Apologies

Hi everyone!

I'm back after a mini-hiatus, you could say. I've been swamped with homework, work and just life in general for the past week and a half. I can honestly say, this has been the first time I have been able to sit down on my bed and spend some quality time with my laptop. However, I have an 8 AM tomorrow morning so I definitely should not be staying up too late tonight, haha.

Is anyone else freaking out that this semester is almost coming to an end? I am losing it. The fact that I will no longer be a freshman which also means I won't be off the hook for being immature scares me... Also, has anyone signed up for summer classes as well? I did! I'll be on campus over Summer Session I, so if you spot me, come be my friend. I don't know what I'm getting myself into, but I know it'll pay off in the end and I won't have to worry myself over the fact that I have too much on my plate next semester (Fall 2016).

Talking about too much on my plate, a lot of life has been happening and a lot of change has been taking place and just as finals are starting to sink in and professors are throwing those last exams at me, I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I am just in such a weird place in my life right now. I kind of feel like I'm not getting the chance at having an enriching life. My days don't feel full—I feel like I'm living systematically and I'm just really not satisfied as to how everything is playing out. So, I don't know how to get out of this rut I'm in, but I sure hope it passes by quickly! In the mean time, I'll just keep on schooling, working, and gym-ming, haha.

Anyway... I just got the SBCC e-mail saying that Fall 2016 registration is coming up! Why is everything happening so fast?! I seriously feel like Fall 2015 registration was just yesterday. I'll probably start a cliché countdown once I feel the time is right. I think I also did a countdown for Fall 2015 semester. Obviously, I haven't changed much.

Well, I'll try to lay back on the mini-hiatuses and therefore lay back on the "what has Cheyanne been doing with her life for the past 1X days" blog posts! — P.S. Sorry for the lack of photos in this post. I promise this will be the only time it happens!

See you next post,

Chey
Currently listening to Sleeping in My T-Shirt by Zak Waters

TB III: Finding the Right Shoe

It's Sunday evening at 8:43 PM and I'm back with a thought bubble post. Here's my reflection for this week:

We've all heard of the saying "if the shoe fits", haven't we?

Photoshoot w/ Friend

Basically referencing the classic Cinderella story, I've been having a bit of a hard time finding what fits for me. But after this semester, my passion for learning has just grown a lot more and I feel like I can finally relate to all of the other college students attending SBCC. It's been a really difficult journey and there's still a lot that I need to learn.

Anyway, with class registration coming up underway, I am so stressed out about if I am going to be taking enough classes or if I will graduate on time. I mean I'm staying in touch with my counselor so I should be doing fine, but I'm just so scared of not getting into the class I need or not doing so well in an essential class. I didn't feel the weight of school on my shoulders until we were running close to the end of this semester and I just want to pull my hair out! I'm doing that thing where I start second guessing my academic decisions and it's a place where I really do not want to be.

Alright, enough of that stressful paragraph. The bright side of things is that after this semester, I've only got one more year of SBCC left! Not that SBCC is an awful school, but I'll finally have the chance to explore my world a little more. Though frightening, I accept what the "real world" has to offer. I think of all of the possibilities that I have and all of the things I could do and the opportunities are endless, really. There are so many intelligent people in this world who can help me improve who I am and I truly believe that I realized that while meeting some of the most wonderful professors here at CC. Can you believe that I really only have two semesters left here? The time is racing by so quickly and there are still so many things that I want to do.

My life is as complicated as my palm.

I need to improve on my photography, continue practicing singing and I want to learn how to play piano. Dear goodness, I have so much that I need to learn, but how am I even going to have time?! Ah! So much to do, so much to see... The clock is ticking!

I did a photoshoot of my friend during the beginning of Spring Break and it was honestly the most fun I have had in a while. Walking around a deserted Isla Vista was so peaceful and we got some really awesome photos. There was a theme of "change" that I tried to base the photoshoot around. I explained to her, "How much have you changed?" Being such an open-ended question, I narrowed it down to how much she's changed from an elementary school student to a college student. I think it's incredible how we become so different with time... Doing this shoot really impacted the way that I saw myself in high school and how I see myself now. I'm not sure what it is that high school does to someone, but I was so insecure and unconfident when I was 15-years-old. All 18-year-old me wants to do is hug the 15-year-old me.

So... We are all on the path of finding the right shoe and Lord knows it's going to be one heck of a ride, but we'll all get there someday. Despite the obstacles, you will find the right shoe and you'll show that thing off! Believe it and achieve it. :)

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Where Does the Time Go by A Great Big World

"I Almost Cried"

My Greatest Achievement

This past weekend rained quite a little bit, didn't it?! I loved it, BUT I did wish that there was a little bit more of a pour... Mother Nature, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the sprinkles you sent down. Anyway, weekend recap:

Friday, I went to school as usual and guess what I saw? Emily! I saw your snapchat geofilter for Spring Preview. If you guys haven't heard of Spring Preview, it's basically just showing a group of people around the SBCC Campus and discussing the little details of SBCC. Ah... I remember the days of me walking around SBCC. To be honest, I've barely just picked up the overall layout of the college... and I still get confused between which is East Campus and West Campus. Don't judge me. Anyway, I attended my communications class in the morning and then accounting later on.

I forgot to mention that the metal from my windshield wipers popped out from the frames and I almost cried. This was on my way to school at 7:20 AM and it was raining slightly harder than it was in Goleta. Thank goodness I didn't cry because it was already hard enough to see clearly. After school, I instantly drove to this little auto gear shop in Old Town Goleta and ended up getting wiper replacements. The guy who worked there was really nice and offered to replace the wipers for me and gladly, I said sure thing, why not? Afterwards, as I was driving home, Celebration started to play. I'm pretty sure God was watching over me and saw me stressing out over my life haha. I was so happy, I smiled and sang along to that because your girl just got herself some new wipers.

Then this past week, I worked a little more than I usually do, but I did hope for more hours at work. I only get around 12 to 16 hours a week and with summer activities coming up, I definitely need to start saving. Well, I actually didn't have to work Friday or Saturday, but I worked for five hours today. You would think working retail isn't all that satisfying, but when you've helped a customer who was stressing out over finding something that they've been looking all over for actually makes me feel more confident as a whole and the feeling pays off in my overall performance.

Anyway, the point of this blog post was the emphasize how much of an adult I am not, but I'm really getting there. I am struggling, but I am trying!

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to Celebration by Kool & The Gang

Home

Welcome back from Spring Break, everybody! I hope you are all well rested and ready to take on real life again... I sure am not.

Chey & Sedona Rock Formations

Anyway, I finally made it home! After we left Flagstaff, AZ, we drove about an hour out to Sedona, AZ which is known for its terracotta red mountainous rocks. When we drove into town, Sedona reminded me of Solvang because it gave off a tourist-y vibe and there were a ton of small mom and pop shops in a fairly small area. My family and I stopped in a tiny plaza area and checked out a couple of shops while my uncle went to the visitor center to find out where we can go! While we were in the shops, we met this shopowner who used to be a history professor at UC Berkeley and she was so kind. She offered us help, background information on all of the items in her store, and made us feel at home. Afterwards, we eventually got into the car and went to the outskirts of town and saw the overview of the mountains. We walked around, touched a lot of rocks, and took a lot of pictures!

Chapel of the Holy Cross (inside)

Following that, we made a quick stop at the gas station, and let me just add... Arizona's gas prices are so low! I saw gas under $2/gallon for the first time that I could remember! It was absolutely amazing haha. Then, we drove to the Chapel of the Holy Cross which is located at the top of a rock formation and is actually built within and atop a rock, if that makes sense.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the outside of the chapel, but the way it was built was interesting! When my mom and grandma and I got out of the car, a volunteer offered us a ride to the top of the hill by golf cart and who could say no? It was my grandma's first time riding on a golf cart, haha.

Smoking Gun Pizza!

Afterwards, we drove down to another cute plaza that had a sort of European feel to it—I just searched all over the internet for the name of this place and it is called the Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. Again, they had so many cute shops, but the thing about Sedona is that it's such an art appreciative town that there are a lot of pieces of art around which makes the town so unique. We walked into a few shops and looked around and then we had lunch at the Oak Creek Brewery & Grill, which by the way, was quality food. I ordered a Smoking Gun pizza which was basically a pesto pizza with assortments of cheese and sundried tomatoes. So yummy and I'm still craving for it today!

When lunch ended, we walked around for a little while to ease our stomachs from the food and then drove back a couple of hours to Laughlin, NV. When we arrived in Laughlin, we stayed at the Aquarius hotel instead of the Avi Resort & Casino. My brother, cousins and I went to the arcade around 10:10 PM and then swam in the pool from around 10:30 PM to 11:15 PM, grabbed dinner at McDonald's, dessert from the hotel's café and bakery, Duet, and brought it up to our room! Once we finished, we cleaned up our things and re-packed our bags to prepare for the long trip back home the following day.

The next morning, we woke up, cleaned up our room a bit, grabbed breakfast at the hotel's breakfast buffet and then we got in our car and we were on our way back to California! I'm not sure how long we were in the car for, but about 20 minutes into the drive, I slept and by the time I knew it, we were in Victorville, CA. My family stopped at my aunt and uncle's house in Corona, CA and we hung out there until 11:30 PM and drove home. So... I finally got home around 2:00 AM on April 3rd, slept at 3:30 AM, woke up at 7:00 AM to get ready for work at 8:00 AM! What a spring break, right?

As much as I enjoy travelling, I must say that I am glad to be home. I have a fairly strong attachment to my room because it's the one place in this world where I can just kick back and relax, basically my happy place. Also... I just really like the comfort of my bed, haha.

See you next post,

Chey

Currently listening to When I'm With You by David Ross