A Mile in HIS Mocassins

I honestly think my faith in humanity is waning. I like to see the good in every person, including those who look most sinister. Some call it naivety, but my role on this Earth is not to judge. The reason being, I don’t know that person’s story. I don’t know if they have had a bad day, or if life has handed them a particularly bad hand. However, what I do know is that I always try to help those in need without judgment.

This is not the case for everyone, and I get it there are a lot of people in this world, who will do what he or she can get away with. Particularly when it comes to panhandling. So people are less inclined to donate, or help out their fellow man in the fear that they’re being ‘swindled’.

Terribly enough, Chicago is an epicenter for homelessness. With many thousands of homeless people occupying our streets every night. These are people without a bed, change of clothes, proper shoes, or even proper outerwear for the harsh winter reality. Seeing homeless people, it is tough for us to even fathom, not having a warm place to lay our heads, however this is the reality for many people in one of the most popular cities in America.

This is the case for the life of Ronald Davis. I was extremely touched by his story as told on YouTube a couple of weeks ago. In the short series, Ronald reveals he is homeless and living on the streets of the city. He depends solely on the generosity of others to live. Shaking a cup on one of the city’s streets Mr. Davis is subject to the weather conditions, and the startling cruelty of humanity. People heckle him on a daily basis or ignore his presence altogether. As a human being, place yourself in Mr. Davis’ shoes. Regardless of the history behind how he ended up on the streets, he is still a human being, who deserves to be treated as such. I do not see how people can just walk right past someone who is crying out for help. A person who clearly is down and out, and just wants a little change to eat that day. Yet, I see it everyday. People who ignore the homeless or preach at them about finding a job, or doing something with their lives. Nothing boils my blood more than these people. You never know that person’s tale of how they ended up on the wrong side of a happy story, nor do you really know how far you are from being in their shoes.

Life can be changed completely in an instant; It is terribly unpredictable. However, one thing you can bet your money on is no matter what walk of life a person is from, they expect to be treated with respect. It is simply human nature. So next time you see a homeless person, reply at least; wish them well, or give the pocket change you’ll completely forget about ever having. Since Ronald’s story went viral, there has been an outpouring of support and people helping him to get off the streets. I only hope this will get the ball rolling on the decrease of the homeless population in Chicago. My faith in humanity? We’ll see.

It's A Small World After All.

What's the worst part of moving back home after school? Moving back home after school. Not because of the living situation or job search struggle but because of who is there. In school I made connections but made sure they stayed at school. Home? I left for a reason and that reason wasn’t so I can be missed more. It’s as if someone sounded the alarm and yelled I was home, THEN proceeded to pass out weekly schedules of where I would be. Have you caught on yet? I’m talking about exes (boyfriends and special “friends”). The longer I’ve been home, the more guys from my past I’ve come into contact with. While they want to chat it up and rekindle old flames I’m looking for the nearest exit. I’m friendly when I’m bored and my little black book shows that. They don’t get the hint though, even when I say (literally) “I’m not interested in starting anything back up”. They think I’m joking. Nope, I’m not. Can you please just stay back there where I left you. There are only two guys that I understand why they are still around and that is because I entertain the idea. The rest of you need not reapply. What makes this situation even worse is the fact that even if I don’t run into an ex, I meet someone new with the same looks and/or personality. Is this big city really that small that I can only meet guys that remind of other guys or am I a magnet for these “you were fun for a while” guys? I am thoroughly convinced this city breeds the same type of guy, which is all the more reason for me to move as soon as possible. Le sigh.

Right At Your Doorstep.

So I've discussed how you can get a runway look for less, now I want to give you some ideas on how to get beauty products for less. From hair to makeup to polish, here are some companies that send you your favorite and soon-to-be favorite products.

CurlBox.

Curly headed girls, this is for you. CurlBox helps you explore curly hair products. If you're like me, you are always buying new hair care products trying to find the best ones for your hair. I have way too many products just sitting in my bathroom because they did nothing for my hair. You don't want to get rid of them because they were way too expensive to just toss because they couldn't get rid of the frizz or made your hair too heavy. CurlBox will send you a box of hair care samples every month. It's $20 a month and you can cancel at anytime. The downside is that the company is so popular there's a waiting list to join. So if you're a curly headed girl looking for better products I suggest to hop on the waiting list soon. It doesn't hurt to try this at least once.

Fellas, there's a curlbox for men coming soon. Hop on the mailing list to receive more information. You need to keep your curls in order as well. You're welcome in advance.

Beauty Box 5.

If you love buying beauty products just to try something new the Beauty Box 5 is the company for you.  For $12 a month you can receive 4-5 beauty product samples like makeup, lotions, perfume, etc. Once again you can cancel at anytime so there is no commitment. 

Julep.

Can't keep your nails the same color for longer than a week? Become a Julep Maven. For $20 a month you will receive a box with a few polishes plus an additional beauty product like mascara. You take a quick style quiz so they can get an idea of what you might like, then they place you in one of the four groups pictured above. I was placed in the bombshell group so that would be an example of what I would receive. 

Ipsy.

Makeup lovers! Become and ipster. You can receive a makeup bag monthly for just $10. Ipsy will send you a makeup bag monthly and also email you videos from some of your favorite YouTube makeup artists that will help you create looks using the products in your bag. This is meant for makeup lovers of all levels. No clue what to use for what, the videos will help you out. Just want new ideas to recreate, you can do that too. The products are all popular brands like Kiehl's, Urban Decay, MAC, and many more. 

Here are a few more companies offering similar subscriptions...

Glossy Box: $21 a month. Box filled with a range of beauty samples. 

Birch Box: $10 a month. Beauty and lifestyle products fill the sample boxes.

Beauty Fix: $49.99 per box. Unlike the other companies Beauty Fix gives you regular size products.

The summer is a great time to have some fume with you beauty regime. Try one of these out and let PGSD know how it went. I'm sure other readers are curious about your experiences.

(Don't forget about the gold box on the right. Send us tips, ideas, questions, and comments anonymously.)

Theme Song.

My fellow PGSD girls already know what my theme song is. Thank you, Cow from the Real California Cow commercial for introducing me to it. My life is forever changed. This song makes me giggle and yet also empowers me. And the cow sings it with such...well...swagger jagger as the song's title says, that you just feel it. So if you haven't had a chance to see the video, two things: 1, you're clearly lacking in the swagger jagger department and 2, you HAVE to see this commercial! After you watch it, you can listen to the real Cher Lloyd song, but I promise you, it'll pale in comparison to the Cow's.

Watch the commercial here:

My theme song would be...Im not really sure. It would be happy, quirky, and put me in a great mood. I attempted to put something together that would be the blueprint to my theme song but I got bored of figuring it out. So here is what I have so far and hopefully you can get some sort of idea of what I want in a theme song. 

This question was particularly hard for me. I settled on Fergie's song Labels or Love. If you give me the choice between the two...welp lets just say Christian Louboutin is my dream hubby. Everything about this song is me. "No emotional baggage just big bags filled with Dior/ ima shop for labels while these ladies lay and wait for love". On top of that its featured on one of my favorite movies, "Sex and the City".

A Love Story, Tried and...True?

The hopeless, hapless romantic in me has always wanted a romantic love story. I wanted the intensity of a love so strong and so overwhelming that it could put the most romantic love story to shame. A love story for the ages. Growing up my favorite romantic comedy was When Harry Met Sally, and for a long time (basically my whole entire life), I fashioned my relationships after that. When my relationships fell flat one by one, however, I started to believe that those sort of love stories weren’t real. I became a tried and true cynic, denying the little princess that lives inside of me the permission to squeal with glee when Ally shrugs at Noah and runs into his arms at the end of The Notebook. And I have to say, minus a few drunken slip ups, I’ve stayed pretty true to my cynical façade. Until now…

Everybody has that one person. Whether you’ve met them already or will in the future, every single one of us has that one person that we are drawn to for some reason. They can put you through Hell, you can vow to never speak to them again, but when your phone buzzes and their number (which even though you’ve deleted from your phone, you know by heart) pops up, you have to respond. My person is the man that I wrote about earlier in the blog post, “Like Wine.” It’s funny when I read that back to myself. Although the post is raw with my truth, I can see my areas of masking, attempting to deny myself the very real love that I have for him. But in my ability to see that, I can pat myself on the back for having grown because back then, I couldn’t see it.

My ex and I did (or rather, do) have a love story. It has the romance, heartbreak, longing to be with someone but X,Y, and Z are not in place so it feels impossible—all that stuff combine to make a true love story. Have we conquered the odds yet? No. Will we? It’s too soon to tell. But I know that what I asked for my whole life, I received. Real, tangible, unrelenting, reach-for-the-stars-over-the-moon-world-series kind of love (yes, that last part is a tribute to my childhood obsession with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen circa “It Takes Two”).

I became a cynic because I never expected the kind of pain that I received from my love story. And once in pain, I never believed that I could feel the profound appreciation and joy that I now feel post-pain. So I cut myself off from romance, classifying it as an impossible ideal. I think that’s what we all do when we are given what we’ve always wanted, but it’s not gift-wrapped quite the way we anticipated it being. Unexpected pain and hardship can harden us. I’ve only ever met one person who’s never been hardened by heartbreak, who remained a true romantic until her very last day, and that was my departed best friend.

I am no longer rocked too much by pain, and I work hard not to let it devalue or trivialize the gifts (especially those that I’ve specifically asked for) that I receive. My ex and I may never get married or grow old together or write down our story and read it to each other and our kids (even though he’s suggested that we do), but at least I know that I did get the real-life intense love story that I dreamt of as a kid. And the best part of it is that something tells me it’s not quite finished yet. 

Running gets you the gold.

The truth is I’m scared of succeeding. Failing doesn’t hurt me because I haven’t gone far enough. If I were to succeed that would mean I would be at the top. Heights are only scary when you look down; I look down a lot in order to watch my footing. If I could change anything about myself it would be to stop second-guessing myself. I can tell you everything I want out of life but when it comes to getting it I come to a stand still. I hate waiting yet I find the most formal and slowest ways about getting something because of my fears. Mind you the “go getter” door is wide-open waiting for me to take my chances and get things my way.

I sit in the box by choice despite the fact that I know what’s outside the box is so much better. I rather be broke doing what I love rather than rich and stuck doing someone else’s passion but in reality its hard for me to put that into practice. Instead here I am at a stand still looking for office jobs instead of putting myself out there and being successful.

I want to thank everyone who supports me even if I won’t budge. The first step is admitting your fault. I’m trying to move but fear seems to be winning. My time is now and the fact that I know now will always be now it’s hard to get started. Maybe I need to start saying my time was yesterday. I can’t continue waiting on my dreams because my feet are moving too slow. Running gets you the gold medal.

I am my nightmare and dream. Accept who you are and use what you have to make it work. 23 years of living is nothing. You live, you learn, you conquer. Only you can save yourself. Its time to save myself.

Dream Vacation

One day I’d love to travel the world. Having been blessed with the opportunity to study abroad in college, I went to Europe, and I saw England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. But the one place—my dream place—that I never had the opportunity to visit during those three months was France. I have always wanted to go to France. Not just Paris, although I daydream about the Louvre, Lovers’ Lock Bridge, and moonlit gondola rides on the Seine, I also long to see the countryside of France, to have a glass of red wine in a vineyard of Bordeaux.

Another stop I’d have to make on my travels around the world would be to Fiji. To me, Fiji is like Paradise. It oozes romance and serenity. With all of its beauty, exoticism and romance, I’d have to go with a sweetie. I’d probably need a sweetie for France too. Maybe my dream vacay will end up being my honeymoon!

My dream vacation starts off in Monaco on the French Riviera. I would love to yacht up and down the coast and spending the nights in the world famous Monte Carlo Casino. In a very James Bond like fashion drinking martinis and playing high stakes poker in a old nasty piece of ball gown. Once I have gotten tan and collected my winnings I would hop on my private jet to Crete in Greece. I love the history and beauty of this island. It would be amazing to see the architecture then lay on the beach. One day...one day

My dream vacation would be a romantic getaway to the Italian countryside. I LOVE Italy. I would love an Italian getaway where it was packed with nothing but wine, cheese, beautiful countryside, and fresh openness  Italy is a land of so much history and beauty, from the language to the food. I would love a vacation to really immerse myself in the beauty of the Italian culture and countryside. 

Greece!!! There are so many places that I want to travel to but Greece would be my dream vacation. I would spend most of my time on a yacht relaxing. Maybe try my hand at fishing. My dream vacation really just involves me in a beautiful place not worrying about anything...and if I just so happen to fall in love with a greek man and permanently live there so be it.