Lust Struck

I'm smitten with you, like head over heels.
My tummy is in knots from the tiny flittering butterflies.
I can't stop smiling cause you make me feel so happy.
You got me feeling "in love" something weird and brand new.
I don't know how real this is but I love the way it feels.
I like the way my heart skips a beat when you come around.
And I like that I can't stop smiling when you text me.
It's something new, something different but feels oh so familiar.
Happy I can feel this way again...

A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out the years.
Rupert Brooke

My Time Has Come

Yesterday we lost a person whose impact on everyone she came in contact with made such a huge difference. She was a strong, loving and caring individual who always had a smile on no matter what. Who was always there to lend a helping hand. Sis. Dawn Bowes.
Unfortunately, her fight with cancer was too strong for her. We weep and mourn her death but are happy because she no longer has to suffer. She was going through a tremendous amount of pain and no longer has to deal with it. Truly a woman of happiness even during her ordeal she left us with a smile on her face, sleeping peacefully.
My condolences go out to her family and loved ones.

Sleep In Peace.







Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.
Helen Keller

We Found "Love"?

I just got through watching the video for Rihanna's new song, "We Found Love" and it got me thinking about myself. In the beginning of the video there is a short monologue with a woman.

It's like screaming and no one can hear//You always feel ashamed that someone can be that important//that without them you feel like nothing//No one will ever understand how much it hurts//You feel hopeless like nothing can save you//and when it's over and it's gone//you almost wish you could have all that bad stuff back so that you could have the good.

Sometimes we "fall in love" and stay around in relationships for ALL of the wrong reasons. Sometimes we think it's love but most of the times it's by force of habit. You just got way too accustomed to this person in your life that no matter how hard you tried to let them go it was just too hard to. You've been with them for so long that everything just starts to become a blur. You go through the same motions every year around the same times, break up and then get back together a few months later. Say the same hurtful things, apologize and then hope it'll be different this time around..
But is this really love or a bad habit?







Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.
Peter Ustinov

One Trillion What?

I ran across an article this morning that grabbed my eye. Student loan debts,for 2011, will reach $1 Trillion! My eyes almost popped out of my head. As a recent college graduate with approximately $16,000 worth of students loans to pay back this was mind boggling but NOT a major shock. Schools are starting to become more expensive and less "free" funding is available.
For example, at Stony Brook University, where I attended, every year since my sophomore year (Fall 2008), the tuition has gone up every semester by $600. Okay that's fine, but my Financial Aid isn't increasing along with the tuition hikes. There goes another $1000 to $2000 loan that I have to take out to cover the new increased balance. Tap and Pell Grants are also reducing the money that they give to each student.

Side Note: Was anyone else confused when they saw a balance on their bills even though after completing their FAFSA it said "Family Contribution : 0"?

As tuition rises and Financial Aid doesn't even put a dent into our bill, there are only a few choices that we are left with. Take out more loans or drop out. We are in the age where even a Bachelors degree no longer holds any weight. So what are we going to do? This kind of makes you want to reconsider even finishing if you are just going to jobless and in over 40 grand worth of student loans after you graduate.




The lack of money is the root of all evil.
Mark Twain

Feelings

I've heard this over and over but I'm not sure that I've actually listened to it. "Never leave the one you love for the one you like because the one you like will leave you for the one they love." But what happens when the person you love isn't really all that good for you either?
Too many times we get caught up in our feelings over someone we like and start to forget the person that we actually do love all because the person that you really like has been giving you tons of attention and time and compliments and makes you smile everyday. Now this becomes a dilemma, what do you do? You start to become short and snappy with the one you love because everything they do doesn't compare to the new person. They don't make you laugh as much and they certainly aren't the last person you speak to/think about before going to sleep at night.
What are you, this poor and conflicted soul, to do now? Stick with the old or move on to the new? Hash it out with your love since high school or join the ranks of someone you met some months ago?
That question, I honestly cannot answer. Because there is no right answer. Think with your heart and mind and be reasonable.



All love shifts and changes. I don't know if you can be wholeheartedly in love all of the time.
Julie Andrews

Titles, Schmitles

Over the past few days I've come to the realization that titles are starting to become useless. I mean who actually acknowledges them anymore. We give people these names and crown them with labels that aren't even worth it. I am certainly guilty of doing so.

For a while I've been claiming someone who, I don't think has put me on top of the same pedestal that I have been putting them on. But being blind, silly and naïve, and thinking that they could be changed I still dragged around the hope that it would be different one day and everything would change.

These titles aren't solely based upon sexual or intimate relationships but on regular friendships as well. I've seen many friendships go sour over one who wasn't giving enough to complete the circle. One who wasn't fulfilling their entire duty.

But at the end of the day, be careful who you are giving these titles to. Scope them out and make sure that they are deserving of the name that you are about to bestow upon them.

Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.
George Washington

PINK

Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I would like to dedicate my first REAL post to the women and their families out there who have lost a loved one to cancer or have overcome the battle and are alive to tell us their stories of triumph. Below I've posted the link to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.'s website where you can learn more about Breast Cancer, who it affects, how you can help to detect it (earlier), and support for those with breast cancer.
Breast Cancer does NOT only affect women, it affects men as well. (Although it is a very low percentage of men.) And it does NOT only affect women over the age of 40, younger women can get breast cancer as well.
The key to successfully fighting breast cancer is detecting it in it's earliest stages. Don't just wait until your next doctor's appointment to have your breasts checked, you can do it at home. And don't completely skip out on going to the doctor and getting a mammogram.
Sometimes we feel like we can't make a difference because we are just one but we can. Donating even just a few dollars, or walking this upcoming Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 10am in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY (for those residing in Brooklyn), makes a complete difference in someone's life. Just being supportive, caring and understanding goes a long way.

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/About-NBCF/Our-Mission/American-Italian-Cancer-Foundation.aspx




We can't plan life. All we can do is be available for it.
Lauryn Hill

The Things I've Collected

I've been told plenty of times that I am random, erratic and sometimes unpredictable.
I am eclectic and all over the place.
My thoughts swirl crazily all over my mind's hemisphere.
They are aching to burst out and escape.
Frantically searching for somewhere new to perch.
They swirl around and bump into each other looking for something new and exciting. Maybe on the hilltops of southern France or the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Something new, something different.
But everything the same and still exciting.
Some where that will eagerly accept the things they've gathered.
A place that will openly house the things I've collected...



Your life is what your thoughts make it.
Marcus Aurelius