A College Student's Letter to the Younger Generation

So here is my disclaimer: This is my opinion. These are the thoughts that have been going through my head. I am sorry if anyone gets offended. If you don't read anything from this entire rant, at least skip down to my Stop/ Learn. That's the message I really want to send.

Dear Current Middle School and High School Students,
    Hey! College life is great. It is a lot of work, and definitely a struggle, but it is so worth it. But I didn't write this to talk about me. I wrote it to talk to some of you.

Maybe this isn't my place to judge. Maybe it's not my place to talk. But I am tired of seeing it on Facebook. Kids are getting suspended. Kids are into drugs. And having babies.

I read my news feed on Facebook and I see people complaining about school and promoting the legalization of weed all over the place. What happened to playing with dolls or video games?

My New Blogging Plan

I have struggled with what this blog is about most of the time that I have had the blog. I have spent hours searching other blog sites and reading all about what they do for their blog to make it work.

I am going to try something new and I hope to keep with it throughout the school year. I may have a few weeks were I struggle to keep up, but I will make sure to at least post every once in a while. I am really excited to start this!

My plan is to have a different theme for every day Monday-Friday. Each day will have a theme but it will be broad enough that I can write about a lot of things that are under that category. Every week will have a different blog post for that day of the week.

All About Me

     Hey everyone! I know most of you are regular readers, and most of you are probably family and friends, but for those of you who happened to stumble upon my blog, I thought I would give you a nice, warm welcoming!

   Many bloggers out there are stay at home mothers who have a couple of kids and have been married for a good amount of time, but I am actually quite the opposite.

I am in a relationship with my best friend, Matthew.
Not married.
No kids.
I am also a college student.
 Looking for a full time 8-5 job.
Always searching for a volunteer position.
 I love writing.
On top of that. I am a soldier in the Nebraska National Guard and I love every second of it.

Family Matters

After nine hours on the clock today, I called Grandma asking how they were and what they are doing for the Superbowl tonight.  While I wasn’t really interested in such a superficial game, I knew this was one of those times that Sean was slightly regretting that we decided to cancel our cable in Mid-December because it was just too expensive. It was mostly because there was just nothing on.

Well Grandma invited us out for supper and to watch the game with her. When we got out to the farm, and every time we go out to the farm, it reminds me of all of those childhood memories from the summers spent with my grandma.

When pulling into the drive way, the garage is the first thing you see, then the bright robin egg blue house.  This house has been the gathering place for every holiday, family event, and big moment for as long as I can possibly remember.

Grandma’s kitchen might as well open up as a restaurant in Harbine. She always has three or four entrees for each meal. Christmases always include full counters and extremely full tummys. We always say that if you leave grandma’s hungry, it’s your own dang fault. Almost a hundred percent of the time, the first words out of Grandma’s mouth after you walk in the door include, “Are you hungry?” But you are required to say yes. Everyone knows that you don’t eat if you know you are going out to grandma’s.

I still remember many summers spent here, running from barn to buildings, jumping on hay bales, and over fences. My uncle, who is four years older than I am, and I spent a ton of time playing “war.” (The irony). We would spend days and days during the summer running around in the fields, playing near the water shed, and carrying around plastic weapons.

Looking back now, I miss these days. I miss being really young and not having a single care in the world, but mostly I miss spending so much time with my family. As I have gotten older, I have started working a lot more and being more involved with other things. I have missed out on a ton of family opportunities that I can never get back.

This post really isn’t about anything in particular.  Mostly just a reminder about how important family is. I love my family.

Not to mention my mom and dad have been the best parents I could ever ask for. They have done the most wonderful things I could ever possibly ask for.  They have always encouraged me to do whatever my heart desires which included dance, gymnastics, soccer, photography, fair projects, volunteering, reading, and most importantly, the military.

My dad has helped me in each and every dream that I have had. He has been the greatest role model as a father that I could have ever asked for. But, as every father should and most importantly, he taught me how a man should treat a woman by the simple way that he treats my mother. He showed me what to expect out of a guy. I could never ask for anything more than that. For this, I will always be extremely grateful.

My mom has given me the ability to stand on my own two feet as a woman. She has shown me the confidence to stand up for what I believe in and to not let anyone every walk all over me. She has given me the dream of someday helping people with whatever I end up doing. This is the reason that I have decided that I want to go into psychology as my major at UNL next year. I hope to find a job helping substance abusers within the military. Many soldiers that have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or some form of Post-Deployment problem feel that alcohol will be the answer. I want to help these people. I want to find a way to incorporate Drug and Alcohol Counseling with the Military in some form. My mom has always taught me that if you have a plan, and you have the will, somehow it will get done.

I want to express how lucky I am for every family member that I have.  I challenge each one of you that read this to spend more time with your family. I know that I take each and every advantage that I can to spend time with my mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and brothers.

I can’t wait to go see Zach, Nick, and Casey in a couple weeks! The first time all four of us have been together in 8 years.. But finally we will be together.

For a last note, you don’t really know what you have until you think you might be losing it. So don’t wait until that last moment. When you move out, you realize how much your family means to you and how important it is to talk to them. 

Also I just needed to add that I have the cutest little brother EVER!------->>

It's Just Me

     Okay, first blog post and I am slightly unsure of what I am all going to write about and how much to write. So I am going to wing this and we'll see.
      First off, I am Elyse. I graduated from Beatrice High School a couple months ago, moved out of my parents house and I am now trying everything I can to save some money. My parents were really great when it came to getting me the things that I needed, so money was never really an object for me until I moved out. I got my first job when I was 15 waiting tables at the Kensington. Things didn't really work out there, so I got a job at McDonald's.
     Yup.. I know what most are thinking YUCK.., but when you are young, a job is a job. I have worked there for over 2 years now and will continue to work there until I leave for college. I have moved up to "Crew Chief" at McDonald's, which means I am in kind of in charge of making sure things get done the correct way around the store when I am there and the manager on the shift is not right there. Most of our managers are pretty great, but I enjoy being able to help out when they have other things to get done or they are in another area of the store.
      I also have another job. I am an American Soldier, part time. During my junior year in high school I decided that I wanted to join the National Guard. In March of 2012, I enlisted and on August 10, 2012, I graduated from Basic Combat Training. I was overwhelming with joy. But now, not only am I trying to save money in every possible way, I am also trying to stay in tip top shape for when I leave for training again in May.

This is me after my graduation from Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. I kind of miss it because I had quite a few good friends there, but I am also extremely glad to be home.

        This is my boyfriend and I before we left Oklahoma. He and his best friend drove all the way down there to see me graduate. (:  Sean and I have been together for just under a year and a half. We have gone through a ton of stuff together, but he cooks so I think I will keep him (:  Kidding, He is really great and we have a lot of fun just spending time together.
      He works days and I work nights so a lot of my time is spent at home working on cleaning, cooking, or Pinterest. There is my reason for starting this blog. It is something to do.

Well that is pretty much all about who I am. There will be more posts to follow this week. I am going to try to do one every day, but weekends get crazy, so there are no promises that I will write on Saturdays or Sundays.