April's Goal and Nessie Early

Hey everyone,
Sorry I haven't been blogging recently and more or less abandoned my Word of the Day.  I have been really busy, all my classes are gearing up and getting crazy before finals, so I won't necessarily be able to do much studying.  I'm excited for the summer though, then I can really spend time studying like crazy!

I started on my April goal a little early- on Friday. My goal for April is another one that is going to sound absurd.  But for me, it's something that I need to work on, so don't laugh.  My goal for April is to dress up at least one day per week.  Like I said, it sounds silly, but I can't do make up very well and I really need to learn how to so that I'll look professional.  And I had this crazy idea to get feedback...I may regret it later and change my mind, but for now I'm posting pictures of my make up and you can comment and tell me what you think.  I took this picture today.  One of my biggest problems is eyeliner...I waste so much of it putting it on and then washing it off until it looks normal.  But I think I like the eyeliner today.  I also really don't want to have dark emo eyes...I got some brown mascara and I like that.  I never know what eyeshadow to wear, so I tried gold?  Tell me what you think.  Also, I don't have a lot of time to straighten my hair, do you think it looks professional as it is?


I listened to Nessie Early's speech this week while I folded my laundry- actually I listened to it twice (I had a lot of laundry).  I was really looking forward to seeing her speech, which I missed at Convention.  I don't really know why, I just think she looks really cute and seemed very personable whenever I saw her.

Unforetunately, my opinion started to change by paragraph two when Nessie said:  "I’m willing to admit that I binge read the Twilight series."

Strike One.

 Luckily, the speech got better, fantastic actually, and I was able to forgive her.  It's okay Nessie.  A lot of people fall into the Twilight trap.

I loved her message.  Her speech was entitled, "Nothing Left," and it was about giving of ourselves which was almost exactly what I did my retiring address on.  So I loved it, I love that topic.

One of the first examples she uses is a State Officer from Colorado named Landan.  When I heard her talk about him, I immediately thought, "Wow, what would it be like to give of yourself so fully that a National Officer takes notice?"  I hope that I try to give of myself, but I don't know if someone would pick me out of a crowd, or specifically say that about me.

Then, using a delayed identification technique (that's a fancy journalism term :) ) she reveals that Landon is blind.  I love the way she catches the audience by surprise, that's something I will try to do in my speeches.

Then she said something great that I immediately scribbled down (on the back of an envelope, the first thing I grabbed) that's going up on my quote wall:

"Do we give of ourselves?  Or do we only think of ourselves?" 

Actually, there were three such quotes Nessie used that made it on my quote wall, which is really impressive. The next was a sign she saw while at a conference in Nebraska, which said:

"Be student driven, focused on a higher purpose."

She talks about how at the conference in Nebraska, she had only been "me driven," and she left knowing that she could have given more.

When I think back on my State Officer year, I feel content and happy with what I was able to give.  I don't resent it at all or feel I did a bad job.  But I am always looking for things to improve upon.  And after listening to this speech, I started thinking, "When could I have given more?"  Not at the Homer Take-Off, I pretty much laid it all on the line, even though I felt like I was going to die. But could I have given more of myself at the Kodiak Take-Off?  The Juneau Trip?  State Convention?

I've been working on journaling in the last few days (it was my goal for December, but it's still a struggle) and I've found that I'm constantly writing, "That's something to work on."  So giving of myself, all the time, always- is something I need to work on.   It's okay for me to have weaknesses, as long as I'm trying to improve.

Back to Nessie's speech: her last topic was, I thought, very insightful.  She talked about how it seems so simple and important to be kind to complete strangers, but how we sometimes ignore our family and friends.  That really hit a nerve with me.  I thought about the way I treat my siblings sometimes, and realized that I would never treat anyone else I know the same way.  I guess in my mind, it's like "they have to love me anyway," so I feel like I can get away with not treating them with the love and respect they deserve- perhaps more so, because they're always there for me!  The same goes for my parents.  After listening to the speech, I made it a goal to treat my friends and family better, and not to take advantage of their love and support.

Family: I love you so much.  I know that whatever I do in life, I have a huge group of cheerleaders and I really appreciate you all, even though I sometimes act like a brat.  I will work harder to show you how much I love and appreciate you in my life from now on.

I'll close this entry with Nessie's closing words, because I found them to be so powerful.  If you get the chance to listen to her speech, or just a few seconds, listen to this end part:

"Give when it is difficult, give when it’s easy, give when others advise against it and when it isn’t cool, give when you don’t want to, give when you don’t have time to, give because you know it is the right thing to do, give because it matters and give until you have nothing left!"

I hope you have plenty of opportunities to give this week,
Rachel