My Bucket List

I spent the last few days revising my bucket list. I made it back in high school and some of the things were beyond ridiculous ("jump off the brooklyn bridge and live"...come on!!). I looked at other people's bucket lists to get some inspirations. It's definitely not done, but it's a start.

So here it is, MY BUCKET LIST!

1. Visit the original Hard Rock Café in London
2. Go to a concert in each of the major music genres – rock, pop, country, rap, and R&B
3. Travel to all 7 continents
4. Write a book
5. Get my writing published or self-publish my own writing
6. Visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Hawaii
7. Learn American Sign Language
8. Learn to speak another language fluently
9. Visit each of the 50 states and Washington DC
10. Volunteer in a third world country
11. Live in another country
12. Sing karaoke…loudly and without a care in the world
13. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City
14. National Equality March in Washington DC
15. Spend 4^th of July in Washington DC
16. Get accepted into all of the colleges I apply to (undergraduate)
17. Make the President’s List in College
18. Graduate with honors in high school and college
19. Watch a space shuttle launch
20. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
21. Answer the age-old question: Geno’s or Pat’s Cheese steak?
22. Skydiving
23. Cave tubing
24. Join a sorority and become an initiated member
25. Learn the lyrics to an entire rap album
26. Create a parody of a song and put it on YouTube
27. Watch the ball drop in Times Square
28. Duval Crawl in Key West
29. Eiffel Tower in Paris
30. Toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain
31. Visit a concentration camp in Europe
32. Make the front page of the newspaper
33. Help build a house with Habitat for Humanity
34. Visit the pyramids
35. Start “the wave” in a public place
36. Visit Niagra Falls
37. Donate blood
38. Run a 5k
39. Run a 10k
40. Learn how to surf
41. Go parasailing
42. Go on a gondola ride in Venice
43. Make a call from a red telephone booth in London
44. The Louvre
45. Walk the Great Wall of China
46. Table Mountain in South Africa
47. Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles
48. Zipline through a rainforest
49. Go through the Panama Canal
50. Jump in the pool with my clothes on
51. Swim with the dolphins
52. See Mayan Ruins in Central America
53. Learn to ski
54. Learn to ice skate
55. Ride in a helicopter
56. Mardi Gras in New Orleans
57. Cage diving with sharks in South Africa
58. White water rafting
59. Be an audience member in a TV show
60. Attend a Broadway Musical
61. Learn to play poker
62. Go ice skating at the Rockefeller Plaza
63. Go to a super bowl
64. Get on a jumbotron at a sporting event
65. Watch a solar eclipse
66. Watch a lunar eclipse
67. Watch a meteor shower
68. Fall in love
69. Be a vegetarian for a week
70. Be a vegan for a week
71. Go to the top of the Statue of Liberty
72. Stay in a hotel by myself
73. Stay in a five-star hotel
74. Go camping
75. Keep a written journal
76. Do a good deed for a stranger
77. Shoot a gun
78. Go tech-free for a week
79. Learn CPR
80. Learn to line dance
81. Take a ballroom dancing class
82. Learn to salsa dance
83. Be in a wedding
84. Go to the Olympics
85. Be in two countries at once
86. Stand at the equator
87. Go on 50 cruises
88. Meet a celebrity

New Year's Resolutions

I've been making New Year's resolutions since my freshman year in high school.  I don't know how everyone else does it, but I make a list, put it away, and look at it next New Year's Eve.  I'm always surprised to see that I have accomplished most things on my list...even if I forgot about most of them.  This year I will continue that tradition, but I decided to post them on my blog as well.  Hopefully I'll have the strength to only look at this post a few times throughout 2011 :)

My New Year's Resolutions for 2011
1. Lose 10-15 pounds and do it in a healthy way
2. Make a final decision on graduate school
3. Donate blood more often
4. End every semester with at least a 3.5 GPA
5. Drink at least 6 cups of water a day (ideally 8)
6. Cut back on fast food to 2 times a month
7.Stick to a daily skin care regimen
8. Floss at least every other day
9. Exercise at least 3 times a week
10. Try new foods
11. Budget money every month
12. Cut down on how much I spend
13. Write every day (even if it's just a little)
14. Continue my Project 365 even after Day 365
15. Update my blogs more often
16. Drink responsibly (I had to add it in there)
17. Find (and start) an internship
18. Expand my music collection
19. Change the way I view my body & health
20. Throw away things I don't need anymore
21. Stop biting my nails

I usually only make 10-15 resolutions, but since some of them tie into each other this year's list is a little longer.

Readers, what resolutions did you make this year?

Losing weight does NOT guarantee happiness

Confession: I lost 15 pounds and I don't feel any better about myself.

In fact, I was happier and more secure with my body at 150 pounds than I am right now at 135 pounds.  I can't tell you the exact reason why because I don't even know.  But sometimes I think it's because when I was heavier, I felt as if nothing could be done.  I was so far away from my "goal weight," and all I could do was be happy with how I look.  And now I'm so self-conscious about how my body looks.  I keep thinking, "how much excess skin do I have?" and "does this shirt make me look fat when I sit down?"

It's absolutely terrible...and I know it.  But no matter what I do, I can't seem to shake the feeling.

This summer, when I made the decision to start losing weight I thought that if I just lost a little bit of weight, even if it was only 5 pounds, I'd be instantly happier.  But 15 pounds later I'm realizing that just isn't true.

I have subscriptions to SELF magazine and Women's Health, and this month I paid extra attention to the covers.  Women's Health's cover said (and I quote), "Look Good Naked! Toned sexy abs. High, tight tush. Long, lean legs."  No wonder girls feel the pressure to be thin.  I've been reading this magazines for MONTHS, and I always feel discouraged while reading them because I want to lose weight but I feel like I'll never meet those standards of beautiful.

For the past six or seven months, I've been losing weight so I can be "skinny" and "pretty."  But really, I should be doing it to get healthy.  It's okay to want to lose weight...but I think it's important to do it for the right reasons.  To be honest, I've been doing it for all the wrong ones.  Regardless of if I weigh 150 pounds or 135 pounds or 120 pounds, I need to learn to LOVE MY BODY exactly the way it is.

Losing weight won't make me happy, but loving myself will.  I just need to figure out how to get to that place of acceptance.

Oh how I love being 21!

After doing 11 shots at midnight on my 21st birthday, I didn't think there was anything good about being 21.  And I also never thought I'd be able to drink again.  I already despise Jagermeister, Goldschlager, and Bailey's (and now tequila). Just hearing those words makes me sick!

But after my 21st birthday cruise, I'm learning that being 21 is absolutely fabulous!!!  I'm quickly learning the liquors that I love and hate. I've also learned my limit, and I know how to stop myself. Oh, and I've learned that I'm going to be carded until I die :)

What I Love About Being 21
1. Two words: Duval Street
2. Trying new drinks
3. Being able to have a casual drink whenever, wherever
4. Being able to go to a liquor store
5. Being carded (it's a feeling that I actually enjoy)
6. Being able to go to the bars with my friends
7. If I want it, I can buy it
8. I don't need to depend on other people to get my alcohol for me
9. I don't feel guilty or scared about drinking
10. Being able to get a new (horizontal) license
11. Mixing different liquors and creating my own drinks (which are probably on the internet anyway)
12. Being able to drink on cruise ships
13. Being able to go on cruises WITHOUT my parents :)

I'll add more soon :)

Well hello there winter break!

As a tribute to winter break, I though I'd make a list of all the things I love about winter break.

"So what makes winter break different than summer vacation" you ask?

Summer vacation is 4 months of hell in the blazing heat of Florida, while winter break is a nice 1 month break from the hell of classes.  And the weather is nicer.

One more thing: I'll be adding to this list as I think of more things.

All the Things I Love about Winter Break
1. My Birthday!!!! (My birthday never used to fall during winter break, but for the past two years it has.  So I figured I'd add it to the list).
2. Sleeping in
3. The beautiful weather
4.  No classes
5. I have time to do things that I actually want to do.
6. Did I mention that I get to sleep in?

What I'm Thankful For

I think we all get a bit sentimental on Thanksgiving.  I know I do.  Last year I sent out a mass text to all my friends and sisters telling them how much they meant to me.  This year I didn't...because this year I'm thankful for different things.

Lately, I've been questioning why I'm still part of my Greek organization.  I'd say the name, but (1) you all know it and (2) I could get in a lot of trouble for what I'm about to say.  The moral in my chapter has been low since before recruitment.  I think the yelling and arguing got to a lot of us.  It definitely got to me.  And the super strict rules, the trash talking of sisters, and the cliques have been making me question my decision to join Greek life.  To be honest, I was ready to sign my papers and walk away from it all.  That's how sick of it I was.

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for all of my Panhellenic sisters who have reminded me why I love being part of a Greek organization.  When things in my organization are tough, I have amazing women to turn to.  Some are in my sorority, some aren't.  But they've all reminded me why I joined a sorority in the first place.  I'm lucky to have such inspiring and caring women in my life.  If you think this is about you, it probably is.

I'm thankful for other things too: my family, the amazing fraternity men who have supported me this year, my SG buddies, my professors who have helped me find my passions, the opportunity to attend SIWC 2010 and fall in love with writing again, and many other things.

Honestly, I'm thankful for just being alive.  Last year, three family members were taken from us too soon, and I'm thankful for each breath I have the opportunity to take.  It's sentimental, but that's what Thanksgiving is all about.

It's that time of year again

Yes.  You've heard right.  It's that time of year again.  It's time for my birthday!!!


And this year I'm turning the big two-one (21)!!!

So for Christinapalooza 2010, I have to do it BIG!!  As you'd expect, I've already started the planning.

I'm still looking for ideas.  So to all my wonderful and dedicated readers, if you have any ideas on how I can celebrate my 21st birthday week, please comment and let me know.

Here's what I have planned so far:

Wednesay, Dec. 15: Dinner with friends then waiting until midnight to celebrate my 21st
Thursday, Dec. 16: My 21st Birthday!! Take my first legal drink at midnight. Go to the liquor store and buy my first bottle of alcohol. At night, go to dinner with my family at Parrot Key Caribbean Grill at FMB.
Friday, Dec. 17: Get my new license :)
Saturday, Dec. 18: Build your own 6-pack at Whole Foods
Sunday, Dec. 19: Stock up on alcohol for the cruise (we're using rum runner flasks)
Monday, Dec. 20: 21st birthday cruise!!
Tuesday, Dec. 21: 21st birthday cruise!! ((Nassau))
Wednesday, Dec. 22: 21st birthday cruise!! ((Coco Cay))
Thursday, Dec. 23: 21st birthday cruise!! ((Key West -- Duval Crawl!))
Friday, Dec. 24: 21st birthday cruise!!
Saturday, Dec. 25: 

Okay, so it's more like a birthday week and a half...but it's my 21st.  I have to do it big.

Got a suggestion?  Comment and let me know :)