I'VE MOVED!

Hey there!

So, you're probably wondering where I've moved to since the subject says that I've moved. Well, if you'd like to continue following me, my new link is https://alifethatsfilled.wordpress.com/ The blog is no longer called Redefined. but To the Brim. 

So come on over and check me out over on WordPress! Can't wait for you all to join me there! And if you like what you see, please make sure you press the Follow button on the top of the page, and if you'd like to get an email whenever I post, you'll see a Follow Blog Via Email place on the right side of the blog and you can just click that button (if you have a WordPress account) or you can fill in your information and you'll start receiving emails!

Thank you so much for always following and reading while I was here on Blogger. On to WordPress! :D

luv ya!

Mishy (^^) <3

*~.100TH POST CELEBRATION.~* + Some IMPORTANT News

WE'VE COME SO FAR. AND WE'VE MADE IT HERE.

Or, in the words of Drake, "Started from the bottom now we here."

GUYS. This is my 100th post! Absolutely insane! I know it seems like a small milestone to have 100 posts since I've been blogging for three years. You'd think I'd have more than that, but, as you can see from reading my blog, life is one C R A Z Y ride!

Really, this post is a celebration of many things. I'm celebrating...

The fact that I'm halfway done with my junior year of college. Which means that I am over halfway done with my college career. And it's exciting and scary and overwhelming and fabulous all at the same time. The semester went by so quickly. There were things I did right and things I realized I need to improve on. I learned so much: hard life lessons and things I've been continuing to grow in since my freshman year of college. God has definitely been faithful in sparing me from many things, but also allowing me to endure painful things in order to shape and mold me into who I am right now. 

CHRISTMAS BREAK. Finishing my semester means I'M OFFICIALLY ON BREAK! And it's one of the best feelings in the world to wake up in the morning and realize you don't have to study, go to class, or work on academic projects. 

CHRISTMAS. Obviously, if I'm on Christmas break, we'll be celebrating Christmas at some point LOL. This is one of my favorite times of the year because it's just more celebrating: of the coming of Jesus, the Savior of the world; of family and tradition; of the cherishing of friends; of all the good food college kids get to enjoy for three weeks :D. So much to be grateful for!

100 posts. This really blows my mind because when I first started this blog, I wasn't sure if it'd survive past my freshman year of college. And here we are at my junior year with 100 posts, including the blog title-change under my belt. And it's been absolutely great. I'm not a huge blogger with a fancy website and millions of followers, but I'm simply grateful to see that people even look at my posts. And I thank you all for being so willing to read everything I've written so far.

New beginnings. 2014 is almost over, and I cannot believe it. In many ways, I feel like it's still 2013. Time is going by so quickly, and I want to cherish every moment that I have. One thing I struggle with during Christmas break is doing absolutely nothing because I've been going non-stop for three-and-a-half months straight at school. But I want to use every opportunity I have to do the things I haven't been able to do during the semester, like read books for pleasure, write, blog, hand-wash my clothes (only some of them, haha). I don't wanna wait until the new year rolls around for that. I wanna start now.

"The Times They are A-Changing"

Who said the above quote?....

With 100 posts here already, I've been faced with a decision. Honestly, I've been debating about this for a while now, and I wasn't sure when the right time to do this was.

Don't worry, I'm not going to stop blogging. If anything, though, I'm thinking about making the switch: from Blogger to WordPress. It may not seem like a big deal to you all, but I've been trying to do my research about moving all of my archives and things to WordPress, and I figure since I've got 3 weeks of time on my hands, I can work on moving my blog there.

Blogger has treated me well these past 2.5 years of blogging. Despite small technical difficulties, it's been easy to use. I've gone back and forth about waiting until I finished my college career to turn to WordPress when I was ready to take my blogging seriously. But I take my blogging seriously now, I thought to myself. And I do. There are just gaps in my postings because of school. If blogging was my life, ahh, how awesome would that be?

I honestly feel like it's time to make the switch now. I'm craving something new, exciting, and fresh.So, as we speak, I've got tabs up online to start the process. With this change in web address, I'm thinking of yet another change in blog name. You may be thinking, What?! Again??? I hate to put you through it again, but my thought process is constantly changing. And while I have been redefined, I've just been thinking about my life overall and how it is so full because God has given me so much. He's allowed so many things to occur in my life to shape and mold me, to cause me to grow. To bring me joy and comfort.

So I am prepared for a new link, a new name, and a new theme. And I'm hoping y'all will be willing to make the move with me! This is all so exciting, even though I know it's going to require me to do a lot of work. 

I'll definitely post the new link here (I think I'll still be able to do that...right? LOL still a lot to learn), and if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, the link will definitely be there too! I'll make sure to make an obvious announcement. :) I'm thinking I'll probably launch the new site on New Year's Day to bring in new beginnings and resolutions and such!

I love you all and hope that this change in everything isn't going to completely confuse you. If you choose to stop reading, that's okay too! I do appreciate all that my readers do to spread the word and the love around. You all have been amazing and wonderful!

Hope the holidays have been great for you all! I know it can be a hard time for some people with different circumstances. Praying that you all find true joy in the people and things that are surrounding you!


luv ya! Merry Christmas!
Mishy (^^) <3

Pierce the Veil and Sleeping with Sirens: The World Tour

GUYS.

So, I went to Nashville with my sister this past Friday, Nov. 14th for The World Tour with Pierce the Veil and Sleeping with Sirens.

OMG. JUST. OMG.

First of all, shoutout to my grandparents, who graciously dropped the rest of their day to come to me and my sister's rescue and take us to Nashville. We went through so. many. things. To try to get there, guys. First, Kae'sha's car wouldn't start. Then my friend Simon's car wouldn't start. Everyone was leaving for the soccer game at Emory that night and other friends I knew who had cars were going places and such.

It was crunch time. We had to find a ride to this thing! Thankfully, Nashville is an hour behind our time, so we still had a good amount of time to find a ride.

And lo and behold, the grandparents stepped in and went on a date in Nashville after they dropped us off for the Meet & Greet line. Heck yes. MEET. AND. GREET. My sister and I have never really had VIP Access to something like this, so it was going to be exciting.

Now, let me just go ahead and say, I've been to concerts before, but they were more like conferences with concerts embedded into them. I think the only real concert I've been too was a TobyMac concert in high school and, dude, we had some nosebleed seats. It was still a good concert tho. But it was nothing like what I experienced last that night.

So, my first concert that I was SUPER pumped to go to. So that means I'm not one of those people who goes to almost every single PTV or SWS or OM&M concert that ever happens. There's nothing wrong with those people at all, in fact, I wish I could afford and have time to be one of those people. So, needless to say, I wasn't really expecting what happened that night.

Here are some experiences I had in the 7-hour concert period:

1. Met some people in line who knew EXACTLY how my sister and I were feeling. See, I can fangirl hard if I really want to, but I wasn't going to that night because nobody wants to deal with crazy, screamy fangirls. And some girls in line were supa chill and we just bonded over how PTV and SWS are just too freakin' awesome.
2. THE MEET & GREET. I tried SO HARD not to freeze up when I was getting my picture taken with them. But for Sleeping with Sirens, all I could say, was "thank you" and with Pierce the Veil, I gave Vic a BIG HUG and told them that I loved them so much, to which Vic replied, "We love you too!" My heart. Also, the fact that Jaime pointed out that I matched my Converse to my sweater and Vic said I had it all together made my night. So, that effort I put into matching is noticeable...lol
   
   
   
   
3. LOST: warm white coat and SIGNED PTV/SWS poster: yeah. that happened. And I was really upset that I lost my poster. More on this later...
4. When everyone else around you jumps, YOU JUMP. Vic yelled, "JUMP!" and I wasn't planning on jumping because, c'mon, there was no room for any of that. But when you're so squished to people that you literally cannot move and they all decide to jump...you best believe you WILL jump, whether you like it or not LOL
5.  I found out what mosh-pitting ISN'T. There were so many times people tried to start a mosh-pit, but what resulted was either A. we all just got more squished in together or B. There would be a circle with guys and pushing each other in and out, some pushing to try to start something, others pushing to say, "PLEASE. JUST. STOP."
6. ADVANTAGE: Being so squished that your arm rests upon the shoulders of someone and you're able to take pix/vids of Pierce the Veil on stage. Yeah.
7. SHOUT OUT TO THE SECURITY PEEPS. Cause after the concert I was searching for my puffy white coat, and they were up front with a whole bunch of clothes, asking if anyone was missing any of them. And my coat sat in the midst of it all. So, white coat = retrieved. Dirty and gross, but retrieved. Those guys do their job well. Two thumbs up for you dudes.
8. Post-concert state? My diaphragm was hurting so much from screaming that my back was hurting too. My legs were sore from standing. I was afraid my calves were going to cramp up because I was on my tiptoes for so long trying to take pictures and breathe. And today? I just ached all over, and I felt like I was in some sort of daze all day. But I'm okay haha. The concert was totally worth it!

Tips for Concert-ing

DO NOT wear a hoodie or long-sleeve shirt. I wore my PTV sweater because it's probably one of my favorite articles of clothing that I own and I wanted to meet them as I wore something that had their faces/name on it. That being said, I should have changed into a t-shirt afterwards, because as soon as This Wild Life was done and Beartooth came on stage, I felt like I was gonna have a heat-stroke and I was fighting to get my sweater off me (I had a shirt on underneath, no worries).

Bring your own water bottle. I know, it's awful to bring anything to concerts, but if you're gonna bring a bag with your wallet or cell phone or whatever, pack some water so you don't have to pay money for it. Cause I cannot express how H O T it gets in there, man. 

HOLD ONTO YOUR SIGNED POSTER FOR DEAR LIFE. Or this'll happen...

It was rolled up and held together by one of my hair ties in my bag and with all the pushing and shoving, it slipped out and was crushed underneath the feet of hundreds of fans. I was upset that I had lost it. Souvenirs rock, man.

But after retrieving my puffy white coat from the security guys, my sister looks down and asks, "Is that it?" And I look down to see my poster all folded up, torn up, creased in a million places, and still tied together by my hair tie. A pure hot mess.

Notice in the picture how I still have it up in my dorm room though. See, my old perfectionist-self would have probably cried seeing my precious, signed poster damaged like this. But I looked at it and was so grateful that I had even found it in mostly one piece that I took it with me, determined to straighten it out as much as I could and put it up in tha dorm.

And shoot, it doesn't look too bad. In fact, it gives it some character. And the signatures are still legible so YAY.

Even though you've rehearsed what you're gonna say to the bands you meet, you most likely still won't say it. BUT THAT'S OKAY. It could still turn out to be awesome. Since SWS and PTV have been touring for a while, I'm gonna assume that they've encountered ALL TYPES of fans and know how to handle it. And shoot, they were such sweet guys, super humble. That's what's up.

Hair DOWN for Meet & Greet pix, hair UP for the concert. I cannot stress this enough. Y'all know what my hair looks like, right? Well, it went from totally decent human being, to cave-woman in a matter of minutes. Imagine a mane like mine getting pulled by hundreds of fans during this concert...OUCH.

It's not always fun being in the front. I was in the front (sorta) for Pierce the Veil's concert. It was fun and stuff, even though I was constantly getting shoved and elbowed and whatnot. I was able to get some okay pictures, like so... (***DISCLAIMER: I am definitely not a pro-photographer, and being pushed around doesn't help picture-taking. But these I think are the best photos I got of Vic. And it's not that Vic is my favorite of the group, I just couldn't really turn myself so I couldn't get pics of Jaime or Tony :( Mike is in the back of some of these though. El Fuentes Hermanos for tha WIN.)

And after Pierce the Veil's concert, I was totally parched and I felt like I really needed some air. Some girls were trying to shove themselves to the front, and I figured I'd let them have my standing spot and I'd go in search for some water with my sister. And then we decided we'd just stand in the semi-back for Sleeping with Sirens' concert because there was no way we were gonna fight that crowd for close spots LOL.

And these are the pix of SWS I got from standing in the semi-back:

Shout out to my sister's camera cause it was so dang good that pictures still looked decent, even from the semi-back of the crowd. And so, standing in the front isn't always the best, and standing in the back isn't too shabby either. 

Enjoy the moment. I'm setting a bad example here with all the pictures, but someone expressed to me how they read an article from a musician's point of view about seeing a sea of cell phones and cameras during their show and how it really bothered them that the audience was watching them through their screens and not actually being present. That thought hit me while I was at this concert, so I tried limiting myself to a few pictures and videos here and there. Because ultimately, the video isn't going to sound as good as the concert itself. So stand there and watch the actual show. Be present in that moment and enjoy it. 

STRETCH AFTERWARDS. I'm still sore from the concert after I stretched my arms and legs afterwards. I don't wanna think how stiff I could have been had I not. I know, it's weird to think that you should stretch after a concert, but if you've jumped, danced, or head-banged, then I advise you to. 

And here I am. Back on campus, extremely tired, but extremely grateful that my sister and I were able to go to the concert, thanks to my grandparents. I had an amazing time. Oh! And I got some sweet merch that I get to wear on campus...

 

Post-concert depression is totally a thing, just so ya know.

Also, This Wild Life is officially my fall/winter soul music. Seriously, I'm so glad I was introduced to those guys during the concert, cause they ROCK!

Hope y'all have a great week! I think my last month of the semester is gonna be INTENSE. Trying not to freak out over here LOL.

luv ya!
Mishy (^^) <3 

My Purpose as an English Major, Writer, Blogger

Hey y'all.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about who I am, mostly as an English major and writer, and honestly, it's been very discouraging. I've felt kind of out of place within my major when it comes to literature classes and even writing classes.

I'm currently in a Shakespeare class that makes me feel inferior to my classmates because I can't grasp concepts within the plays we read. I know that you're placed in a class to learn things you don't know, but it's hard to listen to other English majors understand themes and such within plays while I float around and wonder, How in the world did they notice those things?

And even though I'm not taking any writing classes, I've just been wondering about the way I write for academic papers, for fun, and even for this blog. I'm following a lot of passionate, well-versed writers on Twitter, and am in AWE of how well they can communicate their thoughts through poetry, prose, and other projects they're working so diligently on.

The comparison game sucks, I've said this before, but I can't help but compare my blog and my writings to those who are able to write something every day or work on major writing projects. I feel so behind in my writing game, and I feel like blogging about my life isn't offering anything to anyone out there. I sat and thought, Who wants to sit and read about my life when they can just go out and live their own? What makes me think that people will want to read this? What do I offer in writing my own story?

Thinking about these things is hard, and I've had to delve into the truth of why I do what I do. Why do I blog? Why do I want to write for the rest of my life?

I'm realizing more and more that I am interested in other people's stories and lives. That it intrigues me how vastly different my life can be from their's, despite small similarities or common interests. I find that I learn so much more through listening to someone's life story. 

And maybe that's why I blog about my life. Because there are things within my life, whether they be mistakes or amazing life-changing events, that someone else out there can relate to. Maybe they haven't gone through it personally, but they may have a friend who has or maybe they're in a similar situation, and reading what I have to say comforts them in knowing they aren't the only one going through something.

Maybe I blog to be a testimony. To show others out there the struggles of a young Christian woman, who doesn't have it all figured out, who struggles with many things (sometimes the same things repeatedly), and who is desperately reaching out for Jesus to take hold of her life completely. 

I tore myself and my blog apart (figuratively, not literally) because I felt like I wasn't offering anything to people, like I wasn't rallying a movement for people to follow their dreams or to get them to feel loved or encouraged. 

But ya know, my blog is what I make it. At this point in my life, being a junior in college and trying to balance my studies, work, and social life takes a lot of time and effort. I definitely try to blog when I can, especially when something has been placed on my heart to write.

But this is where God has me right now. Sure, right now I may not have time or even resources to promote my blog, to make it more appealing to the eye, to make it something more to my readers. But it's what I've been given, what I've created, what I've held onto since my freshman year of college. And I am going to be grateful for it, no matter how insignificant I feel this blog is.

Because I really don't know how it's been affecting people. All I see are numbers and stats. I don't see the changing of people's hearts, the smiles on their faces. 

My purpose isn't to be one of the best writers, English majors, or bloggers. It isn't to prove anything to anyone or to even get numerous compliments or hits on my posts. It's to use what I've been given by my Heavenly Father - the gift of writing - to express my life and the world and people around me to bring them closer to Him.

It's not about me and what I can write or say or do to my blog to make it more appealing or more professional. But it's about using what I have to bring glory to God.

And so, this is the space. These are the things God has given me to work with.

And without playing the comparison game, getting discouraged, or depending on myself, I will write.

Fall Break

I'm sitting in my dorm room, trying to put some music on my phone so I can make some space (storage probz, it's a struggle!) I'm also listening to some great KPOP music I hadn't heard in a while (like Royal Pirates. Aww man, I've missed them so much! Reminds me of spring semester of sophomore year!)

Hopefully, after this I can get some other work done...like homework.

I'm not going to say that I haven't been productive. I mean, I've watched some movies we've been meaning to watch for weeks, and I've been doing some great relaxing. I have started on my homework a little bit, and while I'm waiting on Bria to get ready, I'm trying to do what I can while I'm on campus.

So, I returned some work keys that I should have returned before the summer was over and I found my lost pea coat (an essential for this fall weather coming in). And now, I'm blogging and I'll probably look at some internships while I'm at it. I do need to go to my grandparent's house today though, so I can feed the cats I'm pet-sitting over the break and get some homework done so we can possibly go thrifting today.

Honestly, I'm pretty positive that I won't get all the things I wanted to get done on fall break done. I thought four days would be enough time, but I'm starting to see the time slip away. 

But I just wanted to write in here to let you all know that I'm still alive haha. This semester is flying by so quickly! October is more than halfway over, and before I know it Thanksgiving break will be here. SO CRAZY.

Also, I wanted to let y'all know that Bria and I have an idea that we're thinking about putting into action soon. We may have to wait until next semester so we could work things out during our Christmas break, but I'm hoping maybe we can get this idea going before then. We'll see. But I'm asking that you pray for us as we try to work this thing out. 

I hope those of you on fall break are having a relaxing time! And if you're in school or work today, I pray the Lord gives you strength and motivation to do your best in whatever you've got going on today!

Love you all! I'll be here again, hopefully sooner than Thanksgiving break!

luv ya!
Mishy (^^)

My Mission

"Humans need a mission that is BIGGER than us."

The quote above was said by my pastor two weeks ago after he had shown us this beautiful video he'd watched from his Facebook feed. The video portrayed a young Asian boy stealing from a pharmacy to have medicine for his sick mother. As the pharmacist threw the boy out and yelled at him, the man who owned a small restaurant across the street went over to them and paid the pharmacist the amount for the medicine the boy had stolen. He also asked his daughter to put some soup in a Styrofoam cup ,and he gave it to the boy, who ran away without saying even a thank you. 

Skip 30 years later...

The same man and his daughter are still working in their family owned restaurant, and the man is still giving food to the people who are in need. Suddenly, he has a heart attack and is placed in the hospital. His daughter is given the bills, and she is afraid she'll have to sell the restaurant her family has owned for years.

When she goes to visit her father, she receives a letter, and the letter explains that all of the hospital bills have been taken care of because of some medicine and a cup of soup given thirty years ago. The doctor was that little boy, thirty years ago.

Really heart-warming, right?

Pastor Ritchie explained that after watching that, we all feel like we need to get out there and do something. We all want a mission for our life. But that mission needs to be bigger than us.

When I heard the quote above, I began to think about my own life. Honestly, I've been feeling really comfortable with where I am. Sure, there are still difficulties in life, but there hasn't been anything that has shattered my world. And so, I'm comfy. I get up every day, go to my classes and work shifts, do my homework, have some "me time", go to Zumba or some other event that's scheduled, take a shower and go to bed. 

It's been a busy, but great few first weeks of my junior year in college, but despite my comfort, I feel so empty. And I've realized that it's because my mission is limited to myself. I do all I do in a day to survive so I can get to the next day, the next weekend, the next week. Not once have I stopped and thought, "Today, everything I'm going to do is going to be for God, and not for myself and my own comfort."

After talking with Bria, I am convinced that I need to challenge myself daily to do all I do that day to glorify God. Whether it's sitting in class and giving my full attention, listening instead of speaking when a friend needs to talk, or reading my shelves in the library, my main mission is to do all that I can to glorify God with what He's blessed me with. And that's is SO MUCH.

Also two weeks ago, our chaplain spoke a message that I definitely needed to hear.

Notice that there is something crucial missing in my list of things that I do during my day: spending time with the Lord. I know it's an important part of my life, but I always have that excuse: "I'm so busy."

Chaplain Lowe spoke today on us being sheep and Jesus being the shepherd, which most Christians have read in the Bible or heard in a sermon before. But what he said was so true, and it opened my eyes to a different perspective. We were reminded that, yes, we are to follow Jesus, our Shepherd, our Savior when He calls. But when He calls, do we listen? Do we know what the voice of our Savior sounds like?

Now, obviously, we cannot physically hear His voice, but even when we are making decisions and going about our day, can we hear Him? Chaplain Lowe said that the only way we can know His voice is if we know Him. And the only way you get to know someone is to spend time with them.

His message convicted me so much. One quote that struck me was this: "We cannot follow Him, if we do not know Him."

And I sat there in my desk (because we were in chapel overflow then in a classroom), asking myself, "Do I really know God? I haven't been spending time with Him every day, in fact, it's been a while. And even when I do spend time with Him, I feel like I haven't been fully paying attention. How am I supposed to know what His voice sounds like and know where He is leading me?"

Such deep questions I need to continue to ask myself on a daily basis. Lately, when I've been reading my Bible, I feel like I'm not getting anything out of it. Not that every time we read our Bible we should have some strong revelation or conviction, but I felt like I couldn't hear the Holy Spirit speaking to me. And it isn't God's fault, it's mine. My head has been so clouded with things I need to do, things I want to do, thoughts surrounding people and events and other things. I have truly not been focused on the Word at all. And that scares me so much.

I want to get back to where my focus was on what I needed to be focusing on. I feel like I've strayed so far from the voice of God that it isn't even a whisper to me anymore. And so, on top of dedicating my days to living them for the Lord and not for myself, I am wanting to just sit in silence with no distractions (phone, school work, etc.), and I just want to read my Bible and focus on God. Because He is worth the time I have. I should be excited to get to know my Heavenly Father more. And yet I see reading my Bible as some type of chore or as a thing I do very first thing in the morning at breakfast because it's what I'm supposed to be doing.

It shouldn't be a forced thing.

I want to get to know God so that I can know His voice, so when He calls me to do something I will do it and I will do it for His glory and not for my own personal gain here on earth. 

My mission is going to be bigger than me. And I challenge you to have a mission that is bigger than you!

To Explain the Post Before This One...

Hey guys!

Wow, it's kinda late, I actually should be taking a shower and going to bed right now. BUT! I joined this thing called bloglovin' that allows you to view ALL OF THE BLOGS YOU FOLLOW IN ONE PLACE. How cool is that?

I know that this is definitely going to help me keep track of all the blogs I follow. I feel like I usually get lost and don't have time to go through each and every website separately and read them all.

So! The post before this one with the random gibberish on it was just to confirm that I am officially on bloglovin'! So, join the community and follow me! You'll get updates immediately when I post something. And there's even a convenient app! YAY!

So, there's a button on the top right that says, "Follow me on bloglovin'!" And you can just click that and follow me there. You'll probably have to make a sign up, but it only requires your email.

Sweet! Hope you guys are able to take advantage of this convenient little network! I gotta bounce, I have to go to breakfast with a friend and then class in the morning (but not 'til 10am! Teehee!)

luv ya!
~ Mishy

BLOGLOVIN'

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12882629/?claim=9jxsyukczdm">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

Do y'all remember that movie with Lindsay Lohan, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen? I have never watched it, but I have watched the "Drama Queen (That Girl)" music video that played on Disney Channel before! 

Anyways, I don't know about you guys, but when I get stressed out, I get STRESSED OUT.

Seriously, I wasn't really aware of how negative, frustrated, and honestly annoying I become when I get stressed out until recently. I can only shake my head in shame, embarrassed that my friends and family have had to deal with my unacceptable attitude for so long. And I am so sorry for all of the times I've been like that (and there are many times, especially during the school year, because college is sometimes just flat out stressful, ya know?).

When Bria moved in about a week ago, she gave me a dark blue focus stone that had the word PEACE written on it. She explained to me that she gave me this stone because she knew that when I get stressed out, I tended to freak out and have unrealistic thoughts about how impossible life was and such.

I'll be honest - when she told me that, I was grateful for the stone and I knew that what she said was the truth (because Bria does nothing but tell it like it is, just like Caylin), but my pride got in the way of truly seeing the monster I was capable of becoming.

I thought to myself: Freak out? I mean, sure, I did that my first semester sophomore year, but I've gotten better since then. My life isn't easy, but I think I handle stress all right.

Haha, those of you who know me personally and read that above sentence probably laughed and thought of a recent instance when I freaked out and you had to calm me down or got annoyed with me for being so dramatic. But that was my pride overtaking my mind, thinking that I had my emotions and such all together, when really, I'm still a mess.

Last night, I was talking to Bria and Taylor about a frustrating situation I was going to have to deal with in the upcoming weeks. With school starting tomorrow, plus work study, and everything else involved in that, I was stressed out that this certain situation was even happening to me. The frustration rose within me, and I thought of all the horrible things that would encompass this bump in the road on my journey this school year.

And as I spoke to them, I could see this look on their faces - it was the same look that kinda looked like fear. Now, I knew they weren't afraid of me...I wasn't going to start throwing stuff or anything. But they knew that when I got frustrated and stressed out, I just wasn't myself. I would trade my positive lens that I had for the world for a negative one, and only see the negative things that occurred in my life. And my friends were fearful of me doing that (at least, that's the vibe I got).

So, Bria, Taylor, and I prayed together last night - about this school year, the new students, the returning students, our hall, Caylin, and our own personal requests. As Taylor lifted up my stressful situation, I realized how big of a deal I was making it when really, it was just a small "detour" I had to take in the road of life. Of course, it was kind of inconvenient and a tad bit frustrating, but it wasn't destroying my world.

And here I am, sitting here writing this post and thinking about how I reacted last night and completely embarrassed that I even have the reputation to freak out over such small things. What an awakening to me. My friends have mentioned my freak outs to me before, but I would just brush it off, thinking they were blowing things out of proportion or just joking around with me to try to get a rise out of me.

But now, I see it as a major problem. I claim to have faith in Jesus Christ, who overcame death and saved me from my sins, and yet, when I go through hard times, I throw a fit and look at nothing but negativity. I've been given so much but am totally blind to it when something tough comes my way. And I am nothing but ashamed and repentant of my actions and attitudes to lean more toward panic than trust.

So along with my "learning to love people the way Christ loves me" goal this year, I am going to be praying that the Lord gives me the wisdom to depend on Him when things don't go the way I plan them to. This is going to be really difficult for me, I already know. But if I can live out 1 Peter 5:7 ("Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.") in my daily life, going through the hard process of learning will totally be worth it. I know that because I'm human, I'm going to slip up and get stressed out to the point of freaking out again at some point. But I want to grow in trusting my Savior with EVERYTHING.

In conclusion, I'm going to tell you of two songs I listen to when I get stressed out. They remind me of who God is and how much I can trust Him. They're "Well, All Right" and "I Am" by CeCe Winans. I've probably already mentioned these songs before, but just to recap: They are really old songs (I can remember listening to them when I was in like kindergarten), but now that I am older, I can understand the meaning of them and apply them to my life. And it is so beautiful to be reminded that God is "I Am" and He is "all that I need."

And so, I will begin my junior year tomorrow with the first day of classes, clinging to the hope that I have in Christ and fully letting go of whatever is bothering me, worrying me, or stressing me out. And also realizing that I cannot do this alone, but am in full need of the Holy Spirit to do this through me.

Love you guys! Hope to continue blogging during the school year, but there's no guarantee since college is always so busy! But please, feel free to meet me here and email me {use the Contact Me! forum on the right side of this page. It's near the top!} and ask how I'm doing! I should have time to write out a reply for ya! :)

luv ya!
~ Mishy (^^) <3

WHOA. - An Update + My Main Focus for My Junior Year of College.

So, this past week has been pure CHAOS. Beautiful, time-consuming chaos.

Last Friday was my last time working at in the Facilities department at my school. It was a great day. I definitely miss the people I work with, but thankfully most of them go to school with me and live on campus so that's awesome!

I moved in that Sunday night and setup my side of the room because the next day I started O-Team (Orientation Team) training. It's been an exhausting week, but it's also been filled with excitement! I've gone to meetings, met up with my Core Team, gone out to eat, planned things, helped move new students on campus in, etc.

Even though I've been so busy with everything going on at my school, I've been so amazed at how awesome it all has been. Already I can see God working in the lives of the leaders, the new students and their families, the entire campus really. And it is so wonderful!

All of that is seriously the tip of the iceberg. There is so much that I've learned within this past week that I'd love to write about and tell you all about, but I can't really explain it all. To be honest, I haven't really processed it all. 

There is however, a main theme I'm focusing on this year that I wanna share with y'all...and that is LOVE.

We see it everywhere, whether it's among family, friends, couples, etc. But I wanna focus on love within the body of Christ. Right now, especially, on my college campus. I have witnessed and have been an example of so much judgment, ostracism, and dislike toward one another. And yet we say we are the body of Christ and that we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

I'm definitely not saying that we can't have different likes and interests, but we shouldn't have hatred toward each other just because someone dresses differently, has different music tastes, lives in a certain building, or hangs out with a certain group of people. I've been thinking a lot about how much I, myself, have judged people around me. And yet, I don't want to be judged by anyone else.

And so, I am praying that the Lord just guides me in loving the people around me more. I know it's going to be super hard and I'm going to be presented with more opportunities to learn to love. But I am also praying that the Lord prepares my heart for those opportunities. 

I am SO EXCITED for this year, guys. Like you have no idea! 

I hope you all are doing well! So sorry I haven't been present lately! I know some of you have already started school again and some of you are starting soon. I start this upcoming Thursday! Ahh, I'm not sure if I'm ready for that! But I'll be praying that the Lord keeps you as you start school and that He would just show you what areas you need to grow in to become more like Him!

I love you all! I'll talk to you soon, hopefully!

luv ya!

~ Mishy. <3

P.S. My REVAMP posts will be on hiatus for the school year (my friends and I have gotten most of the things we've needed to complete our revamps) UNLESS someone wants to email me their own personal revamp, I'm totally willing to post it during the year! :D 

I'm Still Here!

Hello, August.

I can't believe summer is almost over. It went by faster than I expected! Well, lemme update y'all on what's been going on with me. I know I've been silent lately, and trust me, I haven't abandoned the REVAMP project!

I, my sister, and a friend of ours drove 6 hours back to my hometown last Saturday. It was my first time driving all the way back home. The trip went well, and I was DEAD by the time we arrived.

We weren't here for just one week of solid vacation time...well, at least I wasn't. I had jury duty this week, and was called in on Monday. I hoped that that would mean that I served for just one day and I would have time to do whatever I wanted the rest of the week. 

And God was gracious enough to grant me my week of vacation! I only served on Monday, and the rest of the week the courthouse didn't need to have ANY jurors! Talk about a blessing!

So, I've been at home, getting things done like renewing my driver's license, changing my residential address, and getting my hair cut. Guys, my hair is so short compared to what it was! I'm pretty sure I've never had it so short before, and it'll take time to get used to it. But I'm excited to try something different! I may post a picture of my hair for the next REVAMP post haha!

Anyways, so this week has been filled with business matters, fun at the beach, seeing friends from high school. It's been a great week of vacation away from cleaning the campus. But I'm not ready to go back! LOL

But I only have two weeks of work left! And then I move back on campus and start O-Team training! AHH! How is time going by so fast??

I plan on doing as much blogging as I can for the rest of the summer, and I'm really going to try my hardest to keep the blog updated during the school year. No promises though! I don't know what this school year is going to hold, and I'll be a JUNIOR, so I may be SUPER busy. But we shall see!

Well, today's the last day at home. We are leaving bright and early tomorrow so we don't have to hit any major traffic on the road. Pray for us as we travel! :) I'm going to miss this place, but I'm happy to know that I can still come here when I have breaks and stuff.

I hope everyone's had a great couple of weeks! Summer is so close to ending, so do what you've always wanted to do! Have as many adventures as you can before school starts back up again! I pray that the Lord will bless the rest of your summer!


luv ya!
~ Mishy (^^) <3

REVAMP '14! #4

What up, what up?!

I hope y'all have had a great weekend so far! My weekend's been great: this has been the first full-weekend I've had in like 3 weeks. Nothing but R&R and hanging out with friends and such!

So there wasn't a REVAMP post last week due to my life's craziness and extreme exhaustion, but I am here to make sure there is one for this week! :D Let's get started...

Caylin's EP Outfit

In a few previous posts, I think I mentioned that Caylin will be recording an EP soon. She's recording it this week, in fact!! And recently, she did a photo shoot for it, and I have to say that I think the pictures look great! We'll only be focusing on one outfit that she wore though, so here it is:

At some point this summer, I exclaimed, "VA-VA-VOOM!" to express something that was fabulous. That exclamation totally applies here! For the revamp, Caylin wanted to focus on her leggings and jacket.

The leggings she's wearing are from Target. I checked the online price and it is currently $12. I need to hop on getting some leggings myself! :)

Her denim jacket with faux leather sleeves is from Belk. The current online price is $50. 

I don't know about you, but just seeing this picture for Caylin's EP is getting me even more excited for the EP itself! (^^)

Bria's Black Drapey Shorts

Ooooo, drapey shorts...

TBH, I thought this was a skirt when I first saw the picture! (^^')

Here's what Bria thinks about them:

Alright, so these shorts are fun. I like to wear them with a tucked in shirt and a belt. They're comfortable, and they're from Old Navy. But, the material wrinkles very easily.  They're part of the Revamp because I needed some new shorts. Sorry, I don't have an actual picture of a whole outfit.

I did a little research and saw that the current online price for these shorts are $24.97 and they actually come in 3 different styles: blackjack, navy paisley, and teal print. Bria owns them in blackjack. 

My Flower-Printed Romper and Black Wedge-Heels

This romper is just too cute. I remember seeing these and thinking to myself that I could never pull one off. But after seeing so many people of different shapes and sizes wear them, I decided I could at least try one out. So I bought this flower-printed romper at Forever21. And I love it! It's a little formal, but still comfy, a great item to wear if you're going out with some friends and you wanna dress up but not be too fancy. The wedge heels were a must for me because ***confession time: I'm the type of girl that just cannot walk in heels. Ask Bria. She's tried coaching me in the art of high-heel walking whenever we have the chance to wear heels, and I've gotten it down slightly, but not fully. I do wish I could walk in heels, but they're just not my type. So! Wedges are my next option if I wanna wear a formal shoe, be able to walk normally, be comfortable and still add some height. And these wedges are perfect for all of those things! They are Mossimo Supply & Co. size 6.5 Sylvia black wedges from Target. 

Small little thing I learned with this whole revamp thing: I buy my shoes a half-size too big. Or at least, I used to until I realized that buying a size 6.5 shoe instead of a size 7 fit me better! I have one foot that fits a 6.5 shoe and the other one fits a 7 shoe, but size 6.5 seems to be better for both in the case of these wedge heels. I'll have to see what I have to do when I buy Converse... :)



Another REVAMP post for the books! I hope that these posts have been interesting for you and have given you another perspective of my life! I'm still looking for more people to join in on this, so please, if you're interested in being featured in these posts, email me!!!! The "Contact Me" forum on the top right is available! Or shoot me an email to mishruss94@gmail.com ! I'd love to see more of my readers/followers get involved in this! It doesn't matter if you're doing a revamp or not. If you love what you wear or are planning on changing your style, you can be a part of the REVAMP posts! :D

I, of course, plan on posting another one of these next weekend, but if it doesn't happen, don't be alarmed. I'll be doing some traveling and may be too exhausted to get a post in, but I will definitely try my hardest!

Hope everyone's weekend was fantastic and that this week proves to be even more so!

luv ya!
~ Mishy (^^) <3

Sweet Tea #6

Wow, I've been so busy with the new REVAMP segment and with work and other life things that I haven't been able to sit down with y'all to have a glass of SWEET TEA! Let's fix that...

My Life

Many of you have probably seen the "my summer so far..." tweets on Twitter? Well, they are pretty accurate. Literally, "my summer so far.." has been this...

...or this...

BUT! I've had some really good times this summer, despite work and the occasional "What should we do today?" Surprisingly, I've gone to the pool only 3 times this summer (last summer, the pool was like my life), but I've watched so. many. movies. Movies I never thought I'd watch, like scary movies (What?!) and sci-fi, action movies (like Star Trek and The Amazing Spiderman). So, I haven't completely drowned my summer in work and boredom haha.

My spiritual life has been, to be honest, just okay. There's always room for improvement when it comes to this, and it's so hard to stick to the daily devotional even though I have like all the time in the world after work. But it's never easy. I definitely need to pick up my Bible more than I have been, and pray more often. The school year is fast approaching and good gracious, I am excited, but I feel so unprepared! Something to talk to my Heavenly Father about :)

Speaking of the school year, I need to keep reading the Shakespeare plays for my Shakespeare class and also try to keep writing some fiction before I have no time to write what I want to. 

Tunes

Ahh, one thing I love about summer is the fun of making a SUMMER PLAYLIST. I used to make it on iTunes, but I don't have money to continually buy songs, so I like making my playlists on Spotify now (especially since I took advantage of Spotify's Summer Special and paid only one month's worth of Premium for 3 months! :D)

Hmm...out of all the songs on my playlist, I'd have to say these are my current Top 5:

1. "Maps" by Maroon 5 - I was just scrolling through some of my favorite artists and clicked on Maroon 5 just to see if they had released anything new. And they did. The first time I listened to it, I wasn't too impressed. But as I continued to listen to it, it grew on me. Now? I've got that song on repeat! It just sounds like a summer song to me, ya know? And Adam Levine? Who doesn't love that man's voice??
2. "What's Best For You" by Trey Songz - Like sappy love songs? Well, you'll like this song! The lyrics to this song are so sweet, they just make me happy! I usually don't like listening to love songs too much, but this one has definitely been my slow jam this summer!
3. "Rude" by Magic! - Okay, so I realize I may be a little late in discovering this song. I only found out about it, what, two weeks ago when some family friends were visiting and one of them wanted me to turn up the radio when this song came on so he could sing along. This song is a super chill love song with that reggae vibe. I like to listen to it when I'm relaxing, cooling down/stretching at the gym, or just reminiscing about memories with those family friends (midnight runs to McDonald's and hanging out at the Overlook. Good times!) 
4. "Chandelier" by Sia - This song is just fun. Not to mention, every time I listen to it, I can hear one of my friends singing it in his super-deep voice ("CHANDELIIEEEEEEER!") Such great memories :) But yes, this song just gets me motivated, makes me feel like I can do anything. I don't know. Just seems like another summer song!
5. "Break Free" by Ariana Grande feat. Zedd - I get a "girl power" type feel from this song. Ariana talks about "breaking free" from a guy after they break up. As a single person, I can't relate, but just the "breaking free" part sounds, well, freeing. I love blasting this song in the car with the windows down, my sunglasses on. Yet again, another summer song!!!

The Word

Well, I've already confessed that I haven't been doing too well in my spiritual walk lately. However, I am well into the book of Joshua, farther than I expected. 

***Side note: Joshua is a longer book than I thought it was. I seriously thought it was only like ten chapters at most, but in fact, it's twenty-four chapters long. Crazyyyy.

So, yes, I've been going through that book, slowly but surely. There are certain chapters that have all the action with the battles and the conquering of kings and such...and then there are the chapters that talk about the plots of land that each tribe of Israel got. I'm not gonna say the Bible is boring because there's a reason those records are there, but I'm not going to sit here and lie to you and tell you that I was 100% ecstatic to read about the tribe of Levi inheriting the land "from this mountain all the way to this river."

Threads

Well, if you've been keeping up with my REVAMP segment, I've been reviewing lots of shorts and tanks since it's SUMMER TIME and those are my favorite things to wear. Don't worry, I'm gonna try to show you things other than that, especially when the season starts to change to fall. 

I won't go into too much detail about style since I have my REVAMP segment for that haha ;)

Create!

Sadly, nothing. Ohp! Wait! I guess technically I created the whole "revamp" blog segment thing, so that's one thing. As for things like painting or sewing or gluing...nada. :( I really need to get to a craft store and buy some canvases and paint because I want to paint more Bible verses on them and stuff for other people (or for my dorm room). 

What I'm Watching

Like I said before, I've been watching a lot of horror/scary movies. Weird, right? I never was the type to watch those kinds of movies, but one of my friends wanted us to watch some since we were all together and it's just better to watch a scary movie in a group than by yourself. Some of them actually weren't that scary and had good endings (movies like The Awakening and The Others were so good. I totally recommend them!)

But then we watched Insidious...and Insidious Chapter 2...and those movies...if you can't take scary movies in general, I wouldn't recommend them. I screamed so much. I had a headache after watching those movies. :P Not fun.

***SIDE NOTE: Am I the only one who thinks they should put Criminal Minds on Netflix??? I mean, geez, so many people love that show, and you'd think they'd have it, but NO. I just wanna get caught up, I'm like 3 seasons behind *cries*.

Here&Now

Here and now I am...in my bedroom writing up this blog after a long-awaited coffee date with a friend from school and listening to "Tonight I'm Getting Over You" by Carly Ray Jepsen (this song was from my Summer 2013 playlist. I still love it!) I think I'm just gonna chill for the rest of tonight. Maybe even go to bed early! (Or I could work on the Revamp post that's going to go up at some point this weekend LOL).

Mmm, sweet tea...one of the best drinks on the face of this earth! :) I hope you all enjoyed catching up with me and my crazy life. I just realized a couple of things today:

1. I need to start SHOPPING...for SCHOOL. I shed a few invisible tears as I realized that the school year is fast approaching..which means I need new clothes for work (things like nice jeans and blouses and skirts) and text books (*cries* those dreaded things that cost a fortune but are barely used half the time!).
2. ONE MONTH. As of today, I have exactly ONE MONTH until I move into my dorm room, stop working for facilities, and start actively being an O-Team leader (Orientation leader! Aaaahhhh!) I can't believe how fast this summer has gone by. You know what, I'm not gonna even think about it...

So yeah, things are blazing by, and I have responsibilities to fulfill.

Speaking of responsibilities, I have jury duty in like, one week. Pray that I don't get picked so I can spend a relaxing week back home on the beach instead! :D

luv ya!

~ Mishy. (^^) <3