just alyssa

If there's one thing I've learned in my 23 years of living, it's that sometimes life doesn't go my way. In fact, it rarely does. There are always those days when it feels like literally everything is stacked against me. Like I'm just trying and trying to climb over the great wall of China. Sometimes I grab my climbing gear and go at it with nothing but pure determination. Other days, I stand staring at its height in fear. Anymore, I feel like I've become increasingly weary of the world. The older I get, the more taste of negativity I experience. I've seen a lot of the ugly parts of the world. And sometimes I know I let those ugly parts dictate my life. It's so easy to forget what we're supposed to learn. We should always make things into life lessons. Just learn from it and move on. THAT is soooooooo much easier said than done. But today I sat, terrified, of today's outcomes. I woke up feeling like everything was going to fa...

Breaking up. That phrase is powerful and painful, all in the same movement. It symbolizes the end of something, along with the shattering pieces of hearts. But it can also be a revelation or a fresh start. A friend of mine just went through another intense break-up. She was having a hard time dealing and she asked me, why did we break up? What a loaded question. There are literally dozens of answers to that question. You weren't right for each other. The timing was off. He didn't do this....you didn't do that. Blah blah blah. But the real question here, is "Why do WE break up?" Why do relationships end? Relationships are a topic I'm very comfortable attacking. I give advice again, and again, and again, reassuring people on the decisions they've made. Break-ups are hard. Heck, dating is hard! Regardless of how many times we say that it's not, dating is - IN FACT - a game. The biggest problem that leads to break-ups and arguments ...

In life, failing is inevitable.  Not everything is going to lead us into a perfect success story.  We're going to get knocked down and thrown under the bus many times before we feel like we've truly succeeded in something.  The problem is, those failures lead us to a fear of trying.  Rejection is a cold, evil feeling and rips you to pieces,  leaving you an empty vessel that you try so desperately to fill with something else.  Rejection comes in many forms and as we grow older, we'll continue to be rejected by life.  In fact, we are life's rejections.  We are not perfect nor is humanity.  We are flawed human beings trying to figure out what we want in life. Most of us hope our lives will look like the movies. That we'll all find love with that perfect someone and our lives will just fall into place. Unfortunately, life isn't the movies and we all don't just find love waiting around the corner. We have to go out and ...

Having been a girl my entire life, I can't help but notice the difficulties of being a female that the male gender just wouldn't understand. They will never face these challenges. Perhaps this will give them a new perspective. To all the men in our lives: Here are some problems that are 100% "Girl Problems" (To be clear, not EVERY woman is exactly like this and while this is a generalization to cover many women, it in no way is meant as a stereotype or to be generalized to all women.) **Bobby pins and hairbands --WHERE DO THEY GO?!?! **Need milk, bread, and makeup. Only enough money for one. Makeup it is. **Favorite bra is dirty......can't febreze it anymore **Bathing suits --HUGE issue 1. Bikini tops and bottoms must be bought separately --due to size differences 2. Expensive! 3. Busty girls cannot buy one-pieces :( 4. They leave you practically naked 5. We'll never look like that girl in the magazines **HAIR - Where to begin?? All o...

Have you ever wondered why all girl clothes and toys are pink? It's like it's literally the only acceptable color. It's that or a purple or lavender. Boys clothes and toys come in blues, reds, yellows, greens, even neutral shades. All of these colors are acceptable for boys OR girls, yet for girls you get pinkand some variation of purple or white. I was on buzzfeed one day and I discovered this letter a 7 year old had written to Lego.   She writes: "Dear Lego company: My name is Charlotte. I am 7 years old and I love legos but I don’t like that there are more Lego boy people and barely any Lego girls. Today I went to a store and saw legos in two sections the girls pink and the boys blue. All the girls did was sit at home, go to the beach, and shop, and they had no jobs but the boys went on adventures, worked, saved people, and had jobs, even swam with sharks. I want you to make more Lego girl people and let them go on adventures and have fun ...

Well we're one day into 2014, I'm now 23 and the possibilities for this year are endless. I don't typically make resolutions for myself, as I know I'm lazy and would never do them. However, this year, I've decided to kick it up. It's not just about bettering my appearance or being healthier. It's about being happier and living a fuller life. In high school, we wrote ourselves letters to open after we graduated. I loved the advice I'd given myself and laughed at the things I used to be interested in. It's clear that the one who knows you best, is yourself. Therefore, I've written this to myself in hopes that I'll look back at it throughout the year and remember what I was aiming for. Dear Alyssa, Don't be embarrassed by your own opinions. You don't have to announce to men that you're a feminist when they ask you out. They'll figure it out eventually and if they start arguing with your opinion, one of two things ...