Red, White and Blue...

The Fourth of July may be my favorite holiday, after Christmas and my birthday... It's the perfect holiday, it always seems to me to be families and friends coming together to cook out and enjoy the fact that we live in a wonderful country. I love being an American, even more so after this past week.

When I worked at the pool it was such a fun-filled family day, with games and food and then at the end of the day, fireworks set off from the fairgrounds and the mountain. This is a day that went from being all about families to being with friends that turned into family. July 4th is a great holiday and shoes tend to be optional.

Besides family, friends, food and games- the color scheme is amazing. Red, White and Blue... I love it! And I love even more dressing to theme... My nails, toes and fingers always match the flag and my clothing match. In recent years, I've started wearing dresses, because let's be honest-- I'm all about looking cute and being comfortable, so basically it's sweatpants without the legs! (WINNING!)

Stay tuned for the patriotic looks I have in store for the week...

xxoo,

KJB

P.S. I had my first day of work today, and I absolutely loved it! Can't wait to see what happens!

Love Wins

Today, June 26, 2015 The United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states cannot ban same-sex marriage, handing gay rights advocates their biggest victory yet! 


What a wonderful moment in our nation's history. How exciting that marriage is once and for all, just marriage. Anyone can now get married, and that's a beautiful thing.

I'm not sure why two people loving each other bothers so many, or why it is such an issue. I'm not sure it's something I'll ever understand. But I'm glad that my children will never be a part of a world where it's a fathomable thing. The SCOTUS outcome is the right thing. No matter what your beliefs are. The government has no right to stand in the way of love, and today they realized that.

A conversation with my sister today!

Refinery 29 has a great post of "Celebrities React to Nationwide Marriage Equality".

The U.S. is now the 21st country to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. & the world gets better, so much better 

Love wins, love always wins 

xxoo

KJB

KJB Meets World

I've always loved writing. It is my favorite outlet and form of expression. I journal, I always wrote short stories growing up and daydreaming is my favorite form of storytelling now. This blog is my public diary, I'm extremely cautious. Sometimes it amazes me when someone will reference something I've written. It amazes me that people care enough to read it.

I would love for KJB Meets World to me more than just a hobby. I would love for this to be more than my random musings that my friends and family find mildly amusing. I think with enough time, effort and a little elbow grease it can be just that. So I am working on a grand unveiling in the way of getting KJB Meets World, so recognition. I have a new Facebook Page (feel free to stop by and show some love).

All of the articles I've read about blogs state that you, the author, needs to have a vision, a concrete idea on what would make your blog a "success". While I'm still trying to define "success" when it comes to KJB Meets World, I also had to come up with what I think this blog is.

Imagine my surprise when I looked through what I thought was my "fashion" blog and realized it was more so a "lifestyle" blog. So that's something I know I need to work on. I also want to work on my reach, as I've said and I want to work on my content. I also want my "audience"/readership to grow and I think that will happen if I have a concrete posting schedule. All my favorites do, so why shouldn't I? It's more professional.

So please, tune in and bear with me on the changes I'm working through (please read here and here, to understand more). Be here's something to keep you coming back:

I'm a SoCal born girl stuck in OH, wandering through the world trying to get my sea legs and just learning to enjoy the life I've been given. KJB Meets World is my personal blog. I am extremely opinionated and strong willed in my beliefs. It took me some time to become the woman I wanted to be, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Everyone has their unique way of looking at the world, and this is mine. Style is a way of letting your clothing communicate to the outside world for you. Life has a way of happening whether you want it to or not.

I hope you can find something that resonates with you here. 

She Believed She Could So She Did

xxoo

KJB

If you have something you would like me to discuss, leave a comment below. I would love to know who cares enough to read my ramblings. xo, KJB

Wandering With No Direction

Remember in school when you would daydream about the cute boy or the perfect day or the way that book should've ended and suddenly you hear your name and you're called back to the NOW and you're in class at your desk with all eyes on you and they're waiting with bated breath for your response? I feel a lot like that. I feel as if I'm searching my notes, book, and trying to catch a sympathetic eye for the answer to the question I didn't fully hear.

I feel as if I'm just meandering around trying to find the answer to something when I'm not even sure what the question was... Hoping something will strike a cord and I'll suddenly know exactly what I'm supposed to do. It's like being a firefighter without water. Or wandering the forest and coming across a brush fire and before I can put out one fire, there's suddenly two more.

I went from feeling less than, getting constant rejections from every turn and in return cranking out a dozen more applications for every single 'NO' to suddenly having all these options. It's like I've been swimming against the current and suddenly I realized I could just stand up, cause I was only in hip deep water. I went from having no job offers to jobs on jobs on jobs.

I'm not sure what the answer is. I don't know what's right or wrong or at 23 if that exists. I suppose what's right for me is what's right for me. God won't give me anything I can't handle. But timing really is everything. And I really don't have the luxury to be picky. Money woes are abundant. Why isn't that something they teach you in school? How the real world is just gonna happen without any real heads up...

Maybe they did, but I was just too busy daydreaming...

Who knew my wanderlust would lead to this?

xxoo

KJB

KJB Goes to Work

I know that I've been kind of depressing as of late, I mean there's here, or here or even here, and definitely here. But I wanted to change the direction I've been going on to talk about the job hunt and share a few of my interview outfits...

I would describe myself as hard working and self motivated and driven. These are a few things I've gotten used to articulating while being on the job hunt! I've sent my resume and applied to what has felt like a million jobs! In the Columbus area and afar. Sure, I took classes about resume and cover letter writing, and how to do a job search, but nothing could prepare me for all the dead ends I've run into since starting this search back in March.

So many times, I've gotten responses that led me to believe that the search was over. I was finally going to be employed and then- suddenly, "No" and the door would slam in my face. It was difficult and discouraging. But it gave me motivation to get back out there and look into different avenues.

Now I am pleased to say that I am working towards 3 different end results. (P.S. I GOT A JOB!) I've always thrived under pressure, look back to my heavy schedule in high school and my schedule once I joined my sorority. I'm excited to see what happens. I have a lot of goals I want to accomplish and I can feel myself steadily moving towards the end goal!

How exciting adulting can be! 

xoxo

KJB

Twenty-Three Year Old Nomad...

"You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place. Like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way ever again." - Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." - Nelson Mandela

"It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what's changed is you." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

I've said it before adulting is hard. Being 23 is hard. I'm not sure what I was talking about before but I think it was because it was new and I was being optimistic. But 23 is just as tough as adulting. All those articles are right! Though, I'm pretty sure Blink-182 was wrong- people still like you- you just may feel like they don't.

I've personally never felt more irrelevant in my life. Maybe I always was. This is the problem with social media and moving home after graduation when no one else does. My high school friends moved from good, while my college friends are still in Akron. If you had told me back in 2010 that I would ever miss Akron I would've told you that you were crazy! Honestly, truly, certifiably crazy! And almost every day since I moved home after graduation. I miss Akron. Sure I can go back and visit but it's absolutely not the same.

So if you can't go back, the only way to continue is to move on and forward. Living in the present is necessary while also knowing and understanding what you're working for in the future.

"You know that point in your life when you realize the house you grow up in isn't really your home anymore? All of a sudden even though you have some place where you put your shit, that idea of home is gone. You'll see one day when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it's gone. You feel like you can never get it back. It's like you feel homesick for a place that doesn't even exist. Maybe it's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't ever have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know for your kids, the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I don't know, but i miss the idea of it, you know. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people that miss the same imaginary place." - Garden State

I can honestly say- adulting is the hardest thing I've done in my life. Everything I've done in my life up until now, while challenging has basically been a breeze! Debt, unemployment and loneliness. I've never had a harder time. I'm so used to succeeding that this constant state of rejection and not having a definite direction is exhausting. I'm not one of those people that thrives being indecisive.

I know I'm not alone. I know other people have been in my shoes and will be in my shoes and I know in the end everything will work out as it should. It's just a difficult adjustment to not being so on the ball.

xx,

KJB

The Struggle of Post Grad...

I am queen of the good vibes, positive thinking and prayers usually- but this past Thursday I had a breakdown of sorts... It was a long time coming, even mom something along those lines, "you like to read and write and being in your head so much and dwelling isn't always the healthiest, I'm amazed this hasn't happened sooner." It's true, I'm always in my head, and it can become an anxiety inducing, jumbled mess.

"There's no glory in the struggle."

Being a recent graduate can be frustrating to say the least. I feel as if I'm forever putting out feelers, job searching high and low and forever getting back, "NO." It's discouraging and down right humiliating at times, but I'm grateful to have the support of my family and friends when I get discouraged. Thursday was barely the lowest of the low days, I've had since graduating.

I'm forever saying it's just a bad day, not a bad life. Thursday was a dark day but I shook off the bad vibes and I picked up my chill. It's easy to get disheartened. It's easy to get discouraged. But it's important that you are important, original, and one of a kind, and nothing happens before it's supposed to. So I found a new resolve and I went back to the drawing board. I also found this. It's nice to know that while you may be feeling down, and you may feel lonely in your despair, you're not in fact alone. Other people have these feelings all the time.

Keep your head up,

xo

KJB

5 Years Later...

Graduating high school is a major milestone. I'm all about documenting major milestones (my senior year of high, I recorded a much of milestones with the love of my life, aka my Blackberry) in my life, that was the point of this blog, like a public diary- I've shared so many milestones with y'all so there's really no turning back! So in the spirit of full autobiographical disclosure- 5 years ago today- KJB graduated high school!

I still remember this day vividly. I remember waking up surprised the day had actually come- never occurring to me that in order for me to start living my life I would in fact have to close one very important, heavy door in order for me to go through another. I can honestly say that I loved high school (which is highly ironic cause I'm dreading my 5 year high school reunion coming up, but more on that later!) I was comfortable there, I had tons of friends and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was the girl that didn't want to graduate, leave my friends or grow up, but felt that graduation was rather forcing me to.

It wasn't until probably my junior year, probably my favorite college year, to hit my stride and fully accept the ending of high school and the separation of friends and just my always changing life. Somehow I went from loving high school to finally  loving  college. I always accredit that to joining Alpha Gamma Delta.

The day I graduated college was nothing like high school graduation, thank god! I was ecstatic! All my hard work for the past 4 1/2 years was paying off. I had family and friends in attendance. I was ready for college to come to an end. It's hard to explain but high school graduation felt like I was being forced of the nest while college graduation was us parting on good terms. A bad break up, if you will, compared to an cordial parting.

I'm forever grateful for that difference. Then again- something beloved ending at 18 is completely different than when it ends at 22. Growing up changes everything. 

So while I'm reminiscing on these past 5 years and all the accomplishments that I'm proud of and dreaming and scheming for what's next. I'm also preparing for and enjoying my sister's graduation party this afternoon (she graduated last weekend).

Jade wore the same dress I wore to graduation

So today, we're celebrating my sister's accomplishments. Honestly, I think her graduating may be one of my proudest moments. We're watching her take her first steps and taking on the world. I'm extremely grateful that we had completely different high school experiences and that she's so happy to be done with high school.

xoxo

Forever a Golden Gale, KJB

KJB