there is nothing like it...

And of course, I am talking about LOVE.

The amount of love I have seen today has been amazing.

I started my day an hour earlier than usual because I had a meeting for the Love Out Loud Campaign on campus, and I left that meeting feeling stressed and overwhelmed; thank goodness Aubrea and Laina were there to calm me down. Later, I left work early so that I could work on more Love Out Loud stuff, and now I'm sitting in class working on it even more.

You'd think that would be stressful (and it is), but it is also extremely rewarding.

So far today I have seen these messages of love directly related to the Love Out Loud Campaign:

• somebody commented on the Love Out Loud Campaign blog, and had wonderful words to say (thank you!)
• the woman, Michelle, we met with this morning was very excited about the campaign and the event
• we received an e-mail from a girl whose friend told her about the campaign and she wants to know how she can get involved - it is always amazing to hear that people are talking about our event when we aren't even there!
• the president of Inter Fraternity Council e-mailed me and wants me to come speak to the guys at their IFC meeting tonight

That doesn't even include the response that I got last night from speaking at two sorority meetings on campus and the wonderful response we have received every time we have spoken about our event to different professors and people of authority around campus.

It also doesn't include the inspiration for this post which is this:

Carly just called me and I left class to pick up the phone - boy am I glad I did! She told me that my friends and family had already donated over $700 to the campaign and had sent wonderful letters of encouragement. 

I burst into tears. My hands are shaking and my heart is racing. I am seriously blown away.

I don't even know how to BEGIN to say thank you to all of the people who have supported this project. I knew I had wonderful friends and family, but I just never anticipated how much they have taken to this project and how much they wanted to support it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! You are all amazing and I wish I could give you each a HUGE hug right now. 

You are the ones who make this project worth it - you are the ones who are helping me make a difference on the Cal Poly campus, and in the lives of so many students and people in San Luis Obispo. It is because of you that this campaign will grow and will reach so many more people. 

You are beautiful. You are amazing. You are loved. 

I am not quite sure how I got so lucky as to have every single one of you in my life.

Love, Rachel

fill in the blank

I hate posting twice in one day. Like, really hate it. But sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do! I'm not tired, but I figure I will be once I finish this post.

Fellow blogger Lauren over at The Little Things We Do does this cute thing on Fridays where she posts random "fill in the blank" questions and encourages her blog readers to fill in the blanks with their own answers. Even though it's not Friday, I figure I can still participate... right?

So here is my first set of fill in the blanks:

1.   If my house was on fire and I could only grab 3 things I would grab my laptop (it has all of my pictures from Spain and everywhere else I've been on it - as well as all of my documents, etc.), my teddy bear, Teddy, who I've had since I was 25 days old, and my scrapbooks because they are filled with memories and keepsakes (can you tell I'm a sucker for photos and things that have no monetary value, but all the sentimental value in the world?)

2.  A smell I really like is apple cinnamon candles (they are burning in my room right now), popcorn (I am physically incapable of going to a movie at a theater and skipping the snack counter), and fresh baked goods (bread, cookies, cakes, etc.)

3.  Something you might not know about me is I'm a nerd (I hide it well), and on a (kind of but not really) separate note, I am studying Journalism but what I would have been really good at is Engineering

4.  Some of my favorite websites to putter about on are Design Sponge, any home improvement/design website, DIY websites, Bookshelf Porn (you should look at it, I LOVE bookshelves, and that website is addicting), I have a whole list of blogs I read literally every single day - if I listed them all you would hate me

5.  This weekend I will ... since the weekend is over, here's what I did: went to a fraternity semi-formal (the last one I will ever go to, and only the second one I have ever been to), had a champagne brunch with biscuits and gravy and play ladder golf, had an impromptu One Tree Hill marathon with my roomies, helped Krista with a phonto shoot for her sorority, presented the Love Out Loud Campaign to two sororities on campus so that they can get involved :)

6. Nothing makes me happier than feeling relaxed and happy - no anxiety - and being able to sit on the couch and watch movies with some of my best friends without feeling guilty, knowing that I made a difference in someone's life, Europe

7.  A bad habit I have is  biting my nails. It is gross, the worst habit ever, something I have done since I was little, and a habit I cannot break no matter how hard I try or what methods I commit to using in order to stop. Help?

So there you have it - that was kind of fun, hehe.

Love, Rachel

P.S. Do you ever get a really strong urge to do something and not know why? On Friday I got a really strong urge (almost like a yearning) to get a tattoo.. this isn't a new feeling, in fact it happens rather frequently, but I have no idea what I want to get... thoughts?

intermission

I think that, a while ago, I mentioned that I am trying to take a class just for fun each quarter until I graduate. Last quarter I took Beekeeping, next quarter I hope to take a photography class (either digital or black and white), and this quarter I am taking a class that is all about The Beatles.

Although I find the group fascinating, I won't bore you with all of my Beatles knowledge and why I think they are such funny lads ;)

Instead, I will just leave you with this little video clip from their movie Help! which I happen to be watching at this very moment as part of the lab portion of my class. This clip is literally the most random thing ever. Although you don't get the full effect of the video without watching the rest of the movie, I'm sure you can appreciate that this portion of the movie is completely unrelated to anything else that goes on in the movie.



This is just one example of how weird these men were (and still are).

I'm a sucker for the Beatles. Always have been, always will be.

new favorite

Tilt shift is one of my  new favorite photo/video editing styles. I only have Photoshop Elements, not the actual software so I don't have the ability to apply the effect to my own photos (or the money to buy the rest of the software), but I think it looks really cool.

For those of you who don't know, the short definition of tilt shift is an effect that you can apply to your photos that makes it look like a model. Weird, but cool :)

Here is a cool video of it (at the Happiest Place on Earth):

day 7

Day 1 - Something you hate about yourself

Day 2 - Something you love about yourself

Day 3 - Something you have to forgive yourself for

Day 4 - Something you have to forgive someone for

Day 5 - Something you hope to do in your life

Day 6 - Something you hope you never have to do

Day 7 - Someone who has made your life worth living for

Day 8 - Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit

Day 9 - Someone you didn't want to let go, but just drifted

Day 10 - Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn't know

Day 11 - Something people seem to compliment you the most on

Day 12 - Something you never get compliments on

Day 13 - A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days. (write a letter.)

Day 14 - A hero that has let you down. (write a letter).

Day 15 - Something or someone you couldn't live without, because you've tried living without it.

Day 16 - Someone or something you definitely could live without.

Day 17 - A book you've read that changed your views on something.

Day 18 - Your views on gay marriage.

Day 19 - What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?

Day 20 - Your views on drugs and alcohol.

Day 21 - (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?

Day 22 - Something you wish you hadn't done in your life.

Day 23 - Something you wish you had done in your life.

Day 24 - Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)

Day 25 - The reason you believe you're still alive today.

Day 26 - Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?

Day 27 - What's the best thing going for your right now?

Day 28 - What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?

Day 29 - Something you  hope to change about yourself and why.

Day 30 - A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself.

My family has made my life worth living for. Although I have had some (extremely) tough times with them and we haven't always gotten along, I don't know what I would do without them. Some of them have been there since the day I was born, others came into my life after my parents got divorced, and others have moved on from this world - it doesn't matter whether they are related by blood or marriage, or if they have been "adopted" into my family simply because they are great people, every single one is part of the most wonderful group of people I know. Over the past few years, maybe because I haven't been living at home, I have really realized how much I love them and miss them (especially my cousins who I don't see all that often).

Specifically I want to focus in on my littlest sister, Liana. Although I love my entire family immensely, Liana is my blood sister which, as my mother never ceases to remind me, means that I share the most genes with her than any other person in the world. When we were little we fought ALL THE TIME. Heck, we still fight a lot.

But she left for college in August and I miss her so much. She is all the way across the country and I wish I could talk to her and see her more often. I love it when she smiles and when she is doing well. I love when we are both at home at my dad's house and she comes and cuddles with my on the couch - even if it means she is feeling sad and just needs a hug. Generally, a hug is what I need too. 

Liana is my beautiful, strong, and wonderful little sister and I love her. She makes my life worth living.