Time flies. It’s the time for Spring Clearance Season, which means you can clear out your old stuff and get the new stuff from big sales. This is one of the reasons I’m excited to welcome spring season.

Last weekend, my friend and I went to a big sale in Ladue. This big sale was inside a private school. Most of the stuff is donated from students’ parents, and money will be raised for the school. This annual spring clearance event started at 7:30am, but believe it or not, you have to be there around 6 am if you want to get good stuff.  My friend and I arrived there around 6:30am, but there were over 200 people in the line already. Can you imagine it? Although we need to sacrifice our sleep time, it’s worthwhile to get there early because there are many high items and most of the items are under 3 dollars. For example, I got a pair of Ann Taylor pants for 2 dollars, and it looks so pretty. Moreover, I also found a brand new Fontbonne pack of playing cards for 50 cents.

On the same day, we drove to West County because there was a book sale in the parking lot of West County Center, which is the largest book sale in the Midwest area. The book sale was so huge that my friend and I couldn’t find each other. Actually, we planned to have a quick shop for this big sale, because we already had a big sale in the morning; however, there were too many good books in this big sale, so we spent 3 hours there. All the books there are so useful, and most of them are just one buck. I got 9 cookbooks for $10. Isn’t that a good deal? I also got some inspirational books and health-related books. It only cost me $14 for 20 books. I love reading, and I believe all the books I got will be useful for me. I am so happy that there is a spring clearance season in the United States, which is very beneficial for students, at least for me.

I also did some clearing out in my house, of course, and I’m going to donate items to needy people.

Have you joined the spring clear or clear out your house? If you haven’t, you still have time. Good luck for your spring clearance season. Hoping you will have fun for this spring clearance season.

My one year anniversary of independence is quickly approaching.

Last year, on July 1st, 2012, I loaded up my car (and a few others) and bounded down I-70 as quickly as I could. Speed limits were not holding me back and neither was the constant ringing of my phone from family members who didn’t get to say their final goodbyes. As much as I denied it to those who asked, I was leaving for many more reasons other than to start school. My friends, and especially my family, knew I wasn’t coming back.

(It sounds melodramatic, but for those of you who have kept up with the blog, you know this isn’t the case.)

Since July, I’ve been lonely and uncomfortable in my own skin more times than I’d like to admit, but that’s because I have been challenging my typical ways of thinking and trying new things, and sometimes found myself faced with situations I never thought I’d encounter. Whether these situations were full of joy and laughter, or left me weeping, they ultimately helped me discover myself.

Here are some of the  lessons I’ve learned this far:

1- I have a voice that deserves to be heard (and so do you). Anyone who makes me question my right to have an opinion, doesn’t have a place in my life. While I’m not confrontational or anywhere near the aggressive end of the personality spectrum, I’ve found more effective ways for me to express my emotions, voice my thoughts, and de-stress. This blog is the perfect example. Some can’t handle my honesty, and that’s okay. They’ll come around, or they won’t. But for the first time ever, I’m comfortable (not scared) to say what needs to be said, and that’s liberating.

2- It’s important to play up your strengths AND accept your weaknesses. And as a single girl, living alone in the city, it’s especially important.

For me, I can’t solve even the smallest of car issues. When I first started driving, I dated a mechanic who took care of all my car problems. He was nice enough that even after our breakup, he didn’t mind keeping up his role as Mr. Fix-It. However, moving over 60 minutes away and dating new people, he no longer offered any solutions.

When winter hit, I, legitimately, didn’t think I would survive. My dingy cavalier couldn’t handle the frigid temperatures and my freshly manicured nails weren’t about to pop the hood to diagnose any problems. Luckily, no matter the problem, my car was able to make the short trip to the neighboring mechanic service. It was in their lobby that I realized I COULD survive; it was all about working my strengths. I smiled kindly at the man behind the counter, explained what my issue was, and asked for help. I’ve been in their lobby three times since the icy days of January, and have yet to spend a dime. I may not be a pro at fixing cars, but I can be quite charming… And that gets my car fixed.

3- People mirror how you treat yourself. This is probably the hardest lesson I have had to learn, but as the oldest sibling and a bit of a workaholic, I often prioritize my needs (and wants) at the bottom of the list. When I notice that this is where I fall on someone else’s priority list, it’s heartbreaking, but when I devalue my needs and wants, how can I expect anyone to else to think they’re valuable? Like the old saying goes, “we accept the love we think we deserve.”

This lesson is a work-in-progress, but I’ve acknowledged it, and hey, that counts for something.

4- People also fail (sometimes on a daily basis), so it is important to trust yourself. When people don’t do their jobs, you are your only ally.  It doesn’t matter what regulations or codes of ethics are put into place, people still fail to do their jobs. For me, my life would’ve been (and be) a lot easier if one of my teachers did what they were supposed to do as mandated hotline reporters. All the signs they needed to see were clear, but for some reason (a reason I’ll never know), nobody ever acknowledged them. In fact, a large part of my family works as educators, and they failed to step in, also.  I’m not placing blame; I’m just noticing that people don’t do what they’re supposed to do. I’m over it now because I (me, myself, a singular noun) picked up the pieces and did what I had to do. But it still sucks knowing that people you thought highly of, aren’t as great as they could be. And I know from my education and social work courses that these statements are valid (see Lesson #1: I have a voice that deserves to be heard).

As a girl who never thought the word independent would be used to describe her, I’ve failed (yes, I recognize that I’m not perfect) to realize how many things I’ve done by myself before I only had myself to rely upon.

5- I don’t need people to understand my choices. I like it when people are supportive and accepting, but I know I can’t please everyone. I also know that NEED and WANT are two different words. So while I might want someone to understand why I did something, I don’t need them to. That being said, when someone doesn’t understand my choices, it shouldn’t steer my direction. People don’t understand what they don’t know. And, after all, it’s MY life; I’m going to be the one dealing with the consequences- good or bad- of the decision. And considering how other people have made decisions that have made my life suck,  I try not to do things that impact others in negative ways.

I’m still learning how to say no, how to not let stress tie my intestines into knots (literally), and how to embrace the moment. Even with these lessons to learn, I’m proud of what I HAVE learned.

This year, on July 1st, 2013, I will pack up my car again and move further into the city. But this time, I’ll follow the speed limit and answer my phone; I’m not running from anything anymore.

Happy one year anniversary to me! I did it.

I love it when the sun is shining, faces are smiling, and good vibes are all around.

Here are some events/activities that happened recently that fulfilled those requirements:

I explored Creve Coeur Park with these lovely people (Iris, Carlos, Ben, and Bryar who isn't pictured).

Fontbonne Current Students and Alumni got together to volunteer at City Seeds Urban Farm with Gateway Greening.

I got to visit Grant's Farm for the first time with a group of Students and Residence Hall Association.

We even got to feed baby goats at Grant's Farm!

Enjoying a spur of the moment picnic at Oak Knoll Park!

Having some picture-taking fun in Medaille Meadow on campus.

Peace, Love, & Beautiful Weather.

I’m done. I have a calc test in the morning, but I can’t bring myself to study for it anymore. Yes, at about the spring break mark I start losing motivation pretty fast. The weather turns! I start running again! Who in their right mind would want to be working on applications of derivatives at such a magical time of the year? And anyway, if the turn of the season isn’t enough of a distraction, I have other things on my mind, as per usual, like the looming question of, “What am I going to do this summer?”

I remember fondly the night over winter break that I threatened to change majors once and for all. My father told me something about getting a job over the summer at a hospital (ugh) to up my shot at a dietetics internship, when I stubbornly announced, “Well, I’m thinking about changing majors, sooo…” (“So that’s not going to happen”, in other words.) And then, quite seriously, maybe three days after I made the Big Change, daddy told me that I needed to get a biology internship in a lab this summer. So I began the dreaded task of filling out online applications (does anybody else hate those things? I always find them so ambiguous.) to a couple of really awesome places that I figured I didn’t have much a shot with. Yes, my dad was convinced I had just as good of a chance at getting a spot at the Danforth Center’s internship as all of those other kids who probably have known all their lives they were destined to be scientists. So I applied. I kept looking around for more opportunities, and excitedly applied for a chemistry internship at Sigma-Aldrich as well.

The other day as I was happily (??) doing my calculus, my other best friend Elizabeth (who claims to be a blogger, but whatever) came in and told me about the interview process she underwent for a computer science internship at Sigma. That’s when it hit me: if I get lucky enough to interview there, it’s going to be hard. They’re not going to ask me to talk about a deadline I had to meet, or what my weakest personality trait is (in addition to hating online job applications, I also hate those types of interview questions as well. I suck at them.). They’re going to ask me super technical questions that may require a calculator. And scratch paper. And help from the Chemistry Gods; namely, Zeus, the dog who wrote my all-time favorite book, “Organic Chemistry”:

Don't let the human in the photo fool you.

I’m scared. I heard back from the Danforth Center several weeks ago about my status in the application process, but nothing from Sigma. Do I have a shot at it? Now that I’m finally starting to feel at home in St. Louis, I want to spend the summer here, as I think it would do wonders for my personal growth. At other times, I feel like it may be nice to lifeguard again. I like being outrageously tan. But living here, on my own…it would push me out of my comfort zone to a new degree, as I ‘d have plenty of time to explore and have fun and do the things I don’t have time to do during the school year (or feel too guilty to do).

I wish I had answers to what was going to happen! But until then, I wait, with my fingers crossed that it all works out for the best. I have a feeling that whatever happens will in fact be what’s best for me. I may not see it at first, but it will be (this is pretty much the story of my life this semester, no?).

Hang in there everyone! You can do it!

-Carly

“Soft” by Washed Out

Good afternoon!

I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing weekend. One of my favorite things to do is spending time with family. During my childhood, my uncle was always taking all of us out for fun. What I mean by “us” is our group which includes me, my twin sister Mary, our brother Anthony, and our cousins, Lena, Amy, and Long. It was always the six of us with our dear uncle, Loi. Things changed dramatically for us in the past 5 or more years. Last night was one event that brought us all together again.

Now, we all live in St. Louis, but Long and his family moved to Illinois a few years ago. Every now and then, he would drive back to visit us. I guess you could say we all became a little distant, but when chances come we hang out like we used to.

Back to the point! Yesterday, Mary and I went to work and didn’t plan on doing anything special afterward. Long called me and asked if we were still barbecuing (I was really happy to hear from him because it’s been a long time). I asked surprisingly, “We’re doing it today?!” Long said, “Yeah, that’s what Uncle was telling me.” Man, I was pretty excited! I told Mary as well, so we were anxious to finish with work as soon as we could. Unfortunately, we were a little busy so instead of getting off right at 4:30pm, we had to stay until about 6:00pm because we still had customers. Then we headed home to pick up our baby brother, Avin, to come with us (he’s our half-brother from mom and her boyfriend). Mom was cooking some things for us to bring over so we waited until she was done.

We finally arrived to Uncle’s house before 7:00pm! Long waited as patiently as he could. Ha ha. He also brought his girlfriend, Briana, her daughter Journey, and his friend Sebastian. Yes, Briana is only 17 and Journey is about 4 months old, but they’re both really sweet. Also, Uncle’s girlfriend’s sisters were there: Selena, Tracey, and their cousin, Nga. Nice group, eh? And of course, Uncle was busy barbecuing. It was awesome.

After all was done, we sat in the living room and ate. Uncle made three different types of barbecue, spaghetti, and bought a container of mustard potato salad. It was so delicious! Even before then, we all ate my mom’s homemade Vietnamese “crepes”. I honestly don’t know what we would name it in English, but that’s that.

As most of us were done eating except Uncle, my boyfriend Michael also came. After Uncle was done eating, we went downstairs for karaoke! And talk about great singing but also hilarious moments. We sang all night until about midnight! Then we all took some food home because Uncle said he can’t finish it all.

I know that was a looooong blog, but just wanted to express my family memories. Hopefully we’re going to do something again today!

Have an awesome day, everyone.

I don’t have pictures from Fontbonne’s Environmental Fair yet, but to tide you over until I do – here’s some from the Forest Park Earth Day Festival I went to on Sunday!!

STL BikeWorks! Where we bought some of the Environmental Club bikes.

Free sample of eco-friendly, toxin-free, nail polish!

You know you want some alpaca socks.

Love me some upcycled art!

Petting a puppy in the Peace Garden!

Electric car display!

Sorting trash/recycling/compost!

Veggies!

Overview of the Fair tents, on the Muny grounds of Forest Park!

I had a great time at the festival this year, and it’s definitely something to check out if you can! But no worries if you missed it, because Forest Park is always beautiful and you can celebrate Earth Day EVERY DAY.

Here at Fontbonne, we have a “Fontbonne Day” devoted to service. It’s a day where classes are cancelled and students have the opportunity to volunteer for numerous community service activities. I did not get involved with “Fontbonne Day” last year, but I was quick to register for a activity this year and volunteer last Friday.

The day began early for me (8 am) with coffee and a quest speaker. After about an hour each group broke off and went to their volunteer site. There was everything from gardening, cleaning, preparing for events, and washing dogs. I volunteered for something near and dear to my heart: animals. My group went to Open Door Animal Sanctuary in House Springs, MO. It is a no kill shelter that is the home or temporary home of more than 300 cats and 100 dogs.

While at Open Door, I loved and comforted the new-born kittens, as well as groomed some of the older cats in their “Cat Heaven”. All the cats were really inviting, frequently brushing up against my leg or meowing for attention. The dogs were housed in kennels, and we had the opportunity to give them their exercise and take them for a walk. Although it was more of a glamorous volunteer opportunity, I still felt good giving attention and love to the animals that need it most.

After visiting Open Door, I think I’m going to go back a few times this summer to volunteer and donate. They are in need of food and other supplies for the animals. I might even make a cat blanket or two! I will definitely be participating in Fontbonne day again next year. A day devoted to service is truly a good day!

Thanks for reading..

This week was the best week I had all year. My birthday was on Thursday and all I wanted was to have dinner with my family. Not only did they travel down to St. Louis but all my friends joined as well. Thursday night was the most fun I have had in a long time. So thank you to all those who came out to celebrate with me and my friend NickiJ, whose birthday was also on Thursday. I cant believe it has come and gone already. The biggest surprise I had was two of my team mates got a poster and had people around campus sign their names and write some birthday wishes on it. It was nice to see what people wrote. Best gift of the night.

This Wednesday (April 17), I’m glad I joined a very meaningful event in the Lewis room, of the Jack C. Taylor Library at Fontbonne.  “Professional Branding and Marketing Presentation” was a special event to teach people who to market their business by social media.

Before we listened to the presentation by our speaker, Michelle Nelson, we had a “Networking Happy Hour,” which means all participants got some food and chatted with each other to build their personal network. For me, it’s also called a “social hour.” When I arrived at Lewis room, the first person I met was our speaker, Michelle Nelson. She was very nice to me. I feel so honored that the first person I met is our professional speaker who has been working for over twenties years as a marketing specialist. She spent some time to chat with me about my school life and my future career. Then, we exchanged our Facebook information with each other, of course, she’s a marketing person. After talking with Michelle, I got some chances to talk with our excellent alumni, faculty, and students. I really enjoyed this happy hour, since I made many new friends there, and ate some delicious food, of course.

After finishing the networking happy hour, everyone paid attention to the marketing presentation by our speaker, Michelle. She taught us how to use our social media, especially Facebook and pinterest, to market business. Moreover, she also told us how her clients have been successful to build up their business by social media. I really liked this presentation, since this information is very useful.

There are many useful resources that Fontbonne offers to alumni, faculty, and students, such as this event. I really need to say thank you to the Student Alumni Association for inviting Michelle to come to our school to give us a very useful presentation.

Good afternoon!

I figured I should post a blog since I’ve been slacking off..I apologize for that!

I hope everyone had a good weekend. If you ask me, I think it was in-between. First, everyone know Friday, April 12, was Fontbonne Service Day, right? Of course you do. And my accomplishment for that day was being the team captain for my group! That was a huge step for me.

My group went to the Shalom House for our service site. Shalom House is a shelter for homeless women who needs help to rebuild their lives. It’s a really great place because the women receive services and support for as long as they need until they’re able to live on their own, and they don’t have to pay anything until then. Classes are also provided for them, such as communications and skills. Rebecca Tucker was our volunteer coordinator and we communicated really well.

Our duties were to prepare and cook for our women. Our menu included spaghetti, garlic bread, corn, fruit salad, lemonade, brownies and hummingbird muffins for dessert. Yummm. The women really enjoyed it! Our group did an amazing job together. Our next assignment was helping Janette with sorting out things in their sanctuary area. There were so many new/old things in there! From what I remember, there were clothes, shoes, bags/purses, etc. Even boxes of Oreo cookies! Anthony Hall and Erica Garcia were definitely busy taking those away. They did great!

It was definitely a great service day. Rebecca really, really, really appreciated us, and I was so happy to hear that. I may come back next year!

Friday was also one of my cousins’ birthday. She’s 16 now! Man, the years really flew by. It was a pretty fun night with family, karaoke, Vietnamese pancakes (banh xeo) and a random game! I guess we could call it Name that Name in ABC order. Something like that.

Saturday was just work day. The usual. Then Sunday, I also went to work but afterwards, my sister and I went to Fontbonne to pick up friends to go for some Ted Drewes! Our fellow friends were Sem, Carlos, Erica, and Ahmed. If I was able to pick them up earlier, Izzy could’ve made it too. There’s always next time!

So yeah, that’s all I wanted to say about my recent weekend. Be safe, and take care!