Things Will Look Up

Hello! Today's post is about a topic we can all relate to. So I'm just going to jump right into it.

So, as you may know, I've been dealing with health issues for over a year now. I've also been dealing with other struggles in my life. But, we all have struggles that we deal with on a day to day basis. I just want you all to know that, that I am here whenever you need me. Sometimes it can be easier talking about what's going on in your life, to a stranger, than to someone you personally know.

For a while, I just felt like nothing good was going on in my life. That one non-good thing, after another, was happening. And quite frankly, it sucked. But, this last day and 1/4, have actually been pretty good for me. It's opened my eyes, that good things do happen. That you have to go through the bad to get to the good. Just like the quote, "Be strong now. Because things will get better. It may be stormy now, but it can't rain forever." This quote is so true. Even though nothing has been solved yet, I know that it eventually will. A year from now, I can be living my dream. I have goals I want to reach and I know, that the more I work towards it everyday, that I will meet them. But, you can't expect things to happen for you, if you don't work for them. No one is going to magically hand you your college degree or your dream job. You are the only one who can give that to yourself. If things aren't going how you want them to, then change them. Stop sulking and living in the past. Get off your butt and change what you want to be changed. It's not going to do it on it's own.

I can't explain how good I feel right now. How these last thirty hours have affected me. It was a huge awakening for me. I hope everyone who reads this, feels like this one day. Where you want to work hard, to change the things that you hate in your life. To eventually end up in where you keep wishing you were.

I know, through hard work, determination, and faith in myself, I will end up where I want to in life. No matter the obstacles I will face and the people that will try to tear me down. If you want something bad enough, you will get it, if you work for it. It's time we grow up and stop expecting things to be handed to us.

Leave a comment down below if this has helped you in anyway, or if you have had this sort of "awakening" before in your life. Thanks for reading!

*I do not own the quote in italics written above.*

*The picture above is mine.*

The Glitter Affect?

Hello! Todays topic is something that has been on my mind a lot lately. I've been watching videos on YouTube, of people helping those less fortunate than them, without expecting anything in return. It got me thinking about how society works nowadays. How if we give someone a gift, we expect one in return. That is absolutely terrible. Sadly, we've all done it. It's disgusting to think how many times we all have done it, too. Whether it's getting someone something for their birthday, and then expecting them to get you one, for your birthday. What happened to doing things out of the kindness of your heart? Just to help someone out, and see that smile of theirs light up their face. Shouldn't their happiness and appreciation be enough in return?

I have a story I would like to share with y'all. A couple of days ago, my mom and I were leaving Walmart, when we seen a guy standing on a corner with a sign. I was too far away to read what the sign said. But, I'm sure we all have some sort of idea what it said. I turned to my mom and said, "I can't wait until I can get a job. So I can help people like that." She replied with, "You need to be careful though. Some people can have money and just do that to get more." I said, "I'll still give it to them. They can take it up with God if they are lying." My mom said, "That's a good way to look at it." That was the end of the conversation.

To me, if I see someone who needs money, and I am able to help them, I will. If it turns out that they are just scamming everyone, they are the ones who have to deal with the repercussions. I'll be the one doing what I feel is right and they'll be the one who will have to live with the guilt of scamming others.

I feel like it's time we all stand up for what we think is right. We shouldn't have to wonder if we'll get made fun of, or get bullied for it. We should be able to voice our rights in an acceptable manner, even if our friends, classmates, family, co-workers, who ever, don't believe in the same thing. I don't mean cussing at others, calling names, or fighting to get the point across either. There are other ways to express your beliefs and opinions in an orderly fashion, without offending others.

It's time we stand up to the bully, we fight (not physically) for what we believe in, we help who needs help, and do it all without wanting something in return.

That's the thing about society now. We judge people by the way they look on the outside. That person you see, who is dressed decently, can be barely making it. You'll never know though. They could be going day to day, with one meal. They can be working forty plus hours a week. You don't know. That's the thing. We don't know what goes on with other people. We don't know what they have been through and are currently going through. They can be giving you that smile, when inside, they are trying to be strong, not only for themselves, but their family and the people around them. Or, they could be the rudest, grumpiest person, but you still don't know what struggles they are facing in life. It's time we stop judging and start helping. We are all human. Our culture, religion, race, gender, and color, SHOULD NOT depict, whether to help someone or not.

I came up with a thing called, 'The Glitter Affect'. I personally love glitter. Every time I see it, it makes me smile. It stands out and shines so bright. But, one little spec of glitter can not shine and stand out on its own. It takes thousands upon millions of those little specs, to be seen.

For 'The Glitter Affect', I challenge everyone to help someone today, tomorrow, a month from now, forever. Smile at everyone who walks by you. Hug someone who least expects it. Whether it's something as "small" as sending them a message stating that you care, to giving them a pizza, to something "bigger" such as, helping someone find a job, to buying them clothes and the necessities that they need. Anything that you can do, is big! If you go to a fast food place like Burger King, or McDonalds, pay for the persons food behind you. That would literally make their whole day. Maybe even week, month, or year. That could make them want to do the same good deed that you did for them, for the person behind them, and so on and so forth. You don't know how much, you could've helped that person out.

I want everyone to take this to their social media accounts and spread the word. Whether it's on Facebook, Twitter, whatever you use. Use the hashtag, #TheGlitterAffect, and let me know what you did to help someone today. What you plan to do to help someone in the future. Please share this post/link with your family/friends/followers, so we can start making our world a better place for everyone today and everyone tomorrow.

Leave a comment down below on how you plan to help someone today, tomorrow, or a year from now. My twitter is @Breanda_Newell if y'all want to follow me or tag me in your tweet. That way, I can see what you did to help someone or how you plan to help someone. To the reader, you are absolutely beautiful! I'm here if any of y'all need someone to talk to. You can tweet/DM, on Twitter or leave a comment down below. I hope y'all have a fantabulous day! Thank you to everyone that helps spread my message. Thanks for reading!

*The idea and creation of 'The Glitter Affect' is created by me. You CAN NOT, try and pass the idea of it, as your own. Copyright 2015.*

*The picture above is mine.*

My Life: What's Been Going On With My Health?

Hello! So, today I am finally getting around to telling y'all what has been going with me for the last year. Now bear(bare?) with me, this is going to be a long story. So by all means, get some food, get comfortable, and enjoy.

On January 15, 2014, is when my life changed. Before I continue though, let me back track a little. The year 2013, was the beginning of my Senior year. I was excited for my last year of High School to finally be happening. I tend to always do everything. I was in FCCLA, FCA, KAY Club, STUCCO, SADD, Cheer, Dance, and I was also taking two college classes that served as duel credits, meaning it would count as a High School credit and college credit. That first semester of High School I started getting sick in September of 2013. It's not unusual for me to be sick. I tend to get sick a lot, not as much as I did in Middle School, but quite often. In September, it was just an ear infection. I get those all of the time, so it wasn't anything new. Though, in November, I came down with a sore throat that I just couldn't get rid of, for the life of me. Along with the sore throat came a cough and losing my voice. I didn't completely lose it though, but almost. Now that we're in November, this brings a lot of stress. Being on Dance for two years and being a Senior, I was aloud to choreograph my own dance for the team. I started choreographing the summer before school had started. Though, we found out that we were finally going to enter in a Cheer and Dance competition, where we would rated on how we did. This is where my dance came into play. I had to change it around to make it competition worthy. That really stressed me out big time. The reason being, we have Thanksgiving break in November, Christmas break in December, and semester finals. Our dance coach wanted us to learn the dance before Christmas break. This was maybe the first or second week of November when we started to learn my dance, because we still had to learn other dances for performances before the end of the year. Believe me, it's hard trying to get people to go home and practice too. On top of this, being on the Cheer team too, we had tons of cheers we were learning, getting new girls to stunt and do positions they have never done before. Like me, I started being a base in a stunt. I have never done that before. To others, they may say that this isn't a lot to learn. We had over 100 cheers that we had to learn and know by the time we came back from Christmas break and if we didn't, we would get benched. It was terrible. During this time, we had late night practices, optional practices during weekends and breaks. Those late night practices would last from 3:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m., if you were dedicated enough to stay that late. I had to, because it was my dance, so I was volunteering my time, to help who ever needed help. I actually ended up in the hospital over Christmas break, due to a terrible cavity that was giving me and extreme headache/migraine. At the time, it was rare for me to have headaches. I was given pain medication that didn't do anything, besides make me sleep. We didn't know it was a cavity until I went to the dentist. Turns out, the cavity was hitting a nerve, that was giving me those extreme headaches. The reason I am saying this, is because even when I didn't feel good, I was still trying to do everything I could for those girls, so we would look amazing when we competed. It just frustrates me when people take advantage of other people and certain situations. Personally, I had set up two different times for people to come to my house and practice my dance, along with helping with the cheers, over Thanksgiving/Christmas (I can't remember which one it was, or if it was both.). Both times, only one girl showed up and it was the same girl. Also, one of our Cheer coaches, was supposed to upload a ton of cheers up on this website that our school uses for sports, over Christmas break.  It turns out that they never showed up for us, but on her iPad, it showed that they were uploaded. Quite a few of us tried emailing our coaches, messaging them on our Facebook page, and no one could get ahold of them, until the end of break. Let me tell you something, I was freakin terrified of getting yelled at by them, for not noticing it sooner. It turned out being ok in the end, for the most part. I did tell her that I had two different times set up at my house for them all to come and practice but only one girl showed up. She was mad and upset that no one else went. A lot of them said they never knew anything about it when, I texted everyone's number I had, I posted it on my Facebook and tag everyone I was friends with, AND I also posted it on our Cheer and Dance Facebook page. That was just very annoying to deal with, because then we were cramming everything in last minute. We came back from break on January 9th or 10th of 2014. Though, I'm pretty sure that whole week and the weekend before, we had optional practices that you could go to, because our Cheer and Dance competition was on that Saturday, January 11th, 2014. Our coach was even nice enough to bring us pizza for dinner two or three of those nights when we had evening practices, oppose from morning practices. Before break though, our coach decided that we weren't going to compete, but she still wanted us to learn all of the material, so we wouldn't being stressing over it after break. But, when school started up around the 9th, she decided that we were going to compete. So the girls who weren't practicing over break and at home, (You could definitely tell, who wasn't going home and practicing every night.) would have to learn it. Meaning, if they messed up, it would be their fault for not learning the material when they were supposed to. After competition school went on how it usually did. I had practice, homework, and games every week.

Now, we are finally on January 15, 2014. I remember that day, as clear as glass. That morning, I woke up not feeling too well. I had a stomach ache and was slightly nauseous. I thought I was just hungry, because, when I get really hungry and my stomach is so empty, I get nauseous and my stomach hurts. I just got up, got ready, and ate my two slices of cinnamon toast, like I did every morning. Though, I still felt terrible. The stomach ache was just getting worse as the time went by. I remember texting my mom and telling her I wasn't feeling good. She came out and talked to me, because I was freaking out. At the school I went to, if you went to a game, you had to be at school the next day or you'll get in trouble. Me being me, was scared to death of getting in trouble. My mom was trying to tell me that my coach knows how I am, that I don't miss school unless I really need to. My sister told my coach what was going on and she didn't get mad, since she knows how I am. The thing is though, I didn't get better at all that day. My mom thought I might have just caught a bug. I ended up missing four days of school in a row. My parents thought I just didn't want to go to school (I did that when I was younger. The longer I stayed home, the more I didn't want to go back to school.). But, that wasn't the case, I had gotten over that. I remember my mom telling me I needed to get up and get ready to go to school. I was so mad that she didn't believe me. On the way to school, I was crying because I didn't feel good and that my mom didn't believe me. When my sister and I had gotten to school, I had a panic attack and ended up just dropping her off and going back home. The reason I had a panic attack, was because I didn't feel good. For me, I absolutely HATE doing stuff I don't want to do, when I feel horrible. My parents finally started to believe that there was something wrong with me and that I wasn't making it up. My mom set up a doctors appointment for me, to try and figure out what was wrong. Nothing could be found. I had to go to school now, no matter what. I quit eating lunch at school, because no matter what I ate and when I ate it, I would get this horrible stomach ache and extreme nausea. I ended up loosing twenty or so pounds. I looked terrible. I like to say I had chicken legs because, before my mom would say I had gymnast legs from the workouts and practices I've had since Junior year. Since, I couldn't eat, I lost a lot of weight and all the muscle I had. I would miss about two or three days of school a week. I constantly had homework, making highly stressed. Not to mention, throughout those first three-five months, I had every test that there is, done. I had an Upper G.I., Hyda Scan, about four Ultrasounds, nine things of blood drawn, Scope, and a C.A.T Scan. I also had one or two hospital visits. The only thing that was found, was several Ovarian Cysts on my ovaries and a terrible UTI. Which I have never had a bladder infection or UTI in my life, before I got sick. Since, I've had like two or three of them. No one can find anything wrong with me, that links to my symptoms. In fact, my blood work came back perfect every time, and what ever shows that you must eat a lot of greens, came back perfect. Which is weird, because I don't eat healthy at all. Vegetables are not apart of my diet, let alone the greens you need to eat. Since graduating High School last May, what ever is wrong with me has taken over my life. During summer of 2014, I ended up gaining my weight back. I was able to eat a little more. I haven't been able to go to college or get a job. At about or before the start of my Senior year, I had the next two-three years of my life, after High School planned out. But, sadly, I haven't been able to do any of those plans. As of January 2015, I have seen several doctors, a surgeon, a specialist, about seventeen things of blood drawn, five veins blown out, around four hospital visits, at least four different medications tried, two to three different nausea pills tried out, Upper G.I., Hyda Scan, at least six Ultrasounds, Scope, C.A.T. Scan, and now I have another appointment scheduled for a different specialist. It started out terrible between January-May 2014, slightly better where I could eat more between June-September of 2014, and now for about the last for months have been bad. But, this January has been absolute horrific. I am able to eat pretty good for two days, but then I'm hunched over in terrible stomach pain and extreme nausea for the next three days, when I try to eat.

I think that is about it. If I remember something I forgot, I'll be sure to put it in. Sorry if y'all got bored reading this. Just thought I would share what is going on with me, incase someone else can relate to me, have answers, or give me something I should look into. There has been so many different things I have researched and looked into, to see if that is what I could have.

Leave a comment down below if you have experienced a mystery diagnosis or know anyone else who has. Or, if you have any advice for me, that would be great. Maybe something that can help with my stomach aches and nausea. I've tried over the counter medicine, prescribed medication, and every home remedy to get rid of both. I haven't found really anything that works. You don't know how much I would appreciate any advice or suggestions y'all have for me. Thanks for reading!

*The picture above is mine.*

Email?

Hello! I just have a quick question for y'all. Should I make some sort of email address for y'all to contact me through. I was thinking, if anyone wants or needs advice and you want it to be anonymous, you can just email me, and I can address it through a post without mentioning your identity. That way, if others have the same problem as you but, you don't want anyone to know who you are, you still get advice, while possibly helping others at the same time.

Leave a comment down below if you want me to or not. Even if only one person wants me to, I will. Thanks for reading!

*The picture is mine.*

Good Study Habits

 

                                          

Hello! Today, I will be giving y'all some tips to help you have better study habits. I have decided to do this because, I know that a lot of people are having midterms and exams right now. These tips are what I have discovered help me concentrate better, so I thought I would share them with you guys. Now I'm not saying these are what you have to do or you have to go purchase everything that is mentioned. This is just fore me to share with y'all the different tips that you may want to try out. I have provided pictures to show y'all what I use for these tips. Enjoy!

Tips On Good Study Habits:
1. Use sticky notes.
 A. By using sticky notes, you will be able to label and mark what needs to be studied.
 B. Colored sticky notes, will give you the option to color code all of your subjects.
 C. Different sized sticky notes, will give you the precise size that you need for various usage.

2. Flash Cards
 A. You are able to put the question on one side and the answer on the other. This way, you don't have to flip through all of your notes looking for the correct answer for every question.
 B. Colored flash cards, will give you the option to color code all of your subjects.
 C. They are easy to transport where ever you go. (Such as, going out to dinner or studying with a friend.)

3. Highlighters
 A. You can highlight everything that is important, that you'll need to know for a test or quiz. This will make it a lot easier to search through your notes or books.
 B. Colored highlighters, will give you the option to color code all of your subjects. Or, color code when homework is due, or when your next quiz/test/exam is.

4. Agenda/Planners/Notebooks
 A. You'll be able to write down what homework you have for the day, when it's due, and also when your next test is.
 B. It's also great for remembering dates. Such as, if you are in a ton of activities, you'll be able to write down what activity is when, what you need to bring, and also what time it starts and ends.
 C. Fun notebooks give boring subjects the color and brightness they need. Try to find some that will make you smile every time you take them out.

5. Erasers/Pencils/Pens
 A. Make sure to always have more than one of everything you have. You don't want to lose a pencil and not have one when you need one. It's always good to have back ups.
 B. Make it fun! Have crazy, fun shaped erasers, like the examples I have provided you with in the  picture above. The ones I chose to show you, that I have, is a carrot, lips, and a heart.

6. Sit against a hard surface.
 A. Laying down distracts you and makes you tired.
 B. Trying sitting against a wall, or sitting in a chair at a table/desk.

7. No food!
 A. This is a hard one for me. Food tends to distract us and get us off course.
 B. Try to only have water around.

8. Take breaks!
 A. Take small breaks in-between studying. This allows your brain a break and gives you the chance to relax.
 B. Shorter breaks are the best. Taking long breaks will make you lazy and not want to continue studying.
 C. This is the time to have a snack to give you the energy you need. By eating on your break, you aren't distracted from your homework or study time. Try having a healthy snack such as, vegetables, fruits, or nuts. (This has to be the hardest for me. I hate eating healthy. Junk food is my best friend.)

9. Music
 A. Listen to music if it helps you study. Personally, it helps me to concentrate on what I'm doing, while blocking the outside world out.

10. Eat Peppermint Candy!
 A. It is proven that peppermint candy improves your memory. I know when I was in school, when ever we have our 'State Assessments', they would always give us peppermint candy to eat during the test. I provided a link below, so y'all can check that out for yourself.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/520172-does-peppermint-candy-stimulate-the-brain/

Leave a comment down below if you have or are going to try any of these. I would love to know what you do to help you concentrate, that I don't have listed already. I'm always looking for new ways to improve my own study habits. Thanks for reading!

PS: Sorry this is slightly late. I tried to have it up before midnight but, I was having trouble with the pictures again. If anyone knows how to take the black parts off of  them, please let me know.

*I do not own the link above. There was no copyright infringement intended.*

*The pictures above are mine.*

What To Do When Near A Fangirl: Part 1?

 

Hello! Today's topic is about being around a fangirl. I will be giving tips about what to do around a fangirl. First, being a fangirl is the best thing that has ever happened to my life. To others, it may seem useless and a waste of their time, but to us fangirls, it's what makes us happy. (The picture above is the people that I fangirl over. I'm not sure what the black is, I tried fixing it, but nothing was working. I'm sorry for that.) 

Tips For Being Near A Fangirl:
1. When we hear our favorite song playing in public, I can guarantee you, that we will sing along, no matter who is around.
 A. Just let it happen. You can't stop us.

2. Shut up
 A. We don't want to hear you talk during our song.
 B. Give us those four minutes to jam out, dance around, and be crazy.
 C. You may continue our conversation, once the song is over.

3. You better watch out when we see/hear the person or group we fangirl over.
 A. You can have the radio playing upstairs, while we are doing our laundry, in the basement, with the door shut, when our favorite song comes on. I can promise you, we will be up those stairs in five seconds flat.
 B. We can be walking along in Target and barely see our favorite group on something, just from the corner of our eyes. (We see everything that corresponds with what we fangirl over.) We will go grab that something so fast, you won't even know we left you. (This is a true story, it happened to me.)

4. We get emotional.
 A. It's going to happen sooner or later.
 B. Let us do what we do when we get emotional. Whether it's crying or going on a big rampage. Just listen to what we have to say.

5. Let us be a fangirl.
 A. We are never to old to fangirl. We don't have to be a "teeny-bopper" to be one.
 B. Being a fangirl is not the worst thing to be. Our parents are lucky we aren't the type to get drunk every night and be promiscuous.
 C. Enjoy us being happy. Who knows what we would be like, if these people never entered our life.

I think that is all I have to say about this today. I might make a series out of this. So, consider this part 1?

Leave a comment down below if you have anything I should add to this in the future. Would y'all like this to be series? I would love to know y'alls' experience about being a fangirl or dealing with one. These are what I have experienced being a fangirl myself. Thanks for reading!

PS: Sorry this a little late. I tried posting it before midnight.

*The picture above is mine.*

My Life: Where Have I Been?

Hello! As you can tell above, this will give you an explanation of where I have been, while also giving y'all an update on what has been going on in my life. Well, first things first, the reason I have been gone, is because I have been having some health issues for over a year now. Long story short, I went to the hospital last Sunday, I think it was January 12th. I decided to give myself last week off, since I haven't been feeling good. I'll be putting up a post sometime this week explaining what has been going on with  me. It's too long of a story to put in this update, so I decided to put it in its own post.

I'm not really sure what else to say in this. I just finished watching a really good movie called, 'Left Behind'. I'll post the official summary below.

"A small group of survivors are left behind after millions of people suddenly vanish and the world is plunged into chaos and destruction." - IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2467046/

I have also included the link above, if you wanted to check it out for yourself. Also, so you know what movie I'm talking about.

I really suggest for y'all to check it out. It may open your eyes to things you may have never thought of or even cared to know.

Leave a comment down below if you have already seen this movie or are going to take a look at it. Like I said, expect a post coming up about what has been going on with my health, sometime this week. I will also be posting more than usual this week, so I can make up for not being on last week. I have missed being on here. I can't wait to get this blog going again! Thanks everyone for reading!

*I do not own the summary in italics or the link to 'Left Behind' above. They belong to their rightful owners and there was no copyright infringement intended.*

*The picture above it mine.*