My final freshman seminar post

Yes, there is community on social media. In my opinion, it is the reason we have so many different social media sites. Every website has a purpose and an audience which could be the community and you not even have known it, because you were not on social media. There can be many personal or business relationships made. Facebook has special groups you can join and people invite you to be in. Twitter has the option to make lists of people who could possibly associate in because they have something in common.

Personally, I am in a few communities. One, being for a former teammate of mine who was killed in a car crash two years ago. I am in groups for the University of Memphis, such as Rawls, Frosh Camp, and events on campus. On twitter I am in the social media community. Once I get further into my major, I plan on getting into a community for Nursing students. This would be a large and strong community and very helpful.

My final post... Maybe?

This blog was just for my English class and I can say it has been a new experience. Since this is my last post, I just wanted to thank everybody who has commented on my posts and gave me wonderful advice. It has been really useful. It was fun to write for y'all and let y'all in my life for a while. If you are going to continue to blog, let me know. I really liked some of y'all blogs and would be interested in reading more in the future. Hey, you never know I just might continue blogging. Thank y'all for reading!

-Chelsea Jones

Match.com versus Zoosk.com

Online Dating Sites: Match.com versus Zoosk.com

            If you are single and looking for a companion that can be potentially a husband or wife in the future, I’ve got a way just for you. Just finding someone at the bar or getting your friend to hook you up is not “in” anymore. Technology is flourishing and online dating is the reason people are finding love. The two websites I decided to compare and contrast are Match and Zoosk. While both attract single people across the country, Match caters more towards the older crowd and has a simple design. Zoosk is more bubbly and exciting for the younger generation and is not as easy to navigate.

            The great thing about both Match and Zoosk are that I could find what I was looking for. It did not matter if I was a single man looking for a woman, a single woman looking for a man, a single man looking for a man, or a single woman looking for a woman. They gave me the option to choose right when the site loaded up. I was also allowed to search by age and find local singles within a certain mile radius of me on both sites.

            Signing up was fairly simple for both Match and Zoosk. I had to put an e-mail, password, username, and background information. Match was very detailed and asked not only my background information, but my features, social status, values, favorites, and hobbies. On the other hand, Zoosk did not go into as much detail. This is important because it makes your profile more personal and someone looking at your profile may have some of the same interest you do. The inconvenience in signing up for Zoosk was that I had to confirm my e-mail address.

            Online dating has gotten a bad rap for catfishing and rapes that have happened while meeting a person from online. A positive factor is both websites give online dating tips for safety reasons. On Match, the tips were found at the bottom on the homepage. Zoosk sent their tips for online dating through the confirmation e-mail. This is an important factor because a lot of people are trying online dating for the first time and are not exactly sure what to do.

            The design of Match is generic and a tad boring and simple. It is very similar to Facebook. On the contrary, Zoosk is cute and fun, and attracts young people like me. One thing I did notice was that they were both used blue, which is common on social media sites. The menu was placed differently on both sites. Match’s was at the very top and was easy to access, while Zoosk’s menu was on the far left side. The fonts were similar, but unalike. Match was more Arial font and Zoosk was more Georgia font. The design shows us why older people are more attracted to Match and young people are attracted to Zoosk.

            The usability was reasonably painless for both. Zoosk options were sometimes confusing and I had to click on some of them to figure out what it was about. In my opinion, Zoosk is more for the younger people who are technologically sharp. The older generation that is not too wise about technology would understand how to navigate Match easier than Zoosk. Young people can learn new things and want to learn new things, while the older people just like it to be simple and know what to do without any help. It also helps that both websites uploaded fast with anything I clicked on to help the impatient people of all ages.

            Match and Zoosk are both consistent with their purpose of hopefully finding a person’s true love. They both allowed me to basically build my perfect man. From the way I want him to look and his social status. Zoosk does not accomplish this feature as well as Match, but they both have that option. Of course, as with many other websites, there is a choice to message people. Communicating is key when it comes to building a relationship. Match allows you to see who viewed your profile and it allows the person to “poke or wink” at you, which is normally a sign of interest. You could choose to poke or wink back at them. This could spark a conversation between two people. Although Zoosk does not have such a unique feature, they do have their own instant messenger system called Zoosk Messenger.

            One of the most annoying things on a website is the advertising. Both websites advertised in different ways. Zoosk advertised through ways to get “coins” on the site. These “coins” are used to enhance your experience on the site. The only way I could earn the coins were by completing surveys and accepting offers by a variety of vendors. While on the other hand, Match had ads that were noticeable, but because they had nothing to do with the purpose of the site, I did not pay a lot of attention. I saw an advertisement for some boots the first time I was on there. Another ad said “Click here and take the personality assessment” on Chemistry.com. I clicked on it and Chemistry.com is the sister site for Match.

            An important factor that makes or breaks a website is its functionality. After using both, I felt as if Match functioned better than Zoosk, because it was simple and easy to find what I was looking for under the main titles they gave. In contrast, Zoosk made me think a little bit harder on what I should click on to figure out what I was looking for. Neither site had many links, but when it did a new window did not pop up, which is a plus. Both sites had basic search options, but Match had the best way to search because they went in depth. The basic option to search on either site was to search for people by age and in a certain mile radius. Match was unique in their search process, because I could do a custom search. This custom search helped me figure out what I did and did not want in a future partner. It was various questions for his appearance, background, values, interests, and lifestyle. Zoosk had nothing like this, the most unique item that they had was a carousel. It is a game and when I played it had a picture of a random photo of someone on the site. I could choose yes, maybe, or no. If I choose no it would go to the next person like a carousel. On the other hand, Match made it simple and put two pictures side by side and asked “Who do you like?”

            Being a member of either site had its advantages and disadvantages. There are two levels of membership. I am a member, who signs up and only get to search for people. I could message people and communicate only if I became a subscriber. Basically, if I were to buy a subscription, I could do anything I wanted to do on the website. The subscriptions for both websites are reasonable, but it all depends on how long you plan on subscribing. Zoosk prices are $29.95 for one month, $19.98 for three months, $12.49 for six months, or make one easy payment and not have to worry about paying for however long the subscription was for. Match is cheaper, since all their subscriptions are under $20.

            It is excellent when websites can function with other social media and make a connection to each other. Zoosk was efficient, because it gave me the option to sign up through my Facebook or Twitter. In contrast, Match was on many different social sites. I could go like them on Facebook or go follow them on Blogger, Twitter, Instagram, or Pininterest. Both also had a mobile app. Apps are an easier way to just click that one thing instead of having to go to the web browser on a smartphone and typing their website in the URL.

            In my own opinion, Match was the better site. A few reasons why: 1. They asked more details about me and what I wanted my partner to be like. 2. The way I could customize a search and connect with others in unique ways. 3. The most fantastic thing is their guarantee to hopefully find me a match. However, Zoosk does have its own positives. It has fun games to play and will send e-mails, text messages, iPhone/iPad and Android notifications. Since both are relationship matching websites, they do accomplish their purpose to attract single men and women and help them find their perfect partner. The absolute worst thing about both websites is that you have to subscribe to actually enjoy your experience on either website. Overall, after researching both online dating sites, I might give Match a try in the future. I’ll know exactly what I want in a man by then and will be able to search for one by all the qualities I like. Online dating sites can be very useful, you just have to be careful.

Freshman Seminar Post

By being in the Social Media Fresh Connections Freshman Seminar have made me realize how Social Media can make or break your career. I can use it not only for entertainment purposes, but to help find things like internships and jobs. I have learned about Hootsuite and how it can group people together so you can focus on certain subjects. Before I got in this class I had never heard of it. I learned that now employers will evaluate your social media first before they even interview you. The has had an impact on the way I use social media. I used to curse in every single tweet and now I don't as often. I was really nonchalant and did not realize it would affect me later. Although I have not used social media for a job or internship, I plan on doing that real soon.

Random Thoughts

My question for this week is what are you supposed to do if you feel as if your significant other is falling out of love with you? What are the signs? What do you do? How do you try and get over your feelings? Is there something wrong with you?
I think if a person begins to feel this way you can tell because they never want to be with you or don't tell you they love you anymore. Really I believe you should approach them and ask them how they feel and tell them how you feel. If you find out your feelings are stronger for them than their feelings are for you then just forget them. I knw that is easier said than done, but people just grow apart sometimes. You can't think of it as something being wrong with you. You may be maturing or know what you want out of the relationship and the other person doesn't. It is usually the guy that is not mature enough. Boys usually mature slower than girls anyway.
I wis boys could be more like girls, as far as sensitiviy goes. They do get hurt, but they don't react like girls. Girls are very emotional creatures. In my opinion, I wish I was not so emotional and don't get attached to people. That is with any relationship I have.
Having feelings sucks and I'll be honest I feel like this now. I wish I didn't. I want to be like forget you! Well that is me being in my feelings this week!

Manifesto of Fed Up Faithful Lovers

Love is a beautiful thing. Staying in one committed, confirmed, and monogamous relationship is a true accomplishment. This is what people like me long for. As with any good thing, there are always ways to ruin it. In this case, there are a group of people who ruin it and they are called Cheaters. A cheater is a person who acts dishonestly, deceives, or defrauds. They usually will have other partners in a relationship. This shows people like us, Faithful Lovers Association or FLA, the lack of respect or love for someone you claim to love. If a person is completely committed, there should be no reason to cheat. Which is why our motto is: “Stay faithful or stay single!”

We, Faithful Lovers Association, believe that cheating has to stop. Cheaters have been around for ages and they have ruined our society, not only as in relationships, but all other aspects of life. There are way too many damaged hearts out there, because of this ruthless, careless act. We believe this problem needs to be eliminated. It is an issue that hurts the hearts of men and women alike. It affects a person’s future relationships and mental and physical health. For example, in future relationships it could cause major trust issues. Without trust in a relationship there is nothing. Mentally, it could cause a person to be so hurt by the cheater that they may want to commit suicide. Physically, a person may contract a sexually transmitted disease or the person may start eating less because of depression. These are reasons why we, Faithful Lovers Association, strive to find all faithful lovers and become a unified front. We want our own society, where being faithful, trusting, and loving are our only options. 

 As might be expected of a cheater, they have numerous excuses. Since every cheater is different, I’ll give you three reasons that I have heard from cheaters myself and my opinion against them. First of all, the cheaters who cheat instead of breaking up with the person. I understand if you have been in a relationship for a while, but that still does not give you a right to crush someone’s feelings, especially if they are being faithful to you and treating you right. Just simply break up. If you truly love someone, you need to let them go. If you do not, you should not have been with them in the first place.

 Secondly, a person cheats often because they feel unloved or unwanted. Most people can tell when they are not wanted. Obviously, the other lover is making them feel better. In that case, why would you still be with someone who makes you feel neglected? Just break up and be with the other person instead of cheating.

Lastly, the cheaters who want to be in a relationship with two people just for the hell of it. It is like living a double life, neither person even knows about each other. Some cheaters sincerely get a thrill out of having two different lovers. It was explained to me by a cheater that the lover you have been with the longest is like home, and the other lover is like a vacation spot. Either way you put it, this is an outrageous idea! Instead of having just one broken heart, you now have two devastated souls. They both were played like a Xbox 360.

For the reason above, the faithful partner is not the only one who hurts. This deceiving act affects a person’s family and friends. They never want to see their family or friend hurt. This also affects the mental and physical aspect and all relationships the future holds for that person. Think about it like this, if I dropped a porcelain heart on the ground and it shattered into one-hundred pieces, I probably would not be able to put every single piece back together. Now, there is a lost piece that will never be found again. It is just like that every time someone gets cheated on. Their heart is broken, and they will never be the same.

We, FLA, want to take a stand by suggesting a few solutions. First, for the benefit of our society, we will have cheater educational classes. These classes will be held once a week and will teach college students the signs of a cheater, all the reasons why they cheat, and how to catch a cheater. For any civilian who believes they are being cheated on, they have the right to file a police report. The cheater must then, by law, take a lie detector test, at the many lie detector clinics. In addition to the lie detector test, there will also be counseling for the cheaters and the victims. If the cheater fails the test, they must register as a Faithless Offender. Any curious civilian can go to the lie detector clinic website, enter the person’s first and last name, and Boom! There are the results of the test and the person they cheated with. By doing this, these cheaters will forever shamed and humiliated for their actions. This will greatly affect any of their future relationships, just like their victims. Karma is true b*$#*!

These rules we, FLA, believe will help our elite society. The satisfaction of knowing that less hearts will be broken and true love will flourish is truly our motivation. This is why we will always stand by our motto:

 

"Stay faithful or stay single."

A Little Preview to my Manifesto next week.

Right now, I am working on my manifesto. This is so hard, because I had never heard of a manifesto until this past week. Only good thing about it is we get to pick our own topic. Since it had to be related to the theme of my blog, I chose cheating. I have cheated before, but that is because I was young. I didn't know any better. Now, relationships are starting to get serious and it is crazy how many people cheat and different reasons they do. You can be getting cheated on and not even know it. When I post my manifesto next week, please don't laugh! It is corny, but I am really working hard on it. I put a lot of thought into it. I also wanted to talk about when you not with somebody, like boyfriend and girlfriend, but do all the "bf/gf" things. I mean what is acceptable when this happens? I need comments, because it is confusing.

Honesty is key.

I was just thinking and I want to to know why in relationships we can't be honest? Why do we have to lie to each other and make things worst. No one likes to be lied to. Even though I know the truth hurts sometimes, I'd rather be hurt by the truth than hurt by lying. I know some people lie, and think that your saving another person's feelings, but in reality, it will hurt worst once or if they find out later. No matter how hard it hurts, you have to accept it and move on. I had to come to that decision today, but I still haven't exactly decided what I'm going to do yet. I'm not sure if I should just give up or keep trying my hardest. No matter what decision I make I just want to be honest with myself and him. On another note, I really need y'all help with topics. I just go completely blank and I know there is a lot I have an opinion on, so if y'all would give me suggestions in my comments. That would be greatly appreciated.

Random Blog Post

This is for freshman seminar.

Last week in class we did the dopest thing ever. We had class on twitter. It was fun and I really enjoyed it. He told us to blog about something random. He said it would probably be about food, because during our conversations it's always about food. I think they thought I was playing when I said I was going to blog about cheesecake.

I just absolutely love cheesecake and over the break I found a whole cheesecake on sale at Wal-Mart! I know it was God. Lol. I have only ate one piece out of it and can't wait to get back to my room to eat some more. I think my best friend Salesia got me hooked on it, because I tasted some of hers and fell in love. We use to buy a whole one, split the price and the cheesecake. That's how real the addiction got. I wonder why they are so expensive though? I think it is because of the ingredients.

I just like regular New York Style cheesecake. Some people liked theirs topped with all different types of fruits and just a whole different flavor. I'm not a big fan of that. Recently I got referred to a place Downtown Memphis called the Cheesecake Corner and I hope I can check that out real soon.

Double Standards.

Double standards, I just don't understand why we set them in society, but most importantly in relationships. They really suck and I wish relationships would become equal.

The most common one I know of is if a boy has sex with more than two girls, he is praised. He's "the man", but when a girl has sex with more than two guys she's a whore. Why is that? Why can't they both be whores? Because to me they are. This situation happens even when a girl is just "talking" to a guy, she is a whore.

I'll give a few examples of my own relationship. One standard is he likes to say I spend his money, but in reality I don't even ask for his money. I mean if you are willing to pay, why am I going to stop you? Then he gets mad when I want to spend my own money on something I really want. It is just confusing.

Another situation is when he'll say something stupid that makes me mad. It's this stupid thing he got off a Vine video. This girl on there had a superman cape on and said "Now you're super mad!" It irritates me because he does it all the time. So me, being the person that I am, I will use the same thing on you when you least expect it and that's exactly what I did. He was really "super mad" *in my superman voice* after that, but oh well. It is many other things he'll say and get mad when I say the EXACT thing to him. It is hilarious because he doesn't have a reason why it is wrong for me to say the same thing he said to me. I just want to make him feel like I felt.

The last and overall most ANNOYING problem is having guy and girl friends. Jamarius is a friendly and funny guy. Sometimes he gets a little too friendly. I try not to say anything about it, because flirting is in his blood. His daddy is such a huge flirt and likes to start conversations with people, just like him. When I was not attending Memphis yet, these "best friends" that were girls popped up. I don't trust that "best friend" deal. It especially annoyed me because he expected me not to have guy friends. How unfair is that?

I have a true hate for double standards, but I know they won't go away. It is just how our society is set up.

My awesome profile!

I was excited about this profile and worked really hard on it, so I hope ya'll enjoy it!

Candice Floyd: Independent Diva

            By observing her life in 2013, you would never know the things Candice Floyd has been through. Her smile is contagious and she lights up any room she walks in. She is a wise, beautiful, and talented diva that took the jealousy of her peers and family and used it as motivation to do everything to the best of her ability. Her “go-getter” attitude has gotten her far. With a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and her own private practice that opened in May 2013, she definitely has proved them wrong. She explained to me, “No one can steal my joy, because I know where God has brought me from.”

            Candice grew up in a small town in Tennessee. Her mother was very strict and she had a relationship with her father until she was four. Being the middle child of 3, she was torn with no one ever knowing. Her big sister was always in control and her little brother always got what he wanted. “I was going through the middle child syndrome”.   She described her home as a two-parent household with her mom and stepdad. She is very family orientated and her family is close and supportive and carried out a name of greatness.

            Although Candice had many female friends and was considered popular, she still had enemies that would dislike her and say things because they felt she thought she was better than everyone else. This bothered her more than many would ever know and she began to think she was not beautiful. She struggled with her weight and not fitting that image of a skinny, light skinned, and long haired girl.  She hung out with boys, who she were like her brothers, because girls had an issue with her.

            When she graduated from high school in 2003, she went on to Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Mississippi. Although psychology was not in her plans at the time, she went in hopes of becoming an educator and teaching French. She minored in journalism. She realized this was not for her when she took her French class and failed it. She told me it was the only class she failed. She did not know what to do since her dream of becoming a French educator did not seem like the right fit.  Throughout school she always felt she had a learning disability, because she would have to read paragraphs four or five times to get an understanding. She put her faith in God, cried and prayed to Him about it and asked him to show her where she was needed.

            The next day, with psychology and therapy being the last profession in mind, she attended her psychology class. She sat in the front as she usually did, with the room crowded from wall to wall, and listened to her professor’s lecture. She suddenly realized this is what she was supposed to be doing. She understood everything the professor was saying and it was easy to her. Even the professor told her psychology was for her because of the way she would absorb the information and give feedback.  She did just that.

            After completing two years at Northeast Mississippi Community College, in 2005 she continued her education at Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She graduated Spring 2008 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology. In February 2009, her and her high school sweetheart discovered she was eight weeks pregnant.  Life was great! She always wanted to have kids and she was excited about the thoughts of having a family and becoming a mother. In April 2009, they found out they were expecting a precious baby boy who they would name Thailan DeWayne Davis.  Still pursuing education, she continued preparing for the arrival of her son.  While living in her dream and happiness she was suddenly hit with devastating news a few weeks later that their son was no longer breathing.  Hearing the news after just going to the hospital to only hear the sound of his heart beating took a turn for the worse and left them in a state of disbelief, but to hear that she was to give birth to her deceased son was described by her as a tragedy.  On May, 1, 2009 at 6:15 a.m., less than a pound, Thailan “Thai” Davis was born an angel at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, TN.  Although she lost her only son, which she would call her peace, she told me one of the proudest moments of her life was being able to experience being a mother and having a family with the one she has loved all her life. It was very bittersweet.

            Candice was hurt, but yet knew that her strength would come from the trust she had in God. She tells me “It is so hard to lose a child, and after Thailan died I went into a deep depression.” While in her grief stages, six months later the man that would always bring joy to her life was pronounced deceased. Candice’s grandfather, the one she would call in times of sadness besides God was gone. The pain was unbearable.  Candice attempted taking a bottle of pills with the intent of ending her life. Due to the circumstances of grief and emotional needs, conflict would later end the relationship of the love of her life of 12 years. She then began to drink heavily to ease and numb what was going on for her.  During these times she was working for an agency providing individual and family counseling for at-risk and homeless youth counseling her own clients , but deep down inside she needed her own help. She began to listen to the ways her clients would use negative coping skills to ease their pain. One of those ways was by cutting themselves. She says “I was like a zombie. I was there physically and could be present with my clients, but in my mind I was in a really dark place.” “My clients would not even notice and they trusted me.” She refused to let her depression keep her from helping others.  After work, she would just stay in the house and clean.

            While experiencing those unexpected tragic events, she continued with her education and completed her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Trevecca Nazarene University in 2012. She decided to go into Marriage and Family Therapy, because she loves relationships and seeing love. She likes to see people in love and just overall loves to help bring out the great potential in others. She tells me she has never cried that much in her life and it was a rough journey for four years. At her graduation ceremony, she carried Thailan’s blanket he took his pictures in the day he was born throughout the graduation ceremony. After graduation, she had a reception and when she gave her speech, she dedicated her degree to Thailan and her grandfather because they were her motivation. They picked her up when she was down. She knew they would not want her to be like that but help others by being the author of her story to help someone else.

            When she first chose to go into psychology she knew she wanted her own private practice. She fulfilled this goal in May 2013, in memory of her son, Thailan DeWayne Davis, she opened Candice Floyd Therapy. The original intended name for the practice was Healing Hearts Therapy, because of her wanting to mend brokenness within the heart of others.  She does everything to keep their memory alive.

            Her first client at Candice Floyd Therapy was what she called a “textbook client”. She described what a “textbook client” was to me and her definition was the client you read about but never think you are actually going to be counseling. She was confident, but very nervous. This tested some of the techniques she had learned in her many years of school. Her client was a fourteen year old girl that suffered from very deep depression. She explained the session as very sad and emotional with many tears.  So then the question of does she cry with her clients came up. She then went on to tell me, “When I first started with my clients at the agency I was working at, I used to cry after sessions with them and carry those emotions home.  It is very hard at the beginning to separate your counselor life and your personal life.” Overall, she said it just felt good to know she was helping people in her own private practice. It was overwhelming and she was in disbelief.

            As a marriage counselor she knows something about love and relationships. During pre-marital counseling, her goal is to get the couple to break up.  For some that may sound crazy, but she says if they can be broken before obstacles of brokenness and possible marital conflict that may soon or later come as a stressor in the relationship, then maybe they need to go back and work on how to heal self first.  She told me the main problems that she has seen with married couples are over sexual dissatisfaction, income, infidelity, and communication. She noticed that men are very emotional, sometimes more so than women. “Men just want to be loved and women just want to be wanted.”  Her best advice for a successful relationship is to come into a relationship as your authentic self, whole, and not wear a mask.  Ask yourself have you dealt with your past and the things currently going on in your life. You have to date yourself first to get to know you before you date someone else, introducing to them the person without the mask.

            Candice has gone through many obstacles, but none have stopped her. Her over-the-top sense of humor, faith in God, family, and friends has gotten her through her darkest days. With the memory of her son and grandfather as her motivation, anything is possible for Candice Floyd to accomplish. That is why she has a special thing she thinks everyone should do. “Smile when you see people, you never know what somebody is going through.” “Love never goes out of style.”

Her praying with her grandfather

Her precious baby boy, Thailan DeWayne Davis

 

My personal relationship

Hey everyone! I hope your week has went well and your weekend will be even better. This week I decided to tell you about my boyfriend and how we met.

His name is Jamarius and we have been together for five years now. It's a messed story how we got together but I'm going to tell it anyway. One of his friends decided to hook him up with my best friend KayKay. It was around her birthday, May 18th. His friend told him to get her a birthday gift and take it over her house. He did but he didn't get to actually see her that day. They talked over the phone for about two more weeks after that and they finally saw each other on his birthday, May 29th. They hung out and she was calling me while he was there. Of course, I was uninterested but I stayed on the phone anyway.

My friends and I used to be on three-way all the time. I would secretly be on three-way while him and KayKay where talking. She would also bring my friend La'Shawn into the conversation. Somehow La'Shawn got his number and they were talking to each other. At the time, him and KayKay were having problems so when La'Shawn was on the phone with him she would put me on three-way with them. He told me he looked me up on MySpace and found an interest in me instead of my friends.

One day when I was on the phone with both of them, I had to hang up. Next thing you know, he had my number and was calling me all the time. He still claims to this day he don't blow up girls' phone, but I wish we had screenshots back then so I could prove it to him. We talked on the phone for a few weeks and we decided to see meet up. From his MySpace picture, I really didn't want to see him and I thought I would just stop talking to him after we met.

One hot day of June, my dad was playing basketball for the 35 and up league team for his job. They were playing at Jamarius' high school, North Side High School. It just so happened that he just moved in a house the next street over from North Side. So, I decided to call him and tell him to come up there so we can finally meet.

I was super nervous and I had two reasons why. One reason is because my dad was around and I was sneaking to go meet a boy. My dad doesn't play that, especially considering I was only thirteen. My second reason is because I was just getting interested in boys. Talking on the phone was uncomfortable enough, but meeting him made it even worse.

He called me to tell me he was walking up the driveway. I had so many butterflies in my stomach. I didn't know what to do, say, or how to act. He finally came up to me and my first impression of him was, "You are shorter than me and you have braces." He asked, "Are you Chelsea?" and I answered yes and we started to talk. I don't remember exactly what we were talking about but this all lead into our first kiss. We went our separate ways for a couple of days and I invited him over my house while my mom was gone.

The day he came over my house we talked, laughed, listened to music, and I cooked him some burgers. I told him before that if he wanted to be together, he could ask me out in person and that's exactly what he did. So that day in my kitchen, I became his girlfriend and the rest is history.

Throughout our relationship we have had ups and downs. Instead of completely growing apart, we have stuck together through thick and thin. We have had to fight with my parents, his "ladies' man" ways, and his journey through college. We are truly in love and stronger than ever. He is one of my best friends and I'll love him always no matter what happens between us.

I don't know if you guys have heard of storify.com but I wrote a story about #girlcode on there and I'm going to share it. This is one of my favorite shows to watch because it's hilarious! Here is the link:

<div class="storify"><iframe src="//storify.com/chelsWAYNE/girl-code/embed" width="100%" height=750 frameborder=no allowTransparency=true></iframe><script src="//storify.com/chelsWAYNE/girl-code.js" type="text/javascript" language="javascript"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/chelsWAYNE/girl-code" target="_blank">View the story "Girl Code" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div>

This is one of my assignments for my Freshman Seminar class. He wants us to blog about what we learned from that content. With that being said, I learned that girls are crazy. We have a lot of problems going on and it's nice to know somebody else is going through the same. I also feel lucky that I don't have some of the problems that the people who used #girlcode are going through. No one will ever understand why we do the things we do and why we think a certain way and that makes us special. GIRLS RULE, BOYS DROOL!

A little piece of my life.....

Hello everyone! As I mentioned in my earlier post, I was going to tell give more detail about my parents' divorce. So here it is. It was very hard for me to write about but I feel some much needed relief.

My Broken Home

            It was the year 2000, the beginning of a new century. As a five year old, I thought my life was absolutely perfect. What more could a child want? My mom and dad were together and I got almost everything that I wanted.

            Over the course of the next year or so, my life changed. My mom and dad were having problems and I didn’t notice what was happening. Before, when my dad came home from work, he would give me a hug or a kiss but now he wasn’t really talking to me or my mom. He would just ignore us when he came home. In our house, we had a basement. It took about thirteen stairs to get to the end. It was like a nice, cozy apartment down there. It had a dining room, living room, bathroom, and bedroom. When you first came down the stairs, it was a bar that was powder pink and had three cream-colored leather bar stools. A few steps away from the bar was the dining area. There was a round glass table with four chairs around it. The living room had a cream couch, loveseat, and chaise. The bedroom had a king-size bed, I don’t remember the exact style. The basement could also be locked. He would be gone all day, come home to us and go straight to the basement and lock us out. I didn’t know how to feel about it, I was so young and I don’t remember them arguing but a few times. My mom didn’t show her emotions around me, so I never knew how she felt about it.

            My parents’ anniversary was June 8. In June 2001, they went on a cruise for their anniversary. I didn’t go, so I don’t know what happened on the trip, but when they got back everything went downhill from there. It was about two months after they had gotten back. My mom was giving me a bath and we heard the front door open. My dad came home from work and had just found out about an income tax check my mom spent on bills for the house. I believe he had other plans for it, so he was so angry that my mom had spent it all. They were arguing between the locked bathroom door. I was so afraid that I hid behind the door. All of a sudden a huge “boom” comes through the door. My dad had kicked the door in while I was behind the door and it slammed against my arm. There was another door that was in the bathroom were the closet was and my arm got smashed between the two doors. I screamed and cried and the next thing you know I was like a rope, and they were playing Tug of War with my arms. They were fighting over who would get to comfort me first. I was getting pulled left to right, left to right and finally my mom won. She picked me up and took me to their room and looked at my arm. I don’t bruise easily, so it was just sore at the moment. My arm was in excruciating pain. When it all died down, they went their separate ways like every night and I got ready for bed since it was late. I don’t remember how I felt going to bed that night. I was just worried about my arm.

            You could cut the tension in my house with a knife over the next few months. It was Labor Day weekend and my dad’s cousin and his wife were coming from Michigan to visit. My dad had stayed out all night till the wee hours of the morning. Him, my cousin, and his wife went out that night and he left them wherever they were and went somewhere else. It really upset them and they left and came back to our house. The next day or two, my mom decided to talk to him and try to get him to act better while we had company. I could hear them talking in the middle of the night while I was in my room. The conversation escaladed into an argument and I heard another “boom” that scared me to death. They opened the door to check on me and when they did I saw a slight hole in my bedroom door. My dad had punched the door from being so angry. Once my cousins left, I thought everything would be okay but it was the last straw.

            Fast forward to October, my mom was braiding my hair. My dad came in from work, said something to me, went down into the basement and came back up the stairs to do something else. After he was done doing what he had to do, he was going back down the stairs to lock himself in the basement again and he realized the handle was gone, it was just a hole there. My mom was tired of him being gone from 3:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. coming in the house and not speaking to me or her and locking himself up until the next morning. She was fed up and this made him outraged. My mom was braiding my hair in their room. It was a fairly small room for a king-size bed to fit in but they made it work and also had a chester drawer and a chair too. The bed was in a corner and the bed post was right in between my legs so no one could walk through unless I moved. My dad began to pack his clothes up and get ready to leave. He jumped across the bed to this chester drawer and started bringing clothes back and forth. My mom and I just sat there calmly and she continued to do my hair. She was almost finished and when she was done, he was just about done packing his clothes.

            Then the argument comes, I can’t remember exactly where I was in the house but the thing that stood out the most to me was the most evil thing one human being can say to another human being. My dad told my mom “I hate you!” and he said he was going to sell the house and didn’t care where me or my mom lived. I do believe it was all out of anger but I will never forget that moment when he told her he hated her.

            For the next couple of weeks, I didn’t see my dad. No one ever clearly told me about the divorce. I just know that I started going with my dad every other weekend. My feelings were crushed, I didn’t know rather it was my fault or if it was just time for them to part ways. I never questioned it and never got to express my feelings about it.

I have forgiving my dad and he has been here for me to this day. Since then, my dad has remarried. I didn’t like my stepmom at first but as I’ve gotten older, I have begun to love her. My mom has a boyfriend now. I didn’t like him at first, and still don’t sometimes but he has been around me since I was seven. Back then I was afraid to get married but right now I have been in a steady relationship for five years. I’m not exactly sure if it will lead to marriage in the future but I’m excited to see what the future holds for me and him. I hope and pray that if we do get married, it will last forever.

 

 

Hey y'all!

Hey everybody! My name is Chelsea Jones. I am a freshman at The University of Memphis and I am 18 years old. I am a graduate from Liberty Technology Magnet High School in Jackson, TN. I played volleyball and basketball in high school and had many scholarship offers but I decided to focus on school instead.

My life has been pretty good. When I was five, my parents got a divorce. It was a big mess but you will learn about that later on. Thank God I have an awesome father that continued to stay in my life after the divorce. I have a stepmother and I love her to death. Not too many can say that.

My parents' troubles have given me this inspiration to do my blog on love and relationships. I have wondered about why they broke up, how different my life would be if they would have stayed together, and how the future of my relationships are affected by this. This will be a few of the many topics I will discuss.

So I hope you will enjoy my blogs and I look forward to talking to you all later!