A little bit about education vs. no education.

A friend of mine tweeted that he is not ashamed to have dropped out of college after only four days of attendance because he has accomplished so much since then without a degree and has no debt. It’s something that a lot of young people can identify with because there is so much pressure to go to school and then worry about the money after. But for some people, school isn’t for them, isn’t an option for them, or they just can’t shake the image of paycheck after paycheck being handed over to some loan lender when they haven’t even landed a job in their field of study yet.

College is hard. But so is life.

I’m among those people that will probably never go to college, and I’m trying to be ok with it. It’s hard to be proud of not going to college when all of your friends are graduating and struggling through finals weeks and trying to make friends. It’s hard to relate to them because they think their life is hard, but you think your life is just as hard as or harder than theirs. I was away at college for two semesters (I was pregnant for one of them) and it was hard. I don’t know about how hard it gets after freshman year, but I can imagine that it is. Let’s agree that whether you go to college or not, finding success is hard.

I’m trying to convince myself that not going to school will work for me, and I think so far 95% of me believes it. The other 5% believes that I won’t be as successful (in my case, in graphic design) as someone who went to college to study it.

You can still be educated without an education.

For those of us who have either chosen not to go to college or didn’t have the option, it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn and be just as intelligent as someone who did. It might take a little extra effort on your part to find good sources of information. You might have to seek out someone to have an intelligent conversation about something your passionate about, maybe through a chat room or a blog.

Take advantage of the world around you.

Our generation is lucky to have the world at our fingertips and the ability to reach out to pretty much anyone to learn, grow, and experience. Take advantage of all of the resources out there, and that means social media! If you admire a famous director, give him a stout out on Twitter, because you never know what could happen. If you are so inspired by an up-and-coming calligraphy artist, sign up for her Skillshare class and mention her in an Instagram comment below a picture of your own work.

Be proud of who and what you've become regardless.

Whatever you do, don’t feel sorry that you didn’t get a college education, and do not belittle yourself around those who have. If you have honestly put in effort to make a better life for yourself or have just as much knowledge and experience then you are equals. Your paths have been different, your destinations probably aren’t the same, but if you have reached your own personal goals (or are on the right track, like I am) then you have something to be proud of.

If you really can’t live with yourself any longer because you don’t have that degree that supposedly gives you an occupation, then you should do what you can to go back to school and satisfy that void. I tried it because I thought it would make me better or make me feel better. All it did was make me even more dissatisfied and anxious to jump-start my career. So Iquit. I felt like I knew what I was doing already, and what I didn’t know wasn’t going to be learned through an online classroom full of “students” who didn’t have a clue about art or design.

I'm proud of you!

Everyone is different, and my message to you is to embrace it. If you don’t have a college education and you don’t want one, then I applaud you and wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. (And also ask you for some tips on staying successful!) If you do have a college education… oh my god I applaud you, too. I have no words for the amount of work you must have done to receive your degree. But please, applaud us who haven’t gone to school and are still achieving our dreams. Give us a helping hand when we are struggling with something that you were able to master under the instruction of a professor.

If you opted out of college, what is something that you have struggled with because of it? If you are in college or have graduated, are you glad you stuck with it, or would you have gone a different route if you could? And anyone, please feel free to share your advice for those of us who didn’t go to school!

Thanks for reading- I promise tomorrow’s post won’t be so lengthy!

PS- Thank you to Ben for the inspiration on this subject!

Top 6 Favorite Phone and Chrome Apps

This image was made with one of the apps!

Every time another blogger writes about their favorite apps, programs, or websites I find something new that becomes my favorite too, so I thought I would tell you guys what my favorite ones are! Allyssa Barnes has posted some great lists on her blog that have been such great finds, so if you're looking for some more great dowloads, definitely check over there.

I spend a lot of time on my phone refreshing my social media apps, but there are some other apps that I will never, ever delete from my iPhone. So here they are:

1. VSCO Cam is my favorite picture editing app and if you haven't downloaded it yet, you have no idea what you're missing. I rarely use Instagram filters anymore because the filters and editing options you have with VSCO Cam take my pictures to the next level without another filter. It also has its own little community built into it where you can see the pictures that other people have added to their grid, which is pretty cool. It's fun to see what others can do with their pictures.

2. A Beautiful Mess is a really fun app that I use to add text and little objects to my pictures with. I have even used it to create some quick pictures with text on them to include with blog posts. (Including the picture at the top of this post!) I also tend to use this app when I want to put a white frame around the edge of a vertical or horizontal picture so that I can post it on Instagram without cropping parts of the picture out. I love supporting the ladies over at A Beautiful Mess. I can't wait to see what updates they come out with for this app in the future!

3. One Second Everyday is something I just added to my phone this week and it's already a favorite. Basically you take a video every day and are able to crop it down to one second, and then save it into the app's calendar. Once you have a video for several days, you can export your clips into one video that puts all your seconds into a collection of clips. I only have a few days so far, but once I get a month of clips I want to make my video and see what my month looked like! I'll be sure to share it with you guys!

Those are my favorite iPhone apps, and i believe they're all availible for Android devices, too.

For internet browsing, I've been using Google Chrome for awhile now, and I've found that it's really the only way to go, especially if you use Google already for email, blogging, or document storage. I love having everything so easily accessable. The other thing that I love about Chrome is that I can log into any computer and have access to all of my bookmarks and extensions as if it were the same computer. So my internet browser looks the same on my desktop at work as it does on my laptop at home.

I really love the extensions that you can download to Google Chrome, and right now I have four, just because I don't like things getting too crowded up on the navigation bar. One of them is a gmail extension which refreshes itself often and shows when I have a new email, so I don't have to look at my phone if I'm already on my computer. These are the other three extensions that I use:

1. Pinterest. This extension is the most used one by far. I can go to any website and if I click the Pinterest icon that is up in my browser navigation bar (next to the address bar) it will grab all of the Pinnable images on that page and create a new Pin that goes right to that web address. It makes saving things that I want to Pin that much easier!

2. Bloglovin'. This extension is great because it shows when you have new unread posts in your Bloglovin' feed. When you click on it it opens your bloglivin feed in a new tab so you can read the new posts from your favorite bloggers! If you have a Bloglivin' account, I highly recommend getting this extension. Although, it doesn't do much for my productivity at work when I see an unread post pop up!

3. Evernote Web Clipper. I don't use this one as often as the others, but it's awesome for saving notes for new blog posts and saving articles I want to use a jump-off for a blog post of my own. There are tons of options for writing notes on articles/pages, including highliters, arrows, a type tool, and a drawing tool. It's a really great productivity extension that works great for capturing your thoughts while you're browsing the internet.

So, those are six of my favorite apps/browser extensions. Do you use any of them? Are there any that I might not be using that I need to add to this list? I hope you download at least one of these and love it as much as I do!

Gratitude Journal // 04 and some Bloggy Ideas

I didn’t do a gratitude journal post last week, so I’m back today with a whole bunch of things I’m grateful for! This will include some things that I would have written last Friday, but it was Valentine’s Day and I helped my mom at her flower shop (crazyyy!!).

• I’m grateful for Valentine’s Day because it really helps my mom’s business a lot

• I’m grateful for my creativity because without it Dom would have really gotten no gift for Valentine’s Day. Thanks to creativity I wrote out 20 things I love about him and hid them all around our house for him to find.

• I’m grateful for Julian’s morning screams for me, without which would make me so late to work.

• I’m grateful for whatever tax laws allowed me to get a return that will pay for my car to get fixed (and pay off a credit card!). Fingers crossed for some time next week!!

• I’m grateful for the relatively healthy relationship Dom and I have. In my hometown this week, tragedy struck when an ex-husband tried to break into his ex-wife’s house. I’m glad that Dom and I feel safe around one another, and I hope it always stays that way.

• I’m grateful for Snapchat and Facetime because they allowed me to see my sister while she’s been vacationing in Cancun for the last week.

So, yeah those are some of the things that come to mind when I think about what I’m grateful for. Do you keep a gratitude journal? If you have one on your blog, I would love to see it!

Here are my other gratitude journal posts.

In some other news, I’ve been thinking about some other things I could add to my blog to make it more interesting (I’m talking about content here). I would love to have someone write as a guest here once in a while, so if there is anyone who has a good idea for something that would fit well on my blog, I would love for you to contact me! It’s practically free advertising if you have a blog yourself! I also want to think of a way to really get to know another blogger and make an actual “blogger friend”, so if anyone wants to be my friend that would be so cool! (That sounded like so first grade of me- “will you be my friend?”)

Happy Friday everyone! I’m happy to say that I wrote something here pretty much every day this week, and it felt so good! I think I’m finally starting to gain confidence and really getting comfortable with what I like to talk about. Thanks to everyone who stops by frequently!

I Love These Guys!

I've been trying to be a more active blogger lately by really reaching out to the bloggers that I love and showing them my support. It feels good to cheer on a blogger that you really love by leaving a comment on one of their posts or even Tweeting to them or following them on social media sites. It feel even better when they answer you back or even start a conversation with you!

I especially like to reach out to the bloggers that don't have a gajillion comments on their posts already and show some love to the girls that have less, because that's what I have and I know I get so excited when someone finally comments!

I've also been working on really showing my appreciation for something that someone says by giving substantial feedback and continuing the conversation. I feel like I'm in a classroom again, except this time I'm not forced to give someone positive feedback on something that either doesn't make a lick of sense or that I could care less about. I'm really not faking anything that I say and I love it! It feels so good to be nice and friendly!

I want to tell you about some of my favorite blogs lately, and if you haven't heard of these girls or given them a visit, you should do it now!

Sometimes Sweet

I love this blog. I love that Danielle is such a good writer and that she has so many thoughts about her life. I love how much she loves her family and I'm also a little jealous of all the fun things they do together! She used to be an English teacher, and you can just tell that she loves writing and reading. All of her posts are extremely well written, and she also throws in some sponsored stuff, which I don't mind because they're always coupled with pictures of her cute kids!

Studio 404

This blog is great for designers and bloggers, and Angel always has some great lists, tips, and artist features that always get my brain going. I love posts that can help me become a better designer/freelancer/blogger/businesswoman, and he posts do just that.

The Life of Bon

I've been following this one for awhile now, and Bonnie is another blogger who writes so, so well. She's actually another English teacher blogger! What draws me to her writing is her stories and her sense of humor, which I think is really similar to mine. She's satirical and isn't afraid to laugh at herself. I love when she writes about her students because I like to pair them with people that I used to go to school with. It seems like in every classroom you can find the same mix of personalities! Like everyone has their own role in the class. Bonnie's awesome, guys.

Where My Heart Resides

I literally just discovered this one today, and Ashlee is already easily one of my favorite writers right now. Her posts are detailed and have so many thoughts within them. They're really developed well, and she's another amazing writer who I really admire. I can't wait to learn more about her and read more of her amazing posts!

And of course an old favorite that I always have to mention...

Young House Love

Because who doesn't love them? I love the Clara Conversations and I love their amazing DIYs and house advice. John and Sherry are like the power couple on the century to me, and they're so good at responding to your comments and interactions on Twitter and Instagram, which I love! You can tell they really love what they do and they are just so good at it!

I hope you give some of these a good read and find that you love them too! Are any of you guys already reading any of these blogs? Who should I add to my growing list of amazing bloggers? Do you love interacting with bloggers via comments or social media?

PS- this wasn't sponsored or anything, I just really love these blogs!
PSS- Petersiks need to take family pictures more often! Took me forever to find that one!

Baby Shower Invitations Inspired by John Lennon's Animals

I'm very excited to share the printed version of the baby shower invitations I mentioned last week!

Here are some pictures

The mom-to-be is actually my cousin, and she has the John Lennon Real Love nursery collection that came out about 10 years ago, all in perfect condition. She and her husband, my cousin Darren, are big Beatles fans, so this nursery stuff really fits them to a T! I wanted to incorporate something about it into these invitations so they would be extra special to them, so I re-drew the animals that John Lennon drew for his son (named Julian!), which are part of the nursery bedding. You can see what some of the nursery pieces look like here. 

The animals are a pretty loose interpretation because I didn't want to copy them, but I think they came out so cute!

These invitations are stunning in person. The colors are so amazing, I can't even get over it! And they were definitely a labor of love because I cut all of my prints myself, and there were about 75 invitations here... Imagine me hunched over my paper cutter for about an hour with squinty little eyes. So cute.

Congrats to Darren and Cathy! I can't wait to meet the little guy!

At a Crossroad

When Danielle from Sometimes Sweet said she was going to start posting weekly “journal” prompts, I didn’t think they would warrant such tell-all answers! I feel like I’m playing truth-or-dare with the world right now, and I got truth!

So this is going to be an interesting, difficult post to write for me. We’ll see how it turns out.

This is the prompt that Danielle posted on her blog for this week:

Everyone has a time in their life they view as a crossroad. Sometimes you can see it as it's happening, and you're able to choose one way or another. Other times you may not realize you're there until you look back, and see what a turning point it really was. This week, write about a time you view as a marker in your life; a distinct place where things changed, for better or worse.

And the obvious answer to that would be when I found out I was pregnant with Julian.

Now, let’s see... How to write about this…

When a woman finds out she’s pregnant, many of the times she has some choices. Sometimes the choice is clear, sometimes it isn’t, and sometimes what you think you would do is not what you end up doing when it actually happens.

It definitely wasn’t an easy time for me. I was 18, a freshman in college, and it wasn’t the type of thing I had ever pictured for myself. I didn’t ever think I would be one of “those girls”.

I knew even before I took any sort of test, and the whole time that I had this gut feeling (literally) I was leaning towards “getting it taken care of”. Then I finally took the test to be sure and things changed. Things turn from facts to emotions in a matter of about 60 seconds. What you imagined becomes real, and the idea that there is something inside your body that’s changing and the things inside of you are no longer just yours, they’re someone else’s, too.

I believe that every woman should have the right to choose whether to keep her baby or not. If it’s not right for you, and you really don’t think you could handle being a mother yet, then you should be entitled to managing that in a safe, legal, and humane way. It wasn’t an option for me, but it should be an option anyways.

I knew this was a game changer for me, and also a game changer for Dom. I really had no idea what would happen to us, and what I would do about an education, a job, or a future. We’re so lucky that our families came to accept what was, and that things have turned out pretty well.

And so I have decided that things have turned out for the better. Because of my decision to keep Julian, I have found direction in my life. I have become ambitious and hardworking. I have become realistic with my goals and my future. I have learned to work through my problems with other people, especially Dom. I have resurrected my friendship with Morgan, without whom I would not have had the courage to stand up for myself during this crossroad in my life. I have learned what it means to be responsible. I have learned the value of my hard-earned money. I have learned how important it is to take care of my body and my mind, although I'm still learning how to actually do that.

And mostly, I have learned more about myself. In the 2 years since I found out that I was pregnant, I have spent a lot of time looking inward and discovering the best and worst parts of me. There is nothing more satisfying than identifying who you are, who you would like to be, and what you need to work on in order to make that happen.

All of those things would have happened in time, sure. And I’m sure things will change and I will definitely grow even more, but this crash course in adulthood has been really satisfying to me.

So thank you for being a good change, Julian. For all of us, I think.

Tulips make me feel happy

This is one of those fluff posts that no one really wants to read, but it's too personal to write about on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram where the people that follow me might not appreciate how I feel.

But tulips make me feel happy. What I love most about them is that usually they start out so closed up and little that you might overlook them because their leaves are so big and the flower is so small. But once you have tulips in your home once, you will always appreciate the way they look when they open themselves up to you. Day one, they're closed and sad looking. Day two, the flowers look bigger and oval shaped. Day three is when they are a true tulip shape. You know, the tulip you drew as a kid that was comprised of a "U" shape and three points at the top to represent the petals.

Not only do they open up, but they reach out in all different directions, like they're racing away from eachother, trying to find something before the other ones find it. They have so much personality, and I am really not a big flower person. I pretty much have a black thumb, but I want to keep tulips forever. I think I'll invest in them every week because they truly make living more enjoyable.

Ok, now your turn. What is one thing that is so small and seemingly insignificant but that still makes you so happy?