Flashback Friday: MySpace Memories

"Things change, times change, people change. I think the people changing is what's affected me the most. People I was friends with years ago are now nothing but mere acquaintances. Was it they who changed or was it I?"

This quote was from my high school graduation speech and it has stuck with me through the years ingrained in my mind. As we move on through different stages in our lives, some people continue on with the journey while others we leave along the way. Sometimes it's they who do not want to keep going forward with us. Sometimes it's us, realizing some relationships need to be cut in order to get where we're going. Sometimes people just drift apart when one season ends and unfolds into another.

I remember reading a quote years ago that said, "The great thing about pictures is that they never change even when the people in them do." It was on that basis I looked for inspiration for today's post.

Do you remember the world before Facebook and Twitter? Some of you may know that before FB really took off, we were all on a site called MySpace. lol. Before MySpace was really big, I had a blog (if I can call it that?) on Xanga.com. I decided to visit both of those locations lately (to see if they were even still there!) And I was both excited and surprised to see everything exactly as I left it from years past.

a Xanga post

My Xanga still talked about trying to find a job after graduation... things that were going on with college boyfriend... I wrote about my feelings when my Grampa passed away... it was so open. So personal. So emotional.

My MySpace was full of notes and comments from people I haven't talked to in years. Of the "top 7 friends" listed on the site, I'm now only friends with three of them... and one of those I haven't talked to in a few months.

my MySpace profile--still pink and girlie like me now lol

But there was my life from 2004 'til early 2009. Frozen in time. Like a little capsule to take me back to people, places, and events I may have otherwise forgotten.

The internet is a crazy place that way. Keeping everything forever. It's comforting to know that no matter where we go in this life or how far we change from who we were, there is still a record to remember who we were, what we did, and where we came from. It is all those experiences--both good and bad--that turn us into the fabulous women and men we become in our adult and later lives.

So, to answer my initial question "was it they who changed or was it I?" I'm sure it's a little bit of both... but as I read things written by the me of the past, I realize my thoughts and feelings about me, others, life in general, have matured over the years. Inside, I'm still that crazy, girlie, drama-filled 21 year old I was in my Xanga days; but I'm also a stronger woman who can recognize the big picture of things and not get so wound up over every day trials.

How about you? Do you have a life time capsule somewhere on the internet? How do you feel you've changed from back in the pre-social-media-everywhere days?:)

Some Encouragement for Friends (and Strangers;)

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to write a super quick note to share a couple things with you! For those of you that missed my SUPER HUGE GIGANTIC SURPRISING NEWS of yesterday, I was featured as an Editor's Pick on bloggers.com!! I'm not sure exactly what this means, or how they determine it, but apparently I was noticed and they decided to spotlight my blog! (yay!) What it meant to me was some extra page views, some new followers (hi everyone!!;) and some kind comments from some sweet people who probably wouldn't have found me otherwise.

If you're a blogger and think no one is reading your blog and no one cares what you have to say, THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE! The Internet is a crazy thing that anyone IN THE WORLD can see what you have to say! There are people that will agree, will disagree, will like you, will hate you, etc. but what you say DOES MATTER!!

You may not have a hundred followers over night.... you may not have a hundred followers ever... you may get four hundred followers in a month and be a huge sensation! You just never know, but there a couple things I've learned:

Promote yourself! You are your own best advertisement! Be active on Twitter, Facebook, whatever social media venue you choose. Tell people about your blog. Invite them to see what you have to say. Encourage them to be a part of it. Reach out to them!

Put yourself out there! There are sooo many different sites you can join and advertise your blog (Blog Train, BlogUpp, Bloggers, just to name a few). They work!

Tell people in real life, too! I keep my blog business cards with me at all times because you never know when someone is going to talk about your nail art, your makeup, or anything else that can lead into a conversation about your blog!

And most importantly, blog because it's what you love and it's what YOU want to do. Don't base it on ANYONE ELSE or you'll struggle the entire time to please others and you won't have any fun at all! Please don't focus on the numbers or if anyone is reading; people will stumble upon you when you least expect it:)

And that concludes this edition of advice from Kristen lol. What have you found is the best way to advertise your blog? What is your favorite thing about blogging? How do you feel about people who try to get followers by any of the following means: follow for follow back; gaining followers just by hosting giveaways; getting people to retweet that they need X number of followers to get to XXX number?

Flashback Friday: Graduation Day!

Happy Friday!! In case you missed my Twitter yesterday, I've decided to transition Throwback Thursday officially to Flashback Friday! I'm not sure if I'll keep the linky or not; I think you all like reading and seeing some of my old stuff, but no one really is doing it, too:) So we'll see!

Now, something historic happened 11 years ago yesterday. Something so monumental it has stayed with me forever! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, on May 24, 2001, I graduated high school!!! Ahhhhh!!!

Wow, now let us take a moment to take a deep breath in realization of just how long ago that was. And how old I really am....

Actually, let's not dwell on that! hahaha.

Graduation was a huge deal! Everything we knew was going to be over and the future was full of complete unknowns. Sure, most of us knew where we were going to college and maybe had an idea of what we'd major in, but what would we do after? Who would we marry? Would we have kids? Where would we live? It was a vast unknown, and it was scary.

And exciting.

And sad.

This song actually came out for the class of 2000, but it was still played on the radio graduation season of '01 and to this day, when I hear it, it holds special memories to me! Do you all remember this song??:)

*sigh* good ol' days.

My high school graduation was pretty wonderful. I was valedictorian (okay, go ahead and talk about what a dork I was lol) and had a really fabulous speech! (I'm going to share the parts of it that I remember sometime because it's honestly relevant for even today!) It was the last big event that my Grampa was able to attend before he passed away in 2004. After the reception, high school boyfriend and I went to McDonalds and I'm pretty sure the McDonalds worker thought we had just gotten married! (I was in a white dress and he in a suit and tie lol).

So... eleven years later... and look how far I've come... finished college... have a real job... no husband or kids yet (and I'm okay with that!:) but at times... I still feel like I'm that seventeen year old girl. I have a lot of the same insecurities and fears. The same thoughts and feelings. I've definitely matured, but I think there's a part of me that will honestly always be that seventeen year old girl...

How about you? Do you remember your graduation?? How long ago was it?? (if it's within like 5 years, don't tell me, I'll just feel older jk;) What special memories do you have from high school? How has your life changed?

Share your thoughts with me in the comments!!:)

It's a BIG day today!!

Hi Lovelies!! So today is kind of a monumental moment!! Today is my six month bloggiversary!!! Yes, six months ago today was my first every blog post! (please don't go back and read it; lol, I wasn't quite sure what I was doing at the time hahaha)

But! Here I am! Half a year later and still doing it!!! This is a big deal because sometimes I take up a "new hobby"' and get bored doing it.. or feel like I'm not very good at it... (knitting for instance! I was all about doing that and made EVERYONE in my family a scarf for Christmas! hahaha. But I never learned anything other than the regular garter stitch so I got frustrated and stopped...) (Or basketball! I tried that my sophomore year of high school and was horrrrrible at it. hahah Since I wasn't "good" at it, I never played again.) Bottom line, I'm not very good at sticking with things (commitment issues? lol)

ANYWAY, so it's actually a pretty huge accomplishment that I'm still doing this. As many of you who also blog know, there are definitely highs and lows in this arena... highs when your page views keep going up and you gain followers... lows when it feels like nobody is even accidentally visiting your page! Highs when you have huge lists of things to review and write about... lows when you have "writers block" and don't feel like blogging at all. *sigh* We've all been there. But I stuck with it.

And you stuck with me! To those of you who have been with me since the beginning and to those of you who just joined me, thank you so much! Thank you for reading! Thank you for commenting! Thank you for sharing! Thank you for retweeting! Thank you for caring! Thank you for becoming some of the best virtual friends a girl could ever ask for!

Also this week, I hit 100 followers! Yay yay!! (I think I'm up to 103!) I don't know how you all found me, but I'm glad you have! I never imagined this many people would want to read what I write, so this means so much to me:) I hope that I will continue to keep you educated, enlightened, and more than anything entertained:) The moment blogging is no longer fun for me, I know my blog will  no longer be fun for you:)

I'm looking to hopefully re-vamp my whole blog as I start this new chapter (any people good with graphic design that wants to help??;). And also, trying to decide what to do to celebrate my 100 followers! (giveaway? contest? offering an autographed picture of myself? lol jk hahahaha)

Anyhow, seriously, thank you everyone for being here! I hope to have many more celebrations in the future here!!:)

Valentine's Day Reflections

via Disneyclips.com

Do you remember being in elementary school and making Valentine's Boxes? You know, some place for all your classmates/friends to deliever Valentines to you? Mine was always out of a shoebox with red, pink, and white construction paper. I remember cutting out hearts and using a glue stick and glitter to make that box so perfect. I was always so proud of my creation! Then I'd take it into school and there was always the one kid that did something super fancy like using aluminum foil to make it all shiny. Or the kids who clearly had their parents make their box for them. *sigh* Suddenly, my homemade, hand crafted Valentine's box was just not nearly as exciting as I thought it was.

Doesn't stuff like that still kinda happen to us even now? Not the Valentine's boxes (though, I really do wonder what would happen if I put a box on my desk at work? Would people give me Valentine's or little notes of affection? lol) but that there's sometimes we work really hard on something and are so proud of what we've done, just to see someone else have something better. Or someone else has something that was just given to them. After all our work...

It's frustrating! You start to wonder why even bother if after all that work someone else is still going to be better than you...

It's a saying we've been hearing for years and years and years, "It's what's on the inside that counts." And just like the Valentine's box, it didn't really matter what the outside looked like, the important parts were all on the inside--the card, the candy, the sweet notes from friends, the possibility that maybe that boy we liked dropped a card in the box, too;) Those were the things that mattered!!

So maybe some girl has more shoes than you or a more expensive purse. Maybe her hair is shinier and her waist skinnier. Maybe someone has a better job/house/husband/child/car/nose than you, but it really is what's on the inside. Focus on the things that make you happy!

Happy Valentine's Day! May your day be filled with love for YOU--who you are and what you have:) Because you are simply amazing:)

via

Even if you are a shoe box covered with construction paper, glue stick, and glitter:)

Friendship Series: Part 4--Keeping Friends

It's that time again! Another weekend post in my friendship series! Quick recap, I've shared with you some of my experiences, talked about how to find friends, and how to make friends. Maybe you've made it this far. You've found some people with shared interests and you've hung out a bit, but how do you make it last?

To go along with my dating comparisons, you're ready to "go steady" (omg, do kids even say that anymore? Hahah, I remember in high school [I graduated in '01] I'd be all like, "I'm going out with Mikey" or "Becky is going out with Seth" and my mom would ask, "Where are you going?" "Mommmmm," I'd sigh and roll my eyes, "we're not going anywhere, it's just means we're boyfriend girlfriend" haha. Ah, the good old days.)

Anyway! How do you get to be in a serious/committed (lol) friendship with someone?

I can sum it up in three words:

It


takes


work.

There's no magical recipe to be BFF-dom. (at least not that I've found). What I have discovered is you get out of a friendship what you put in. So those "dates" I mentioned going on to get to know your new friend? You have to keep doing that. Continue going to coffees, lunches, dinners, brunches, movies, etc. so you can constantly build on the foundation you started.

If you have shared interests, do them together--go to the pool, the beach; play tennis; go hiking; go shopping! Whatever it is you (or she) likes, do it together! Include her in decisions you're making; problems you're having; thoughts you're thinking.

Talk to her! Call her, text her, email her, Facebook her, Tweet her--whatever your preferred way of communication is--do that! (I'm not gonna lie, this is the one I'm not very good at. I love getting emails from people, but I am sooo horrible at replying! If I don't write back as soon as I get it; I will probably forget all about it).

And above all; be honest. Be honest about who you are. Don't try to be someone you think people want to like, be someone who YOU like and others will like you:) (that's so fortune cookie-ish, but I promise it's true:)

And if they don't like you; they really shouldn't be your friend. You are too wonderful a person to waste your time on non-friend-worthy people.

Friendship Series: Part 3--Making Friends

Hi Lovelies! Last night I told you all about how I "find" friends. Let's be honest though, once you find them, you're not done yet. How is it that you actually MAKE friends?

If you put two toddlers in the same room, chances are they'll start playing together and get along just fine. We look at them and say, "Oh, those two are just the best of friends!" It doesn't work that way when we grow up;) You can be in a room full of people who *could* be your friends, some may even say *should* be your friends, and still you can feel completely alone. So how do you make that leap from getting to know someone to being their friend?

I can only speak from personal experience and in no way should this be considered expert advice or anything! I know I've mentioned it before, but building friendships really is a lot like dating. You go through the same stages of trying people out, seeing how their interests/values/beliefs fit into your life and lifestyle.

I told you yesterday that I use Meetup to meet people now; friendships don't become just by going to events. I see Meetup activiities (or really any social setting you're at surrounded by a lot of new people) as a smorgasboard of friends. Really, any of those people around me COULD BE my new BFF. It's a matter of "trying out" all of them and seeing which really works. Like trying on dresses! Finding the one that fits the best and makes me feel fabulous:)

After meeting new people, it's time to take the next step and ask them out! (see? Like dating!) You are ready for your first date! A first date with a new potential girl friend can be anything you want (better if something you BOTH want. I'm all about shared interests in making new friends:) You can go for coffee or out to lunch; go see a movie or go shopping; go bowling or mini-golfing. Basically, anywhere you can just hang out and get to know each other.

If it goes well, go out again. And just keep building on that relationship. Be honest about who you are. No one wants MORE fake friends, I promise. Talk about your past, things that make you who you are today. Talk about your future, your goals, where you want to be. Talk about things that make you smile! Find common ground, but be willing to go outside your comfort zone, too. The good thing about good friends is that they can bring out the best in us and also make us better! You can learn so many things from someone if you just give their interests a try.

It's not all rosy and perfect though. Like dating, you are not going to "fall in love" (for lack of a better term) with every friend. Accept that and know that going in. If you don't like her as much after hanging out with her a few times? So what! Life is too short to surround yourself with people that don't really belong there. Just move on and find someone who does work in your life!

How about your? What techniques have you found to make new friends? How do you get people to go from the acquaintance level to the friend level?

Friendship Series: Part 2 Finding Friends

I started the "Friendship Series" to kinda go a little deeper into how we make friends, how we keep friends, what happens when we lose friends or move on, etc. I didn't write about it last weekend because ironically enough I was actually busy all weekend with friends. lol.

So back to it today! As I've mentioned before, it was so much easier making friends when we were younger because eligible people were just everywhere! In the neighborhood, in the classroom, at the soccer field (or whatever sport or activity you were in:), in the dorms, at girl scouts (I never was one, but I hear that's a good way to make friends, too), etc. Then when you get older, especially if you move or start a new job, it's harder to find people that would make good friends.

Some people say if you hang out places you like being, you will find people who also like those places. In theory a great idea. So you go to coffee shops... book stores... makeup stores.. wherever. But what then? You don't just walk up to some girl and say, "Hi! Would you like to be my friend?" Then you just seem like a crazy person.


Making friends is harder than dating.

Now, before I share with you my secret to finding friends, let us take a moment to hear from someone else who was trying to make friends. Have you ever watched the "Big Bang Theory"? (if so, you're even more wonderful than I thought you were. If  not, are you crazy??? It's like the best TV show IN THE WORLD.) Anyway, little secret, I am totally in love with Sheldon Cooper. I think he is the most adorable thing ever. And honestly? I'd probably be in love with Jim Parsons, too. There is just something so endearing about cute, smart, kinda nerdy boys. They intrigue me. (had I realized this back during my sophomore year of college, I wouldn't have been so horrible to Reid Kornman.) But enough babbling, the point is, Sheldon was at a loss as to how to make friends. This video shows what happened when he went to learn how (sorry! I can't embed it, but I promise if you click the link, it will be two and a half minutes well spent:)

So what can be gleamed from the video? (other than it is really weird to talk to complete strangers in a public place trying to make friends??) We're not the only ones that have a hard time!

a bunch of my girl friends from Virginia

As promised, here is my secret. Meetup.com. Yes, I make friends online. But I promise it's not a loser thing to do! It's not like some creepy online dating site, basically Meetup is full of different groups centered on common interests or hobbies. There's different outings/activities that the groups have and you can go to as many or as few as you like!

This is practically the only way I make friends anymore. You're not going to like every person you meet, and you may not find a BFF right away. But I promise, it's a super simple, easy way, to get out, get involved, and find people that are like you:)

I've been gone from Virginia for almost a year and a half now, and some of those girls are still my very closest friends.

Now what about you? How do you make friends when you're in a new place? Where did you meet the friends that you have now?

**all pictures on this post are courtesy of Melissa Arlena Photography -- my favorite photographer in the world:) You can see more of the pix from the Crazy Booth session of my going away party on her blog**

A Public Service Announcement from Yours Truly;)

Hi Lovelies! So I think I'm going to do away with Q&A Wednesday for now, because there just doesn't seem to be enough Q's for all of my A's. I'm going to try a few different things on Wednesdays to see what works and what doesn't (don't forget to take part in the polls on the right side and let me know what you like to read about best).

For this week's Wednesday, I thought I'd throw out something a wee bit more personal (feel free to skip; it's a little lengthy).

Earlier today, I'd read Sara's blog post which got really personal about her and her past, present, future with boys and whatnot. It's extremely well written, and I thought she did a great job in being so open with her readers. If you're a blogger, you know how hard it can be to keep that balance of being personal enough so the readers feel like they know you, without getting too personal and pushing them away. It's a fine line that we all walk depending on our own level of comfort.

But with her post and some other things going on, I started to think about how hard it is to be a girl. (I'm not saying it's not hard to be a boy; but I really don't have any experience with that. lol. Sorry, boy readers, just bear with me for a bit:) Anyway, we have all this pressure of how to look and how to talk and how to act and how to think... dress like this.. don't do that... be this tiny or no one will ever love you.

It's exhausting.

And it's almost easier to buy in to all the lies that are out there than to accept ourselves for who we really are. To embrace our flaws. To see ourselves as how others honestly see us and not how we do when we constantly pick everything apart and overanalyze everything.

I bring up Sara's post, because I'd told her that as cliche as it is, no one else can ever love you until you love yourself. (warning! warning! here comes the personal part!!)

I have struggled with this for.... oh 28+ years, I suppose. hahaha. For so so so so sooooo long I tried to be everything that everyone else wanted me to be. I wanted so badly to be "liked" that's I'd morph into whatever I thought people liked, and that could change depending on whomever I was around. But the bottom line was always the same:

Be happy.

Be perfect.

And on the outside, I totally was. Super involved in school. Lots of friends. Great grades. A boyfriend almost every day of my life. Parents were proud. Teachers loved me. Girls were jealous of me.

But I still wasn't happy.

All those times, I was trying to to keep everyone else happy, I wasn't doing anything for me to be happy. I didn't know who I was (which, okay, that whole "find yourself" BS is overused, but still somewhat true). Or what I wanted. Almost every single decision in my life has been based on what other people think. Or what other people want.

I tell this to other girls all the time, "At some point in your life, you have to figure out what it is that YOU want." Oh, if only I could follow my own advice.

Anyway, this isn't to get all depressed and ohh woe is me, 'cause honestly, it's not like that at all! (well, maybe a little, lol). But I want you to know that if you feel like that, you're not alone. You can't always hide behind the glossy lips and the glittery fingernails and pretend everything is perfect. You don't have to be perfect. You just need to be you, and be happy with YOU, and LOVE YOU---whatever you that turns out to be and whether there's anyone else even around:)

She was daddy's little girl
Momma's little angel
Teacher's pet, pageant queen
She said "All my life I've been pleasin' everyone but me,
Waking up in someone else's dream"

~Faith Hill~

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog post...

I didn't get the time to do a good formal post today. I was gonna do a review of Revlon lip butters (and honestly, who of us hasn't seen several of those already? Lol) I do still plan on writing it up because my review may not say everything you've read before. I can tell you right now my bottom line is "don't buy into all the hype." But more on that later:)

Just a few quick things about friends I wanted to share. Last weekend, I started a series on friendship and how hard it is to make friends. I was surprised at just how many of us have similar situations!! It's nice to know I'm not alone:) Today, out of the blue, I had this girl I used to work with chat me and say "Why is it so hard to find good girl friends?!" (she had no idea about my blog, and that I was struggling with the exact issue!) I about fell out of my chair! "You've got to be kidding me!" I replied, "I've been wondering the same thing!!!"

It's hard to make friends, and sometimes even harder to keep them.

I will be continuing the friendship series on the weekends for as long as I still have stuff to say about it and as long as you all can still relate to it lol:)

One final friend thought. I recently reunited with a friend last weekend. There was a while we saw each other every day of the week with going to the gym and dance class together along with other social outings. But as often happens, life gets in the way and we didn't see each other as much. It's been several months and last Friday we ran into each other at a Pampered Chef party. I'm super excited to report we're gonna go out tomorrow!! Yaaaay!!!:) should be a pretty fab time. Just wanted to share a picture of us from last year. It was a pretty great makeup night for me! May try something similar tomorrow night!

xoxo,
Kristen

(yes, this is from the blogger app. I'm laying in bed and too exhausted to get my computer out lol. Sweet dreams, lovelies!!!:)

Friendship Series: Pt 1--My Story

When I was little I had a TON of friends. Everyone I met became my friend! At that time, I become  the best friends with girls who liked roller skating and riding bikes, reading American Girl and Baby Sitter Club books, playing with stuffed animals and Barbies... but then, in the late '80s and early '90s, wasn't that pretty much EVERY girl??

As I got older, girls started falling in to various groups--the athletic girls, the nerdy girls, the girls with boyfriends, the girls with expensive clothes, the girls with cars, etc... And friends became more separated. There were the friends from school, the friends from work, the friends from church--I had friends everywhere! I was always going somewhere doing something with someone.

College was like a friend smorgasbord! I was forced to become friends with (or at least learn to live peaceably with) the roommates I was given (and actually I had pretty fab roommates and girls that lived in my unit). But then there were people from all over the world that came to one place! I'd meet people in class then meet my new friends' friends and suddenly, my social circle had multiplied immensely!

Then... I was an adult... then, I started this horrible "revolving door friendship." Now, before I go too far, let me explain to you this "revolving door friendship" theory that I have. To me, making friends is kind of like dating. You meet someone, you hang out with her in groups, maybe a little one on one.. kinda try it out for a while and see if you two actually *fit* together. You don't have to like ALLLL the same stuff, but do you at least have some shared interests? Laugh at the same things? etc. While I've had several boyfriends, I go through girl friends like the skankiest person alive. I call it a revolving door, because I'll meet a girl and think I really like her. We'll hang out for a while and then something happens (usually nothing dramatic like an actual break up) and we just kinda drift apart. This happened a lot when I got my first real/career'y type job. I would be friends with someone for a few months, then kinda stop talking and meet someone else. Then I'd be her "friend" for a while 'til something would happen, she'd be gone and I'd meet someone else... on and on...

It started happening so much, that I really started to think it was me. Like, okay, something must be wrong with ME because obviously I (for whatever reason) can no longer keep friends. Make them? Sure, no problem! I love meeting new people, learning things about people, caring about people... but keeping them? That was the problem...

So, I took a long hard look at me, and the pattern and what the situations had in common. And the truth was clear as day:

I make shallow, superficial friendships.

There. I admitted it.

But what does it mean, really? It means, I can be "friends" with anybody. I always made the friends that I could *do* stuff with. I had shopping friends, friends to eat with, friends to go out with, etc. But I didn't have the friends that I would open my heart and share what I was really thinking (ha, irony since I'm opening up so much to all of you whom I hardly know hahaha).

Sure, I love getting to know people, but I don't love people getting to know me. I'll sit any listen to anyone's life story and remember it in great detail, but I'll give random, generic answers if people try to get to know me. Why? Sadly, I think it's because I have such a need to be liked, that the fear of people *not* liking who I really am keeps me more closed up.

This is getting super lengthy, so I'm going to wrap it up here. But have you ever felt like that? Do you have true blue friends you can call crying at 3AM? Or do you have the friends that you can call up to go to happy hour?

**disclaimer, this has just to do with girl friendships. I have much less of a problem opening up to boys and keeping them around longer. But that's probably another issue for another time. lol:) These are just my observations/opinions and are in no way meant to offend/insult/upset anyone.

Friendship Series--Prologue

Happy Saturday, lovelies! I hope you're having a super fun weekend! Today's topic isn't really beauty related, but from talking/Tweeting with many of you, I think there's several of you that may be able to relate to this. I want to talk about friendships. Since I don't have a scheduled topic for Saturdays yet, I thought it would be good to introduce this and increase my weekend postings. These are the tentative topics for the Friendship Series (order subject to change):

• Finding Friends
• Making Friends 
• Lasting Friendships
• Losing Friends
• Time Alone vs Time with Friends

Now, I don't know if you're like I am, but do you feel that it becomes harder to make friends as you get older? When you're little, you're friends with all the neighborhood kids that live near you. When you're in school, you're friends with the other kids in your class. When you're in college/military, you're friends with the people you live with/train with. Then you enter the real world. You might move to take a job. You work with people your parents' age. You find yourself starting over.

How do *you* find and make friends???

Bus Kids and Car Students

It's been quite some time since I was in high school (okay, 10 and half years; whatever; who's counting; not the point;) but I can still remember the ringing of the last bell signaling we could leave for the day! I went to a relatively small private school and when that bell would ring everyone would go to the gym and fall into one of two categories: bus kids or car students. All the bus kids would get in the line of their bus which would be called off in order as the buses pulled up to the door and the car students would go sit on the bleachers 'til the bus kids were all gone. The car students also included the drivers. This was the group you really wanted to be in. Oh, to be able to drive myself to school. Alas, I could not as I my mother and I shared our perfect 1990 Buick Park Avenue and by *share* I mean, I got it on the rare occasion she didn't need it.

I was a bus kid.

Why do I bother telling you this story? Well, as I've grown up, I've had plenty of opportunities to drive myself everywhere I need to go (in my much more stylish 2003 Volkswagen Jetta;) Including daily driving up the Northern Virginia portion of 95 to go to DC--not a drive I would wish upon ANYONE. Oh, if only I didn't have to drive myself to work!

Today, I became a bus kid again.

Isn't it ironic how the things we wanted so badly for so long are the exact things we wish we didn't have any more (i.e.then:  "I want to be an adult and make my own decisions!" to now: "I kinda hate being an adult and paying my own bills..." Oh to be a kid again!)

I'm super fortunate to be able to ride a commuter bus to work! FOR FREE! I save on gas! I save on tolls! I save on time! I have 30-40 minutes of pure time to myself to do WHATEVER I want! (well, within reason, this is a public bus!)

I wanted to share it with you all because I am so super excited that day one on the bus was a success!

Oh, and how does this have ANYTHING to do with my blog? Well, naturally, I did my makeup on the bus (which I believe is much safer than doing it at red lights on my drive into work.. which is sort of how I *had* been doing it;)