Friday, November 28, 2014

Out of My Mind Series #3 - Fears

Hey y'all! Happy belated Thanksgiving! Hope you're stuffed full of food & remember what you're truly thankful for. This post is about a topic that is the opposite of being thankful. I got to thinking about it after watching this week's O2L videos. That subject is fear. That got me thinking about what I truly fear. Here's the list:


  1. Spiders - The includes spiders of ALL sizes! If I even see a tiny one I will completely freak out. It's gotten better as I've gotten older, but I am the poster child for aracnidphobia. The thought of the concept of the movie "Eight Legged Freaks" is my worst nightmare! I can't even watch the scenes in the second Harry Potter movie with all of the spiders without covering my eyes or skipping that part. The closest I've gotten to watching anything with a spider in it is "Miss Spider's Sunny Patch" (I think that's the name of it. It's a kids show.) I was barely able to watch "Charlotte's Web." (Don't get me started on spider webs.)
  2. The unknown - This may be a bit irrational, but there's something about the unknown that freaks me out. I'm 22 now & will graduate from college with my bachelor's degree in elementary education, but I don't know if I really wanna teach kids for the rest of my life. Don't get me wrong, I like kids, but the thought of tons of kids relying on me to teach them what they need to know scared me. I'm not really a planner, but I like to have at least an outline of what could happen, & if it happens it happens. The fear of the unknown brings me to my next fear...
  3. Being alone forever - This is another one of those things where I'm 22, & I see everyone around me either getting into relationships, getting engaged, getting married, or having kids. In the south, it's uncommon for me to not at be dating a guy by now. It's even worse being a Christian, where young marriage is very common. The thought of being that crazy cat (or dog) lady is a scary thought for me! I just saw 2 of my close friends get engaged this weekend, & I'm completely happy for them, but it also made me scared that I could never have that. I know it's not up to me to decide who I'll date or marry or when, but I can't help but be scared of being alone.
  4. Getting into a wreck - I usually only think about this when I'm in the car. I've been pretty close to getting in an accident, but it scares the crap out of me to think that my car could be hit & no one would know what happened to me. This fear is more about others than me. I don't want to worry my friends or family. I always think of what could happen if I'm in the middle of nowhere & be in a fatal accident.
  5. Scary movies - This is the last one I'll talk about. I'm a huge scaredy cat when it comes to scary movies. I cover my eyes when I think something scary will happen. I jump easily. My friends make fun of me. It's not cool! 
That's all for this post. Have a great week! Happy Thanksgiving!

Live for God & Love for Music! 
- Patience <3 =)

Friday, November 7, 2014

Out of My Mind Series #2 - Who would you be?

Hey yall! Welcome back to another edition of my "Out of My Mind Series". This week I've been thinking about my brother. No, I'm not talking about my step-brother Jimbob. I'm talking about my biological brother, Tommy. Some things you should know before I begin: 1. His full name was Thomas Leon Cox (my dad and grandpa's middle names); 2. He passed away when he was 15 days old from Crib Death; 3. He was older than me; 4. He would have been 27; 5. One of my really good friends has the same birthday as he did (July 30); & 6. Most people don't even know I have a brother. Like I said before, I've been thinking a lot like him. What would he look like? Would we have been close? Would he have gone to college? Would he have any talents? Would he have the Cox eyes? Would he look more like my mom or my dad? Several things to think about. Here's how I picture him:

He would be pretty attractive, and my friends would have the hugest crush on him. He would play soccer or football, but in his spare time he would play in a band. He would have had dark brown hair & hazel eyes (like most of my family). We would've been really close, like the siblings you see on tv that are practically best friends. He would've been popular but still talked to everyone and never singled anyone out. He would have an awesome fiance'/wife who all of us would get along with. He would've had some rocky teenage years but would've matured a lot once he got to college. I think he would've went to either EKU or UK and would've been a part of Cru (just like me). Professors and teachers would have loved him. If he was anything like the rest of our family, I bet he also would have been stubborn as a mule. His friends would also be my friends, for the most part. He would have traveled the world by now doing mission trips. His major would be criminal justice. We would bond over music. He would love to dance but be the worst dancer ever. He would have been a huge comic nerd and would geek out with me over superheros. His favorite superhero would be Iron Man. I would go to his apartment every week, with some of my friends, and watch The Walking Dead (yet another thing we would geek out over). He would work at Office Depot in the printing center, part time. He would be in grad school while he was working. He would have dressed like a hipster, hung out at hipster coffee shops, and listened to hipster bands.

I'm sure there is more that I can think of, but that's all of the characteristics I can think of for now. It's weird to think of what life would have been like if my brother were still alive. I wonder if I would be the same person or totally different?

That's all for this week. Have a great weekend, & I'll talk to ya next post!

Live for God & Love for Music!
-Patience <3 =)

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Out of My Mind Series - #1

Hey yall! I read a book for my LIB 301S class last week called "Out of My Mind" by Sharon Draper. The book is about a 10 year old named Melody who has cerebral palsy and has to be in a wheelchair and cannot talk. She has all of these thoughts in her mind that she cannot vocally express. She only has her communication board that she has to point at the words that have been given to her and hope that people know what she means, which is hard sometimes because the only fully functioning thing about her hands are her thumbs, so she has to use those to point to things.
This book and concept got me to thinking how lucky I am to be able to speak and type. The use of words are important. Unfortunately for Melody, she was super smart and had several great thoughts that nobody would be able to fully know. That's why I wanted to start a series called the "Out of My Mind Series" where I just say what's on my mind. I've learned from experience that holding things in without processing through it somehow and getting it off your mind is the worst. Then the thoughts get deeper and you start to lose your mind because you have no way of letting go. I encourage you all to find some way of getting "out of your mind" and releasing the inner thoughts you have. For me, it's easiest to type them all out. So here we go!

The first thing that has been a constant thought in my mind is: guys suck! Dealing with personal guy issues is the worst, but when it's happening to not only you but also two of your suitemates, it's a problem. You get this idea of a guy, who shows a lot of interest in you, then for no reason at all, cuts you off. It's like running a race and having to drop out 2 inches from the finish line. It sucks!!!! In my case, I was "the other girl." When I first heard this, it was from a good friend of mine who is best friends with the guy that I like. He told me that they had talked and he's liked me since last semester. Last semester?! Are you kidding me?! Why didn't you freaking do something about it last semester when you started to have feelings for me? But the killer part is that there was another girl in the picture that he had wanted to go after who, in my friend's words, was "out of his league." That should have been my first sign to abort mission and back out, but I thought that I was still in the running, so I continued to pursue whatever chance I had at this relationship thing. Things were going great! He was being intentional about hanging out. He wanted to sit by me at events with Cru. He started going to my church and wanted me to save him a seat. We would Facebook message and Snapchat each other all the time. I thought that was a sure sign. Then, I started getting impatient because he still hadn't said anything to me. So, I asked my friend if he would mind talking to him and seeing where we stood as far as if anything was going to happen. He finally had lunch with him, and reported back. The response was not what I was hoping for. Apparently, there was a new girl on his radar (different from the "out of his league" girl) & I was pushed so far out of his mind that he said he didn't like me anymore & only saw me as a friend. That hurt a ton! To make things worse though is what happened next. At Cru that same week, this guy has the nerve to message me again to ask me to save him a seat. At this point I couldn't say no there wasn't any room because when I finally got the message he was walking into the room & would have been able to see me. So I unwillingly saved him a seat beside me. At this point, I was trying not to show how hurt I was or that I even knew what had was said between him & my friend. After Cru, he walked with me (by ourselves) to go get food before everyone else went. We sat with one of my other friends, & he was still being super flirty with me. My girl brain did one of those things where I was hoping that my friend had lied to me about what was said & I had a little hope. Well, one of my suitemates/best friend saw that I was sitting with him & was talking to him & started giving me the stank eye from another table. I had told her what had happened & she was beyond ticked at this guy, who happens to be friends with all of us. After he left, I was talking with some of my friends who knew the situation & was really questioning things. The hurt was there & was coming on strong. Another friend was dealing with other boy issues & needed some fresh air to clear her head so I went with her. At that moment, I decided to message him & find out the truth for myself. I figured that if I got confirmation from him about things then I would be satisfied. I was wrong. The message I got back said that he was sorry if he came off as flirty, but he only saw me as a friend. My heart officially tore in 2 pieces & it took all of me to wait until I got back to my dorm to keep from crying my eyes out. It's been about a week & a half now & things haven't slacked up. Some days are easier than other, but every time I see him my chest gets tight & I feel as though I want to cry or scream or something to release the tension. He still talks to me like he did before. He still continues to go to my church. It's the hardest thing ever to see him everywhere & pretend as though things are okay when in reality it's the excact opposite. I know it sounds stupid to be caught up about a guy so much that I didn't even date, but it doesn't mean the pain hurts any less. I  have trust issues with guys anyway because of things in my past & this was just the icing on the cake. I know that there are still some good guys out there somewhere, but being 22 years old & still incredibly single makes me wonder if there is. Being so close to finally being in a relationship & then having that pulled out from under you is not a great feeling at all. I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but when I get time alone to myself even for a few minutes my mind begins to spiral back & think of the pain I'm feeling. I'm learning slowly to give my trust over to God & let him decide how I should deal with this, but my mind is doesn't fully know what that looks like. I would like to think that I have & then the memories come back & I'm back at square one with being stuck in my head & needing to write out how I'm feeling & what I'm thinking. That's the fun task. Yay being a girl!

That was enough overload for one post. I'm going to try to do a lot more like this. If you read up to this point, you're awesome! I hope you have a great week & I challenge you to do your own form of releasing your thoughts, whether that is in writing or making a video, I would love to see them! Send me a link. You could even do it privately for yourself, like a diary of some sort just for you to look back on & learn from it later. I'll talk to yall next post.

Live for God & Love for Music!
-Patience <3 =)