Check it out!

Let me start off by saying, my brother and I are best friends.  

Oddly, our usual communication is through video links in a Facebook message.  Maybe because he is finishing up his senior year of college, maybe because he switched from iPhone to android (therefore no iMessage), or maybe because we both just suck at communicating. Whatever the reason, I love getting new videos to watch or bands to check out.  I send him endless links of animal videos in return.  Lately, we've come across some good ones that I wanted to share!

Sam Tsui || Timber/Counting Stars Mashup

Sam Tsui is a great cover artist, but I love how he put these two great songs together!

I'm only a Tarheel fan because of my brother so as long as Duke lost, I was happy.  Then my brother sent me this.

Who doesn't love a good lion hug? The way this man interacts with these lions is incredible.  Watch all 14 minutes, I promise it's worth it. 

This video makes me adore Jason Mraz and Hunter Hayes even more.

What videos have you been watching?

xox

Char

Life Update

Well it's been a while.  My last post represents the last time I had a free moment to write and to think and to breath.  That's how busy and overwhelmed I feel.

Luckily, I finally found a free weekend to head home.  Between catching up with family, seeing close friends, and eating incredible food, I feel ten times less stressed out and I've only been home for eight hours!

On to my life update...

Since my last post:

I started my second semester at the University of South Carolina.

My best friends and I hit Athens (and Athens hit back).

I was chosen as the content creator for Delta Zeta's Public Relations Committee. 

Check us out ;)

USC DZ Tumblr

USC DZ Twitter

USC DZ Instagram

USC DZ Blog (under construction)

Y@ came to Cola.

Five days of school have been canceled for snow.

If you're from the North, I don't want to hear your thoughts on 

what the South thinks is snow. If it cancels school, it counts as snow!

Hopefully I'll be back soon!

xox

Char

P.S.  Happy Valentine's day!

Slow down

It's as though it was just yesterday.  I was ten years old and talking on the phone to my best friend.  She lived across the street and we thought we were so cool and mature talking on the phone.  Then I was overcome with sadness, a sadness I didn't know existed at the time. My best friend, my other half, the girl I had seen every day since I was three was telling me she was moving. To London. England. Not another state, another city, but another country.

Yes, I know. A tad dramatic on my part, but I can honestly say that phone call changed my life.  That was eight years ago and I can tell you the weather and where I was sitting and every single detail surrounding that moment.

In the following weeks, we packed up her toys, her room, her sisters stolen stuff.  Then the boxes came and left, the dogs were taken for their immunizations, the house was rented out.  It was all a blur past that point, I can't even describe the goodbye, just the tears afterwards.

Little did our parents know, but they were in for a rude awakening.  We were not the type of girls to just give up on each other, not after seven years of friendship.  Almost yearly, I flew to London, she returned to Atlanta, we skyped, we called, we made it.

Now, as I sit in my childhood bedroom, reminiscing over my first semester of college, I find myself texting her.  As always, just being us, being completely one hundred percent honest, silly, weird, normal us. It's so odd to me how so much time has passed and one person has been here for so long.  I am eighteen years old and she has been there for me for fifteen years.  That is exactly five sixths of my life.

Now to the point, because I feel like there should be one, don't treat people like a chapter in your life. Yes, people come and go, we all know boys are not forever, but don't just give up on people.  Overcome those circumstances and try, if you can say you tried and failed, that's fine. But don't just let someone go, when they could be such an important part of your story.

Love you tons Kelcey, I'd be lost without you. (insert kissy face emoji here)

xox
Char

Christmas in the dorms

As my friends slowly pack their bags and take their finals, I've started to notice how the dorms are emptying! It's weird to think that these people that I have spent every single moment of the past five months with won't be anywhere near me for the next month!

Obviously, with my anxiety, I had to get my christmas shopping done. As soon as possible.  I started with Caroline, Erin, and Kaela, then on to Caroline and Julia, then Jenny, then the family. And for those of you reading this in one of those groups, don't think I'll be giving anything away. (sorry bout it) 

The minute Jenny and I got our emails from the student packaging center, we rushed over to Russell.  After walking home in the cold, we went to my dorm room and immediately swapped gifts.

This is where it gets weird. We both got each other bracelets. Mine from C.Wonder and hers from Kate Spade.

The results couldn't be anything but beautiful.

From Char to Jenny

 Equestrian Stirrup Link Bracelet || C.Wonder

Horse Head Bangle || C.Wonder

From Jenny to Char

 Partners in Crime idiom bangle || Kate Spade

Partners in Crime idiom bangle || Kate Spade

The best part of my christmas present is that Jenny got the matching one in gold for herself and Taylor! It's true, we are partners in crime.  

What are you getting for your friends and family?

xox

Char

Just Say Yes

my current motto, because what's better than being able to say yes?

I'm quite the OCD control freak, so saying yes and just going with the flow is a very difficult task for me.  But I'm working on it, step by step, and I'm so happy I'm allowing the college experience to take me for ride!

Things that worked out because I said yes:

Roommate invited me to dinner? met a group of people I love

Professor wouldn't let me drop a class? learned I actually can speak french if I try

Said yes to try being friends with my ex?  realized I can take care of myself (I don't need no man)

Accepted a bid to a sorority? found a group of women that aren't petty, mean girls

Applied for freshmen council? asked back for the second round interview (fingers crossed!)

Invited on a spontaneous beach trip? spent the day with a siberian husky puppy

Everything is working out in its own way, even if it's not how I planned it.  I've honestly been so blessed with new people and new experiences in the past two weeks, I can't wait to see what the rest of the year has planned for me.

SO, all in all, just say yes. Try new things. Be spontaneous.
Put the OCD control freak away.

 || Brianne and I at a soccer game ||

 || Amazing new sisters on Bid day ||

  || Fellow new members, baby turtles ||

 || First frat party with my girls ||

 || Athena, aka the cutest husky puppy I've ever seen ||

What have you said yes to lately?

xox
Char

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Happy Birthday Juleigh Jeanette!

So yesterday was this little angels birthday

Juleigh is only four years old, but she's so much more than a four year old to those of us who spend time with her.

a year ago on her third birthday || insta ||

It's truly incredibly how much children can affect adults.  I've always loved working with children, playing, teaching, babysitting, all of it, but never in my life did a child have this affect on me.  

I was 14 when my neighbor and second mother, Joni, told me she was pregnant. I thought she was playing a mean joke on me, in all honesty.  Joni already had a 17 year old, 14 year old, and a 7 year old, so I really didn't think it could be possible that she was pregnant again.  But what a blessing in disguise Juleigh Jeanette turned out to be. 

|| What Juleigh has taught me in four years ||

1. Cherish innocence.  So often we spend too much time wanting to grow up, but then you realize you're an adult and have responsibility.
2. Learn to say no.  Saying no to a cute kid is quite possibly the hardest thing you could do, but it teaches you how to say no in life.
3. Take pictures. Every moment, the good, the bad, and the ugly, all should be remembered.

xox
Char