Hulu

Drugs, alcohol, unprotected or even out of wedlock sex can have some pretty severe and unwanted consequences. However, no one ever warned me of how addicting tv is. I pay $8 a month for unlimited tv and that's exactly what I do. I watch it for an unlimited, unwarranted, and unnecessary amount of time. My name is Chanelle and I'm a tv addict! So today I'm grateful for self control. Even though I don't have it currently, I am grateful that it is an option. I was getting a horrible amount of sleep a night but I was able to fix that. So my new quest for this next week is only 4 hours for the entire week. God gave me this life and this time as a gift. I want to show him what amazing things I will do with that gift!

Character Strengths

1. Honesty
2. Openness
3. Accepting
4. Adaptable
5. Charming

Honesty- I can't keep a secret to save my life. It's not that I want to spill the beans but my conscience makes me. I could never cheat and get away with it because I would rat myself out. It hurts me to lie and 99% of the time I end up admitting to any partial truths I've told.

Openness- I'm open to new people and new situations. I'm also an open book. Ask me and ask me to be raw and uncut and you will get it. I'm probably too vocal about my failures and set backs but the more I fake like they aren't there the more I cheat myself out of progress.

Acceptance is a quality I pride myself in. I love you even if your fat, black, Jewish, white, Mexican, Mormon, male, female, skinny or short. I love people and really work hard at accepting people for who they are and the cultures they come from. I dont want people to be my best self but want them to be their best self.

Adaptable- As life changes so must I. I've found that my adaptability to circumstances that are placed before me has helped me stay afloat during even the most difficult of situations.

Charming- Doesn't this also mean flirt? If so then charming is my weapon of choice. Its woven into my very being. I don't know how to turn it off nor do I want to. I'm interested in you. I want you to feel sexy, smart, interesting and important. This doesn't mean I want you romantically but I want you to feel wanted. This quality gets me what I want unless it gets me in trouble first.

Mac Miller?

What was I thinking? Smoke curling up from every group of underage, degenerate looking teens and Tweens. I being a more refined, conservative 25 year old turned heads or was it my cleavage? Okay so those descriptions don't go together but I did have a wardrobe malfunction. I'm grateful for the fact that I got out of a mosh pit unscathed. I am also grateful that whenever Mark and I go on these adventures that end in a result not foreseen that we have the most fun.

Breakfast

Class at 7:30 in the morning is not conducive to the breakfast I wish I could have everyday. Most recently I've been having late nights and not much sleeping has been done in my own bed. Waking up at someone else's house gives me very little choice. So as he lays there like a slug I'm running around trying to get ready for class and end up just grabbing a Greek yogurt from the fridge and a 100 calorie bar which ends up comprising what is suppose to be the most important meal of the day. Even writing this makes me ashamed since everyone else in our class eats nutrient dense cardboard for breakfast. To each their own I guess.

Rehab

My aunt just got out of rehab for narcotics. She's starting all over. She has no place to live, no car and no money. I'm so grateful that I have a job, a car, a beautiful home, and I'm grateful everyday for my faith. This led me to ponder on my religion. The rules and commandments that have been assigned within my religion seem tedious and restrictive to others. Watching my aunt struggle through addiction and other set back I've realized that those rules keep me free. The speed limit keeps me from being enslaved in a coma. Not drinking keeps me from the restrictiveness of alcoholism. I love God. I love that he's given me rules and guidelines to help keep me safe from harm. Shame on me for not listening and shame on me for thinking that he wants to control me. All he wants is for me to be Free!

Thank God for freedom. Thank you to those who support this countries freedom so that I can worship in the way that makes my heart feel at peace.

Fall and Get Back Up

Today started off horrid. My lunch date cancelled and when I went to the book store they wouldn't let me purchase adobe premium because I don't have a student ID. So then they wouldn't validate my parking which lead me to speed walking through the parking lot. I tripped and fell. My phone flew across and I cut my hand. How the man who helped me didn't laugh is beyond my comprehension. I can't imagine holding that in. Then I still had to pay for parking. This is suppose to be what I'm grateful for so let me get to that. I'm grateful that after I went and saw my niece and she made me smile when I walked in and she yells "Coco!" This three year-old knows how to make me happy. I sit by her and she puts her blanket on me and says "here's some covers Coco." I'm grateful for her happy disposition. I'm grateful that I now live so close to family. I'm grateful I didn't tear my jeans. I'm grateful that I love school and that I'm a woman who will be able to break the cycle of my family and get an education. That I can break the cycle of poverty I was raised with.

Happiness Journal

Today I'm grateful for the power of Jesus Christ's mercy
The ability I have to refine and change who I am
For my sister who makes me giddy everytime she calls.