Pushing the limits!

Hey y'all!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week, besides being a little sick, mine is going great! To catch you up to speed, I got some great news Tuesday morning, and now I will be going to Mobile for my second interview! I am so incredibly blessed and praying that what ever He has planned for me works out!

Yesterday, I ventured on a very long run with my friend Morgan, I was super nervous about going, bc I am not the best runner in the world, and just didnt know how it was going to turn out. I decided to just go for it and try my best. I must say I surprised myself! I'm not saying that I ran the entire way and that I wasn't struggling, but I most definitely pushed my limits. It got me thinking about the fact that without pushing the limits, you get no where. Coming from someone that loves her limits and is not big on stepping out of my comfort zone, this seems like a foreign concept to me. But as this new chapter in my life begins to write itself, I am finding that pushing the limits is a must. Doing things that challange you spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally are good for you. They allow you to learn more about yourself than you ever thought imaginable. Now don't get me wrong, I am by no means going cliff diving tomorrow, but I am starting to step out and venture beyond the everyday me, and I have to tell you, I am liking what I see! How do you push the limits?

Learning,

Katie

It's been a while...

Hello everyone!

First off I have to start by saying that I am sorry it has been 8 months since I last posted a blog, it seems I am not as good at keeping up with a blog as I am at keeping up with Facebook or twitter! But that is about to change, with a new chapter in my life, I decided if nothing else,  this would be a fun way for my friends and family to keep up with what I am doing with my life, as it seems to be changing everyday. So this post will be an update!

August 4, 2012, I said goodbye to my college years and officially joined the real world. Although things haven't gone the way I imagined, I am learning and figuring things out slowly but surely. I am just lucky that i have the best friends and family in the world supporting me through everything! Job hunting is officially the worst hobby in the world, and I call it a hobby because lately looking on the Internet and writing letters basically bragging on myself (which if you know me, you know I hate to do) is more of a hobby I do for fun than actually paving the way for my future. Although the real world can be very discouraging, something happens that let's me know, it will be worth it one day. Most importantly, I have left the world of student organizations, which once again if you know me, is possibly the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I learned more being a part of those organizations, than I ever did in a class room. I am suddenly left with more free time than i care to have, and have officially become a has been. Instead of running organizations, I am now interviewing for them, which although has been weird and hard, it is the one thing that has made me feel the most "grown up." Take that for what you will, but I call that a very valuable lesson.

Although this whole alumni thing has been unchartered territory for me, it has honestly been one of the most exciting times in my life. I have been able to focus on me, and how I can make myself better. Turns out having time on your hands isn't so bad after all. That is pretty much the update on my life, and I promise for my sake and who knows, maybe yours, I will keep you updated!

Making it,

Katie

Expectations...

Hello great people,

So I am sure that everyone has expectations for everything. They are all around us. You have expectations for your future career, future boyfriend/girlfriend, and even expectations about your day to day lives. Some expectations bring out the fighter in you. You want so bad to meet those expectations that you would do anything just to reach it. But some expectations just bring you heartache, stress, and can really be a debbie downer.

I find myself relying way to much on my expectations and I tend to tense up when things don't exactly go my way. I am finding this to be a problem. I will admit it, I am a control freak, sometimes to the unhealthy point. I want everything to be perfect all the time, and I always have expectations about how things should be. The fact is, nothing happens the way you plan it, and stressing about not meeting certain expectations can lead you down a wrong path. So my challenge to myself, and to you, is to not make expectations, to just go with it and stop worrying about being perfect all the time. After all, there is only one person in this world that is perfect.

No expectations,

Katie

Adult?

Hey everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, it has been one crazy week/weeks! I have not had time, but I feel that I need to get back into the habit again! I was talking to my dear friend the other day, and the word adult came up in the conversation. I know for me and probably a lot of other people, the word adult kind of makes me feel sick to my stomach. I remember being young and wanting to be an adult, or at the time it was "grown up." I wanted to meet the man of my dreams, drive a jeep (at least that came true), I was going to be a teacher, and I was going to have a dog. My adult life was basically going to be perfect, and it wasn't until I got in college that I realized that is not how it works. Things don't necessarily go according to your naive plan, but I believe they change for the better. Everything that happens to you, happens for a reason, it changes your perspective, and makes you a stronger person. You learn to be an adult, it is not something that magically happens to you when you graduate college. Some people reach adulthood sooner than others, some reach it when they are unwilling, and some never quite get there, but no matter what, adult hood does not come naturally.

While I was writing this, I started to ask myself a very important question, Do I feel that I am an adult? My answer is absolutely not. I feel that I am at a maturity level to where I can start making adult decisions, but I don't feel that makes me an adult, I feel it makes me smarter than I was at 4 years old when I was dreaming of my perfect life. My plans have changed, and I am extremely proud of myself for adjusting to those changes, but I don't think that I can quite think of myself as an adult. Although some might feel that this is not the place to be when I am 7 months away from graduating college, but I feel that I am in the perfect place! I am in a place where I am still making mistakes, learning from them, and in turn becoming mature enough so that one day I will be able to call myself an adult. There are many experiences headed my way that will make me grow, but for now, I think I will enjoy being still a little naive, because unfortunately it won't be like that for long. Until next time, War Eagle!

Growing and learning,

Katie

Laughing Without Fear of the Future

Today, or tonight I should say, I was wasting a little time on Pinterest. I came across a Bible verse that I love but had forgotten about. "She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future." -Proverbs 34:25. I firmly believe that God placed that on Pinterest for me to see tonight. Although I still can't believe it, I am a senior in college, and like most of my friends, we are starting to get the jitters about growing up and being set free into the great unknown. There are many emotions felt at this time in our lives, but one that seems to be the most dominate is fear. But why are we afraid?

We are afraid for many reasons. The thought of not having a job when we graduate is one of the most common reasons, but there are many others. Some are afraid of being away from home, some are afraid of being alone, and some are afraid of having to take on a new challenge, but no matter what it is, fear is overpowering what should be excitement.

Like the Bible verse says, He has given us the gifts of strength and dignity, but it is now up to us to make their presence known. God will never give us a challenge that we can not handle. We gain strength in our struggles, and with strength comes dignity, a gift that we have always possessed but have never allowed to shine through.When you seem overwhelmed and feel like you should just give up, remember the Teacher is always silent during the test. So why not be excited, why not laugh? We have so much to look forward to, and fearing the future is ruining it. Remember, we have made it this far...

Laughing Out Loud,

Katie

Counting My Blessings

Hey everyone!

Today is a day that I will remember forever, not because I had the best day of my life, not because I got the best news ever, and not because I found the cutest pair of shoes, but because I came to an important realization. This realization is something that I have known all my life, but never really took a second to think about it. This realization is that I am extremely blessed.
Today we remembered one of the sweetest girls that has ever graced the plains, Libbie Ainsworth. Although I didn't know her very well, I know she had a heart of gold, the personality that would just light up a room, and a relationship with God that everyone should strive to have. Although her sweet life was ended too soon, we find comfort in knowing she in with our Savior. While at her memorial service tonight, all I could think about was how incredibly blessed I am. I looked around at all of my beautiful sisters, and was overwhelmed when I thought about how much this sorority has meant to me these past 4 years, and how blessed I am to have known some of the most talented, beautiful, kind-hearted girls that have ever walked Auburn's campus. I thought about how blessed I am to have some of the most wonderful friends a girl could ask for. They have been with me through the ups and the downs, through crushed dreams, through great accomplishments, through boy problems, and life in general. They have touched my life in so many ways, and I will always be eternally grateful. I thought about how blessed I am to have the most amazing family. My mother who believes in me even when I think the world is against me. My dad who teaches me everyday to be a strong, independent person, and always pushes me to succeed in everything I do. My little brother, who no matter what has my back, and always will be my biggest fan. I thought about how blessed I am to have the opportunities that I have. Although some ended to soon, I am blessed to have never given up on my dreams, even if they have changed a little over the years. Most of all, I thought about how blessed I am to have simply woken up today. Libbie's death stands as a reminder to me and so many other people, that life can be taken away from us at the drop of the hat. Therefore we should always count our blessings, and live life to the absolute fullest. No matter how much the world seems to not be on your side, just remember all of your blessings, and say thank you to God for allowing you another day on this earth, with the people you love, because life is to precious and to short not to. I hope that after reading this, you will take a second to thank God for all the blessings in your life, and feel as blessed as I do today.

Feeling Blessed,

Katie

Managing Complete Chaos

Hello people,

So after talking to several of my friends and peers, it came to my attention that everyone's semesters seem to be chaos, and my semester is most definitely living up to the trend and it is only week one. But the one thing that has calmed me down, is the fact that I am completely calm about everything. Throughout college, I have been faced with complete chaos and stressful situations, and while they kept me up at night, and didn't do much for my mental health, they benefited me in ways that I never knew possible, it made me a master at handling chaos and the stress that comes along with it. I have never been one to want to have nothing to do, so in college I find myself wanting to do everything, and while I wanted to be Superwoman (even have a costume), I had to learn very quickly that I couldn't. I had to learn my limits, and learn to only dedicate myself to the things that I could mentally manage, and after nearly 4 years, I can now say that I think I have learned. So how do you stay organized among the madness? Here is how I do it, and maybe they will work for you.

The first lesson I learned was actually in high school, and it came from one of the most talented and goal driven people I know, my baton teacher. I remember coming to practice and being completely stressed out about what I thought at the time were stressful situations, and she would always say to me, "How do you eat an elephant?" and after giving her puzzled and confused looks, she would say, "... One bite at a time!" This sounded like such a simple concept, but it had a big message. I believe the first thing you have to do to manage chaos, is to know that you can't do everything at once, or for the sake of the example, you can't eat the whole elephant at once. You have to break it up into the biggest to smallest tasks, important to minute details, and so on and so on, and by doing this you will conquer my next big tip, being organized. Although my mom begs to differ when it comes to my room or my car, I find myself organized to the point of obsessive sometimes. Everything has a binder, every organization or task has a to do list, my binders are alphabetized and tabbed for easy access, and my planner is filled out to the near second. Although sometimes being organized can be as stressful as the chaos, it benefits you and the people around you more than you know.

Those are just a few of the ways I manage my crazy life! I have my days where it is all I can do to get through with out pulling every little strand of hair out of my head, but somehow at the end of the day, I find my way back to organization island. Although this blog served somewhat as a reminder to myself, I hope you will find it beneficial and worth the read! Until next time (see I told you there would be a next time), Have a great weekend and War Eagle!

One bite at a time,

Katie

No more excuses...

Hey everyone,

So I used to have a blog, and I think I posted one time, so I decided to start all over again. With it being a new year, and knowing that there are a lot of new experiences headed my way, I decided that having a blog, and making an effort to post at least once a week, would help me stay on track.

There are so many things happening this semester, some exciting, and some a little scary. I start my second to last semester at Auburn University tomorrow, and I could not be more excited. I start my internship with the Auburn University Alumni Association Tuesday as well, and all though I am a little nervous (as anyone would be), I am excited to gain experience into the field that I am looking into. Although I am only taking 2 classes and doing my internship, I am still going to have one of the busiest semesters that I have ever had. Taking on baseball season as the current AU Diamond Doll president, taking on a leadership role in the Student Alumni Association as the VP of membership, and still teaching my sweet baton students and training them for tryouts is going to make for a hectic schedule. Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love to be busy, and I love having things to do, it gives me a chance to grow up in ways that school, or parents can't teach me.

So, as any normal beginning of the year blog I feel should be, I should be talking about my new year's resolutions. I could think of about 50 that need to be accomplished this year, but after watching the Biggest Loser, I have found one that seems to encompass all that I am looking to accomplish in the upcoming year. That one resolution is... NO EXCUSES. This means no excuses for doing things last minute, no excuses for not working out and getting myself physically fit, no excuses for not hanging out with the most beautiful best friends that a girl could ask for, no excuses for not being the best leader that I can be, and even as simple as no excuses for not keeping my room clean. Everyday we make excuses for everything, even as simple as not going to bed on time, or not watching the TV show that we wanted to watch. Although some excuses are good and keep you out of harms way, I feel that it is important to weed out the excuses that hold us back from being the person that we know deep inside we can be. So starting today, and for the rest of this year, and honestly for the rest of my life, I vow to make my life one with no excuses.

Until next blog, which I promise will happen, have a great week, and as always WAR EAGLE!

No excuses,

Katie