Love on Every Calendar Day.

         The time has once again arrived ladies and gents. Yes, yes, Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. Whether you are married, single, in a relationship or just kind of confused about life, celebrate Valentine's Day with happiness and candy and tell someone you love them. However, know that there shouldn't be just one day a year to express how much someone means to you. Every day, at any moment should be special enough to tell those you care most about that you love them. So to the people I hold closest to my heart, I would like to give y'all a reminder of why y'all mean so much to me:

Mommy, I love that you are not only my mom, but my best friend. Thank you for letting me be a mama's girl and never giving up on me.

Grandma, I love that you are seriously the coolest person. You bowl, play Majong, and have more friends than I do. Thank you for being my number one fan even when I don't deserve it.

Sarah, I love that you know everything about me, yet still love me all the same. Thank you for loving me despite my imperfections.

Mariah, I love that you have such a zest for life and are so fabulous. Thank you for the fact you remind me of Beyonce. 

Annie, I love that you are my big, my best friend and confidant. Thank you for being the type of friend that I prayed I would find TCU.

Paige, I love that you have such a huge heart. Thank you for your friendship that reminds me how God works in ways that we least expect.

Tessa, I love that you love squirrels and that you scared me for the beginning of our friendship because you were so sassy.  Thank you for always listening. 

Bailey, I love that you are never afraid to tell me how it is. Thank you for showing me that being confident in yourself is so very beautiful.

Katherine, I love that you can always bring such a calmness to my heart. Thank you for being there for me. 

Lia, I love that you are Italian and therefore our bond is like none other. Thank you for being Italian, no seriously, you are great. 

Sarah, I love that you are are such a blessing in my life. Thank you for being like a sister to me.

So today, or tomorrow, or even on Valentine's Day, take a moment and tell those that mean the world to you why they matter and thank them for being who they are. Share the love.

Hope

What I love about the “Batman Trilogy” is also what I hate most about it. The social commentary that the writers expose the audiences to is chilling to watch play out on the screen. Last night, I attended the midnight premiere of “The Dark Night Rises,” and once again Christopher Nolan succeeded in drawing me in for two hours and 45 minutes. During this movie I sat there wondering if good would overcome evil, when at times I was losing hope in that good could prevail.

Now how silly can this be?  I tell myself, Christina, it is only a movie, stop tearing up when the bad guys are kicking the good guys down. But that’s the thing, the Batman movies draw you in. They make you wonder, can a whole city turn against its rich attempting to restore balance by taking from them and giving to the poor? Does this have to be done with murder, deceit and hatred? Now once again this is only Hollywood and yet you sit there thinking what is going to happen next, how will good triumph over evil? You wonder, how could a whole city come to hate their police department that has protected them for so many years? And most importantly, seriously, why can’t Gotham catch a break? First the Joker, now Bane.

So, we spend ten to twelve dollars to take an emotional and heroic ride through Gotham, drawn in by every gunshot and evil sinister move. I think it’s easy to talk about the evil and the bad guys when it comes a movie. Why wouldn’t it be? They are simply actors playing out a screenplay from a great DC comic. It’s all pretend and after the movie reel ends you can drive home and sleep safely in your bed. However, as I lay in bed last night, reading through my electronic newspaper, twitter, I thought it was a sick joke that someone would tweet that a shooting occurred in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Things like that don’t happen where you have loved ones. Things like this only happen in scripted movies where no one really gets hurt, right?

But that’s the thing, life isn’t written out like a screenplay. What happened in Aurora, Colorado simply breaks my heart and all this morning I am simply thankful for the safety of my friends. So many people bash on social media, and yes, I realize it has its flaws, but you cannot deny that it allows for people all over the U.S. and even the world to come together. Earlier this morning I tweeted, “We must not forget that although the there is so much good in this world, many of times we are faced with evil. I wish that made it okay. #prayingforaurora.” Thousands of tweets just like these have been tweeted and Facebook messages posted, sending love and support to the victims and their families devastated by this horrible tragedy.

I wish we had the answers to why these things happen. I’ve never been one to subscribe to the saying, “everything happens for a reason” because I just can’t allow that to be an excuse for why bad things happen to good people. For me I can only turn to the Lord for things like this. My good friend Paige even tweeted, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. #psalm34:18” My faith is what helps me through times such as these when I question why people must suffer at the hands of those who only bring suffering.

In our world today we do not have a billionaire named Bruce Wayne who protects of our cities. And even if we did, would we turn against him like Gotham did? As people, I believe super heroes fascinate us. Their strength, their cool gadgets and their ability to be against all odds and still defeat the bad guys makes us admire them. But like I have said, we don’t have any Batman’s running around the streets of Dallas. However, the one thing that Batman gives to the people of Gotham is hope. A hope that no matter how scared or abandoned they may feel, seeing the sign of the Batman helps them know that he hasn’t given up on them, if they haven’t given up on Gotham. We as people have hope like this but it doesn’t come from a man dressed in black leather. It comes from people all around the world grieving and showing compassion for the tragedy that occurred last night. It comes from people staying connected and becoming aware that this life is ours to live, but every moment must be cherished. We do not need super heroes to save us, when we have the love and compassion that brings us all together, giving us hope for a better tomorrow.

Lessons Learned

A year ago around this time, I was preparing to graduate high school. Ironically enough, even though a year has gone by since graduation, in some ways it feels like just yesterday. But since that time much has happened: I moved to Colorado for a year, survived my first snow in, showed Texas pride, cried when my Texas Rangers lost the World Series, and completed my first year of college as a honors nursing major. Here are some things I learned my freshman year of college:

1.     Moving away from home for college is hard, but it can be done. I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to realize I never have to be afraid to leave home because I can always come back. 

2.     The “Freshmen 15” is real. When do you get it? When you come home from breaks.. What’s up non-cafeteria food?

3.     Sometimes you are going to come across some people you just don’t like. Okay, that’s fine. But you better treat them with respect because they are still people. 

4.     Free food. Free shirts. Free money. Free, the best word you’ll probably hear in college.

5.     Just because you enter into college does not mean people are mature young adults. So many people still have a lot of growing up to do, but keep your head up. People are who they are. Just remember to remain hopeful. 

6.     That country song that says “you find out who your friends are” could not have been more right.  You lose some friends from high school but grow much closer to the ones who really matter.

7.     Communal showers, shower shoes, and shower bucket, all works of the devil.

8.     When you come home for breaks, your family usually acts like they have not seen you in years. Don’t despair. It’s wonderful. Plus you get to eat wherever you want.

9.     If you are planning on being best friends with your roommate, take a step back. People are not always what they seem and living with someone in a prison cell doesn’t always bring out the best in everyone.

10. Not good at painting nails? By the second semester you will be an expert because Heaven knows you cannot afford to get your nails done.

11. If you don’t go to Target or a frozen yogurt place at least once a week you might want to reevaluate your sanity.

12. Your professors want you to succeed. Some of the people I respected the most on campus and went to when I thought I was going to have a mental break down were my professors.

13. You reap what you sow. I mean with both schoolwork and friendships.

14. When you can, study with others. If you can afford to do that at Starbucks that has comfy chairs, go for it.

15. Getting involved on campus is by far the best thing you can do. Well, that and become friends with upperclassmen. They are pretty cool.

16. easybib.com OH MY GOSH

17. Some times you just have to let go of people that do not make you the best person you can be.

18. If you are not happy, do something about it and make a change.

19.  Remember who you are and what you have come from.

20. Don’t wish for time to fly by. One day you’ll be moving in, starting a whole new life and before you know it you’ll be packing it all up, moving back home. 

Easter.

So, here we are, three days before Easter. Three days from the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. No doubt, Easter is in the top five of my favorite holidays. Most of you will have a jam-packed service or mass and then spend the day with family and friends. For me, this Easter is unlike any other I have had. This Easter is the first one I will not be with my family. No worries, I was only depressed for about three days. Luckily, I am blessed enough to spend my Easter break with my friend Becca and her family. Her mom even got me an Easter basket! Are you judging me? Well, listen, there is nothing creepy about a very large bunny that comes into your house and hides eggs and baskets full of goodies while you sleep, which pretty much puts you in a sugar coma the next day. Oh wait.

One of the best memories of my childhood was an Easter egg hunt at my aunt’s and uncle’s home. I was probably 6 and there must have been over 200 hundred eggs in their backyard. And guess what? The eggs had money in them. Of course, at that age I probably wanted candy, but my siblings and I surely banked that day. OH I almost forgot that we all matched on the important holidays. You know, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter. Without a doubt, I am sure my sister and I were wearing floral puffy dresses that made it difficult to conquer the Easter egg hunt like a lady. As tradition would have it, my family and I walked to my aunt’s and uncle’s country club where we would have a Easter brunch. I am thankful for memories such as these.

When you are little it’s all about the candy, the bunny and the plastic pastel eggs when it comes to Easter. But as I am getting into my old age I am realizing that Easter isn’t about the chocolate bunnies or the three days we get off for school. It’s about spending time with family, being thankful that Jesus has risen. Along with this, it is the ending of the Lenten season. 40 days are over and now I can have Swedish Fish! Yes, yes let us all rejoice in the streets but not forget that every day we are able to focus on prayer and sacrifice.

Let us all remember the reason for our celebration this Sunday. I hope everyone has a blessed day especially to all my friends and family back home! Happy Easter y’all!

Angels on Flights

         So we all have little things in our lives that make us happy. For me, I have come to discover that flying makes me happy. I’m not talking that super woman status of flying, although I wish I could, but instead flying in an airplane. Going to school in Denver I am spending a lot more time in airports than I thought I would at this ripe age of 18. When at the airport I play this little game . . . with myself. At the gate I like to guess who will be sitting in first class. Of course it’s always the two 5 year olds, but that’s beside the point.
          When I am on the plane I always anxiously await who will sit by me. If we are being completely honest, I always hope that I get to sit by an army guy, specifically one that isn’t married. I’m human, what can I say? It has yet to happen, but I am not giving up hope quite yet. I have sat by countless business men who have no interest in speaking to me, a college student from CU, and a flight attendant from another airline (her remarks were quite funny, especially because we were flying American. SO many flaws, so little time). On one occasion I was even blessed enough to next to this precious French two year old. We played peekaboo for a solid 2 hours. I thought that was going to be my all time favorite passenger until I met a man of about 50 on my plane ride back to Denver.
          I was 27E and he was 27D. From the get go he struck up a conversation. My first thought was, I have SO much microbiology to study and if this guy thinks we are going to converse for the next two hours, he is nuts. I was shocked as this guy practically told me his life story. He had a 20 year old son and an 8 year old girl and worked for an oil rig company. His son went to LSU and evidently he is a nerd who wants to be pharmacist. He then told me that his wife battled with depression for the past 5 years and that at first he could not understand why she could not get over it, but he went to meetings, read books and worked with his wife to make her better. In case you wanted to know, his wife is a school teacher of 5th grade, and he told me he was happy she moved from 1st grade, because now she treats him like a 5th grader instead of a 1st grader. I also found out his nephew was the quarterback of LSU and will be going pro, but he won’t get any of that money. I found out all of this in a course of about five minutes. He was an open man to say the least. He then informed me that he was afraid of taking off, and I told him we could talk as long as need be.
          Well, when he was done with his life story he wanted to know more about me. I told him I was a nursing major at Regis University and I want to be a nurse practitioner. Now, what he told me after I informed him of my life goals first made me smile, and secondly I think made a difference in me. Ridiculous? Well, hold on before you pass judgment.
He told me that I seemed like a bright girl with a lot of potential. Let’s be honest, compliments from strangers are the best. Going off of this he told me that because of what I want to do with my life, when it comes to falling in love I deserve the very best and I should not settle. A direct quote: “You are going to be making good money. If he does not provide, if he does not know what he wants out of his life, kick him to the curb. You deserve the very best man.” He then went on to tell me that marriage is a beautiful thing and he used to think it was always going to be peachy keen, but with his wife having depression he discovered there is so much to fighting for the one you love.
          At this point I pretty much thought I was going to cry. I had had a really rough week and sometimes you just need someone to put things in perspective. He saw my microbio binder and said he wanted to tell me one more thing before he let me focus on studying. He said that he had been around the block a time or two and he wanted me to know that life is much too short to not enjoy every day and wake up happy and hopeful. He told me that if there are people in my life that do not make me the best person I can be, I needed to forget them because I am worth much more than that.
          He then put his headphones in and who knows where that man is now. I don’t subscribe to the idea that “everything happens for a reason,” but I know God put that man right next to me because he had some things I needed to hear.

Things My Mama Taught Me

        For the past 18 years of my life I have surely learned a lot. However, I did not learn it all on my own. I have been blessed with a mom who has such a huge place in my heart. Because of her, I am who I am today. Even though I went away for school we are closer than ever and I pray she knows I will always find a way to come back home to her. Here are a few of the things my mama  taught me:

1.     Always be honest and open.

2.     Believe in yourself.

3.     If you want something, work for it, not stopping till you get it.

4.     Never forget about your childhood. That love you had for Santa Clause can still exist today.

5.     Life is full of life lessons so go ahead and write them down in a book.

6.     You are strong. People will only bring you down because you allow them too.

7.     Be proud of who you have become, but do not be prideful when it comes to your actions.

8.     Having a bad day? Grab some Mod Podge, glitter, paper, ribbon and anything else you can imagine and create till you are happy.

9.     You deserve a man who makes you his priority. No games, no rollercoasters, just love that is real and true.

10. It’s okay to cry.

11. Forgiving and forgetting are too different things.

12. Inappropriate language is not becoming of you as a lady.

13. You are capable of getting through anything because God put certain people in your life for a reason.

14. Toms are the best traveling shoe.

15. You are loved because of who you are.

      My beautiful mom and me in front of naked statues in Spain. You know, the usual.

Life & Death

Today in Religion & the Human Quest my professor handed out this poem:

Reflection on Death-

Nothing can make up for the absence of someone we love,

And it would be wrong to try to find a substitute.

We must simply hold out and see it through.

That sounds very hard at first,

but at the same time it is a great consolation.

For the gap, as long as it remains unfilled,

Preserves the bond between us.

It is nonsense to say God fills the gap.

God does not fill it,

But on the contrary keeps it empty

            and so helps us to keep alive

            our former communion with each other

            even at the cost of pain.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I don’t know about you, but this poem certainly hit home for me. It has been 6 years since I tragically lost my Grandpa and for so long I wondered why God did not fill the gaps in my suffering heart. Now, it is not like this poem answers all my questions or makes me miss my grandpa any less. Instead, this poem allows me to look at missing someone who can no longer be with me in a more comforting light. We have all lost someone we have loved so dearly and wish were still here. Try to always remember that you are not alone.  For me, I go to my mom and grandma when I am missing my grandpa and we just laugh and smile about old memories and how things used to be. The pain is hard but reach out to others because most likely they are feeling the emptiness also.