Finding a College Roommate
Finding a college roommate.
Finally, we made it. My daughter, Taylor, is officially a second-semester senior, and she knows where she will be attending college next fall. This journey was by no means an easy feat. There was an incredible amount of stress, tears, disappointment, sleepless nights, and mounting pressure, but once she got in and settled on the school, we thought the next step would be smooth sailing. Little did I know, we would enter another anxiety riddled phase––finding a roommate. Back when I was attending college, most students were randomly assigned a roommate. I, however, was lucky and met my future roommate through a mutual friend. We lived a few hours away from each other, and after meeting her in person, we knew we would be a perfect match. To this day, she is still one of my best friends. Eager to find the “ideal” roommate like I did has only added to my daughter’s determination and high expectations to do the same. So far, this has proven to be more difficult than she thought. Read more
Don’t Listen to the Naysayers
We experience life lessons at every turn. Some lessons are big, some are small, but when we listen to them, each one offers insight and has the potential to guide us in the right direction. The key is to step back when something isn’t going our way and ask a simple question: why is this happening? The answer may not be forthcoming in that moment, but when we understand the reason, the lesson will appear. Read more
The Language of Teenagers
Teenagers speak their own language.
Living with teenagers sometimes feels like my home has been invaded by foreigners who speak a different language. All day long, they take photos of themselves, making strange faces at their phones as they communicate with their friends through Snapchat.
To understand them, I’ve had to learn some of their bizarre vernacular. I hear words such as salty (angry), toxic (really, really bad), epic (really, really good), and butt-hurt (annoyed or offended). They use expressions like, “I could mess with that” when referring to something that piques their interest; or they might ask, “is he/she going to throw tonight?” which implies someone’s parents are out of town and they’re going to have a party; and when they want to leave, they will say, “wanna dip now?” Read more
Judging Without the Facts
Don’t judge without the facts.
Telling stories is an integral part of the human experience. We go through life viewing the world through our personal lens, making observations about situations and the people we encounter along the way. Oftentimes, when we don’t see the entire picture, we create inaccurate details in our heads that could potentially give way to negative consequences.
My good friends recently told me a story that illustrates what happens when we judge others without knowing all the facts, and how our perception might change for the better when we are given all the facts.
This is their story: Read more
Healing Without Laughter
Laughter heals.
Imagine a world without laughter. Smiling and giggling just make us feel good. Even science backs this up. When we laugh, we release endorphins, lower stress levels, increase blood flow throughout the body, strengthen our immune system, and best of all, we get to experience a natural high that sends us to a better place. For the past week, while I nursed my daughter back to health after she had agonizing gum surgery, she and I had to bottle up our laughs to allow the incisions in her mouth to heal––not to mention it hurt like hell. This was no easy feat, particularly because we share a similar sense of humor and know just the right lines to induce the giggles. Read more
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