A Very Lucky Girl

I have done one of these blogging interaction awards before , but when my friend Amber, of Clearly Alive , nominated me last week I couldn't say no to a fellow Addison's fighter. And since today, July 1, is my day of birth it is socially acceptable to make it all about me for 24 hours.  Amber is a pretty cool person from what I've garnered from our conversations on social media. I first "met" her in an Addison's Disease Support Group on Facebook. She is currently working in Malaysia and her lifestyle there is encouraging when it comes to me wanting to pursue my own career abroad.  Her 11 questions for me: 1. How did you decide on the name for your blog? This one is easy. I explained it in my inaugural post more than two years ago #timeflieswhenyourblogisfun 2. What is your funniest "brain fog" story?  That time I couldn't even remember a "brain fog" story. AKA now.  3. Cats or Dogs?   DOGS. One in particular, my sister, my boo-...

I was doing laundry the other day and effectively procrastinating reading Chapter Six for Social Problems when I happened to notice the top 10 most played songs on my iTunes. I commenced furious blushing. WHY must Apple record every single play of my songs? Some of them I am proud of, letsbehonest. But Grove St. Party? Really? And TWO explicitly labeled hits? So THAT'S where the need for a swear jar comes in... Gavin DeGraw's "Not Over You." I wish I could say I played this 1,740 times because I really liked the musical quality. But no. I was a sucker for the lyrics last January when all boys were stupid. Taylor Swift's "Ours." "Don't you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine" are words for any and every occasion so I am only mildly ashamed of the 1,734 plays. It's a bit excessive. Waka Flocka's "Grove St. Party." There are no words. Cady Groves' "Ugly." It could be argu...

The long wait is finally over and Taylor Swift has released her newest, fourth album, "Red." As opposed to, you know, yellow, green, or blue. Because obviously, "loving him was red." And so begins the frantic search to discover what each of her emotion-packed lyrical songs REALLY mean. We all know that Swift writes with a motive, outing past relationships in her chart-topping hits. Already, fans online are alive with speculation, grasping at small hints in each song to reveal its inspiration. So I followed suit, grabbed a pen and paper, and painstakingly picked out the capitalized letters in Swift's digital booklet that accompanies her album. Until I realized Google would make this process way easier: State of Grace: I love you doesn't count after goodbye Red: SAG Treacherous: Won't stop till it's over I Knew You Were Trouble: When you saw me dancing All Too Well: Maple Lattes 22: Ashley, Dianna, Claire, Selena I Almost Do: Wrote this instea...

Carly Rae Jepsen is my current musical obsession. It all started with "Call Me Maybe", which I covered  here . And by covered, I mean wrote about. My talents don't include excellent singing. Miss Jepsen is a genius for releasing only a single for a few months, making fans clamor for more and guaranteeing at least a success in that one song. "Call Me Maybe" launched Jepsen into stardom, and to a relatively high spot on my iTunes play count. 44 isn't too shabby. "Ours", by Taylor Swift, is hovering at second place on the list with 1,731 repetitions, but that's beside the point. When Carly Rae and Owl City collaborated, a "Good Time" was had by all (the duet eclipses "Call Me Maybe" with 259 plays). "Hands up if you're down to get down tonight" said the whitest people in pop music. But somehow it worked for them. Jepsen released her full album, "Kiss", 2 weeks ago and I have yet to take it off repeat...

Eric Church points out that it's "funny how a melody sounds like a memory." I couldn't agree more. There are certain songs that just take you back in time. Whether it's kicking and screaming, or willingly. For instance, Sadie Hawkins Dance by Relient k? I'm back in middle school with Sarah, screaming "do you like my sweeeatttterrrrrrr?" at the top of our lungs. Everytime We Touch by Cascada? Transported to carpools to Crabtree Mall with Marianne, Penel, and Astrid. Our Song by Taylor Swift summons images of Moriah and I interpretative dancing at our sweet 16 birthday party. I'm sure there are songs that touch you like that too. Probably in a more meaningful way than the ones I just described. Even just a few music notes can remind me that I'm A Very Lucky Girl. 

"There was nothing wrong with her face that a pleasant expression wouldn't help."--Good Country People The above quote was written by Flannery O'Conner. I've been submerged in her twisted stories throughout the course of my Critical Reading and Writing class.  It stuck out so much to me that I felt a compulsory need to jot it down. Ms. O'Conner writes a lot about social status and dispositions. So her comment was not out of character, but it has a complete knell of truth. Smiling makes everyone pretty. Smiling creates an illusion of happiness, no matter how much a life is falling apart. I've been trying this new thing where I smile at the people I have to dig deep down and grit my teeth to care about. For a few reasons: One, you don't look good without smiling unless you are going for the sultry look and I am not interested in seducing these people. Two, smiling makes people think that your life is on the perfect side of awesome. You could be having ...

September 2011, when I was feeling really discouraged about school and my pathetic life in general, my friend Nick introduced me to this song . Proud by The Icarus Account. First off, this was a complete music change from my typical Katy Perry and Taylor Swift playlists. And secondly, the chorus completely hit home. "The innocence we had could never last forever And I look at what I learned to play today; Do you think that I'll be famous someday? When you see me now,  I hope I make you proud" Because all I wanted to do was make people proud of me and I felt like I just kept disappointing them. I didn't know how to fix it.  Recently I've heard this refrain in my head, and it's bringing new thoughts that might be impossibly twisted. You tell me. I really struggle with pride. I like to be right, I like to be perfect, I like to have all the answers always. I hate to be wrong, I hate to make mistakes, I hate unknowns.  And pride has al...