My New TrackIf Obsession

I recently stumbled across a website that has quickly become one of my new favorite things. It's called TrackIf, and it's absolutely magical. If you ever shop online, you really need to check out this website. Basically, it tracks the price of any item you want and then sends you an email when the price drops or increases.
TrackIf has tons of different ads for almost every store, like Target, Walmart, Kohl's, etc., that you can browse through to find items to track, or you can just copy and paste the URL from any item you find on any site and it'll track it for you. Not only does it notify you when the price on an item changes, but it also shows a graph of the recent price fluctuation of an item so you can see if there is any pattern and predict the next time it will go on sale. And it's completely free, which makes it even better.
TrackIf is seriously one of the coolest and most helpful websites I have found. I'm really looking forward to seeing how handy it comes in with Christmas shopping this year, and I definitely encourage you to do the same.

My Ranking of Every "High School Musical" Song

We have been on quite the High School Musical kick in our apartment lately, which is clearly never a bad thing. Last night, we decided to watch High School Musical 3, prompting me to look up articles on BuzzFeed about the trilogy. I stumbled across one titled A Definitive Ranking Of Every “High School Musical” Song Number. It was the most wrong thing I have ever seen. For starters, whoever wrote the article seemed to have a very bad attitude toward all of the High School Musical movies, insulting a good number of the songs. People who don't like High School Musical are what's wrong with world. Also, everyone knows that the third film has the best music, by far. On the aforementioned list, only one song from the final movie made it to the top ten. To make things worse, that song was "I Want It All". My personal favorite, "High School Musical", was number twenty-two out of thirty. I think it is a disgrace to put the final song of the final movie so far down on the list. After reading that abomination of a list, I decided I would make my own. I completely left out the graduation mix of "We're All In This Together" because it is barely even its own song, it's more of a background track. So, here's MY ranking of every "High School Musical" song:

1. High School Musical
2. Everyday
3. Breaking Free
4. I Just Wanna Be with You
5. Can I Have This Dance?
6. You Are The Music In Me
7. Now or Never
8. I Want It All
9. Right Here, Right Now
10. Scream
11. Bet On It
12. The Boys Are Back
13. What Time Is It?
14. Start Of Something New
15. What I've Been Looking For (Reprise)
16. All For One
17. A Night To Remember
18. We’re All In This Together
19. What I’ve Been Looking For
20. Gotta Go My Own Way
21. You Are The Music In Me (Reprise)
22. Just Walk Away
23. Get'cha Head In the Game
24. Work This Out
25. I Don’t Dance
26. Fabulous
27. When There Was Me and You
28. Stick To The Status Quo
29. Bop To The Top

Human Trafficking PSA

I recently had to do a video project for class that is being considered for submission in the Intercollegiate National Religious Broadcasters competition. One of the categories we could choose from for our video was a PSA, and based on being in an honors seminar on human trafficking this semester, I chose to make a video promoting an on-campus outreach group.

If you'd like to watch my video, you can follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtQFLZy4jHU

Hot Chocolate and a Heart-to-Heart

I have consumed way too much hot chocolate this week. Mostly because I love it, but also because I think hot chocolate has the power to make people happy (or I could be crazy, but that's another story).

Our apartment has been rather emotional the past few weeks. One of my closest friends has been a little off lately, and I could tell she wasn't having the best day today, so after our last class I suggested we make some hot chocolate and have a nice discussion. And I honestly think the hot chocolate helped.

The most awkward part of our talk was before it even started. We were making our hot chocolate, and kind of setting up the discussion, when one of our apartment mates walked in with a guy and just stood in the living room. They're always awkward when they come in, but it was even more awkward because nobody wants to have any sort of emotional discussion when people you barely know are staring at you. Thankfully, they left after a few minutes and we were able to continue our discussion.

I'm normally extremely awkward when it comes to comforting people and dealing with their feelings, so I think the hot chocolate was helpful because anytime I didn't know how to respond, I could just casually take a sip of it while I thought about what to say. So the hot chocolate was like my awkward-buffer. But I also think it helped to comfort my friend. I mean, how can you be sad when you're drinking hot chocolate, especially when it's in a Disney mug?

Through our talk, we were able to establish and try to work through a lot of the problems she's facing. I think it's always hard to start conversations like that, especially when you're the one who's going through stuff and you may not necessarily want to talk about it. But I think those conversations are extremely important to have, because they help us to vent and try to come up with solutions, while also bringing us closer to our friends. Plus, hot chocolate definitely helps.

A Quote-Inspired Rainy Afternoon

Rainy fall afternoons hold a special place in my heart. I always just feel so relaxed when I can sit inside with the window open, feel the crisp fall air flowing in, and listen to the sound of a light drizzle. Today was exactly that.
Since it was one of our few completely free evenings, one of my friends and I decided we would finally work on the quote wall we wanted for our living room. So we made some hot chocolate and busted out the sharpies, neon note cards, and endless list of Pinterest quotes. Not only did we feel accomplished about decorating part of our prison-resembling living room, but it was a nice break from all the homework and projects we've had lately. Plus, now we'll have 48 little nuggets of inspiration to look at whenever we're feeling stressed.

Here's the list of quotes we used:

1. We need to remember what’s important in life… Friends, waffles, and work. Or waffles, friends, work… It doesn’t matter. But work is third. – Leslie Knope
2. The one thing that you have that nobody else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision. So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only you can.
3. You don’t have to have it all figured out to move forward.
4. If you’re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello. – Paulo Coehlo
5. Ask yourself if what you’re doing today is getting you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.
6. The secret of being happy is accepting where you are in life and making the most out of everyday.
7. Whatever you are, be a good one
8. Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever – Walt Disney
9. All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them – Walt Disney
10. Do what you love, work as hard as you can, and make people happy. – Ed Sheeran
11. Be nice to everyone, always smile, and appreciate things because it could all be gone tomorrow – Ed Sheeran
12. The things you are passionate about are not random, they are your calling – Fabienne Fredrickson
13. Sometimes you have to just let go and see what happens
14. Sometimes life is about risking everything for a dream no once can see but you
15. Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory. – Dr. Suess
16. Never apologize for being sensitive or emotional. It’s a sign that you have a big heart, and that you aren’t afraid to let others see it. Showing your emotions is a sign of strength. – Brigette Nicole
17. There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind. – C.S. Lewis
18. Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.
19. Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it – Bill Cosby
20. Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you
21. Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will
22. Anything that gets your blood racing is probably worth doing. – Hunter S. Thompson
23. If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough
24. One of the happiest moments in life is when you find the courage to let go of what you can’t change
25. Every morning you have two choices: continue to sleep with your dreams, or wake up and chase them.
26. It’s better to know and be disappointed than to never know and always wonder
27. Remember why you started
28. Take every chance you get in life, because some things only happen once
29. Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come.
30. The sign of a beautiful person is that they always see beauty in others
31. Take time to do what makes your soul happy
32. Be who you are, not who the world wants you want to be
33. Don’t let someone who has done nothing tell you how to do anything.
34. I don't know the key to success but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. - Bill Cosby
35. As you climb the ladder of success, check occasionally to make sure it is leaning against the right wall.
36. Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands- and then eat just one of those pieces.
37. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.
38. Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what women are made of; the heck with sugar and spice. - Bethany Hamilton
39. Life is like a trampoline; if you want to reach the top, you have to experience hitting the bottom.
40. I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do - Helen Keller
41. Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." - Mary Anne Radmacher
42. Friends are like Peanut Butter... it sticks to the roof of your mouth, like a friend sticks to you... and it feels as if they never go away!
43. Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
44. Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting - Peter Pan
45. Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself - Leo Tolstoy
46. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma but never let him be the period - Harold Chadwick
47. Promise me you'll always remember; You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Christopher Robin to Pooh
48. When I left that little bird with its broken leg to die – Ed Sheeran (This one is a hidden little joke, because I always talk about how it's my favorite Ed Sheeran lyric taken completely out of context. I just want to see how long it takes people to notice it when they look at our quote wall)

I'm pretty excited about the quote wall because it adds some color to our boring white-walled living area, while also providing several uplifting words of encouragement. The only thing I wouldn't mind changing is my poor handwriting.

Our Obsession With Fear

The recent Ebola outbreak has really gotten me thinking lately. Not about the Ebola virus, or anything health related in general, but rather about how our society reacts to this type of thing. I’m not trying to make light of the situation, as I do understand that it’s a very serious topic. What I am saying is that I think our society as a whole has this problem where it feels the need to fear something.

Whenever there is any type of outbreak, we tend to obsess over it. We automatically assume that every new disease is going to completely destroy the human race, so we freak out. I think that we as a people think that we always have to have something to fear. We like being scared. I mean, why do you think the horror industry is so big? We go see scary movies, we go to haunted houses, we read horror novels - we like fear. It’s almost as if it’s uncomfortable or unsettling if there isn’t anything to fear. We live in this fear-obsessed culture where everyone has a list of phobias, and if you don’t, you’re considered weird or completely emotionless.

We like to jump on the band-wagon and freak out about everything the media tells us to be afraid of, before we even really know what it is. And the weird part is, we’re okay with it. We’re completely accepting of being told we have to fear something, and that, I think, is the real thing we need to be afraid of.

My Favorite Things About Fall

Even though it's an extremely cliche thing to say, fall is one of my favorite times of the year (I still love Christmas-time better).
There are so many great things about fall that I don't understand how it isn't everyone's favorite season. Since it's finally fall, I thought I would make a list of some of the things I love about fall that make it my favorite.

• The sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet
• Drinking hot chocolate (and all the cool mugs I can drink it out of)
• My mom's homemade pumpkin rolls
• Getting to wear my Vans boots 
• Daylight saving time (November 2 this year), even though I always use it as an excuse to stay up later instead of taking advantage of the extra hour of sleep
• The vibrant colors of all the changing leaves
• All of the Halloween movies they play on Disney Channel- especially Hocus Pocus, all of the Halloweentown movies, and Phantom of the Megaplex
• The crisp, fall air
• Pumpkin flavored ice cream
• Creative Halloween costumes, especially ones that are puns
• Getting to comfortably wear sweatshirts and hoodies (I wear them when it's too warm because of how much I enjoy the coziness of them)
• Reese's Cups being shaped like pumpkins
• Thanksgiving and all the great food and family time that comes along with it
• Getting to bake a lot when I'm home
• All the bags of individualized packaged candy being on sale
• Black Friday shopping with my sisters and cousin
• And of course, this fall I'm looking forward to season 5 of The Walking Dead, which premieres on October 12

So there you have it, some of my favorite things about my favorite time of the year.