Day 5 of 30 day challenge

Challenge: Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to

i took this in Fort Walton Beach, Fla

 

 

I went to Florida w/ my big sis a couple summers ago and this is one of the pics i took that looked like it belonged in a magazine .... I'll feature more of my photography below :) 

30 Day Challenge .... Day 4

The Challenge: Day 04- A habit (s) that you wish you didn’t have

Well this challenge is right on time! After a couple talks I've been having with people ... apparently i have a few habits i need to do better with...

"The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken" -Samuel Johnson

1) I "burden" other people with responsibilities I should take on for myself.  ex: I'll tweet or text my friends to call me at x time ... i need to grow up and learn how to respond to alarm clocks ... it's not my friends responsibility to wake me up!


"The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half." -Feodor Dostoevski


2) I want people to "fish" for me instead of learning how to fish for myself. ex: one of my friends has been helping me with my budgeting skills/money management and instead of me learning the principles and being able to apply it to myself even after I'm making more money .... i want her to adjust and take time out her schedule to do it ... very selfish ... MUST STOP!

"The satisfied, the happy, do not live; they fall asleep in habit, near neighbor to annihilation." -Miguel de Unamuno

3) I'm spoiled/high maintenance ... not by material possessions BUT by people! I sometimes have outlandish expectations (not outlandish in the sense that i wouldn't be able to live up to the expectation myself - i only expect things from other's that i wouldn't mind doing myself for someone else) BUT I tend to stress the "wrong" things... examples:

a) my birthday ... i expect people to accommodate my birthday plans ... plain and simple

b) I expect somebody to cook if I'm hungry

c) I expect you not to leave if i ask/tell you to stay

d) I expect you to come visit my apartment shortly after i invite you

e) I expect you to be available if i need to talk ... drop the books please and thank you

"I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit." - Jane Austen

4) I make up A LOT of excuses ... I mean I'm such a good liar, i can develop a whole story-line + laundry list as to why i haven't done something and you better believe that ... it's NEVER my fault! 


"Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny."


5) I tend to look for the "Easy Button" or a "bail out" ... I try to find the easiest, most convenient way to accomplish MOST task and sometimes there isn't one soooooo I COMPLAIN until one of my friends does it for me. 


"We get so much in the habit of wearing disguises before others that we finally appear disguised before ourselves." - Francois de La Rochefocauld
 


soooo that was my laundry list of habits that (i'm currently working on) i need to change/get rid of in order to make myself better!!!!!  If I make myself better it'll put less strain on my friendships/relationships and that's always good b/c you SHOULDN'T burden the people that love you ;)


"Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow. " - Yiddish Proverb

Day 3 of the 30 day CHALLENGE

Day 03- A picture of you and your friends

***before I even go look for pictures lol this is going to be a doosey cuzzz we are rarely all in the SAME place @ the SAME time and then getting a pic that should be publicized .... RARE lol but i'll do my darndest***

After MUCH searching my tagged photos and others'on facebook for about an hour ... i decided i'd do multiple photos cuzzz i dont want anyone to feel left out :) HOWEVER then i realized later on in the challenge i can post more pics of friends soooo this is round 1  sooo DO NOT fret if you aren't in this set of pics :)

   My Original crew

the crew that adopted me ... where is Kisha, Chonya and Chaunacie?

 

my RIGHT and my LEFT hand ... 3 stooges.... my mom/coach + sensi... 3 best friends that any1 could ever have... 

30 day Blog Challenge ... Day 2

Here's the Challenge: Day 02- The meaning behind your Tumblr (Blogger) name-

This one is easy lol I pretty much explained this in my 1st blog HOWEVER I guess i'll go a little more indepth.

Background: my mother was in the room choosing a name for me and she had settled on Sade HOWEVER she was still deciding on a middle name.  She ended up asking my great-uncle his advice on a middle name ... she said she wanted something "unique" and he responded with ... "Uniqua"!  From there we  get "Sade Uniqua" :) My uncle was killed in a motorcycle accident Labor Day weekend last year :( He was my  favorite uncle and yes it was a very sad event ... But his life wasnt in vain ... His memory pushes me to live up to my middle name.  He saw me as unique, different, rare, unusual, and when i do "typical" things ....I am NOT living up to my name.  So everyday i wake up, I am reminded of him when i see myself and I am also challenged to show my UNIQUEness!  This blog is here to help me embrace my uniqueness and i'm doing it to my own beat (cadence). 

Unique:

existing as the only one or as the sole example; single; solitary in type or characteristics;

limited in occurrence to a given class, situation, or area.

not typical; unusual.

Cadence:

rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words

the flow or rhythm of events, esp. the pattern in which something is experienced.

So combine: This Blog is my sole example limited in occurrence to a given class, situation, area, with rhythmic flow of a sequence of events esp the patten in which something is experienced. 

30 day Blog Challenge ... Day 1

here's the challenge: Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself 

*** I feel like ya'll are about to learn A LOT about me in a SHORT amount of time and I'm kind of apprehensive BUT who does a blog if they are afraid??? NOT I ... LEEEEHHH GOOO***

1) I can put my ear in my ears .... yes u have to see it in person ;)

2) The fair - til my birthday is my FAVORITE time of year ... I start celebrating my birthday when the fair arrives and I celebrate until Christmas ... yea i'm a lil cocky but i dont care ;)

3) I've NEVER broken anything (arm, leg, wrist, etc) b/c....

4) I was breast fed until I was 13 months soooo i have GREAT calcium levels lol

5) My fav color is Carolina Blue and it has been since i was like 10
6) Love is a PROCESS for me ... the people i love the most, i didn't start out even "liking" them

7) I was a Tomboy as a kid ... HATED skirts, dresses, stockings, etc ... i've only given into dresses... i'm still ANTI- stockings 

8) I watch Food Network ALL DAY .... like Iron Chef, The Next Iron Chef, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, The next food network star, etc --- i just really LOVE the whole network lol

9) I struggle w/ forgiveness ..... pray 4 me lol

10) I started school when i was 4 ... i tested into kindergarten ... told ya'll i'm smart!

11) I'm very quiet ... like most people dont believe me UNTIL they live w/ me THEN they realize, as silly as i am... i pretty much stay to myself! 

12) I can be a lil bit contradictory lol sometimes my life choice don't exactly line-up w/ my political choices .... my mom once said "you live a liberal lifestyle BUT vote conservatively" ... and she was telling the TRUTH

13) I'm actually VERY loving ... a lot of people (esp co-workers) see my abrasive or RUDE side lol but honestly, i am very emotionally in-touch person and I LOVE people.  I just don't want to seem like a push over

14) i used to be a TERRIBLE student/child ... i almost got held back in the 6th grade :-/ ... not b/c I was dumb but bc I was going to a school where i was influenced to want to be a THUG instead of being SMART smh *children are a product of their enviroment*
15) Last but not least, I LOVE the Lord! I'm a Church Girl and few ppl know that lol I was raised Baptist (birth - 10) then COGIC (12- 18) and now Non-denominational ... I have a pretty good grasp of the Bible ... its just that i don't parade around w/ it!

I'm just doing my job (ja-ah-ah-ah-ah-ob)

I think one of life's blessings is when you LOVE something and get paid WHILE you love it.  I've been working at the UNC Phon-a-thon for 6 years (I was a caller for 3 years and I'm currently a supervisor).  Working for a call center can be stressful, lots of goals to meet, money to raise, and worst of all RUDE ALUMNI! I could ramble on story after story of alumni who have cursed me out, lied and said they weren't home, and have moved out the country to avoid calls HOWEVER this blog is about those that say YES!

On Sept 27,2010 UNC had "STOP DAY" and it's the day that classes would END if we ONLY relied on state funds and tuition .... So from Sept 27th- Graduation we are running off 100% PRIVATE support. Who makes up this Private Support???? ALUMNI!

I've raised over $80,000 in the 6 years at the phon-a-thon and the most rewarding part of the job ISN'T the pay check (b/c we don't get paid off commission) BUT 

SEEING MY HARD WORK IN ACTION:

1) I went to my friend's White Coat Ceremony @ Memorial Hall and one of the sponsors was "The Medical Alumni Loyalty Fund" ... guess who calls those alumni to raise money for those events??? ME

2) Every time I see the P2P on campus .... guess who is funding the gas ??? The Parent's Fund

3) Students from low-income families get scholarships to come to UNC via Carolina Covenant ... who calls for that??? ME

4) Out of State Students w/ Scholarships ....who's funding that ... our Alumni

So you see it isn't the pay check BUT knowing that without my callers and myself some of the small things at the university would be cut.

As we all know, the country is in a recession and NO ONE has any money to spare.  But I ask of you (ESPECIALLY the Young Alumni and Current students) ... How many times do you go to McDonald's in a week? Meet with co-workers for drinks? Get your nails done? I'm not asking you to give $100 or even $50 but a $5 gift will go a LONG way! http://giving.unc.edu/  <<<< Go to this website and give $5 NOT for me BUT to fund the education of the generation coming behind us and to continue to uphold the institution that shaped us.

I Love My job and 1/2 of the reason you have your salary job OR are in a great grad school is b/c you went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .... it's only right to give back to afford someone else those SAME opportunities!

The College DropOut???

***before you read: to me a blog means honesty and I'm just going to give you all of me ... take it or leave it, 100% of me is what you're about to get***

When I came to Carolina expectation was brewing to say the least.  I was supposed to finish in 4 years then go on to law school and be the female version of Johnnie Cochran!!! However,  when I got here, the only lyrics I can think of to describe my experience is "Nobody told me, the road would be easy, and I DON'T BELIEVE He bought me this far to leave me". 

Freshman Year: First of all, let me say that academic integrity was NOT something I was used too.  I was 17 and I saw no problem with a little copy and paste here and there...UNC-Ch DID!  I copied a graph and used it in my philosophy paper and did not cite it. My Prof submitted me to Honor Court and i went on academic probation for a semester.  (which meant I took an F in the course) 

Soph. year: I was determined to change and be a better person and not let that incident define me as a student.  My fall semester was one of my best semester's here, I only took 12 hours though .... Spring 2007, my life would be changed forever. Feb of 2007 my cousin was killed by her husband and March of 2007 (2 weeks later) my great-grand mother passed away (2 weeks after that) I was hospitalized the day after Easter in April of 2007 for a suicide attempt.  I had to do a medical under load and only had 1 class.

Jr. year: I was now behind 18 hours and knew that graduation in May 2009 wasn't going to happen without a miracle. Fall was going well UNTIL I took a poli class and my teacher told us (verbally) we could use Wikipedia in lecture; so I did.  My TA submitted me to Honor Court.... here we go AGAIN!  This is when I found out there is NO JUSTICE at UNC-ch ... they have a catch 22 rule that says: if  you are penalized for said offence (plagiarism, violence, hazing) and get caught again for ANY offense, you will automatically be suspended for a YEAR!  My professor submitted a letter on MY behalf ASKING the court to grant the MOST leniency because it was miscommunication between the TA and professor.  However, because I had the previous record, the most lenient they could be was a 1 year suspension -_-.

Out of School: I was out of school for a year and a half, working 3 jobs trying to make ends meet and I had an outstanding balance of $3000 sumthin with the university.  I had to get a loan to cover that but ended up staying out another semester because of finances.

Welcome Back: I had to reapply and came back as of Fall 2009 (now 60 credits behind).  Worked my butt off with school and work and went to summer school.  My Uncle was killed in an accident and that kind of threw me off for awhile but I got back on track. 

Now: as of right now 33 credit hours stand between me and my bachelors of arts in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill + I have a job lined up for after graduation :)

I said ALL that to say (and really i cut a lot out of the story lol), a lot of people judge me when they find out that I am STILL at Carolina BUT I always have to encourage myself and remember "the race is NOT given to the swift but to HE that ENDURES". I'm a FIGHTER and even after all of life's financial, family, emotional, etc trials/tribulations, I'm STILL STANDING!!!!

So for all inquiring minds, I didn't drop out, I didn't flunk out and I didn't get pregnant and disappear smh, I just took the road less traveled.  I am VERY thankful for these times though because it has given me a GREATER respect for people that successfully attain a 4 year degree but it also teaches me not a judge a book by it's cover.  There is A LOT of class of 09 that didn't make it and have no intentions of coming back.  As far as myself, I'm here and I'm NOT leaving without MY degree!  Even after everything that has happened, the tears that were shed and the injustice... I Love the Lord, I Love Myself, I Love My Family, I Love My Friends, and I LOVE UNIVERSITY of NORTH CARLINA at CHAPEL HILL!