personal makeover days 6-12

I have most of my basics now. Mom and I went out Saturday and bought bras that weren't sports bras, and a whole bunch more tanks and camis. I still need a few more things, such as more summer layers, a pair of sandals that aren't black, and more capris, not to mention all the winter stuff. But I'm getting there. I bought my first piece of jewelry in a long time... *shudders* jewelry scares me even more than makeup does. There's a reason why I never wear it. It itches. Same reason why I don't wear lace, or any fabric like that. It itches and I can't stand it! I can't stand not being comfortable. Mom tells me I will get used to it. I hope so because I want to look good and to do that I need to learn to wear jewelry, but the idea scares me. I'm probably going to lay low on shopping for the next few weeks. I have plenty of tanks and camis to layer with, so I'm probably going to try different combinations of what I have. Also I'm going to practice with putting on makeup... oh man.

National Thank a Teacher Day!

So today is National Thank a Teacher day, and I have so many I want to thank. Some will even be ironic, because even though they're not very good teachers, they helped inspire me to go into the profession. I will also group them by category or year, because there are a lot of teachers I want to thank.

Also, thanks to Rachel Tanner and her blog Fluted Cups and Ampersands for the idea. We also have similar things we wanted to thank Dr. Kovacs for.

So here we go....

My Kindergarten - 2nd grade teachers: I moved around a lot during that time. First it was Los Banos, then we moved to San Jose, and the next year, we moved back to Los Banos. I had fantastic teachers the first three years I was in school. They helped make me see how fun learning is, and that school can be an exciting place. Those were some fun years, and I will never forget the impact they had on the rest of my school career.

Mrs. Ledbetter: This is one that I want to thank for being so bad. 3rd-5th grade were not fun years for me. I got really behind in my education and I was bullied constantly, and the teacher did nothing about it. Heck, all she did was sit at her desk all day, she never taught. However, she showed me what a teacher should not be like and helped inspire me to go into the profession because she was so bad. I'm not going to be like that as a teacher. So thanks for being bad!

Mrs. Borboa: Ahh 6th grade. Things started to look up then. I caught up in my education and even made all As the last quarter. I went from being a B and C student to a straight A student in one year. She was a fantastic teacher, always willing to help and never tolerated bullying. Thanks for believing in me.

Mrs. Brown: 7th grade English. My last period of the day, and what a wonderful class it was. 7th grade was a dark time for me. I was all alone at school, I had no friends. But sometimes your greatest friend is a teacher, and she was the friend I needed. She even helped me with my friend problems that year. Thanks for being there for me.

Mr. Weed and Mr. Newsome: 8th and 10th grade history, respectively. These guys made me realize that history was not as boring as it seemed. They both had awesome assignments and made history fun. I got a B in 8th grade because he expected a lot out of us, and it was my first time really taking notes in a class, but I got an A in 10th grade history. Thanks for making a relatively boring subject fun.

Mr. Raper: Robotics in 10th grade, Physics in 11th. Oh man. Best science teacher ever, and a super nice guy. I loved both classes. Thanks for just being a super awesome teacher.

Mr. White and Mr. Cox: High school and College Chemistry, respectively. I had awesome chem teachers. Mr. White was a pyromaniac, and it was AWESOME. He loved fire. He set the greater majority of the first 30 elements on fire one day so we could see the color of their flames. Strontium was red orange, Copper was green, and there was one that was bright pink. It was sweet. And College chem was just a fun class. Mr. Cox was hilarious and taught chem very well. I got all the concepts right away, got As in his classes.

Dr. Kovacs: Foundations of Education, and next semester, Multiculturalism. Probably the best professor I have ever had. He challenges you and makes you think about things. He gave me a new perspective on education in general and helped me analyze issues and form opinions, which I am grateful for. He also wrote me a recommendation letter on short notice, when other professors wouldn't. I'm not quite sure what to thank him for exactly, except for just being awesome.

Did Obama Kill Osama?

This post is actually going to have some politics to it. This has, ironically, become a really big debate topic, and I'm going to clear it up. Did Obama get Osama? The Democrats say yes, the Republicans vehemently deny the Democrats and call them, and Obama, liars because the Seals did it. Guess what? As always, the answer is somewhere in the middle. Yes, the Seals are the ones who actually killed Osama Bin Laden. However, Obama gave the order. The military said, "We have a lead to where Osama is," and Obama said "Follow it, and kill him." Not exactly in those words of course, but the main idea still stands. If it had been someone else in the President's position, would they have given the order? Maybe, maybe not. In other words, both parties are right. Obama indirectly got Osama. The Seals killed him.

personal makeover days 2-5

I have been really busy with school, but now that it's over, I can get to blogging again. Saturday, mom got me some new shoes to go with my summery outfits. They're like flip-flops, but wedges. Sunday, though, I was working on finals and got nothing done fashion-wise, and monday I worked all day, so no progress there. Today, however, even though I didn't buy anything, I wore one of the outfits I bought. I had new clothes on from head to toe. And I must say, it felt good not to wear a tshirt and baggy jeans. It was hard to walk in those shoes, especially up and down hill, because I have never worn wedges or heels. Once I get used to it, however, it will be fantastic. I felt more confident in them, and I looked taller because my shoes were taller. Tomorrow, Thursday, or Friday I'm going to take inventory of what I already have and what I need. After I get what I need fashion-wise this weekend, I can start focusing on the next step: makeup. *shudders*

Autism Awareness

I have Autism. We all know this. We also know that I am an Elementary Education major with a minor in Collaborative Education (K-6). Thus it pains me to see this, more than anything else. Check out the link for yourself.

http://www.hnva.net/teacherbully/

I cried when I saw the video. Why would people who claim to help children bully them like this? These teachers and aides need to be fired. They are not here to help the children, they are here to socialize and bully them for being different. This is THE reason why I am going into special ed. Because these children need someone on their side. I plan to be that someone. And right now, being on their side means raising awareness for autism and against teachers like this. I encourage everyone who reads this to sign the petition. My heart goes out to the dad and the child. Keep fighting for your son, Stu. We're all behind you.

personal makeover - day 1

Me and my mom went out and bought quite a few things today. I spent about $140, but it was about $400 worth of stuff, so I feel accomplished. I'm sure I have some clothes already that are cute that I can use as well. I still have a long way to go though, now that I have some shorter pants and some cute tops, I need shoes. That will be next weekend. I also need to practice makeup. I have the materials to practice with, I just need to do it.

Moving right along :)

This could be the start of something new

So the past couple weeks have been crazy. I have had final projects, braces, and loads of other things going on. This is going to be somewhat of a personal post (not directly related to me, just things I've been thinking about). I'll probably have more political posts closer to the election. I could care less about the Republican primaries right now. It's a matter of which evil is lesser. Romney seems the best Republican candidate, but there's no way he could win against the incumbent, in my personal opinion. He's flip-flopped too much. He's moved so far to the right for the primaries that he would have trouble moving back to center for the general election. Not to mention that he must dismiss his greatest accomplishment, health care in the state of Massachussetts, in order to win over his party.

Now, to the blog post. I often come across memes on the internet that have to do with the dreaded friend zone. For those of you that are still in the dark about this concept, consider this scenario. A guy becomes friends with a girl. Guy starts to find Girl physically and personally attractive. Guy asks Girl out, Girl turns him down. She thinks of Guy as a friend, and nothing more. The guy is in what the internet calls "The Friend Zone". Chances are, at this point, Guy and Girl are really good friends too, so he gets to hear about her relationship problems with various jerks. It is a really frustrating situation to be in.

Now, those of you that have read about the friend zone on the internet are thinking, "But you're a female, what would you know about the friend zone?" I would, in fact, know a lot about the friend zone. I have been friend zoned a couple times. And I know why. It is the same reason the nice guy gets friend zoned. I am not necessarily physically attractive, and on top of that, I am a tomboy. I like my comfortable t-shirts and jeans, I don't wear makeup, and I don't act girly. I enjoy video games and sports. Thus, I get seen as "one of the guys". I am not necessarily complaining. I enjoy being one of the guys. In fact, I generally like making friends with guys better than girls. There is so much less drama involved.

This year, however, has changed my perception on a couple of these things. I don't like getting up early to get ready, but I'm thinking I need to change my style a little bit. I want to be seen as a potential girlfriend. I'm really tired of dating jerks and losers. I want to attract someone I actually want to be attracted to me. So, I have a plan. This summer, I am going to undergo somewhat of a makeover. I'm going to get a nicer style. No more baggy t-shirts and jeans. I am going to start wearing my skinny jeans more, and get nicer tops to go with them. I'm not going to wear a ton of makeup, just enough to bring out my features a little more. I'm not copping out. I'm not changing my personality. I'm just making myself approachable.
Also, keep in mind this makeover is for no one in specific, except for me. It is something I want to do for myself, and no one else. By the time August rolls around, I'm gonna look different, and it'll be a good different. I will track my progress through this blog. It'll be somewhat of a daily thing. This feels like the next phase in getting over my Aspergers, and I'm excited to start it.

F1RST!!!!

Now that school has calmed down a bit, I've decided to take blogging up again. I have blogged in the past, but it was only about 5 posts long. I'm hoping to be a little more committed to this one.

Some things about me to note...

• This blog will contain political viewpoints, specifically mine. I am generally liberal on issues, although I am conservative in a few areas. Feel free to dissent from my opinion and express your own, just be able to back it up. I have a facebook, and this will replace the political rants on facebook. I will be respectful of you as long as you are respectful of me.
• This blog will also contain details about my life. I have Aspergers, that may pop up at some point. I am a Christian, although kind of early on my Christian journey. I know that Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and want to follow Him. I just have to figure out how, and make changes accordingly. That will pop up as well.
• I am extremely loyal to my friends and family, and they will come up in here. DO NOT insult them in any way, even if I am upset with them about something. You should not expect to live past tomorrow if you do.
• I go to the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), and I am studying Elementary Education and minoring in Collaborative Education. I am very excited about what the future holds for me in terms of that.

Alright, now that everything's cleared up, I will write my first blog post.
College has been the best experience of my life. Not my entire college career, just UAH. Calhoun was just like high school; I avoided everybody, they avoided me. My social life was at karate/ the storehouse at Asbury United Methodist Church/ Michaels, where I work. It's not that I didn't WANT to make friends at school, I just didn't know how. I was always very shy and awkward, and had a hard time talking to people I didn't know. Then, Spring semester 2011 came. My knee was out, so I could not go to karate class. I had quit going to The Storehouse because it switched to Sunday nights, and I almost always worked Sunday nights. My dad was working graveyard shift, so I took all online classes to let him get some sleep. Basically, the only social outlet I had was work, and a friend from karate. I dated someone that semester briefly, but I was depressed. I made mostly Bs that semeser, I only got one A. I was excited about going to University of Alabama the next semester though, and the prospect of moving out and going to college was what kept me going.

Summer of 2011, however, I found out that I did not get any scholarships, and only $6500 in loans to pay for $25000 worth of tuition, room and board, meal plan, and fees. I did not want to put myself in that much debt, so UA was out of the question. My only other option was UAH. I could stay at home and go to school, at least for the next year. I wasn't too optimistic, though. UAH was the local university, it wasn't exactly esteemed (or so I thought). However, orientation came in August, and that changed my outlook on everything. I was tired of being a loner, tired of not having anything to do, and when I heard about all the activities that ensued on a daily basis, I was really excited. This was going to be a great year.

And it has been. I met a couple friends during Week Of Welcome (the first week of the semester) and many of my friends that I've met since then have been through them. After that first week of school, I was no longer depressed. I had friends, I had a social life, and I didn't think it could get much better. Classes were boring as always, though, and I was happy in December when my General Ed Requirements were finally finished.

Then, in January, I started my Education classes. I liked all my professors initially, and I ACTUALLY wanted to pay attention in class! But the classes themselves weren't the best part of the semester. My classmates were. After about the second week of school, we all started bonding, and it's been the best experience of my life. I finally have friends!! Of course, with friends come friend issues, especially in the guy department. But that is ok! I'm experiencing new things every day, and changing for the better. I can meet people now without a problem! I can go to a party and talk to people and have a good time, something I never would've dreamed of in high school, or even a year ago. I'm finding I have a little trouble with the in-between stages of a relationship, the transition from acquaintance to friend, and friend to good friend, but I am learning, and I can't wait to see what new experiences I'll have next year, when I'll (hopefully!) live on campus.

I know this post was long, and there was no politics involved here, only background info about me. Don't worry, all you politically-minded people, there will be politics, when the inspiration comes to me. Today though, I was reflecting on how wonderful college has been and how blessed I really am. I have Jesus to thank for all of this. Thank you Jesus.