Suffer or Survive?

It's been a very long time since I've written and I sincerely apologize.
Grad school is very demanding of my time and when I'm not doing that I'm in sweat pants watching my future husband (Dr. Spencer Reid) in criminal minds on netflix.

So much has happened since I wrote last, how about we recap the last month (if I can remember)!


There was Disney with Heather and Easton where we dressed as star wars characters and had a blast!
Then Halloween where I went to see an awesome circus show here on campus and hangout with awesome friends.
School, School, and more School.

But then...things got serious.

A man who needed help mentally and emotionally came and intruded on my school.
You all know the story, so I'm not going to recap or give my opinion of the matter.
I'm just going to say that he needed help and we need to raise awareness on mental health issues and the resources available to those who need it. They are out there and nobody should feel ashamed of wanting to talk to someone about how they feel.

That was the week before thanksgiving, so I was thankful for a break away from school (for the most part).

Thanksgiving was weird this year without papa and meeme. It was hard, but we survived just like we have the past 7 months.

But NOW it's time for Christmas and I can blast the music as loud as I want!
Break is just around the corner and I can almost smell the mistletoe I won't be kissed under!
I know it's going to be hard and sad and difficult, but it's Christmas and it's the best time of the year.

We will survive.
We will not suffer.

Everyone is given a choice. It's simple.
Do you want to suffer or do you want to survive?

With grad school, with the shooting, with the heartache of missing someone, with the pain of dealing with a disease....
Suffer or Survive?

The power is with YOU.

Yeah, I'm in pain nearly every day of my life....
but I'm not going to choose to be miserable every single day.
Can you imagine how exhausting that would be?

I choose to survive and make the best out of the situation.
It's really the smart choice.

Now, I'm not saying that you can't have miserable days.
I have the ALL the time, just ask anyone.
But you have to have more good days than bad.

You have to choose to be a survivor.
It happened, it was horrible, I hated it, I'm so sad, but then what?
You acknowledge it and then what are you going to do about it?
Are you going to choose to be Mr. Grumpy Gills or are you going to move forward and act on what happened.

Grad school sucks, but I love knowing that I'm going to help someone someday.
The shooting was terrible and I'm scared sometimes about it happening again, but I'm going to advocate for mental health issues being discussed and talked about.
My papa and meeme have been gone 7 months now and I miss them more than anything, but they wouldn't want me sad, they would want me living life.
I'm in pain, yes. But I can use that pain to reach others and to push myself to be better.

I'm not suffering. I'm surviving. I'm pushing forward in life because why would you want to constantly be talking about the negative.

Bad things are happening around the world. Bad things are happening in the US. Bad things are happening in the city you are living in.

But good things are happening too.

Dance Marathon, Local charities, guys there are good things in the world that can be talked about too.

I'm tired of hearing about riots and fires in the streets.
Quit acting immature and focusing only on yourself and your suffering.
Instead, think of ways you can move past what is happening in order to better yourself.

It's Christmas time.
So please, let's talk about the good that's taking place in this world and take a break from all the negativity.

Stop suffering for once and let's be survivors and overcome the difficult things in our lives.
The choice is yours, you just have to pick sides.



Not to completely switch gears, because the people that I'm helping are surviving and battling diseases ever single day, but I just want to give a shout out to all those who have helped me work towards my goal for dance marathon. I know firsthand some of the things these kids are experiencing and while I was never as sick as some of them are, I do know that Children's Miracle network is an amazing thing that helps each and every kid out there. I've been one of those kids, I've worked for them before, and I plan to continue to help them in the future. I'm 40 dollars away from my goal, but I'm going to continue doing my #DMdares until DM in February. So, If you have any dares, just post them to my facebook or email me or text me, then donate a small amount (5/10 bucks is all) and then watch and laugh your butt off while I perform the dare! It's for an awesome cause and you get a laugh out of it. So hit me up! Check out a few of the dares I've done on my facebook page and here is the link for my DM information.

http://noles4kids.kintera.org/karadingess



Have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Merry Christmas :)