Twinkle Toes

Long time no post! I'm officially done with my first semester of college! I'm so relieved and now I'm preparing myself for the festival holiday. Without any more worries, I can enjoy my break with my love ones and spend my time with my youth group at church. My life has been a roller coaster within the past two weeks. I've been overstressed physically and mentally, and the weather doesn't help either. My physics professor told me that life is like a sine curve, and after your lowest lows comes your highest high. I can't wait to be up high again.

Chicago is disgustingly cold right now! Kelly and I braved the weather and took these pictures this morning. This is my entry for the Forever 21's Holiday Sweater Club Contest. Please check out my entry on this link. I'm new to Chictopia so I'm not sure how it works, but there's no hurt in favoriting my photo if you do have Chictopia :D It's my first contest ever and I'm really excited for it!

Sweater - Forever 21 $25; Bear hat - H&M $7; Sherbert blouse - Francesca's; Belt - Forever 21; Skirt - Forever 21; Tights - Forever 21; Boots - Urban Outfitters $40

Grenade

I've been listening to Grenade by Bruno Mars like crazy. His voice is so crisp and he delivers such raw emotions effortlessly. The lyrics are so metaphorically strong, with violent imagery to emphasize the sacrifice a person makes for their loved ones. However, the feelings don't reciprocate.

I had the unfortunate opportunity to witness a relationship like the song. The guy would dedicate himself for his girlfriend, only to be stabbed in the back by her selfish actions. He takes it in and continues to do things for her, but she wouldn't do the same. Every relationship, whether a romantic, or just a friendship, requires a reciprocation of feelings and understanding. Both parties should know what they want and how they feel about the person. Thoughtfulness should be taken account of in every action, reaction, and conversation. You not only have to think about what you can get out of this relationship, but also what you can do to fully give the other person the best you can give them. My dad once told me that a relationship is built upon bricks of happiness and little pebbles of annoyance, jealousy, pettiness and so forth. The pebbles can add up and shake the foundation. Once it is too much, even the bricks can't support the whole and all falls down.

I don't know why I'm so sentimental in this post, but I realized that as the weather changes, people change too, and I think that to have a warm winter, it's necessary to preserve relationships with those dear to us. Don't let misunderstandings in the way we express our feelings ruin the close bonds we have.

My best way to tie this outfit in is that sometimes, underneath all of this tough shell of pride and power, we should also let our soft side of care and compassion out too so that we can enjoy each other's companies in the best way possible. Sorry for the weirdest post ever :D

Dress - H&M $15; Leather jacket - Forever21 - $30; Boots - Mom's

My Perfect Imperfections

A lot of the beauty gurus on YouTube have done this tag, and recently, a friend of mine also did it on Facebook so I thought it would be fun to do it too. This tag is more about the outer appearance, but in no way do I believe that it is the solitary variable to define who you are as a person. I think it is a great way to embrace what God has given you and identify your unique features.

My Imperfections

1. For the past year, I have really struggled with my acne, and still am. There are days when I just felt completely disgusted when I look at myself in the mirror. My mood would be ruined for the whole day and I just wanted to hide. I felt like no matter how hard I try, no matter what products I invest in, it'll never go away. It still acts up these days, but I feel like it's more manageable. I learned to take care of my skin better and I'm more accepting of my acne. It still bothers me sometimes but I realized, in the words of Diddy, that "this too shall pass".

2. My thighs kind of bother me. I felt like it was back in my freshman year I really noticed it because I started playing volleyball. I would eat a lot of protein and drink milk like crazy and got these awesome, muscular thighs. When the season ended, they wouldn't go away and they made my body look kind of disproportionate. It was hard to find jeans that truly fit, because i had a small waist, but larger thighs and a wider hip so it'll always be tight there and extremely loose around my waist and knees.

3. This is kind of weird, but I really don't like how much my body sweats. As I am sitting here, my palms are sweating like crazy. I sometimes go shopping and hold some shirts and then realized twenty minutes later in the changing room that my palm sweat soaked some of the garments. It grosses me out and it really messes up my confidence. I avoid shaking hands with people, and it's hard to pray with others at church or even offer the sign of peace. It makes me really awkward and I really dislike it.

My Perfections

1. This kind of counters my 2nd imperfection but I actually really like my butt! It sounds weird, but I think my butt is pretty cute and it makes a lot of the things I wear look nice. I feel like I get more shape since I'm pretty flat everywhere else so I get more defined curves in the waist area. Recently, I've been into wearing dresses a lot and I think my butt helps make the garment flow better and have a nicer fit. The reason why I believe it counters my second imperfection is because I think that I got my butt from my thighs. You win some, you lose some, eh?

2. I have my mom's eyes and I really like them. They're double-lidded and it makes me feel like they really brighten up my face. I have a wide forehead and a long chin so I think my eyes really bring the focus of my face together. My eyebrows are soft, too, lol.

3. I really love my hair. It's very soft, thanks to my mom's special conditioners, and pretty versatile. Even when I colored it like crazy for the last two years, it rarely showed signs of wear and tear. I barely see split ends, and it's very thin and straight, so I can do a lot with it. I miss my long hair, but right now, I'm definitely feeling the short hair, since it's more manageable and playful.

I tag every one of you reading this! Make a video, a facebook note, a Tumblr post, or a blog post about your perfect imperfections and link it to me via a comment on this post! I'd love to read about your views of yourself. I'd like to leave you with this simple lyric from Priscilla Ranae's song 'Pretty Girl': Beauty lies within your eyes.