A Letter to My High School Self

Dear High School Kaity,

I know that life is pretty tough. You got a lot going on and there's a lot of dark days. Just know that even when the skies above are overcast, the sun is still shining somewhere.

I've compiled a list of ten things that I think you might want to know. Now, I fully believe we wouldn't be me today without the bumps and missed turns taken in the past, but there are a few things that you should probably know to make the journey easier.

1. Love yourself. Every inch. Inside and Out.

2. Life gets better. Those people don't matter and, in all honesty, won't remember how they made you feel. Remove them from Facebook and get on with your life. 

3. You are allowed to say no. If people don't accept this response when you say it, let 'em go. You should only have to say it once. 

4. Take life's opportunities as they come. They are there to help mold you into a better person.

5. Learn how to save money. If you knew where I was - you would be kicking yourself. Put back anywhere from $25 - 50 per month. Or more, yo. Trust me - it'll be worth it.

6. People will break your heart; it is one of the most brutal parts of life. Do not waste time trying to win them back because they aren't worth it. They have made a decision and, however painful it is, you must let them go. Have a day to grieve. Eat as much chocolate as you want, watch sappy movies, scream, cuss, go for a walk. Then, the next day, pull yourself together, call a friend, and get out of the house. It's painful but extremely necessary.

7. Don't compare your life to others. As a great future friend of yours said to me, we all walk different paths of life and there's no problem with that. What you are doing is necessary for your own happiness. Who cares if it is not the same as someone else?

8. There is a difference between being content and being happy. Don't allow yourself to settle.

9. You are loved. 

10. Don't quit because you're not great at something instantly. Every quote you ever see about accomplishing things talks about time. When your motivation dies, that's the time to really push yourself. Practice whatever you're doing once a day until you get to where you want.

Remember, rough patches are nothing more than sandpaper that helps smooth us into better human beings. You can do this. You will make it through.

See you soon,

Kaity

Group Projects and Other Things

Group projects are supposed to teach you many things; how to collaborate, how to share ideas, how to distribute workload, responsibility, and help you bond with people you may or may not know.

The only thing that I typically take away from them is trust no one.

In all honesty, the few times that I have had large group projects they have been with my cohort and went fairly well. The benefit of going through basically every class together teaches you how to do all the things listed above, but in a less stressed out scenario. Basically, that means that if we could collaborate as a class, we would do it. It's like getting to pick your own group. You know everyone well enough to know what to expect.

However, grouping up with a lot of people you don't know brings back old high school memories of "if I don't do it, then no one will". For Pete's sake, we are in grad school! You would think that some of these middle school mentalities would have finally worked their way out of people's system. Turns out that they don't - and it can lead to a lot of chaos. (Like four people trying to yell over each other at the meeting while you are trying to take minutes of what's happening. It's very aggravating and stirs up anger from no where. Typically, in my case,  it leads to the Scrooge musical playing over and over in your head.)

It is ridiculous to me how full grown adults can quickly relapse into preteen drama.

In other news, for people who think I don't do anything other than school and work - you're mainly right. But...

(July 4, 2015 - Charles River)

(July 7, 2015 - Fenway Stadium Red Sox v Mariners )

And today I'm headed to the beach for a well earned break.

Until next time,

Kaity

See You Later, Ms. Mildred

Today, a wonderful woman finally went home to be with the Lord.

Ms. Mildred was like another grandmother to me. She is one of the main factors that I am even up in Boston studying Deaf Education. Because of her, and the group known as the Card Sharks, I was taught ASL, how to play a mean round of Golf, Skipbo, and a few other games,  what it meant to be happy with where you were in life, and how to have fun no matter your age. These ladies have watched over me since I was little and I considered them family.

At 103, Ms. Mildred was still sharp as a tack, a queen at Wii Bowling, and constantly complaining about how the Rangers needed to improve. (If someone would've driven her there, she would've whipped those players into shape.) Her age never stopped her from wanting to learn all that she could. And,  although her eyesight was fading, she was always down for Facetime. It typically was a very entertaining affair as I would see a closeup of her eye because I was too small on the screen.

Ms. Mildred is exactly who I want to be when I grow up. A strong, godly woman who could still kick butt at card games or a round of baseball - even in a wheelchair. She will be dearly missed.

See you soon, Ms. Mildred.

How to Succeed At Being Broke

As promised - here is how I've managed to scrape by the last week. Mind you, there's another week to go, but I'm really not too concerned because of some of the things I did last week.

First, I made a list of all the necessary evils that were occurring over the next two weeks. Then, I looked over the list again to see how many of them were actually necessary. You would be surprised how much might not hit that category.

Food, travel, textbook, and laundry. That's what I decided were necessary. But even then - money was tight. So after finding as many deals and coupons as I could, I bought food and train tickets and after a few hours of scouring the internet - I found a free pdf of the previous edition of my text book. Win!

(On the left we see Lunch / Dinners for under $7. On the right we see the fruit bought to balance the nutrition, a total of $8. This is why college kids are not healthy.)

So I did a bit of research of how people can make money online. (PS - Best way to google this is with "Stay at home Moms". You get much better results.) Also, I looked into the quick jobs board here at the school. (Also something I recommend doing.) While a lot of the online things take time and weeks to build up to be worth something, being a healthy, English speaking college student pays off pretty quick! (And I thought I had no skills! :P)

Basically, that's what this week is composed of. Doing random tasks which includes anything from donating blood (being broke makes you rethink your fears) to doing language type tasks - all the while getting compensated for my time. It's pretty awesome.

And that, dear friends, is how I'm currently making it. It's not bad - it's a stage of life I'm sure everyone goes through at least once.

Also - Happy Birthday to me!! Thank y'all for all the wonderful birthday wishes and support over this past year. It has meant the world to me!

Until next time,

Kaity

(Fourth of July Pics)