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Showing posts from 2016

19 Things I Learned in 19 years

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Of the typical and generic things to post, this was certainly one topic I was adamant about not doing, but some readers have suggested this, and I'm now glad I'm writing this. I've had to truly think about this one. In my 19 years of life, what are 19 of the most important things I've learned? Here's an insight to how I've grown over the past 19 years. 1.) A house isn't always a home My parents were really into videotaping and documenting everyday life when I was younger. There is a home video from 1998, and I'm barely a year old. It shows me laughing and running around chasing a bouncy ball with my older sister, who was 8 at the time. The parking lot was for a motel we had stayed in. My family was just making ends meet at the time, home hopping and staying with relatives while we transitioned from living in Florida to Alabama. In the video, we were all so happy! It didn't matter where we were or that we weren't at a place of our own. We we

The Common Identity Crisis

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"Jamie, don't take this the wrong way, but what are you ..?" This is a very vague question, but I have been asked it so many times that I know what they're referring to. "I am half Korean, and half Caucasian." "OH! I can totally see the Asian in you now! That makes sense." End scene. This type of conversation has always made me feel relatively awkward, but I could never really pinpoint why. I mean, these people who ask these things are doing so with harmless intent. However, in recent times I have been able to understand how detrimental this type of conversation is to people. Let's break this conversation down, piece by piece. First, I am told to not take offense to whatever is about to be said. This puts me in the mindset that something potentially offensive is about to be said. Second, the question "what are you?" is asked. A thousand retaliating questions pop to my mind, but particularly, "Why do you care so much

Time Does Not Heal Everything

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One day very early on in our friendship, Lauryn and I were walking back to the dorms and out of nowhere, we both started skipping, with the EXACT same foot, timing, and height. Super random, but I remember when that happened, we both turned to each other and made the same facial expression. In that moment, I knew that we were best friends. Since then, we have been caught saying the same thing simultaneously, highlighting the same scriptures, taking the same notes, and basically doing the same thing 24/7. The part that really freaks us out is that we have very similar circumstances when it comes to our trials and tribulations. Lauryn is my partner in crime, and she's that friend. She's the friend you always want to tell everything to. The friend you imagine yourself making terrible jokes with even when you're 80 years old. The friend you empathize with so much that when you see them in pain, it physically hurts you just as much. You get the point. Lauryn and I are very

I've Found True Love

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February 14th is a day that I dreaded all throughout middle and high school. For one thing, I did not date in middle school, but even by high school, Valentine's Day became excruciatingly miserable. My sophomore year, I was asked to be someone's valentine, with a red rose and all, and I said no. My junior year, I was left a very creepy serial-killer style note from a secret admirer. By my senior year, I let it publicly be known on Twitter that I wanted nothing to do with Valentine's Day or even gestures of endearment. Here in 2016, things are a bit different. Once and for all, I have found true love, and it is oh so sweet to know I have a valentine. One of my favorite motivational/leadership speakers of all time is a man named Houston Kraft. When I first heard him speak in 2013, he discussed the topic of love. In particular, the 4 types of Greek love. Typically, Valentine's Day is correlated with eros, or intimate love, however in 2016, I've fallen in love in the

The Future Is Pointless

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I often catch myself looking through old photos, videos, and text messages. I like to reminisce, and I’m much more sentimental than people make me out to be. In high school, I studied media communications and made some news stories and some films. I learned to capture the moment for others to see, as well as for myself to see in the future. I remember one evening, I was on the phone with one of my friends, and he was going on a trip very soon. I kept reminding him to take a ton of photos to remember his experience. His response, however, shocked me. He explained how he didn’t like to take a lot of photos or videos in the moment. He said something that simply blew my mind. “I don’t need to see the world through a screen, because if I live my life well enough in the moment, I probably won’t forget it.” Boom. Mind blown. It’s a simple concept obviously, but one that I had definitely overlooked. If you’re not completely present and living the “now” to its fullest, the future is e

How To Be Alone

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For as long as I can remember, my sister and I have been polar opposites in every aspect of who we are. This could have something to do with our nearly 7 year age gap, but I personally think we were just born liking and disliking entirely different things. At the age of 25, a lot of people probably believe that my sister should be getting ready to "settle down", but according to our conversation the other night, that is not in her plans right now, and I definitely respect that. I, however, catch myself daydreaming about falling in love, getting married to the man of my dreams, and starting a family. I am "that girl" that has a Pinterest board dedicated to my hypothetical wedding. I'm such a sucker for romantic movies. And most importantly, I advocate for love in nearly every form. Why then, have I remained single for my entire 18 years of life? I think my parents used to worry so much that I would fall in love at a young age and have a reckless relationship, b

We All Peak In High School

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Anyone who knows me knows that student council and leadership consume(d) my life (they still kind of consume my life). Being student body president, I attended "required" monthly presidents meetings where all of the student body presidents in Vegas would meet at one of the high schools in town about everything and anything student council. I put the quotes around "required" because I would have gone to those meetings whether we had to or not. I looked forward to them every single month! They were one time I could see some of my closest friends all together at once, and we got to talk about leadership. Does life even get better than that? We all became great friends very quickly. In my group of friends, there was this ongoing joke between the presidents that we all had peaked in high school. "We've already become presidents of our schools! It must all be downhill from here." As lighthearted as this joke was, it quickly became a real fear for many

Self Help is NOT Selfish

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"It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." -Ralph Waldo Emerson This quote is one of the last text messages I received from one of my very best friends before he left on a two year mission for his church. Since the summer before our senior year, he has been telling me to take better care of myself: emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I've never put my needs aside as a way of being self destructive. More than anything, putting others first has just felt like the right thing to do. Helping others has been ingrained in my nature since before I can remember. When I joined leadership in the fourth grade, being selfless became second nature through different service opportunities and staying extra hours at school. By my senior year of high school, I was elected student body president. Disclaimer: being student body president is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I love t