Signing in real life

After taking my first sign language class, I had an experience that solidified why having this knowledge was so important.

I hosted at an Italian restaurant in high school (I still work there, but now I serve, the money is much better). It was Valentines Day and I was the senior host so I was running the books and reservations up at the front. You probably could have guessed, but Valentines Day is one of the busiest days of the year for restaurants, so most of our tables had a strict rotation of reservations assigned that night.We only had 2-3 tables that were available for "walk-ins."

So during the middle of dinner we were pretty packed, when a man walks in. He comes up to me at the front and requests a table. I couldn't hear him very well because it was loud in there, so I asked him if he had a reservation. He looked at me and kind of shook his head and pointed to his ear, then he pointed to a piece of paper and a pen. I started to put together that he was deaf. I handed him the pen and paper but instead of waiting for him to write down his request I made eye contact with him and signed "how many people in your party?" (well it was more like "number people?" because ASL doesn't use small words like "the" or "a" and that was the best I could do with my base knowledge).

He looked at me for a second and then told me 2 (held up 2 fingers). I put him on the list and then signed to him that the wait for a table would be about an hour, (the literal translation was more like: "table wait about hour, alright?") He nodded at me and sat down to wait next to the host stand.

A little while later his wife walked in and sat down next to him. They started to sign to each other and I was trying not to stare, but I was looking out of the corner of my eye. They were both obviously very fluent and I was interested. She saw me looking and waved at me to get my attention. She asked me (in sign) where I had learned sign language and I told her about the class I was taking (a lot of that had to be finger spelled on my part, I wasn't very good yet). A little while later I took them to their table and told them to have a wonderful night.

I was so glad for the real life experience and for their patience with my (probably bad) signing. This was around 4-5 years ago and I will remember it forever.

The Greats: High School: Mrs. Harrold

Mrs. Harrold:

I was told by so many people, "don't take Mrs. Harrold's AP Euro class! It's so hard! you will literally die!" So naturally, not wanting to die over a ton of course work, I didn't take it.

That did afford me the opportunity to have Mrs. Custred (who was amazing), but I probably missed out on an awesome class. I decided later to take a sign language course, because it seemed interesting but also because some of my friends were doing it. Mrs. Harrold taught sign language and I loved it so much I signed up for the second signing class too.  I even joined the sign language club in high school and I still remember a lot of what I learned and try to practice occasionally.

She did a great job of, not only teaching us sign language, but teaching us why it was important and teaching us about Deaf (and deaf) culture. Having a well-rounded view on the way signing was created and the challenges that face the Deaf community gives so much more meaning and context to an already beautiful language.

After taking her class I could see why her history class was hard, and it was because she is so passionate about everything she does. She gives 110% all of the time and expects the same enthusiasm from her students. She wears Christmas themed outfits leading up to the holidays, she is honest when giving feedback, and she cares deeply about every single student that walks through her doors. Mrs. Patti Harrold is well loved by her other staff members and by her students. I'm sad that I missed out on her European History class but I was extremely blessed to have her as a teacher.

Mr. Mouse in my House (Part 2)

A while back I posted about the mouse I spotted inside of my house.

I set up some catch and release traps for it, but those were unsuccessful. After about a month after first seeing one I hadn't seen or heard anything since.

On a different note, I had also been seeing some Spider Crickets in the house as well, mostly in the laundry room and bathroom. They're pretty much harmless, but they're creepy looking. I had one jump right in front of me as I was walking to the kitchen to make coffee one morning. It scared the crap out me and I jumped about a mile high, my pre-caffine body was not alert enough for that.

So at this point,  had pretty much forgotten about the mouse and I was trying to figure out a way to deal the with the creepy crickets. I doubled up on the spray I use around the house to prevent bugs and I also set out some sticky traps in the rooms I had been seeing them in. The sticky traps were pretty effective and cut down on the number of crickets I had to catch/kill and dispose of.

YOU GUYS a mouse got stuck in one :(

I found him when I got up one morning. He was so small and he looked really sad. Most of the fur on his underside was stuck to the trap, along with 3/4ths of his legs and his face. I felt pretty bad, he kept trying to pull away but he was stuck pretty good. I tried to get him unstuck with some vegetable oil but it wasn't enough to get him off of the trap.

I couldn't just leave him alone in the trap to starve to death, so I had to kill him. It was sad and I think I will be using the regular, classic mouse trap or catch and release from now on.

The Greats: High School

I had so many amazing teachers during high school, it may be hard to fit them all into one post.

Let's start with Mrs. St. Clair.
Mrs. St. Clair has a small frame, wears glasses and has short, grey hair. She probably wouldn't stand out to you in a crowd, but she was an amazing teacher. She taught computer science at my high school and I had her for two years in a row. Computer programming wasn't something I excelled in, but I did okay, I mostly kept doing it because her classes were fun. It was a class that encouraged team work, we would scour each others code to find the errors or ask for the best way to do things. Mrs. St. Clair invested deeply in her students and you could see how much she loved teaching. On some days we would even come have lunch in her classroom to work on a project or just hang out and fool around on the computers.

Mrs. Custred taught AP World History while always managing to be the best dressed person in the room. She was always very engaging in class and loved to talk to her students about anything and everything. She has the best shoe collection of anyone I've ever met. Although she has a love of fashion that runs deep her love for teaching was obviously greater. She made it easy to talk about history in practical terms (history is one of my worst subjects) and I got pretty good at constructing an argument in my essay during her class.

Mr. Haselwood is probably the most fun teacher ever. Everyday in-between classes he would play very loud pop music usually accompanied by some dad-style dancing. It was a little goofy but in the middle of the day it was nice brain-break and I always knew it was going to be a good class. During Christmas time he would hang Christmas lights from the roof tiles. One year for Swine Week (fundraiser) he pledged to dye his hair hot pink if we raised enough money. He pulled off pink hair pretty well. He was always loud and always in a good mood. He didn't treat us like kids, he talked to us like normal adults and made learning fun (also he taught math, which can be pretty hard to make fun). I believe he is no longer teaching but is now going to graduate school to continue bettering himself and I know he is bringing smiles wherever he goes!

To be continued!!! (because I have had a lot of awesome teachers)

My Bestfriend

"Things are never quite as scary when you've got a best friend." - Bill Watterson

This is Blake.

Blake has brown hair, blue eyes and a smaller waist than me. He loves corgis and singing made-up songs about nothing. He likes to play video games, even though he isn't great at them (still  better than me), and he has very strong opinions on music.

Just after this Thanksgiving, Blake and I "celebrated" our 3 year anniversary (by seeing on Facebook that it was our anniversary, we looked up and said "happy anniversary" while continuing to eat pizza). These past 3 years have flown by, and it seems like just yesterday I was making awkward small talk with a cute boy in a coffee shop. Little did I know, that the same boy would become my best friend in the whole world.


Blake is very introverted and if he doesn't get his alone time he gets pretty cranky.
He's not good at folding laundry, but he makes an excellent pot of coffee.
Blake likes to pretend he's not romantic, but he is. He's laid back, and doesn't go for grand gestures (I don't need any extra surprises in my life anyway). He brings me candy home from work, and when we do presents, his are thoughtful. When Harry Potter and the Cursed Child came out, I didn't have time to go get it but of course, I wanted it so bad. After I got off of work one day I found that book casually laying face down on the coffee table, for no other reason than it was a nice thing to do.

Blake and I are very different in many ways. I get Blake out of the house more, and he reminds me to relax. We are also similar in the ways that matter, we share many of the same views, ethics, and priorities. We like conversations about important things like religion and politics and also ones about which TV show is better.
At the end of the day we make a good team. When we cook I do most of the stove work and Blake is my sous chef getting and prepping anything I need. We help each other with big projects and let the other one vent after a long day at work (or school). We help each other make the not-so-great stuff a little bit better, shopping trips become much more entertaining, and when life throws too much at us we always have someone to lean on.

Walking through life with Blake has been my favorite part of every day for the last 3 years and I look forward to the rest of the journey.

Identifying depression and suicidal thoughts

This post will be different. I'm breaking the mold I made for this blog of writing about people, instead it will be in honor of someone.

Clinical depression is a serious illness that affects many Americans, and especially younger people. Unfortunately, 2 out of 3 people with depression don't get treatment.

Here are some things to look for if you think someone you love is dealing with depression or has suicidal thoughts.

Signs of Depression:
Loss of Interest
Activities, hobbies, or subjects that a person enjoyed become something they no longer have an interest in.

Over eating or loss of appetite. 

Trouble Sleeping
This can include insomnia or excessive sleeping. Sleep has a large effect on the body and these symptoms can worsen depression.

Signs of Suicide:
Quickly switching from feeling sad to seeming fine or even happy. 

Talking about death or suicide. 
Words can covey a lot, its not always phrased as simply as a person stating their intent to commit suicide. This is often phrased in theoretical or "Do you ever wonder if...?" This can be accompanied by talking about feelings of inadequacy, sadness or emptiness, or how they wouldn't be missed.

"Tempting Fate"
By putting themselves in harms way. Usually this involves doing things slightly more dangerous than they normally would, such as driving really fast or dangling a bit too far off of a high building.

Tying up lose ends
This often involves touching up a will or calling loved ones that they don't normally call.

Many of these signs can be hard to spot initially, which is why it's important to be aware of them.

If you think someone you care about is struggling talk to them today. It can be a hard conversation, but listening is the most important thing you can do.

If you are struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, reach out and tell someone. Yes, it's a weird topic to approach, but your friends and family are there for this kind of stuff. Consider talking to a professional.

Here are some facts about depression. 
Here is a website with resources and hotlines.

 The National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255


In loving memory of Kannon Manis. I'm better for having known you. You are missed by so many. 

The Greats: Middle School

I am now in my 4th year of undergrad and facing graduation in May. I have been in school for 3/4ths of my life and the idea of not being in school anymore is a bit scary. It also makes me a bit nostalgic. Teachers have been a huge part of my life and sometimes we forget how important they are. So here are some of the great teachers I have had over the course of my life: starting with middle school.

"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child."  - Carl Jung

Mrs. Barghols: Mrs. Barghols was my Enrichment teacher throughout middle school. I don't think I understood how great that class was until later, it was just a fun thing I got to go do instead of regular class. She had me in class for 3 years and probably knew me the best out of all my middle school teachers,  she called me Lizzie instead of Elizabeth (which is what I went by then). She encouraged us to reach beyond normal school, to be creative and invent things. She didn't treat us like the little hooligans we were, she talked to us like adults. I didn't even realize I was learning things while I was in her class, but they are some of the ones I remember most vividly. Mrs. Barghols always had a kind word for everyone and encouraged us to be ourselves. She gave me confidence in myself and made learning fun, and for that I will always remember her and be grateful.

Mr. Goodwin: I think I owe this one an apology. I never took him or his classes seriously enough (and it didn't help that I hate history classes). Back then, antagonizing the teachers was entertainment, and while I was never very loud or rowdy, my friends were. As I look back now, I realize the immense amount of patience he and many other teachers had with us. It takes a special kind of person to teach middle schoolers. Mr. Goodwin poured a lot into his students and into me.

Mr. Wilson: Mr. Wilson was a large man with a thick, dark beard, and he probably could have looked pretty intimidating if he didn't always have a smile on his face. He was my volleyball coach, which I only participated in my 8th grade year (because I was horrible, I think I was on the 3rd "C" team). Despite the fact that I hit the ball more with my face than my hands, he was always kind and encouraging. You could really tell that he loved what he did, and that is what I remember most about him.

Thank you to all of the teachers who put their time and effort into me, you deserve the best.

Friends are Friends, No Matter How Far

On one of Maria's visits home, we went sailing!

This is Maria. Maria lives pretty far away from me, actually she's not even in the

United States right now, she's studying abroad in Brazil this semester.

Maria has always had a great sense of adventure and is always willing to try something new, she can run circles around me and probably bench press me too. She is great at skiing and sailing (yeah, sailing, how cool is that?).  

Maria and I have known each other since middle school. We sat together at lunch almost everyday. We went to our Senior Prom together. But most impressive of all, we stayed friends after graduating high school.

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."

— Elizabeth Foley

After high school Maria moved away from our hometown to go to college in New Mexico. Growing apart from your high school friends is a natural part of life, I have friends from high school that still live in the same state as me but I haven't talked to in years. Maria and I, no matter how far away we lived, talked on a regular basis. When I broke up with my long-time boyfriend during my first semester of college, I texted her all of the funny pictures I would usually send to him, and she was always there to have a good laugh with me or make me feel better. That first semester of college we were both learning how to live away from our parents and make new friends.

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes."

— Henry David Thoreau

During breaks in school Maria sometimes comes back to visit and at the very least, we try to  go get lunch. With the discovery of Snapchat, we now send each other crazy pictures all the time, of what we're doing or whichever new filter is the weirdest.

Over the years of living so far away, we have become very VERY different people. We don't have the same friends, she likes spending time outdoors and I try to limit my time outdoors to a minimum, she is brave and adventurous and I tend to take a safer approach to life. As our lives continue to move in different directions, I know I always have a friend that cares about me and has the same (if very strange) sense of humor.

Being friends with Maria inspires me to not be afraid to go on adventures, and I have also learned that friendships takes a little bit of effort, and a small investment of time, but that time is always well spent.

Mark my words: Dads like this are one in a million

This post may end up sounding like a 5th grader's "why my dad is the best" essay, but it's true.

Meet Mark: Mark is a father of 3 children, a husband, a teacher, and a mentor. He's quick with a joke (usually a corny one), and a smile. His hair is "starting" to grey, sometimes I forget that it's grey until I look at it. He likes old kung fu movies, and terrible horror movies (Aaah! Zombies!! is an hour and a half I'll never get back). 

Mark likes to pick up a new hobby every few years, which has made him a man of many talents. He can make custom pens, twist balloon animals, make training knives, and he tackles several obstacle races every few months. To this day, he still offers to make me a balloon hat on my birthday, which I usually have to refuse multiple times.
No matter what he's doing, he gets invested in it. When I begged my dad to let me take martial arts classes (3rd grade), he quickly decided he wanted to get in on it too. I did martial arts for about 9-10 years, I stopped a few years ago when I got busy with school and work, but my dad still does it to this day. 

Matching UCO hats! Broncho Pride!

Like all fathers, mine has taught me a lot over the years.

He taught me how to change a tire, check my tire pressure, and how to take a test, but the most valuable things he has taught me are less tangible. Whether or not they mean to, every father teaches by example.

One of the things I admire the most, is that he stands up for what he believes in. He doesn't back away from something just because it gets hard. 

My father has a way of confronting things in a very calm way. He doesn't yell or get irate (although I have seen him lose his cool a handful times when dealing with his teenage children, but who wouldn't when dealing with teenagers?) It is this gentleness, yet firmness when talking about or confronting something that has stood out to me over the years and that I try to carry over into the issues I confront in my own life.

Mark is a kind and generous person. He cares about the people around him. He is always willing to lend a hand or advice to anyone around him. I remember Thanksgivings when random graduate students or family friends would join our family for dinner because they didn't have anywhere else to spend it. It was never a big deal, but as I remember those holidays now I realize how amazing he was to open his home to people that needed one that day. I think I have carried that thoughtfulness with me.

Although Mark and I don't see eye to eye on everything, he is always there for me and I feel truly blessed to call him my dad.

I love you dad, thank you for being a fantastic example for me to look up to.

Big Characters, Big joke: The reality of the presidential race

I  posted last week about a character I have never met in real life, and I'll be doing that again here.


Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump.

Possibly some of the biggest characters in America right now. 

Dirt about presidential candidates comes out of the woodwork, no matter the year or the candidates. This year is special, there is a special kind of craziness surrounding this year's race. On one hand, you have a former first lady whose husband was involved in a huge scandal during his presidency. She's been accused of deleting emails, being too sick to be president, and if elected she would be the first female POTUS. She knows all about the political world and for some people she represents everything that is wrong about the political system. On the other side is a man who has never held a political office, who has had multiple bankruptcies, has been accused of being racist, bigoted, and sexist, and is possibly the most controversial presidential candidate of all time.

Is this race a joke?
One of these people is going to run our country?

Memes of these two candidates have popped up all over the internet (basically our generations version of political cartoons) that point out the flaws and the stereotypes of these two candidates.

I won't pretend to know them, or have any clue as to what is going on inside their heads, but everyone in the USA is keeping tabs on these huge characters. Last week, the debate was impossible to ignore. Even if you didn't have the TV turned on, video clips, memes, and drinking games of the debate popped up on all types of social media. And yes, you heard me right, drinking games. This presidential race has become such a joke that many of my peers were playing drinking games to every predictable and ridiculous thing that was said during the debate.

Maybe having a few drinks made it easier to forget that one of these two people will soon be the leader of the US, or that there are people out there who whole-heartedly believe that their candidate is the ideal president.

There isn't much in the way of a conclusion for this post, just that I am frustrated with the election, the political system, and with America. Really? These guys? Of all the people in America, these are what you think the best options are? I know many other people who are also confused and frustrated by the election. The only thing we can do about it is vote. Get involved in local elections too! It's the only way to change things.

Well that's all for politics, I promise not to post about it again. 

Jenna Marbles is not my friend

The first time I ever saw a Jenna Marbles video, I was in high school, and my friend Maria and I watched "How to avoid talking to people you don't want to talk to." We thought that was the funniest thing we'd ever seen and proceeded to binge watch all of her videos and show her to any of our friends that would watch. That was 5 years ago.

I spend A LOT of time on Youtube. I mostly watch vlogs, skits, and an occasional gaming channel.

Jenna Marbles is not my friend, but sometimes it feels like she is. 
She loves her dogs, she changes her hair on a constant basis, and she always takes everything one step further than anyone else (if you need evidence of this, check out her Highlighter Makeup Video). Her current channel has been up for 6 years, but she was making videos before that as well. I have watched her get pets, go through breakups, move across the country, and grow into the person she is now.

Following someone's life on Youtube is kind of like having a pen pal that you never write back to, but they keep writing anyway.

I have also really enjoyed watching Julien Solomita's vlog channel over the last few years. (That's Jenna's boyfriend if you didn't know). I think part of why I have enjoyed his videos so much, is because not only is he around this person I already feel like I know, but he is doing what I want to do in life, which is making quality videos for people (plus he's really good at it).

These two Youtubers have been particularly inspirational to me. Julien reminds me to reach for the things I want and to be proud of what I make, and Jenna reminds me that being me, even if that means being weird, is okay and that following my dreams will be worth it. Even though I've never met them in person, they have a significant impact on my life. I've watched them at least twice a week for the past few years, how could they not be characters in my story?

Mr. Mouse in my House

Houston, we have a problem.

There is currently a tiny, adorable pest living in my house. I don't know how he got in, but he hasn't been paying his rent, so he needs to go.

Yesterday I was minding my own business, watching TV and folding laundry, when I saw a grey blob dash across the floor. As my head whipped around toward it, I became very alert. I quietly got up and tip-toed towards the movement. The grey blob scurried from underneath the dining room table, squeezing into a small hole next to the dishwasher, that I am now hyper-aware of.

Meet Mr. Mouse:
Mr. Mouse is about the length of my index finger (I have very small hands), grey, with a pink nose, and thin whiskers. He is very shy, and only comes out if you sit very still for a long time.

Mice don't particularly scare me, I'm not worried that he'll bite me or anything like that. However, I really don't want him wandering through my belongings or eating my cereal. He is definitely making me paranoid though, I don't like not knowing where he is. He pops up when he is least expected, so every time I enter a room I take a good look around and poke at any place he could be hiding.

Today I am going to get a catch-and-release trap and set it up, then we'll find Mr. Mouse a new home in a field somewhere. I think he'll like it better than my house anyway.

My Little Sister is Growing Up

Ashley is a bright-eyed, optimistic college freshman. She loves the Beatles and vintage appliances and she spends waaaaaay too much time in Target. She laughs easily and whole-heartedly. We are yoga buddies, we go shopping together, we work together, and we're always borrowing each others' clothes. Despite being very close, we are vastly different people.  She is always quick with a smile and has better shoes than me. She wears more dresses and less makeup. She likes to be around and help people, which is probably why she wants to be a nurse.

Three weeks ago Ashley moved out of our parents' house. I was surprised to find that I was more worried about her than I thought I would be. I remember how excited I was when that day came for me and even though everything wasn't always perfect, it taught me so much about life. I loved having more independence and responsibility, which is part of the reason I was so surprised to find myself worried about her. Of course, I was excited for her too, but the worry crept in around the edges.

Would she make friends? Keep up with classes? Meet boys? Party too much? How often would I hear from her? Or see her? What if she got too busy for me? Would she tell me if she wasn't okay?


I'm so used to her living at home with my parents, that it's weird for me to think about her being somewhere else. Maybe this is how moms feel when their kids move out. I find that more than any feeling, what I feel is a need to be there for her, and I don't know the best way to do that. I'm watching her grow into her own person, and I want to be a part of that person's life.

These last few weeks have been different, but still the same. I've found comfort in some of the things that have stayed the same. We still have an active group chat, filled with cute things that Mom does or funny pictures. We still see each other every Sunday for lunch and send snapchats when we're bored.

Even though Ashley and I are different in a lot of ways, I know that we both have a good head on our shoulders and are both down-to-earth. As I watch her grow into her own person, I will try to enjoy this time in our lives, while we're both in college, before we are fully-fledged adults.

A Brand New Blog

Many blogs that I see are centered around the person writing it, simply because you write about what you know. When I went to create this blog, I thought about making it about my everyday experiences, and in a sense I will be, but that idea just seemed too... boring, or plain, or unexciting. My story isn't anything new, and I don't quite know where I'm going or what I'm doing yet. I suppose it would make for a perfectly fine blog, but it just felt a bit off to me. I wanted to do something different.

So instead of focusing on me, this blog is going to focus on the people around me, my family, my friends, strangers I bump into on the street, or anyone else I encounter. I'll do my best to take a broad look at the people and situations I write about and see what kind of an effect they have on me. If I end up writing about negative experiences (not sure how many of those I'm planning on doing) then I'll leave names/IDs out of it.

Maybe by writing about others, I'll learn a little bit about myself in the process.