A Milestone

Well gang, its official. I have been around the sun 21 times. Yep, that's right folks. Today I turn the big two-one. Its crazy to think about it. I feel like just yesterday I was entering high school or even attending my 8th grade dance. I can't believe I am 21 years old and a senior in college. It seriously blows my mind. To be honest, I actually kinda feel old. I look at the now young adults that I've known since they were little tots or terror or even babies and I just think to myself, 'where did the time go? how are you a senior in high school?!'. It's crazy. So today I want to share with you some things I've learned along my journey so far. They are coming at you in no particular order and are all based on personal experience. So without further ado I present to you...

--- Life is hard. As if you didn't already know this, I'm going to make sure you do. Life is hard y'all. There are days when I don't even want to get out of bed. But on those days, when I make myself crawl out of bed, I end up having a great day or learn something amazing. Every day is precious and is another opportunity to grow. Use it. I read a quote once that said "Not every day is good, but there is good in everyday." How true is that? Yes, life is hard. Just face it anyway.

--- God is on your side. No matter what, He will always have your back. He loves you (and me) more than we can ever understand and more than anyone here on earth can. Lean on Him and He will give you strength and wisdom.

--- Taco Bell and Cookout are the best places to go when its late at night and you are so hungry you could eat a cow. No seriously. I've done this plenty of times. I'll just be chilling on the couch and then starvation hits me and I hop in my car, usually dragging Kenz with me, and I go hit up one of these places and the world is in balance again. Hell hath no fury than a hungry woman. Well that's a lie, but seriously these places have awesome late night food.

--- Girl friends are better than guy friends. I don't want to go into too much detail on this one because I'm working on a post that is just about my opinion on this. Now don't get me wrong, guy friends rock and I have my fair share of them but when it comes to getting deep and seeking advice, it is rare that you would or should turn to the opposite sex. Who else can relate to you better than someone who actually KNOWS what you're talking about?! Me and Kenz have amazing conversations about things guys would never understand because they don't experience it. Seek to build lasting and meaningful friendships with girls. You'll be glad you did.

--- Laugh at yourself. I used to be terrible at this. I can remember falling in the hallway in like fifth grade and I wanted to cry because I was so embarrassed. Fast forward to high school when it happened again and I laughed for like 5 minutes. It was hilarious. Being able to laugh at yourself will save you from a lot of unnecessary worrying and embarrassment. I laugh at myself at least 20 times a day. Laughter is great medicine. Good for the mind, body, and soul.

--- Honesty is the best policy. I cannot stress this enough. I equate honesty to respect. You should respect another person enough to be completely honest with them. Don't be mean when you're being honest. I used to be that way. I was notorious for being brutally honest, like I made people cry. But over the years I've realized that you can be honest with people without being a jerk. But ALWAYS BE HONEST. Trust me, it's the one of the best things you can do for another person.

--- Do what you love. This is another one that I want to stress to you. I came into college knowing what I SHOULD be majoring in, but instead I did the opposite because I thought I didn't have a chance at doing what I loved. Now that I made the decision to do what I love, I couldn't be happier. Seriously. Do what you love because it will make you happy.

--- Stay positive. I know that this is hard to do, but when you become negative it is so hard to turn that mindset around. Think positive thoughts and you will be lots happier. I pinky promise.

--- Have a hobby. I know this sounds like super grandma-y but I'm serious. Find something you like to do, and do it as often as you can. It's a great way to relieve stress. Who knows? It could even turn into a career.

--- Read often. I love to read. It takes you to another place and is a great way to escape. It is also a great way to learn new things. I highly encourage you to try and read at least one book a month. Its good for you.

--- Ask questions. And ask lots of them. How will you know if you don't ask? I used to not ask questions a lot but now I find myself asking them more and more. Its a great way to learn and get different perspectives.

--- God's love story is perfect. This one. Wow. I could write like a thousand posts on this one. God is perfect, so of course His love story for us will be perfect too. Wait on Him. When you are ready, He will bring your love to you. You don't have to seek that person. In the meantime, be in prayer and grow in the Lord. Seriously. It's so rewarding.

--- Be adventurous. This is pretty much self-explanatory. Go on adventures. Take smart risks. Get outside your comfort zone a little. Let loose and have fun.

--- Be an encouragement. Nobody likes a Debbie Downer. Don't be one. Always be encouraging to people. You never know what people are going through and your words can either help or hurt someone. Always help.

--- Dance whenever and wherever you can. Self-explanatory basically. Enjoy life and dance. Its liberating.

--- Be kind always. I mean nobody likes a mean person. Kindness begets kindness y'all.

--- God's plan is perfect. I've written a post about this already which you can read here. Wait on the Lord. He is the ultimate planner. His plans are way better than even our wildest dreams.

--- Learn another language. I know this sounds weird but do it anyway. Learn how another culture communicates. It also will make you more marketable in the workplace. Plus its awesome to learn a language other than your own.

--- Never settle. This can be said in all aspects of life. Never settle for less than you deserve. Set your standards high. When you settle for something, you are settling for disappointment and heartbreak as well. Remember that.

--- Be thankful. The people in your life are only here for a certain time, be thankful for them. The opportunities you are given and presented with are only around for a time, be thankful. Always be thankful for what you have.

--- "You are blessed - behave like you know it." My mother said this to me yesterday. How true it is. We are blessed and fortunate. So the next time you want to throw yourself a pity party or complain and be angry, remember that you are blessed and you should behave like you know. Be humble.

Well guys, there is some advice from me that I have learned over the years. If you want to keep up with all the birthday shenanigans over the next few days follow me on Twitter and Instagram. I'm sure it'll be a great next few days.

All my love, Carly ♥

Wise Words Wednesday

Oh hey friends! Its been a long week already and it's only Wednesday! Happy Hump Day! So since it's been such a long week this post isn't gonna be me writing. Instead I'm going to share with you some of my favorite quotes I've pinned on Pinterest here in the last few weeks that have stuck with me and helped me keep on moving when life and the Devil try to get me down. Enjoy!

Well folks, that's all I have for you today. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for random musings throughout the day. 

All my love, Carly ♥

The Panthers are just gonna Panther.

So let's talk about yesterday in the world of the NFL. Specifically the Carolina Panthers versus the Buffalo Bills. Obviously I am a Panthers fan. I have been one most of my life. Now usually I have nothing but love for them. However it's only week two of the season and I am already fed up. Let's discuss what I see as their biggest problems right now.

(Source)

Clearly the most obvious reason is that we don't know how to finish a game. We are beginning to get a reputation of a "choke team" and as much as I don't want to, I have to agree. We choke at some point in the 2nd half and then we give up and get ran all over and make dumb mistakes.. Yesterday this happened when, in my opinion, we went for a field goal with about a minute left in the fourth quarter instead of going for a touchdown. Going for the touchdown would not only have eaten up more time on the clock but it would have given us more of a safety net had we actually gotten it. The second mistake came when Luke Keuchly intercepted the ball and picked up the penalty. Then when there were two seconds left on the clock and the Bills have the ball, first and goal. We leave a Bills players completely open. There is no one anywhere near him. Ridiculous. We need to learn how to finish the game.

(Source) 

Another problem we have is that we are consistently INCONSISTENT. No seriously. We get on a roll then we screw something up. Whether it be Cam Newton not being able to find a receiver or our receivers not being able to catch the ball. Either way, we give up too many points from being inconsistent with our plays and teamwork. If we could get some consistency back we would be on the road to not being a joke in the NFL.

Problemo numero tres is Ron Rivera and Mike Schula. I really don't know how else to explain this but to say they suck. Just look at the Panthers record under Rivera right now. Look at Schula's play calls for offense right now. Ridiculous. They have tremendous talent being wasted because they don't know how to properly coach them. Cam Newton is a fantastic athlete but his coaches are suffocating the talent. Until something happens with the coaching staff, I'm afraid the Panther Nation will be disappointed most of the season.

(Source)

Another HUGE issue we have is the fact that Cam doesn't think fast enough in the pocket. This obviously relates back to the above point I made about the coaching. Cam has got to learn to read the field and his team and make decisions. He was sacked 4 and a half times because he didn't move and/or didn't get rid of the ball. Let me say that again. FOUR AND A HALF TIMES! That's ridiculous. He needs better coaching so he can learn how to think quickly.

(Source)

So there you go. That's my sports post for the week. We gave the Bills that game yesterday. However Manuel is gotta be a force to be reckoned with this season. Keep an eye on him. Back to the Panthers. I think we are a talented team. We just need to work on some things and FINISH THE GAME. I will love my Panthers no matter what. Keep pounding Panther nation.

So until the next time, I'm out.

All my love, Carly ♥

Favorites of the Week

Today I want to share with you some of my favorite tweets from this week on Twitter. They aren't in any particular order just kinda throwing them out there! Some of them are mine and some of them are from people I follow. I hope these tweets make you laugh cause they definitely made me laugh. So here we go.

I laughed at this one way harder than I should have. But seriously. There are so many Subies in Boone it's ridiculous.

I think I'm pretty hilarious and some days my life is a joke. But this takes the cake for weirdest things that have ever happened to me on accident. 

This one has nothing to do with being funny. I just freaked the crap out. 

So my girl Miley released the video for Wrecking Ball this week and though I'm not a huge fan of the video I still love the song. However, this little tweet had me in tears from laughing. You go, Billy Ray. Stay classy.

This is seriously how I felt. I had to stop watching that freaking game.Ugh.

Self-explanatory. 

I'm sorry, what? Who intentionally kills turtles?

Again, I laughed way harder than I should have. Destined to be friends? I think so.

So this happened yesterday morning. I love my friends.

I have weird friends. I laughed for a good 5 minutes with this one.

The one and only. His humor is unmatched.

I laugh at the most random things. I found this hilarious.

I mean I love fall and pumpkin flavored things but ew.

I'm a SnapChat fiend.

If you didn't laugh at least once there is something wrong with you. No seriously. Reevaluate your sense of humor. So anyway. You should totally follow me on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with all my shenanigans and musings throughout the day. Have a great Saturday!

All my love, Carly ♥

Flashback Friday

Since I missed writing a post for yesterday, I decided I would do Flashback Friday today. I'm not even really sure if there is such a thing or if it's what the cool kids do but I'm doing it and I think I'm cool. So yeah. Moving on. I'm going to take you back into time a little bit to January of 2012. I'm going to tell you about a couple firsts I had that month and how it changed me.

So back in January 2012, my mom had a trip planned to go to Chicago for her job. (I don't feel like explaining what she does right now.) Now at this point in my life, I had never, EVER been on a plane. I had also never been above the Mason-Dixon line nor any further West than Kentucky and Tennessee. (I have yet to go out of the country as well.) So my mom had this awesome idea that she would take me on this trip and we would spend an extra day there to explore the city. I immediately agreed because hey, I love adventures.

So I get on my first plane and I'm like nervous beyond belief and excited too. I made mom take a picture of me on the plane because that's what cool people do. She was even nice enough to give me the window seat. I knew she loved me. So we are just chilling on the plane waiting for take off. I'm getting more and more nervous. Why? Well I'm quite terrified of heights. So that was a problem but mom assured me it would be okay. Of course I knew that but I was still having a mini freak out session.

So the plane takes off. I kid you not I held on so tight to my mom's hand, it probably turned white. Granted taking off is cool but that angle gets to me. So we level off and I simmer down. We finally start coming into Chicago after what feels like forever. Can I just say that Chicago is absolutely beautiful from the air? I mean wow. Wish I had a picture of that. So anyway. The landing was way better than I thought it would be. Yay for awesome pilots. 

So we get off the plane and get our luggage and rent our car then head to the hotel before we explore the city. So we do all that and then we go explore the amazing city of Chicago. Now I'm a small town Southern girl. This was my first experience in a true big city. I loved it. Way more than I thought I would. Now before I tell you how the trip changed me, let me just share some pictures with you.

I mean come on, how could you not fall in love with city? Now let me be honest. While I was there, I didn't really fall head over heels. I mean I liked the city and I thought it was awesome and new. But I didn't really think I could live there.

So fast forward to now. Present time. This trip changed me. Has been changing me. I just didn't realize it until now. Like literally, yesterday morning. I have always been an adventurous person. I love new things and I get fidgety being in one place for too long. My father has always told me and other people that I would be the one to fly the nest and that I would be the one to move away from where I grew up, leave the state and be perfectly happy. I would always laugh and say yeah you're probably right. I would dream about one day leaving and exploring but I always felt like it was just that, a dream. Nothing more, nothing less. I have thought about Chicago a lot since that trip, but never really lingered on it. I never really considered it. But i have never really felt like Greensboro was where I belonged. There are even days when Boone can't quiet this desire I have. I just never gave it a second thought because I figured I would never have the opportunity.

Now don't read this the wrong way. I am not planning to move to Chicago. Honestly, I've given up this idea of planning anyway. But now that I am single, I see the world and my future in a whole new perspective. I have always been pretty independent. Not afraid to talk to people or to try something new. Since I'll be graduating in the next year and a half, I've obviously been thinking about my future. I have had multiple talks with some of my close friends, my roommates, my sister, and my parents about my future and my options. Through these talks I have come to the conclusion that I probably won't stay in Greensboro or Boone or even North Carolina very long after I graduate. I have an itch in my soul that spreads into my entire being. I have such a freedom right now. I want to see new things and go to new places. I want to find myself and inspire other young women and maybe even men. 

So what exactly am I saying? Well what I'm saying is something that I have actually literally been saying a lot these days. I would drop everything and pick up and move across the country or even over seas if an opportunity presented itself. No joke. I would be gone. This idea terrifies a lot of my friends and probably even my family a little bit. But you see I'm lucky because my family has been preparing for this for a long time now and because of that, they are really supportive. Sad? Well yes of course but they love me and they want me to be happy. I can honestly say that I feel the Lord preparing me for big changes and for big things. I have a hard time controlling the desire I have to just pick up and leave. Don't think I'm running away though because that's not at all what it is. I just want to live and learn and grow as a person and grow in God. I am getting ancy just typing this post. 

I say all of this to really say just this one thing: the Lord is control and His plans are way better. I don't know for sure where I'm supposed to be but I do know that if I keep trusting God, He will get me there. So Chicago, I might be seeing you again. You stole my heart and I didn't even know it. 

All my love, Carly ♥

Wordless Wednesday

Well this will be mostly wordless. I just wanna recap my life since the last post. So I'm gonna do it in pictures. I'll be back soon with some stories. Promise! Happy Hump Day y'all!!!!