The Best and Worst of Being the Oldest

Hello, readers! Hopefully some of you can relate to being the oldest of your siblings because that's what I'm going to be writing about today. There are benefits to being the oldest child, but there are also some things that aren't the most fun about it. I'm going to talk about two things I've noticed to good about being the oldest, and two things I've seen to be the worst! I'll get started right away with the good things.

1.) As the oldest, you get to do everything first. This means that you get to drive first, possibly get married first, and you even get to finish school first which is a huge bonus. I feel bad for my little sisters because they seem so far behind being that we're all four years apart. I can't imagine going through elementary school and junior high again! Being the first one to do everything is awesome. You're the one people look up to, and I consider that a good thing.

2.) As the oldest, you get to tell your little siblings what to do. Personally, this is my favorite because I know I can always count on having a free back massage! Siblings are the cards you were dealt, make the most of them!

Although those two things are bonuses among many others, there are downfalls to being the oldest. Here are the two that come to mind. 

1.) You have to watch your siblings get more freedom than you did. Being the oldest means you were the first, which also means your parents had a little less knowledge about how to handle you and what to expect. As a result, they were strict with you and probably thought you wouldn't do very well if they weren't. As the siblings keep coming, the strictness diminishes. Parents know what to expect and start to grow a little more lenient. Little siblings get to do things your parents NEVER would've let you do. And that's just what comes with being the oldest. 

2.) You have to babysit. You have to babysit a lot. Babysitting isn't so bad on it's own, but as your siblings get older it turns into driving them to sports or home from school and making sure their homework is done and their rooms are cleaned and chores are done. However, you unknowingly signed up for this when you decided to be born first. So I say, make the most of it. I hear that you'll miss them when you move out, so make babysitting count.

That's all I have! Thanks so much for reading! Like or share if you agreed with anything in this article! Talk to you next week. 

School Dances

        Hello readers! This week I've decided to write about school dances since I went to one this weekend! School dances can be super fun, or they can be terrible. I have some tips this week to make your school dances super fun. This can also apply to people who are out of high school and going to anywhere that dancing will be required. 

Tip 1: Go to the dance with friends. This doesn't mean that you can't go with a date; in fact I recommend you go with a date. That being said, bringing some other couples and friends along makes it way more fun. Personally, I think having people to dance with and talk to is way more fun than sitting in a corner with your date. It's even worse if you end up standing because you don't want to dance with your date at all. This leads me right into my next tip.

Tip 2: Go with someone that you're comfortable with. It is totally okay to tell someone you don't want to go with them. It'll save you the awkward dancing, questions, and time. High school dances are a time you can let loose and hangout with your friends, and you won't want to do that if you're feeling shy or nervous. 

Tip 3: Don't bring too much stuff. It gets a little chaotic trying to keep track of your personal belongings and trying not to forget anything at the end of the night.

If you go with a guy, give him your phone and ID to put in his pocket if you have one, and leave the rest in the car. This prevents lost or stolen items, and saves you time at the beginning of the dance when everyone else is in line to leave their things with chaperones. 

        That's all I have! Thanks for reading this week and share with a friend if you enjoyed it! Remember to keep these tips in mind to have a somewhat decent dance next time you go.

College Readiness

        Hello readers! It's time for my think of the week and this week I want to talk about what I think you can do to get ready for college. You can never be fully prepared if you're going to college straight out of high school, but there are some steps you can take to get a head start! Although I'm not in college yet, I have been doing some preparing and I've talked to some people who ARE in their first year of college so I feel like I can give some basic and accurate advice. 
        The first thing that comes to mind when I think of college readiness is choosing a major and a school. These are two HUGE steps. All too often you hear of people who enter college intending to do one thing and then end up switching their major in the long run. I would recommend narrowing it down to a few majors and thinking very hard about how you want your future to be. It will cost you more money to switch your major if you have to take a bunch of new classes. Try to stick with one or be somewhat close! I know a lot of people have no idea what they want to do, but this time it could cost you. The second part might be a little harder even. Choosing a school. My advice to go about this would be to visit a TON of schools! Visit public and private schools, large and small schools, near and far schools. It's much easier to choose a school that's right for you after seeing so many different types. It also helps to apply and see where you get in, if you're in your senior year. Another thing to keep in mind is the financial aid they can offer and any scholarships they have. Sometimes more expensive schools can actually end up costing you less. 
        I'm going to offer one last tip for tonight and it's not as complicated as the first two! Take ANY required tests ahead of time and multiple times! Yes, multiple times. Especially the ACT if you live anywhere that needs it. Taking the ACT the first time is perfect for figuring out what you need to improve on to get the best possible score for yourself! It is definitely worth the time spent preparing. Get practice tests and booklets. Sometimes school counselors have an actual ACT paper book with questions in it. For me it's easiest to fill out what I know and take the ones I don't know to one of my teachers! Use your high school to your advantage! You'll be surprised how much they can help you! 
        Thanks so much for reading! If you liked this or it was helpful please like or share. See ya!  

What is Trust?

         Hello readers! Today I want to talk about trust with you and my perspective on it. I've been thinking about it a lot lately as I've heard about countless situations where a certain person's actions resulted in a loss of trust. And though we talk about trust we never really know what it is. So this week, I'm going to talk about what trust is to me.

“We know much better what trust does than what trust is” wrote Castaldo et al. in their 2010 review of marketing, strategic management, psychology, and sociology literature.

        So what IS trust then? I guess it's different for everyone, but to me personally, it's actions. You can never truly believe that someone will do what they say they will. There's no way of knowing. It is true, however, when they say that actions speak louder than words. Trust is a feeling. It's a feeling of security, and the feeling of truly knowing that when someone says they will do something, they will do it. Trust, the feeling, can only be obtained through actions. In my personal opinion, once someone continually shows you how they feel, and shows you how reliable they are, you reach the feeling that is trust. However, it is far easier to have a feeling of mistrust. Mistrust I would say is just the opposite. All in all I don't think of trust as anything more than an emotion. To me personally though, I think it is the most important emotion. Trust drives relationships, business ordeals, where you buy a house, where your children go to school, who you tell your secrets to. Trust is what makes the world go around. A single emotion. Who do you trust? What is trust to you? 

Long Distance Relationship Keys

        Hello Readers! As you may or may not know depending on how well you know me personally, my boyfriend went off to college this fall! To clarify, I don't consider our relationship long distance at all. We're only about 50 minutes apart which isn't bad at all. The reason I'm writing about this particular think, is because I am in a relationship that has lasted a long time whether we're close or not and I feel like I can give some tips on how to maintain a relationship. Especially a long distance relationship because we've worked through the challenges of not being super close all the time. So, here are my top 5 tips to maintain a long distance relationship. If you're going to experience this in the future (younger readers) it's best to know what to expect! I'll be talking mostly about college situations, but this can be applied to work endeavors and/or trips as well. 

1.) The first few days will be the worst. Ignore them. 
When my boyfriend first got to college he was figuring everything out, meeting new people, exploring campus, and hanging out with all of his new friends. Whereas I was sitting at home doing the same things I normally do waiting for him to call or text or do something. He was so busy! I didn't even think of what he might've been doing. My advice in this scenario, is to ignore the first few days. Once everything settles down and your significant other gets into a routine, everything pretty much goes back to normal. This time goes by a lot faster if you have a hobby to keep you occupied. Do that. 

2.) Communication is key. Remember quality over quantity. 
Communicating will make or break your relationship. When someone goes off to a new place where you don't know anyone, it's easy to worry about them. A lot. Although they'll be exploring and checking things out make sure you set some guidelines. My example with Corey is that I just know where he is if he's going to be unable to use his phone for a long period of time. It's much easier for him to say "Hey, I'm gonna go to a football game with the guys! Talk to you around 10!" than it is for me to call all his friends to make sure he's not dead. It helps with trust too!  Sometimes in the morning he'll text me with the major events he has for that day (church, work, etc) so that I can do my own thing and not have to worry about anything crazy! We found it works a lot better that way and keeps both of us a little less stressed out! 

3.) Hypocritical behavior will ruin a relationship. 
This is self explanatory. If you expect someone to do something, don't run around and do the opposite. They're making an effort to keep you happy and you should be doing the same thing. This is sometimes hard as it is easy to feel as if you and your significant other have different circumstances. You do not, and you shouldn't act as if you do. 

4.) Trust is Necessary. 
College is a scary place and everyone knows about the rumors. The partying, the drinking. I know you've heard it too. The worst part is, you can't be there to know what's going on. If you're in a committed relationship, you need to trust the person you love. If your significant other has promised you something, you need to trust that the promise will be kept regardless of distance. You know them as a person and shouldn't assume that they will mess up. If they do, it's on them! But trust is important to keep your nerves under control. You can't make their decisions for them, but they'll make the right ones if they truly love you the same way! 

5.) Make sure you aren't too dependent on your significant other. 
If you can't function and complete daily tasks without your boyfriend/girlfriend, something is wrong. College will not be fun for either one of you. My advice would be to have your own hobbies to keep you occupied when the other is gone or busy. Personally, I'm very independent and would rather be drawing or writing or reading than hang out with other people, so this was the easiest for me. This whole thing goes so much smoother if you do your own thing when you're separated and do your together thing when you're hanging out. If you're too dependent on your significant other, you will literally lose your mind because they were the only thing you ever had to look forward to. I think it's important to invest your time in yourself as well, because when they're at college you need something to do! I hope that made a little sense! 

Thank you for reading! I hope these help a little bit and I hope my examples were relevant. Please let me know what you think! Bye!