a two of us this past weekend at the Big House as we watched Ohio State put up a valiant effort against M!ch!g@n. The OSU/UM game is where it all began, and hopefully this is the 2nd of countless football games we will watch featuring the best rivalry in college football.

A little background on Bryan and I. We met in May of 2010 at USNA's Ring Dance [Ring Dance = Prom for adults almost adults]. I had gone flown out to go to Ring Dance with a friend from my hometown. Bryan had a "mishap" with his date for the night, and ended up joining the group I was with for dinner/the dance/and our after party at the house we were renting. Bryan and I happened to get along wonderfully, and kept in touch. 

[The First Picture of Bry and I in existence. He's top left and I'm bottom right]

Bryan and I continued to talk almost daily for months. Some days it was just a single text or Facebook message, and other days we would spend hours chatting about everything and anything. Come middle of that summer Bry happened to be in Chicago at the same time I was and we met up again to catch up. He was just as goofy and adorable as I remembered. The constant communication continued until that fateful November day...

Unfortunately for him, Bryan somehow grew up a M!ch!g@n fan. He had always wanted to attend an OSU/UM game, and the two of us scoured Craig's List until we found a reasonably priced ticket. Insert M!ch!g@n weekend 2010 were the two of us actually started dating. It was amazing how it seemed like we had known each other forever after only a few short meetings. 

[Ohio Stadium, November 2010]

Now here we are 2 countries. 10 states. 28 plane rides. and 365 days later. I couldn't be happier waiting to see where the next 365 days take me with my favorite man.

[Sorry that lasted forever!]

Amy