Day 16: A picture of someone who inspires you

Ok so again I am back at it..... trying to keep up with this challenge. At this point I have abandoned the everyday blogging, especially because I am mid-thesis writing and extra writing is almost too much for me.

Someone who inspires me....

Me & my momma

My momma. Claudia Ann Collins. She's inspired me in too many ways to count....I hardly know where to start. When I was little she made my life so much fun and exciting because she always had an art project for me to do, a song to sing along to or a place to visit that opened my eyes up to the world. Yearly visits to art museums, arboretums, the franklin institute, wetlands institutes, American girl doll fashion shows, GOLD (aka girls overnight leadership development) and daily runs to the local rec fields and schools for sports- she did it all. My life was so full of activity and excitement and I owe it all to her.  She's such a smart and strong women- graduated college in 3 years and got her master's at UConn, and she definitely set the bar high for me.  In between all of her amazing maternal talents she has overcome heart problems and beaten breast cancer and she even teaches ESL at a local school. Like I said, she's supermom.  Now as I am about to defend my thesis and graduate with my master's it really brings me back to what has fueled my interest in higher ed and a lot of that has come from my mom. It's exciting that as I grow older I see that we have more things in common (seriously, right down to our handwriting) and when I look back at pictures of her when she was 25 we look strikingly alike.  All in all, I am just thankful that she is my mother and she helped me get where I am today. I really don't think I would be where I am today without her.

Day 15: Something you want to do before you die

They filmed the movie The Beach in Phuket, Thailand on Phi Phi Le Island

Day 15: Something you want to do before you die

Before I die I want to go to Phuket, Thailand. It is like 24 hours away and flights cost a fortune BUT that is why Phuket made it onto my bucket list. Seriously...look at the scenery. The beaches are ridiculous, and I know this for a fact because I watched the movie, The Beach, like 20 times and all the beach scenes are from Phuket.  The water is so clear and pretty and it just looks like it would be the most relaxing place in the world.  I can't get there now but I know some day in the future I could make it happen and, honestly, I hope that it is sooner rather than later because I wanna look hot on the beach. If I go when I'm 50 with all my friends as like a 'girls trip' it probably wouldn't be as fun (but if Maeve remembers, I have predicted the time I am 50 we will be able to teleport, hah!). So check back on my blog in like 3 or 4 years to see pictures of me in this exact location, standing next to those gondola boat things.

Oh yea, and this song was on the soundtrack of The Beach (pure shores by all saints).....I'll be listening to this song my whole 24 hour trip to Thailand

until next time....this is Jennifer E. College. Signing off.

Day 14: A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

Well, let's see this could get really deep but I'm gonna stop my soul searching right here and just go with my first thought....Obama. I couldn't imagine my life if there was still not a Black President. So I'm glad he's in office....I like the stuff he's doing in that office too. I shook his hand which was cool because I don't think I ever thought I would shake a President's hand.  I like his wife too...she's doing good things, and I've made him numerous offers to send his daughters to Step Up camps for free.

In the spirit of the end of black history month (which ended yesterday...and on that note, why do we only get a month?), I present to you President Barack Obama.

Barack Hussein Obama II

ps: check out www.stepuplacrosse.com. We launched a new site today!

Day 13: Fave artist

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist


Well well well....this isn't too tough. I have two all-time favorite artists though: Lauryn Hill (aka L Boogie) and John Legend. 




 So you see, my girl Lauryn has kind of fallen off.  I liked the fugees when I was little, then she released The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill which probably got played 1,000 times on my panasonic no-skip cd player. Actually, TMLH takes up half of my top 25 most played on my ipod. Then.... she went into her rasta stage...married Ziggy Marley, had some kids and eventually released Lauryn Hill: Unplugged. I absolutely LOVED this album. It's pretty raw, very deep, kind of political and very emotional- and did I mention all acoustic. I don't know what it is but acoustic guitars make me cry, all the time, always, never fail. I feel like when I was growing up and I didn't have words to put to my feelings (and we all know I was very mature and over-dramatic for my age), Lauryn Hill said it for me.  I sang along. Cried. Healed (from high school and college break ups and the general woes of teenage-dom).  If you really know me well, you know that when I am listening to Lauryn Hill, mentioning her in my facebook statuses, etc then I am sad or upset. Her music is my go-to.

So, after that explanation and how LH bring back memories of things past....I will move onto my explanation of why John Legend has come into the mix.  Although there is a bit of sadness connected to Mr. Legend's music for me (ex: "Another Again"), he is more upbeat. Better memories. Happier times. The first song of his that I heard was "Save Room", like everyone else in America, but I went on to find his older album Get Lifted and fell in love with that. I then purchased Once and Again and have rounded out my collection with Evolver. I love his voice and find his music to be very soothing.  I love that he plays piano in a lot of his songs and I love the emotion he brings to his tracks. BONUS: he is still producing albums, unlike Lauryn Hill at the moment, so that is where I justify having 2 favorite artists. 






Sharing Time.....


here are my favorite songs of each artist


John Legend- "Ordinary People", Once and Again

Lauryn Hill- "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind", Lauryn Hill: Unplugged

day 12: something i l-o-v-e

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

the man who stole my heart and i don't even want it back

I almost didn't blog today...and then I checked today's challenge and I couldn't pass it up because it was something I loved! It really doesn't get any easier than that! Pretty sure everyone who knows me knows this by now, but I love Ramiro Ray Vela III.


Some quick facts about why I love him:
- he makes me laugh (he hasn't made me pee my pants yet haha)
- he has a TDF smile
- he is amazing with his words and can melt my heart with one sentence
- he's smokin hot (see picture)
- he likes to party
- he likes to drive (and i like to get in auto accidents...match made in heaven)


this list could go on for days but I am sure you get the picture! He has been the best thing to happen to my life and I can't wait for what the future holds for us- all good things I hope!
- 

Catching up

So I have decided that I like the blog challenge but I am not good at blogging every day.  But in an effort to catch up...here I go.


Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

shirt writing on my 21st birthday

Ok so this picture makes me laugh because it was 21st birthday. I was probably about 20 or so shots deep and a guy I know told me he wanted to write on my shirt. For those of you who don't know, on 21st birthdays we get a bday shirt with a funny picture and message) and your friends carry around sharpies so that all your birthday messages stay in one place (on your tshirt). So this picture was taken before I fell on the dirty bentley's bar floor laughing because of the following event:


guy: what should I write on your shirt?
me: (drunken mumble) lax rules
guy: proceeds to write "blacks rule"


Yupp, common misunderstanding. Needless to say, I laughed for days and I still have the shirt with a big "blacks rule" on the side.

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Jerry & Claud

It's a tie between these two lovely people. My mom and dad. I wouldn't be where I am without them. 

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most ****** up things with

galski

Yup that would be Gals, easily. She dares me to do stuff and I do it and that's a problem. And when I have bad ideas she tells me they are good ideas. Soooo yea, not gonna go into detail but she deserves day #10.

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate

I HATE scary movies. I have nightmares for days. It is terrible and I have gotten to a point where I can't even watch scary movie commercials without having to cover my eyes. The first (and last) scary movie I saw was Pet Semetary and I am still scared of a little kid jumping out from under the bed and slashing my achilles tendons so I can't run away. The worst is when I am watching previews in movie theaters and it's impossible to avoid the scary words, sudden flashes of light and eery music. You can't change the channel like at home either.  If I could I would do away with scary movies all together.

day 7: most treasured item

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item

Lola Collins

  

There you have it...the evolution of lola (for puppyhood in Arkansas, to her first day in CP, her life as an office lap top and her first visit to the vet in annapolis). I just couldn't help myself. It was impossible to post just one photo so I posted 5. She's just so darn cute.  

I know she isn't an 'object', per se, but she is the most treasured non-human part of my life. Lola's life is pretty much my ideal life set-up. She wakes up under the covers in my bed, I take her out, I give her breakfast, she goes back to sleep for the whole afternoon, humps a pillow here and there, goes on walks, does what ever she wants and gets away with it, smells like a dream because she has kiehl's dog conditioner and she gets a treat every time she poops and pees.

Lola is always there. The best part about her is that she has a legit personality.  She gets depressed when I leave and she lays on her side on the "sad couch", but the best part is that when I return she is so happy to see me. I don't think anybody has ever been as happy to see me as lola is when I come home.  She's the best. She's kind of like having a kid (but kids are probably much harder).

I wouldn't trade my little furry nugget for anything.