Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Give Up & Let Go

I came across this amazing blog Marc and Angel Hack Life. They write some amazing tips about life, having fun, being a better person, and even things to do before you have kids. perfect. The first one I read is 50 Things You Need To Give Up Today and it's wonderful. Everyone should follow it. I am going to start with numbers 2, 3, 31, 44, and 47. There are so many blogs written on this site that I am so excited to start reading. It's blogs like Marc and Angel that make me glad I even started blogging; also the fact that I can get all my thoughts out of my head. It's relaxing. Hope you enjoy Marc and Angel's blog, I know I will!

to giving up on crap and letting go,
cxs

Monday, March 28, 2011

Beautiful Mess

Beautiful Mess - Jason Mraz

So I have been listening to a lot of Jason Mraz lately, which always reminds me of traveling and to let all my worries go. Below is one of my favorite quotes from Jason.


...Why would you ever waste a day worrying about anything? - or think you should have done this or could have done that?
 Wake up to the WTF of it all and enjoy the ride.
- Jason Mraz


I love that.

I also absolutely love this quote from one of my favorite movies: Elizabethtown

Claire Colburn: You wanna be really great? Then have the courage to fail big and stick around. Make them wonder why you're still smiling. 

Truth!
 I need to stop worrying about how people see me. My life is a beautiful mess. I've gotten to experience more than most and I am only 20. I should be grateful, appreciative, & happy. I've met amazing people, I've traveled to amazing places, I've made mistakes and learned from them, I've failed and gotten back up again. I also highly doubt it will end there. I will fail countless more times in my life. I will get hurt, lose things close to me, and want to give up. Reading other blogs though helps me realize I'm not alone. Music, books, nature, people; they all make life a little better and worth all the shit.

But, if life is far too shitty for you? take on life like the honey badger. 
Life will fear you.


Bring it on, life.

Jason's blog is amazing at making one feel great, laugh, and smile. His writing style is also fantastic.
 I admire him to no end. 


lovelovelove,
cxs

Saturday, March 26, 2011

It's Go Time

Alright, I've done enough moping around. 
YOU'RE DONE
It's time I get my life on track. I've had 2 job interviews this week so I am motivated.
time to run, eat, sleep, and do work well.
NEW RULES FOR NEW LIFE
1. Sleep.
I am not a fan of sleeping. I can always think of a million better things to do, but it's time for change.

2. Cook Well
I'm tired of not being able to make a decent meal. I can't cook, but it's time to learn.

3. Go
My bum knee has been a pain lately, so running has come to a halt. No marathon this year, but that doesn't mean I can't move. Time to get in shape, no running necessary. 

4. Do Work
They say time you've wasted is not wasted time so long as you enjoy it. Well, I need to turn my "wasted" time into school time, and it needs to be done well. No more half-assed work.

Conan O'Brien once said, "Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get.  

But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen." and I believe it.

6. Don't Think, Do
I am always so concerned with how people see me. Am I smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, fast enough, athletic enough, good enough? 
I question myself constantly. I listen to my friends more than my heart. I say "no" far too often. 
I let people take advantage of my shyness and I am a push over.
ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH
From here on out, I'm living life for me. Fuck people.
I have a favorite quote by my most admired man, but I never follow it.
But, it's time to start.

Winston Churchill said,
"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." 

Time to stick up for myself, my beliefs, and my heart.

new me starts now.
cxs

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Chicago


I kind of really like where I live right now and I am seriously dreading moving back home to the burbs. 
4 months until I leave this city.
4 more months of true happiness, until we meet again city livin'.

In the mean time, here is some chicago inspired tunage


to chicago,
cxs

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Sleepy Nights

Cleo is my cat and current roommate.
She's cute, fluffy, and terribly dull.


The girl sleeps all the time.
Maybe I should take note: bedtime is before midnight on a weekday.

goodnight,
cxs

Life & How To Survive It

This. Helps. A lot. 

Check out Mr. Wang's blog here for an insightful & helpful outlook on life. 
 
Life: in a nutshell 

What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.


Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.


Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.



It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.




The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.



what to take away from Mr. Wang's advice is simply put below.


Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.
ready. set. go.
cxs

Monday, March 14, 2011

Mistakes

I should not stay up this late. Once 2 am comes around I need to just go to bed. Staying up this late, listening to soft music, and sitting alone in my apartment I think about everything. By everything I mean all the bad stuff like regrets and mistakes I've made. I have a lot of them in my life and I'm only 20. They say the only things you regret in life are the chances and opportunities you didn't take. No one really regrets DOING something, except me.

At first, I thought I made a big mistake by going to SIUC. 
Now, I think it was a big mistake I ever left.


....
cxs


words of advice to self:
p.s. I'm still really lost in life.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

No Matter

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" was his response. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."
-Lewis Carroll
         

At the moment, my life is like that of Alice in Wonderland: wildly out of whack.

no idea what road to take
I have met some odd people along the way
I have a silly cat that keeps me company 
nothing makes sense anymore
and I'm pretty sure I have gone mad.


oh well.

no matter,
cxs

Architecture

I love architecture. 
If I could go back to my freshman year of college, I would have stayed in the interior design field. The first 2 years of school are along side the architecture students. Unfortunately intimidation got the best of me which makes me sick looking back on how my life would have been different had I stayed with it. 
But what's done is done.
I can still learn about architecture though. 
So I started volunteering at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. 
My absolute favorite building in the world is the Tribune Tower just north of the river on Michigan ave. Not only does it have that neo-gothic look to itdesigned by New York architects John Mead Howells and Raymond Hood, but it also has pieces of other amazing buildings from all over the world. There are pieces from the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Notre Dame, the Great Pyramid and many others, all of which are placed at street level so people that walk past can touch them. 
You can TOUCH Notre freakin' Dame while standing in Chicago.
It's just awesome. Absolutely, totally, and completely awesome.



Definitely check it out if you're ever in Chicago. I also recommend checking out theses website:
This site has amazing Architecture & Interiors.

to architecture,
cxs

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Random Wants

I want...

...to climb this tree

The Angel Oak Tree in Charleston, South Carolina.
Cool, right? It's like something out of a fairy tale, or Harry Potter. This tree is over 1500 years old and stands 65 ft tall.


to trees,
cxs

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Fresh First



Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit! 
My 5th grade teacher would always say that on the first of the month because it's suppose to bring good luck...which I could really use. Hopefully this month I will get a job, finish some books I've been reading, and get more work done to figure out my life. I am kind of superstitious when it comes to sayings and inanimate objects, so I take "rabbit, rabbit, rabbit" very seriously. I also try to bring more luck & happiness in my life by wearing a hamsa everyday and never going anywhere without an Ohio buckeye. The hamsa diverts bad luck and the buckeye brings good luck (according to my Ohio family). I will be sporting both this entire month. 
Here is a taste of what is in store for me this month.

1. Volunteering at the Chicago Architecture Foundation
2. Sign up for the Chitown Tennis League
3. Journalism class begins the 14th
4. Aquarium with Brian
5. Baseball Season
6. Spring

Freshness factor starts now!

welcome back,
cxs