Being Spontaneous and Doing Life

So let me just start off by saying that I am not a very spontaneous person. I've never really been that type of person, much to my dislike. I think it might have something to do with super overprotective parents, but I'm not sure. This past week has been tough emotionally and mentally and I needed a break. ASAP. My best friend from home, Sam, goes to school in Boston and she and her roommates were having a "FriendsGiving" on Thursday and were begging me to come. But I have class I said and I can't miss, I can't spend too much money, blah blah blah. I decided I wasn't going to go because it wouldn't be smart to just spend forty bucks on a ticket and skip two classes and I went to bed content with my decision. Then I woke up the next day. I was sitting in my Comm Tech class when I had an epiphany. I said to myself, "Amanda. You need a break. You never do anything for yourself. Ever. You always do things with other people in mind and in the end aren't happy. Boston makes you happy. Seeing Sam makes you happy. So why aren't you doing anything to make sure you're happy? Life is too damn short to not be happy because at the end of the day, you're the only one there." So I bought a bus ticket for 2:00, printed it out, ran to my room, threw anything I could find into my duffel and took off. I texted my friends and roommates, called my parents, and I went to Boston.

This weekend was great. I hung out with Sam and her friends, had Tasty Burger for the first time (and it was AMAZING), baked brownies, and left this morning. I only went so far with Sam on the T and then navigated through South Station (by myself), got the best grilled cheese sandwich and chai tea smoothie of my life (courtesy of CheeseBoy Sandwiches and Surf City Squeeze) and here I am! I can honestly say I am proud of myself. I can never say that. I made an impulse decision and got on a bus and went to Boston! I did something that made me happy. I was able to figure out the bus schedules on my own, navigate through South Station by myself, and I actually enjoyed myself! I'm not familiar at all with bus terminals and T routes coming from the Berkshires so I ripped off the bandaid and did something for me. If anyone is like me and puts others before themselves, I highly suggest doing something like this. After all, life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

Sincerely yours,

Amanda

Last Night

I'm a pretty deep sleeper. Well, kind of. It takes me a looooong time to fall alseep and I don't stay asleep for very long but when I am asleep, I can usually sleep through just about anything. Including thunderstorms. However, last night was one of the worst nights of sleep I and one of my roommates have ever had. A little backstory on our door. For some weird reason there is always a breeze coming through our door. A breeze from where, I don't know. Maybe the heating vents outside in the hall? Who knows. Our door also doesn't close all the way so even when it is locked, we can move the door as if we're about to open it and it opens a little bit, making an annoying amount of unnecessary racket. One night a couple of weeks ago it was just me and Taylor (said, roommate) because our other roommate was staying the night at home. We were used to the door frequently making this noise and even though it was creepy, we didn't think much of it.
Before I get to the juicy details, let me just say that I am fascinated by anything paranormal. I spend hours at home watching the Bio and SyFy channel with my dad watching anything from Ghost Hunters to Celebrity Ghost Stories; you name it, I watch it. I also read a lot of books based off of people's experiences with the supernatural and haunted places. (I even have a bucketlist of haunted places I want to visit. I know, I'm weird.) I can't help it, I find it interesting.

The only problem with my little guilty pleasure, is that it comes back to bite me later. I'm a scaredy-cat. I know, I know. The girl that loves to read ghost stories is afraid of the dark. Kind of ironic, don't ya think? I hate the dark but I love hearing scary stories. Just earlier in the week I had been reading about different ghost stories on Stumbleupon and I guess that this particular night, it decided to come back and get what I deserved.
On this particular night, it started banging loudly, as if someone was trying to open the door while it was locked. Taylor and I groggily woke up and both thought it was our roommate trying to get back into the room to get ready for her morning class. Simulatneously, we both looked at the clock. It was 6:30am. Waaaaay too early for Keck (other roommate) to be coming back to get ready for class. Just as we looked at the clock, our door began to violently bang back and forth, as if the unknown force was determined to try and break in. My roommate's immediate thought was that someone was trying to break into our room. My mind rushes immediately to Paranormal Activity and that something was coming to get us. I was honestly so scared, I just threw my covers over my head and wished it to stop.

The following day, my roommate and I told everyone we know about this freakish experience, including our other roommate who had stayed home that night (good choice). We piled paper and taped it between the door and the door frame so the door fit tightly in our doorway and the noise had stopped for a while...until last night.
Last night was awful. Just awful. Taylor and I were alone in our room again and didn't get to bed until about 12:30am. Just as my head hit the pillow, the boys living above us decided to have, from what it sounded like, either a dance party or chose to rearrange furniture. I kept silently swearing at them until I fell asleep (how, I don't know). Shortly after I fell asleep, I was woken up. I'm not sure why, but I was. For the next couple of hours I was tossing and turning, tossing and turning, tossing and turning. Incessantly. Little did I know, my roommate was also wide awake. She couldn't sleep either. Our room began to get overheated real fast and at around 3am, our neighbors began screaming. Legitimate screaming. It was followed by laughter (creepy, right?) and more screaming. They're guys so I just figured they were goofing around. And then...the door started banging. It didn't bang just once. Or twice. Or even three times. From about 4am to about 8am this morning, the door was banging. Sometimes it would last for a few minutes, sometimes a few seconds. But it was on and off for quite a while. Then at about 7am, the maintainers our residence hall began cleaning. Right. Outside. Our. Door. It was obvious by then that we were not getting any sleep, not even for a few minutes. Let's just say that if you see either me or my roommate today, you may wanna stay away.
P.S. It's totally acceptable to take a nap on the library couches in between classes right? Well, it was worth a shot.


Sincerely yours,

Amanda

India.Arie SongVersation

Hi guys! I just had the most spiritual experience when I attended soul singer-songwriter India.Arie's show in Northampton, MA two weeks ago. I was introduced to India's soulful music when I was a sophomore in high school and she has had me hooked ever since. My best friend Sam bought us tickets as an early Christmas present and I was ecstatic. We began planning immediately even though it was close to five months away. Sam was going to take the bus to campus from her school in Boston, we would spend the day in Northampton shopping and spending time together - what we call our "twin soul" time. Everything was planned from the minute her bus would arrive to when it would take her back to the Bean.

Me and my "twin soul"

The day of the show finally arrived and we could not be more excited about what we were about to experience. The venue, the beautiful and historic Calvin Theater, could not have been more empty. It was surprising. I had though that the theatre would be packed with people, but we didn't give it much thought. Maybe we were just early. Reggae royal Grayson Morgan opened for India and really got every pumped up, which is ironic because India's songs are the opposite; they're ballads filled with soul and raw emotion that hit you to your core and open your eyes to the feelings you were most likely subsiding. The lights dimmed and the filler music ceased; the crowd grew silent. Goosebumps began to form all over my body - and the show had barely begun! India walked out from behind the black curtain dressed in all white with a blue and white headdress. When I say she was glowing, I mean glowing. She was radiating light. She began her show by praying, which we all took part in. After our prayer, she told us the meaning behind SongVersation. SongVersation is the blend of speaking and singing. Behind India and her band were three large screens that would display images and quotes that were pivotal to the SongVersation. The show was all about connecting the dots and cleansing the soul; it's about healing. India was interviewed by The Dapper Bloggers saying that SongVersation is "the manifestation of an artist transformed and is standing on the other side...a person who was on the journey to healing and SongVersation for me is a person who has come out the other side."

For me, it was definitely a healing experience. A lot of the things India sang about, were things I am struggling with. "Break the Shell" is one that really hit me hard. I have always been someone who second guesses herself and never acts on impulse for fear of getting hurt or disappointing someone. I am my own worst critic, I really am.

Child it's time to break the shell, Life's gonna hurt but it's meant to be felt. You cannot touch the sky from inside yourself, You cannot fly until you break the shell...It's time to peel back all of the layers you put between who you're meant to be and who you are and go be who you are...Do with these words what you will, It's time for us to be for real, you'll be stuck on the ground until you finally break the shell.

Talk about empowering. I had goosebumps all over for the entirety of the show. I walked away from the SongVersation feeling completely different than how I went in feeling. I felt better. I felt changed by it. I felt like I had been healed in a way. In her opening statement, she told us, "My highest prayer is that God will touch you with this music in whatever way you were meant to be touched. Because who knows? We don't know each other or what each other go through but if we are all here at this moment...I don't believe in coincidence...I believe everybody who was called to this moment was meant to be here." Sam left the show crying and I left it in complete awe - mouth wide open and everything. After the show we joined up with some friends and some older women they knew. We left the theatre close to midnight and went out for food and didn't get back to campus until after two in the morning. It was by far the best day of my life.

I felt that a lot of her songs, the ones I could relate to the most, validated what I was feeling. It validated that it is perfectly okay for me to be feeling the things I am feeling but I have to push through them. I can overcome anything. I wish I could personally thank India.Arie for kind of waking me up and making me go through that three-hour emotional roller coaster. Life's gonna hurt but it's meant to be felt.

Here is my podcast - take a listen! Listen to this episode.

For more information and music from India.Arie, click here to view her website!

Sincerely yours,

Amanda

Hashtag College Probs

Lately, I have been having somewhat of a midlife crisis. It's that time of the semester to start creating schedules and thinking about what courses I want to take next semester and I have been completely stressed by the whole ordeal. You need a final schedule and then a back-up schedule for that schedule, and then a back-up for that schedule and it's a whole lot of planning and unnecessary stress. You would think that the more I'm getting into my major courses, the more excited I would be to start my post-graduation career but it's having the opposite effect on me. Instead of getting pumped and excited, it's actually freaking me out. More than I would like to admit. For me, I want to enter the communications field and work in the music industry. It is my dream to work in the music industry either at a record label or booking tours for a large venue. I'm enrolling as a Public and Corporate Communications concentration and to be completely honest, I am kind of scared! I feel that my writing has a long way to go - as you can tell by my lack of blog posts - and although I use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr regularly, I'm nervous that it isn't enough. I know I have quite a while until graduation and when I have to start job searching but it is totally scary! I'm hoping that the courses I take here and whichever grad school I choose to enroll in, can properly prepare me for the so-called "real world". I am a bit of a perfectionist and definitely a type-A kind of person so this kind of worrying is second nature to me, but I think what I have to do is have some faith in the universe. I've always struggled with having faith in myself and in the universe that everything will be okay in the end, so I'm going to have to try extra hard to constantly remember to breathe. Everything is going to be okay. I'm not even sure anybody is reading this but I have to admit, writing these thoughts down have almost a cathartic effect on me; I feel better. Thanks for listening universe :)


Sincerely yours,

Amanda

Gotham Knightly News

Recently in my Communications Technology course, we had to create a video of whatever we wanted and upload and edit it in iMovie. My group and I decided to create a spoof newscast show with anchors who didn't get along, a weatherman who wrongly predicted the forecast, interviews gone wrong, and a sports reporter who knew nothing about sports. I was actually really nervous to start this project because 1) I hate being on camera, I would rather be behind it, 2) I am not an actor, and 3) I am completely unfamiliar with iMovie. When my group and I got together, we actually had a great time! It was pretty easy and since it was supposed to be funny. I was pretty embarrassed by my performance but then I remembered - it's supposed to be bad! I won't give too much away so I will let you form your own opinion (go easy on us!)!

Click here to watch our  Gotham Knightly News!

Sincerely yours,

Amanda

Item 1: Myself

My roommate advised that I use this picture a friend took of me because I am smiling, showing how happy of a person I am; the Big-E is in the background which not only shows how much I love fairs, but also that I have a fun personality.

One of my best friends told me to pick this picture I had taken of myself because it shows that I am a happy person and the fact that I am looking down, shows how shy I can be sometimes.

Item 2: The Big-E

Sophomores Christina Hanafin (Early Childhood Education) and Kayla Schmidt (History Major)

Singer-Songwriter Hunter Hayes

Item 3: Campus Life

Taylor Channell (Sophomore, Psychology Major) studying diligently. 

Sophomores and Communications Majors Zach Johnson, Paul Falcone, and Cody Peck hanging out in Stanley Park, a popular place for students.

Item 4: Personality and Character Portraits

Allyson Canale (High School Sophomore) is my younger sister and is fearless when it comes to anything and takes any obstacle head-on.

Selena Perotti (Sophomore, Social Work Major) is one of my best friends and can always be seen with a smile on her face.

Item 5: Stanley Park Beauty

Invisible Children

An organization that I thought used great social web technology to get their message out there is Invisible Children. They have a Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin page, Google+ page, and a blog. One reason I chose to write about Invisible Children is because I remember being a senior in high school and having my psychology teacher putting on the YouTube video that really kick started the Kony 2012 movement. Before that day, I had never heard of Invisible Children or even who Kony was. It was such an eye opener to not only me and my classmates, but to people across the nation that these horrific things were actually going on in the world. Just some back information on Joseph Kony, he is the leader of an army who call themselves the ''Lord's Resistance Army" and they have been ruthlessly kidnapping, murdering, and displacing civilians in East and central Africa since 1987.

Invisible Children

Invisible Children found out about Kony's doings in 2003 when they met Jacob and Jolly; two people who feared for their lives and envisioned a brighter future. After this encounter, Invisible Children was formed in 2004 in order to do whatever they could to stop Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army. Invisible children uses social media to their advantage extremely well; they create films to document what the LRA is doing and educates new audience members on the subject, they use musicians and artists to introduce audiences to the cause, they have a national tour that brings the films they create to Ugandan schools, community centers, and places of worship, and have national and international events (such as the Fourth Estate Leadership Summit and Move:DC). Invisible Children also has a LRA Crisis Tracker that "broadcasts in real time the attacks" done by the LRA, early warning radio networks, put up fliers that include photos and messages from former LRA members advising current members to return home safely along with instructions, and give broadcasts urging the current members of the LRA to return home and leave Kony's vicious army.
Invisible Children's work doesn't just stop at raising awareness and having dance parties; they work on rehabilitating children and people who have been directly affected by the LRA, invest in education and economic recovery programs, gives Uganda communities with access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation, teaches adults to become literate, helps villages to manage their finances, renovates schools, and gives scholarships to Ugandan students. (All of the above information can be found on the Invisible Children's model.)

Hope, Shannon, and another friend at the Move:DC campaign

The second reason that I chose to research and write about Invisible Children is because one of my closest friends here at WSU has been promoting them since the day I met her. My friend Hope's best friend Shannon took a year off from college to intern at Invisible Children and since then has made a huge difference and influenced many other people to take part in the fight to stop Kony. Last fall, Hope met Shannon and several of their other friends in our nation's capital to take part in the Move: DC campaign where thousands of people marched to Washington, DC and rallied; they showed world leaders that they "haven't forgotten about their promises" to stop Kony.

Thousands of people showed up including celebrity activists who spoke and educated everybody on not only Kony and how to raise awareness, but how to make the world a better place. At the end of the day, there was a dance party complete with "lasers, smoke, DJs, celebrities, neon lights, and glow sticks". Move:DC brought together people from all over the world to join together for a cause and make a difference in the world.

Shannon and Hope

Hope also traveled to San Diego this summer with friends and took part in the Fourth Estate Leadership Summit. The Fourth Estate Summit is a "global justice conference...people from all over the world come to San Diego, Calif. to discuss the millennial generation's role in global justice with each other and experts in fields like business, journalism, film, and international justice." Hope's weekend in California was jammed packed with speakers, dancing, and, of course, inspiration. To find out more about the Fourth Estate Leadership Summit and what Hope experienced, visit them here. Invisible Children has been working hard since it's start in 2004 but because of social web technology, they have been able to get their message out on international levels. Without YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media websites, it would be a lot difficult to get the word out about Kony and we may not be as close as we are today in finding him.

If you want to get involved with Invisible Children or donate, please do so and help us find Kony.


Sincerely yours,

Amanda

To Write Love on Her Arms

 To Write Love On Her Arms is a non-profit organization that raises awareness and gives hope to those struggling with addiction, depression, self-injury, and suicidal thoughts. The organization is connected to treatment centers, books, online sites, support groups and encourages people to have conversations within their community about these subjects and not have them continue to be considered "taboo" subjects.

TWLOHA

Majority of the work that TWLOHA does is to give people who are struggling the help they need. In order for them to get the word out, TWLOHA attends music festivals, such as Warped Tour and uses social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, and even MySpace. Much of their exposure comes from musicians and bands that wear their merchandise while either on stage or in photographs. To name just a few celebrities and bands that have endorsed TWLOHA are Miley Cyrus, Joaquin Phoenix, Christina Perri, Boys Like Girls, OneRepublic, Paramore, Switchfoot, Amy Lee, Mat Kearney, and so many more. Some of the organization's campaigns include, "Love is the Movement", "Rescue is Possible", "Hope is real, Help is real", "Stop the Bleeding", and they are also very supportive of the LGBT community and promoted the "It Gets Better" campaign.

Actress and Activist Sophia Bush

I completely support it and everything they do for our community. I also think that they use social web technology extremely well to get their message across. They share their vision on so many social media sites, it's impossible to ignore them. If a company wants to get the word out, they should make use of the resources that they have. Majority of people today have access to a computer and it is free of charge to create a Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, and MySpace. In order for a company or organization to become known, they need to get the word out. What better way to get the word out about something in this day and age than to start online? TWLOHA started out as a small blog with some T-shirts for sale on MySpace and has since been able to travel all around the country and the world giving lectures about getting rid of stereotypes concerning mental health issues at campuses, conferences, events, and programs. If you feel inspired, take a look at their amazing work on their homepage and feel free to buy some of their merchandise, donate, and get involved today.

Paramore lead singer Hayley Williams

Love Is The Movement

Always remember, "you were created to love and be loved." - Jamie Tworkowski (TWLOHA founder)

Sincerely yours,

Amanda

About Me

Hi, I'm Amanda! I'm a sophomore at Westfield State University and am a Communications major. This is my first blog and I'm really excited about it (but also nervous, so bear with me!). I'm a pretty laid-back person I would say; I am content with doing just about anything. I'm a Sour Patch Kids addict and am always up for a cup of coffee. I'm come from a huge Brazilian family so I normally cannot control the volume of my voice and am always listening to music. From the moment I wake up in the morning until my head hits the pillow at night, music is playing. I'm a lyrics person so I'm the girl that has the CD insert out within five minutes of buying it, pouring over it and interpreting them. I play tennis but enjoy playing other sports. I watch the World Cup every year with my family, enjoy photography, reading my daily horoscope, and autumn afternoons. Pretty things and clever words amuse me, as do animal videos. One Tree Hill is my absolute favorite television show; I've watched the complete series at least four times and always learn something new from it. I'm an Aquarius so I am social, friendly, and love my freedom. If you're curious about anything else, leave a comment and ask away!

Sincerely yours,

Amanda

Inspiration

Growing up with parents who were teenagers during the eighties, I have grown up listening to the music styling of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Queen, Ozzy Osbourne, Madonna, Def Leppard, Metallica, and so forth. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad and I riding around in his blue Jeep blasting Lynyrd Skynyrd and singing my little four-year-old heart out to “Simple Man”. I have always been passionate about music. Not necessarily playing an instrument, but listening to music and discovering different types of genres. My room back home is filled with CDs ranging from Taylor Swift to Nirvana.

         

Lastfm.com Images

           There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not on the web searching for new and different kinds of music. It’s almost like an obsession; I know that I will not be able to experience every kind of genre and every artist but I can’t help it. Last year I took an English class about the 1960s and began to research Janis Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix, people I have heard about but never gave their music a chance. I listened to so much Janis Joplin this summer, I’m sure my parents were about to kick me out. I constantly am telling my parents that I was born in the wrong era, how I should have grown up in the sixties with Janis, Jimmy, The Beatles, and should have gone to Woodstock, or how I should have been the one living out my teenage years during the eighties. Heck, I listen to more of the music from that time than my parents and my parents actually lived through it! The reason I created this blog is so that I can post about new artists or bands I discover, share what I'm currently listening to, or to post whatever I feel like posting that day. It is my blog, after all! :)

Sincerely yours,

Amanda