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Monday, October 14, 2013

My Story: Concussions

   I've been in the concussion club; three times in the past year.  I thought it was important to talk about them.  Much of the concussion research has been more recent and has caused changes in many athletic programs so they are safer.  I thought I would share some of my experience with them, just so you all have some more information.
    A concussion has many effects besides what might be conventionally known.  Yes, I have headaches everyday still, even though I got my last concussion over a month ago.  I was out of school for three weeks, which has left me in a position where I'm very behind on my schoolwork.  It's going to be a very long process for me to be able to get up to speed with all of my classes, especially since I've decided to do the IB Diploma.  If my problems persist I may have to drop the diploma.  Because this was my third in a year, I'm no longer allowed to play sports.  As a senior I was looking forward to playing soccer for my school one last year.  That's no longer a possibility for me and it's something that disappoints me greatly.  The last consequence that may not be known to everyone is the emotional toll that concussions take on you.  This is something that I have had particular problems with.  Whenever I'm concussed I've noticed that my emotions are much less balanced then they normally are, as someone who already deals with anxiety, it causes many problems.  For instance, its much easier to make me cry now than it normally is.  I also get frustrated more.  This is because of the emotionally imbalance but also because of my feelings towards being concussed and not being able to work at my full capacity.
    A concussion never goes away.  It's a brain injury and those, in some amount, never go away.  Which means that I might be dealing with these problems for the rest of my life.  It's something that I'll just have to adjust to and live with, there's nothing I can do about it.
    However, the only good thing to come out of this was that it really showed me that people cared.  I got tweets and texts from my friends telling me they missed me and asking when I was coming back to school.  I got a care package from one of my dorm parents with notes from everyone from the dorm.  These things were really something that helped me get through some of the feelings of hurt that I wasn't  at school experiencing all the things I should have been.
     Overall, I just want this to be a warning to you all to try and be safe with what you do to yourself.  No one wants a concussion, they aren't pleasant at all.  If you play sports, just be as safe as you can, you can never prevent anything from happening but you can takes steps that help.  But I also just wanted you all to see more about what it's like, just to have some more information so that you have another point of view.
   Stay happy and healthy!!!      

Friday, October 4, 2013

Let's Talk Sports

   I know that from everything on this blog I seem like a pretty girly-girl, which is kinda true.  I do however, love watching professional sports; in fact I think my mom is getting me ice hockey tickets for Christmas this year.  One sport I absolutely adore is football, no not soccer, but gold old American Football. Don't get me wrong, soccer is amazing and I love playing and watching it.  But I'm much different when I'm watching football.




    I get so rilled up...yes the kind of rilled up where I'm yelling at the TV to people that can't hear me.  I'll jeer at the other teams and get annoyed when bad calls are made.  This is especially true for the teams that I don't like.  When I say that I don't like them, it's pretty serious.  There is a different level of dislike for these teams, sure not as bad as other things, but still bad.  I grew up in Western Pa, so of course I'm a Steelers fan.  Yes, I know they aren't doing well this year but I can't help but love them.  I do have a soft spot for the Bears though.  On the other end of the spectrum are the teams I would never root for.  These are basically as follows, The Patriots, the Cowboys, the Jets, the Ravens (especially them), Notre Dame, and The Ohio State.  It may seem like a lot but there are plenty of teams out there.
    I think that I really like football because I just grew up with it.  My school's team was pretty good, Penn State is just a way of life where I live.  That means that we always watched them.  Of course there was professional football with my favorites!  All day Sunday, once on Monday and Thursday.  There's really not much else you could ask for.  It's a cultural thing, everyone just loves football where I'm from.

   There are somethings that do upset me about football right now.One is that most of the teams I like kinda suck right now.  But another thing is how they're taking away everything that makes football what it is.  Please keep the running game strong.  Passing every play is boring and it won't always work.  If you have a strong running game you can easily get short yardage.  I also think that while the rules needed to be made more strict so that people don't get hurt, that at this point it's turing into something it shouldn't.  We're paying these people millions of dollars to play a game that's slowly turning into flag football.  I just don't think it's the right thing to do.  That being said, once again I understand it's for the players' safety but I do think at some point it might be a bit too much.
   Either way I'm still in love with the sport.  What sports do you love to watch?

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Every Day Make-Up

   Yes, I had to bring it up.  I wear make-up to school everyday or when I'm going out (not if I'm just going to the grocery store but if I'm going to dinner or something such as that).  Most of the time I use the same products, a eye-liner, a liquid eye-liner, mascara, a cover-up, and a powder; I'll wear a foundation depending on how my skin is looking.  I use drug store make-up for every day since it's much less expensive
The powder I use is the Maybelline Fit Me! line.

I use this for my water line, although I don't go all the way across.  I only go about half way.
This is the Rimmel Water Proof Black

I use the Rimmel Glam'Eyes for my top lash line.  I usually go for a cat eye for just a smaller flick outwards.

I absolutely LOVE the Covergirl mascaras.  I use the green for my bottom lashes and the top two for my top lashes.  I use the purple before the orange and I find that it makes my lashes look amazing; people sometimes ask if I'm wearing fake eye-lashes.


The cover-up I use is also Rimmel.  Can you find a pattern?  I just use this for any very noticeable flaws on my skin.


     With my make-up I like to have a bolder eye while keeping the skin quite natural.  I also really love the retro style and try to incorporate that into my make-up.  Like I said earlier, I don't always wear make-up but I think it can really help complete an outfit and make it stand out.
   I think it's important to mention that while make-up is fun and you can do so many things with it, you're all beautiful without it as well.  There's not a necessity to wear it, but it's just something some people enjoy.   
    What kind of make-up do you all like to sport?

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

It's a Good Thing I Like Potatoes

     I love potatoes, there I said it.  I don't really care if that's super strange cause I think they're just amazing.  When my mom told me about a potato festival, I couldn't not agree to go.  Are you kidding me? There's no way  was going to miss the best thing on the planet.  Let me tell you, it did not disappoint.  Potato products were everywhere and the amount of people there was amazing.  So I decided to snap some quick pictures.














Yes, I know that Penn State glasses aren't potatoes, but I couldn't resist.  The same goes for the courthouse, I thought it was beautiful.  I'm also loving the last picture of my mom and all our potato products.