Pomp & Circumstance

After three hours of being stuck in traffic BEFORE I even got out of NOVA, I finally made it home in a little over 8 hours.

Sadie and I trudged through the night, pulling in our driveway at 11:15 pm. She was so excited she peed on the carpet. Fortunately, the workplace was flexible with me and allowed me to work from home Thursday and Friday so I could spend some extra time with my family and make sure I got back to Winston in time to see my little brother graduate!

He graduated 5 years to the day after I did. So not only was I there to see my little brother, but I was having my fifth year high school reunion.  I didn’t really have a formal reunion, but I saw some good friends, and let’s be serious, every time you go out in Winston you end up seeing somebody from high school. Reunions all year round for Calvary folks.

Represent the Class of 2007

One of the benefits to going to a small private school is that the graduation ceremony is much more personal. It isn’t a speech from a valedictorian from a classmate half of the students have never even heard of, it is a celebration that every teacher, every student, and every parent gets to be a part of.  The baccalaureate speaker was the President and CEO of Krispy Kreme. {{It was founded in Winston-Salem}} The salutatorian gave his speech in Spanish as a tribute to his Spanish teacher who has influenced his future the most. And bubbles were the focal point of the valedictorian speech. As each of the 55 graduates walked across the stage the principle shared adjectives that described each student that the teachers collectively put together as their baby pictures were flashed up on the screen.

My favorite part is that they actually printed the “slang” term for what we call the kids that go to Calvary from Kindergarten through 12th grade, “lifers,” into the program. They could have printed k-12 attendees or pretty much anything, but they chose lifers, and that made me happy. My little brother Jared just so happens to be one of those lifers.

Best friends since Kindergarten.

Nick, pictured above, was also a lifer and while growing up used to call me the “she-devil.” I was one super great sister while they were in elementary and middle school. But don’t let that fool you, he loves his big sister now! Look at that little grin on his face!

After the ceremony it was time for pictures, pictures and more pictures! Downstairs in the reception room each graduate had a table decorated just for them. For the senior project at Calvary you have to put together a scrapbook of your life as well as write 11 essays from a dedication page, before they were born, elementary/middle/high school, and other fun essays of their choice.

Sweet Parker.

I would love to show you a picture of my brother and his table, but WordPress is saying that I have used all of my uploading quota. What the heck is that anyways? Can anybody help me out with that?

Luckily, I uploaded other pictures before my quota ran out… whatever.

Older brother (Class of 2006) and Younger Brother (Class of 2012)

In a way it doesn’t feel like I have ever really left Calvary. When I graduated back in 2007 there was nothing I wanted more than to be done with that place, and for a while I was. But you can’t ever really be completely removed from a place that was such a huge part of who you were and who you became. My older brother graduated from Calvary in 2006, myself in 2007, Jared in 2012 and Jacob soon to be in 2015.  Walking around Winston you see Calvary people everywhere. I always ended up going back for JAred and Jacob’s sporting events, and I was even an assistant coach for JV volleyball last fall.  Calvary, as ready as I was to leave when I graduated and move far, far away, will always be a part of me and who I have become.  You can’t have a graduating class of 39 and not be the slightest bit attached.

That is my hope for the Class of 2012. Trust me, I know you want to leave this place behind you and run for the hills; run away from all the drama and the fact everybody knows everything about you. Even though you leave, your parents don’t, so everybody still knows everything about you, that will not change. What will change, I promise you, is the outlook you have on the place you have spent so many years of your life.

Mrs. Mills will always be Millis, but she will also be the teacher that silently and not so silently rooted for you for four years without you even knowing it until you are long gone off to college. You will find out that Mrs. Reed actually liked you, and was just pushing you to your full potential during AP Biology, not trying to make you run through the cement walls out of frustration. The first time you walk back into that gym or out onto that field that after coming home from college, you will realize how much you miss it, and then once you have actually graduated from college, you are going to wish with every fiber of your being that life could be that simple again. Remember the good times and the bad times, because in five years those bad times actually were pretty sweet.

Congratulations to the Class of 2012!

 

 

 

 

I hate it : You like it

This is some little thing floating around blog land that I thought would be funny to do. I am probably going to do an I love it : You hate it post tomorrow. It just seems fitting. Gotta complete the circle, ya know?

Without further adieu here are 10 things that I do not like that you probably do.

Hybrids: I get it. You like the whole thought of “going green,” but the amount you pay for that car is going to take you 5-10 years to even start saving money. If you want to save gas, move to a city and walk everywhere. A quarter tank of gas can last me 2.5 weeks in DC. You could even take public transportation! Gasp! So no preaching on saving the earth when you don’t even car pool in your hybrid. 

American Idol: What is even the deal with this anymore? I loved AI back in the day, and stopped caring after Carrie Underwood won her season. I loved that Scotty, a fellow Wolfpacker, won last season, but I didn’t watch it. I voted for Kris (I forgot his name) over that Adam guy on the very last show of the season just because I wanted to shock the world.  But really, American Idol you need to call it quits. Ryan Secrest no longer needs this show now that he has the entire Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve by himself. {{I am not slamming DC, I am very sad to see him go, but I say things other people think. Judge me for it.}}

The NBA: Their lock-out was a total joke. They just wanted to be like the NFL. The NBA is full of whiney baby floppers that just care about themselves and the pay check. I would have loved if you stayed locked out or maybe, just maybe, you should realize what made you want to play the game in the first place. Kobe, just go away. Maybe a car company will give you a contract like Buick gave Shaq, but probably not. You will probs just get Rec Specs.

Disneyworld: Now before you call me a horrible person for not believing in the magic… Disneyworld and I have met too many times. I need an actual roller coaster. Not millions of kids crying because they are scared of Mickey Mouse in his costume, crying because their dad won’t pay for a $8 ice cream in the shape of MM head, Cinderella really isn’t that pretty, and the fact you are boiling from the inside out.

Cooking: I get it, it relaxes you. For my grandmother it is one of the ways she shows you she loves you. She obviously really loves me, because I stuff my face the entire time I am around her, but cooking to me is a fate worse than death. First, I have to buy all of this food when all I really want is a PB&J. Second, I have to wait hours while it prepares and I have been hungry since 3pm. After all that is done, I would have to clean up! {{Small tidbit about me, I HATE touching other peoples eaten food. I just hate it. I made my mom get me kitchen gloves in high school because I just could not touch plates with other peoples eaten food on it. Like ketchup on a plate in the sink. I am currently gagging.}}

Cats.

UNC.

“Going Paperless.” I know, I know, my carbon footprint is destroying the earth and my great grandchildren are going to be walking across ash from the Apocalypse while I eat my lunch in the grass and forget to put my paper in the recycling bin. I just have to have a paper trail. I organize through paper. I can’t stand planning through my calendar on my phone; I have to have planner. I can’t stay organized with bills when they come in through email. I need system where I open, pay, and file. It just has to be that way.

Beer: I think it is disgusting. I don’t have that “acquired taste.” I actually have a totally legitimate reason for it, but well we will save that for another day. Just no.

Running:I love sports, and I love to play sports, but running just in not my friend. I cannot enjoy just strictly running. I would rather play 5 hours of soccer and end up running 10 miles doing that, then just straight run for however long it takes a person to run 10 miles. How is that enjoyable? I have started walking Sadie a lot in DC and we have fun on our walks, and then I see a billion people run past me on the sidewalks dripping in sweat, huffing and puffing, and looking like they are about to die. Is that really fun for you? To look like a total hot mess in front of hundreds of people on the sidewalk? If you are going to look like you are going to need medical attention on your runs, then you should probably save those for the gym or some trail. Make sure to take your life alert with you.

Katelyn

Ignite Your Natitude

Last week at work there was a drawing for Nationals Baseball tickets! I put my name in and my friend put her name in and it turned out she won two tickets! She graciously gave me the second ticket and we were pumped up the entire weekend about spending a sunny day at Nats Park.

I rode over on the metro with hundreds, if not thousands, of other Nationals fans ready for the game! This was game three in the series against the Baltimore Oriols; the battle between the beltways.

A little tidbit about me… I love baseball. I know it is really hard to watch on TV, I can’t really do that unless it is the Braves or BoSox and then it only lasts for a few innings, but spring games like today are why I love baseball. Sitting in the sunshine, talking smack to the other players, baseball uniforms (I went ahead and said it. Especially when they pull up their pants and show their socks old school style), hearing the ball crack on the wood bats… everything. It was just a great day to play ball.

It was my first major league baseball game and I was so pumped to go. I had been to tons of NC State baseball games, and minor league games in Winston-Salem, but the south has one team, and that my friends is the Braves. Turner Field just so happens to be 6 hours away, so it’s not like I can spend a Sunday Funday watching the Braves play.

We won these tickets, and when we looked up the seats online we knew they were going to be out of this world good seats, but we didn’t know just how spectacular they would really be.

Can anyone say second row behind the O’s dugout? I sure can. It was magnificent. The only people in front of us were a family with two small kids who were more concerned with showing off for the “big kids” and only stayed for a few innings. The only thing in between me and the mound was a bunch of professional athletes. I’ll take it.

I witnessed not only my first major league home run, but FIVE home runs in one game. One of those runs just so happened to be from the Nationals starting PITCHER, Strasburg. If you know anything at all about baseball, then you know that pitchers don’t really hit home runs.  Everybody was on their feet going crazy. It was so cool. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the pitcher hitting his home run. I was too busy trying not to throw up my “wolf” sign with my hand. I did it once while I was cheering and realized… um, I am not at Carter Finley right now, people are looking at you like you are insane.

It was quite sunny outside so I came home with all kinds of tan lines and shoulder sun burns. It was a great day at Nats Park “enjoying the National past-time in the Nations capital” with a win over the O’s.

I will always love the Braves, but this whole being ten minutes away from a MLB park is something I will be able to get used to.

Katelyn

 

 

NCSU & Fill in the blanks…

On Thursday I had the chance to go to a NC State Alumni event in downtown DC.  It was a meet and greet with our Chancellor, Randy Woodson, who just so happens to be the coolest, funniest chancellor ever. My class was his first graduating class and I remember standing in the tunnel at the RBC Center (that is now the PNC something, something. WHAT!?!?!) and he let us all touch the medals on his funny cloak thing for good luck. He is one funny man.

We talked about athletics, academics and how the Tally Student Center apparently is going to resemble a giant glass spaceship. Then the guest speaker was an economist, and because I work in a field that deals with economics I just couldn’t sit through it. I left work for free wine and cupcakes, not to drink said wine and cupcakes while still being at work. I brought my friend Whitney from work and we decided to sit outside, and the next thing we know the people I play softball with migrated out there and we had our own little party! We even were told to lower our noise level a few times, whatever. It was still a good time.

I was really happy to be around so many NCSU people. Apparently DC has one of the biggest alumni chapters in the country! Woot woot for NCSU Alums! I realized that I will forever be asked for money by my school. Sorry, if you want to get me a full-time job where I can give you $40 a month then sure I will be happy to contribute, but for now leave me to my Mac & Cheese and water.

Sorry for the blurry picture. I forgot to take a picture until after the event, but that is what I looked like. Go pack!

And because I missed my favorite link up yesterday…

Fill in the Blank Friday on a Saturday

1. Something that is very near and dear to my heart is, Summer. There is just something about summer. Being tan, the sunshine, the happiness, the vacations, the people you meet, the freckles, the lightning bugs, the lemonade (now Arnold Palmer’s), and just everything that summer brings. Summer just isn’t a season, it is a way of life, a time to just be. I love it.

2. Going home in 4 days is good cause to celebrate. I am so excited to go home I just can’t even wait. I am heading back on Wednesday and don’t have to come back until MONDAY! That is 5 whole days in the 336. I just got it approved to work from home Thursday and Friday, so I will be able to spend more time in Clemmons with the fruns and family. I just really am super pumped about it. Cupcakes everyday.

3. The most fun I ever had is when I was playing around on a private island in Costa Rica with the Class of 2007. That was the very best of days. We ate tropical food in the shade of palm trees with bongo players in the background, swam in the crystal clear waters of Tortuga Island, went snorkeling, banana boating, and just had the best day together. My class was very close and putting all of us in tropical paradise… well you just can’t get better than that.

                                                                                               Skinny me in Costa Rica

4. True friends are always just a phone call away.

5. Something that makes me terribly happy is my dog.  Pretty sure all of you could have guessed that one. It is really funny, but I have noticed on our walks that when she pulls her ears back they look like fluffy little angel wings. I tried to get a picture for y’all today, but my shadow was getting in the way. Oospy. I’ll work on it. For now just look at her fat, lazy face. 

6. A good way to spend a sunny day is the way Sadie and I spent our day today!

7. My favorite celebratory food is Cook-Out. I am going to be 100% honest here and say Cook-Out was always my emotional eating hot spot. During happy times, sad times or simply hungry times Cook-Out was the way to go. I miss it a lot. It is probably a good thing there isn’t a Cook-Out that I know about here, or I would be about 400 pounds after all the emotional eating I would have done.

Katelyn

24 Hour Rule

Just to let you know how this rule came about…

When my college boyfriend and I broke up on Christmas Eve in 2010 my mom said, “He gets 24 hours, and then you are over it.” No boy is worth mourning over. As much as I thought I would spend the next week sobbing into box after box of tissues, she was right about the whole 24 hours thing. I got in the shower, cried it out, and since I have stepped out of the shower I haven’t shed another tear for him or that entire disaster of a situation.

That “rule” my mom has given me has become more of a motto. If I get upset over something, if I am starting to plan some one’s personal demise or just want to punch somebody in the freaking face, I give it 24 hours. I am pissed for 24 hours. I scheme for 24 hours. I talk about how completely unfair it is for 24 hours. And then, it is over. I wake up the next morning and everything is not necessarily okay, but I will get over it; almost instant emotional detachment at its best.

This brings takes us to yesterday which was just a rough day.  It was one of those days that you know everybody has once in a while.  I had a little hiccup in the morning, that I am not going to go into detail about, but I was just really confused on to why this situation happened. I wasn’t necessarily upset about it, I was just confused.

Then, I decided to check my bank account online to see if my student loans were going through, and to see if I was going to be able to go to the goodbye happy hour that was planned for a team member that is leaving on Friday. I stumble onto Wells Fargo Online and realize that there is a pretty hefty cab charge on my account… that I didn’t authorize. Welp, I don’t take cabs, and I surely didn’t ride 30+ miles in a cab… um, dad?

His wise words were, “Sweetie, you have had your identity stolen, you should probably go to the bank on your lunch break, which needs to be now.”

This leads me to the bank where I have to rush a fraud charge, because my student loans are about to go through and my bank account is about to bounce, and cancelling my account would mean my student loans would not run, meaning they wouldn’t be on time… a big heap of BS is what it was.  Who do you think you are to steal somebody else’s credit card number? Really? And then as I am sitting at Wells Fargo I get a text from a friend who says that she has a lot of money charged on her account, causing her account to bounce several times. Well, the last place we were together was this place called H Street Country Club. Ding, ding, ding. In addition to being a horrible human being, how freaking stupid are you to steal two friends, who were there together, credit card numbers and then use them on the exact same day for the exact same things? Um, you’re an idiot.

Once I get back to work my mind just isn’t there, it is in 400 different places, scheming the demise of the waitress from H Street Country Club (which is a Mexican restaurant), and I decide that if I was the manager of that establishment I would want to know that my employees are committing fraud.

So… I call this man. He become very hostile towards me, using a harsh tone, telling me his bank will look into it… (Why would your bank look into your employees stealing people’s money?) So I informed him that my bank is also looking into the matter and I thought, out of the kindness of my recently stolen from heart, that he would want to know what is 99.9% happening out of his restaurant. My kindness was obviously not well received.  Unluckily for him, my friend banks with the federal government… have a good time with that ass hole.

Work wasn’t that super productive after my dealings with the bank, the federal loan whatever they are called, jerk face manager and singing boy that sits beside me… so I skipped happy hour, not only because my bank account is under lock down, but because if I had to act cordial in a social setting it just was not going to end well. Thus, I went home, made perogies while watching endless episodes of Mad Men, drinking grape juice because I didn’t have any wine, all the while reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. You can successfully label me as a train wreck.

Then after a super depressing episode of Mad Men where Don Draper slept with his secretary because he was alone at Christmas, and then pretended like nothing even happened, I leashed up Sadie and went on a good long walk.

So, in reality it only took about 12 hours… but we can include the good night sleep I had as the other 12 to complete the get the *#$@ OVER it cycle. I realized that I have had great opportunities here, so why shouldn’t other people? My student loans worked out, my bank account is fixing everything, I caught the charge almost instantly so they didn’t have the chance to run up my chargers, and that poor establishment just will hopefully get what’s coming to them.

Today is a new day. A day where I even brushed my hair.

And just in case you need some happy, wet dog in your life… see above.

Katelyn

She got it from her mama

Happy Mother’s day to the worlds most sarcastic GREATEST mom!

Thanks for being my concert buddy.

Thanks for being my shoulder to cry on.

Thanks for calling me hoe in the middle of the store so I can watch all the other mom’s look at us weird.

Thanks for being so popular and giving me your stunning good looks that everybody in Winston-Salem asks me, “are you Dawn Garlow’s daughter?” {{I AM MY OWN PERSON!}} True story.

Thanks for taking care of Sadie while I was in DC (or the entire time I was home). You are a pretty good fur baby grandma.

Thanks for always being there for me… no matter what.

There are a lot more thankfuls I could say, but you know. I’m sorry I couldn’t be with you today and I miss you a whole lotta bits!

Happy Mothers Day! {{From the daughter that doesn’t brush her hair and the fur baby that refuses to look at the camera.}}

Katelyn

 

My Anniversary

I can’t believe that it has been a year since I graduated from NC State! It was such a great day.

I had this whole long post about all the things I have learned over the past year, but after I was done typing it all out I deleted it. Graduation day is such a sweet memory; all I want to do today is remember.

I just so happen to like looking at my one year anniversary graduation pictures like many of you like to look at your wedding pictures!

And I need a tan.

And I need to get my diploma framed… yeah. About that.

Katelyn

 

 

57 out of 99

This little check list has been flying through the internet lately, and I just wanted to participate.  I checked off 57 out of 99! I feel like that is pretty good for a newly 23 year-old.

1. Started your own blog
What do y’all think you’re reading? Really now.
 2. Slept under the stars
I love the stars. Love, love, love.
3. Played in a band
I was in a choir my senior year of high school. That is practically the same thing. I sang to lots of people, even in different countries. You’re garage band does not compare.
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
Thank you Laurel Ridge. I loved camp.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneylandworld
Hello Garlow family vacation every year of my life. I could go the rest of my life without Mickey Mouse. I am sorry, but I am a roller-coaster person, and walking around in beyond hot temperatures with a park full of screaming, heat exhausted kids just is not my idea of good time.
8. Climbed a mountain
I have climbed many mountains! And for all of your out West folks that consider NC mountain hills… I have climbed a mountain in Colorado, at night, quite illegally, and ended up sprinting back down in fear of mountain lions. Then the police came and I had to lay down on the ground, because we had 6 people in a 5 person car. Thank you, Beth.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped – on my bucket list! I might not like driving over bridges, but I will jump off one.
12. Visited Paris
Sitting in their airport for a 6 hour plane delay counts. I could see the E.Tower from the window.
13. Watched a lightning storm
I love storms.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
Crafting counts. So does sarcasm.
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
My mom did, but I am so taking credit for this because it was such a disaster. Hahahahaha We dug this garden and everything… and then nothing grew. Omg, maybe two tomatoes, but nobody in my family likes tomatoes but my mom. Disaster.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train- I would love to do this, and then pretend I am Katniss going to the Hunger Games.
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
I don’t do strangers. There is no way.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Does college count? I think yes.
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon- I have done a triathlon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
I have only watched one sunrise and it was while we were at the beach for my friend Amanda’s bachelorette party. It was totally worth getting up for.
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
Catamaran cruise in Costa Rica!
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
West Virginia! Haha but really, my ancestors founded WV. Let’s move on.
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied – Can this even happen?
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Homeless man at Wendy’s. Boom.
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Costa Rica!
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
Thank you Sargent Largent. Freshman PE.
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
I rocked that uniform, and sold next to nothing. My dad always bought a lot of boxes for his clients. Thanks Dad for making me not feel like a total failure.
62. Gone whale watching
This story is another post worthy. It was horrible. I was so sick. BUT WE WILL STAY OUT HERE UNTIL YOU SEE A DANG WHALE.
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving – bucket list!
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
As my dad is laughing.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Do you know where I live?
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London Washington DC
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
Second grade baby.
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper –
Hello article printed about the horrible budget reforms in NC and how they affect education. Also, State Championship runner-ups for soccer.
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
I met Laura Bush last week. You bet your bottom dollar that is the truth.
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
Working on my second one!
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
It really is not that cool.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
Really now?
99. Been stung by a bee

Some of these are like, really? That is a question? But it probably to make some people feel better about their lives. Whatevs. I checked off a lot, and I feel pretty good about it. Now, let me get back to Paris where I am not stuck in an airport that smells like pee.

Katelyn

Rock the Vote

I am passionate about voting. Also, I sent in my absentee ballot, so let’s just kick this off with that.

Many of you might know, and some of you may not, that a big vote in NC happened yesterday. I am not going to get into the legislation, what I think about it, how I voted or how I think you should have voted. My problem with what happened yesterday was the onslaught of social media outrage that I read, from people who did not vote and who were not educated on the issues.

There were so many people that I know saying how much they were disgraced to be from North Carolina because the passing of this amendment, that they couldn’t stand to look at people in the face here, that they can’t wait to move away to a more “accepting” state. (you have 6 to choose from) The majority of these statements came from people who I know did not vote yesterday.

All my life my dad has told me, “Voting is a privilege, not a right.” I have been taught to appreciate my ability to vote, and to always exercise my right, because there are many people that do not have the ability to freely choose their political leaders. If you have turned on the news within the past year, you know that there are multiple countries going through civil war to overthrow their leaders and have the ability to choose who runs their country next. CIVIL WAR. All happening while you sit in front of your laptop computer, with your iPad and iPhone at your side griping about the injustice of an amendment you didn’t take the time to vote for.

This is where my problem lies or one of them at least. My generation relies on other people to do work for them; not everyone, but as a whole this stands true. You can’t sit there and hope that an amendment will or will not pass as you just sit and post on multiple social media outlets and then become outraged when it didn’t go your way.  You know those lines you continuously preach, that quote, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” BE THAT CHANGE. You aren’t going to help anything if you don’t vote.

We are a generation of instant gratification. If we want it, we have it at our fingertips within seconds. Oh, we don’t want to go to the mall today? Let’s just order those 15 items of clothes online. Oh, we don’t know the answer to that question? Instead of looking it up in a book, we just Google it. Bam it comes to us within seconds.

So when the amendment passed yesterday many people were screaming about the injustice of it all. It may be unjust, but look back in history; life changing, world-rocking legislation didn’t get passed in one vote. The United States had to go into war WITH EACH OTHER before slavery was abolished. Even then, the discrimination did not stop there. A hundred years, hundreds of thousands of deaths, and a slowly but surely changing mindset is what ended slavery.  Women began their fight for suffrage in 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention, but did not secure that right until 1920. That is 72 years of fighting for a cause. It doesn’t happen overnight. This is not going be instant gratification. Learn to fight for something.

Instead of being outraged and condemning people for not thinking like you, I suggest that you try to educate them. That is another issue, not just with my generation, but overall. Voters are not fully educated on what they are voting for. I want you to vote, I beg you to vote, but I also beg you to make an educated vote. This amendment had multiple freedoms at stake that I feel many people didn’t know about. Another example, not to piss many you off, is the 2008 election. Obama swept in with his amazing social media outreach and celebrity style status claiming hope and change for all. Those two words “hope” and “change” are what won him the election, mostly from votes coming from my generation. But… did everybody know what his “hope” and “change” encompassed? Did you take one look at his platforms? Or were those words just such shiny beacons of hope you didn’t need to understand what his political policies were? (Not accusing you of not knowing Obama’s platforms, but this was an issue with a lot of younger voters.) Then after a full term of not seeing the “hope” and “change” they expected, they wonder why they voted for him in the first place. Be educated in your vote. Your vote matters; make sure it matters to fullest degree.

Posting condemning things on Facebook and Twitter aren’t going to change the way people think. I honestly believe attacking each other will keep things exactly the way things are, divided. Reach out, educate, and believe in the potential “change” of people’s mindsets (if that is what you want).  This issue isn’t going to be resolved over night; this is going to be a long standing effort that people will have to cross party lines for. Nobody is going to cross party lines if all that is happening is shouting. Make your voice heard a way politicians have to listen to, vote.

And I will always be proud to be from North Carolina. One vote shouldn’t be able to alter loyalty.

And because I can’t stay super serious for too long.

Katelyn

“Put the Hammer down!”

Without a doubt you need to go see the Avengers.

Before you even get to the movie you get to two highly anticipated movie trailers.

The Dark Knight Rises

I didn’t blink. I got chills. Holy Batman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

The Amazing Spiderman

Spiderman is my all time favorite superhero. If you knew me in high school then you also know that everything I owned was Spiderman. I had multiple posters, socks, shirts, pajamas, book covers, pens, stickers… you name it… I had it. I even have several Spiderman Christmas ornaments.  Spiderman and I are made for each other. Now that I have just admitted to all of that via internet… let’s move onto the fact I almost peed in my pants for this trailer. Just seeing the Spidey Suit makes me feel like it’s Christmas everyday. I love Spiderman. I have issues. And I don’t feel like anybody could ever play Spiderman better than Toby McGuire, but I am willing to give Andrew Garfield a shot. Not only because he looks great as Peter Parker (give me the glasses), but because he is playing The Amazing Spiderman and not Spiderman. There is a difference, and I am not ashamed that I know that.  You will see me, wearing a The Amazing Spiderman t-shirt, at midnight when this movie hits theaters. I have zero shame.

And if those two trailers weren’t enough for your twelve dollars let me give you reasons 1-6 why you should go see The Avengers.

#1 Iron Man/Robert Downey JR.

We all know I have some sick completely justified obsession with RDJ. He might be old enough to be my dad, but whatever. He is a spectacular Iron Man.  There are so many quotable moments from Iron Man in this movie, and RDJ plays the sarcastic, narcissist, billionaire to a perfect-t.  Really I just cannot get enough. I wish I remembered all of his lines. The entire theater was rolling with laughter most of the time, because of the dynamic between the Avengers, most thanks going to Iron Man. No one will ever be able to play a better Iron Man, ever. (That also goes for Sherlock Holmes you gorgeous man you.)

DO YOU SEE THE SMOLDER!? Love me forever.

If anybody is a Demi-God, it is Robert Downey Jr.

#2 Captain America/Chris Evans

So RDJ is my number one, but Chris Evans comes sliding into second with his broad shoulders and barbie doll sized waist. Men don’t look like that anymore. He should be a real life super hero, just for looking like GI-Joe Captain America.  They did a great job of making him seem like he was still back in the WWII Era with his looks and the way he acted all the while acclimating him to modern times. I loved how the person he fought with the most was Iron Man. WWII gentleman vs. Modern Billionaire. The dynamic was to die for. But seriously. You are one fine piece of genetically engineered super hero ass.

#3 Thor/Chris Hemsworth

You sir, just so happen to be God’s gift to this here green earth. Now, Thor is not my favorite Avenger, but he is by far the most awkward.  You are a. from a different planet, b. are the only one that still wears a cape (out dated if you ask me), and c. you carry a hammer. My favorite Thor moment of the movie was when he first spoke. I have watched the Thor movie, but kind of forgot that his voice sounded like pure lust. When he uttered his first words, the heavens parted, and angles sang.  My friend Sally and I whipped our heads towards each other, gave the look and gave that laugh. You know the one where you can’t put into words the things you are thinking… those dirty words you aren’t allowed to say, even in the darkest of rooms.  The best part is, I think that’s how Chris Hemsworth really speaks. Not only are you completely gorgeous, but your voice dear sir is a sweet symphony.

#4 The Hulk/Mark Ruffalo 

I have loved Mark Ruffalo from the second I saw him on 13 Going On 30. This is not a joke. The quirky way he talks, the fact that he looks like a real man, and not some animated figure that just so happens to be real… everything.  He is the kind of guy that is gorgeously attainable. Yes, you are a celebrity, and no you don’t look like you just popped out of a magazine… maybe guys like you do really exist?  But that scruff, and your little lisp… Mark Ruffalo you land my longest standing celebrity crush.

#5 Black Widow/Scarlett Johansen

We can’t forget the girl. I have no problem saying that she is drop dead gorgeous and I wish I could be her. That is why she only gets one picture; I don’t need a reminder at how plain I am…

#6 Jeremy Renner/Hawkeye

When I first saw you on screen I thought, “who is this guy?” And then… I saw your beasty arms. I love some beasty arms, and you Renner have gorgeous arms. Feel free to be on the big screen at any time in the near future, as long as you still have those very well developed arms of yours. Also, I know it is your character to have a bow and arrow, and The Hunger Games was out WAY AFTER Hawkeye… but you are the male version of Katniss Everdeen. Pop culture has ruined you, and for that, I am deeply sorry.

Not only should you go see The Avengers because of the movie trailers before hand and the massive amounts of eye candy during the movie, but it is actually a really good movie. The writers did a great job writing humor into the script as well as the serious super hero stuff. I would have had no problem sitting through a back to back showing of this movie.

It is good enough to take your little kids to that carry around their super hero action figures, but also gives the adults some hilarious moments that will fly right over your kids heads, and not be too brash. There is something for everybody. Run to the theater.  Dressed in your most fabulous Avengers gear.

Katelyn