Why It's Okay To Be Not-So-Strong Sometimes

Ever since my mom passed away, I have always been told to "be strong". "Be strong for your family, Jessica" "Be strong for your sister" "Be strong for your friends." And I take on that role with pride. I am strong for my family. I am strong in who I am and what I want to accomplish. But no matter how strong I am,  more bad things seem to keep happening. I'm told all of the same things "Just be strong, Jessica. It will pass!" You can make it, Jess! Stay strong!"...  Is it okay for me to ever not be strong? When so much seems to keep happening and happening....am I EVER allowed to take a moment just to relax and think... I am hurting?

"Be strong" such an easy thing to say, but such a hard thing to do when you're feeling broken. 

I feel like many people feel the same way I do. Maybe our situations are completely different. But, I know there are people out there who have been strong for so long that they feel like they don't have a whole lot left. The hardest part about always being the "strong one" is that nobody ever expects to see you weak. Let me guess. You feel guilty if you ever start to cry. If people ask you if anything is wrong you brush it off and say no.You act like superman or super woman because you think I CAN DO THIS. When really, you know you need somebody to be strong for you. But, even if somebody is "strong for you" , you know they don't quite understand. You know they don't understand everything you have been through, so you struggle to listen to the advice they give. So really, you end up just feeling lonely.

So the question remains: am I allowed to not be strong? Even if for a moment? I am going to say yes.

My personal biggest problem is that I bottle up all of my own emotions. I won't tell anybody anything is wrong because I don't like people feeling bad for me. Nor do I like feeling weak. But, what I am starting to realize, is that it IS okay to let your emotions out once in a while. When you have people who ask you if something is wrong, and you know you can trust them.... you should probably tell them what is up. "But people don't understand." This, I get. No, people DON'T understand 100%. Believe it or not, we are all completely different beings that think completely different thoughts with completely different life experiences. It's just how it works!!! You will NEVER find a person that has had the exact same life experience as you. EVER. So if somebody at all offers to talk to you, you should probably just talk to them. It's better to talk to somebody that can relate a little bit than talking to nobody at all. It's good for you. I know, it  really does suck that  nobody will 100% get it. But, you can find some very similar stories. If you can settle for honey-nut toasted oats at the grocery store instead of honey-nut cheerios, you will be just fine. 

  

 DO NOT fear telling a person what is wrong because you are scared it's "trivial". Those problems are just as valid. Everybody has their own level of how much they can handle. Your friend's bad test grade might carry just as much weight to them as your break-up carried for you. It's not about the problems. It's about what a person is capable to deal with.  Contrary to popular belief, and even occasionally my OWN beliefs... crying or venting to somebody isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign you're human. We all hurt once in a while. Even Super Mario needs to go back and get a 1up.

Don't let a situation that is out of your control, control you. I know. Easier said than done. A lot of the things that upset us have to deal with things we couldn't prevent even if we tried. For example, the things that are going on in my life right now are WAY out of my control. I  am not ignoring the situation. However, I AM keeping it in the back of my mind to motivate myself to be successful even more. The situation might be out of my hands, but MY LIFE is in my OWN hands. And I will determine what I make of this. As I said before, you can still feel sorta bad about the situation without letting it control you. It's okay to be upset about those things! Life is 10% what happens to us and 90%  how we deal with it.

Something else will probably happen. What stinks about life is that sometimes it seems like when we're FINALLY done with one crappy thing, another crappy thing happens. It gets exhausting. And sometimes you want to give up. But it's not the end of the world! You're still alive. You're still living. You still have things to smile about,  people to live for and things to experience. Being strong is easier said than done. From the outside looking in, it seems like a great plan. Actually, it IS a great plan. Being strong was the BEST decision I have ever made. It is not easy. And it won't BE easy. And maybe you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet. Sometimes I can't either. But, just because we can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there.  Keep working hard, stay strong, and  remember, it's okay to slip up once in a while. Being strong doesn't mean not being human. You are the strong one, remember? We have come this far, but we can cut ourselves a break!

After all, we've earned it. 

We all need saving sometimes. 

The Problem With Social Media

The Problem With Social Media

Everyday, I find myself going onto social media like Facebook or Instagram and seeing a plethora of things. A majority of those things are the GOOD things that are happening to people. Which is AWESOME... in a sense. “Just got a new job!” “Officially studying abroad in Germany!” “ Just got accepted to…” All GREAT things. Now, I am very happy for these people, don’t get me wrong.  Those are awesome things!  But suddenly, a part of me feels inadequate. I think, "man, everybody else's lives are so perfect. They are accomplishing so much. They are going out there and really getting things done! They all seem to know exactly what they are doing and life is just PEACHY. " That’s when I realize... I couldn’t be more incorrect.

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We HAVE to stop comparing our REAL lives to other people’s lives on social media. Come to think of it,  from a social media standpoint, my life must look fricken great. Yes, I posted the last few concerts I have been to and the celebrities I have met. Yes, I have posted beautiful Florida sunrises and my days spent at the beach. Yes, from social media… my life must look practically perfect and problem free.  Funny, because it’s far from it. I’m not going to post about financial difficulties, or family problems. I’m not going to post about the trials, hardships, and the shitstorms that seem to keep knocking me down. Sometimes, even on the worst days of my life, I find myself posting about how great my day is. It’s the strangest thing. And if I do these things… surely other people do too. I know I can’t be the only one who does this.

I often would find myself even putting down the biggest of accomplishments that I’ve made because I compare myself to other people’s lives on social media. “I might have done this awesome thing but man, what Lisa did is SO much better." I’m not so sure why I do this because this is so far from the truth. What your friend did IS awesome, but are you forgetting how awesome the thing was that you did too? An accomplishment is an accomplishment no matter how small. On social media, people might even make their accomplishments out to be something REALLY EXTRAVAGANT AND OVER EXAGGERATED, so don’t feel bad just because you don’t over exaggerate. You are still going out there and getting what you want! You just don’t broadcast it. And if you did, people might be comparing THEIR real lives to your SOCIAL MEDIA life, too.

If everyone posted all the stuff that was actually going on in our lives, the Internet would be a very sad place. We would probably see a lot of divorce, broken homes, financial problems, broken hearts, and so much more. We post the positive because that is how we want others to perceive our lives. As I said, I am in no way saying this is a bad thing because I do it too. But, for this reason ,we cannot compare our lives on social media to the lives of others on social media.  We ALL have a lot of things we are covering up. Remember that your accomplishments are great. And just because somebody doesn’t post about the hard times they are going through, doesn’t mean that their life is perfect either. You know that girl who you follow on Instagram that is super pretty and her life seems perfect? Her grandma just died. Or that guy who wears suits every day and seems to have his crap together? His girlfriend just dumped him and he just lost hundreds in the stock market. Is this making sense? 

Your accomplishments are just as big as other people's,  you're probably going through just as much bullcrap, and just because you don't overexaggerate your greatness, doesn't mean you are not great!

Stop comparing yourself to others on social media. You’re just going to feel depressed for no reason.

Because you, my dear, are awesome. :)

Great Bull Run, Texting and Walking app, and SPACE

3,000 views, 1 dollar, Hundreds of changed lives

Together, we can improve the lives of an entire community.
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SnapHack Lets You Save Snapchats... Secretly.

Are you comfortable sending embarrassing or possibly even naughty Snapchats? Well, you shouldn't be. Because the people you have been sending those images to could be using SnapHack. Might want to think twice before sending that picture!

^^^ I do this all the time, so God knows where my pictures will end up.

SnapHack Pro designed by Darren Jones (independent app designer), saves any photo a person sends through Snapchat without the sender's knowledge. So BASICALLY, it defeats the purpose of Snapchat. The catch is that you have to open the images through SnapHack and not Snapchat. Which is really not hard at ALL. Annnnd... it's not free. But if you're realllllly that desperate... I mean he/she was hott, right? 

"I wanted to prove that nothing was 100 percent secure once uploaded to the Internet," Jones told Mashable . He said he wants to point out the "dangers in sending images that you don't want people to see."

Regardless, people can take screenshots of the image on Snapchat ANYWAYS. But, this time, you won't even know they have the image! Which can be a little freaky!

"Ideally Snapchat will just put a system in place to stop people being able to save images in this way or any other," Jones said.

 Jones has already submitted a new version of the app to Apple allows users to send saved Snapchats to other Snapchat users or through email. The updated version should be available soon!

REMEMBER: THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU SNAP!
 Because that picture could end up in the wrong hands...or phone. 

We're Building a Water-Well!!!

Help us improve the quality of life for an entire community!

My little sister and I have decided to team up to raise money to build a well for a community in Ghana. Everyday, people are dying because they don't have access to clean water. Please help us raise this money so we can help change some lives forever!!! Know that even the smallest gift helps and that you will have a hand in improving the quality of life for someone in need. Thank you so much.

To donate, please click HERE :)))

Eminem's daughter, mating season, and a billion dollar online drug black market!

Can you imagine if you found out that your roommate ran a BILLION DOLLAR online drug black market? I can! 

Check out this week's crazy news!