Still Round the Corner There May Wait, A New Road or Secret Gate -J.R.R Tolkien

I'm writing this blog as a way of letting everyone know what is going on in my life, and also as a way to tell everyone at one time what has been happening and what is happening soon. Please don't be offended if you feel I should have told you this stuff personally, but I haven't talked about it with a lot of people because I wasn't sure if things were going to work out or not.
To preface this blog, I'll give a mini update on my life since graduation. I graduated with an English degree almost two years ago. I moved back to North Carolina (my hometown) and worked for about 6 months, then decided to move back to Tennessee for awhile until I figured out what I wanted to do. I spent the year after graduation applying and interviewing for multiple "real world" jobs, and even debated on moving to D.C. or N.YC. for a change of scenery and to attempt to get a good job. While I still might do that one day, I couldn't seem to shake the itch that I've always had to travel for awhile before settling into a serious job. I spent a semester in England traveling around the UK and Europe, so the urge to travel like that again was compelling me to look into a job that would take me abroad once again.  Everyone I talked to seem to say the same thing: Don't wait! If you wait until you're working in the real world, you'll never go!
I took all of this advice to heart. I continued to look for jobs, but my heart wasn't really in it. In the back of my mind was always the idea that I was supposed to be somewhere else.
I'll sidebar here to say that I've never known what I wanted to be "when I grow up." I was never someone who had plans or even ideas of what I wanted to do after school. The only thing I have ever known is that I love to travel, I love South America, and I have a heart for mission work and helping people in need. I've been on several missions trips to various South and Central American countries, and every time I always wanted to stay longer.
Fast forward to a year ago, when I began to wonder why I was still living in Tennessee when the only desire I've ever really had was to live in Latin America and help people in any way I can.
I began looking into programs that would help me get to South America on a more long term basis than just a short missions trip.
I talked to some people about potentially teaching English as a profession for awhile. I learned that it is a very versatile job, because once I'm certified and have a little experience I can virtually move anywhere in the world to teach.
The country I couldn't seem to get out of my head was Chile. I researched it; I looked at blogs, pictures, conversion rates, apartments, cost of living, transportation, food and local culture. I had quickly fallen in love with the idea of living in Chile, so I filled out an application to become an English teacher in the capital city of Santiago.
And....drum roll please....I'm so excited to announce that yesterday, I received my acceptance letter to join a group of other Americans wanting to teach English as a second language in Santiago, Chile! So now that its official, I can tell as many people as I want to about it! I'm extremely excited to travel and to live somewhere where the culture is different than what I'm used to in the States.
As for the details, I leave in March. I'm originally contracted for a job for 8 months, so I'll reevaluate where I want to go and what I want to do when that time is up.
I'll be working for a company called the Language Company, teaching English to non-native speakers. I'm beyond excited to be able to tell everyone that its actually happening, because its something I've wanted to do for so long!
As for the preparation beforehand, I'm having to save a lot of money! I do get paid as a teacher while I"m there, but I'm going to need a lot of money at the start of the trip to pay for the program fees, flights, and expenses before the job starts. So my main concentration right now is to work full-time, saving every penny, and I'm also doing some side projects in order to try and raise more funds. Those of you who know me probably know that my heart is so completely missions oriented that one of my main concentrations is finding ways I can help the people of Santiago. I've volunteered in orphanages before, so a big hope of mine is that I'll have the opportunity to do a lot of volunteer work with children while I'm there.
So that's that! If you have questions or just want to be excited with me, I greatly appreciate any comments, calls, texts, whatever method you want to use to chat! I'll be posting pictures of projects I'm working on in order to raise money, so if you want to buy anything or request something please don't hesitate to ask! I'm an open book when it comes to this new adventure, and I would love to answer questions if anyone has them.
I've had a few people ask about donating money, so I might be starting a fund-raising site in the near future in order to help me get to my goal.
Thank you for everyone who has supported me so far with kind words and prayers, and I apologize again that this might be the first some of you are hearing about this. I didn't want to talk about it too much and have it not work out, so I've been keeping it a little on the down-low.
I'm sorry this blog post is so long, and that it lacks a certain amount of wit and humor that I usually like to incorporate into my writings.
I promise to keep you all up-to-date through this process, and I will definitely be blogging a lot once I'm living in Chile.
If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading this and taking an interest in whats going on in my life! I'll post an update soon! I can't express how excited I am to be going on a new adventure!!


PS: Here's a visual aide, this is Santiago:

Mini Vacations: A Remedy for Anxiety

People always say, "Don't sweat the small stuff."
While this is great advice, the reverse can also be said about being thankful. We SHOULD remember to be thankful about small stuff in our lives; in fact, it can make the difference between a good week and a bad one.
It is easy to become overwhelmed, especially in today's society full of social media. Not only do we have our own lives to worry about, but we are constantly in a state of attachment to our phones/ipads/laptops/whatever that leads to us almost obsessing over other people's lives. I'm not condemning social media at ALL (those who know me know my love for the ol twitter and instagram) I'm just making an observation about how overwhelming our lives become when we forget to take time for enjoying our blessings.
The weather outside, while still scorchingly hot, is beginning to have that slightly crisp breeze mixed into the stuffy humidity in the air. When I see a few dead leaves on the ground, blowing in the slight wind that comes through the breezeway in my apartment complex, I feel nothing short of relief. While summer is great and full of beaches and vacations and pools, I still can't help but feel that as the summer gets hotter and hotter throughout July, I'm practically holding my breath in anticipation for the day the heat finally breaks.
This type of weather always bring a lot of pensive and reflective thoughts my way. Before we know it, Thanksgiving will be upon us, and that means reflecting on things that we should be thankful for in our lives. I'm starting this process a little early this year and trying to take time to be thankful.
For those of you who don't know, my life has been a bit of a struggle these past five years or so, trying to figure out what direction I want to go in and what things I want to pursue. I've been examining myself closely, trying to define what exactly it is that makes me tick and what my desires are for my life. Yes, it is extremely frustrating, but my dad reminded me today that even though it doesn't feel like it, God is working a plan together for me.
I whine about not having a "real world" job (I'm a freelance writer and I work full time at a local frozen yogurt shop in TN) but my Dad pointed out that I am able to pay all of my bills, I have a flexible schedule, and an owner that is the best person I have had the pleasure of working for, well, ever.
I whine about not knowing what I'm going to do or where I'm going to be 6 months from now, but my Dad reminded me that nothing is more exciting than having no ties and no plans. I can go anywhere, be anyone and do anything I want to at this point in my life.
And to make things better, God has given me an opportunity to serve lunches to homeless people on Saturdays. Serving the less fortunate has always been a passion of mine, and I'm very grateful that I have this opportunity to give back to my community. Not to mention its a ton of fun, and the food is delicious!
My point in saying all of this is that sometimes I think we need to remember to take time to appreciate the little things, and I mean VERY little things in order to not get overwhelmed in our lives.
I have a lot of stress and anxiety (its just my personality) and even though I'm a "chill" person, I still get extremely anxious about stuff. For this reason, I have to take lots of what I call "mini vacations" every week, and I'm convinced that without them, I would go crazy!
I've made a little list of some little things (mini vacations) I like to do to help my mindset get reset when I feel overwhelmed. Here are a few of them:

• Read a book under a tree. For some reason, reading outside, either on a blanket or in a hammock or chair, is one of the most relaxing activities for me. Reading by a pool is nice, and can help with the vacation mindset, but there's just something about being under shade that is just so amazing. 
• Be cliche. Don't be afraid to take a steamy hot bubble bath, complete with candles, wine and a good book. Go for it! It can be incredibly therapeutic. Although, if you have a kindle/nook like me, be extra careful not to drop it into the water! Go all out by bringing ice cream or something of a treat in with you. Listen to that new album you've been wanting to hear, and get lost in your own bubble of leisure.
• Take a walk, or a drive, somewhere you've never been. Even in your own town, no matter how small, I guarantee there are places you've never visited before. Whether its a hike, a stroll downtown, or a drive to a part of town you've never been to before, it will help you feel like you're on a mini vacation in your own town.
• Look at the local websites for fun ideas. Along the same lines as the previous one, pretend like your town is a place you're on vacation, even if only for a few hours. Check out a visitor's center or chamber of commerce and see what there is to do that you've never done before. I found a few small festivals going on in my area, and got to pretend like I was a tourist for an entire afternoon! 
• Go out to eat. While eating in is great for being healthy (and easy on your wallet!) sometimes you just need a night out. Whether you want to go out on a date with your hubby/boyfriend, have a girls night, or even fly solo, make sure that you do things that YOU want to do. Go to a nice restaurant, see a movie, walk around downtown, do whatever you feel like!
• Take a weekend trip. For me, one of my main mini vacations involves going to my parent's house, nuzzled deep in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Something about the mountain air and being home with my family is the best vacation I can have.  Whenever I have two days off, I typically go on a trip, and a lot of times I end up in North Carolina! There's nothing that says relaxing like sitting on a porch watching the sun set over the mountains. No, its not exotic and the town itself is SUPER small, but its one of the most rejuvenating places in the whole world to me. 

Do you have any other ideas for mini vacations? Do tell! I'm always looking for new ways to unwind and destress! Have a great week guys!

Lately...

So I'm going to share a little of what I've been going through the past couple of months. I've been learning a lot about myself (as one often does when one's roommate leaves for over a month and one finds herself living alone for the first time ever) and I have to say, I LOVE having me time anytime I want to. Living by myself gives me the option of always having solo time, but always having the option to call friends up to hang out also. The possibilities are endless! I will admit, I spent the first few days with zero clothes on. If you have never cleaned your apt/house/mansion/wigwam naked, I highly recommend it. Unless you live in an igloo, in which case that may not be much fun (and you could potentially get stuck to the ice furniture...ouch!).
So all of this "me" time has given me a chance to figure some stuff out about myself. One of the more recent things that my temporary roommate (she moved in for a few weeks while my roommate was gone) and I have been discussing a lot is friendship. We have been struggling over how to be a good friend, because I think everyone views being a "good friend" differently. Some might think having drinks on a Saturday night and discussing boys is considered being a good friend, while others might not feel they have fulfilled their friendly duties unless they have had a solid, deep conversation about life and goals and love. My friend Ashley, who has been staying with me, is the latter type of friend. We spent several days together, working and hanging with other friends, but she said she felt like we hadn't even seen each other because we hadn't had any good one-on-one conversations. She's a deep person; she likes to get to know people deep down. I can be that way to an extent, but I also feel like I've had some solid hanging out time with everyone in a big group of people if we all just go bowling or something. I love having one-on-one time with friends, but I don't find it completely necessary to obtain a solid friendship with someone.
The main thing that Ashley and I have discussed is this: How far is too far when it comes to being a good friend? For both Ashley and myself, we feel like being a good friend is helping a friend realize when they are being untrue to themselves, or even if they're just  making a fool out of themselves. Ashley and I both recently went through a situation where we "called out" friends that, er, didn't want to be called out. For me personally, I want people to tell me when I'm straying from my character. I want to be told when I'm not showing integrity, or when I look like an idiot. That's a true friend, in my opinion, because it shows that they care enough to tell me things about myself even though I might get mad. Something I have to remember, however, is that not everyone views friendship this way. There are people who get hurt, frustrated, or even pissed, no matter how gently I try and say something to them.
This has caused me to be a much more cautious friend. A year ago, I would have just called everyone out, but now I think about it before I do it. I try and be careful about how I say things, but of course I still mess up. I'm not perfect by any means, and me calling people out is NOT saying that I don't do the same things or act the same way. Not by a long shot. It is, however, me saying hey, I love you, and I see you actin a fool, and I want to let you know because I'm your friend and I don't think anyone else cares enough to tell you.
I dont know. Maybe we shouldn't call each other out, maybe we should, maybe its our duty as friends? I'm still struggling with this a lot.
So, if you have a friend who has you concerned with their behavior, I have a few simple rules/questions to consider before you say something to them.
1)Ask yourself, is this something that I would want them to call me out for, if I was doing it?
2)Is this something that is detrimental to them, or will make them be angry with themselves later for doing this/acting this way?
3) How close of friends are we? Do I truly feel close enough to them to say something, and have it come from a place of love?
4) Is this something that is just irritating me? Could it be bothering me because I see myself in the way they're behaving?
5) Am I willing to risk them being angry with me, potentially for a long period of time, over this situation?

Anyway, if you've considered all the options and still feel like something needs to be said, it is probably time to take your friend out to coffee and explain to them why you feel like their behavior needs to cease.

Just a little food for thought. Have a great Monday!!

Graduation Things

Well, its Spring! More specifically, its May, which means two things: graduations and weddings. Last weekend and this weekend are filled with graduation festivities, then the next few weekends are dedicated to weddings.
Success and love are both in the air people.
Last weekend was eventful.
Thursday was spent like this:

We laid around in the park on campus for a few hours before I had to head to work.

After work on Friday night, we went and picked up our little "brother" (given this term in England when we all lived together) from the airport. He's finally back, after spending the entire semester in D.C. We are all super excited to have him back! He's been living on my couch, so I get to see him as much as I like.
Anyways, Saturday morning was graduation for my alma mater, and I knew around ten people who were graduating, so we all woke up early and watched the broadcast on tv while getting pretty for the graduation festivities. Like the stealthy people we are, we showed up outside the doors of the ceremony right after it ended. This conveniently enabled to take pictures as if we had been there the whole time (see what we did there?). Unfortunately, it was raining. Like, a LOT of rain. It was really crowded and there was only a small covering, and everyone had huge umbrellas and....shew, it was intense. Pushing through all of those people was very stressful.

I went to Olive Garden in Chattanooga afterwards with about 20 family members of my friend Nicole, who graduated.

And after that, we all napped. On couches, floors, wherever.

Then, the party began. We danced, talked, socialized, played games, oh and enjoyed this fantastic cake:

Shwattttt? Yep, thats a cake. It was so delicious, even though it was so awesome looking I really didn't want to eat it at all. Yummm I want more right now just thinking about it.

Anyways, after driving home from Georgia (where the party was) I went to bed immediately. It was a long day. Sunday was spent relaxing and then going to work (why am I always working?!).

So there's the weekend, maybe I'll catch up on my week here in the next few days. But today is not that day, and I have real work I need to do.

Adios!

Lookie lookie!

I'll wait patiently for you all to peel yourselves up off the floor after the shock of me posting another blog entry so soon wears off.
You good? K. Good.
Bloggy blog blog...what to blog about today...this white box is staring at me, waiting for me to put interesting words into it that will get lots of attention...but my brain is having a battle within itself. Do I talk about real thoughts that I've been thinking?
This would include, but would not be limited to:
Adam Levine and how I'd love to allow him to sing to me all the time (I'd pay him to follow me around and sing)



Shew. I put a big space here so you can catch your breath before moving on from this perfect man.

I still need a sec...

Ok, moving on...
 Chocolate-which is weird considering I'm not a big sweets eater at all and rarely crave chocolate, but today its been on my mind a LOT



How I'm going through a weird phase where I'm wearing every last possible thing in my closet in order to avoid doing laundry, which in turn makes my room the messiest its been in a LONG time...



Or about how this is my absolute most favorite show:



Because of this man



Who plays Captain Hook, and also this guy:



known as Pinocchio.

Oh yeah, and also this man:


Who plays the mad hatter, but also plays this man




in Gossip Girl.

Very tricky and confusing, but awesome. Once Upon a Time is mostly awesome because all of the actors/actresses are incredibly good looking.

Lots of random thoughts, none of which are things I want to discuss in greater detail. Granted, my blog is usually a lot of random thoughts. Just not those.
I've been trying to cut back on my soda intake...so far today (its around 11 am) I've had exactly 1 1/2 mountain dews. I guess I'm not really concerned about cutting out ALL soda, just cutting back on the mountain dews and cherry cokes. Considering those really are the only sodas I drink very often, I'd say this is a big problem.

Ok, Katie, that was a lame thing to discuss on a blog. No one cares about your soda intake, or lack therof (woo!). Get it together!

A lot of times when I blog it is because I have something to rant about, but unfortunately no one has crossed my path today and pissed me off to the point of wanting to rant. Not yet, anyway. I'm debating going on one of my infmaous wandering sprees and just annoying everyone in the various departments. Yesterday I went on one of these and ended up collecting candy from 5 different people! Some would compare this to Halloween, but I compare it to a kid in a candy store. People get annoyed with me and just pile candy on top of me to get me to go away. Parents do this with their kids in a candy store. Kids being annoying? Take them to a candy store to get them to shut up for awhile. Granted, later on the kids are twice as annoying with the sugar rush (much like me later on at the office) but it still is a good temporary fix.
Until I'm sneaking up on their cubicles later in the afternoon trying to scare them. But that's another story for another time.

I'm pumped for the holidays! I think this mostly has to do with my undying love for food, but I'll pretend it has everything to do with my love of family togetherness. I do love family time, but really Thanksgiving is about eating so much that you're miserable, or as I like to call it, excercising your right as an American.

On that patriotic note, I'd like to encourage everyone to get out there and be an American and eat a nice juicy burger! Or hot dog, which I think it supposed to be more American.

And no, I don't know how this blog went from talking about Adam Levine to talking about American food, but you're welcome.

Every single one of my blogs starts out the same way...
First I apologize for not blogging in awhile, then I promise to blog more often, and by now you proably think those promises are fairly empty.
I'd probably agree.
However, I hung out with a friend who I haven't hung out with much recently, and she encouraged me to start blogging again.
With that in mind, I decided to give it one more shot. Its all or nothin baby, here goes!

Usually, I blog with something in mind, like a strong opinion about something going on in my life. Right now, I have zero strong opinions (mostly because its 9 in the morning, a time where I have no opinions about anything that doesn't involve my bed or coffee) so I guess I'll just ramble a bit, maybe post a few pictures or something, and then go from there. K? K.

What am I thinking about right now? There's a few things. Here you go:
1) My coffee has gotten cold, which is really annoying. I'm a coffee addict, and when it gets cold I feel like a coffee drinking failure. Granted, it was an extra large, so most people would say "hey, it's fine, your coffee got cold, go heat it up!" But for me, it is a big fat failure and I have let the world of coffee lovers down. Sorry guys.
2) I'm a big fan of lists, so these will be a trend for this bloggy.
3) I'm a little annoyed with myself for how addicted I am already to my Iphone. But, you have the iPhone 5, one might say. Those are supposed to be awesome! You're allowed to be addicted to it! Ok, some might not actually say that, but I like to think some would so that I can justify having my nose in my phone most of the time. I do hate it though, mostly because BSP (before smart phone) which was really about 2 months ago, I hated when other people I was with would have their noses in their phone. So I vowed not to be that person, and I'm still trying. Its a daily struggle.
4) That's pretty much it. I thought I had more thoughts, but I don't. Right now my brain is just hearing white noise, almost like fuzz. bzzzzzzz.
Anyways. You'll soon learn, avid reader and follower of my blog(yeah right), that I'm a bit of a rambler, and everything I say is generally very random.


Oh yeah, and I never proofread before posting, because I generally decide after proofing that what I've said is stupid, and end up deleting it. So you either get my blogs with mistakes and all, or not at all. Cheers :)

Ramblings about chicken...

Ok, so most people know that I'm not very politically active, mostly because I don't plan on spending much of my life in America. Don't get me wrong, I'm not as apathetic as most people my age, but I just don't see the point in arguing on facebook. No one's opinion is going to change because of ten comments back and forth on a status update.
Anyway, so I've been seeing a lot about this Chic-fil-a nonsense, and frankly, I'm shocked. Shocked that it is such a huge deal, and shocked that people didn't know that Chic-fil-a was a conservative/Christian establishment. I mean hello, I used to get Focus on the Family tapes in my kids meals there years ago, they always have Christian music on, and they're always slightly outspoken about supporting family values.


So really, I don't understand why everyone is surprised with Chic-fil-a's statements about supporting the "traditional family".


Ok, now I'm going to get down to the bigger issue. Most of the comments I have seen made about this whole ordeal have to do with people being angry that Chic-fil-a is "anti-gay". I also saw a slightly ridiculous accusation about it being anti-women, but seeing as how that tends to be women's favorite accusation these days (he wouldn't hire me because of my vagina!...no dear, it is because you are a terrible employee, not because of your female anatomy...) I'm not even going to acknowledge that as a real problem.


The issue for me is this. Everyone wants to criticize and say that Chi-fil-a is terrible for being anti-gay. Disregarding the fact that chic-fil-a never actually said anything about hating gay people, I'd like to look at a different side of this. People want to say "they aren't being accepting of everyone, therefore they are terrible people!!" This is a catch-22 way of thinking. People are mad at them for not being accepting of gays, but in fact, those people are doing the exact same thing by not being accepting of chic-fil-a for their beliefs.


If people want to say that "everyone can have an opinion", that's fine, but don't go and bash an establishment because they have an opinion of their own. Its a double standard! If you don't like your friend's views on a subject, you can discuss them or ignore them, either way they're probably not going to change their mind. If you don't like an organization or establishment and their opinions, then don't go there or don'd do business there! But don't tell other people that they should do the same, because then you're guilty of the same thing the people you disagree with are doing. Mad that chic-fil-a has certain beliefs? Think they're trying to force them on others? Cool, don't go there, and tell your friends how you feel. But don't bash people for having a different view and siding with chic-fil-a! By telling people they need to feel the same way you do, aren't you doing the same thing as your "opponent" by forcing your opinions on others??


See what a tangled web this is? This whole mindset of "equality" has to go both ways, or it is null and void altogether. You can't say that one group of people is right, and then decide that everyone who disagrees with those people are wrong for having their own beliefs. I genuinely don't understand this. America used to be a great country because everyone was entitled to their own opinions and beliefs, but now its almost like everyone wants us all to be the same. Everyone is the same, everyone needs to believe the same things, everyone has to agree...


This mindset terrifies me. Without people disagreeing, the system of checks and balances begins to fall apart. When people are too afraid to speak their opinion because of the backlash from others, our country will no longer be the same free place it is known for. Freedom of speech is something that the States have, but not many other places in the world get to experience. We've gotten so used to being able to say anything we want, but have we taken it too far? It seems to me like people my age like to go for "shock value" (myself included) to see how far we can take things. Just because we have freedom of speech does not mean we need to tell the world every little gruesome thought that pops into our minds. Its pointless.


So, how do I feel about the chic-fil-a controversy? You'd probably be surprised of my actual opinion, considering the nature of this post. I don't think its necessary for me to put my feelings on the issue in here, because my whole point is that regardless of what side of any issue you find yourself on, don't lose sight of the bigger picture. Divided we fall, and with the way the world is right now, we can't afford to be divided much more. So, have your own opinions, for pete's sake, but accept that other people have different opinions! We're not in elementary school, name calling is way below us (I hate seeing words like ignorant and bigots being thrown around as if it makes the person calling names automatically correct) so why not actually state your opinion without bashing the other side? Have a good old fashioned debate about different issues, but do it with an open mind and actually LISTEN to the other side!


Trust me, I'm just as guilty about all of this as anyone else, probably more so. I just get so tired of seeing people assuming that people are ignorant because they have a certain opinion. Good grief.


Ok, I'm done, just needed to get that out :) Have a great day everyone, whether you are picketing in front of chic-fil-a or going there to get a chicken sandwich!