Review: Skyfall OPI Collection

It was months before it was supposed to come out when Jessica & I started scoping out the newest OPI collection that is inspired by the new James Bond movie, Skyfall. We immediately fell in love with a certain combo of two colors called The World Is Not Enough and The Living Daylights. We knew right away that The Living Daylights would be just like Rainbow Connection from last year's Muppets collection. It was going to sell out fast. So Jessica was on the look out and she was able to snag us both these amazing colors that really lived up to our expectations. We even found out that The World Is Not Enough is pretty enough just by itself too. The Living Daylights is unique and different because the glitter is all the same size and it is the bigger glitter than what you normally see in nail polish. It also has an awesome fall color variety of golds, silver, light pink, and turquoise. I highly recommend and would encourage you to try to find The Living Daylights as soon as you can because it will probably be sold out and be a limited time thing like Rainbow Connect last year in which I missed out on!

Here are photos. The one to the left is the color combination I just talked about and then the right, I used It's My Year under The Living Daylights and was happy with out it looks. Great for my birthday week :)
Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel

Revision

Revising is not my favorite thing to do when it comes to writing. I usually like to get it mostly done the way I want and then don't make very many changes after. If I do make changes to a poem, it is simple changes like cutting a word here or there, switching lines around, or changing a line or two. Now that I am taking poetry class and my project for my creative writing seminar is poetry, I have had to learn to revise. 

I have never been so obsessed with perfecting a poem as much as I have been with a poem I wrote called, "City Lights." I shared it with you guys when I first wrote it back in August. It's probably been through at least 5 other drafts as I have work shopped it in both of my classes getting feedback from my fellow students in my classes and two professors. I even had the chance to submit a poem for a visiting poet to look over and I got to sit down with him one day and talk it over and take the critiques he had written down too. It was a neat opportunity! His name is William (Bill) Sheldon. You can look him up on Google! A Kansas poet and author.

So I wanted to share the latest draft. I looked back at what I had posted on here and it is amazing how much it has changed! Oh, the beauty of writing, words, and revision. 

This is the original first draft.

City Lights

It's a whirlwind night

Surrounded by 

City lights

Strings of them

Wrapped in limbs of trees

Twinkle

A beautiful monument

Makes it a romantic

Place where I'm glad to be

In this unfamiliar city

The hum of cars pass

By on the brick roads

Of the round about

Conversations float in the air

From people walking around

And I'm enjoying the company

Of a boy from LA

That just bought me ice cream

From a shop across the way

We indulge

We chat

As we sit on the ledge

We pass flirting

Now on the edge

Of a crush

When I so easily blush

He spits out the chocolate chips

Because he only likes the mint

We talk school

We talk religion

He plays it cool

Makes it a mission

To pick on me

To get closer to me

Like any boy that plays games

It was today I learned his name

As I stand before him

I slip my arms around his neck

Our pauses

Longer

Knowing what's next

It's right

It's now

We don't make a sound

We both ease in

To a perfect first kiss

For a perfect moment

On a whirlwind night

Surrounded by city lights

The latest draft.

City Lights

It’s a whirlwind night surrounded

by city lights,

strings of them wrapped in limbs of trees

twinkle.

A beautiful monument makes it romantic

in this unfamiliar city.

Cars pass by on brick roads

of the roundabout.

Conversations float in the air

from people walking by.

And I‘m with a 

a boy from UCLA

that just bought me ice cream

from a little shop

across the way.

It was today I learned his name,

Turner.

We take a seat on a ledge

and pass the flirting,

now on the edge

of a crush.

He spits out the chocolate chips

because he only likes the mint.

We talk school

and we talk religion.

The first Mormon I’ve come across.

He plays it cool and makes it a mission

to pick on me,

to get a little closer.

I slip my arms around his neck,

our pauses become longer.

It’s right.

Its’ now.

We don’t make a sound.

We both ease in

to that first little kiss

We smile,

and kiss

again and again.

My hands explore his hair,

bleached from the sun.

His hands pull me closer

and I become undone.

People pass

and time keeps going

without neither of us noticing.

Sparkle & Shine

Rachel 

Practice What You Preach & Follow

I've noticed that I have been more aware of what I do and how I want to lead by example. In Ambassadors, being part of the exec board, we try to stress leading by example. We took an oath in the Blue Key Honor Society to lead by example and being founder of BUILD Beauty, I definitely have found myself trying to do that. Now it has even crept into my fashion since becoming a writer for a fashion blog for Emporia State's newspaper. (You can see it on esubulletin.com!) My last post for it had helped me to wear a scarf I had gotten over summer and have been waiting to break out!

In my persuasive speech I gave this morning in class, I had encouraged my class to vote in the election. I officially mailed in my first ballot soon after class. I was so happy and felt grown up voting for the first time. I wasn't old enough the last election and I was glad I went through the advanced voting process so I could participate still while being away for college. 

This made me think about how I try to lead by example and practice what I preach. If I am going to tell the class to vote, I should vote too. If I am going to tell girls to wear scarves in my fashion blog, I should probably wear scarves too. If I am trying to get girls to believe in themselves, I should believe in myself too. There really can be a magical and powerful thing to practice what you preach. You should try to think of areas where you can be a leader or an example and what you can do to practice that. 

                                                                    

                                                                           &&&

If you have read past posts, you may know I am into poetry. I am working on a poetry project in my Seminar of Creative Writing class and I am also taking a poetry writing class as well. So this semester I have been really delving into it, exploring and broadening my poetry. Definitely trying new and different things. I feel like there are a lot of times things will come to me or while I am in  moments and situations I try to think of how they would fit into a poem. For some reason, the word, "follow" has been lurking in my brain for awhile lately. So I finally did something about it in class today when I was bored. The first lines that were coming to mind were, "follow your heart" and "follow your faith." So I went with it and let it take me through this poem. I ended up playing with words, patterns, and humor. It even got me thinking how it could comment on society in a way. I thought it was cool that I hadn't had this intention in mind. That it just happened to work out that way. That's a beautiful thing about poetry and writing. So here it is. I guess I should call it follow? It would probably be the thing to do.

Follow

Follow your faith

Follow your heart

Follow your dreams

Follow me on Twitter

Strengthen your faith

Guard your heart

Believe your dreams

But, follow me on Twitter

Practice your faith

Exercise your heart

Chase your dreams

But, follow me on Twitter

Never lose your faith

Never close your heart

Never quit your dreams

But, really follow me on Twitter

For real, though.

You can follow me @rachelnmsparkle

                                                                             &&&

Sparkle & Shine,

Rachel 

P.S. Don't forget to vote!

P.P.S. You should check out One Republic's "Feel Again" music video. I am a tad bit obsessed with it and wish I was at the place in the video. I also find the singer attractive. The song makes me want to dance and sing. :)

The Blue Key Honor Society: Also a Dedication to Tayler & Ashley

Over the summer I got a call while I was in a store at the mall. It was the President of Emporia State University's wife, Mrs. Shonrock. She was calling me to tell me she read my blog post I had made about them and that she appreciated it. Then she went on to tell me about this honor society in which you have to be invited to by the President. She didn't know much about it just yet, but would keep me updated. As the semester started, I started to learn more about it through talking with Mr. and Mrs. Shonrock when I would see them at events and what not. One day I ran into Mr. Shonrock on the way to work and we chatted about how well the T-Shirt Exchange was going and he told me that I was going to be getting a postcard in the mail soon telling me that I have been selected to be in the Blue Key Honor society. I called my mom and held back tears. It wouldn't be the last time I would tear up because of this honor society.

Later on, I found out that Ashley and Tayler had also been selected. When I found this out, I couldn't help to be proud of the three of us. Freshman year, we had applied to be Ambassadors and made it. We have continued to work together and now all have executive positions on the board for Ambassadors as President (Ashley), Spirit Co-Chair (Tayler) and Vice President (myself). We definitely have a special bond as friends and as leaders at Emporia State University.

The dedication and ceremony for the Blue Key Honor Society and the new room named The Blue Key Room was an amazing experience I won't forget. To explain a little better, The Blue Key Honor Society came about at ESU and the first class was in 1962. They had 11 members and all of them were male. Women were not allowed to be a part of the group. It died out in the 1980's. President Shonrock is a Blue Key member and wanted to bring it back to Emporia State. Past Lt. Governor, Gary Sherrer and President Shonrock are the co-advisers for the society. They picked 12 students, 6 boys and 6 girls to be in the Blue Key Honor Society. You have to be a junior/senior and have a certain GPA requirement as well as have established yourself as a leader at ESU.

Out of the original 11 men, 9 of them are still living and all of them were able to come to the ceremony. That night, we were all dressed up and surrounded by a lot of older distinguished people and past Blue Key members. The original class was in the middle of getting their picture taken. As we waited, Tayler got my attention and whispered to me, "Do you see any other black people here?" My eyes looked around the room and I couldn't spot one. That's when I realized Tayler was going to be the first African American to be a part of this society. She explained to Ashley and I that she had broken down a little bit earlier that day as she realized she would not only be one of the first women in the group, but the first African American as well. Then it was our time to take a picture with the original class. As we gathered and I was about to sit down with a couple other girls in the front row, one of the original men looked up at us and said, "Girls." I don't know if he was joking or not. It seemed like he was a little taken back to see us as members. We took the picture and then our own picture. Technically we are the second, first class of the Blue Key Honor Society.

We went into the Blue Key Room and we had to sit in these two rows at the front of the room facing the crowd. They had us stand, raise our right hand, and take an oath. We also got certificates and a pin. The atmosphere of the room was filled with rich history with grand old fashioned furniture, a portrait of the first class on the wall, and a variety of distinguished people as they watched proudly. I couldn't help but smile, tears hiding behind my eyes. Afterwards, all the people came by as we sat at the front of the room to shake our hands and chat with us. One woman, shook Ashley's hand and said, "It's nice to see women in it. We could never break through."
We signed our names in a book that will always be at ESU so we can come back years from now and see it in there.

It was one of my most proudest moments yet. I got to be a part of history as one of the first women to be inducted into the Blue Key Honor Society. I couldn't have been happier getting to experience this with Tayler and Ashley. Ashley and I were so happy for Tayler. Tayler and I had a little heart to heart moment the next day. Heart to hearts aren't a regular thing for us, so it was extra special. She is beautiful and amazing with a huge heart. I really do admire her for coming to ESU and making her mark and setting an example as an empowered woman. At ESU, she is definitely a minority. Freshman year, there were only 4 African American girls, including her, on our floor. She doesn't let it bother her and definitely owns who she is. She is simply and uniquely, Tayler Wash.

I can't wait to see what happens next with us and what else we will do for ESU! That night, I was already picturing us as old ladies visiting ESU as Alumni still joking around like usual. :)

Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel

P.S. I feel like I should also mention they got me my stuffed animal kitty, Sprinkles. A time I needed it most! Amazing friends for sure :)

Our freshman year after our first day of Ambassador retreat trying on our name tags for the first time!

Golfing for the Ambassador team at an Alumni Golf Tournament in Hesston, Kansas. This is with our amazing Ambassador adviser, Nikki.

I'm A College Kid

I am now in my Junior year of college and I feel as though I am finally evolving into a somewhat typical college kid that you see in the movies, hear about through stories, and read about in magazines. It's shining through in areas of my life.

T-shirts are consuming my closet with half to majority of them being free. There is an assortment of colors and I also have shirts from other colleges thanks to conferences I have attended. It's slowly becoming just about all that I wear lately. College t-shirts.

Instead of ramen noodles, I have now taken up eating the Velveeta easy mac type things you pop in the microwave just about every day. And now I love coffee and savor the moments I get to have it.  My bank account is even feeling like a college kid these days.

The last couple Sundays I have put in around 6 hours at the library.

Anna and I got excited when we were able to get $10 worth of quarters from Wal-Mart to last us a couple weeks to do laundry. We wouldn't have to scrounge our wallets for a little while.

Sometimes I can't help but admire the beauty of being here at college and getting to experience these things. The smallest little things. 

There are times where I am exhausted, when my days are just about planned down to the minute and my breaks are when I eat some lunch and dinner. Sometimes it gets to be overwhelming doing everything I do. I am getting used to people cringing when I tell them what my life entails. There times where I do get frustrated and overwhelmed. There are times I wish I could read a book or spend an afternoon watching netflix like other college kids, but I know this time is important and that it will be worth it. I was in a meeting just yesterday when a guy walked in and another guy asked him how he was and he said, "exhausted." I knew right then that I wasn't alone and that it is normal. I was in a meeting for people involved and that have titles in organizations on campus so we can work together and share what we are doing in our organizations. We can all relate.

I am going to cherish these moments because no matter how busy, rough, tired I can be, I know that I will look back at this time in my life later on and I know I will smile. I already smile.

Here is something I have been doing at school. Poetry :) I have been enjoying getting to explore and stretch myself when it comes to poetry. I whipped up this poem in about 10 minutes for an exercise we did in one of our books. It is about my planner. Those of you who know me pretty well know that it is a pretty important thing in my life!

My Planner
It keeps me in line
with its own lines
going straight on the page
like I am going straight to my future.

The wires bound the book
as it bounds me with a schedule
full of assignments, meetings,
appointments, work, and events.

Scattered scribbles fill the pages
just as my thoughts frill me.
They gently remind me what to do
and who to meet at exactly what time.

Pink pops from the page to add pizzaz,
to match my personality and add flavor to my life.
It reminds me to be me,
to be the girly me.


Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel

Most of the t-shirts. I have gotten more since this picture was taken!

Lady Gaga

Hate her or love her. That's usually how people feel. She is very out there, different, outrageous, weird, ridiculous and everything in between. I used to be on the fence about her for awhile. I would sometimes enjoy her music while other times be annoyed by her. I told myself I needed to make a decision and I was going to do so fairly. Around May 2011, I watched her HBO Monster Ball special concert. I also bought her Born This Way album and listened to all the songs. I started to fall in love. I learned more about her over time and listened to her older music and loved that too.

For my Advanced Public Speaking class, our first speech was to be an informative one. I decided to do mine over Lady Gaga and her philanthropy efforts and work as an activist. I researched her more and my admiration deepened. Did you know that she was able to play the piano by the age of 4 and was granted early admission (which was only granted to 20 students around the world) to attend New York University's Tisch school of the arts? She has worked on the "It Gets Better" campaign which was a YouTube hit that was supported by numerous celebrities and people from the gay community. It is letting the gay community know that high school does suck, but it gets better when you grow older. She eventually created her own thing which is called The Born This Way Foundation which promotes and kinder and braver world, is against bullying, and offers help. You can get involved with the mission in different ways and also donate money to fight against bullying. She created this with her mom and it was officially launched at Harvard this year. It shouldn't be too surprising that she was bullied a lot growing up, so it is something that is personal to her. I love that she is using her fame and reputation to put it towards something good. A 14-year-old boy took his life last year due to being bullied because of his sexuality. He had made a tribute to Lady Gaga before the event. She found out about it and made a trending topic on Twitter in support of him and wanted to meet with President Obama to talk about the issue of bullying.

Some also dislike her music and may not think she is a good singer or have any talent. She doesn't lip sync at her concerts and on her Thanksgiving Special she had some great pieces that I love and wish I could have on my iPod! I looked up some videos from before she became Lady Gaga and was still Stafani Germanotta. There is some very raw good music that can give you some chills!
Here is some stuff you can watch!

Here is the It Gets Better campaign video. I sometimes tear up watching this because it warms my heart so much. I loved seeing my class smile and respond to this video during my speech.

This is my favorite performances on her Thanksgiving Special. She talks about being bullied in parts of this. Really cool video and shows some of her personality.

This is her performing while at NYU. It is composed and performed by her. I am in love with the first song and her voice is amazing in this. Wish I had this on my iPod too!

She tweeted this picture today and I love it because she looks so normal and like everyone else. She looks beautiful and I am loving the brunette hair :)

She is definitely a leader and doing amazing things to let people know they are great the way they are because "God makes no mistakes." I definitely look up to her and she is an inspiration to me. She is a strong woman that chased her dreams and wants to make a difference.

P.S. I got an A on my speech over her :)

Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel

22 Ways To Build Self Esteem & Self Love

I found this online last year as I was preparing for one of the very first BUILD Beauty meetings last year and I revisited it again as I was preparing the very first Freshman Night this year. I fell more in love with it and I feel like everyone needs to read through it and actually incorporate at least some or better yet ALL of these things if possible in their lives. Okay, maybe all of them at least once? Just try!
Here it is. 22 things you can do to help your self esteem and better your life. These little things and changes you can make will really make a difference in your life. I have put in some of my input on things I have done or my thoughts on some of the tips. I hope you try it out and it helps you! Let me know what you think or if any of them impacted you! Email me at glitterandthegirlygirl.gmail.com. 

Self Esteem Tips

1. Set an intention. Before you get out of bed, decide what kind of day you want to have. Make a deliberate, conscious decision about how you want to create your day. Write it down. Play a little with how it might feel. When you get up, act accordingly. Remind yourself throughout the day of your intention. Look for ways your intention is playing out in your world. Suggested intention: Today is full of joyful miracles!

How many times have you thought to yourself, this is going to be a bad day? And then it turns out to be a bad day? How you think about your day and how it will go will dramatically help how it turns out. No, you can't control if your tire decides to go flat or stop that accidental coffee spill, but you can control your attitude about the day and how you react to those situations. 

2. Be true to yourself. Live your life doing what feels right to you, not what someone else thinks you should do. It’s ok to listen to advice, but in the end, make the decision that feels best for you. Being a people pleaser is a very frustrating way to live. Get in the habit of pleasing yourself. You are responsible for your own happiness. Your feelings are important. "Our self-respect tracks our choices. Every time we act in harmony with our authentic self and our heart, we earn our respect. It is that simple. Every choice matters." ~Dan Coppersmith

3. Change your mental diet. Read uplifting books. Listen to uplifting tapes and CDs and attend uplifting workshops. What you focus on expands. What you put your attention on becomes more real. So focus on what you want to create, on what makes you happy. Don’t focus on negativity. Stop watching the news. Avoid whiners and complainers. Walk away.

4. Be aware of what your monkey mind, the voice in your head, is saying. Widen back and observe your thoughts. If a particular thought isn't kind or isn’t serving you, note this and redirect your focus to what you are wanting. This may take a bit of practice. Remember to be kind to yourself as you are gaining awareness and strengthening your will.

5. Upgrade your physical diet. Processed foods contain very little nutritional value when compared to raw, organic fruits and vegetables. Eat fresh produce rather than processed foods whenever possible. Drink plenty of water, fresh juices and smoothies instead of caffeinated beverages or energy drinks. Add nutrient dense superfoods to your diet. When you take care of your body by supplying it with good nutrients, you will naturally feel better and have more energy.

6. Stop comparing yourself to others. You are not supposed to be like anyone else. You are you. You are the only one who can be you. Your perspectives, gifts and value are exclusively yours. You are a unique expression of God. Revel in it! If you want something to measure yourself by, compare how you were yesterday to how you are today, and be kind.

7. Create an uplifting environment for yourself. This can be joyful colors, uplifting music, nature photos, plants, uplifting posters, open windows… you decide. Wear clothes that you feel good in.

8. Celebrate your successes. Even the small ones. Don't wait to get perfect. Any progress at all is worthy of celebration. When you celebrate, you are telling the universe “I am loving this. Please give me more!” Yay!

This is so important and I have been stressing this a lot this year to BUILD Beauty girls. It is not a crime to reward yourself even with the most simple thing as a bubble bath, coffee, or extra time to read a book. Last week, I had a great productive night at the library and I was excited because I thought to myself, you know what, I am going to go home and enjoy some oreos and milk. Let the little things excite you!

9. Be grateful. You have much to be grateful for. Before you go to bed each night, write down ten things you are grateful for that day and why. This is an important step. Gratitude alone can turn things around for you. What are you grateful for right now?

I recently made a blog post about my happiness journal. This is very similar to that. I would choose what you prefer. You can do whatever you like whether it is a gratitude or happiness journal. You can learn more about my happiness journal experience in my past blog post about it!

10. Create a list of accomplishments and review it often. We tend to get overwhelmed looking at what’s left to be done and forget to give ourselves credit for how far we’ve already come.

11. Don’t take yourself, or life, too seriously. Lighten up. Dare to have fun. “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly” ~ G.K Chesterton

This is something I need to remind myself to do!

12. Learn something new. Become an expert. Get curious and learn all there is to learn about what interests you. Learning is growing, and it feels good.

13. Do things that stretch your comfort zone. Anytime you feel fear, as long as it isn't life threatening, is an opportunity to grow! "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." ~Anais Nin

14. Do something nice for yourself. You deserve it! Maybe a massage, a bath or nap. Take yourself out on a date. Treat yourself with the same honor, courtesy, respect and kindness you would if you were taking someone else out that you really, really liked. The key here is to enbrace and enjoy the experience. Feeling guilty defeats the purpose.

15. Do something nice for someone else. Volunteer. Being of service, without expectation of reward, feels really good.

16. Spend time regularly doing things you find joyful. What make your heart sing? Do more of it! Remember being happy is not a selfish act. Your joy is a gift to the world! When you feel joyful, your joy is contagious.

17. Do something physical. Clean out a closet. Get out of the house. Go for a walk. Do some gardening. Visit the nature preserve. Exercise. Fly a kite. Ride a bike. Exercise produces endorphins that help you feel better. Also, being outdoors in the sunshine helps the body produce vitamin D, which contributes to a healthier, happier you.

Last year we had a couple trainers from the student recreation center come speak at BUILD Beauty about fitness and one girl said to us, "have you ever left the gym unhappy and mad that you went?" Seriously. I don't find anything negative about going to the gym. Try it!

Also, on the subject of cleaning out a closet. I also believe that when there is clutter around you, it clutters you inside as well. It makes it harder to focus and clutters your thoughts. You should see how you feel after picking up for even just 5 minutes. 

18. Spend time with supportive, uplifting people. We do exist!

Text me, email me, message me, whatever you gotta do and I will try to give you some encouragement!

19. Create positive affirmations about yourself. Post them about your home. Say them often and out loud.

I have a friend that is posting post its with positive affirmations about herself on one of her walls. I suggest using the bright colored ones :)

20. Allow yourself to be where you are. Just feel whatever you are feeling, without judging it or judging yourself for feeling it. Let go of the story you have created around it and just be with the feeling. Embrace it. Explore it. Feel it. All any feeling wants is to be felt fully. This can only be done when you let go of your resistance to feeling it, which is kept in place by the story and the judgment around it. Without the story and the labels, feelings are inherently neutral. Feel the feeling fully, then just let it dissolve.

21. Remind yourself often you are a miraculous, sacred, perfect expression of Life. Amazing, incredible you are worthy and loved always, without having to do a thing.

22. Spend some time just being. This is much easier in Nature. Go camping. Take a walk. Climb a tree. Sit by a stream. Put up a hammock and climb in. In reconnecting with the Earth and Nature, we slow down and have time for some inner reflection. Priorities become clearer. Who you truly are is more easily recognized here.

I hope you will think of these and try them out. See what differences it makes! I would love to hear about them. :)

Sparkle & Shine,

Rachel 

http://www.spiritwire.com/selfesteemtips.html

Do It Yourself: Banana Face Mask

For BUILD Beauty, we made these college go to guides and we included a banana face mask you can make at home. I decided to try it out the other night and fell in love. It is very simple and leaves you feeling quite refreshed!

All you need:
1 banana
1 tsp. of honey

How to:
Mash up the banana with the honey and apply it to your cleansed face. Avoid your eyes!
Leave it on for 15 minutes and then rise.

I do advise laying down to do this. I used a spoon to spread it all over my face and then laid down to avoid it dripping. It may help to have a friend put it on your face while you lay down. It will harden up a little after some time passes.

I hope that you can try it out sometime because it sure feels good! :)

From:
www.gardenofbeauty.net

Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel

Dream Bigger

There is a guy that sits on this ledge in a pretty prime spot on campus with a white board that has a quote written on it at least once a week. He reportedly used to attend Emporia, but does not anymore. I had him in a class my freshman year, but word on campus is that he does not actually attend classes anymore. He is known to some as the “Free Hugs” guy, but he never really talks to anyone as they pass by. He just sits there with his board with a quote he jotted down on it for the day. The first quote he had this school year was, “If your dreams don’t scare you enough, then you need to dream BIGGER!” This confirmed to me that I needed to stop thinking about blogging about the need to dream bigger and actually do it!

This whole idea of dreaming bigger came to me as I was standing in the admissions office by my desk last spring. I had just found out that BUILD Beauty would be expanding and becoming official at K-State. It was just a week or two after Easter when my aunt had asked me if I wanted to expand it to other colleges eventually. I decided then when I replied to her that I was going to make it a goal for it to happen before I graduated college. Here I was a sophomore and it was already happening. That’s when I thought I needed to dream bigger.

Last year I had come back from the CASE ASAP conference in Nashville with ideas galore that I wanted to make happen at ESU. I made a board of all my ideas that I even decorated with glitter of course and I presented it to our executive board in hopes that some of these ideas could actually happen. I had some success getting the Pay It Forward program going, but there was another idea I was really excited about that didn’t get to happen. It was the T-Shirt exchange. We had managed to get a little funding for it, but not enough, so it was put on the back burner for the rest of the year. A few days before retreat, our adviser called and told me that we would have money for it this year and she wanted us to decide on it at the retreats that week so we could get them ordered and ready to go by the first football game which was August 30^th. It was decided we would try it out and the shirts were ordered a week before we needed them to start doing the exchange two days before the big game. They arrived the day before we needed them!

We ordered 500 shirts. 100 would be used Tuesday in the Memorial Union, the same for Wednesday and then another 100 would be used before the game at our tailgating area. We encouraged students to bring in a shirt from another college and they could swap it out for an ESU shirt. If they didn’t have that or didn’t want to give up their shirt, they could buy one for $5. On the first day in Memorial Union, we started at 10am and we were down to just 4 shirts by 12:30pm. We ended up with a full box of t-shirts and made a good amount of money! The second day all 100 shirts were gone by 12:00pm! We decided to take 150 shirts to the game and got rid of almost all of the shirts then as well. It was really successful overall and it got a lot of people talking. The shirts will be donated to shelters in Emporia which makes it a win-win for everyone. It warms my heart that it is also for a good cause too.

It was cool to see it come to life and see students wearing these shirts to class, around campus, and to the football game. I thought back to the poster in which I had the idea decorated with glitter and now here it was happening before my eyes.

Emporia State has really shown me that you can make dreams come true. You need to put in some work, have trust in your team, have faith that it will turn out okay and don’t give up! You have to take chances, ask questions, and speak up. Sometimes you have to take the imitative if you want to see it happen. I have been blessed to have the opportunity to do all the things I have been doing. I am going to continue to dream bigger and expand myself even more. Dreams can be small, such as the T-shirt exchange. It is not a dream like becoming the first woman president. It is fine to have small dreams that can be achievable because man does it feel good when you do achieve them. Now I am not saying you can’t dream to be the first woman president. This whole blog is about dreaming BIG! If that is what you want to chase after, then start running! I just want to let you know that you can have dreams whether they are big or small and you don't need to be a certain age. My mom is now making bags and selling them at a dance studio. It is neat to see them as she makes them at home and then see them hang on the rack at the studio to be bought! Anything is possible. They are still dreams, they are still yours, and it will feel great when they come true for you. They can happen, you just need to chase after them!

Sparkle & Shine,

Rachel

The board with my ideas. There is the T-Shirt Exchange on there!

The t-shirts came to life!

Day 1 of the exchange. First box of t-shirts from other colleges.

Day 2 of the exchange. Another full box of shirts!

Some of the ambassadors working the table at our tailgating area, The Black Hole!

Happiness Journal

About a month ago, I was watching an Elizabeth Gilbert interview she did with Oprah. She talked about a new thing that she started doing every day and that was writing in a happiness journal. She would write down in a journal of things that made her happy that day. She pointed out, why focus on the bad, the negative? That stuff just brings you down. I was intrigued by that idea and it was that day that I found my own journal that would be my own happiness journal. It was almost as if I was meant to do this. It was weird because I was in the journal section at Target and I stumbled across this one that was by itself, the last one. As if it were meant for me. I knew it was just from reading what it said on the front.

It is perfect because I would be writing about things that make my day bright and a lot of you know that "sparkle" is a word that I kind of own for myself. Something that people associate me with. There was no doubt that I had to get this and it would be my happiness journal. I started it that night and with an introduction. I took a picture of it and shared it on Instagram and Twitter. I had feedback and one girl said she was inspired to do it so she can look back at it and see what she was doing in her life then and what not. It is a nice way to see what you were doing at that time in your life and what was making you happy then.
I have written in it every night since I have gotten it. I don't really write everything out in sentences. I just list things out, but not in a list form. It's in prose form almost. Sentences, half sentences, words. Short thoughts and things that made me happy. It is a nice way to reflect over the day and see all that I have done and actually how many things made me happy. It adds up. You will see in the picture in the bottom if you are able to read it, that I mention that I might learn some things about myself just by doing this and I kind of already have. I have learned that people are an important thing in my life. I value the people around me. All the conversations, phone calls, texts, skype dates, and bonding moments. I mention a lot of people and things I do with people. I found that interesting.
I encourage you to get a happiness journal and to see what you come up with. It is nice to focus on the good and by doing this, you revisit that happiness, which can only be a positive thing that can enrich your life. One journal that was at Target said, "We write to taste life twice..." - Anais Nin. I find that true in a way. With this you can taste that happiness twice when you write it and maybe even three, four, or five more times if you go back and visit it. If you have a bad day or going through a tough time, this can be another tool to help you get through that. It is a reminder of things that have made you happy before. It can help you revisit that.
Let me know if you start one and how it goes. It is a neat thing to experience.

Sparkle & Shine,
Rachel