Write your own story

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In the distance, a faint whistle echos throughout the tunnel. Out of the darkness comes bright lights and with a squeal, the subway train comes to a halt. The doors slide open with a hiss and in the dimly lit subway car, you find yourself quickly scanning for an empty seat while you clutch your guitar case. Covered in your favorite bands stickers, it is your pride and joy. It is the first guitar you learned to play your favorite song on and it is where you learned how to master a slide. 

Sitting down, the person next to you eyes you warily before continuing to read the business section in the newspaper. The girl in front of you rolls her eyes as she smacks her gum and slouches in her anarchy t-shirt, fiddling with her torn jeans as she eyes your clothing. The guy next to her, his eyes rimmed in black eyeliner, gives you his best impression of McKayla Maroney's "I'm-not-impressed expression" at your band selection.

You glance down at your own clothing and suddenly, you aren't so confident. A little voice creeps in and puts to words, your doubts. Why did I chose to wear this? I should have worn the other outfit. Is my hair okay? What about my make-up? Should I even by pursuing a music career...at my age? My mother was right, I should have majored in something worthwhile in college. 

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And the doubts go on. Soon, you're wondering what the other people in the subway car are thinking. Are they secretly judging? Are they thinking I should have chosen another profession instead of following my passion?

Even though no one has said anything, you feel judged. You question your decisions and worry about what other people think of you. Soon, it consumes you as you try to be the person other people want you to be and friends, that is no way to live.

I know from experience. I used to live my life for other people. It got to the point where I literally lost myself as I made change after change. All in the hopes of becoming the ideal or perfect person for someone I loved dearly. In the process, I lost what made me...me. I lost my uniqueness and became a person I didn't recognize in the mirror. 

It made me unhappy and chances are if you worrying and letting other people rule your life, you're also unhappy. And maybe you're wondering how you even got to that point to begin with.You could spend your whole life worrying about what other people think of you or you can write your own story and be happy being the person God made you to be. 

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Which one will you pick? 

Surprise, an iPad mini giveaway!

Today, me and a couple other bloggers are helping Andie from Mostly Happenstance celebrate her graduating nursing school! 

Congratulations Andie!

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Two long, hard years of not procrastinating; being put into extremely uncomfortable/scary/exciting situations; and constant sleep deprivation has finally paid off!

With that said, I am ready to party! And since my readers are not here to celebrate with me I thought I would celebrate 'blogger-style' with a giveaway.

Who knows what I have wanted for the past 2 years (but couldn't afford because I barely worked and accrued student loans during school AND unfortunately did not win the giveaways for them on other sites)? Let's do an NCLEX style question (For those who are unfamiliar with NCLEX, this is an exam nurses must take to begin practicing):

A nursing student named Andie has spent the past 2 years learning how to be a nurse. What priority item has she wanted to purchase and will now purchase first because she has accomplished her goal?
Please note that all answers may be correct. Please choose the answer that is most correct.

A. An iPad Mini
B. Shoes
C. Makeup
D. All of the Above

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: This question is asking  what she would purchase first and uses the terms priority and first which indicates that only one item should be selected. Given the title of this blog has the word 'iPad Mini' in it, should also indicate this is the priority item. All other items will be purchased later on.

Back to the giveaway! About 4 months ago I emailed some of my fellow bloggers and asked if they would like to help me celebrate, and boy were they excited and willing. I had 23 lovely ladies who decided to chip in and help me give an iPad mini away.

To add to their amazing-ness, they even agreed to make the entries SUPER simple! Everyone only provided 2-3 links, which were GFC/Bloglovin, Twitter, and Facebook. No instagram, pinterest, 'click on this site and favorite this'. Just plain and simple entries which = more chances to win in a shorter amount of time.

Here are those lovely, amazing ladies:

And here is where you can enter:
{Please read the Terms and Conditions}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

While this week wasn't full of too much wisdom, it was full of much foolishness. This week has been one for the books and quite frankly, I'm glad it's almost over. In hindsight, Murphy always pays a visit at least a few times during a deployment, so I don't know why I thought things would be different this time around. But, I'm looking forward to next week and this school term ending. The Middle Ages hasn't held my interest and since my Civil War class is the last one in my core concentration, I'm not looking forward to learning about Europe. 

However, there is a silver lining. I signed up for a new Vikings class that starts next month. Ever since watching Vikings on the History channel, I've been wanting to learn more about them and I've finally gotten my chance! Despite this week starting out bad, it did end better than expected. 

This week I...

- ran into my garage door frame. I learned three things: 1) Cars just aren't built like they used to be. Give me steel over fiberglass any day. 2) Always make sure you have enough clearance and don't let yourself become too overly confident because you will get knocked down and 3) The newer built homes here are built like a rock! 

I cracked my head light and crunched my car.

- really love my auto insurance! After getting a free estimate on my car, I was told it would cost around $1,300 for everything to be fixed. When I heard the amount, I panicked like anyone else would who is not made out of money and doesn't have an emergency fund (which is going to change). But, after calling USAA aka the best bank ever, I didn't have anything to worry about since I would only be paying my deductible. 

- was chastised by an MP. As I was coming on post, I didn't check my speed and was doing 20 mph as I pulled up to the gate. As soon as I gave the MP my ID, he proceeded to lecture me about being safe and going the speed limit. In my defense, he obviously didn't see the lady behind me who was so close I could see the color of her eyes. But, the good news is I didn't get a ticket!

- made sopapilla cheesecake pie. It was delicious and I ate most of it myself. 

- watched the seagulls tear apart my neighbor's trash and wondered if I should move the trash can away from the curb. But the older lady who lives there, scares me so I watched the seagulls fight over a McDonald's bag all while I drank my caramel macchiato. 

- seriously considered shutting down my blog's facebook and twitter pages. I'm pretty sure I'm not using them to my advantage and I have no inclination to while I'm still in school. 

- wrote 4 1/2 pages on Thursday night. Now, I just have 4 more pages to go before my Civil War research paper is done! 

- turned to the Bible more than I have done previously. I know if I hadn't, this week would have overwhelmed me and I would more than likely be a basket case.

- took the kids to the library on post and discovered a HUGE park hidden in the trees. I might take them there this weekend if I finish my paper tonight. 

- received this wonderful present and my coffee stash has been replenished! 

Have a happy and safe weekend!