Trapped in My House

Hey yall! If you aren't aware, Snow Storm Jonas has impacted the U.S. Here in Kentucky we got around 10-18 inches, depending on where you live. Currently, I'm looking outside of my window & my car is almost completely covered, & I can't see our driveway. I haven't been outside since Thursday night. Some good things came out of snow strom: I'm getting to chill in my onesie while drinking coffee & watching YouTube, Netflix, etc. I also got all my homework done, which is a plus for me since I am the queen of procrastination. The down-side to the snow is that I can't go anywhere & the coldness seeps into our house when the door is opened, which happened when our roommates from upstairs came down to visit last night. All-in-all, I can't really complain. As long as I don't have to get out in it, I'm perfectly fine with the snow. It's actually really pretty. The sucky part is when I have to venture out to dig my car out from the piles of snow loading my car & entrapping me in my little alley/hill of a driveway. It's too small for a cleaning truck, & we really have no neighbors to shovel it (we also don't have a shovel ourselves). So, it's up to us to get out. I keep havoing flashbacks to last year, when I was stuck on campus in the snowpocalypse of 2015. Back then, I lived in a dorm & only had to worry about walking to class. This year, I have to worry about driving/walking to class on Monday & driving to work on Tuesday. I would try to get to church, but my roommate & I already decided that we would spend tomorrow trying to digging my car out, instead of risking our lives to drive to church in my sketchy, almost broken down & beat up Kia Sportage. Yeah, let's just say it's a wonder that car survived last snow storm. So, for now, I finished my homework, & my only other responsibility is to enjoy my time off & maybe be more productive later (HUGE maybe!). It's crazy how I can say that I've lived through multiple snow storms. At only 23, I have SURVIVED the snowpocalypse of 2015 & 2016. What?! Crazy! This will be a story I tell my potential kids one day. They won't believe me. But, anyway, I'm getting off on another topic. The point is, I SURVIVED! But I'm still kinda stuck in my house, so I'll update you if I made it out of my house.

If Jonas is currently affecting you, I hope you're safe. Don't go out unless you have to. & in general, I hope everyone has a great week! See ya in the next post!

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

How's it going 2016?!

Hey yall! Happy 2016! It's strange to think that it's already a new year. I feel like it just turned 2000 like a few years ago, not 16 years. As I was thinking back to 2015, I realized that a lot of things happened. I went to Asia. I got a new job at Kohl's. I rented my first house. I went to my last Encounter. I just did a ton of cool things last year! As far as 2016 goes, I know that big things are gonna happen. I'm going into Methods this semester (next to last semester for education majors). I'm student teaching in the fall. I graduate in December! I'm headed back to NYC with some women, from church, and my roommate for a few days (YAY!). Those are all the things I know of right now, but I have a few goals for this year. I guess you could call them resolutions, but I'm just gonna say goals.

1.  I want to grow more in my walk with Christ.
2.  I want to be a better Bible Study leader, by staying more on top of things, such as discipleship.
3. I want to be less of a procrastinator.
4. I want to watch more movies.
5. I want to read more books.
6. I want to listen to more artists and bands.
7. I want to figure out more of what I want to do in my life. 
8. I want to travel more and go on adventures.
9. I want to learn to be more trusting. 
10. I want to learn a different language/build on languages I kinda know.
11. I want to be more studious.
12. I want to eat a little better.
13. I want to blog more.
14. I want be the best worker I can be.
15. I want to be the best student I can be. 
16. I want to be the best daughter I can be.
17. I want to be the best sister I can be.
18. I want to be the best friend that I can be.
19. I want to be the best disciple I can be.
20. I want to be more social. 
21. I want to be more spontaneous.
22. I want to not be afraid to fail. 
23. I want to get a better car. 
24. I want to get a better computer.
25. I want to learn to budget my money.
26. I want to learn to cook.
27. I want to get on a better sleep schedule.
28. I want to have more quiet times.
29. Lastly, I want to have no regrets.

I know that I won't be able to accomplish these things all this year, and I can't do them all alone. A lot of these goals are long-term goals, while others are short-term goals. But that's the great thing about goals, they're not all the same. As I get older, I want to have things crossed off my list, so that I can add more. 

Here's my question for you: What are some of your 2016/life goals? 

That's all for this post. Hope you have an amazing new year! See ya in the next blog.

Live for God & Love for Music!

-Patience <3 =)

One Thing With Multiple Meanings

It's been so long since I've posted on here! Sorry I've been gone. Between life, school, work, church, and everything in between, I haven't been able to just sit down and write. But now that I'm on Christmas break, I have a lot more time to focus on fun things, like reading and writing more blog posts. I miss this.

So, back to my normal greeting...Hey yall! So, I've talked about wanting to get a tattoo for a few years, but until recently it didn't become real until recently, because me and my roommate have been talking about getting tattoos soon (possibly this month if we have the money). My original idea for my tattoo was to get the lyric: "We've all got battle scars"  (from a Paradise Fears song called "Battle Scars") with the battle scars heart somewhere within the tattoo, on my left shoulder. When I had this idea, I thought about the symbolism behind it, and I wanted it to be somewhere that couldn't be seen because I'm an education major. Well, a few weeks ago I modified the idea of how and where I wanted this tattoo. The premise is still the same, but I switched it up to fit me better.

You may be wondering what my idea is now. Well, I'm gonna tell ya. It all started when I was at work, with no customers waiting, and I began to draw the battle scars heart on my left wrist. I continued to do this for a while. I mean I even draw this heart on just about every piece of paper I can, and apparently my skin is no exception. So, I decided to change the tattoo from my shoulder to my wrist, and I'm cutting out the lyrics (from this tattoo at least, but it may appear on my body one day in another tattoo).

Unless you're a Paradise Fears fan (otherwise called a Turtle) like me, then you probably don't know what I mean by a battle scars heart. A battle scars heart is the image on the front of the band's album titled "Battle Scars", and it's a heart with all pointed edges insted of rounded edges. Also, on the cover, it looks as if it has been painted on there. I really like look of it!

For me personally this tattoo represents a few things for me:

1. It represents one of my all time favorite bands, Paradise Fears. I've listened to their music since sometime my senior year of high school, which was almost 5 years ago. To this day, I think that they hands down have the greatest lyrically written songs in the history of music. It's not your typical cooke cutter pop punk music, they have a style all their own. I  HIGHLY recommend checking them out on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, or any other place to stream music. Their music speaks to me on a deep level, and I just relate a lot to their songs. Plus, they just happen to be a group of extremely attractive men, who are around my age. And Sam Miller has the voice of an angel! But now I'm getting off on another topic. Just check them out. (They also just dropped their new album "Life in Real Time"! :D)
2. It represents my favorite lyric from their album "Battle Scars". The full lyric that I originally based the tattoo off of is: "You know we've all got battle scars. Keep marching on." Like I said earlier, it comes from the song "Battle Scars". To me, this lyric is a reminder to keep going when things get tough. I can always pick myself up again, and keep going. That's the thing I love about this song. I am always reminded to never give up, no matter how hard life gets. I could flunk out of college, and it's okay, because I'm still alive. My heart is still beating. I still have a God who loves me. I still have friends and family who love me. Life is still good.
3. That brings me to the third meaning of why I want this tattoo. It reminds me that I'm not perfect, and God doesn't expect me to be. Everyone makes mistakes in life. We're sinners! But Jesus died on the cross for our imperfect souls, which I think is the coolest thing EVER! I mean, He could have let us go to Hell , but instead Jesus said, "Father please forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." It's true that it was the Romans who did that, and not me and you, but in all reality, we are crucifying Him again on the cross every time that we sin against Him. That lyric, referenced above, gives me hope that all I have to do is ask God to forgive my sins, and it's all taken care of because Jesus died on the cross. And Jesus is the only person who is perfect, which means EVERYONE is imperfect. I'm not alone in this. It's mind-blowing to think about! PF probably didn't mean for this meaning when they wrote the song, but that's the thing with music, a song can mean one thing to someone, and something completely different for another person.

Those are the three reasons why I want the tattoo. As for the change up, the first reason was that I realized that I was gonna be the only person to see the tattoo, and I would have to look in a mirror just to see it. For all the reasons that I want it, I think it would be silly to get it somewhere that I couldn't really see it to be reminded of it. Secondly, I've seen other education majors with visible tattoos. If they can get away with it, then so can I. If nothing else, I'll hide it with makeup since it's gonna be small. Thirdly, I took out the quote mostly because I didn't have enough room on my wrist for it, and I was having trouble figuring out how I wanted the tattoo. The scariest thing about tattoos is that they're permanent, so if I gotten it and regretted it, it would take a ton more money and pain to get it removed. Not worth it! 

The funniest thing is, I forgot I had drawn it on my wrist the other day in pen, and when I got home, I was doing my hair and forgot it was there. So for a brief moment I was freaked out because I thought I had gotten it tattooed already and didn't remember it. In my defense though, I worked a long shift that day and dealt with tons of people. Sleepiness and confusion just don't work. Below I added a rough picture of how I've been drawing it. When I actually do get it though, I'll probably make it like the album cover version, which will also be posted below.

The heart that I've been drawing on my wrist a lot recently.

The battle scars heart from Paradise Fear's album "Battle Scars". The original cover is black with a gold heart, but I found the just black version on Google. I like this better for a tattoo idea.

Well yall, that's all I have for you this post. I'll try to do better at posting. I'll update you if I actually get my tattoo. But until then, have a great week/weekend, and I'll be back in the next post.

Live for God & Love for Music!

-Patience <3 =)

Weird How Things Change

Hey yall! Today I was listening to Taylor Thrash's old album (from 2012) on Spotify. That got me to thinking back to his old music compared to his music now, which is COMPLETELY different, but I still love both styles the same. That got me to thinking about all the music & artists that I listen to now compared to 5-10 years ago. Most of them have changed, but a few are still the same. For example, Demi Lovato's music is VERY different than it was back in her Camp Rock days. I'm still a huge Lovatic! But I still love her old stuff just as I did in the past. I realized that my taste has exapanded as I have grown along with these artists. I have always loved all kinds of music, but my ears have opened up to newer music because of the music that I have been listening to has evolved. With T. Thrash, he went from upbeat pop to rap/hip hop. Demi has gone from bubble gum pop to edgy pop-rock. Those are just 2 examples. I could go on for days about the drastic difference in a number of my favorite artists. The point is, a lot of artists go through a big change in their music but it doesn't always mean it's bad. They're just trying things out, & you have to respect them for at least trying to go outside of the box. I hate when I'm watching a music video or a lyric video & I read, "I'm a huge fan of _____ but they've changed so much! I miss the old _____!" Granted, I have said this a couple of times, but I wasn't like a major fan of the person in the first place, I just liked their old stuff better, for example Miley Cyrus. But I mean when a person says they're a HUGE fan then go & bash their music, that's when I get a little annoyed. It also happens with many YouTubers as well. I saw the perfect example of this the other day. I was watching Demi Lovato's VMA performance, & a person commented, "I'm a huge Lovatic, but I miss Demi's old music." It wasn't exactly like that, but it was close to that. The way this person actually phrased made it seem like they were saying they were a big fan of Demi, but they hated all of her new music. I don't think you can be a big fan if you even remotely hate the new music. I know there are songs that I don't like, but I don't think I could even hate music from the artists that I call my favorite artists. This is personally my own opinion, but then again, I do have a wide range of music. I think that if you claim to support your favorite artist through all of the musical changes, you should also be there to support them no matter what they do (unless drastically go from Top 40's pop to heavy metal screamo that sounds NOTHING like them). Even in that situation though, I don't think they would be doing music if they planned to change to do music that doesn't represent them as an artist.

But yeah...I had to get that out of my head while I was thinking about it. I'll catch ya again in the next post. Have a great week!

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

P.S. if you want to listen to any of the artists I listen to either: 1) follow me on Spotify, or 2) leave a comment below.

P.S.S. to listen to Taylor Thrash's new stuff go to soundcloud.com/taylorthrash ;)

How to Do Adult Things

Hey yall! I've been learning this summer how to "adult". Honestly, I still haven't figured it out, & I don't think I ever will. I moved into my first house with my roommate, paid rent, took out a loan, & bought actual groceries. Until this point none of that stuff was even on the radar. It's so freaking hard! How do people do it? I'm only 22, so I know that I'm not even that far into adulthood. But I'm struggling so hardcore to figure out how to do be an adult. They don't give you a book that says, "this is how to be an adult & here's everything that you need." I wish it was like that! I guess I'm having such a hard time because I've had things just given to me all of my life. I mean I did work hard for things, but I've never had to pay for things (like rent or bills) on my own. This is also the first time I've actually lived fully on my own, well I have Felisha but she hasn't lived on her own either. We've lived on campus for 4 years & then at home during summer. It's weird not to live in Harrodsburg for the summer & work at Kroger. Now I'm in Richmond & I work at Kohl's. Super weird! I haven't even fully unpacked, so I'm kinda in East Asia mode & move-out mode. It doesn't feel like it's a permanent thing. I feel as if I'll have to move into a dorm in just a few weeks in a few weeks, but I luckily don't have to worry about that. Also, the fact that I haven't spent much time with my family or dog much this summer is super weird too. My dad has come up a couple of times & my step-mom came up once with him. Other than that, I've only been home for maybe 2 or 3 weeks in total this whole summer. If you read the title of this & expected to get some advice for how to adult, then you came to the wrong place. I think I can shed some light on it though: you'll never completely understand how adulting works, but it's okay because no one expects you to know how to do it.

On the upside, it's not all bad. I have my own room, & I have a place to call home. I can do pretty much whatever to my house & decorate it how I want. I can call Richmond home officially instead of just my college town. I can hang out with my church family & not have to worry if I'll be in town for events or not. I'm able to get more involved with church. I get to relate to other adults on a whole new level. I can walk to the library & check out things all by myself. I can walk to the coffee shop down the street & relax for a few hours. I can check another thing off my bucket list. Thr beginning of this post may have sounded like complaining, but not everything is bad.

Overall, I love living here! There are ups & downs. Sometimes I get stressed & regret my decision, but I wouldn't change where I'm at. I'm glad that me & Felisha made the decision to move out of the dorms. We're gonna finish up our college lives here & it's gonna be a lot of new experiences. I'm lucky to have a best friend/roommate to live with & share experiences. We've been roommates for almost 4 years, & I'm excited that we're taking the next step in our journey together. We're at the same point in our lives that we can help each other out in the good times & the bad. Until the day we either move away or God places guys in our lives to take us in a new direction, we're living life together at our new place for at least the next 2 years. We're teaching each other how to adult, & we're able to learn from the amazing women at church & in Cru how they do it.

Do you have any tips? Can you relate? Let me know your thoughts. Until next time, have a great week!

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

"I'm in a New York State of Mind"

Hey yall! Lately I've been thinking a lot about how much I miss New York. If you didn't know, I spent a month in NYC/Brooklyn on a mission trip with Cru. It was one of the best trips ever! I fell in love with New York. I'm actually thinking about going living there sometime after I graduate college.

I always get the same question: "what did you love so much about New York?" Well, there's several reasons why I love it. I love that there's a variety of culture. I love that I can talk to a person from the U.S. then walk 5 ft & talk to a person from France. I love that there's always something to do. I love that I can be in a crowded place but feel that I'm alone at the same time. I love the diverse people I see walking down the street. I love riding the subway & seeing a performance. I love watching a Broadway show on a Saturday for only $30. I love walking through the different parks. I love that I can travel for 30 minutes & still be in the same burrough. I love that I can go to a museum for just a donation. I love that I can watch a movie in the park. I love that I can go to the same restaurant that we have in Kentucky, but it's completely different. I love that I can be whoever I want to be & no one can judge me, because everyone is different there. I love that I can go to a coffee shop & just chill for hours without it being weird. I love that I can walk down the street & run into a random celebrity & hardly anyone freaks out. I love that I can watch a play, & the next day I see actors from that same play eating at a restaurant with their families. I love that I can go to Stardust & see future Broadway stars performing & serving me food. I love that NYU is spread out all over New York City.

The thing that I love the most is............I get to talk about my Jesus freely! I get thousands of responses when I ask someone about who Jesus is to them. It's like being on an overseas mission trip, but I'm still in the U.S. It's cool to get in multiple conversations with people about religion. I hardly do that in Kentucky, & I think it's because I live in the Bible Belt & I know what most people are gonna say.

It's not like any other place. If you had asked me 2 years ago if I would ever move to New York, I would have said you're insane. After being there for a month, I call it another home. I'm almost obsessed with the thought of going back & checking out all my old spots. I wanna go back & see my friends that I met there. I wanna go back to the church we attended while there. I wanna walk down the same streets we walked down. I wanna ride the same subway lines we rode (usually the R Train). I wanna go to my favorite coffee shops. I wanna experience it all!

I know it'll be different when I wanna go back, but I know it'll suck me back in. The song "New York State of Mind" was pretty much written for me. If I could go back now, I would do it in a heartbeat. I love New York! Take me back!

I know I'm right where God wants me to be right now, but I hope someday he'll send me back. For now I have to keep going along with His plan & trust that he'll take me back there when He's ready. I'm just being needy & dreaming big. I can barely pay for rent right now, much less travel to New York for a week. Until that day I'll just dream about what it'll be like to be back in "the city that never sleeps".

But that's all I have for this post. Is there a place that you've been & desperately wanna go back to? Let me know. Until next time, have a fantastic week!

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

Broke as a Joke

Hey yall! It's been a really long time since I've posted on here. I'm the worst blogger! But I'm finally back on here. So, what's been going on since my last post? Well, I finished up the semester & headed out to East Asia for 5 & a half weeks to do a mission trip. It was the greatest experience of my life! God did so many great & amazing things there that I can't even explain. I might make another post about my trip later. After I got back in the U.S., I took a week break from things to deal with jetlag & culture shock, which hit me a lot more than I thought it ever would. Then, I moved to Richmond to continue apartment/house hunting with Felisha, my roommate of almost 3 & a half years. Right now we're staying in a copule of our friends' rooms for the summer while we searched for a place to live. Notice I said "SEARCHED". Yep! We FINALLY found a place to live! Tomorrow we'll officially move in & be able to call it home for the first official time.

The only bad thing about moving in now is that I'm pretty much broke. I job hunted for weeks & finally got a call back from Kohl's about employment, but all that time in between meant no money coming in. & with my coffee addiction & spur-of-the-moment spending, I didn't budget well. My dad, thankfully, helped me pay for my part of the deposit plus finish paying for the rent on the room we've been staying in. My cousin, Robin, also helped me pay for the rent on our house during the 5 days that we're staying. I have a pride issue & hate oweing people money! But in this situation I had to be humbled & let them help me out. Daddy & Robin, if you're reading this, THANK YOU! You'll never know how much this means to me, & I'll pay you back once I get the money.

As Taylor Thrash once said in one of his raps, "I'm broke as a joke & I can't remember how." I do remember how, but I don't remember spending that much money. It's crazy how much money has to do with everything you do. I actually have gotten to the point where I just hate the concept of money & what it stands for. I've caught myself using it as an idol & not just trusting God to provide, which He always does. But I know it's not just me. My family makes a big deal about money too, & they stress out about my money & their money all the time. In most cases, it feels as if money is a bigger stress & worry than it ever should be. I just don't like it at all!

But this wasn't supoosed to be a blog about how evil money is. I think that money can be good, if used in the right ways.But I mainly wanted to use this blog to update you guys on what I've been up to & to tell you that I HAVE A HOUSE! I feel like more of an adult already. Now it's time to start really adulting. I'll let you know how the process is. Until then, I have VBS tonight & I'm gonna enjoy my last days of freedom before I start work on Monday. I hope you all hav a great week!

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