A little piece of heaven

My trip to Saint Louis

Senior pics... whaaaa?!

Senior pictures are due in two days and of course... I forgot haha... Everyone is telling me to just use one of my modeling pictures but thats no fun :(
oh well -no choice now. I'm going to use this one. It was taken last year by Stephanie Reeder Photography at a vineyard shoot and my family loves it, plus it looks like a senior pic!

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

Napoleon Bonaparte

Mean Girls

Ironically, 'Mean Girls' is my favorite movie- hands down. BUT there isnt a thing I hate more than actual mean girls or just mean people in general. Recently a girl got into a fight with me over something so pety, and now when I talk to her it takes all of my energy to not snap back. People know me for being really nice all the time but I feel like when I'm ever in an arguement or a fight they take that as a a sign of weakness. It's not that im weak or have fear it's just that I strongly believe in being nice to people even when they've been cold to you. I think that takes more courage and only strong people can actually be able to do this. However, its hard... when people make you cry its only a natural reaction to say something back to defend youself but thats not always right. After hearing more malicious things from this girl I decided to take some advice from one of my bestfriends. She told me......

 And she was exactly right. Life is way too short. Dont waste your time criticizing someone or trying to drag someone down because even if you hate the person you will always be the bigger person when you give them a smile and move on. Then they'll feel like a complete moron.

"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."
Mohandas Gandhi 

If I was Rich Girl

In the words of Gwen Stephani, "If I was a rich girl... I'd have all the money in the world" but sadly, I'm not like Gwen and don't have all the money in the world. So whose to say I'm not trying? It all started in class when I was asked about the jobs I was working. For a 17 year old- come this winter- I will be working three jobs + school. "Ridiculous" is what I was told it was, and ridiculous indeed. But what shocked me was the negative responses I got from this. Instead of an encouraging reaction, I simply got a shake of the head and a "what do you even need money for?". All I could do was stare blankly at their snobby faces. I find it sad that these classmates (a year older than me!) were talking like this. They came from a wealthy background- so I got the part where they didn't NEED money necessarily, but wealthy or not... being a hard worker is the most admirable trait a person can have. Regardless... I do, however, need money and if basic instinct has me focused on working like a maniac to get it; so be it. In today's economy, people are losing their jobs and wealthy incomes when they least expect it. A friend of mine lost his job of 8 years, a UVA college graduate is jobless as of right now living with his parents, multi-millionaires are even living pay check by pay check. Its reality. I'm proud of myself for being driven but we live in a society where being independent is rare for the younger generation. People need to succumb to the realization EVERYONE lives differently. I pay for half the rent in my home, car insurance, phone, etc and I know plenty of other kids my age who do the same if not more! So let the snobs be snobs because later on in life they'll be maniacs too ;)

"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."

 - Liane Cordes