2015: A New Year, A New Start

So here it is- the obligatory resolutions blog post that we’ve all been dreading yet secretly hoping for.  Because yes, we all want to know that everyone else also gave up by mid-March in losing that 30+ pounds and stopped eating a healthier diet.  Or saving money.  Or whatever it was that you planned on doing in the New Year. 

If you read last year's post, you’ll know that I listed out resolutions that I wanted to achieve.  And I will be the first to admit that I was not successful in all of them.  Sure, I made progress in some, failed in others, but that doesn’t matter.  I made an effort to better myself.  To be perfectly honest, I hate the idea of “New Year’s Resolutions.”  Why does the turn of a page in a calendar dictate that I need to decide to change my bad habits?  Because for the majority of the population, that’s what resolutions are. 

So instead of making a list of things that I will only half commit to and forget by next week, I am deciding to do one thing- recommit myself to this blog.  Which, ironically enough started out as a New Year’s Resolution.  I’ll post a couple of old posts below so you can see where this all began!

This blog started three years ago now.  I can’t believe that.  It seems to have flown by.  I was a completely different person then.  I was a junior in college (JMU DUKES!), in a crazy roommate situation, and I hadn’t even met Brittany yet.  Brittany and I are inseparable now (or we would be if we lived close).  And when my blog launched, I had just gotten Charlie as a Christmas present, but he’s not here anymore.  Anyways, things change.

What are your own resolutions or commitments for the New Year?  Let me know in the comments below?  Are you for or against them? 

Here are some posts from the very beginning of it all, and ones posted in the beginning of 2014.  Enjoy!

2014 Resolution Post

First Ever Post

My Blog Inspiration

Meet The Blogger

50 Random Facts About Me

Until Next Time, Happy Reading! And Happy New Year!

Allison

Priceless Friendships

A while back, I was browsing the site lifehack.org, and came across this article, “17 Priceless Things We’ve Forgotten to Thank Our Best Friends For.”  Of course, inspiration hit.  Not that I need an article to tell me how lucky I am to have such amazing friends supporting me, but it came to me at a time when I needed it.  (Let’s get sappy here) When I’d begun to feel alone and left out, I read this and just felt so much better, all in a matter of minutes.  Now, long after I originally found this article, I am sharing it with you, and why I am personally grateful for my friends.  The numbers below coordinate with the points listed in the Life Hack article.

Thank you best friends- you know who you are.  (and please don’t hate me for sharing this photos!)

(#1) Complete Honesty- The first person that came to mind when I read that was Chrystal.  No matter how much I hate hearing the truth in the moment, Chrystal is always the first person to be as blunt as necessary with me, even if it means saying something no one else is brave enough to do.  (making her the best person in the world to go shopping with!)  If you don’t have someone in your life like this, you need this type of friend.  And if you are this person, you are such a valuable assest to any group.  Embrace it!

(#3) Weirdness- This statement perfectly described my relationship with Megan.  From holding up signs to each other that say, “Got your CONK,” to making blanket forts to sleep in, our friendship literally has no boundaries.  We’ve known each other since we were in diapers and I can’t imagine my life without her.  We’ve gotten closer as we’ve gotten older, but even before texting and smartphones, whenever we would see each other (often years in between visits), it would be as if no time has passed. 

(#9) Good Times and Bad- Brittany absolutely has seen the good and bad.  Whenever something happens, even if it isn’t to me or involving me, she is the first person I want to tell.  Basically, I want to tell her my every random thought.  This is why Twitter can be a good thing, without it, or something like it, (or other friends) Brittany would never be able to use her phone as it would have a constant stream of my thoughts.  Because that wouldn’t be annoying right?  Thanks for being such a supportive friend, and for always knowing the right things to say at the right time!

What did you think of this article?  What friends did it remind you of?  Share your “friend moments” in the comments below!  I hope you all found this entertaining and fun to read!

To view the original article on lifehack.org, click here.

Until Next Time, Happy Reading!

Allison

Blog Updates

Hello Again Everyone!

It definitely feels good to be back and getting into the swing of writing and posting once again!  I already have several weeks’ worth of posts planned out, so get ready!! 

I just wanted to take a few minutes to update you guys on a few things that are going on right here on my blog currently.  As you can tell if you’ve been here previously, the design is very different from what it has been.  I’ve been working and researching blog design for quite some time now, and brainstorming new ideas.  I’ve only ever had one theme here- the very pink theme- and that was getting very old and to be frank, irritating to me.  And I wouldn’t be surprised if it was irritating some of you! (totally ok for you to admit!)  This design is ideally a “placeholder,” not a permanent design, but what we’ll be seeing for a while until the final product is ready to be released.  I was toying with the idea of having the blog half up and running while being worked on, but it failed miserably, and just was not worth it.  That whole thing was a roundabout way of saying: new design coming soon! Stay tuned!

The bar underneath the blog title (Constant Comments), you can find links for my YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr pages.  All you need to do is click on the site word that you’d like to visit and it’ll take you to my specific page. 

Let me know in the comments below what type of posts you would like to see in the upcoming weeks as well as in 2015.  I would love to get your input and produce content that is appealing to you!

Thanks for reading and for all of your support!

Until Next Time, Happy Reading!

Allison

I'm Back! Updates and More!

Hello Everyone!

  

That sounds so odd.  I can’t believe I haven’t posted on here since June.  But it’s true.  Things have been going completely up and down for me over the last few months, and I have not been myself.  I am now slowly but surely beginning to heal, but it has been an incredibly slow process.  Just as Finnick says in Mockingjay, “It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart.”  I can’t even begin to tell you how true this is. 

I honestly don’t even know what or where to start.  Over the past few months, I have been suffering from severe anxiety, which has caused depression.  There.  I said it.  While I am not necessarily “ashamed” or “embarrassed” that I am dealing with these issues, it can definitely be difficult to discuss with people who have never dealt with them personally.  And I am going to come out right now and say, that many people “coming out” lately in the YouTube and online community saying that they have similar issues really has given me the positive encouragement that I needed to keep pushing myself, and also, to open up here.  Really, they’re helped me start to become myself again.  So THANK YOU.

There have been some events that have played an impact on my overall well-being, but in most ways, small things have just built up over time to make feel the way I do today.  My physical health is not the greatest.  I have been getting persistent migraines for several years now (I essentially get them every day), and have tried multiple medications to control them, as well as recently tried Botox injections.  I have been having stomach issues that have caused me to lose weight because I have an extremely difficult time eating, and essentially never have an appetite anymore.   In the beginning of August, I also had bilateral knee surgery to fix meniscus tears that I had.

But one of the hardest things that has happened recently, and what I would definitely consider to be the worst night of my life, is the night my dog Charlie passed away.  Charlie was my first pet, so this is an entirely new feeling to me.  It has been two months now.  Charlie was an older dog and was sick, so while I “knew” he wasn’t going to live forever, the “way” everything played out was so traumatic it still haunts me.  Charlie was my baby, my guy.  Charlie was my Christmas present when I was a junior at JMU, and I got him specifically to help with my anxiety.  I still think I hear him sometimes during the day, still do “poop checks” behind the chair where he used to go in the house, still think he’s in his bed in my room in the middle of the night.  But while losing his has been unbelievably heartbreaking and impossible, it also has been somewhat of a wake-up call. 

I could go on and on about all of the bad things that have happened just over the past few months, but I’m not going to.  There has also been a lot of good.  Like the fact that my family finally sold our house and we have now moved.  And there is so much more.  But my brain has been clouded.

Despite all of the good and bad that has happened over the last few months, there has not been a day where I haven’t thought about blogging or making videos.  I am constantly thinking of new ideas and planning things out in my head.  And while sharing all of this with you has been incredibly difficult to do, I feel a weight being lifted off of my shoulders, and feel more like myself again.

I hope you all have been having stress-free lives these past months, and I look forward to posting more soon!  If you have any ideas or things you would like to see, leave them in the comments below!  There are lots of exciting things coming up in the next few weeks (including blog construction!), so I’ll have lots to share with you in blog posts and videos!

Until Next Time, Happy Reading!

Allison