Life is a Present

Many times I've thought about the future, and what it might bring my way. I like to wonder about what might be, but not come up with plans for anything. I just let life happen as it does. I've also thought often about my past: the friends I had, the things I did, all the fun memories.

Yet in my life experiences, it seems that as a society we like to either live in the past or future. Both of these can be good and fun, but only up to a certain point. Being nostalgic when getting together with old friends can be great fun and thinking about past mistakes can be enlightening and help you make wiser choices. Pondering the future can help you give yourself goals and be exciting. But what about the present?

The moment we are living in is a blessing. Not to say the past and future moments aren't, we just seem to take the present for granted. I think that we should add thinking about the "present" to our agendas. We might be able to learn a lot about and from ourselves. Analyzing our current situations, thinking about the amazing opportunities that we are in, realizing how great our friends and family are, and so many other things can probably all help us de-stress a bit and not worry so much.

God gave us this amazing and wonderful moment, let's try not to forget that.

~Connie Jo

Before I Write A Paper...

Those of you who have been reading will know that recently I've had quite a few "life experiences" or lessons. And this last weekend definitely had one of those.

It started out with an AMAZING concert. It was actually a two part concert. Six friends and I drove to Seattle on Friday specifically so we could see the them. The band that played is called "The Senate". They are a small Seattle band and freaking amazing! (You should check them out at their website or their myspace profile to hear them. They rock!)

Every time I get the chance to hear live music it gives me incredible amounts of joy! There's just something about it that makes me feel so happy and excited that I can't seem to stop smiling. Literally. Do you know what I'm talking about?

The next day was a full one. Dad made my friends and I a wonderful breakfast. I hadn't had a breakfast that good in sooooo long. Mmmmm, mmmmmm. After some bumming around for the day and dinner with old friends, I went to go visit a friend who lives on Capitol Hill in Seattle. We had no plans specifically besides to hang out, so my friend decided to introduce me to, or as she put it "break me into", Capitol Hill. So that evening, that's exactly what she did. I got a taste of "the nightlife".

If you don't know anything about Capitol Hill life in Seattle, then let me just tell you this: it's WAY different than anything I'm used to. I don't know if it was so much of a culture shock for me though. I kind of knew about the lifestyle there, but being submerged into it like that was a whole lot closer than I ever thought I'd come. It was a rather interesting evening. Not bad, but very different, "informative", and weird at times.

I could go on and on with stories about the evening, but I'm not sure you'd want to hear it all. Some are normal and boring and others are a bit out there, at least for the likes of me. And then for some people, like my friend, they would be everyday occurrences. I'm just not used to that kind of thing. And it's not necessarily something I care to get used to.

Now I've done it, I've been "informed" and somewhat experienced a different lifestyle. It is definitely a life experience that I shall never forget.

And the huge blessing of the weekend, besides getting to hear amazing live music, was that I got a car! My mom bought a new car and I got hers. So I got to drive it back with one of my friends and we rocked out the whole way home. It doesn't seem right that after an accident I should get a newer and way better car than the one I had, but I'm not complaining. I feel incredibly lucky to get this car. I do wonder how long it will take me to get used to calling it my car though.

One more thing before I let you go. This is just so cool I can't not tell you. Last night my boyfriend and I watched The Little Mermaid and it was his idea. We sang along to the whole thing and just had a great time. It was so much fun! I hadn't watched it for at least a couple years. It was also nice to be reminded of the blissful innocence we used to have as children (that I still try to cling to), especially in contrast to my "life experience" from this last weekend.

Why can't more people hold onto their childlike innocence longer? It would be such a different world.

~Connie Jo

I Was Caught

If you've been following my entries, you'll recall there was one I was writing while in a class where we were all writing other blogs. Remember? Well, if you don't remember, then now you know.

Yesterday my new semester started. My first class was with the same professor, who is also my adviser. He was talking to a few of us when he looks at me and says something to the effect of, "And people do know what you're doing in class." Then later made reference to the title of my blog. So I was caught! He had read my blog and I didn't even know he knew about it.

I've always heard that you shouldn't put in writing something you don't want people to find out. This just stresses that lesson. But the thing is, I don't actually feel that terrible about it. I got everything done that I needed to do for that class and did it all on time. It was a fun class too. And no, I'm not sucking up just in case he's reading this entry also. I promise!

On another note, for those who are wondering, I'm doing much better after my accident last weekend. The parentals are helping me take care of everything and it's in the past now. I definitely haven't forgotten about it and will for sure drive more carefully in the future. But it's done now and there is nothing I can do to change it. I just have to move forward and learn all I can.

With what's happened in the past week, I guess life is really throwing those lessons at me right now. I must have an open mind for learning right now. Yeah... that's how I can describe this. I'm a sponge soaking it all up right now, so life is throwing the lessons at me while it knows it can. That sounds good to me. :D

~Connie Jo

Don't Look Down, You Might Miss Something

For instance, you might miss out on the fact that the car in front of you is stopped.

That's right, folks. I got in the first car accident of my 21 years of life yesterday. And yes, it was my fault. I looked down for one second in stop and go traffic. What a stupid thing. My little '91 Toyota Corrolla apparently doesn't stand up well to the back of an SUV with a Trailer Hitch.

It was bad enough that I had just caused an accident. But get this: We both pulled off the road to "assess the situation" and trade info, you know, all that fun stuff. I got out of my car walked over to talk to him, then went back to my car to get my information out. And guess what I had done... I had locked my keys and everything else in my car! Boy, did I feel like a total idiot.

I was so lucky though, the guy I ran into was really kind to me. We called a tow truck, who also tried to open my door, but didn't have luck. So they towed it back to the school for me and called AAA to open it. Then the tow truck guy and his son drove me to the HUB on campus to get cash to pay him, then drove me to a friends house where my boyfriend was also visiting.

It was so great to just relax after that and have a home cooked meal. We even went and got frozen yogurt! It was delicious. I'm so thankful for my amazing boyfriend and other friends.

Everyone was so kind to me throughout the whole situation: the guy I ran into, the tow truck driver and his son, my dad, my boyfriend, and all my other friends. I was so overwhelmed with what had happened and how amazingly kind and concerned everyone was that I just bawled my eyes out later that evening.

My car's not fixed yet and I'm sore from some whiplash, but I am incredibly thankful for what amazing people I have in my life. I just hope that never happens again. Once is enough. I think I've learned that lesson well and good.

~Connie Jo

My Bed is Calling to Me!

I've been sitting here for a couple minutes now, with my eyes only half open, trying to come up with a topic to write about. And then it occurs to me... SLEEP! Sleep is a great topic. At least it seems like it right now. It's possible that I'm being very delusional in my current state. I have been up for a couple hours, but it's hard to tell if I've become any more alert than when I first woke up.

Anyway... Sleep. What an interesting thing to think about. As you grow up it kind of transforms. When you're a baby you do it uncontrollably, and a lot! When you're a toddler you don't want to go to bed, but you end up crashing without really realizing it.

Throughout childhood there are those pesky bed times. You want to stay up and know what the adults are doing and hang out with them. They must be doing something really cool, so they have to put you to bed. If you knew what they were doing they'd have to let you join, and then there would be less fun for them, right? Seemed logical enough at the time.

Then in High School you seem to get a little bit less sleep. Still enough, but less than before. You don't really want to go to bed because there are so many other things you can do, but then it's lights out and you don't want to roll out of bed in the morning.

And then comes college. Sleep becomes a whole different beast once you get to college. And it has it's two extremes. It's either a hindrance or a reward. There are those nights that all you want to do is stay up all night and hang out with your friends. They are so awesome and you're having such a great time. Or there's the boy/girl that you like there too and you don't want to leave for fear that they'll forget about you. You need to catch their eye so you have to stay up.

After a while, sleep becomes a reward. You got all your homework and studying done, you ate (what a glorious thing!), and hung out with friends for a sufficient amount of time. And now... SLEEP! You crawl into your bed and tell it everything will be okay now that you are there,and then lay your head down for an 8 hour snuggle party with your pillow. And it feels soooooo good!

I currently seem to be at a stage in between those two. I love my sleep, and I love hanging out with my friends. But it can be hard to balance the time. All I can say is thank God for weekends when I can sleep in and not feel guilty! And when those pockets of time appear, a good nap is quite wonderful! They are very good bragging material as well.

Sleep:

• is necessary
• is wonderful
  
• is a nuisance
  
• takes up too much time
  
• can be done in groups (siesta fiesta!)
  
• can be rather inconvenient
• gives me the strength to go on
• is a God given time of amazing deep rest

It must be done. There is really no avoiding it. I guess all we can do is try to find the best balance we can and go with it. Unless any of you have some genius idea?

Until next time, with plenty of sleep in between,

~Connie Jo

Tripping Into Life

Now you may be wondering, unless you already know me well enough, why my blog is titled "Tripping Into It". Let me fill you in:

I trip... A LOT!

Mind you, I do go through "tripping phases". Sometime my balance will be really good for a while and then all of a sudden one day I trip 3 times in a row. And then for the next week or month I'll keep doing it. In high school it was so bad that whenever somebody tripped someone would say, "You pulled a Connie!" Even a few of my teachers would say that.

I randomly thought of the title one day and I knew it would give me the ability to talk about whatever I wanted, about everything or anything that I just "happen" upon and feel compelled to talk about. It worked, so I did it. Simple as that.

So one of my worst tripping phases, a bit more recently than high school, was over a year ago. Throughout the "phase", which lasted for probably 4 or 5 months, my friend (and roommates boyfriend) Tyler kept saying I was "falling" for his brother, Ian (and I really did trip a lot around him). Interestingly enough, that statement held a lot of truth in it.

As I started getting to know Ian better I liked him more and more. And then after however long it was, we were dating! I guess tripping actually did something awesome for me. Maybe I was just tripping around him so much that he felt I needed some support. That's probably not the case though. But if it was, I hope it was a bit more than that.

Ian and I kind of just stumbled into each other's lives and it worked out well. So I guess you could say we each "pulled a Connie" right into one another. My tripping problem hasn't completely been cured, but since we started dating it hasn't been nearly as bad. It's been 9 months yesterday since we started dating, and he's been there to support me the whole way through. I've been feeling a lot more stable.

So that's one piece of my life for ya. You now know why I titled my blog the way I did and you know a little about my life. Hopefully I'll be able to write plenty more about many other situations and thoughts in my life that I just happen to "trip" into.

I should be going now though. I'm actually in my class where I'm supposed to be writing my other blog. This is good cover though. If anyone looks at my screen (without reading it of course) they'll just think I'm working on my next blog for class. HAHA! What fools... I have them tricked! ; )

But truly, I need to figure out my next topic. And I only have 2 left to do. Yippy! Thanks for reading. I'll be on my merry way to hopefully trip into my next topic.

~Connie Jo

Am I really doing this?

Blogging: Something I never thought I would do.

My life has been made up of so many wonderful experiences and opportunities. But never in a million years did I think blogging would be one of those opportunities. I just straight out never thought I would do it. It's something that geeks do, right?

I am now actually writing another blog for a grade. I'm taking a class called Digital Marketing Communication this month. It's a really fun and interesting class so far. And throughout the month we are required to write a minimum of 10 blogs about the marketing topic we've chosen. My topic happens to be "Social Media". So yes, I am using social media to talk about social media. Funny how that happens. But I'm really excited about the class and getting to write blogs.

I guess my friends were right, I am a geek. But no worries, I will take on that title with pride and hold my head high even when my friends think I'm weird for writing a blog. I've always enjoyed journaling, and this acts as another outlet that makes me think through things with a different perspective. Rather than writing something that will be only for my eyes and scribbling it all down, this will be for whoever happens upon it. That's both exciting and nerve wrecking.

So, my friends, here I go. Who knows where this will take me or how often I will actually write, but I've started. And if you feel like reading my other blog at all, it's www.thebusinessofsocialmedia.blogspot.com. See you around!

~Connie Jo