Military Minds

So today, thanks to a re tweet on twitter I found this website called Military Minds. So, many of you would wonder why a civilian woman would be curious to check this out.

I grew up with an  Army base located in my town. I went to school with kids who changed schools more time than I can imagine. It was that base that made me encounter Soldiers on a prevalent basis. In the fifth grade for Dare I even got to ride in one of the HM V's and yes I felt like big shit afterwards.

After freshman year I lost touch with families on our base because it became inactive. So, there was no longer air shows and all the other great activities. Although, people still get listed there it is kind of a quited part of our booming town...I say booming because it looks nothing like it did as I was growing up.

I stopped being close to the true reality, and fell in love with Hollywood's depictions of what went down. I even jumped on the Army Wives trains once Lifetime released it and Yes...Even though I know its probably not as accurate as it should be I still watch it.

However, I became a little more real-life acquainted when I came in contacted with a Veteran in December of 2011. At first, I found him quite charming and just said thank you for your service. I feel like now there is so much more I should do for him. He deserved more than a thank you...he deserved more than a hand to hold. Being injured in the war left him, what some would say...not the same. Hell, I can't imagine seeing things he has saw or completed missions like he had to complete. SO HOW IN THE HELL CAN WE EXPECT HIM and OTHERS to be NORMAL again!!!!!

Hell, What is Normal in the first place? Who is it for any of us to define NORMAL?

I guess what I wanted to write this post on is that these men and woman have seen things that us "civilians" can only mull over in our brains. I do not want to overload this with statistics because math is never been something I was good at .but when they come home and we tell them to Buck Up, Get Over it, MOVE ON...how can you imagine they take it? When we constantly ask them to recall or reface dark demons.... how can we expect them to be the people we "thought" we knew.

I want everyone to check out stories and videos on Military Minds...and if this is something you seem impelled to support like I do...I encourage you to donate or buy some of their merchandise.

Again, I thank every member of the Military. Past, Present, and Future. If not for them I would not have the abilities that I do. Without them I would be confined not to dream as big as I want. Without them, I don't know how more messed up our Country would be.

So, remember that fourth of July, Memorial Day, and Veteran's day may only come once a year...but don't you think they deserve a Thank You...more than that?

Blessings and Well Wishes

Being scared makes it worth it

So...Y'all wonder why I titled it this. In life we all get scared. Moments, situations, or even fears make us scared of ourselves, our surroundings, or our views.

I am not going to lie...I am a girl who hates Scary movies. I do occasionally watch them and end up either laughing hysterically or asking someone to stay up all night with me. I am also scared the first time I drive some place I don't know, yet I love getting lost.

In life...if you never step out of your zone of comfort then you are stuck not living. Life is meant to have moment that scare you....moments that you hold your breathe waiting to see what is going to happen next.

People use the roller coaster analogy for life and I understand why...the first time you strap into a coaster you've never ridden your anticipating how fast its gonna take you...the turns and ultimately the fear of looking dumb on the camera. However, many people overcome their fears and get on the coaster anyways. I know I do.

This takes me back to my junior summer in college. I had gotten and internship in Sturgis, South Dakota. Grant it I had been on road trips with my family, and had driven from the UP of Michigan.back to Missouri where I live with the help of my grandma. However, an 11 hour trip all by myself. I was scared. What if my mom was right?  What if I should have tried harder to get an internship close to home. Luckily I broke the driving trip into a 4 and a 8 hours trip. I stopped in Omaha to see an old Roommate and then headed out.

I remember the day I left Omaha...I wanted to get to Sturgis so Bad. Driving through the Badlands I remember all the iconic films that had been shot there. The wide open spaces soothed my soul and the fears I had flew out the window like the lyrics on the Cd's I was jamming too.

The ride home was just as freeing. It was that time that I knew I could make it. I suppose this was a momentous step for me...Just having lost my best friend a year prior.

I scare myself about will I ever get into PT school. Will I ever get the chance to work for Doc Freeman? Will anyone find the strength to keep going from a word of phrase I've said? 

Life isn't about staying in an air tight bubble. It's about finding a line that makes you uneasy to cross...and jumping over. Not looking at the consequences but embracing the experience.

Love scares me but I found someone that I want to fall in love with. I hope he wants that too... I want to be scared about every aspect of that but I want to find the beauty hidden in it!

So, at the moment in which fear starts kicking in...remember you actually living your life right there.

Blessings Y'all

THE FRIEND ZONE: An Optimistic Girls ideology

So, I am 23 and I have been single for 7 years and counting! That is a long time. I have had chances and havent jumped at the chances for various reasons. However, there are a few guys I am so glad that we never jumped over the friend zone.  I know...you are all laughin' at me at this point. Why would I be happy that cute guys didnt want to be my boyfriend?

I am happy because I will always have a piece of their heart. I also have their trust. They are cool with breaking down and telling me whats truly wrong. I am someone they see as noble, trustworthy. Something that cant be ruined by time coming in between us.

There is three who means the most to me and I am sure 2 of them know who they are. I wish guys could be optimistic about the friend zone thing.

While yes, I cannot wait to be in love. As a romance writer I dream of having that undeniable can't let you go kind of love...I am also honored to be such a strong woman that guys respect my opinions, ideas, and truths.

So, the next time someone friend zones you Smile...because they obviously think your pretty darn awesome.

Blessings and Well Wishes

Scars

Well all have those obvious, outward scars...some of us more than others. The same goes for the internal scars.

Each of them leave a lasting mark, a story, and those dreadful moments some would love to forget. I guess I wanted to start this blog off by saying that I have no intention of pointing blame to anyone. For my internal scars have all be cultivated and healed. Thanks to my Lord and Savior. I suppose what I am writin' this blog for is to help prevent others internal scars from being ripped back open or from happening.

I see a hell of a lot more bullying these days. From simply pickin on someone because of the way they look, a handicap, or for the shear pain it is wrong! YOU DO NOT REACH THE TOP BY DEGRADING SOMEONE ELSE!

I can't be spotless, I have probably said things when I shouldn't...but I have to say I've risen above a lot of the bullyin' I was faced with. Not only because I knew God...My maker saw me as a beautifully created thing but because I knew I was stronger and had a lot more to give.

I am currently embarking on slowly writing bits of my autobiography before I lose it. To say my story is only slightly tattered would be an understatement. However, while I can look at my scars as pure reminders of places I never want to return others constantly feed on the darkness that has been brought out in them.

Now, I am an individual in life who has always friended the weary. Maybe, I do so because I know how to relate or rather I hope that they can learn from me and see that they are more than the tattered pieces or parts of their story.

So, remember that everythin' you say to someone can, in the wrong context, hurt them. It can set off a trigger that you may or may not know about. It is not funny to laugh at someone becuase of the scars butto remind them that while the road of life can become complicated and hard to endure...that they have the strength to see the beauty in it. That beyond the healin scars and scar filled stories is really somethin rather wonderful. It is compiling said scars that has helped me realize the simple beauty life has. Although at times I fall into the darkness I am forever grateful for the people in my life who can make me smile and remind me that this is just yet another detour on the highway I call life.

Blessings and well wishes to you all. May you conquer the scars and become the person you want to be.

My Hero

So, this blog may shock or even surprise people. I hope it does neither but opens up some eyes on some things.
So, to start off my family has no member in the military serving...I don't know how hard it is for deployments or anything of that sort. Although, recently I might a veteran. Let's say this veteran and I enjoy talking to each other, we both dig professional bull riding and he happens to look like my best friends who passed away favorite bull rider. He even has the same first name.

So, some of you may think I am crazy for calling this guy I know very little about my hero. However, I know little about a lot of historical people but still feel like the grounds they stood on gave them hero qualities.

He is my hero because he was willing to go fight for my dreams without even knowing me. He took a bullet in the back for me...for us all. He is now home and being a productive member of society and wants to work hard to make this country great again.

While, he doesn't have a clean wrap sheet, what he sees as his downfall is overshadowed by his bravery and commitment.

He isn't my only hero. All the men and women fighting in the armed forces are. I mean for someone to sacrafice so much for me...how could I not hold them to such high esteem.

I suppose what I WANT FROM YOU IS TO RESPECT THEM WHEN THEY MAKE IT HOME, AND PRAY FOR THEIR LOVED ONES WHEN THEY DON'T. THEY ARE THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE AMERICA "Land of the free, home of the brave."

When you run into a Veteran don't ask them about their story. Thank them for their service and duty. Remember that even though one battle is done, they have a bigger one left to do here. Give them the RESPECT they deserve.


Remember, Freedom isn't free. It comes at the cost of bloodshed and tears. DO NOT TAKE YOUR FREEDOM FOR Granted because there are some people wishing they had it but has no one to fight for it.

Thank you and God Bless

Just Imagine

So..I am sure some of us can recall rather hazy pictures of playing dress-up or other imagination type games as a kid. I know my neighborhood would be full of kids to play house, cops and robbers, or any other game we could think up on those blissfully perfect spring, summer, and fall days. I remember when I was younger, in grade school in particular, when our teachers told us we could be anything we wanted to be. Even our parents would chime in about the possibilities.

I suppose this is were I go a tad off topic and laugh. My parents tell everyone that the only reason they helped put me through four years of college was because at 5 I proclaimed to them with such zeal that I would be a doctor...or something in said medical field. By eight I am sure is when my dad recalls me talking about being a surgeon and I remember his disappointment years down the road when I no longer wanted to be that. When I told my parents I wanted to be a Physical Therapist they were thoroughly supportive. They still are. But over 500.00 in applying to PT schools and I don't think my parents see it. When they told me at 8 years old that I could wear the letters DPT. They didn't tell me or know perhaps the struggle, they told me to just imagine.

At fourteen I feel in love with bull riding. A sport my parents still find to either be a waste of my time or just a sick obsession I have. It's this sport that has over the years given me strength to carry on through the darkness...I know I have said that a countless number of times on this blog. When I told my mom I wanted to work for Dr. Tandy Freeman someday she just smiled. She told me to hold on to it but if I had to settle remember not to be disappointed. When I didn't get accepted into Texas State my own mom didn't even hug me. She just told me that I needed to look for other options.

Still, I being rather a hardcore Dreamer feel confident in my dreams of being a DPT. I "Just Imagine" how school will be when I finally break through. I imagine how thrilling and exciting it all will be. I get nervous about taking the boards and finding a job but then I remember my deep desires and I push past the nervousness and continue to move forward.

Two years ago now I was in Sports Psychology. I loved that class. Saying love is almost an understatement. One chapter I loved with Visualization. In this chapter it taught us to recall moments every aspect of moments: the sights, smells, taste, textures....it applied to relieving the good moments and throwing out the bad moments or rather for an athlete blocking bad performances and repeating the good.

When times get tough I Imagine myself conquering and fulfilling my dreams; They call that positive visualization. So, I suppose what I am tryin' to get at is when the moments get tough or you feel like your dreams are about to get rain over by a train....JUST IMAGINE. Like I tell all my bull ridin' friends...and you can even ask Jordan Hupp and Mckennon Wimberly. To be the best you not only have to work hard, but you must VISUALIZE AND EXPECT TO WIN!

God Bless

The Good Stuff

Much like the more popular Kenny Chesney song...I want to take time to remind people that the good stuff isn't a pile of money or a shot of Jack. The good stuff is something much smaller. Much more meaningful. The good stuff is the laughter from the little kids that are either yours or someone Else's but it warms you heart just the same. The Good stuff is that line in your favorite song that can always take you back to those moments with your best friend on a summer drive to no where. The Good Stuff is waiting so long but finally seeing a movie and it being what you expected or hoped for. The Good Stuff is going through photographs and reliving the moments.

The Good stuff is being surrounded by your family on momentous occasions such as graduations, weddings, or simply game nights. It's the stuff that can always make you smile such as your favorite flower, sport, or painting. It is those simple pleasures that are always held within the dimensions of your heart. It's the kind of things that you don't recall as often as you should. It's the stuff that gets scattered and shuffled behind busy schedules and endless doubts.

The Good stuff is not easily found but it is easily felt. Such as the smile of someone you are married to, crushing on, or beginning something with. The Good stuff is hearing that not only do you have beautiful eyes and kissable lips, but you have a golden soul. The Good stuff is seeing the pride on your parents face when you achieve things you've talked about for many years.

The Good stuff is a book and candle light to unwind. The good stuff is those slobbery kisses from your favorite four legged friend or the nuzzle from your hoofed ride. The Good Stuff can be debated by many but it is loved by all. What is the good stuff for me may not be for others but the feeling is the same across the board.

The Good Stuff puts a smile on our heart before it can ever be seen on our face. That good old good stuff is the memories and the moments that remind us of the best things in life when we sometimes are not sure how to carry on. So, What's your good stuff?