Happy to be back home in Fayetteville, getting ready for the new semester. My ankle has very purple and black bruising all over it, however I am off my crutches and on the mend! Thank you for all of your comments, concerns, and good vibes sent my way. New year, same uncoordinated me. You guys are wonderful. I am truly sorry about no post last week, so I have a little surprise for you at the bottom of THIS POST, but you gotta keep reading to find out!! hehe.

Everyone grows up, some quicker than others. While the few are running around like oversized toddlers, reality eventually hits and we are thrust into adulthood. How we go about this adult state individually is a different story all together.

We are expected as humans to say we forgive a person when asked, but are we truly forgiving or just telling them what they want to hear? This past week, I have really come to terms with it. After spending three weeks in my hometown of Branson, Missouri, I ran into a lot of people I grew up with (not very difficult to do when you live in a town of roughly 10,000 people). It really is funny, because I see these people now and know that yeah, there was history but it is a thing of the past and I have completely let it go. I have moved on with my life and very very happy with where I am right now. It is pointless to keep a grudge on someone because it is a waste of energy that I could be using to further the life that I am already living. Whether it is a hometown, parent, friendship, relationship, job, or yourself, forgive and move on.

L E T.   I T.    G O.

Now. Before you say, well, Alexandra, that sounds all sweet and pretty but you’re living a  a incense and Buddah-loving cloud, a note on me:  I struggle with forgiveness. I am still working through my problems and grudges. I had my entire world turned upside down by a monster who wanted to destroy my family and I. That is a different post entirely, but I am still hurt. My heart is healing, as it was broken for many years. I am slowly regaining my strength as I become who I was always meant to be. Shining and untouchable. No one is going to hurt me again, but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t sting to look at my history and how I got here.

“When you forgive, you don’t change the past-but you sure do change the future.”

My history has made me who I am. I am slowly coming to not only accept my past, but also embracing it, as it tells a story of a warrior. It has shaped me to who I am today, a strong and more fierce woman than before. I beat the odds. I could have become one of the statistics, but instead here I am. Living and loving my life to the full extent.

My prayers for you, dear readers, is that you are able to live your life to the fullest. Forgive yourself, forgive others (even if they don’t ask for it), do no harm, and help others. Karma is a force to be reckon with. Let her do her job and you do yours.

As my 19th trip around the sun comes to an end (my birthday is on Friday!!) I wanted to have some fun with this post and give out 20 fun facts about me (as requested by some of you…), so here goes nothing…

Funky Facts about Yours Truly :

1. I love beluga whales. They are for sure my favorite animal.
2. I could eat lima beans out of the can, I am kinda sorta obsessed.
3. My friends know not to let me near a greenhouse because I am addicted to buying plants. I will literally buy them all.
4. I am a few weeks shy of being pork free for 2 years. woo pig.
5. I know every single word to all the old Justin Bieber and Hannah Montana songs and will scream them at the top of my lungs in my car.
6. I say “Texas” in a really weird accent because I just assume everyone from “Texas” has that gruff strong country accent.
7. I really really don’t like the cold.
8. I have naturally brown eyes but being shy of legally blind I wear glasses and contacts, which include sterling gray contacts (might as well have fun with it)
9. I love having long nails. I have really little hands and chubby fingers and having long nails makes me feel like a cat.
10. Actually allergic to cats. *sneeze*
11. Favorite dog is a Chow Chow or a Great Dane.
12. I love to drink tea. I drink a cup in the morning and one before bed and about 10 cups in between.
13. Reading the newspaper is a form of therapy for me. I do it every morning.
14. I am obsessed with NPR.
15. Josh Groban and Celine Deon are my singing idols. As well  as Bryan Adams.
16. My favorite movies are epics. (Braveheart, Troy, Last of the Mohicans, ect. )
17. I love cathedrals. Even for the unbeliever, it is truly a place of wonder.
18. Morocco has been one of my favorite places to visit in my life so far.
19.  The Phantom of the Opera is my favorite musical.
20. I am a hopeless romantic.

Have the best week and see you again next Tuesday! Enjoying this funky toon as I kick-off my birthday month!!!

Today’s Mantra: 

“I AM trusting that everyone is having the exact experience needed for their evolution & expansion, including myself.”

Love

and

Blessings, A