Bittersweet Analogy

If you met me two years ago, I was weak. I was fragile. I was really naive. I was crushed emotionally by the smallest things. I wasn't the same person then that I am now. I believe, with time, everything can change. Why? Because I surely have changed. I like to think I am stronger, smarter (still naive at times though, but aren't we all?), and emotionally stable and guarded. Two years ago, I would have completely been invested in one thing. And when it didn't work out, I would have been crushed for months... Heartbroken. Now, I have a mentality of "what will be, will be." Meaning, what is meant to happen to me, meant to be apart of my life, will find it's way into my life. So when I say this next part, please understand, I am completely fine. I haven't shed a single tear over it. I actually still find myself very lucky (will explain why I feel that way later).

Scholarships are kinda like relationships.
You meet a guy. You work really hard to impress him, make him like you. You see a scholarship. You work really hard to write about how awesome you are.
With a guy, you have to shew away the other "women". With scholarships, you have to beat the other contestants.
With a guy, you constantly wait for that text or call. With scholarships, you are constantly refreshing your email.
When something doesn't go your way with a guy, you feel rejected. When things don't go your way with scholarships, you lose $10,000 that you never really had to begin with.
When your friends ask about the guy or that guy texts you apologizing, you type millions of text messages trying to say something back, but erase them all because they are either mean or you feel ashamed. When your friends ask you about the scholarship, you say "I haven't heard yet." or "It just wasn't for me."
With a guy, you learn from your mistakes, realize you are still awesome, and move on because there are plenty of fish in the sea and you will find your one person. With a scholarship, you move on because money is out there for college. You realize there are other scholarships and you are awesome!

Moral of the story, all these things happen in life, whether it is a scholarship or a guy. Simply put, it is how you handle it and respond to these things that make you who you are and shapes you as a person.

Friday, at approximately 6 pm, I heard from Coca Cola. I did not win the Coca Cola Scholarship. And you know what? That is perfectly okay. I am still applying and I am still up for many huge scholarships. I feel lucky to have been one of the 2,200 people out of 84,000 people who made it to the second round.

As I continue this journey down the path of college and discovering who I am, I realize I like what I am seeing. I realize I have so much more to learn, to experience, and so many opportunities going for me. Time tells all. (Too bad I am the most impatient person ever...).

Much love and no regret,
Brittany xoxo

Feel the Burn

I promise I have a fantastic excuse for not blogging as much this week. In all honesty, there is so much I want to share.

Coca Cola contacted me! And said that they will be sending out email/letters later this week!! They had so many highly qualified applicants that they needed more time to make the decision.

Additionally, I submitted three other scholarships this week,

KFC
Doing Good
and
Richie Spirit

I am up to 15 scholarships submitted now.

And I AM A FINALIST!!! WOO HOO! It is for the Axa Community Achievement Scholarship. They reward $2,000 to 12 people per branch per state. Last year, two people in Durham won! I have to submit my materials by March and hear back in late April.

This entire week has been soccer tryouts at my high school. As many of you may know, I am completely and utterly in love with some soccer. This, unfortunately, will be my last year playing. For the first time, I believe my school will have a Varsity and JV team. My calves and shoulders are definitely sore and I have most definitely felt the "burn".

So many exciting adventures I am being able to experience. I am lucky, and I am very blessed.

Excited to share,
Brittany

Eleven Percent. That isn’t as much as you think.

I’ve been slacking keeping up with blog posts. But you guys haven't! Officially reached 500 views (540 to be exact!)

Honestly, I have been waiting. On the mailman. How silly is that? I have noticed lately, everything that is important to me mail wise (i.e. college acceptance letters) take ages to get to me. 

Because I have yet to receive a letter from coca cola, I went back and read the fine print. One piece of paper says February 10^th. Another says early February. They all say everyone is notified (And I confirmed that by asking a parent who had a kid who won and another kid who didn’t. They both got a letter). But only 250 out of 2,200 people get it. That is 11 percent. What?!?! I just want to say, either the mailman is snail-slow lately or coca cola needs to get on the ball because I can’t wait any longer. This letter would guarantee me between $10,000 to $20,000 (holy cow, what a dent that could make in my expenses). So, whenever I find out, I will be sure to share. Hope it is soon…. 

 

Lately, I have been obsessed with my new photoshop program. I have been focusing on the eyes, bags, lashes, teeth, and blimishes. It is surprisingly fun (most likely because it is new). Above is one of my favorite images.

Hope you enjoyed my little chat,

Brittany

Believing in the Impossible

How about that shot last night? In the Duke/Carolina Game? Yes, you know you were watching! Admit it was good whether you have hard feelings over it or am still hyped. Truth is, it was an awesome shot.
So recap: Duke down 12 points in the last 2 minutes. Duke comes back, making threes and free throws. Kelly hits a two. Keller scores for Duke. And then there is that Austin Rivers Boy... standing above the 3 point circle, dribbling from 14 seconds to 5 seconds. Releasing the ball and hitting the 3 pointer that wins the game. Needless to say, I was screaming jumping out of my chair. March will have one awesome basketball game in store!

Today, I got an awesome gift. Photoshop CS5. How excited was I? Way too excited. I have been playing and watching videos on it all night. Some of you know, I work in a wonderful photo studio downtown, Celestial Expressions Photography and Design. I love what I get to do there. Tonight I learned how to lighten and make eyes pop. So simple and I always thought it took so much more work. Hopefully I will share a photo with you when I feel more confident.

So, I need some prayers. Tonight is the eve of when I find out if I made it to the final round of the Coca Cola Scholarship. It would make a significant impact on my education if I was given the opportunity to go to Atlanta to interview for $20,000. As I continue to say, I believe what is meant to be, will be. In addition, I know that if things don't work out, I will still be going to college and there will be other scholarships. I lay this all in gods hands as I go to sleep tonight. He never fails. <3

xoxo,
Brittany

Craftily Dodging Cones

So, I guess you could say this was a "normal" day. At the same time, things happened; life went on.

Cones- My poor baby! She is so exhausted and you can see the stress in her puppy face. They say she has to wear this thing for four days... uhm, probably won't happen. She whines like a little baby. She also cannot play for four days... We will see how long that lasts.

Soccer also kicked up. Of course, packing this morning, I forgot why I had flip-flops in my gym bag. Well, once I changed, I realized they were for me to wear driving. Instead, I rocked some riding boots. Pretty Cute Right? Ha. It was refreshing to take a 30 minute run and get some touches on the ball. My touch is a little rusty to say the least.

When I came home, I couldn't be still. So, I went upstairs and look at these adorable little things!

One is stretchy fabric (purple) which was easier to make and a cleaner cut. The other (cheetah print) was not stretchy, had a rustic, stringy look, and took a little longer.

In 15 days, (I know, starting the count down early), I may possibly hear back about the Coca Cola Scholarship, which is for up to $20,000. If I make it to the next round, I would be invited to Atlanta in April for an all expense paid four day trip. Say a little prayer for that. $20,000 could make a huge difference!

Well, That's enough for tonight.

Sweet Dreams,
Brittany