Day 30: One Last Moment

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

I’m going to make this my last moment, one large and encompassing moment to wrap up this entire challenge.

Writing this last post feels strange in a way. I honestly didn’t think that I would have enough discipline to carry it out but now that I have I feel great. I feel like I’ve accomplished something in a way. I like blogging and writing these out so it is certainly an achievement to post consistently for 30 days.

I have certainly enjoyed writing these posts and connecting more with my readers (not that there are many of you).

So thank you for following along and staying with me. I’d love to write more things like this so please drop a comment below with suggestions.

Day 29: Your Aspirations

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

I would say this is very similar to the “Your Dreams” post. I would say that aspirations are a bit different so I will write something different from what I put in that post.

I aspire to make people happy. I am definitely a people pleaser. I hate disappointing others.

I also strongly believe in the idea that if people around you are happy, then you will be happy. Whether that be coworkers, parents, friends, partners, and so one.

I love giving gifts and sending cards and making sappy social media posts for other people and I’d like to think that makes people happy. Simple as that.

 

Day 28: Something That You Miss

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

I miss being a kid. Simple as that. Do you agree?

Day 27: Your Favorite Place

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

I wouldn’t say that I have one favorite place. I have one that encompasses a lot of places. My favorite place is anywhere outdoors.

I just love being outside in nature and enjoying my surroundings. It can be pretty much anywhere outside (except cities, those don’t count).

I have some favorite areas for sure. I love where I live. I have Rocky Mountain National Park at my back door, three lakes and endless hiking trails. I even like sitting in my backyard with a good book and just enjoying the sunshine.

If you haven’t already you should check out some of my earliest posts about my summer hikes. I hope this summer I can do more hikes so stay tuned for more of those!

If you have any areas, hikes, national parks, etc. that you suggest I check out drop them in the comments below.

Day 26: Your Fears

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

There are many things that I fear, but who doesn’t? Having fears is something that makes us human in my opinion. It proves that we aren’t perfect.

There are of course rational fears and then the irrational. There are also fears that can be classified as physical and some mental. I think it’s only fair to write about a couple. I certainly won’t bore you with all my fears.

When people ask me what my biggest fear is I usually chose between two answers depending on who is asking and for what reasons.

One is heights. I get sweaty and nervous and feel like I’m losing control when I’m somewhere high up. It’s strange because certain height-related things don’t scare me. For instance, I’m not afraid when going up a chairlift. I have skied since I was five years old so it might be that I was too young to develop a fear of heights from a chairlift. It would have been a pretty shitty fear considering I love skiing. Now on the flipside. If I have to ride the chairlift down I am nervous. I can’t do the Tower of Doom or any real rollercoaster because they’re high up at some point.

The other biggest fear that I have is being alone. Now I know this is common for a lot of people. Being alone sucks. And I don’t mean not having a romantic partner alone, I mean having nobody alone. Friends mean so much to me and they come and go over our lives but I fear the day that I either push away everyone or I simply lose them. That is one of my greatest fears that might be a bit irrational, but you never know. Sometimes reading books that have a character that’s become alone either through natural disaster/apocalyptic circumstances or simply because they’ve been forced to be a loner gets to me and it makes me worry. Being alone is just a different kind of feeling that is hard to get over.

Now since that was a little heavy I’ll give you a couple other fears.

• Snakes – I can do spiders no problem, but snakes are a huge no.
• Mascots – I really dislike not knowing who is under the giant animated head. It took me almost my entire three years at UO to get used to Puddles and he’s an adorable duck.
• Being at a desk – I am currently in a position that requires me to sit in front of a computer but my hopes are to never spend all 40 hours a week confined to a desk.
• Dolls – I was never really a doll girl when I was little and I think that’s because they have always creeped me out.
• Scary movies – can’t do them.
• The Wicked Witch of the West – yes I am still afraid of her. I used to watch the Wizard of Oz all the time as a child and loved it but one day it scared me and I haven’t gone back.

Now you know a couple of my fears and I hope no one takes advantage of me putting them out there. Seriously, don’t.

Day 25: A First

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

There are a lot of firsts in life. Anything from your first steps to your first kiss and then when you’re older maybe your first house or your first child.

I wasn’t sure what first I was going to write about but I thought I could write about my first car because I have some great and some not-so-great memories driving it around.

My first car (and mind you I’m only on my second one) was a 1991 blue Toyota 4Runner. I never got down to naming him but I knew he was a him contrary to the commonality of cars being female. Whoever decided that was a guy no doubt.

So my 1991 blue Toyota 4Runner was sent up from Arizona from my dad who had a friend who was selling it. My mom had planned to put a bow on the hood and surprise me when I got home because it arrived early but so did I and saw it waiting patiently in the driveway.

I actually didn’t have my license at the time but I had my learner’s permit so of course, we took it for a spin. I loved that car. It was the perfect size for me and was in great shape for being older than I was. I took it everywhere: back and forth from school, to ski practice, to work and all around the county. Having a car was having freedom.

Having that car was the best thing ever and it even saved my life. One cold, early morning I was driving to drop off my car to the mechanic for an oil change when I hit a patch of ice, spun and rolled down an embankment. My mom, who was intending to drive me to school after dropping off my car watched the entire accident in her rearview mirror.

It was my first accident. It scared the hell out of me but I walked away with a minor concussion. The only tragedy was my cell phone which shattered a window and disappeared into the three feet of snow in the ditch.

The best part about the whole situation was that once he had been pulled out and sent to the mechanic for a little more than an oil change, I was able to drive him for almost a year and a half more. I then moved on to my current car who I’m now realizing also doesn’t have a name.

My first car was the best and I still see him now and again. We sold him to a friend in the area who fixed him up even more and then sold him to a current high school student so I see him parked at the high school every once in a while.

A great first in my mind.

Day 24: Something That Makes You Cry

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

There’s (not) surprisingly a lot of things that make me cry. What those things are range so much it’s kind of crazy.

I’ll cry if there is a commercial or video that tells a heartwarming story. Anything sentimental and armed forces related usually gets me.

Also if an animal dies in a movie. Those are the worst. J.K. Rowling I will never forgive you for Hedwig.

But on the happier end of things, I love when families are reunited or wonderful things happen to someone who hasn’t had the best of luck. Those types of happy moments always get a tear from me.

I also cry when things are simply powerful. Sometimes it’s just the way words are put together in a certain order that just get to me.

Crying isn’t always a bad thing in my opinion. It shows that we are human.

Day 23: Something That Makes You Feel Better

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

I’m going to give you a list of 10 of my favorite things that generally always brighten my day and make me feel better.

1. chocolate – literally always #1
2. cuddles
3. dogs
4. a good movie – usually HP
5. warm, fuzzy and cozy blankets
6. being surprised
7. spending quality time with someone I love
8. small acts of kindness
9. a made bed with freshly cleaned sheets
10. new shoes

Day 22: Something That Upsets You

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

Something that upsets me is probably fairly common for most people. I get very upset when people begin to stray away, become silent and eventually disappear altogether.

I really value the relationships I’ve built in my lifetime and it hurts so much when you start to lose someone you’ve worked hard to develop a connection with. I know sometimes it’s for the better and it’s not meant to be so to speak, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

I’m the type of person that’s truly going to put in an honest effort to really get to know you and to become part of your life. I usually dive in deep with personal relationships and sometimes it bites me in the ass at the end of the day, but it’s the best way for me to get to know a person.

So it really hurts when someone I’ve spent a lot of time getting to know suddenly disappears. I know sometimes I’m not the best all the time at reaching out but I always care and I always want to stay in touch with a person and I believe that comes across with my relationships.

I’m sure other people know what I’m talking about here. You can always tell when it’s gotten past the point where keeping in touch isn’t really in the cards anymore. It’s sad and it really upsets me.

I hate that little feeling that it’s about to fizzle out. It’s the worst.

Day 21: Another Moment

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

I’m catching up! Sorry for the double post tonight.

So again, like other posts, I’m going to complain about how hard it is to pick just one moment.

So I did think about what moment I should choose and it’s going to be similar to an earlier post from before this challenge. So if you’re new to the blog then this will be the first bit you read about the moment I found out who my big for my service fraternity in college was.

So yes Gabriella (cause I know you read these) a moment I’ll cherish forever is the moment you dropped the blanket and we became a family.

So I didn’t find Alpha Phi Omega, an international college service fraternity, until winter/spring term of my second year at UO. I had a coworker that had been a member of the group and was trying to find recruits for the following term. I decided it sounded like a fun group to be a part of and it would look great on a resume for the future so I attended an information session where I met the Recruitment Chair, Gabriella.

Now to explain a bit about APO, it functions very much like what you’d think a college fraternity functions like. APO is a coed fraternity that focuses on three main principles: leadership, friendship and service. The main function that occurs in many shapes and forms is service events. A similar thing to your well-known fraternities and sororities is that each member becomes a part of a lineage and has a Big.

Alpha Phi Omega allots Bigs and Littles in the first couple of weeks after recruitment so that the Bigs can guide their Littles as mentors in the fraternity. I was nervous to find out who my Big was because we, as pledges, had no idea who was even volunteering to be a Big. We all took little compatibility tests and were sorted into appropriate pairs. During Big/Little week the Littles received gifts and anonymous notes from our Bigs, still not knowing who it was. At the end of the week, there was a big reveal where we finally learned who was going to guide us through the Zeta Psi chapter of Alpha Phi Omega.

For the reveal, we did a classic blanket drop where our Bigs would be literally unveiled in front of us. I had guessed, out of sheer luck, that my Big might be Gabriella before entering the room. The entire time I was walking into the room I kept saying over and over that I had chosen wrong and that I had no idea who it was so you can probably imagine my shock and excitement when the blanket dropped and Gabriella was standing on the other side.

We laughed about it afterward and to be honest the rest is history.

She has become one of my best friends and I truly can’t imagine how I would have gotten through the last year of college without her. I’ll cherish that moment forever.

 

Day 20: This Month

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

So I’ve gotten a bit behind and I apologize for anyone that is just dying to hear about my life. I will be posting why I got behind in a post hopefully in the next couple of days (there’s a hint below) and in the meantime, I will try to get these Journal Challenge posts up and running on a schedule again.

Now though it has just become the month of April I’m going to write about March for it is far more eventful and easier to write about as it has already happened.

I genuinely had to look at my calendar to remember all that has happened this month. I’ve been quite busy and enjoying it but also wanting to relax a bit which I will be doing in the month of April, hopefully.

Well, work has been the main thing occupying my time of course (Monday through Friday).

I dog sat for close family friends at the beginning of the month while they got to escape to sunny California for a trip. I love dog sitting for the family because their two corgis are so affectionate and I don’t mind taking care of the little guys and feeling like a real fur mama. My boyfriend also got to visit during that weekend and we snowshoed which is always a fun activity.

About mid-month we had a massive snowstorm in Colorado and I was so thankful to have carpooled to work that day so I didn’t have to deal with the crazy snow-packed roads. But of course, the shoveling started immediately when I got home.

For St. Patrick’s Day weekend I went down to Boulder to visit my best friend Olivia and celebrate the drinking holiday college-style. While down there I got another tattoo which I’ve been wanting to get but haven’t had the means to.

That following week I had a dinner meeting with my friend Beck who is also the program leader for my river trip. We just had to discuss and get some things in order because Wednesday evening was the first meeting for JRT2 which went really well and I’m looking forward to taking the small group down the Green in about a month.

That weekend and into the next week I dog sat for Olivia and her family (can you tell I like dog sitting). They have a new puppy named Finn who is somewhat of a terror but you can’t blame him he’s just a puppy. Even though he ate my slipper. They also have an older dog Boone who is the calmest and chillest dog ever so it was the best of both worlds.

Shortly after I finished dog sitting I left for a work conference in Las Vegas (yes, you read that right – I got paid to go to Vegas). The first couple of days I spent with my mom before the meetings actually started. And then on April 1st, the work conference began. And since that’s the end of March you’ll have to wait for another post for more Vegas details.

 

 

Day 19: Something You Regret

30 Day Journal Writing Challenge

I swear some of these posts are meant for you to tell all about your deepest feelings and obviously regrets. And yes I know this is a journal writing challenge that is probably supposed to be kept in a private journal.

The thing is I don’t really regret anything. The only thing I usually regret is not going left when I went right instead and stupid small things like that.

I am only 22 so I could develop larger regrets in the future when I’m older.