Lately.

When I wrote my last Lately post, I was nineteen years old. Crazy how that was almost three months ago. I feel bad. I completely discarded my feature and forgot about it. Seriously, I had valid reasons why I did not update. Mostly due to stress and trying to maintain good grades to pass all my classes. But yea, you will read more about that soon. Here's to my first Lately post as a struggling, 20 year old college student! *throws my hat in the air*

College is o v e r for the semester and I AM SO HAPPY! I earned a 3.5 for the semester with grades of 2 A's & a B in Chemistry. That B made my life complete. My grade was exactly 79.9%. It was rounded to an 80% which gave me a B. That B allowed me to receive an invitation to start clinicals as a Medical Assistant for the fall of this year. I am so excited. After June 5th, I will find out what semester I'll graduate and all the details but for now, I AM CELEBRATING! Which brings me to my next concern, will being a Medical Assistant have me working as hard as I am now with two jobs? Will I make enough money for the lifestyle that I would like? Will I be happy? Is this the right decision? Then I began to regret the fact I didn't ask to be evaluated for Dental Hygiene. I honestly do not know what I want in life.

Work is extremely complicated. I am so ready to quit my second job to focus on my first job but unfortunately I need a part-time job and my first job isn't offering that. So in order to survive after the summer is over, I have to work two jobs and maintain a social life somehow. Working two jobs stresses me out. I don't have "me" time. I'm miserable at both jobs because I'm tired. I don't sleep much. When I get off of work, I immediately take a shower, eat something then go to sleep. I'm probably sleep deprived. My body aches. But as much as I complain, I can't seem to quit. I want a car so badly that I am willingly to give up my sleep and life to obtain it. I don't know what else to do to get it. Its times like this I wish I was a bit privileged and someone would buy me a car to get back and forth to work/school with. Some people don't know how great they have it. Seriously, I miss having an off day and relaxing. Honestly, my next off day isn't until Sunday. I worked from last Thursday and will continue to do so until Saturday of this week. Just thinking of this makes me wanna cry. But on the plus side, I am learning how to save my money for my car with books and better financial decisions. It will take at least $200 a month to come up with $600 by the end of the summer. Pray for me.

Dating relationships are blah. I'm not interested in anyone who tries to spit game. I won't even consider speaking to someone I find to be cute because I'm not ready for it. I'm not ready for it because I am still working on myself. I feel as though I am not ready for a relationships because I do not have much to offer. I also have trust issues that I have no begun to work on because I am focused on other things at the moment. Maybe once I get a car and reach my fitness goals, I'll feel better about myself and be open to starting a relationship. I cannot love someone else until I fully love myself, right? Right. But as of now, I am NOT interested in no man or ex or subspecies. I am only interested in earning a car and a license to begin this beautiful life I have been imagining for years.

Health is a working process. As I stated in my last post, I have a few workout goals and body inspirations that I want to accomplish. Its been a challenge due to how I work. When I get off of work, I'm way too tired to do anything. Instead of allowing myself to eat and lay down, I must learn to give myself a pep talk to keep going if I want the results I so desperately desire. I worked out once last Wednesday and I worked out once today. I want to keep this up. Working out every day up until Saturday and giving Sunday as a rest day. On the bright side of things, I believe I'm at least 5'2 now! & possibly have a depression issue, but that is in the works of being handled.

Friendships are blasphemy. I fell out with a friend in April because her boyfriend used me to get out of his problems with her. Since the incident, I have not spoken to her and plan on not speaking to her. She's fine where she is. If she was ever a friend of mine, a boyfriend would never have been believed over a friend she has had since middle school. I just assume that my friendship didnt mean as much to her as it did to me and I have become okay with that. Shit, Im not pressed for friends. I'm pressed for money. On the bright side of things, my bestie Nay has recently moved into her own apartment. Of course inspiring me and what not with her decision! I am so proud of her!

By the way, thank you so much for 14,382 views! You all are AMAZING!

♥

Reisha 

Twitter | Instagram

Motivation & New Goals

Lately it has been said on the internet that it takes 21 days to make a habit. That sounds inspirational and all but after thoroughly research, I learned that you do not gain a new behavior in only 21 days. According to a researcher by the name of Phillippa Lally, it takes more than two months (exactly 66 days) to form a new habit. While its nice to believe that I can change my entire thought process in as little as 21 days, it is unrealistic and I can't focus on that. Instead, I must look forward obtaining new goals, new challenges and overcoming my depression in 66 days for good this time. Sixty-six days seems like a reasonable amount of time to change my overall thinking & I have a plan to do so. To set my plan in stone, I plan on posting right here for the entire world to read, my future plans without revealing too much detail of my goals. I just want to briefly put it somewhere so later on I can reflect on it (hopefully). The key to MOTIVATION is PREPARATION. My motivation will be all over my blog, plastered all over my room and a constant morning reminder in my phone. I am preparing to motivate myself to accomplish my wildest dreams. Alongside preparing myself with inspirational and motivational quotes, I plan to prepare myself by breaking down the elements of my short term goals. So prepare for a long post! This will indeed be one.

Hair Goals/Hair Inspiration(s)

I wanted to begin with my hair goals and share a my biggest hair inspirations first because my hair is a big part of who I am. I began my hair journey in the summer of 2010 when I came across a video of an African American woman with long hair. Her name was ULoveMegz and her hair was relaxed like mine. This inspired me to begin to take great care of my hair. I cut out going to salons and focused on learning my own hair. Sadly I couldn't purchase any of the products I'd like to try until June of 2012, but I did the best I could to use only products that did not contain Vaseline or Sulfate and to cut back on using heat on my hair to only once per month. Over the course of two to three months, I noticed an entire difference in my hair. It was growing more and it was beginning to look less damaged. Therefore, I continued my journey. As of today, I am a product junkie and hair enthusiast. I dream that one day my hair will be as long, healthy and thick as the women I have selected as my hair inspirations. Like me, they are all relaxed hair beauties. The difference is each of them are either waist length or longer. Depending on your back torso, that is how you will know whether you have reached waist length or hip length. I have a bit of a way to go to reach this success but I am willingly to strive hard for it.

Ten things to do to reach my hair goal:

• Find a new shampoo and conditioner that will keep my hair feeling silky and moisturized.
• Find an oil that will help defeat the dryness of my hair.
• Drink more water daily.
• Find new protective styles and try switching them up every month so I do not get bored.
• Stay focused and motivated.
• When flat-ironing, use a comb to help smooth roots out.
• Learn to moisturize (water-based moisturizer) and seal (I believe you're doing this wrong).
• Spray new growth with water-based moisturizer to stop breakage and help to stretch relaxers.
• Introduce protein treatments to your hair and follow up with a moisturizing conditioner.
• Try biotin pills for 60 days. Just to see if there is any difference.

Fashion Goals/Fashion Inspiration(s)

When I was little, fashion did not really concern me. I was fine with anything I put on. Heck, until this day sweatpants are my favorite type of pants.It barely bothers me. However, there is a certain way I wish I could dress. This brings us to the infamous fashion diva Jordan Craig. Her style is so laid-back, classy and professional all at once. These four pictures represent how I would like to dress on a regular. The only problem with dressing like this is money and confidence. My money is currently focused on buying a car but I think I can add a few goals into this section.

Six things to do to improve my wardrobe:

• Feel confident with your body type.
• Try to Polyvore each outfit that you think would like good on you.
• Learn the colors that look best on you.
• Choose shoes that you can match up with multiple items in your closet.
• Learn your measurements so you can online shop accurately.
• Be sure to clean out your closet often. Throw out or donate things you cannot fit and/or are damaged.

Fitness Goals/Fitness Inspiration(s)

My body image is something I have struggled with since puberty hit. Like any normal girl, I wanted to be skinny and fit into any article of clothing that Forever21 & Aeropastale released. Unfortunately, I did not realize that my body would take after my mother's and that the Freshman 15 was real. To make things worse, the media does not seem to mention any girls who wear more than a size 3. I think that had an everlasting effect on my self-esteem. I blamed genetics and the media for the reason I was unhappy with my figure. In all honesty, it is not genetics nor the media's fault that I wasn't happy. It was mine. I have now assumed responsibility for my unhappiness and I plan to change it. In order to begin changing, I made a collage of my fitness inspirations. I found some realistic body types and followed their fitness stories to learn what to and what not to do to achieve my goals. In fact, Ashanti (collage at the top right) is my overall fitness goal. I want to look that good when I am her current age (33). I believe that our body type is sort of the same but since that is further up in age, I decided to look towards some individuals closer to my age. First is ChelseaPB is a former lingerie model and current bodybuilder. In the top photo to the right, Chelsea was around nineteen or twenty years old when those photos were taken. Also, that was years before she began bodybuilding. I chose these photos because I want my stomach to be as flat as hers and my butt to be as toned. If you look as her photos, there is a curve down her back over her butt to her thighs. I wouldn't mind having her thighs too! I believe I can achieve that body type. Next is Yovanna Ventura. She is a model and has recently been labeled as Bieber's new girlfriend. While  I don't know much details about it, I am more concerned about her body. If you see, Yovanna's stomach is flat and her abs are very toned. Alongside that, her butt is round and looks toned. Her body is my dream body minus the toned abs. I can do with just a flat stomach. Yovanna is 18 years old. Just two years younger than me. She shares a bit of her workout regimen on her Instagram, in which I plan to follow. Lastly is viner, model and singer, Liane Valenzuela. I have no real reason why I chose Liane. Don't get me wrong, her body is awesome! I feel that she is a combination of Chelsea and Yovanna. That is why she is last. Plus, the clothing she models for Fashion Nova fit her body so well. That is exactly how I want mine to fit. Just like the others, Liane's body type is what I aspire to accomplish. If my body could be either of these three, I would be okay with that! Overall, I feel this is achievable. I just have to mix cardio and strength training and motivate myself to stick to my workout plan (or Blogliates workout plan). I must remember that it takes two months for my body to learn that workout out is a new habit.

Eight things to do to accomplish my fitness goal

• Exercise for six days for one hour. Let Sunday be your rest day.
• Drink 65 ounces of water daily (four 16.9oz bottles)
• Create a workout plan. Reps should be 8 to 12 and typically 3 sets.
• Incorporate the lazy girl's workout ;)
• Eat more fruit (two pieces a day)
• Set a reminder for motivational quotes to continue working towards goal(s)
• Get a gym membership if you feel its needed or take advantage of your school's gym.
• Remember fitness will help your hair goals and fashion goals! 

Education Goals/Education Inspirations

I don't have any inspirations for this segment but I do have many, many goals. Education has always been important to me. Even though I had no idea what I would do when I got into college, I feel as though I have gotten pretty far in life. I'm currently happy with the choices I have made. I don't regret screwing up in high school. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have met the amazing people I have at my school. It has made me a better person. For myself, currently, I have the goals below.

Three things to do to accomplish college goals

• Earn A's & B's to boost my GPA up to a 3.5 so I can be invited to be a part of the honor society Phi Theta Kappa. So you can graduate with honors and the robes.
• Think of a secondary degree I'd like to pursue.
• Continue to study and dedicate time to each assignment. Do not take on too much that you can't handle.

Blog Goals/Blog Inspiration(s)

I love my little blog. Its like my own little space on the internet to say and post whatever I'd like. But I have to be honest, I don't keep up with it as much as I should. My posts should be weekly instead of all over the place. I appreciate my subbies a lot for reading and awaiting my posts. I will do better. Pinky promise! As far as inspirations go, I could list a million and one blogs I follow for writing inspiration (trust me, it's a lot), but I'm going to save that for an actual post. For now I'll share the goals and aspirations I have for this blog.

Seven things to do make my blog successful:

• Finish my Code Academy lesson so I can understand HTML better and design my own personal blogger templates.
• Post weekly. Even if it must be scheduled to do so.
• Designate the days I want things to be posted (or at least posted around).
• With all of the blog hopping I do, comment more and let others know I have visited.
• Learn more about sponsorship.
• Send friendly emails to fellow bloggers. Blog friends are awesome-sauce!
• Learn to filter your post. As raw as you like them, imagine a family member finding your blog. Would they be happy?

Conclusion

I can't wait until my life falls into place the way I want it. With God on my side, I can do this. I am very optimistic about this.

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
–Napoleon Hill

♥

Reisha 

Twitter | Instagram

Haters Gone Hate

Once upon a time, there lived a single, high school senior named Reisha. Being single for 2 years at that time, she decided she would pursue a crush she had on a junior at her school. We'll call him Derrick because he looked a lot like Derrick Rose. Anywhom, Derrick was quiet, reserved and a student athlete. There were rumors that he didn't date African American girls. It seemed that way also. In April of 2012, Reisha decided a rumor wasn't going to stand in between her and a potential boyfriend. She approached Derrick after months of watching him walk by in the hallway or accidentally bumping into him on the stairway.

 During the transfer from the 6th class period to the last class period of the day (7th period), she mustered up the courage to stop him in the hall and say, "Hi. I'm Reisha. I think you're cute & I would love to get to know you." He smiled at her. She gave him her number and he said he would call and walked away.

For a girl like Reisha, this took a lot of courage. It was a huge step out of a comfort zone she rarely ever left. & when Derrick never called or texted her, she felt she had made a huge mistake of leaving her comfort zone. I know you've guessed it but yes, I am Reisha :)

The next two months until graduation were pretty awkward. Before approaching Derrick, I had to pass by him to get to most of my classes. After approaching Derrick, I avoided him and hid from him due to shame. In my heart, I really wished I would have kept my secret crush to myself. What makes this situation stand out of my line of crushes is: Derrick could have possibly been my next boyfriend.

I was so happy I didn't have to return to high school in the Fall. That meant no more seeing Derrick...so I thought. My best friend, Tia, informed me that Derrick works at her job. They were actually getting really close because they were coworkers. It didn't affect the way I felt about the situation that happened in high school though. While I'm wallowing in my pain, I forgot that with every crush comes a hater who doesn't want that person to get their crush. I was reminded of this when Tia frantically called me about 1 month and 1 week ago (in April 2013) and told me to send her a picture I really liked of myself. I did as I was told and she called me back with information I didn't think I would ever hear.

I'm not down with he/she say stuff but hey, this is my best friend!! Tia told me that Derrick considered calling me that day but he was talking to someone else at the moment and didn't think it was fair. When that relationship didn't work out, he wanted to call/text me but lost the number and didn't want to ask again because he thought I was talking to one of the stars of the football and basketball team, Kenny (that is what we will call him).

I met Kenny through my pretend brother, Monte, in the same school year I liked Derrick. Kenny was a cocky, self centered, inconsiderate jerk. He was the furthest person from my mind. In high school, I was on the yearbook committee and I was assigned to go around to different classes during my free period and take pictures of students doing what they do best: work. I could see why Derrick thought Kenny and I were talking of dating because when I went to their construction class, Kenny pinned me against the wall and tried to kiss me. He failed because I slapped him but it probably did look like he got away with it from everyone else's angle. Kenny, being the asshole he is, probably told his classmates he kissed me. I'm sure I was brought up during that class period during that time because another guy, Edwin (his new name), also liked me and interfered with my crushes. Silly kid games.

Tia broke the news to Derrick that I wasn't and never would be interested in Kenny. Derrick went on to tell her that he thought the girls at our high school were ghetto. None of which he wanted to deal with. She ensured him that I wasn't ghetto of any kind. It doesn't really matter because Derrick has been dating another  girl since July of 2012. He told Tia that his girlfriend and him have a lot of issues because she's insecure about him being on social networks even though she is.

So yeah, if you are ever in this situation, my advice would be to swallow your pride and tell your crush how you feel. You never know what he/she may think of you until you give it a shot. That person could really be your future wife or husband. Back then I regretted approaching Derrick but now I'm happy I did it. I was able to make progress from it (though none of my crushes work out afterwards worked out either). Don't let my bad luck stories with my crushes disagree you from yours.

& to the asshole who messed up my chance with the guy I liked, I just want to say:

New Summer Feature

I would like to introduce to you a new summer feature I plan to commence.

Welcome to... 

The Zoo Chronicles

This feature will only be around as long as I am working my summer job at the zoo. Seeing as though May 2nd, 2013 was the anniversary of the acceptance phone call, today is the first day I actually worked my first day at the zoo. Let me give you some background about my job duties at the zoo, my personal job history and the experience I gained from all of my jobs.

I applied to work at the zoo when I was merely 16 years old. Desperate for a job, I heard they were accepting applications and jumped on-board the idea. To my disappointment, the zoo sent me back a postcard stating that they were not interested in my help and encouraged me to apply again at a later time. Discouraged, I looked elsewhere. I did not get my first job until I was 18 years old. I was fresh out of a high school and had applied for any position while at a job fair one month previously (May). To my surprise, I began my first job one week after graduating. I worked part-time through a local hospital's summer program as a stock handler at a pharmacy owned by the hospital. This job gave me the responsibility of making copies, counting stock, putting patient's billing information together in one file and greeting guests. The downside to this job was that I had to sit at a desk from 8 AM to 5 PM for two days doing computer work. It sucked the life out of me. The good part was I got to do stock at another location from 9 AM to 5 PM. I looked forward to that every week.

Despite the sitting on my bum from 8 AM to 5 PM, I loved this job. I was very sad when it ended in August of 2012. However, this job helped me land my next job in October. I began working at Kohl's as a cashier two weeks after my interview. At first, I liked my job. I liked the interaction process with the customers. I also enjoyed being a cashier. This job gave me the responsibility of insuring the customer leaves the store happy, uses all of his or her coupons and handling money. It also helped me to have a better appreciation for those who work in fast food or in retail. I know the struggle. To my luck, by November I was ready to leave. I was only hired at Kohl's for the holiday season, but it felt like I had been there for years. After Black Friday, I was ready to quit. The only enjoyment I would get out of my job after working Black Friday was the days they told me not to come in. The hours sucked, my coworkers were snobby and I was expected to perform my job duties and the job duties of a sale associate because my Kohl's fired all of their sales associates. Along with that, the supervisors and the higher-ranking cashiers made sure to lodge into your head that you must get as many customers as you can to sign up for their charge card or you could be fired. It was so competitive that my higher-ranking coworkers would barge in on your conversation with a customer just to make sure you signed them up. I hated it. It was a living nightmare. While working there, I felt like I would never have a good job without a degree. That was until I began working at the zoo.

Unemployed for four months, I began to give up hope. Down on my luck, I decided to try applying to the zoo again. I figured this time would be better than any because school was about to end soon and I had experience this time that I didn't have when I applied previously. Skipping ahead, my interview was set for April 24th at 12 PM and I was ecstatic. At the interview I was asked a few questions but it almost felt like a conversation more than an interview. My future employer and I clicked instantly after I told her how I survived working at Kohl's the night of Black Friday (my only favorite moment working at Kohl's). We laughed and giggled and she assured me that I would hear from the zoo soon. On May 2nd, after completing my last exam of the day, I received a phone call from the zoo asking if I would like to be a part of their team. I agreed with excitement and began my orientation the next day.

Now knowing my job history, I was ready to give any job a shot at this point. This time, for me, applying to the zoo was applying to a job I would love to work at. Kohl's had left such a bad sting in my butt that I did not want to have to work in retail again. That is why I was so happy when the zoo hired me. I was hired as a seasonal employee, meaning, I only work in the summer or during special events. As a college student, I had no issue with that. I needed as much flexibility with my school schedule as I could get. Working at the zoo allowed to know what it felt like to be a part of a work family. There are over 700 employees at my zoo and no matter what department you worked in, if you saw someone in a zoo work shirt, you immediately went to their rescue whether it was to open a door, say hello, offer help with a customer or just seeing each other outside of work. Working at the zoo helped me prove the theory that in order to have a great job that you love waking up in the morning to go to, you would need to graduate college first. Well the zoo was the job that made me happy and eager to go to in the morning and I didn't need a degree to do so. All I needed was my good morals, manners and willingness to please the customers.

I am very thrilled to be returning to the zoo.. Actually, as you read this I might just be at the zoo hehe. I hope you look forward to reading the future zany stories I experience while working this summer. If I remembered some from last summer, I would share, but my brain is currently mush (darn final exams!). I hope you enjoy!

♥

Reisha 

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