The Beginning

When I was younger there were two things my parents always talked about. The first was their time in Greek life. The second was studying abroad. They would always mention the friendships and memories they made, and ever since I can remember those were items one and two on the first bucket list I made at the young age of six.  

It seems so surreal to think that this time next month I will be starting the new chapter in my life. I am blessed and extremely lucky to have brave enough parents to let their baby girl spread her wings and soar to new places to create memories of her own. As I sit in my room anticipating the moment I will have to say my last goodbyes, a rush of emotions come over me. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? Maybe a little. Am I scared? Yes.

I love the saying if your dreams don’t scare you then they aren’t big enough. Whenever I tell my friends and family that I am scared they are all a bit surprised. Maddie, the girl who has always danced to the beat of her own drum; the girl who is chasing her dreams in a big city; the girl who had a little taste of the corporate world this summer, is scared?

I will admit that I was scared to leave all my family and friends in Indiana and start a new chapter in Chicago, but before I knew it I was scared to be coming back home to Indiana and leaving all my friends in Chicago. Life is funny that way sometimes.

For my 21^st birthday my mom got me this beautiful journal with a golden fleur-de-lis on the front (fitting since that is a “Kappa” symbol, but it is also fitting because it was made in Florence, Italy). In the journal she wrote, “Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.”

So with that being said, I have started a new bucket list of places I want to go and things I want to do. I have decided that instead of just keeping all my journal entries to myself I might share a few with you. I know what you are all thinking another traveling blog, really? Let me assure you though I am not doing this for you, I am not doing this to try and become the next Carrie Bradshaw. I am doing this for me. I am doing this because writing makes me happy. I am doing this for my happiness and I can only hope that I may inspire you all to travel, to do something new, and to do something that scares you everyday.

First loves and happily ever afters...

Being single on Valentine's day isn't always the best feeling in the world, especially for a girl. The media has a good way of brain washing us into thinking you have to have a valentine in order to buy valentines flowers and chocolates, but shouldn't everyday be like that? Shouldn't we be showing our husband,wife,boyfriend,or girlfriend we love them in special ways every chance we get?

As I got to thinking last night I realized that middle school tries to prepare us for all sorts of peer pressures we will face in high school. Drugs, alcohol and sex.  But the one peer pressure they don't really emphasize is the pressure to find your high school sweetheart.

I have had my fair share of relationships and in each one I have learned something new. I have not only learned things about relationships, but I've learned more things about myself.

At an early age, young girls are brain washed into thinking there is such a thing as a "perfect" man, Prince Charming. Middle school girls watch movies about the girl getting to date the quarterback, and all of those other cliche things that come with "love".

For the longest time I was hoping to find my "first love" in high school. There have been multiple nights I have spent wondering when the perfect guy will come into my life. But I finally realized this year I did find my first love. I actually found a couple. My best friends.

Love comes in so many ways. I just never really thought that a first love could involve so many people. My friends are the ones who better me, believe in me, and support me in everything I do. And isn't that what a relationship between a boy and a girl is all about?
This year I have realized not only do first loves come in multiple ways, but there is also more than one form of happily ever after.The typical "happily ever after" is the ending to a fairytale. I'm not saying high school was a fairytale, but there were many moments I felt as if I was living a fairytale.

Of course I get lonely sometimes and wish I could be taken out to a dinner and a movie, but at the end of the day, I realize that the guys at my school just aren't meant for me.
In fairy tales, Price Charming comes along and sweeps the princess off her feet. In my case my friends were sent to me in some of the hardest times in my life and picked me up from the ground.

Seeing all the cute couples in the hallways makes most girls want to throw up or carry on about how guys suck, but for me I think Valentine's day isn't just about having one special someone it's about having multiple special someone's? My challenge to whoever is reading this currently...make sure you let your special someone know how much you care about them everyday, just because.

To my senior class

To the Cathedral Class of 2013,

Isn't it crazy how we can look back to freshman year and realize how much everything has changed? The amount of people that have left our lives, entered and stayed. The memories you won't forget and the moments you wish you could.  It's crazy how all of this happened in just four short years.

Last night as I was laying in bed  I thought about how Monday will be our first day of our last semester. I sat in awe wondering when did I suddenly grow up?  I went to bed a freshman and woke up a senior. I kept thinking back to the first day of high school. I was so nervous, and wasn't really sure what to expect, but I quickly realized I wasn't the only one.  I remember telling myself  I was going to try and become friends with everyone. However, I realized that wasn't going to happen, at least not freshman year. Why? Because we all were so insecure, and made up some stereotype for one another. These stereotypes then lead us to believe that we could never be friends with him or her, simply because they have one or two different interests than our group of friends.  None of us can deny that we haven't been guilty of stereotyping a person without really getting to know that person as an individual.


It doesn't matter what stereotype we have labeled each other in the past. What matters most now is that we all realize we are alike in one way or another. We all have experienced some type of form of heart ache, betrayal and love. There were times when we all felt as if high school would never end, but are now realizing our time is running out. 

I would consider our grades the lucky class of Cathedral because somehow, someway we all were able to see past the stereotypes, and become friends with one another. Still, as each and everyone of us walks across the stage this spring one word is most likely going to come across our mind for that person: nice, jock, weird, slut, etc. But I also think it's safe to say we will each be wondering where that person will end up in the next 10 years. Will the pot heads still be smoking weed? Will the "skanks" still be sleeping around?

I keep wondering will I ever become successful in the big city. Will I ever land my dream job of working for Cosmo? Maybe I will never be a famous blogger or work for my dream magazine, but right now that doesn't matter. What matters is right now. 

Right now, hopefully my senior class is reading this blog post and having the same thoughts I am. Which is time is precious, and we aren't the keepers of it. Our time is running out and we need to make sure to take it all in. Soak up all the little things: your best friend's laugh, the annoying teachers, the inside jokes, the orange leaf dates, and all the heart to hearts. Take them all in and cherish them.

Sincerely, 
the girls whose lips never lie ;) Maddie Scott

What is High School?

High school. The time we all try to grow up, then wish we had our innocence back. It's staying up late to finish endless amounts of homework. Coffee fa dayz. Having endless amounts of heart to hearts with your best friends. Orange Leaf dates.It's first loves. Heartbreaks. First kisses. Learning to drive. Stepping out of your comfort zone. It's getting hurt so many times that you start to wonder if you will ever find your Prince Charming. It's going for a drive with your three best friends jamming to Taylor Swift with the top down. Fights and makeups.Wannabe sluts and actual sluts. Football games.  Boys who break your heart and girls who play them. Pointless drama. Prom. Finding out who you are and who you want to become. Giving into peer pressure. Getting drunk but having your best friend hold your hair back. Sneaking out.Getting backstabbed and feeling betrayed. It's forcing a smile on your face until people actually believe your happy. It's wishing bad things onto people out of anger. It's jealousy and envy. Gossiping. Feeling so lost but then realizing you're never alone. It's hope for a happy and successful future. It's learning and discovering new things about others and yourself. It's about hurting but still trying. Getting up after you have been knocked down multiple times. The place where you are expected to be an adult but treated like a child. Finding a way to get the answers to the test. Pop quizzes. New people. New challenges. New fears. Social media. It's about trying to learn to live in the moment. But most of all it's trying to remain true to yourself in a world that is constantly trying to change you.
High school in one word is: OVERRATED

Leather! Leather! Leather!

Leather has always been a fall trend, but this year it is getting a huge makeover.  Leather dresses, leather skirts, leather shirts, leather leggings, and leather bags. Leather is being freed from the restriction of the bike and ready to show its colors.
There is something womanly about the newest fall trend, leather dresses. But this fall rocker chick is becoming rocker chic.
Leather dresses with tailoring have a way of flattering any body shape. Leather is being treated more like a fabric than ever before and appears to be feminine and wearable by all. The balance between reserve and mystery makes them irresistibly bewitching.
The latest InStyle shows celebrities wearing all sorts of leather apparel. Some might not know when they could wear a leather dress but the answer is anywhere really. You can dress a leather dress up for a night on the town with some stilettos or you could dress it down with your favorite chuck Taylor's. If you still aren't sure of when to wear it, how you play up your make-up can determine that factor.
This weekend I wore my leather out this weekend with black pumps. It is amazing how confident I felt. I thought people would stare at me with weird looks when in reality I was really turning heads.
The year is almost over, and who knows maybe even the world. Start taking risks. Wear something you never thought you could pull off, because chances are you can!

What's the magic word?

When we are younger our parents were always asking us to use the "magic words"when it came to being polite. "Remember to say please and thank you."  It became something we got sick of hearing, but it became good habits.  So when did we lose those habits?
This morning as I was struggling to open a door with my books in my hands and coffee; I found it quite strange how the freshman boy on the inside of the door just watched me as I struggled to pry the door open without everything falling out of my hands. He didn't even bother to try and help me! I was in awe! What has happened to our generation of gentleman?
Over the weekend as I was looking at all the pictures on Facebook and Instagram of everyone's crazy weekends I couldn't help but notice all the pictures of girls on top of guys.
Starting to think about college I keep thinking about how once something is posted online it NEVER goes away. A girl in my grade had some pretty sketchy pictures and once she was sober enough she deleted them but what she didn't realize is that people had already taken screen shots and sent them to friends. The one picture sent to one person has now become an endless chain of people seen this picture she had deleted.
 It's a shame that girls honestly think that guys are looking for that kind of girl.  Sure you get their attention for that short amount of time, but when it comes to a long term relationship I strongly doubt that is the kind of girl/ woman any guy is looking for.
 When did the classic little black dress become the classic skimpy black dress?
I wish girls my age realized guys have become jerks because we have lowered our standards as not only teenage girls, but as women too. We are the ones doing all the work. We need to start making them work. Taking us out to a nice dinner and a movie.
It's even more frustrating when there are those keys girls, the girls who are flawless, the ones who every guy drools over. The girls who know they are gorgeous and try and deny it.
When she finally gives your one guy friend, the one who opens doors without you even asking, the chance and he falls head over heels for her and she just drags him along for the ride.
I'm not saying guys are not guilty of this, because they are guilty!
I believe that as a generation we all need to clean up our acts. Guys need to start opening the door. Girls need to stop lowering their standards to get a guys attention for one night.
If any guys are reading this, today go out of your way to open one door, just one, for a girl maybe not even for a girl just someone! And girls, seriously I'm not saying I don't like to feel sexy, but their is a very thin line between sexy and skanky; make sure you know the difference.

Fear

“We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…we must do that which we think we cannot.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

When we are younger our biggest fear is that the monsters living under our beds are going to  come out from underneath and eat us.  As we grow older we forget about the monsters under our beds and realize that the true monsters, our fears, lie inside of us. 
We all have fears, whether it is something as small as the fear of not acing an exam to something as big as not knowing whether we will get into your college of choice.  Whatever our fears are we start to realize our parents are no longer there to comfort us when we are feeling lost or scared. Facing our fears is something we simply have to face by ourselves now. 

Last week I had to face a fear one on one; on my own.  speaking up against adults who have a higher authority than me.  If I weren’t already stressed out about school and college applications, failing a class is something that can add even more stress.  On Wednesday of last week I had to have a conference with the board of the math department at my school to talk about, not just my grade, but the grades of my fellow classmates, as well. The majority of my peers are failing and it was up to me to stand up for all of us. I found out this year that finding my voice was even harder than finding myself in high school. 

As I walked out of the meeting a feeling of achievement overwhelmed me. I had survived! 

Later that night I realized that sometime our biggest fears really aren't as big as we make them seem. 

As Elanor's husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, said in his first inaugural address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."