Swim Lessons.

I have been life guarding for about five years now, I have life guarded at a rock quarry, a pool, a water park, and a girl scout camp. I love life guarding. You can sit out and tan, watch people swim, yell at people ( i love that part), and are trained to handle any situation that arises. One or two years ago I became a certified WSI (water safety instructor) That means I get to teach swim lessons. Now half the kids I teach are adorable, and the other half make me question why I even do this to begin with. They really do just drive me crazy. There are a few kids here and there though, that really do warm your heart, and its the kids that you teach, that actually learn.

Last year I had one kid that was so absolutely scared to be in the water he wouldn't get in father than his feet. Now he was a level one kid, and with those classes we just blow bubbles, kick with red light green light, and jump into my arms. This kid wouldn't blow bubbles, wouldn't even put his face near the water. When all the other kids kicked, he would cover his face from the splashing. When I talked to him, I got a blank stare in return. No emotion, not mad, or sad, or scared, or anything, I tried but felt like my efforts weren't making much of a difference. I just tried to be nice and got through the lesson.

On the last day of lessons, his mother approached me. By this point I had him blowing bubbles, but that was about it. She said "Thank you so much, you really have helped and its made so much of a difference at home!" I was confused, yes, I tried ever so much to help this kid out, but i didn't see as much progress as she was exclaiming. Then she told me something heart warming. "before swim lessons he was scared to take a bath or shower, now we have no problems at all, he actually gets his head wet and doesn't cry!" I really did make a difference!! although he wasn't comfortable swimming with me, his mother told me that he was now able to get his head wet at home. That's what i love about teaching. Some kids are problems, some improve, some don't, and some, even if I cant tell, have benefited from my teaching :)

The Village Discount Outlet

There is a little "boutique" called The Village Discount Outlet. It is basically the same as a good will. People drop off their old cloths and a day later they are for sale for amazingly cheap prices. I have bought things from anywhere between $6 and 30 cents. Each article of clothing has a colored tag with the price on it. There are four tag colors; green, yellow, orange, and blue. Every day there are two colors that are half off. And ever monday there is a tag color that is only 50 cents. We call this place the VDO for short, and it is my absolute favorite place to shop. I could spend hours there, and I do!! leaving having only spent $5-15 each time I go.

I was thinking, I do a pretty good job when I shop there. So why not share my great finds with my blog!

This outfit i bought today was maybe a total of $4.50.
The skirt was $3 and 50% off and came to be $.150.
The belt was bought for $3 at Walmart, and the shirt i already own.

No Direction

I am traveling through life right now with no direction. I ask myself every single day "what do I want to do when I grow up?" Sometimes, I will come up with an answer but quickly change my mind in a matter of hours. I am honestly clueless when It comes to what I want to do with my life. I want to be passionate about something, and I want to do something very well. But what is this something?? I was stumbling aimlessly through the internet when i came across this web site: How to find your passion and make money. Just what I need, a little help to find my direction.  The site asked three questions, tha i tried my best to answer.


1.) If money wasn’t a concern, what would you do with your time?
        Bonfires, long walks in the woods, kayak, rock climb, enjoy the outdoors, and make jewelry.
2.) What are your hobbies?
           Living is my hobby.
3.) What do other people say you are good at?
           Lighting up a room (being social), and art.
4.) Which one of your skills do you think you can use to benefit other people?
           Sharing my smile with other people.


So that didn't exactly help answer my question, but I guess in "RETROSPECT" I have made it this far and even though I've never known where I'm going, I  know I am on the right path.

That'll never happen to me

You have to surround yourself with good people because they really do make all the difference.

The definition of a friend: A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts; A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; One who supports, and sympathizes with.

And in its truth, my "struggle" is just getting through life. Every up and down, every problem, situation, action, and consequence. That's what my friends help me with. They help me not be alone, support me, love me, and even help me dress myself in the morning. 

Its been said that your true friend will drop everything at a moments notice to help you out when your stuck. Like Tracy Lawrence sings, when your in a situation like that "You find out who your friends are"

Well I never thought that I would actually be at a point where I am completely helpless and have to make that one phone call at four o'clock in the morning. But I was, and i called my best friend.

Now I am going to mention that she didn't answer. But none the less she dragged her ass out of bed to come get me and I couldn't be more greatful. Not only do I have the all around best friend ever (and i fully mean that) but by default I have adopted the love of her family. I love that entire bunch of crazy goofballs, and i feel ever so loved by them too. I am so lucky to have them in my life.

Insanity

It's summer time, the best time to get things done. The year has been quite busy filled with school work, the summer is the best time to do all those things that you haven't had time to in the past six months. Things such as sleep in, work for a little extra cash, and get in shape. All of which I have full intentions of doing this summer. Sleeping in probably less then the other two, but i still plan on sleeping as much as possible. I am working as a life guard as usual while also interning for my dad. That alone should take up a lot of my time, and hopefully bring in a good cash flow. Being the young adult that I am, Rent is sucking my bank account dry, that and the increasing gas prices. 

Anyway, the third priority for the summer, getting in shape. I am committing my self to a sixty day program called INSANITY. That along with eating only for the purpose of nutrition, no crap food allowed for me. I get to watch fitness professional Shaun T yell and push me to work out while his shirtless abs sweat on my computer screen. Hey that sounds like a good work out to me! Its a high cardio based workout that I know works because I have seen the results work on my sister. I have a five month summer and the workout is for two months. By the time I go back to school, I will have a great excuse to go to the beach and soak in that Florida sun!


In retrospect, this will be a great achievement for me if I make it through. 

The First Blog

I was toying around with the idea of making a blog. I wasn't sure if i should, what to name it, or even what to blog about.  I mentioned this idea to my life long friend Tara and without hesitation she said "Go for it!" Moments later we where on the computer typing away.  So here i am, posting my first post on my new blog. Where this will go, I'm not quite sure, but I am sure it will be an adventure. This will be filled with journeys, photos, misspelling, and details about whatever my crazy mind feels like blogging about. Isn't that what this is for anyway?           




So join me as I put my life into "Retrospect" :)