Merry Christmas. darling.

This year has been challenging for our family as we discovered my grandmother (aka Mimi) might not make it through Christmas. Mimi has stage 4 bone marrow cancer and has been a warrior throughout this trying time. She has and always will be a warrior in my eyes - and she is the reason I am writing this blog tonight. 

First, let me share a few things about our Christmas this year, the whole clan decided to celebrate Christmas early - so we packed up all of our gifts and all of the food and we headed to Mimi's house. We had our usual lasagna and salad, which we all love. However, for the reasons I mentioned earlier, the mood was very different.  It didn't feel like a "normal" Christmas to me and I could see it didn't feel normal for anyone else. We all wanted our pictures taken with Mimi and we all wanted to talk and cherish every moment with her, because holidays for us have always been about family. Yeah, we could get awesome gifts and eat amazing food - but it was always about the laughs we shared and the memories we were creating. This year was obviously different, we were trying to act cheery and excited for Christmas, but it was visibly hard for most of us. Until, "Santa" came! Let me explain, we have a three year old who is in that stage of,  "oh my gosh, it's SANTA!" (insert Will Ferrell clip from Elf),  and right when she opened the door and she saw Santa, our whole night changed. The room filled with laughter and cheer when she realized it was indeed Santa, and he had driven his sleigh all the way to Oklahoma to visit our family. 

In that moment, we remembered that Christmas was all about making new memories, creating new traditions for our family. Christmas is such an amazing holiday, and while most kids would say it's because of Santa and all the gifts - as we get older we realize it's truly about family. Family is something that no one can replace, and something that should always be cherished. This Christmas our family was put back into perspective, and reminded me what this holiday is all about. I'm forever thankful for spending this Christmas with family, and the people I love. Remember to always cherish the most important thing in life, which is your family; the people who love you, and the people you love. 

Here are a few pictures from this night: 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night,

G.

I'm dreaming of a TEAL Christmas

It's that time of the year again - my FAVORITE time of the year -  and it's not because of the gifts or shopping!  (okay, you caught me, maybe it has a little something to do with the shopping!) However, it's actually the giving of gifts this time of year that I love. I love the idea of sharing something personal with someone, or creating a new tradition with someone special. 

The month of December snuck up on me and it's such a sad thing because I love this season and this holiday, but like you, I’ve been busy.   Focusing on my senior paper and finals can be a stressful time, but to top it off I’ve also had a trip to NYC to plan and graduate school applications to finish.  Today was the first day I realized it's Christmas time, and in this realization I started figuring out that I haven't hung up the lights with my dad, I haven't set up our tree and I haven't baked, not once. So this holiday season I've decided to make a short bucket-list, this will make my December extra special - and I want to challenge each of you to create a bucket-list too!

1. Find something on Pinterest, and follow through with it. If it's a recipe, which I know some people like trying new casseroles, or a new Elf on the Shelf idea, *please look at this website for some ideas as well Elf on the Shelf ideas. TRY SOMETHING NEW.  Personally, I'll be finding an awesome craft project and succeeding in that. 

2. Pay it forward. Do something for someone else, and don't let them know. For example, buy Starbucks for the person behind you, or purchase someone’s gas.  Just do something to make an impact on someone else's life because the smallest things in life that mean the most. 

3. Try to do an unusual gift. Instead of buying something materialistic, buy something meaningful.
    For example :
Give a donation in someones name to a charity @ www.justgive.org as a gift. It's an awesome contribution to an incredible organization and you would be making a difference. 

4. Create a new tradition. Whether it's like watching a new movie on Christmas Eve, such as Home Alone or Elf. *two of my favorites*. Or, you can always try to bake/cook something new with your family. Just create a new tradition. 

On a fun note, my families tradition is throwing our ornaments on our tree. Obviously, because we are a baseball family.  It's something we've done since I was little and it's such fun tradition. 

5. Take family pictures and cherish them. It's such a wonderful gift to have photos of your family taken. 


My new tradition for this year is to decorate the tree in my room teal, which represents my cancer ribbon color. I've been dreaming of a teal christmas for the past couple of years and I finally did it.  It's a constant reminder of my ultimate gift, the ultimate gift that taught me strength, endurance and hope. In a broken world, I too lose sight of hope, however when I look at my tree it reminds me of how far I've come to be the person I am today. I plan to share hope and inspiration with my family, friends and community by sharing my story and my teal tree this holiday season. 

So this holiday season, take it in and don't lose hope of what this season is all about. 

Until next time,

-G

#thankful

Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books- especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance everyday. 

John Wooden

Thanksgiving is approaching and I think we can all agree that one of our favorite things about this holiday is the food, and the amount we get to eat without being judged. However, this is one of my favorite holidays because I love hearing what everyone is thankful for, and I personally believe that we should state what we are thankful more than just the month of November. Also, the trend where one will publish what they are thankful for on Facebook for the month of November is also misleading and it makes me wonder, what if you write those things down every DAY for one whole year? What would happen? Would you feel better about yourself? Would you feel more grateful?  

Roughly 830 days ago, I was given a gift that I wasn't thankful for in the beginning but now I'm very thankful. I'm thankful for the experiences it has given me, I'm thankful for the message I've been spreading and I'm also thankful for the lives I will continue to touch. It wasn't something that normal people would define as something to be thankful for, however in my book it is. Cancer has given me so many things to be thankful for, and when I was diagnosed I started to write down in a journal and I called it my "thankful list", I began to write down the things I was thankful for each night during this trying time and I figured that it could help me turn my glass into half full, instead of empty. It allowed me to be thankful for the things that mattered. 

"Thankful list for November 25th 2013, it's cold and rainy. However, it's that time of the night to sit here and write down my thankful list and be thankful for this day...

1.  A fire place & a good book. 
2.  Pumpkin Spice Latte (soy milk and no whip ;) ) Thankful for the guy that sang my name, it put a smile on my face while waiting for my latte.
3.  My professors at Oral Roberts University, thankful that they believe in me. 
4.  SENIOR PAPER IS DONE, very thankful. Like really thankful. 
5.  Justin Timberlake, and his song "That Girl", melts my heart. 
6.  Cake...you can never have too much. 
7.  My parents. So #thankful for them. 
8.  Fairy Tales. 
9.  My friends. The laughter we create and the memories we make. 
10. When strangers smile. Smiles are contagious, and I love when strangers smile.
11. Christmas. 
12. Cancer Free.
13. Beauty in the small things.
14. Liam Hemsworth from the Hunger Games.
15. Getting to spend Thanksgiving with my Mimi one more year.
16. Making no little plans. "

Turning in my senior paper. 

These are just a few of the things on my "thankful list" from last night. Some are silly, and some are serious, however these were more silly because I was having a rough night and needed a good laugh. Its the LITTLE things in life that will remind you what is important. 

What are YOU #thankful for? The answers may shock you, may make you laugh, may make you feel loved and might even give you that feeling of being content. Remember to be thankful everyday, not just on Thursday. 

-G.

This too Shall Pass

In August 2008, the Olympics took place in Beijing and the USA men's 400-meter freestyle relay race team and America was about to lose all hope and also lose the race. Jason Lezak wasn't about to let his team mates down, and wasn't about to let America down; however Lezak had a shoulder injury and that was the only thing keeping him down. In an interview, he stated this "I changed," he said. "I thought, 'That's ridiculous. I'm at the Olympic Games, I'm here for the United States of America. I don't care how bad it hurts, I'm going after it. I just got a super charge." 

Jason Lezak never gave up, even the announcers lost hope for team USA, and during the middle of the video the announcers even stated that USA had lost this race, however Lezak came back. Lezak gave it all and ended up winning. America, Team USA and even the announcers were shocked. Watch the video to see how determined Jason Lezak was. 

Jason Lezak shows resilience and inspiration. He fought for his dream. And he succeeded at it. 


So many individuals have a hard time pursuing their dreams because they're told "they can't do it", and trust me I've had my share of people not believing in me. In high school, I was told that I would probably not get accepted into a college due to my lack of mathematics skills. I was horrible at math, if there was a word worse than horrible then it would describe me. I had a teacher tell me that I wouldn't amount to anything because I wasn't good in math. To this day, it is still is in my head and I still am worried every time I try to figure out the 'tip' on a check, thankfully I've gotten better with age ;).  However, in 164 days I graduate from college. I graduate from Oral Roberts University, and I'm applying to graduate school. I never gave up, and I was resilient just like Jason Lezak was during the olympics. 

Follow your dreams, and never let ANYONE stand in the way of your goals. If I had allowed that teacher to stand in the way of my goals and dreams then I wouldn't be graduating with honors from an amazing university and debt free thanks to scholarships I'd received. 

“One's doing well if age improves even slightly one's capacity to hold on to that vital truism: "This too shall pass.” -Alain de Botton 

Until next time, 

G

Will you be a princess?

"We believe there is a Princess inside every girl. But a tiara isn’t the only thing that makes her shine. Her inner light is what is so enchanting; the spark within that illuminates her generosity of spirit, her love of life." -Disney 

I recently watched a video titled, "I Am a Princess" and it was such a pleasure to watch. It reminded me that in our community and in our social media world, we often forget the qualities of a princess. I sat here watching this video saying to myself, "I am a Princess" and it brought back the qualities that multiple individuals don't associate with being called a Princess. As a pageant contestant, I often see little girls asking "Are you a princess?" and after watching this video, I can shake my head yes knowing that I Am a princess. It speaks of bravery in a time of being scared, loyalty and trust and how we, as princesses, believe loyalty is built on trust. That as princesses, we need to be kind and generous, even when others are not generous when we are kind to them. Standing up for yourself is important however, this video reminds you of standing up for others and with others is more important. Kindness is power. 

My favorite quote from this whole video is, "I've been told that I am beautiful, but I KNOW I am strong." 

These are the qualities we want to instill in young women today. The qualities of kindness above all, standing up for others, being brave when in a time of fear and most important, knowing that YOU are strong. 

 In Esther 4:14 it states this, "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?"

Long may you reign, 

Choose YOUR attitude!

“The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance.” 
― Viktor Frankl 

I never intended to be a cancer survivor because, like most, I never anticipated having cancer.  At the beginning of my sophomore year, I was expecting the typical college year. Suddenly, my world was shattered and the nightmare began with a diagnosis of Stage 1 Cervical Cancer. The weeks and months that followed were the most frightening of my life. After numerous surgical procedures, I was told that if my cancer not were detected during a gall bladder scan I would not have lived to see my 21^st birthday. In that moment I had a choice, the choice to feel sorry for myself or to choose my attitude in any given circumstance. I decided to fight, and chose to have a positive attitude within myself to fight such a thing as cancer. I chose to be a Proverbs 31:25 girl! 

Celebrating my birthday! 

My mission is to educate young women on cervical cancer, and create awareness about this cancer.  It is time for me to tell my story and educate other women, particularly my peers. Through my involvement with Standup2Cancer and the American Cancer Society, it has been my privilege to speak with diverse audiences ranging from groups of survivors to young teens. I receive private messages each week through my social media accounts from women who are in their own personal crisis with cancer. I feel like I am doing my job to spread the word about the teal ribbon. 

Until next time, 

Georgia