Sunday Sprinkle: The Kennedys

The Kennedys

The sun sets through your bedroom window.

Laying there with you, I’ll ask you to tell me everything you know about John F. Kennedy.

You’ll run your fingers through my hair

and ramble on about his beliefs, the women, and Jackie.

We’ll marvel at her beauty and how handsome he was.

I’ll marvel at your eyes and how they smile when you talk about history.

We can wonder if he ever ran his fingers through Jackie’s brown hair

like you do with me while he told her embarrassing college stories from his time at Harvard.

You guess she giggled like me when I chuckle at your cheesy jokes.

How did they look at each other?

I’m sure he loved to gaze into her eyes.

Oh, how they could tell a story, lead you to believe something was there, and confirm

that you don’t know everything.

She was glamour with an air of mystery never to be fully solved,

but John sure loved to try.

We bet he unclasped her pearls gently as her gloves dropped to the ground.

Maybe he kissed her neck and took in the scent of her Chanel No.5 perfume that faded

through the night of dinner with leaders, dancing with athletes, and wine with poets.

I bet he unzipped her dress and took her hand to help her out of it.

You bet she smiled.

He lead the country and he also lead her to her bed

with freedom to explore and conquer every inch of her.

We can wonder if they got lost in the sea of blankets in their White House bed.

I bet they forgot about the world for the night.

John would read the newspapers in the morning.

…

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel

@theglitterylife

facebook.com/glitterandthegirlygirl

Transformation Tuesday: The Cheetah Shirt

At first it seemed like a weird coincidence.

But I know it’s one of those odd reminders from God and the Universe. Fate. I had received my photos from Kelsie and was in the process of building my Facebook page and website when I went all the way to the beginning of this blog and noticed the cheetah shirt. I was wearing the same cheetah shirt in the picture that would soon become one of my signature pictures for my sites as I did in the very first blog post that had started it all. It was one of those moments where I chuckled, smiled, and thought, huh, interesting.

So I put the two pictures together and was a little overwhelmed with the transition and transformation. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

The first picture was taken I believe on my 20^th birthday. Not even two weeks after I closed a big door and walked away from a relationship. The cheetah shirt was from Delia’s and part of my break up therapy. It was the beginning of my attempts to revamp my style and figure out who Rachel Marshall was just as Rachel Marshall.

I see a girl that had no idea about a lot of things or about herself.

The second picture is so different. Visually, I see a lot more confidence. When I was doing a talk with the Sumner Forensics girls, one of them asked me how long it took me to get the confidence I have now. I was taken back. I’ve never been asked such a thing and was flattered to be seen as a confident woman to these girls. I think this side-by-side picture is a great representation of that journey from the beginning to today. I am not going to sit here while typing this and make everyone think I am perfectly confident. It’s an ever-evolving journey and I still feel like I have a lot to learn at the young age of 23. But I can say that I am to the point where I am the most confident I’ve ever been with myself.

I see a girl that is confident and has learned a thing or two. A girl that’s worked hard, played hard, traveled, kissed, laughed, cried, and has had fun despite the bumps and bruises along the way. And I am glad I finally fell in love with lipstick. :) 

Now the cheetah shirt has become special to me and a little staple to Glitter and the Girly Girl. It became a full circle moment. A beautiful accident. One that makes me smile. 

What’s your staple?

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel 

@theglitterylife

facebook.com/glitterandthegirlygirl

Sunday Sprinkle: The Look

The Look

His eyes told me

a lot.

Whether he wanted to or not.

They locked onto mine

and I could see

they were the only thing still

in his body

because behind those eyes,

Words and Emotions were

stumbling around drunk

with each other.

Emotions pulling Words in

to kiss them.

Whispering with whiskey breath,

            charming.

They want to take them out

and take them home.

Emotions will say anything

to satisfy their needs,

their wants.

He wanted me.

But he couldn’t say anything.

His Mind and Heart,

were drunk too.

They were fighting over

Lust

and his Soul was fighting

Temptation.

Everything about him was fighting.

There was a brawl

            in the bar of his body.

All he had were his brown eyes

that told me

            something was there.

…

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel

@theglitterylife

facebook.com/glitterandthegirlygirl

Why Relationships Need to Drop the "Other Half" Talk

You have seen it. In fact, I am certain I have done it. Maybe you have done it too or know a friend that has been guilty of the act. It’s that thing when you profess someone as your other half and sometimes even worse, your better half. And it usually takes place on social media, typically in a caption under a picture with the two of you smiling. It’s always happy, with a dash of mushy, and sometimes, borderline over the top.

I committed the crime while I was in my high school relationship. It was when I was young, naïve, and still unsure of my own identity and self as a person. I didn’t know what I was doing. But, does anyone really know what they are doing in that time in their life?

Once I got in the trenches of the single life and started to learn the way of independence and self-love, I became more aware of this term, “other half.” It rubbed me the wrong way. I started to notice pictures of couples gushing about their significant others and how they were their “other half.” The notion was becoming quite irritating.

When I was in a relationship again after a long stint of being single, I began to realize that when I was thinking about him, the “other half” phrase was trying hard to make its way through. As if this was some kind of social norm. It wanted to be used as a descriptor for him. I would push it off immediately and ask it, “Then what was I before? Was I not complete as my single self?” Instead, I would think of him as a teammate or a beautiful accessory that made my life even better.

As I am single again and continue to learn more about relationships and myself, the “other half” phrase gets that much more annoying. I refuse to think of myself as an incomplete being right now. What a horrible idea. This phrase makes you think that we as people can’t live and function without a counterpart of a person. I can tell you right now, I am living, breathing, and loving all on my own. I’ve been perfectly able to go on adventures, have fun, and be successful regardless of having a partner right by my side.

However, when the “other” is exchanged for “better,” I get a bit sickened. It makes me uneasy. It’s an example of negative self-talk and possible low self-esteem. I am for the relationship with someone that makes you and pushes you to be a better person. Not someone you think is better than you. I think if I were in a relationship and my boyfriend proclaimed me as his, “better half,” I wouldn’t like it. The relationship doesn’t seem even and mutual. I would feel the pressure of being the “good one.”

Yes, there are two people in a relationship, but in this case, I don’t think two halves make a whole. I believe two people make a team. I don’t want my peers to think that if they are single, they aren’t complete and their life isn’t fabulous as is.

I think this phrase is one of those things we don’t really take into account what we are even saying and what it truly means. It is a saying that has been tied to relationships, romantic stories, and lovey-dovey cards we give to each other. It is another concept in which we don’t take the time to think about and what it does to others and ourselves.

So, I encourage everyone to drop this “other half” idea and start thinking about what your significant other really is to you. We can be complete individuals and live complete beautiful lives. It’s just an extra sparkle, an added bonus, or a beautiful accessory that compliments you well when you have someone with you along for the ride.

…

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel

@theglitterylife

facebook.com/glitterandthegirlygirl

Sunday Sprinkle: Moon Slice

Moon Slice

I switched off the light on my nightstand and it became dark.

I turned and laid my face on my pillowcase.

There was a strip of light sharing the pillow with me.

My eyes widened. I suddenly wasn’t alone.

Moon slice

I looked up at my window to see the moon was shining

through the tiny space between the window pane and my curtain.

It landed gently on my pillow right next to me.

I touched it with my fingers and it touched me back sweetly.

Moon silence

I had a slice of the moon all to myself. A moment; delicate and quiet.

Only minutes until it would float from my pillow.

Moving millions of miles, reflecting off waters,

chasing stars, and romancing hearts.

Goodnight, Moon

…

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel

@theglitterylife

Sunday Sprinkle: Unfinished

Unfinished

We are the project that never gets completed.

It was exciting in the beginning.

We are the poem that was only sketched and drafted.

Scribbled on a page, not revised.

We are the lyrics that never became a song.

Our heartbeats and breath, the only instruments heard.

We are the book that gets put down.

Never finding out what would happen next.

We are the love that was never made.

Only kisses that keep us up at night.

We are the what-ifs that haunt many minds.

Living in wonder …

We are the unfinished.

…

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel

@theglitterylife

facebook.com/glitterandthegirlygirl

Journal Scribble: I Am Glitter

February 9    …    My bed

I am like glitter.

Once I’ve entered your life, it’s kind of hard to get rid of me all the way. fully. I am sort of…everywhere. I’m right here, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. I’m on Snapchat. Forever floating on the Internet in posts, pictures, videos, articles. At ESU, I was everywhere on campus, at events, on postcards, and posters, and on the website. I was seen in offices and in bars. I was at games and at dinners. Emporia was small enough and I was known enough that I told a boy once that you can’t really escape me. If I had a fall out with anyone, be prepared to continually see me and run into me. That’s just how it goes. Even after leaving ESU and Emporia, I still visit from time to time and I appear in those offices and in those bars once again. I can’t seem to fully go away for good. Same with Kansas City. I’m always here and around on social media too. And maybe you’ll find those stray pieces of glitter randomly in a place, a song, a scent, a phrase, food you’ve shared with me, or a moment in a memory that comes back to you. I’m always here and around. I’m the glitter in the air and the random one you find on your pillow or the passenger seat of your car. I always seem to leave a little trail behind.

…

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel

@theglitterylife

facebook.com/glitterandthegirlygirl

theglitterylife.com

Sunday Sprinkle: Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs

I want you to be the paleontologist of my heart.

Dig up my past under the dirt that covers it.

Dig up the skeletons of failed relationships—

the skull of heartbreak

and the bones of mistakes.

Store them in a museum and display them

for all girls to see.

Let it restore their faith,

let it bring them hope.

The Jurassic Park of my heart

will show them the reasons

and teach them to move on.

It will prove that the pain

will diminish like the dinosaurs.

*This poem of mine was published in Emporia State University's Quivira 2014

…

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel

@theglitterylife

Sunday Sprinkle: Barbie

The B&G Series -- To the Barbie Girls

Barbie

I stand in my box;

smile never leaves my face.

I’m on display

for all to see.

Some look,

but don’t touch.

They don’t want

to take the chance.

Others take me out

to play.

Try to take my clothes off,

feel my boobs.

The fascination lasts a couple weeks.

It’s about how long

it takes for the excitement of a new

toy to wear off.

Poem of mine is originally published in Emporia State University's Quivira 2013

…

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel

@theglitterylife

The B&G Series: The Other Girl

This post is also published online by Thought Catalog as my very first online publish. One of the first inspirations for The B&G Series. 

…

As women, we typically hate the Other Girl. When we find out our boyfriend was seeing someone else, we tend to not like the Other Girl more than him. But, the farther I get away from what happened to me when I was cheated on and when my friends have been left for someone else, I see clearer. I have found my anger and hatred turn into sadness. I have become sad and feel bad for this particular Other Girl.

At first, we don’t take into account that this guy probably wasn’t honest with her. He wasn’t honest to you, so what would make him any more honest in the situation with the Other Girl? We don’t know what they were fed too. We ate up his lies, so can you blame her too? We can say, “It was clear we were in a relationship on Facebook!” But who knows what he was telling her. He could have been telling her problems in your relationship (real or fake) and that he would be breaking up with you next week. We don’t know.

When we become sober from the toxic relationship that we were in and when we are healing our hearts, we finally see those red flags and negative things we hadn’t picked up before. We now see the things our family and friends would try to warn us about. Maybe he was controlling. Maybe manipulative. Or maybe he was too immature or just simply not good enough for us. But we scoffed, rolled our eyes, and cued the stream of excuses for him because we seem to be good at that. Making excuses for significant others.

Now that you can finally see what type of person you had been dealing with, the Other Girl doesn’t seem so bad. Yes, there is some caddy Other Girls. They can do petty things such as start “liking” all of his Facebook updates the moment he changes his relationship status as if they had been waiting for days to do so. You can be annoyed, just don’t let it get to you too much.

But now, I may be feeling too sad for them. I should care less what happens with the Other Girl and her new boyfriend. It’s none of my business and not my problem now, right? But I can’t help to get a little sad knowing a girl got a second-hand, unoriginal proposal when I know it was the same plan he had made with my friend he was in a serious relationship with just months before.

It’s a little haunting to see your ex not be able to look at this Other Girl the same way he did with you. With love and pride that you are his. She doesn’t get that. She doesn’t have a cute story of how they met and started their relationship. It’s overshadowed by lies and unfaithfulness. Or her version of the story might be totally different than his. The air of dishonesty may lurk for a long time. She might forever wonder if the same thing will happen to her. She may be living self-consciously.

As the girls that have been cheated on, we can be pissed. Our feelings can be hurt. We can think she won and that we came in second. We can say she took our love away and our dreams we had with a man we thought was the one. And we can hate that she took away our sex too.

We can spend all night trying to figure out how she could be better than us. Because we think she must be if he is with her over us, right? No. I have come to find that I’d rather think about all the wonderful things I gained instead. How much life became better.

I think about the numerous people I have met, the trips I have taken, the adventures I have been on, the drunken nights I have had with my best friends, and all the times I have danced my heart out. I think about all the first kisses I’ve gotten to experience and the dates I’ve been on. I think about all the things I’ve learned I could do on my own and how it feels empowering. The things that would have never happened had I still been with him. I smile. Because my life became a lot more fun once I closed the door.

There are no more fights. I am no longer changing my dreams for someone else and no longer boxed in. I am not being controlled or manipulated. There are simply no more lies from him. The Other Girl now gets to wonder what the truth is. She has his insecurities and selfishness. She’s chained down now.

So I sit here. My heart can’t help but feel sad for these Other Girls. Maybe I am too nice, as I have been told. Maybe I don’t like seeing girls in that same dreadful position I once was in. But I also sit here wanting to thank the Other Girl for hurting me. I want to thank her for taking it all away and setting me free.

 …

See the original published article here on Thought Catalog 

Sparkle&Shine.

Rachel

@theglitterylife