Well now that I have written a few posts, it's probably about time I formally introduce myself. My name is Alexandra and I am currently a freshman at University of Minnesota Duluth. I am a business student at the Labovitz School of Business and Economics and I hope to major in Finance and Economics with a minor in Marketing. I'm 18 years old right now, but I will be turning 19 in less than a week (exciting, yes i know).

Here's some basic information about me:

• I am a die-hard hockey fan (I will watch any hockey game that's on tv).
• I love to cook and bake for friends and family.
• I actually like taking math classes and as challenging as they are, I enjoy it.
• I have two older brothers, 32 and 27 years old (a lot older than me I know).
• My parents are my best friends, if you haven't read my earlier post about parents.
• I am a fun and outgoing person and at times I tend to be a perfectionist.
• Anytime I watch a movie about the 70's I always feel like I was born in the wrong decade.

There's much more I could tell you about myself but those things sum up my main personality. I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I enjoy writing this blog (which is surprisingly a lot). I am putting forth my best effort into making this a blog that you can read for fun. 

Have a great day and be sure to share this blog with anyone you know who may want to read it!

xoxo, Alex 

My Top 10 Quotes

Here are my top 10 quotes. I love them so much because they apply to me so well. I hope you enjoy them and find them as helpful in life as I do sometimes.

1. "Men do change, and change come like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like a stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass." -John Steinbeck

• This is my favorite because change is imminent but it comes so slowly and over time that you really don't notice it until you take the time to (Like noticing the perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass).

2. "Sometimes you have to forget what you want and remember what you deserve." 

• In today's society, we are so consumed by the shallow qualities that want in a partner, that we forget what we actually deserve. In my future husband, I would take the ability to make me laugh over gorgeous, blue eyes any day.

3. "And then all of a sudden she changed. She came back a completely different person with a new mindset, a new outlook, a new soul. The girl that once cared way too much about everyone and everything, no longer cared at all."

• I strive not to be like this. I strive not to let my experiences and my surroundings turn me into a cold, spiteful person. Caring too much may get me hurt a lot, but not caring at all is when you become the person you hate the most, the one that used to hurt you.

4. "There are far, far better things ahead, than any we leave behind." - C.S. Lewis

• This always inspires me when I seem to be sad over something that happened in the past because knowing that only better things lie ahead in my future, keeps me from dwelling on all the negative things in the past.

5. "You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, but there will still be someone who does not like peaches."

• This quote always reminds me that no matter what I do, there will always be someone that just doesn't like me. 

6. "Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." - Albert Einstein

• Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, and even so, we can't judge them all the same. It would be like comparing my hockey skill to those of Julie Chu, or my painting skills to those of Vincent Van Gogh. 

7. "I want every little girl that is told that she's bossy, to be told that she has leadership skills" -Sheryl Sandberg

• The amount of times I was told I was bossy when I was a little girl is remarkable, but I feel that if just a couple of those times, I had been told that I was a leader, I would have succeeded more now than I actually have. 

8. "I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so you can learn to let them go. Things go wrong so that you can learn to appreciate them when they're right. You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no-one but yourself.  And sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." - Marilyn Monroe

• I know that no one truly likes when things go bad, but for things to get better sometimes you have to "wait in the mud". After all, we all want what's best for ourselves.

9. "Don't forget to fall in love with yourself first." -Carrie Bradshaw

• This one is important, because we will never be happy with what we have unless we love ourselves first. Always, always, always put your happiness before that of someone who cares about you, because sometimes the only reason they feel down, is because they see you feeling down. 

10. "Be soft, do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place." - Kurt Vonnegut

• Never let your bad experiences make you a hateful person because in the end you will hate even the most beautiful and simple things. When something bad happens to you, don't dwell on it for too long, brush it off and believe that something amazing will happen to you soon. 

We bicker, we fight, but in the end love them so

"You spend years trying to get your parents off your back, only to realize that they are the only ones who ever really have your back."

Your parents are your guaranteed best friends, from the day you were born, through all the fights, and until the day that they're gone. They will love you, they will fight for you, and of course, they will fight with you. I am fortunate enough to have both of my parents still together and alive. Unfortunately some people are not as lucky as me. I have never wanted to picture my life with only on of my parents (first of all it would be hard to choose which one) because growing up with both of them, I have become dependent on them, but in a mature way.

Parents deserve all your love and your respect because they do a lot for you! Statistics have shown that by the time you turn 18 years old, your parents will have collectively spent half a million dollars on you (yes, $500,000).

Now, I'm not saying that you should never fight with your parents, because usually that's how you air things out, and ultimately solve the problem that you are having with them anyways. My main point is that I want you to always remember this: They love you, and not for one second (even while you were screaming at them) did they stop loving you. So before you scream at them over a tiny misunderstanding remember that they are not perfect, but they try their hardest to be just for you.

I know that I would not be who I am today without the love and support of my parents. I am glad to call my mom and my dad my best friends and I wouldn't have it any other way.

No matter your relationship with your parents, whether it be good, bad, or anywhere in between, just remember that they are the people who ultimately form you into who you will become. So once in a while, remember to give them a big hug, and tell them that you love them because sometimes, that's all they really want.

My First Post

"You fall, you rise, you make mistakes, you live, and you learn. You're human, not perfect. You've been hurt, but you're alive. Think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, and to chase the things you love. Sometimes there is sadness in our journey, but there is also a lot of beauty. We must keep putting one foot in front of the other even when we hurt, for we will never know what is waiting for us just around the bend." -Unknown

I am not creating this blog for solely one purpose, I am doing it for a list of reasons. If you read something on my blog and find it insightful, if it makes you smile or give you a small chuckle, and if you can take anything away from it and relate it to your own life for the better, then I believe that I have accomplished something.

With all of the troubling things I have gone through in the past five years, I wished I would have been able to stumble upon something like this, just so I wouldn't feel down about whatever it is that was putting me down on that day.

I've been through a lot in the past five years, and I'm going to talk about how I was able to get through everything. I'll share my story, give advice if there is any, and just talk about it in general. At the beginning of each post, I will start with a quote that I feel fits the topic of what I will be talking about.

I really do hope you can find all of this helpful in anyway. Like I said, if I can put a small smile on your face, make you giggle a little bit, or just help you get through the day, then I will have done something worth doing: Making someone else's day just a little bit better.