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ejridener

~ "This above all; to thine own self be true." – Hamlet, William Shakespeare.

ejridener

Category Archives: Life

30-day writing challenge: Day 24

25 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by ejridener in Challenge, College, Life, Uncategorized

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Tags

challenge, College, friends, high school, personal, television, The Office, writing

Day 24: Write about a lesson you learned the hard way

You always hear adults say “enjoy it while you can” as you’re “struggling” through high school. The first taste of real life is choosing which college you’ll attend when you graduate. I don’t know that I really took the time to enjoy those days as I should have.

I hated high school. It’s not exactly as if I had a stereotypical misfit story but it was close enough. I wasn’t sporty because I have no coordination and trip over my feet walking. I didn’t dress like every body else because I hate bright colors and I listening to the type of music that is best played at an eardrum rupturing level. I was in the “smart” crowd and most teachers liked me because they never had to keep and eye on me.

Now? I started working a week before my freshmen year of college started and have been going like the Energizer Bunny ever since. The first semester of college was rough and I remember sinking onto the couch on my few days of no school or work and passing out mid-text to my boyfriend at the time. I did well that semester and the ones to follow but there are times, oh there are times, when I feel like my head will explode from the amount of school work that’s piles up. I’ve found I function best with roughly four hours of sleep.

Andy Bernard, "The Office."

Andy Bernard, “The Office.”

I wish I could go back to those simpler days and enjoy having time. Now when I want to catch up on a television I’ve missed a few episodes of I have to plan it carefully around an essay’s due date or an exam. If I want to hang out with friends the situation becomes a play-offs style game of phone hockey where the victory is finally finding a day, two weeks later, when everybody is off from school and work.

I guess learning things the hard way is what makes you appreciate those things so much more. Now all I have to do is figure out when the good old days are happening so I enjoy them while I’m still there.

30-day writing challenge: Day 21

22 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by ejridener in Challenge, Family, Life, Uncategorized

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Tags

beauty, challenge, Habitat for Humanity, happiness, history, kinds, literature, teach, volunteer, writing

Day 21: What three lessons do you want your children to learn from you

To start, I would like to issue a small disclaimer.

I have a hard time trying to think of what I would teach my children seeing as I have no intention of ever having children due to a medical issue and a lack of patience with toddlers. These are the things I’m going to strive to teach my nephew every time I see him.

Happiness
Happiness should be a given but too many people get too caught up in the things that suck the life out of you; work, money, life, etc. Are you really happy? Do you even know? Sometimes it’s the little things in life that need to be the alarm reminding you of what’s truly making you smile. A family member, a hobby or even thunderstorm can transport you to the land of bliss. I’m stressed because I’m a student and navigating university is overwhelming but at least I’m happy.

Nerdy is better than bully
Who cares if it isn’t “cool” to read comics, play cards or read books? Never down anyone and never let anyone down you for enjoying the more nerdy side of life. I’ve known too many people, myself included, that are looked at strange or made fun of for liking things that are considered geeky or stupid. I love literature, history and Doctor Who and I’m not afraid to show it off.

Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, August 2014.

Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, August 2014.

Seeing beauty in the ordinary
Beauty is around us at all times and it takes many different forms. It’s not necessarily a Victoria Secret model or a 400-year-old painting hanging on a museum wall. Ordinary acts of kindness are beautiful. One of the most amazing and beautiful things I’ve done is volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in Morningside, Detroit and getting to see a community come together to clear abandoned lots and build homes. I’ve been many places and still am floored by the beauty of a forest, monument or lake.

30-day writing challenge: Day 18

19 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by ejridener in Art, Challenge, Family, Life, Literature, Movies, Music, Travel, Uncategorized

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Tags

art, books, challenge, Edgar Allen Poe, Game of Thrones, Hawaii, Ireland, literature, London, Mexico, My Chemical Romance, Nikon, photojournalism, Richard III, Shakespeare, Tim Burton, writing

Day 18: Post 30 facts about you

I’m going to treat this as a “meet to admin” type situation. Every year in the “Notes” section of my Facebook page, I post a “30 things about me part…” since my senior year of high school. The reason I have continued to do it is because it’s funny to see how things change and how I’ve grown from senior in high school to fourth year college student. I recommend doing it because it’s a nice thing to look back on after a few years and it provides a little flashback to who you were years before.

giphy-31.I used to want to be a vampire

2.I name my technologies

3.My iPod, Vlad, is like a lifeline, pacifier and addiction all wrapped in one

4.I love to travel and have visited most of continental United States and Hawaii along with Cozamel

5.I have a dream of visiting London, Ireland and Paris

6.I identify as Goth

7.I am a literature nerd

8.My favorite Shakespeare play is Richard III followed by Coriolanus

9.My nephew and I almost share a birthday

10.I love to cook but rarely do so

A blanket I made as a baby shower gift for a close friend.

A blanket I made as a baby shower gift for a close friend.

11.I knit to relax

12.I think I’m a 70-year-old trapped in a 22-year-old’s body

13.I have a coffee problem

14.I consider myself a straight ally

15.My bedroom looks like a crypt complete with black-out curtains, black bedding and enough skulls to rival the Paris Catacombs

16.My favorite Edgar Allen Poe work is “The Tell-Tale Heart”

17.I am a huge Game of Thrones fan and, spoiler alert, am still a bit emotional at Jon Snow’s death

18.My favorite artist is Kevin Llewellyn

19.I love my Nikon I bought for my digital photojournalism class, even though I struggle with the manual setting, and love to take pictures of just about anything

20.My mom and I, even though we are incredibly close, are like Doris Day and Wednesday Addams…guess which one’s Wednesday?

21.My alarm clock is my foe

22.My favorite composer is either Thomas Newman or Danny Elfman

23.My favorite director is Tim Burton

24.My iPod has 2,220 songs and counting

25.I love thunderstorms

26.I prefer nighttime and avoid the sun like the plague

27.I have my mother’s Irish skin until I venture into the sun where I burn once and my father’s Native American heritage holds my tan for at least six months. No, I’m not happy about that

28.Our Yorkie, Kitty, and I used to have a severe case of sibling rivalry until Jules passed and we mended the fence because we lost our friend

29.My favorite book is Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

My Chemical Romance in the music video for "Teenagers."

My Chemical Romance in the music video for “Teenagers.”

30.My all-time favorite band is My Chemical Romance

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