Cupid Coma

Valentine's Day. Every year of my life, it has brought me mixed emotions. In the days prior to it, I find myself staring blankly in the card section and wondering what it's all about. I don't only buy a card for my significant other, but I purchase cards for my mother and my sister. They are two of my best friends, as well, and I feel that they deserve recognition on this heartwarming day. I feel that Valentine's Day is about letting all of our loved ones know that they are cared for. The day is only as special as we make it though.

My only concern with Valentine's Day is that we waste the other 364 days of the year. The truth is that one day is not long enough. We need to be spending our entire lives telling the people that we love how much they mean to us; not just one day. So this year, skip Valentine's Day and worry about the other days. The average, basic, monotonous days are the ones we need to fill with love.

Peace & Love,
Allison

Complications of the Real World

I feel that life has somehow grown increasingly more complicated recently. There are so many aspects to consider, that one always seems to be left out. If I am able to get good grades and be with my friends and family, I am probably not watching out what I am doing with my own body, such as eating poorly. If I work to eat well and exercise, I probably am not having fun with my loved ones and doing the things I want to. One part of my life always seems to fall flat, yet my goal is to do what I can and to not worry about everything.

I spend a lot of my time worrying, which I know is silly and stupid. My attempt now is to live my life to the best of my ability. I can't be concerned with what might have been or what may be any longer. I act as if writing this down will actually force me to do this, but anything is possible!

I can't make any promises, but I do believe we always need something to work on in our lives. We are NEVER perfect, that's for sure! But don't let anyone tell you that you can't be the best person you can be.

Peace & Love,
Allison

Never-ending Growth

If you want something bad enough, you must go for it with all of your might and heart. Although, the difficult aspect of this is if you want to learn anything in this world today, you must be the one to educate yourself. Even if a teacher is present, it is up to the learner to find the desire inside themselves to grasp the material. You must look inside yourself, listen to yourself, and begin your reflective thought process. In doing this, you have learned not only about the subject but also about yourself. If you have the strength, power and will in your heart to accomplish something, nothing will stop you in your determination.

This advice applies to every aspect of life. It works for love, academics, athletics, or the future in general. The key is to be true to yourself and what your desires are from life. If you go for it and fail, at least you will not always wonder what would have happened. Life is too short to be lived with nerve, so go for what means the most to you. I promise you won't be sorry.

Peace & Love,
Allison

The Fear of Unpredictablity

I truly despise thinking about the future sometimes. I wonder to myself why do I have to be graduating into this horrible economy? When, if ever, will things start getting better or at least back to normal? I have so many questions, yet I try to tell myself it is ultimately pointless to debate over it.

My dream now is to go to graduate school at The University of Alabama, but I know deep down this will probably not happen. I hate getting my hopes up about things and being let down, so perhaps I tend to be more pessimistic about certain things. Yet with Alabama only accepting 20-25 people, how could I possibly be 1 out of who knows how many to make it in?So if I don't attend graduate school, I must now put that in the back of my mind and look to finding a job. I don't think I can even get started on this depressing topic, so I won't bore you. All I know is I am going to be seeing a lot more of Alabama's Career Center in my near future.

To me, thinking about the future is like I stated earlier, ultimately pointless. Two years ago, I thought I had my entire summer planned out. I would be home in Atlanta for a couple weeks, work at Paper Affair, and then go off to spend three months with my father and his advertising agency. Yet, Memorial Day Weekend changed everything in my life --- everything. My mother and her fiance, John, who was basically my step-dad (they had been together for 11 years) were at home asleep, while I was out of town at the lake with my boyfriend. They awoke to the sounds of our dogs barking like crazy. When they went to go check on them, the touch of the door knob told them everything they needed to know. Our house was on fire. Even as I sit here and type, tears are running down my face. I'm not sure if I'll ever quite be able to think about it without getting a lump in my throat, but maybe one day.

The first likely move to make when you realize your house is on fire is to turn the faucet on, get a damp towel, put it over your mouth, and get out. Sadly, the fire had taken out our water system, so this was impossible. My mother has told me this story so many times, I feel as if I was there. Her and John finally opened the door to their bedroom (because their windows were too high to jump from) and were overtaken with smoke immediately. Not being able to breath in oxygen takes its toll extremely quickly. You can't see. You can't breath. You can't do anything but try to get out. 

You've thought of or played the game before of where you think of what one item you would take if your house was on fire. Well, most people don't have that luxury. It was enough to get out alive, but the worst part of everything was that only my mother survived. The minute her and John opened their bedroom door, they could not see anything. Struggling, my mother went halfway down the hallway to my bathroom and went out my bathroom window with glass dug into her entire body. She tells everyone she swears she saw John and heard him tell her to go and that he was right behind her, but they found his body all the way down the hallway in my sister's room.

We'll never know why it happened. Any of it. Why did my house burn down, and how could John not have gotten out? I haven't even told you yet that the firefighters arrived and tried to help us, yet that we lost the life of Felix Roberts as well.

I never thought any part of my life would be available to be read by anyone in the newspaper, but there it was. They couldn't even get the spelling of my mother's name right (it's Mardi). I couldn't believe the event that changed my entire life was fix perfectly into a one-page story in the paper. Yet, I read it from time to time just to never forget. The newspaper article is not the point though.

An electrical fire had taken almost everything away from my mother and me. I was home for the summer, so I lost everything I owned that I didn't have with my at the lake. My mother had been a pack-rat her entire life; saving everything from our baby teeth to her wedding dress. 

I hope I'm not depressing anyone (that is, if you have even been able to read all of this), but my goal is to get the story out there so people can take a new look on life. I know it changed my life, but not in a bad, terrible way because I know that's not what John would have wanted. He always taught me to look at different sides to a story. So I have learned that possessions are material items that we don't need. Our loved ones are the most important things in our lives and that's how it should be.  

I admire and cherish my mother everyday. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't made it out. To finish the story, my mother climbed through our downstairs window and saved our dog, Eddie and her brother's dog, Lucy, who basically saved my mothers live as well.  It's a sad, true tale, but it also has taught me that you can't plan for the future and that you need to be thankful for everyone that is in your life now. I never did make it to Orlando that summer to work with my dad, but all I wanted to do was spend time with my mom anyway. I hope this can teach you, if anything, to not sweat the small stuff and to love unconditionally.

If there's anything I have left out, feel free to make a comment and I'll clear it up.

Peace & Love,

Allison

Adapting is Growing

As we grow older, the world around us keeps changing. Even if we believe we are remaining the same person, everything that surrounds us is transforming. To live in this world today though, we have to be able to adapt to our environment. Survival of the fittest roots out people who do not adjust to their surroundings. With technology and the fast-pace times today, we must be able to relate to whatever setting we are placed in. Understanding people around you and reforming your style to fit any situation may be necessary. We must change to conform to our surrounding, adapt, mature, and grow with our world, or else you will get left behind.

Peace & Love,

Allison

One Who Does, Learns

The main reason we, as humans, are placed on this Earth is to live our lives to the fullest. A wasted life is one where the person does not try to gain any knowledge or learn anything from their experiences. One cannot learn to ride a bicycle by simply watching someone else ride one. We must take the initiative to jump on the bike and try it ourselves; otherwise, you will never become skilled at anything. To learn, one must be active in the process. It is important to follow your heart in your dreams and desires, yet make sure that you are actively practicing the things you are studying.
Peace & Love,
Allison