Olá Brasil!

A few weeks ago I was told a little secret I wasn't allowed to share until now! My best friend, Jennifer, who has been by my side since second grade (along with her twin sister Marissa) has decided to go on a mission. She's Mormon, you can read about their religion here. Jen is about to go on the adventure of a lifetime! Come November 20th Jen will pack up and head to Brazil where she will serve for a year and a half. Along with being in Brazil, she is also going to learn Portuguese! How cool is that?!

If you know me, then most likely you know or have heard of Jennifer and Marissa. From elementary school together, middle school apart, half of high school together, and now college apart, you'd think it would be the time to be together again. That's what the pattern has looked like all of our lives. Instead, Jennifer will be across the world and Marissa will stay in Utah. The great news is that both of my best friends are coming home at the end of July!! Franklin will welcome them with open arms and I can't wait to spend a few weeks with them before I go back to school.

In my life I never thought I would be so lucky to have two best friends like Jen and Marissa. To say you've had the same best friend for more than half of your life is pretty special. Jen is the most kind-hearted and sweetest person I've ever met. She is always there for me and I can truly count on her for anything. Whether it's a phone call to tell her about my first kiss or me calling to tell her my grandfather passed away, I can count on her to be there for me during any moment of my life. She's a loyal friend and is even more loyal to her church. Through their friendship I have learned to accept other religions, no matter how big or little the differences are. Their family has welcomed me as the third daughter and I am forever thankful for them. If you can't tell, I'm a huge fan of my best friends and think the world of them.

While Jennifer is on her mission, communication will be scarce. In order to talk to her the only thing we can do it write letters to each other. Definitely not something we are use to since right now and always we have been a phone call away, but being a pen pal will be fun! Also, I'm trying to convince her to let me write her blog for her while she's away. A lot of missionaries send out weekly emails but we were thinking it would be different if she blogged.. well me blogging for her, but her story! We can see where that takes us later in the year.

This change will be hard and was unexpected, but I couldn't be prouder of Jen! She is following her heart and doing what she feels called to do. Thinking about her changing people's lives in Brazil while her life is being changed as well is so exciting. I can't wait to see the changes that happen during the year and a half she is gone, and I can't wait to write letters to her every week! Long distance friendship here we come in November, but for now we will keep it in the United States.

Jennifer, me, Marissa- Kids Country Music Marathon, 3rd grade

Jennifer, me, Marissa - my Christmas party 

We are probably in 6th/7th grade

Me, Marissa, Jennifer - beginning of high school

Marissa, me, Jennifer - senior trip to Vegas, Summer 2011

La Luna

This week in my summer school class we learned about the structure of a poem and we challenged to use repetition. I saw the cutest little crescent moon tattoo on a girl's wrist on Pinterest, then scrolled down a little more to see a quote about how the moon always loves. That's where I got the inspiration to write this poem, and now I want a crescent moon tattoo! Let me know what you think of the poem by clicking one of the boxes underneath the poem; your response is anonymous, I promise.

La Luna by: Chandler Clarkson

tiny crescent moon tattoo
so dainty on my wrist
reminds me there is a bigger world
than i ever knew to exist

the moon know who you truly are
with her you have nothing to hide
this daily reminder to love the night
so perfectly placed for all to see

no need to be fearful of the sky
the moon is always there
like a friend or lover, so close to me
i love the sky so deeply

embrace the moon for she sees all
along with the One that matters
tell her your secrets or wishes if you please
la luna will make you feel at ease

tiny crescent moon tattoo
so dainty on my wrist
reminds me there is a bigger world
than i ever knew to exist

This new spark inside

My weeks are now full of: perfecting my resume, writing for Exhibit Eight's website & creating their Twitter account, and looking into internships. I don't think I have been this excited about something in a long time. Okay, well I do know when I was this excited, it was when I saw Celine Dion in concert in January.. Ha! Other than that, this spark inside of me has been lit. 

Have you found your passion? Is it new or have you always had it?

While I still stay up late some nights wondering how I so quickly left Education to jump into Journalism, I know this is where I am supposed to be right now. No more comparisons to other people's lives, whether they are studying abroad or have the "perfect" internship, I am here and I am content. I've decided there's no need to compare myself to others because we are all different. No one was created the same, so why does everyone always try to be a replica of someone else? 

I'm guilty of this, I'm not saying I don't think sometimes "Her life is so cool, why isn't that me?" I'm trying to be done with that thought process. If you don't like your major, change it. If you want to apply for that internships in LA, apply for it. If you want to get that tattoo you've always wanted, go get it. If you want to finally apply for that mission trip, apply for it.

There's no need to let the life you want pass you by. Why don't you go out there and grab it? Too many people are settling with what is easy or what society says, but why? 

I know some of my friends joke about how I seem like a feminist. I just think women should not be passive or let life walk over them. I want to empower women so they know anything is possible. Stop looking at people's lives on Instagram and Twitter to compare theirs to yours. You won't get these days back. I love social media, almost too much probably, but if you let it drag you down or if it makes you pity your own life, stop. Sign off. Give it a rest and find your own peace of mind. I wouldn't classify myself as a "feminist" but I do love strong women who influence others positively.

Wouldn't you want to be that role model to others? Like the quote from Steve Martin above, I too think you should "be so good they can't ignore you."

*steps down from soapbox*

Fashion with Beetlejuice (my first shot at a fashion entry)

The other night I saw Beetlejuice was on tv and immediately had to watch because of my favorite scene. My mother thought I was crazy for watching, but how could you not re-watch this over and over again:

Then I continued watching the strange Beetlejuice and the weird, yet interesting character of Lydia. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered pants I had seen somewhere on Instagram that looked like Beetlejuice's in this suit:

Next thing I know I'm searching all over the Internet to see where I can find these leggings or pants that I knew I had seen! I could have sworn they were Brandy Melville, www.brandymelville.com, but I looked and found no such thing. Good thing Asos, www.asos.com, is always on their a-game and low and behold here are my Beetlejuice-esque pants:

The fashionista Jenner sisters have been spotted wearing almost this exact outfit, but this screenshot came from Asos. These pants are for sale on there ($76) and if Beetlejuice can rock them I am thinking I can too. Elongating anyone's legs and looking super cute with combat boots, don't mind if I do. The options are endless with these pants and even though while wearing them you might constantly be singing the "Day-o" song from the movie, these pants are sure to catch everyone's attention. 

Also, Google brought me to this cute little kid dressed as Beetlejuice & I am now adding this to my ideas for my future children.. (other ideas include a troll, the Rugrats, or Cruella) It will be a miracle if my children turn out normal. 

How It All Happened

You all thought I was going to be a teacher, right? Then bam, here's my new plan. Journalism major with a specialization in public relations. And imagine people's faces when I tell them. Everyone asks questions like: "What is PR?" or says "Aww, honey I always thought you were going to be a teacher." Well honestly, I always thought I was going to be a teacher too. Then this new idea popped into my head, and I start telling my friends "In my second life I would go to fashion school, intern in New York, then work for a designer & be in charge of their social media or communications, or in charge of their public relations section." Well surprise! My second life is hopefully to become my real one. Why sit and wonder if I could do it, instead of just jumping in?

I didn't want to look back down the road and wonder what would have happened if I followed my crazy dream to do public relations with the high goal of the fashion world.. I'm here to try and make it happen. If fashion doesn't work, hey, there's many more industries I'm interested in. 

Right now where I stand with my new major is anticipation. I am anxiously awaiting my fall classes where I will begin the intro to journalism classes, and then spring semester is when I tackle public relations. I'm also really hoping for an internship over winter break (cough cough, please New York) but I do not want to limit myself to just one city. This Nashville girl might not love the Big Apple. 

So here it is, my new major and new "firsts" and luckily for you, you're here to witness it all play out. 

Cup of Soul

So, here's the first submission to my summer school class. The topic was language, so I chose poetry. The only two options we have are prose and poetry (not really sure which one I like better, neither are my favorite) but here is what I wrote.. I could not decide what to write about and with it being our first week I was a little nervous so I stuck with something I know pretty well: my morning cup of coffee, that I often spread throughout the day as well.

Cup of Soul

The camaraderie you bring me

The places I go to find you

I seek you to bring me joy

The sweet taste you bring me

The beginning to my day

You’re like an old friend

Reminding me of kisses from my mom

Before I boarded the bus

Or an afternoon at my grandpa’s house

You’re always there

With not a drop left to spare

My coffee time in the morning 

I am really enjoying this class right now. The week after that I wrote very personally about my high school experience, and this week about a close friend of mine who is about to embark on a new journey. This creative writing class makes me think in ways I am not necessarily used to, and the journals we write each week actually give me ideas for poems. Another new activity to check off the list: online summer school. Something I tried to drop the very first day, but as the days go by now, I'm really enjoying it. 

Here's to a new beginning..

Well, hello! I'm just your average twenty-year-old college student sharing my thoughts on seeing things through my eyes. Some of you might know, I already have another blog. That blog is more personal, pictures and stories detailing random things. But this is here for writing, not photos of my latest weekend with my best friends and more in Oxford. Those will be included in this blog too, yes, but not as often & not as the subject matter. 

I go to the University of Mississippi and recently changed my major to Journalism. I hope to take the classes in order to be specialized in Public Relations. As most girls at Ole Miss, I'm in a sorority, Tri Delta, and love the friendships that have come out of that organization. While some say you're paying for friends, if you're on the inside you know the real side. This side is full of love, incredible friendships and opportunities. There are a lot of stereotypes about Ole Miss, especially with sorority life, and I can't wait to give you all an inside look! I'll also post my writing from classes, for fun, and fingers crossed I can get an internship & share those stories with you too. 

I like to think my ideal job would be working in fashion; public relations specifically. But as I'm discovering this new major maybe my ideas will change. I do know that I love reading fashion blogs, whether it's a social media intern's who works for a well known designer, or an average woman working in New York writing her journey. Maybe I have a future with blogging, maybe it's not even in fashion, and maybe the best has yet to be discovered and the opportunity of a lifetime will present itself. 

I'm not sure yet what this blog is going to look like or what it will include, but here we go!