Hello There!

OMG!!!

I literally do no know where to begin. The last few months have certainly brought some "self-rewarding" changes into my life. I've learned many new things, have been "enlightened", as one may say, on different topics, gained a whole new outlook, and overall just feel great. Actually I have been undergoing this change for the past 6 months, but since the cutting of my hair, I really feel like I've become or transformed into an individual of my own right.

WHAT!! Did you just say...?
...Mm Hm, that's right i cut my hair (again)...but this time to seek a more natural and healthy look.

I guess I could begin during the summer. I had been nursing a broken and wounded heart. I had my moments of self-pity, and tantrums, mood swings, and blaming my offender (a.k.a, my ex-boyfriend). But then I also had moments where I sought God, and not just for temporary emotional comfort and support, but also because I was already a person of faith. Upon seeking God, I did gain new hope, and I even found the courage to set new goals for myself. I knew I wanted to of course become a successful woman (I remember both my older sister and brother sharing with me that, "success is the best revenge"...and I truly believed that God wanted me to be successful), and I specifically remember during that time, being really anxious to begin taking steps in my path toward success. It was like I could see it very clearly; the woman I wanted to become ten years down the road, and so I planned out the continuation of my college career, (lol I'm still planning), I began seeking jobs in child care, in hopes that it would provide me with enough experience with children years later when I became a teacher, (unfortunately I wasn't able to land any positions in a child facility, but that was okay. When you are truly focused on success, and you truly believe the Lord will see you there, there's not really much that can deter you).
            Just a little tid-bit, because I know I may never get to the point where I decided to cut my hair. But also during this time, I felt really vulnerable and I did not feel like myself. I guess it was from the broken-heart, but I understood that I could not allow myself to completely fall into a dump. So I knew I had to learn how to appreciate myself, and find the beauty in myself before I expected another guy to. Coincidentally, also at the same time, I was having another bout with my hair, and I constantly expressed to my beautician how i hated getting my hair processed and permed, and how I wanted to go natural. After constant discouragement from her, my mom, friends, and surprisingly other random people, who all claimed it wasn't a good idea and perhaps it would look as nice as my processed hair. They just didn't understand. So I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to become my own person, no matter what anyone else thought. I grew my roots out naturally, and eventually after a few months I cut off all the processed ends. Now I rock a lovely fro!

Soon after the fall semester began, and I was determined to do my best. My goals upon the beginning of the semester were to earn all A's, make the dean's list, and raise my GPA from a 3.2 to a 3.6 in hopes of becoming eligible for Phi Theta Kappa's honor society. Well it was not easy, I guess because I had never pushed myself hard enough before. I mean I always earned A's and B's, but I never really strove to earn all A's. I, of course, was not really prepared for the challenge, meaning I wasn't really disciplined enough (my study habits were not very well perfected, and my procrastination levels were off the meter). But like I said, I was determined, and with my determination and me being unskilled there came alot of headaches, late nights, and sleepy mornings. I did however already have at least a few studying skills that I learned to perfect during the semester, which were (take notes)...

•  Organization. As soon as your professor hands out the syllabus, have a planner ready and jot down every due date and test date. Also college planners tend to have weekly calendars where you can plan out which assignment you will have time to work on. It may seem tedious at first, but it works out in the end, it helps keep you more conscious of the time and assignments. If you find that you can not always meet each assignment on time or may have conflicting dates, don't be afraid to ask for an extension at least a week ahead of time, or if you do happen to hand something in late, see if you can earn the credits back with extra credit.                 
• Always sit at the front of the class. I know they say it's for nerds, but if you have goals then, "what's it to ya' if i sit in the front of the class". That's the attitude I've always had in school, and it's always helped. For one, you get a better view of the board, you can hear the lecture more clearly, and your less likely to miss anything in communication and have to rely on someones lousy translation or notes to get a better understanding. Also one may tend to day dream more often sitting all the way in the back of the class, not to mention fall asleep. Hopefully sitting in the front will make you more hesitant, for fear the professor may notice you.
• Notes should also be organized, date, title, and highlight your notes. Date them because you may never know when you will need to go over with the professor a lecture in class that you were unsure about, and you just wanted to have a reference to present them with. Title your notes because it helps you keep track of what's going on in class, never just take random notes, you'll get lost and they wont be very useful for studying with. Also highlight...if a certain topic or term appears in your notes more than once highlight it and expand later, if a certain topic is large and may require alot of time to review you'll want to keep that in mind later, also if it's something you're not sure about or can't grasp right away then highlight as a way to give yourself a little reminder later to focus more on that topic or seek help.
• Study time should always be sacred. If you haven't yet perfected multitasking, don't attempt it when your studying for a test, or writing a paper or doing homework. Turn off the T.V., power-off your phone (no texting), and only mellow music, (no Kanye West). OR if you're a person that does need a little something going on around you to focus better, then simply try forming a study group, sometimes the presence of other's is all you really need to take the edge off of boredom, and the sharing of ideas can definitely help you on the next test. Just make sure you study with someone who is as focused as you are!

Yet, the biggest challenge of them all, which also happened to be the biggest lesson I learned and will always cherish, is the personal challenge you take to expand your own knowledge. I learned this in my English Composition 102 course, where we mostly focused on analyzing literature. My professor just seemed to have a wealth of secret, personal, and universal knowledge locked away in her mind, and which always seemed readily available to her in any discussion. Not that I wanted to be like her, I just admired that quality of an intelligent and knowledgeable woman. It happened that when she assigned us our research papers, which was yet another literary analysis, I found myself faced with a dilemma: I didn't know any great, and noteworthy pieces of literature to analyze, which was not listed in the typical high school English curriculum (which is what she warned us against). I had read some pretty interesting pieces before, but for her class I felt I needed to up the anty, or at least up my personal anty and attempt something I had never done before. I asked around for advice on great authors and great books, I even went to the source and asked my professor, and I noticed a name that seemed to persist in everyones library and discussion; John Steinbeck. He is the other of great American classics: Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men (which i selected for my analysis), and East of Eden, along with many other novels. I found that I really enjoyed reading and researching Steinbeck, as well as reading his novel. Another example of a personal triumph is during the same course, as I like to say, I took "the extra mile", and decided to read a piece of literature that was not really required for the course but was still pertaining to it, and was a little difficult, just to expand my personal knowledge; I read Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the end I received very good grades for both assignments, but what made me most proud of myself was when I took the step to expand my mind, and explore something I had never been exposed to before. I also feel I had great personal success in my other courses like history, where for example I researched topics that were new too me, and biology, where I was surprised that I had the capability to understand anything going on in that course (i was always intimidated by science).
Even though I only reached 2 and a half of my three goals (GPA: 3.47, made the dean's list, and earned all A's), overall I feel that I not only did well academic-wise with my fall semester, but also I did well personally by improving myself; I set goals for myself, I explored, and I grew.That is more successful, I believe. No matter if you do or do not rise to a certain standard, the effort you put in, and the lesson you take out of the entire experience and becoming a better person than the one you were before you began your journey is the true measure of one's success. So ladies, next goals you set for yourself, I personally would suggest that you...

1. Set these goals not based off of the success you see that someone else has reached, because we are all different, and we are granted different experiences.
2. Don't be discouraged by set backs...remember, "When you are truly focused on success, and you truly believe the Lord will see you there, there's not really much that can deter you."
3. Open your mind, there are plenty of ideas, lessons, and experiences that are floating out here in the world, and by all types of people. They're out here to help you learn, and grow, and become better, take advantage of them, and don't be afraid.
4. Appreciate yourself for all the things that you have accomplished, and never wait around for someone else to realize your worth, it's all within yourself.