Hard, particularly lifes hard, is relative. Your hard, my hard, their hard, is not the same, but whatever the case is, it is often that the quote above is very true.
I have been spending a lot of my time lately, call it reflection or the pause before the big jump, thinking about the people in my life that I have come a long way with, and while the list may not be as long as forever, there are a handful of people I can point to and that I know I will always be able to point to. But this hasn't always been the case. We always come across people, some we may even dare to call best friends, that come in to our life and make us feel or think we have found the real meaning of lifelong, but then something happens, big, small or nothing at all that makes you realise "we can count on so few people to walk that hard way with us"
.... and this has happened to me time and time again, I've pretty much ditched the term best friend, even though Lord knows I have some of the best, and I learnt a valuable lesson in reason, season or a lifetime.
Maybe it is something to do with growing up, in fact scratch that, it has everything to do with growing up. The more you do it, the fewer friends you do it with. Your priorities change, and what you start to look for in friendships have changed along with them. So when I reflect on the almost friendships and the lost ones too, I realise why they may not be such a bad thing.
I only want a few people to walk the hard way with me, and there are only a few people that I want to walk the hard way with. While I may not believe in 'no new friends' I believe that when you find the friends that encourage you, support you, believe in you, make you a better person, and generally make lifes hards easier then keep that circle tight.
We sometimes fool ourselves in thinking that we need so many people around us to not feel lonely, but there is a power in only having a few friends. A power in not having to count on so many people, because really if we are being honest, people often cannot be counted on to be counted on.
Kimberly Kardashian recently gave birth to a no name baby girl that was expected in July, and ever since this glorious day in entertainment, I have been prowling all sorts of gossip blogs and so on just to find out anything that I can about this child. It's really shameful, I know. I am almost certain when it is Kate Middleton's turn I will be none the wiser. But any way, I love babies, so maybe and just maybe, this is what my obsession is about. I am quite excited for Kim, as if it were one of my friends, so if I could, I would say these things to say to her
1) You must be glad it's all over
I am not a mother, so I don't know what it's like to carry a person for 9 months, especially during those last few months, and maybe the paps just caught you on really bad days, but you looked like your life has never sucked more, and it couldn't have been easier with the whole world weighing in on your life. I know I did a time or two, especially during the MET Gala, oh, and when you wore those shoes too small for your feet. You didn't make it hard for us to be honest, but if I am being real, no one deserves that kind of bashing, even if they did sign up for it. So now that the pregnancy has come to an end I can imagine you must be relieved, you are only human after all, and choosing to live your life in front of the cameras and at the mercy of peoples heavy opinions doesn't change that. So, even though you might still end up on worst dress lists and appear on magazines covers for having an ass too fat, (you know it's not going to end) it's not going to be because of something you couldn't control.
2) Be more like Kourtney
While it must have been super annoying to have people compare your pregnancy to your sisters, there are some things you might just want to learn from her, and the most important one of all is to not hide your baby from us. Can you not see how in love we are with Mason, and Penelope's fat cheeks? I'm almost positive we will adore K..... (since you don't want to give us a name yet) and see, this is what I am taking about, it's been 5 days now and we still don't have a baby name. It's just a name Kim, and even Beyonce who is better at this game than you told us right off the bat what her little one was called. So please, just give us a name.
Lastly...
3) You are stronger than we gave you credit for
Over the years people have come to know you as one thing, a sex symbol. And your pregnancy, it kind of started to tear at that image, and not so nicely. You came under attack for all the wrong reasons, almost like it was unheard of for a pregnant lady to get fat. But in the midst of it all you seemed put together, you were not going to let people dictate who Kim should be, but instead show people that they can talk all they want to but this is who Kim is. And maybe I am comparing you to the likes of me, who would have probably chosen to take a nine month vacation in a cave, but it was nice to see. You did something that was clearly hard for you, in the open, all day everyday, and didn't allow people to dictate that. Go you!
These words are something I am going to hold on to from now on. Life and our parents and our teachers, they all teach us that nothing worth it is easy, and seeing this was a friendly reminder! Sometimes we all get stuck in wanting to get 'there', that we forget what made us want to get there in the first place... So for all my creative friends, you writers, poets, photographers, fashion heads, etc... This one is for you.
You know those things, yes those things, that can turn any bad day good, put a pep in your step, keep you way occupied and make you that much happier... well yes, I have a few of these things I call my favourite things. Lately I have been indulging in quite a few, and I wanted to share with you some of my latest obsessions the things that I can't live without.
Flipboard
Can't say nothing else except for I am addicted. I spend most of my time on this app,when I am not tweeting or chatting. It has given me the excuse not to have an excuse to 'use my phone' when I see someone I do not really want to talk to, or when I find myself in awkward situations, because now I can just. I can literally stay on Flipboard days on end and only come up for air when I have been rudely interrupted.
I love that I can create my own magazine, with all the stuff that I find on the app and on the Internet. If you ever need inspiration, fresh ideas or just knowledge from people within the same 'industry' or people who have the same passions and interests as you, then this is the app for you.
I've created three magazines so far {below}, and while I am still getting the hang of being my own magazine curator, I am enjoying the hell out of this app, flip after flip.
If you are on Flipboard too, let me know, and please stop by my magazines and let me know what you think.
Vine
Another social media platform... I am beginning to wonder what social media platform I am NOT on. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Keek, the list just goes on, but you name it and I am on it. Is this even healthy?
I have to say though, some of my favourite social media apps are ones you can get creative with, like Pinterest, Instagram and now Vine, I just love it.
I was introduced to it by one of my friends, and at first I hadn't a clue what to do with this thing, {not like I am much different now}, but this is app is slowly becoming one of my latest addictions. See, I am not so much a visual, that means photography and film, kind of person but the whole art interests me. So whatever chance I can get to play with one of these photo/video tools, count me in.
Joy is what I feel in my heart when I look forward to the next couple of days, weeks, months. Being engaged has changed everything for me! I haven't been one to start planning her wedding day from the day she was born, but along the way I have come across friends and people {of course I mean him} that have got me excited at the prospect of planning a wedding... My one friend is obsessed and her obsession has become my obsession, if not for the fact that she sends me every bridesmaid fabric, wedding dress design and wedding location picture out there. She and the fact that this is all real now, makes planning my wedding one of my favourite things to do lately.
Just as much as coffee addicts need their coffee to get them through the day, I need my cups of tea, and if it is vanilla I can do just about anything. I am a tea lover for sure man, even on the hottest day. I believe that you can find the answers to life at the bottom of a tea cup. Some say wine glass, I say tea cup.
Mirrors
I should probably get in line with this one.
I was pretty disappointed with the music that was coming out at the beginning of 2013, till Justin showed up. I love this song, it's everything you need in a love song and more.
Magazines & Blogs
I am a reader, I love to read, books, magazines, blogs.... I read it all. So as I heal myself with a cup of vanilla tea I like to indulge in a few magazines and blogs. Lately my favourite magazine has been ELLE UK. I have always bought the South African edition because it makes more sense to me. I'm here, it's here, perfect pair. But I recently got the UK edition and was amazed by their editorials, it wasn't the first time though, but I realised why I need to do more of it. What an amazing read.
But all in all, I love me some GRAZIA, ELLE and GLAMOUR.
And lately my favourite blogs are, Fashion Toast, Song of Style, Wendy's Look Book, and The Glamourai. These blogs make having my flipboard app that much more fun. Lot's to flip and lot's to be inspired by. It's amazing when you can get lost in a world that someone else has created for you, and enjoy your stay.
So yes, these are a few of my favourite things. What are some of yours?
Ever think of who {dead or alive} you would invite to a dinner party? I do, all the time, and even though my list changes changes quite often, almost all the time Marilyn and/or Audrey make the cut.
My mild obsession with Marilyn Monroe started after I watched My Week with Marilyn. Such a beautiful movie, and naturally {because I felt she was a very close friend of mine} I morphed into a mini detective trying to solve the age old mystery of her death. Audrey on the other hand, after finally watching Breakfast at Tiffany's {which I made a promise to do here} I finally got what all the fuss was about. I get that it was a movie, and none of it was real, but I just imagined myself hanging out with the lady on the screen and having an absolute good time.
Regardless, there is a reason why we as women use many of the things Marilyn and Audrey said then to apply to our lives now, because despite being popular for their acting, singing, fashion and style these women inspire young girls and women, in love, friendship, life, and womanhood.
I can definitely raise my hand to testify to this. I have caught myself a time or two relating to something they have said, sticking by it, and trying to apply it to my life, I mean no wonder I want to have them at my dinner party. What other secrets to life are they holding back?
Here are some of my favourites.
Marilyn Monroe
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they are right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together"
"We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets."
"Just because you fail once, it doesn't mean you are going to fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on and always always always believe in yourself, because if you don't then who will? So keep your head high, your chin up and most importantly, keep smiling because life is beautiful and there is so much to smile about"
"It's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring"
"For those who are poor in happiness, each time is a first time, happiness never becomes a habit."
"I do not stop when I am tired, I stop when I am done..."
Audrey Hepburn
"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like the most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person."
"You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him"
"As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others."
"I decided very early on, just accept life unconditionally; I have never expected it to do anything special, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened without my ever seeking it"
"I don't take my life seriously, but I do take what I do - in my life - seriously"
I just love these ladies and what they stand for, they inspire {at least me} to go for what I want, be confident and happy as a woman.
I might just be the only one who hasn't proclaimed {at least out loud} that 2013 is their year. I'm just not too sure about putting so much pressure on a year with the off chance that it might all fall to s**t. I'm happy to welcome 2013 as my year, when it becomes my year, but till then I am happy just working at making it so.
BUT
My 2013 will be one of immense growth, and this I am pretty happy to state out loud. I've spent the past couple of years doing the same things, particularly surrounding myself with the the kind of people that are just not good for any kind of mental, emotional or spiritual growth, because either 1) they are so self involved that they don't even realise that this world hosts other human beings, 2) they have no idea what the word progression means 3)they use, abuse and misuse people for their own benefit, or 4) they have more faces than the Lord intended, basically, small people.
I mean it is no secret that we are not getting any younger, and it makes no sense to just grow in age and not have anything mentally to back that up. A lot of us are now at the age we are trying to grow ourselves, become career women, family women and maybe this is the needy child in me speaking but it is at this time you need to surround yourself with people that make a difference. We need people that are going to support us, rejoice in our achievements, encourage us when we have low spirits and be rocks when all we see around us is shaky ground. This is what we need, but we are also at that age where we should not be afraid to walk alone and we should not be afraid to like it. It's been a reality to many and a reality I am starting to notice for myself, which is why I love this particular quote by Mark Twain that states
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too, can become great. When you are seeking to bring big plans into fruition it is important with whom you regularly associate. Hang out with friends who are like minded and who are also designing purpose filled lives. Similarly be that kind of friend to your friends."
This is my 2013 in a nutshell. I am going to grow in this, because there I believe at this point in my life there is nothing truer. I am thankful for the friends who are all this and more to me. Here is to a great 2013!
I'm excited that February is finally here. I've really been feeling like I have been in a daze the whole of January, so many to do lists that haven't been checked off, blogs that haven't been posted, feelings that haven't been expressed, and it's just not good. So February needs to be good to me.
Also, maybe it's just me, but January seemed to never want to leave us. I'm in no rush for anything really, It's just that February, after December has got to be one of my favourite months. People just seem happier, cheerful and lovely. It might have something to do with Valentines Day, I am sure, love in the air and all that, a little nauseating but it's a good month to be in.
Besides all that, a lot is going to be happening for me this month, mainly the fact that this month I start the beginning of the end of my last year as a STUDENT, \o/ granted I will forever be a student of life, but student of the educational system, no more. So I just really can't wait to see what this last year has in store for me, and the sooner I get started the better.
I myself am pretty excited about 2013... Not only because I plan on achieving so much, mentally, physically, emotionally and most importantly spiritually this year, but the beginning of the year is always a favorite for me, It's like starting a new book or a new chapter in a book, written by me for me. I can't imagine anything more fun than that.
So, here is to wishing all of you a successful and prosperous 2013, may the book/chapter in the book you are writing for yourself be something you feel proud of, lots of learning, living and loving.
Day 21: Favorite Picture of yourself ALL TIME Why?
I mentioned in one of these previous challenges that I am not so much of a photo taking person even though I wish I could be, so it was kind of hard picking the picture I thought was my all time favourite.
The one below has always been a favourite of mine. It was taken by my mum when we were out on one of our lunch dates.
There is a kind of innocence to it, even though that's exactly what I am, an innocent little bunny.
I think that's why I like it, it captures ME. Literally.
It also reminds me of how much time flies by without you even realising it.
I had just about started university around this time (2009) I was in a new relationship with the love of my life, and I wasn't even sure where time would take me. Looking back, it's hard to believe how much time has flown since then and where I am now.
I guess this is another reason I wish I took more photos, capturing memories like these.
Day 12: Something you don't leave the house without
Two things:
For starters, I never go anywhere without my phone unless it's the exam room or the shower. The bathroom is debatable, but other than that my phone goes everywhere I go.
So if ever I am out the house and I am without my phone, something is wrong.
It's the first of the month.
For me that means I'm closer to ending an internship that I only just started, and spending lots of of time away from the mister, which I hate. I honestly hate it when time flies.
For some it means, birthdays, anniversaries,promotions, but what ever it means to you, here is me saying "Happy New Month"
I know no body really says that, "Happy New Month", it's weird and not really necessary, but I think it's better than pinching, punching, slapping and kicking someone, or not saying it at all.
Any way, crossing over......
Do you believe in superstitions?
I myself don't have a straight answer for that.
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I guess you could say I do when it suits me.
At the end of the day, it's all in the name of fun for me. I don't actually believe in good or bad luck, but I do get excited by the possibility.
I mean, I try my hardest never to cross a black cat, walk under ladders, break mirrors, and wake up on the 'wrong' side of bed. However, as far as bringing good luck your way is concerned, I would like to jump on that boat. Just in case, you know, because if I'm being honest I could use a little luck here and there.
There is a superstition that I just heard about on the radio on my way to work today. Tell me if any one knows about this one.
Apparently if you say 'rabbit rabbit' or something along those lines, first thing in the morning on the first day of the new month you will get good luck for the rest of that month. If this is true, what a bummer.
Unfortunately I only heard this after I had spoken about a thousand and a half other 'meaningless' words, and by then it was too late.
So now I have to wait til next month to try this again.
I've always heard that the rabbit is the bearer of good luck, what with people walking around with it's foot in their pocket and all.
And I have always been a fan of rabbits, in fact I had a couple as pets when I were growing up.
And my nickname is bunny
So I think it's only fitting that I give this a try. There is something about rabbits!
I hear 'rabbit rabbit' works better on your birthday month, so maybe I will skip September and try it on October.
Any weird, fun to try out, or even scary superstitions any of you have heard/done/want to try?
Lu3Lu
xx
This weekend was by far one of my best weekends this year. Imagine that. 6 months in, and only now do I have a great weekend. My life. The point is, I got to spend the weekend with my loved ones, and experience my not so little sister growing into an old lady. I love saying that, 'old lady'... She has this thing where she likes to think everyone but her is old, but now that she is 21 she can bloody well join the club. And.... because I can, I'm going to rub it in her face.
Even though 21 is still young, I feel that {and I have a few people that agree with me} after 21 its all down hill from there. Agree/disagree?
Any way, I loved this weekend for all sorts of reasons and one of them being that I learned a few things about growing up....
1. The minute you reach your twenties, people already picture you at thirty.
2. Growing Oldup does not mean you stop having fun. It just means you redefine what 'fun' is.
3. Big girls do cry
4. Knowing right from wrong is more important now than it ever was.
4. Not only teenagers have drama, that's a b**tch you can never run away from, even when you are 50. All you can do is choose whether to let it affect you.
5. The minute you reach twenty something people start talking marriage and kids O_o
It is just so sad to see and read about Amy Winehouse's passing. Death is really something we can never get used to. I had planned a post about something else, but when I heard about Amy Winehouse I guess all that went out the window. I'm speechless to say the least. I can't say I was a huge fan of her music or anything, but Amy was cool people. Most importantly she was a human being. I see a lot of people on twitter and facebook saying how all this is her fault and drug addicts deserve what comes their way, and what else did she expect? I don't know, it's all just so sad. I don't think anyone deserves anything bad happening to them, especially something as terrible as death. It's one thing to criticize drug addicts but it's another to think that their death is less important because of their drug use. The way I see it, death is death. Whether you were hit by a car or you overdosed on pain killers, death is sad and should not be celebrated. Rather celebrate the life someone lived.
Someone tweeted:
Another human being losing her life is sad. Amy was not a murderer or a rapist to deserve such nasty tweets from you perfect individuals!
How true.
As I said, I was not a huge fan, but here is to celebrating Amy Winehouse's life.
"I think we have to be aware that people are allowed to make mistakes" - Amy Winehouse
'I believe in casual sex. I know it's sad that I think cheating on people is fine. But I think it's like smoking a spliff. Oops, I've gobbed on myself!' - Amy Winehouse
'There's no point in saying anything but the truth. Because, at the end of the day, I don't have to answer to you, or my ex, or ... I shouldn't say God ... or a man in a suit from the record company. I have to answer to myself.' - Amy Winehouse
"You get straight men that are fu**ing big pussies like my ex-boyfriend, and gay men who are like, "Can I carry that for you? Take my jacket." And you wish they didn't like boys" - Amy Winehouse
'It's just my music. It's the only thing I have real dignity in in my life. That's the one area in my life where I can hold my head up and say, "No one can touch me." 'Cos no one can touch me!' - Amy Winehouse
“I don’t need help because if I can’t help myself I can’t be helped.” - Amy Winehouse
“It’s too much of a drinking culture, everything tastes better with a drink. Like, watch TV: glass of wine. Cooking dinner: glass of champagne. White wine vinegar hasn’t got white wine in it. Has it?” - Amy Winehouse
The past few weeks have been something out of a boring novel for me. If I had to sum it all up in a couple of words, I would say:
The real world aint so friendly after all.
When you are caged up in a box and all you see is the outside, it's hard to imagine anything else but what you see. Am I right? Well, that's how it's been for me until recently. I could not wait to start 'life', being done with school {for now} was just amazing, I wanted to get a job, could not wait to move out and find my own place to stay {away from the university}. Everything {in my head} just seemed so perfect.
Until, I had to actually start A. looking for a job B. finding a place to stay
So far, neither have come to my rescue so we can officially call it world 2 Lu3Lu 0
I don't know why I expected things to be so easy, maybe it's because I see other people do it and it seems pretty easy. I have two friends that can find a place to stay just like that. I have another friend that can get a job/position/anything just like that. But when I try, not so much.
In all fairness, I have had opportunities presented to me, which I am thankful for, so on a scale of 1 to stranded I fair pretty well, but the only problem is I only get so far before the end of the road and to make it worse I didn't give myself enough time to do it all in.
Time is running out and the world is still showing me how good it is at what it does. I'm just about ready to say 'cheque please' on this one and try again next time. Maybe then I can bring the right tools to fight the battle with the world. Right now I'm low on confidence, motivation, hope, and energy Hmmmm and here I thought I was ready to fight this one.
Charges: lying in last post and abandonment and neglect of own blog.
My Plea: guilty
My Sentence: apology to blogger friends, at least one post every two days, and 600 hours 'blogunity' service.
Court adjourned.
That should teach me, I know I.......
Rant and Rave
............. pretty much fibbed in my last post, I made a whole whoo hah about how I wouldn't be M.I.A no more, and then I went and did exactly that. I don't know if I should blame it on the funk I have been in, or writers block. But one of those is seriously responsible for my lie. In all fairness when I said I would not go M.I.A I really meant it, I was done with exams, I was feeling very chipper, the boy was coming to visit and all seemed right with the world. That was until I logged of the internet and I realized that I actually have no plan with my own life, and my life is in the hands of other people. Right now, all I do is just wake up, live and go back to bed again. and repeat. everyday. But the real decisions, those are made by people I don't even know, {okay some of these people I actually do know, they just happen to be older and wiser than me and they are given the name parents} I mentioned in my last post that I was waiting for an internship, well that's one thing out of my hands and into the hands of someone else. I just wait around for people to decide to reject or accept me and once that's done that determines my next move. Unbelievable. I guess that explains my funk. You know when they say if you want something, go out and get it. It really should be if you want something go out and ask someone who has it {because someone else definitely has it} and be nice enough so they can think about giving it to you. But I guess everything is not so bad......
The Silver Lining
....... because every dark cloud has a silver lining right? I don't know if it's called finding myself but I've been given the time to actually find out what I want out of my life. I guess maybe I am too young to say it's set in stone, but I definitely know the direction I want to head in and what I want to do. The how I am going to get there is a tricky part, luckily we are in the 21st century and we have million modes of transportation {see what I did there} Either way it's not the end of the world when one thing doesn't work out because there is something else that can help you get to where you want to go.
No way is it almost the end of May? Like........ where is time going? I'm not excited at all. I would really just like time to take a chill pill or two, sip on a cocktail and slow down. So if anyone out there has seen time, please pass on this message for me. I am pretty tired of chasing time.
In other news, I'm pretty happy to be able to pay this little blog of mine some attention today, without my little jealous kids called assignments and tests to bother me. I also got the time to catch up on all your blogs and I kind of borrowed or stole {po-tay-toe po-taa-toe} this idea from Meg over at Life of Meg.
She had a question on her blog yesterday asking 'what makes you smile today?' and since I have been off the blog sphere for a while, I thought I would re introduce myself by listing 10 things that made me happy/smile since I was last around.
10 things that made me happy/smile
1. Fast Five{usually I am not a fan of violent movies, but this is a REALLY good movie. I have not been able to stop thinking about it since I watched it. If you have not seen it, you must.} 2. Spending quality time with the boy. 3. Painting my nails yellow {this is my first attempt at saying screw you winter, I'm still in love with summer} 4. The sun. Considering winter is creeping up on us over here, I'm glad to soak in any sun that comes my way {the last two days have been absolutely amazing} 5. Sushi. The boy and I recently discovered a love for sushi that we had no idea we had. Where were we hiding? 6. Cadbury Chocolate. I have been trying to convince myself that I really should not be eating any chocolate because a) I need to lose weight and b) I have been eating waaay too much food lately.....but....... I failed. 7. Party Rock Anthem. I love the song and love the dance even more. Someone want to teach me? Such a fun video to watch. 8. Disney Land. No, I didn't go but I wish I had. Been watching a few Disney classics lately and I pretty much just want to live them, and where better than Disney Land. {That's the kid in me talking, I swear.} 9. A month left of school and then I'm officially a graduate. *bites nails* I'm still feeling bitter sweet about it, but I'm starting to feel positive about what will happen next. 10. Knowing that I have a whole bunch of people who I love and love me right back!
Hope everyone is having a great week so far. I had a terrible test today/ don't love, but it's a public holiday tomorrow/ love. That's what I call balance.
I don't really believe in horoscopes or lucky stars or fortunes and wishing wells or even the secret but I do find them harmlessly entertaining. I mean we all want to believe in something right? So sometimes (for the hell of it) when things go wrong, I may wish upon a star, or look for an answer from my horoscope, or throw a coin in a pond or something. Well, on Monday I ordered Chinese. This can't be complete without a fortune cookie right? Make that two (desperate times call for desperate measures)
This is what they had for me:
Isn't it weird that both are about luck? :/
Now, I don't really believe in luck, I used to, but now I just believe that things happen for a reason, even though sometimes you may not know what the reason is. I welcome luck though, oh hell yeah, Lord knows there have been a time a two that I needed it. So when I saw these fortunes I was thinking 'yes yes yes!!! but what could this possibly mean?'
It's funny because today I have heard the word 'luck' about five times.
1st time someone said I was lucky 2nd time someone said my boyfriend was lucky, 3rd time Jim Carrey said on TV that he was lucky 4th time people were talking about how lucky some people are to have stable marriages in this day and age, 5th time Billy Ray Cyrus expressed how lucky he thinks Miley Cyrus is.
What's with this word luck all of a sudden?
I don't really know if 'I am the chosen one' :/ or if 'luck is with me' but if I had to look at my life now and do a check list, I would definitely be counting more blessings than I would anything else. So hey maybe I am lucky, lucky to have a supportive family, amazing friends, countless opportunities, and life.
