My African Adventure

Hello Readers,


This past summer I had the amazing opportunity to take part in an wildlife photography and environmental journalism internship in the BEAUTIFUL South Africa. As some of you may know, I tried to keep you updated on everything that I was doing while I was there. These post were originally uploaded here on my home page. However, I decided to move them to a tab of their own. So, if you are interested in reading about my African adventure, just click on the tab next to the "About Me" tab. I have posted them, as well as some pictures, in chronological order. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did writing them.


Always,
Sarah ~ Beth

How to survive your freshman year: Advice from a fifth year senior.

            What were you in high school? Perhaps you were valedictorian, class president, or even class clown. Were you voted “Most likely to succeed”? Were you voted for anything at all? Maybe you were drum major in the band, or dance team captain, like me. Whatever your stereotypical title was, it doesn’t really matter what you did in high school once you transition into college. Just because you were, or weren’t, successful in high school doesn’t mean that you will be the same way in college.

            Once you get into college you get your first taste of real freedom. No more curfews or, if your parents were like mine, no more designated study time. You’re finally free. However, what some college freshman don’t realize is that the decisions and choices that you make during your freshman year will have a lasting effect on the rest of your college experience. When I hear people talk about how college is all about freedom, I hear the words of my high school math teacher echo in my head. “With great freedom, comes great responsibility”.

The first week of your freshman experience is one of the most exciting, nerve racking, and important weeks of your life. College can be fun, some people even say it is the best four years, or in my case five years, of your life. Just remember that you are at college to get a degree, not party. However, on a more serious note, I have compiled a list of what I consider to be the best tips on how to survive your freshman year.

Get to know the people you live with.

These people are the ones who are going to help you through a lot of tough situations. Consider them your new family. Your roommate will be someone who you will always remember, even if you don’t get along. These people are going through the same thing you are. It is more than likely their first time away from home too. Your roommate, or roommates, will become some of your first friends that you have at college. Take time to get to know them, and allow them to get to know you. Having game nights with your roommates, or whoever else wants to join in, is a great way to have fun and get to know one another.

Be organized!

If you are anything like me, then you weren’t the best at time management in high school. In college, you make your own schedule. This is a blessing and a curse. Although you now have the freedom to make your own schedule, you might forget about certain assignments or due dates because you want to focus on other things. Being organized helps with that. Figure out what kind of schedule works out best for you. Are you a morning person, or do you function better later in the day? Being on a schedule will help you figure out what time you can devote to studying, as well as how much time you have for other activities. I suggest getting a planner and utilizing it to make sure you keep up with all of your assignments, and whatever else you might need it for.

Go to class!

You would think that this wouldn’t have to be said. It’s kind of obvious that you should go to class. Even if some teachers don’t take role doesn’t mean that you don’t have to go. Just because you can skip, doesn’t mean you should. Look at it this way, you, or someone else, is paying for you to go to that class. No one likes to waste money, especially the amount of money that each class cost. So, make sure you’re getting your moneys worth. Every time you skip a class remember this, if you don’t pass this class now, you will have to take it again in order to graduate.

Get to know your teachers, especially your academic advisor!

The professors are there to teach you, obviously, but they are also there to help guide you. All of the professors at your college care about you and they want you to succeed in their class. By asking questions and and participating in class discussions it will show them that you care about your grade. If there is any professor that you need to get to know it is your academic advisor. He or she is the main professor that is there to help you throughout your college experience. They are there to help you select your classes and advise you on what major might fit you best. Consider them your personal cheerleader.

Don’t rush into a major!

Your freshman year is about experiences and learning who you are as a person. Don’t be so quick to declare a major. During your first semester, take some entry level classes into different departments. See which ones you like best and which ones might not work out for you. For your first year, or at least your first semester, just worry about your general studies and get a feel for what you want to spend the next four years learning about. If it is the same thing that you initially wanted, great, but there is nothing wrong with changing your major one, or two times.

Get involved on campus!

This is one of the easiest thing to do during your freshman year. No matter what college you go to, there are so many different organizations on campus that you can join. If you were in band in high school, join the band in college. If you are interested in politics, then maybe your colleges Student Government Organization is something you might want to join. If you want to form a life long bond through an organization, then maybe rushing, or pledging, a Greek organization is something you might be interested in. No matter what interest you, there is an organization for you. The most important part about joining an organization is getting to know more people that share similar interest and will be positive influences.

Party responsibly!

Like I have said before, college is supposed to be fun but remember what you are there to do. Although there may be a party every day of the week, don’t fall into the trap of staying out all night, every night. Don’t give into peer pressure about going to a party on Thursday night when you know you have a test the next morning. There will always be another party. So, make sure you keep your focus on your studies and not on when the next frat party is.

These are just a few tips that I wish someone told me when I was an incoming freshman. Had I have followed these tips, I would be a lot better off in my senior year. However, I, like a lot of other students, fell into the trap of not realizing the amount of responsibility, maturity, and self-discipline it takes to make it through college. There are so many other tips and advice that I could give you on how to survive your freshman year, but there are something’s that you will just have to experience on your own. No matter what I, or anyone else for that matter, says you will do what you want. Just remember, “With great freedom, comes great responsibility”.

To the man who I never thought I would meet,

To the man who I never thought I would meet,

         We met in the most unlikely of places. Our story began in the most unlikely of ways. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was waiting on you to come into my life. You’re the man I thought I would never meet. You came into my life right when I was ready to give up on the idea of falling in love. You saved me in ways I didn’t know that I needed to be saved.

         I knew the moment you kissed me that my life was about to change. However, what I didn’t know, was just how lucky I was to have you in my life. Now, I sit here in a moment of complete clarity and realize that I was destined to meet you that night. I am truly blessed to have met you, and I just wanted to take time to tell you as to why I feel this way.

Your immense love for your family is astounding. Your commitment to your family was not only refreshing to find in a man, but was also incredibly attractive. The way you light up when you talk about your son is breathtaking. I've noticed just how much you love not only your son, but your entire family. I could tell how proud you are to be a father and how you would do anything for your son. This was the first time I realized that you were different from any other man that I had ever met.

Your enticing personality can make anyone fall for you. The night we met we talked and laughed for hours. Even though we were with friends, the only person I saw or heard was you. I got to know so much about you and you made me feel comfortable to tell you things about me. Opening up to someone who is a complete stranger is not something I make a habit of doing. Yet, some how you made me feel like I had known you my whole life. As the months went by we spent every day getting to know each other more and more. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know. The more we talked, the more I found myself laughing like I used to. I found myself happier than I had been in a very long time and I have you to thank for that. 

        

The way you make me feel when you wrap your arms around me. From the first night we spent together to the last hug you gave me, I have always felt something. I didn’t realize till now what that feeling was. It was, is, the feeling of completion. The way that my body fits perfectly beside yours, and the way you hold me so tight when we say good-bye, its like my body was made to fit with yours. You not only make me feel safe, but you make me feel as if nothing else in the world matters. You make me feel at home, even when we’re hundreds of miles away from our home.

The way you look at me. We have spent the majority of our time together talking over FaceTime; and every now and then you think I’m not looking at the screen or checking my phone and I see the way you look at me. Words can not express how I feel when I catch those moments. My favorite part of spending time with you in person is waking up and seeing you smile back at me. One look from you can melt away any stress, or heart ache that I may feel.

Your incredible work ethic. I have honestly never met someone that works as hard as you do. As I type this you have four jobs. Four. I am amazed by how hard you work in order to provide for your son and your self. Although I worry about you working to hard and not taking care of yourself sometimes, I know that you will do whatever it takes to give your son the best life you can. It is because of that, that I want to help you in anyway that I can.

You make me feel undeniably beautiful. I have had past relationships with great guys. But now that I have met you, I know why it didn’t work out with them. They never made me feel the way you do. They would tell me that I was beautiful and it made me feel good to hear them say that. However, I never felt beautiful, till you said it. When you said that I was beautiful I not only believed you, but I FELT beautiful.

There are not enough words in the English language that I could use to describe how you make me feel. But if I had to only pick one, it would be Blessed. I am not a religious person, nor do I put much stock in destiny or fate, but since I met you I have had this feeling that we were meant to meet. We were meant to find each other. I don’t think that there is a better way to describe our story other than destined. How else do describe me getting job offers in your hometown?

All I know is that I wake up every morning wishing that you were with me; and I fall asleep every night wishing I were in your arms. I smile every time I see your name pop up on my phone. And now I’m counting the days till I move to your city so that we can be together every day.

I don’t know what the future has in store for us, but I know that I will face whatever it is with a brave face and ready for anything attitude as long as I know that you will be beside me. In the short amount of time that we have known each other you have changed my life in so many ways. You have shown me that I can not only love again, but that I can trust again. You make me believe in Love again. You make me believe in the fairy tale of soulmates again. For that alone, I am forever grateful.

So, thank you for everything you have done, and will do. You are an incredible man, father, and friend. I am beyond blessed to have you in my life and all I can hope for is that you will be in my life for many years to come. I feel as if our story is just getting started and I can’t wait to see where it will lead us next.

Where is the romance?

Hello readers,

Like a lot of females, I watch romantic movies and read romance novels. Ever since I was little I have dreamed of having a relationship like my grandparents. Every summer my brother and I would stay with them during the day while my parents were at work. While I was there, I would watch my grandparents interact with each other and it was during those times that I learned what love was. It was the kind of love that you see in the movies or read about in books. I call it the “forever love” because it is the kind of love that last forever.

I, like hundreds of other little girls, have always wanted to experience that type of love. The love that changes your whole world and how you view life in general. Needless to say I am a hopeless romantic. However, as I have gotten older I have noticed that romance is slowly dying. That there are fewer and fewer people that are interested in having romance in their relationships. Or, better yet, their definition of romance has changed from that of our parents, or grandparents.

Our generation has even developed a new type of relationship. We call them, “stiuationships”. I know, sounds funny, right? Let me define this new term for you. A “situationship” is where two people do all the things that most couples do, such as dates, sleeping over at each others houses, or buying each other stuff for holidays and birthdays, however, the difference is that they do not put a title to their relationship. Meaning that in their mind, they are really still single and open to see whomever else they please.

The Urban Dictionary defines a “situationship” as, “A relationship that has no label on it. [It is] like a friendship but more than a friendship but not quite a relationship.” They go on to say that it is basically a progression from the classic “friends with benefits” title.

I have found that more and more people in our generation have accepted this a healthy relationship due to the fact that it doesn’t hold someone back from seeing another person or having other sexual encounters with other people. People in todays society feel as though if they don’t fully commit to the relationship by putting a “dating” title on their relationship that they can get away with not being fully invested in the relationship. For example, they feel as though they don’t have to go out on romantic dates, or take time out of their lives to meet each other families. They can just get away with hanging out with each other every now and then and maybe going out to eat at a fast food place once or twice a week.

Is there a such thing as a relationship anymore, or have we all be brainwashed to believe that situationships are an acceptable replacement? I have done my fair share of dating. I’ve dated guys who wouldn’t let me hangout with any of my other guy friends due to insecurity, and I have dated guys who couldn’t care less if I was constantly surrounded by guys, whether they were attractive or not. And looking back, I believe that I, myself, have been in a “situationship”.

Is this new type of relationship the new normal? In a world where hooking up with the guy you just met is socially acceptable, I would have to say that it is. But how did it become that way? Where did the romance go? There is no romance in “situationships”. Its primarily just about hooking up and hanging out. A glorified friend with benefits, if you will. Why is this the normal now? Does this generation not believe in commitment? Or, are we just scared of it? Are we scared that commitment just leads to broken hearts, or promises?

In a world where the 50% of all marriages end in divorces, I don’t blame us for not believing in marriage, let alone commitment. The majority of our generation probably came from a broken home, or never saw what a healthy relationship looked like. Not to say that it our parents fault, because it’s not. My parents got divorced when I was around six. So, I know what it is like to grow up with your parents not together. However, here I am, 23-years-old and still believing in love and romance.

It is because of my romantic ideas that I think it is hard for me to find the right guy. One of my guy friends once said that if a girl says that she expect romance then she must be high maintenance. I told him that I couldn’t disagree more and here is why. (Disclaimer, I do not speak for every woman.)

Romance can be shown or given in several different ways. For example, as much as I like getting all dressed up and taken to a fancy restaurant for dinner, I find watching movies and eating pizza can be just as romantic, if not more. To me, it is all about the context in which the date is presented. If my boyfriend comes over with a stack of movies, pizza in his hand, and a smile on his face, I find that more romantic than if he takes me to a fancy restaurant and is obviously not feeling the whole fancy thing. Which, ladies, most guys don’t like fancy restaurants.

To me, romance isn’t about how much you spend on your girl, it’s about how much time you spend with her.

Most females just want to know that their man cares. It can be as simple as sending her a text saying that you miss her or that you were thinking about her. Or, it can be as expensive as you want. There are a lot things that you can do to show your woman that you care and that you love her.

One thing that my grand-daddy once told me was, “A man can have a lot of hobbies, but making grand-mom happy is my favorite thing to do.”

Our generation is what is going to give birth to the next one. So, once we have kids, make sure to raise them to be kind, loving, and maybe instill in them a little romance. Love is a beautiful thing, and romance is just the beginning.