Strength

Being a teenager is all about being strong. I'm not talking strong in the sense of a body builder or Taylor Lautner style Twilight Saga abdominals. I'm referring to the kind of strength that takes real maturity. Strength in this sense is about being conscious, active, and aware of not only yourself but everyone else around you. It's about thinking before you speak, actively listening to someone other than yourself, and picking your battles carefully. Confrontation isn't always the answer, being strong enough to see that is. This is strength.

Guess who's kind of a become a little bit of a YouTuber - this guy (*points to self with thumbs). Check out this vlog post all about being strong and aware of your strength in college. Video includes super sexy "hey's" with Joe, random dancing and post weekend faces outtakes.

College for me takes so much strength. It takes courage, gumption, and an understanding that things will not always come out the way I planned. It's a process, and there definitely have been and will be growing pains along the way. You've got to pick and choose, and do your best to be you, at your deepest, and most profound. Saturday for me kicked up with waking up at 9am to get ready for a crazy day. I put on my spirit wear (which included knee-high socks) and made the journey to WDW to meet up with my friends Anna and Bret to table for homecoming weekend. Such a journey, carrying our cotton candy machine and all the random supplies we needed was kind more than I bargained for. We finally set our table up outside of the library and it starts pouring rain. We got the cotton candy floss flowing and soon the sky brightened up just enough for the alumni, families, and students to come out of hiding to come interact with us. So many cute little kids, some handsome/pretty babies, and overall a lively vibe descended around us. Just 4 hours spent doing facepaint with help from Terra, and some of our newest members (from my apparently unspeakable extracurricular) Lauren, Hannah and Chloe. Covered in sticky candy, facepaint streaks, and dripping wet with rain it was time to to be done. Back to my room to change and head to library where I met up with my biology lab partner, Claire for some number crunching. Working with Microsoft excel can be an insurmountable task. The strength it takes to keep calm and get over all that is unheard of. We get a bit done and it backs to the the Heights for me to shower, change, and get ready for BSU 's (black student union) "Soul Food Social." Looking as dapper as ever, I met up with my executive peeps (Anna, Terra, and Bret) and their boyfriends, Aidan, *teammate Alan, and Jesse and we grabbed a table. After a speech from a faculty member, I got up to go and serve food. I really like to serve, especially when it comes to food, it reminds me of my favorite holiday (Thanksgiving), when my mom and I cook everything and don't eat until everyone has been fed and is happy. Scooping mashed potatoes, rice, sweet potato casserole, macaroni & cheese, and even some collared greens to strangers definitely required some strength on my part. I finally got to eat, and we all watched a slightly risque dance performance before hitting the dance floor. I'm talking people of color having an awesome time doing line dances and hitting it hard out there. My #campuscrush was there, looking as beautiful as ever (one of these days, I'll ask her out on a date) and the event was amazing. Tired, and worn out - it was back to my room to change, catch up with Sam, and go back out to the after party. This is where the night got a whole lot funnier. Songs would come on and everyone would yell "that's my jam" or "that's my song, turn it up." I was geeking out so hard, and just having an epic time. I was on that dance floor in the dark with the rest of them. My friend Felicia was slaying me with her moves as they got progressively more free-flowing. The best parts were the synchronized dances and routines that everyone just happened to know. 1:30am and I walked back to my suite alone, smiling, and completely car-parked (Jacksgap reference, boom!). So much strength.
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Being a teenager is all about knowing when to fight and when to back down. Not every argument, every incident or every instance needs to be deemed a war-starter. Keep it together, hold back, think and make a rational decision before proceeding to get crazy. Dial it back, keep it calm, and chill. Be strong in yourself, and demonstrate how much you've grown. College is all about change, maturity, and discovery. Figure out how to be strong yourself, to define your causes and pursue them with all your might. That takes strength.
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My blog post question for the day is ... what gives you strength? For me, its the list of baby names I keep on my phone - just the fact that one day I'll be married with children is more than enough for me.

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