Passion

Passion is the force that drives those who crash into success.

Without passion, you will never be completely successful...

well, I suppose it depends on what you consider success.

What is your passion?

Peace

Peace - it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. 

It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

Birthday in Paradise

I won a dougie contest...

So (obviously) my birthday was another success! It was during spring break (as always) so once again I got to spend it in a beautiful place with beautiful people! This year NCSU had the same spring break as UNC so, luckily, I got to spend my birthday with John this year! I had an amazing time and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. Thank you to everyone who celebrated with me, I LOVE YOU!

Love Yourself

Give yourself a hug. Everyone needs to be loved, and everyone needs to love themselves.

Express Yourself

Stop feeling the way you think you are supposed to feel. Stop expressing what you think others want to see. How do you feel? What do you want? Know who you are, if you don't right now, take the time to figure it out. That is the key to everything - humans want genuine, humans seek the truth. That's how true artist surpasses and excels. They bring forth originality, innovation, and uniqueness. Be yourself, let your beauty shine, and most importantly do it for y-o-u.

Don't Forget...

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."

-Judy Garland

Techno Overlo

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all the technology that we have today? I know it is kind of a weird topic/concept but sometimes I just feel like its too much. Every day when I wake up I have to first check my phone for texts, missed calls, and voicemails. I then plop down at my computer and check my school email, my gmail, and then my work email. After sorting through all of that I then check facebook for wall posts, messages, etc next it is onto twitter to check for mentions and messages. Its just so much sometimes. Especially now that we all have the web by our side at all times with phones, ipods, laptops, ipads, kindles etc. I feel like I have to respond right away to a message or text or whatever it is because I know, that the person knows, that I've seen it, or expects me to have seen it. I just wish sometimes I could disconnect for a day or two and not worry about having to respond, confirm, answer, reply, write back, and so on. To have a break from worrying about checking all of those things and getting back to someone.

Kinks or Kinky?

What is Kinky? Something with kinks or twist?
Well thats all of us isn't it?
Its just a matter of finding who fits with your kinks.
To be loved unconditionally... that would be something.
-Secret Diaries of a Call Girl

As some of you may already know I absolutely LOVE this show! Season 4 is scheduled to air in 2011, however, the date is not set. But luckily for all of us, Season 3 is available on Showtime on Demand. I am not for prostitution or anything like that but I think this show is incredibly sexy, bold, and very intriguing. It is the perfect girls night with wine kind of show. So if you are very conservative and find that you don't have a very big sense of humor than I wouldn't suggest this show. However, if you find that you are quite the opposite, dig in. You'll love it!

The very sexy Billie Piper stars as Belle the secret London call girl. As Showtime puts it... "Belle (real name Hannah Baxter) is a 27-year-old living in London, who has worked for the last few years as a high-class escort. But Hannah is not your average call girl. Fiercely independent, elegant, educated, and witty, she constantly struggles to balance an unconventional lifestyle with finding time for her friends, family, and romantic interests."

Take a Trip Every Now and Then

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on you'll be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey."

Judge, Judgement and being Judgmental

Being non-judgmental is something that I sincerely value in others and personally, have been striving to improve in myself. I don't consider myself to be judgmental, but I know that I am guilty of it at times. I believe that continual work is a requirement for life-changing reduction. It takes a mature individual and strong sense of self to be able to accept others fully without questioning one's motives or gossiping about information that is not a known fact.

"Loving without judging" Those three words become more and more meaningful to me each day. (And this isn't a blog about loving your partner, boyfriend, husband, etc. but all relationships that matter). Being open-minded is a characteristic that I desire and am trying to obtain. I've realized that being open-minded (even when I don't exactly agree with an initial idea) has led to a lot of great personal insight. Its made me recognize that I need to look at the bigger picture sometimes rather than being so narrow-minded. Let us all work to love one another and before we cast judgment on others, learn to accept them as the person that they are and the experiences that life has thrown at them.

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
-Paulo Coelho

Wisdom from the Seuss

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You're on your own.

And you know what you know.

You are the guy who'll decide where to go.

-Dr. Seuss

Native Fashion

As we slowly transition from summer to fall, we begin to see Native American inspirations in clothing, shoes, and accessories. I, personally, am in love with this fashion trend being, that I am part Native American. Growing up my mom would dress us in moccasins and my grandmother was always buying us jewelry with feathers and turquoise in it. This was fun when I was a little kid however it wasn't very "cool" in middle school and high school. BUT now I'm wishing that I would have held on to those things... vintageeee.

More ethnic inspired garments are appearing in Hollywood. North American Indians originally wore moccasins. Little did they know how trendy they would become!

Some designers and collections that show how the native have stimulated their creativity include Michael Kors, Proenza Schouler, Dolce & Gabanna, and Emporio Armani, just to name a few. The call of the wild was received by Michael Kors as he showcases fur covered vests, boots, and even fur bags.

"Kate Moss knows how to make it in the industry- you must stay on top of the game. She was spotted in London with an armful of fashion mags looking like a modern day Pocahontas. Genius for the supermodel to twin her knee-high Minnetonka moccasins with a pair of denim cutoffs. While she bares skin on her bottom half, a nubby sweater and signature fur jacket keep her warm-up top" (Celebrity Style).

"An ethnic look can also collaborate with a more modern, waist length, leather, Burberry jacket with a wool covered collar. Native Americans were smart in using everything the land had to offer, to not only survive or keep their bodies warm but also to adorn their bodies. This fall expects rings, bangles, necklaces, and earrings in the form of feathers, tusks, rocks, and even different shades of stones" (The Examiner).

So go wild this fall, adorn yourself with gifts from the earth, throw your hair in an effortless side braid, be exotically natural, "paint with all the colors of the wind" and as always embrace your beauty no matter what you are wearing.

Even People on Acid can't get Down like this

I use to go to powwows when I was young and loved it. I would fearlessly walk into the arena to dance and sing, but my favorite part was staring at all the beautiful performers and watching them dance. It's not a typical event of course, but, whenever we had the opportunity to go - it was always a good time. Something about the atmosphere - it made me feel free to do whatever I wanted whether it's singing, dancing, or even dressing in bright colored feathers. We all knew that no one would judge. Native Americans take pride in their dances and dancing is the norm, standing on the sidelines watching, is not.

Thinking about it, powwows are similar to modern-day music festivals. Native Americans ventured for these events and lodged in teepees, today people travel from all over and stay in tents. Native Americans used fire and smoke for their "light show," today smoke and lights are used in similar (more advanced ways). They used drums for bass and dance for hours - we have many different forms of "bass" and dance for hours (with our hands in the air like we just don't care). It's a bit of a stretch, but I feel like there are a few similarities. However, when people see stuff like the video above many think that its weird and uncivilized and that is their opinion to make.

Personally, I think it's really beautiful.

My Friends

"Truly great friends are hard to find, 

difficult to leave, 

and impossible to forget."

Be sure you don't forget that.