Life of Sare

No more soccer. No more drums. No more campers temper tantrums! I wrapped up summer camps for the year on Friday and it's bitter sweet! I'm so excited for the extra hour of sleep I get each night and for only having to work 40 hours a week rather than 78! But, I am so sad because I already miss my people!  Summer camp is really something special. It's something more than a job. Those you interact with daily truly become family! The relationships I've developed with my campers this summer were so incredible and the trust I have in my counselors is unreal.  I had the amazing opportunity to lead two amazing groups of counselors this summer, each group so very different than the other- starting in size! Being their lead pushed me to a full new level of growth unlike I've experienced in years past. They taught me so many skills individually as individuals, as groups, and as a total summer experience.  My HCAF African Caribbean counselors made Regis Uni...

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything! And even longer since I’ve posted anything super personal- There is so much you can get out of music. There is an amazing connection you can feel through it. The lyricism and melody speak in a way basic words just cannot, so a lot of times I let the music tell my story. If my current life were a movie, this would be the soundtrack, was the assignment that I just continue. So, here’s my post. It’s short and simple, except not. Because right now my life is messy, complicated, and really confusing. My Life Sounds Like: 1.        Cheers to the Fall -Andra Day 2.        Save Myself -Ed Sheeran 3.        FEEL. -Kendrick Lamar 4.        Details in the Fabric (Feat. James Morrison) – Jason Mraz 5.        A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega -Ashley McBryde ...

It's crazy how 365 days can change a person. 365 days ago I sat on my bed crying. I was so lost. In college, I learned all about making 5 year plans. Every class talked about a 5 year plan. Career plans. Family plans. Personal plans. Have a 5 year plan! Make sure your plan is SMART. Specific, measurable, achieviavble, realistic, timely. I had all that. And it was going to happen before I was 30. I was a SMART Planner. A perfect wife. A fantastic dog mom of 2.... then I wasn't any of that. And soon after I turned 27.  So, I sat on my bed crying, until I was done. And that was it. I was just done being sad. It had been 9 days of tears and I didn't like it. In that moment I realized that for me, personally, happiness was a choice. So, I decided then and there that 27 was going to be the best year yet, and I made myself a list to ensure it would happen. Here are some of them:  3- Attend RiSE 2017 This had been on my bucket list since 2015. RiSE is a floating lant...

Guys, I am used to about 14 views each post. That's it (which is weird, because I post every blog link to my family's Facebook group and there are 40 of us in there... Thanks guys!). I was not expecting that many hits on one post, but I got it, and it has sparked a lot of conversation that I feel to be very productive. I have been so honored by the respect I have been given from those who’s opinions differ from mine, and the dialogue we have been able to have on the matter of race in today's society. Some of the best conversations have come from the, "But why?" question. But why is that offensive? On Facebook I shared this Vox link , so I won't get into that, but I do want to take some time to talk about taking offense. Life is a collection of experience. After one is written into our book, the next experience will be affected because of it. In kindergarten, I had a true Corrina, Corrina experience in class, when someone asked, "Who used all ...

Day 29: Sunday Circle Headed home for Grandma Viv's 88th birthday weekend.  I ate lots of ice cream and no cake, because cake is yuck. Had so much fun catching up with the Fam! Felt so good to be home for a bit! Miss all y'all way too much

Last night my social media feed was filled with photos of friends attending their weekend parties in their Halloween costumes. There were a couple families and friend groups who were the cast of Napoleon Dynamite, a hilarious couple who went as their dogs, Curious George and the man in the Yellow Suite, and even Tess and Emily Tyler (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen from Billboard Dad). People are so creative when it comes to Halloween costumes! I am so not! But then I saw a couple’s costume I was so unbelievable uncomfortable with. alloween It was on Snapchat. Two people, one had painted himself brown to depict a character, a “hero” from a TV show we all watched in high school. Not just face painted, but arms, neck, chest. Then they added the chains. This, to that couple was a costume, but this also has a name, and that name is “blackface”. Minstrel shows started in the mid to late 19 th century, where white actors would paint their face to depict blacks on stage. The acto...

Day 27: Passion Oh, high school. When I felt like I could make a difference in others’ lives by being kind and doing the right thing. This year of high school, I started the "Adopt a Freshman" project where we assigned seniors to have freshman buddies and the upper classman just checked in on the underclassmen. We were there for each other. I also was the chairman for a hair donation dive that year. I partnered with a bunch of salons and stylists, got girls and one boy to agree to grow their hair out all year, then at the end of the year we had a big day where everyone got a new hair style, and we donated 77 feet of hair to our foundation of choice. In both those projects, I felt like I made a difference. Those projects are still what drive me. How can I help someone else get back on their feet? How can I help them feel better? This drives me because I know how much it helps, because there have been times where I have needed people to do the same for me.  Also,...

Day 26: Universal Miraculous

Day 24: Capture This Moment

Day 22: Sunday Circle

Day 20: Laughter Medicine These two are my everything medicine, but the have me laughing all the time. We love the song " Laugh So You Don't Cry " by Andy Davis, and while we do also cry, I am so eternally grateful for these siblings and my amazing family, who always has my back, and helps me to laugh so I don't cry, and laugh until I cry, and laugh while I am crying.

Day19: Earth Love Not long ago I was asked what my place of refuge is. I have a few, but the trails just outside my valley are the place I take my soul to recharge. It feels so good to be back home with this sweet girl. NOTE: This is another time travel photo. Taken October 27.

Day 18: The Grief Shift Everyone grieves differently.  I am so blessed to be in such an amazing family that is so close. Tonight we sent 11 balloons to Heaven from 11 different towns for Dillon's 11th birthday.  Losing a cousin, then a nephew, than a pregnancy of my own, I have really been so grateful for my family and the strength they give me every day.  NOTE: I am posting these late, so this picture is actually from October 26, and I am a time traveler.

Day: 16 Conscious Gratitude

Day 15: Wave of Light

Day 8: Sunday Circle

Day 7: For the First Time

Day 6: Bella Luna Today was about the moon, but I was too busy releasing the stars. Tonight was an absolute dream that I will for sure post about later, but until then... 

Day 4: Belonging I was so excited to tell my BYF friends I was pregnant. I found out about my miscarriage right before a shift and just texted telling them I couldn't come in. I didn't tell them why. I was heart broken, but above that, I didn't fit! I was with this group of mother's (yeah, most of them were really bad at it and learning from me to become better), and my body wouldn't allow me to become one. I didn't belong anymore.   In the two years of our marriage, things changed. I became less and less confident in myself, and began to stay in a lot more. I've talked about that a bit over the last month, but for those who knew me in college, the idea if me sitting on the couch for even an hour would be baffling! And, yet, I would be home for days over summer break, just sitting on the couch. Talking to NO ONE!  Salt Lake has brought a lot of good to me. The Debra Bonner Unity Gospel Choir is one of them. I started going just because I was s...

Day 3: Meaningful Mantra I have a million mantras and sayings. But there are 2 that I am currently living by... My daily morning mantra: Life mantra: