On Friday, June 10th, I left Orlando to visit my family back home for a little while. I just now returned to Orlando (6 days later) and I still cannot get over all of the horrific things that happened while I was gone. On Friday night, a young singer named Christina Grimmie was shot and killed after a performance here in Orlando. She was only 22 years old. She had her entire life and career in front of her and now it's gone. If that wasn't horrible enough, on Saturday night (technically early Sunday morning, June 12th, a gay night club called Pulse was attacked by what the news is calling a terrorist. This man committed what will now be known as the worst mass shooting in U.S. History! 49 lives were taken from this earth and 53 are still fighting for their lives as I write this. I have been to this club. Personally, I prefer LGBT friendly clubs because they are welcoming and as a woman, I never feel unsafe in clubs like this. It was a Saturday night, I could have very well been at that club that night. I could have been one of the 49 victims that didn't get to wake up the next morning. I can't even imagine the phone call to my parents. My mom would have probably just killed herself after hearing the news that I was shot to death. I have spent all week reading article after article. I have learned about the victims and the lives that were cut far to short for them. It makes me so emotional. Personally, I didn't know any of the people that were killed but they were human beings that were friends, daughters, mothers, sons, dads, wives, husbands, partners, and more. Most of them were in their 20s. They were going to school and just starting their lives! The fact that one man whom is so incapable of acceptance or even just tolerance of all people we share this earth with just blows my mind. My heart hurts for all the lives that were lost and all the families and friends that are mourning those losses right now. Moving to Orlando in 2013 changed my life. I would have never been exposed to all the cultures and groups of people that are here. I am from a town that is mostly white and I honestly never even knew of someone in the LGBT community before coming here. My world was finally opened up and I was able to meet and even become best of friends with such a variety of people. I really just had my eyes open to something that I would have never seen if I didn't take the leap and move out of my small little town. I wouldn't say I am a very religious person but I do believe in God and my take is that God creates all of us, he loves all of us. He made us the way we are so why do people have such a struggle with realizing that we are all equal. Our differences are just what make us special. I really just wanted to write this as a message to love eachother, love yourself, and be thankful for the people in your life. You never know when your last day will be or when theirs will be. ......also, I just want to take a moment to honor Lane Graves who also lost his life in Orlando this week. Lane was two years old and was attacked by an alligator near a Disney resort. Too many lives were taken this week. Be grateful for yours and your loved ones.
Just in case no one has told you yet today, you are beautiful.
<3 Love, Lex
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
One year later....
Welcome back! It has been far too long and I simply decided that the only way to get back into blogging was to just do it! So here it goes, I'm ready to chat your ear off, I hope you have some snacks because I have a lot on my mind.
One year ago I had this life changing experience at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna beach. I attended this writers workshop that counted as a class towards my degree but it ended up being a time I'll never forget. You can read about the whole thing in my very last blog entry that I posted here a year ago. I sit here and reflect on my year and my goodness has there been some changes. I'd say that 2015-2016 was the time in my life that so much changed when I didn't even plan or expect it to! This time last year I was about to enter my final semester at UCF! In Fall of 2015, I took 18 credit hours!!!!! Everyone thought I was insane. I had a full time internship as well as managing Coldstone. I am basically super woman. So finally the time came, December 18th, 2015; I became a college graduate only three years after being a high school graduate. I started my internship at Corner Lake Middle School in a 6th grade class and I was completely unsure of what would happen. After my first internship, I felt discouraged and unsure of being a teacher all together. I planned on graduating with my bachelor's degree and going right on to my masters. But the world had other plans for me. I FELL IN LOVE with teaching. The students, the school, everything! In November, a month before I even graduated college, I was offered a teaching position at my school and I couldn't turn it down. I graduated and began my CAREER that I always dreamed of only three weeks later at only 22 years old! I was so scared at first but so determined and excited! I was thrown in with 8th graders and boy did they give me a challenge. These students were horrible to me. They had no discipline and lacked so many skills! It was so hard at first and I certainly wanted to give up in the beginning but they finally got used to me. They finally started to listen and do work and say hi to me in the hallways. And before I knew it, the school year came to the ending. Today was the last day of school for my 8th grade kiddos. They are headed off to high school! Even with all the ups and downs and the hard times they gave me I will NEVER forget this group of kids. They were my very first students! These kids allowed me to live my dream! I can't be a teacher without my students and I can say that I loved them all (even the bad ones). We came a long way in just 5 short months but we made it!
Other changes include me finally retiring from Coldstone after 6 long years of dedicating my heart and soul into the company, I finally decided to move on. I stuck with it as long as I could but I was managing the store AND teaching full time and I couldn't continue to dedicate my time and energy into something that wasn't my students. They needed me more than Coldstone and I made my transition. It was hard coming to terms with but I finally did so and I feel happy with my decision.
And finally, one of the biggest and best changes of the year was my sister giving birth to the MOST HANDSOME BABY BOY I've ever laid my eyes on! Jayden Thomas Martino was born on April 15th and my life was changed forever. I am the most obsessed Auntie and I just cannot get enough of my nephew's cute little face! He is almost two months old and I already think he is growing up too fast!
I have certainly been blessed this year. The "adulting" has been real and it certainly is a struggle to accomplish but I am trying my hardest. Life is amazing and I am so happy to be alive to experience all of these journeys with the most incredible friends and family!
Just in case no one has told you yet today, you are beautiful!
Love, Lex <3
One year ago I had this life changing experience at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna beach. I attended this writers workshop that counted as a class towards my degree but it ended up being a time I'll never forget. You can read about the whole thing in my very last blog entry that I posted here a year ago. I sit here and reflect on my year and my goodness has there been some changes. I'd say that 2015-2016 was the time in my life that so much changed when I didn't even plan or expect it to! This time last year I was about to enter my final semester at UCF! In Fall of 2015, I took 18 credit hours!!!!! Everyone thought I was insane. I had a full time internship as well as managing Coldstone. I am basically super woman. So finally the time came, December 18th, 2015; I became a college graduate only three years after being a high school graduate. I started my internship at Corner Lake Middle School in a 6th grade class and I was completely unsure of what would happen. After my first internship, I felt discouraged and unsure of being a teacher all together. I planned on graduating with my bachelor's degree and going right on to my masters. But the world had other plans for me. I FELL IN LOVE with teaching. The students, the school, everything! In November, a month before I even graduated college, I was offered a teaching position at my school and I couldn't turn it down. I graduated and began my CAREER that I always dreamed of only three weeks later at only 22 years old! I was so scared at first but so determined and excited! I was thrown in with 8th graders and boy did they give me a challenge. These students were horrible to me. They had no discipline and lacked so many skills! It was so hard at first and I certainly wanted to give up in the beginning but they finally got used to me. They finally started to listen and do work and say hi to me in the hallways. And before I knew it, the school year came to the ending. Today was the last day of school for my 8th grade kiddos. They are headed off to high school! Even with all the ups and downs and the hard times they gave me I will NEVER forget this group of kids. They were my very first students! These kids allowed me to live my dream! I can't be a teacher without my students and I can say that I loved them all (even the bad ones). We came a long way in just 5 short months but we made it!
Other changes include me finally retiring from Coldstone after 6 long years of dedicating my heart and soul into the company, I finally decided to move on. I stuck with it as long as I could but I was managing the store AND teaching full time and I couldn't continue to dedicate my time and energy into something that wasn't my students. They needed me more than Coldstone and I made my transition. It was hard coming to terms with but I finally did so and I feel happy with my decision.
And finally, one of the biggest and best changes of the year was my sister giving birth to the MOST HANDSOME BABY BOY I've ever laid my eyes on! Jayden Thomas Martino was born on April 15th and my life was changed forever. I am the most obsessed Auntie and I just cannot get enough of my nephew's cute little face! He is almost two months old and I already think he is growing up too fast!
I have certainly been blessed this year. The "adulting" has been real and it certainly is a struggle to accomplish but I am trying my hardest. Life is amazing and I am so happy to be alive to experience all of these journeys with the most incredible friends and family!
Just in case no one has told you yet today, you are beautiful!
Love, Lex <3
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