1. My name is Anna. I am 25, turning 26 in May. I am a third year law student graduating in May and taking the Bar Exam in July.
2. I am an extremely complex person, but I have learned to temper my complexities down so that I can relate to more people and be more friendly. haha!
3. Oh, I better tell you now. I like lists. That's why I'm doing this in a list format.
4. I generally say that my favorite color is green, but that's more a default favorite since my true favorites change by the moment. ;)
5. I'm a Southern woman through and through. I'm in Virginia now for law school but it's not Southern enough for me. ;) I was born and raised in Georgia and plan on going back there after law school and probably never living anywhere else for the rest of my life (unless God specifically tells me to go somewhere else).
6. I am not married, nor do I have children, but I have been dating a man named Chris for over 3.5 years now. No wedding in the works yet, but all in the proper time.
7. I have two younger sisters. Being the oldest sister has really influenced how I look at life. I'm more responsible and have a stronger since of familial duty than either of my sisters do, I think.
8. I love music, even "strange" music. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I am in the indie scene, but I have a very wide range of tastes from folk to country to metal to pop to classical to instrumental to rock to hip hop. I have so many "favorite" artists that it really does no good to list them all out.
9. I love food. My love of food is so strong that I am surprised that I don't weigh 300 lbs. I like Southern home cooking just as much as Thai or Indian. I'll try almost anything once, and I like to experiment with spices when I cook. So far, all but one thing has turned out tasty. ;)
10. I love the internet. I'm not addicted to it since I can go for weeks without checking anything when i want to, but I just really like the internet. There are so many interesting things to read and see and so many beautiful photos and other art that people have created. Also, basically unlimited music! :)
11. I currently maintain 4 blogs, 3 of which are mostly photographs I find here and there that I really like. The 4th is more of a traditional blog. I don't post there as often as I'd like, but sometimes I feel like I don't have anything interesting to say, so I don't bother.
12. (I'm almost finished! I promise!) I've always been a voracious reader. I remember being so excited when the summer book club would start at the local library. I would go with my little canvas tote bag and fill it up with picture books, novels, fairy tales, educational books... anything I could get my hands on. I wish that I had kept a list of everything that I read up until this point in my life. I'm sure the list would be intimidating! haha! I hope my future children love reading and knowledge as much as I do.
Ok. That's enough for now. I could go on for a while, but I'll stop. ;)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
I have something very important to say
So I very humbly ask that you read this and read it carefully.
I’ve been very burdened lately about all of the hatred that I see every single day. Hatred against a certain political group or a certain religious group or a certain ethnic group. Hatred that causes people to do and say things that are inhuman and immoral.
Anyone can see these things just as easily as I can.
My main concern is how we approach it.
I attended a symposium on genocide these last two days and heard accounts of what happens when hatred is acted upon in the extreme.
I heard a man speak who is a survivor of the Holocaust. He told us his story of how the elimination of the Jews in Nazi Germany began. The Nazis didn’t begin to immediately kill every Jew they saw. Oh, no! It was much more subtle than that. Jews were incrimentally treated as second class citizens by slowly taking away their entertainment privileges, their shopping privileges, and their education privileges. Gradually, the people around them who weren’t Jews began to see them as lower class citizens - cockroaches even. And cockroaches needed to be exterminated. He told us about the day that they took him and his grandparents and brother to Auschwitz and how he was separated from his family. Through months of horrors that he experienced, only he walked out of that camp alive in the end. He later was able to reconnect with his parents who had been protected and hidden by a Russian Christian.
I also heard about the much more recent Rwandan civil war and genocide in the 1990s. The same thing happened there in that the Tutsi and Hutu tribes were slowly pitted against each other through the government, the education system, and even through corrupt church leaders. When asked why even the church leaders participated in this, the panelists stated that in Rwanda at this time, you were a Tutsi or Hutu FIRST and a Christian second. Through a serious of political events and assassinations, Hutu neighbors of the Tutsi violently attacked them and killed many of them. Many Hutus also died during this time, but my point is that hatred is what drove neighbors and friends to these acts of violence.
Why am I telling you all of this?
These are examples of what extreme forms of hatred can do. We’ve seen it in America time and again. The colonists and pioneers’ treatment of Native Americans; Native American’s treatment of colonists and pioneers. The treatment of Africans during slavery; the treatment of African Americans during the civil rights movement. The treatment of the Irish as they immigrated to America during the Potato Famine. The treatment of Hispanics as they even today flee from totalitarian regimes in Latin America.
Hatred against people of a different political party than us, against people who speak a different language than us, against people who are a different color, religion, dialect, income level, weight, intelligence level, lifestyle, whatever.
THE HATRED STOPS WITH YOU.
It’s that simple. Each person must make the decision in their own heart to stop hating people who are different from them. You know from experience just as much as I do that yelling at people or threatening them or even punishing them in some way won’t change the way they think.
Thoughts are the only thing that another person cannot control. Only the individual can control their own thoughts.
So when you learn to control yourself and your own thoughts and learn to not HATE, then you have made a difference. If each and every person learned to see the “other side” as a human and an individual who has just as much value as they do, hatred would stop. Violence would stop. Prejudice would stop.
I heard a quote this week. It says “Bitterness and hatred is like drinking a vial of poison and expecting someone else to die.” Being bitter and hateful destroys you from the inside. You may not realize it, but it does. It only leads to self-destruction.
I am a Christian, so I approach everything in life from that background. If you aren’t a Christian, I am not taking this time to try to “convert” you. That’s not my point here. My point is that this issue spans across religious and political boundaries. However, I do want to finish this post with a few things I have learned from God through the things I have read in the Bible.
“Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” (Proverbs 10:12)
“The Lord detests the ways of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness.” (Proverbs 15:9)
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21)
(meaning that if you spew hatred from your mouth, you will reap the consequences of it)
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:34)
“…Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35)
“Love does no harm to a neighbor….” (Romans 13:10)
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” (1 Corinthians 13:4)
We can stop hatred in its tracks if we make it stop with us. Choose to love instead of hate others. Consider your motives behind what you say to others. Why are you saying something? Consider the language you are using. Choose not to use offensive, foul language when talking about someone. Choose not to perpetrate hateful stereotypes of others. Make friends of people who are different than you. It is ok to disagree with someone and even think they are outright wrong! But respect and love for others requires us to not react in hatred to someone who is different from us.
Only then can hatred - and even hatred at it’s most extreme from through genocide - be stopped.
I’ve been very burdened lately about all of the hatred that I see every single day. Hatred against a certain political group or a certain religious group or a certain ethnic group. Hatred that causes people to do and say things that are inhuman and immoral.
Anyone can see these things just as easily as I can.
My main concern is how we approach it.
I attended a symposium on genocide these last two days and heard accounts of what happens when hatred is acted upon in the extreme.
I heard a man speak who is a survivor of the Holocaust. He told us his story of how the elimination of the Jews in Nazi Germany began. The Nazis didn’t begin to immediately kill every Jew they saw. Oh, no! It was much more subtle than that. Jews were incrimentally treated as second class citizens by slowly taking away their entertainment privileges, their shopping privileges, and their education privileges. Gradually, the people around them who weren’t Jews began to see them as lower class citizens - cockroaches even. And cockroaches needed to be exterminated. He told us about the day that they took him and his grandparents and brother to Auschwitz and how he was separated from his family. Through months of horrors that he experienced, only he walked out of that camp alive in the end. He later was able to reconnect with his parents who had been protected and hidden by a Russian Christian.
I also heard about the much more recent Rwandan civil war and genocide in the 1990s. The same thing happened there in that the Tutsi and Hutu tribes were slowly pitted against each other through the government, the education system, and even through corrupt church leaders. When asked why even the church leaders participated in this, the panelists stated that in Rwanda at this time, you were a Tutsi or Hutu FIRST and a Christian second. Through a serious of political events and assassinations, Hutu neighbors of the Tutsi violently attacked them and killed many of them. Many Hutus also died during this time, but my point is that hatred is what drove neighbors and friends to these acts of violence.
Why am I telling you all of this?
These are examples of what extreme forms of hatred can do. We’ve seen it in America time and again. The colonists and pioneers’ treatment of Native Americans; Native American’s treatment of colonists and pioneers. The treatment of Africans during slavery; the treatment of African Americans during the civil rights movement. The treatment of the Irish as they immigrated to America during the Potato Famine. The treatment of Hispanics as they even today flee from totalitarian regimes in Latin America.
Hatred against people of a different political party than us, against people who speak a different language than us, against people who are a different color, religion, dialect, income level, weight, intelligence level, lifestyle, whatever.
THE HATRED STOPS WITH YOU.
It’s that simple. Each person must make the decision in their own heart to stop hating people who are different from them. You know from experience just as much as I do that yelling at people or threatening them or even punishing them in some way won’t change the way they think.
Thoughts are the only thing that another person cannot control. Only the individual can control their own thoughts.
So when you learn to control yourself and your own thoughts and learn to not HATE, then you have made a difference. If each and every person learned to see the “other side” as a human and an individual who has just as much value as they do, hatred would stop. Violence would stop. Prejudice would stop.
I heard a quote this week. It says “Bitterness and hatred is like drinking a vial of poison and expecting someone else to die.” Being bitter and hateful destroys you from the inside. You may not realize it, but it does. It only leads to self-destruction.
I am a Christian, so I approach everything in life from that background. If you aren’t a Christian, I am not taking this time to try to “convert” you. That’s not my point here. My point is that this issue spans across religious and political boundaries. However, I do want to finish this post with a few things I have learned from God through the things I have read in the Bible.
“Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” (Proverbs 10:12)
“The Lord detests the ways of the wicked, but He loves those who pursue righteousness.” (Proverbs 15:9)
“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21)
(meaning that if you spew hatred from your mouth, you will reap the consequences of it)
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:34)
“…Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.” (Luke 6:35)
“Love does no harm to a neighbor….” (Romans 13:10)
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” (1 Corinthians 13:4)
We can stop hatred in its tracks if we make it stop with us. Choose to love instead of hate others. Consider your motives behind what you say to others. Why are you saying something? Consider the language you are using. Choose not to use offensive, foul language when talking about someone. Choose not to perpetrate hateful stereotypes of others. Make friends of people who are different than you. It is ok to disagree with someone and even think they are outright wrong! But respect and love for others requires us to not react in hatred to someone who is different from us.
Only then can hatred - and even hatred at it’s most extreme from through genocide - be stopped.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Anthropologie Launches a Wedding Line
I have loved Anthropologie clothing and accessories for a while now, so I was very excited to see this post from 100 Layer Cake this morning saying that Anthro is launching a wedding line called BHLDN.
It definitely keeps Anthro's feminine, shabby chic touches. I'm excited for it. Check out the 100 Layer Cake post linked above to see more photos from the reveal, and sign up for BHLDN emails to be the first to know when the line officially launches. :)
It definitely keeps Anthro's feminine, shabby chic touches. I'm excited for it. Check out the 100 Layer Cake post linked above to see more photos from the reveal, and sign up for BHLDN emails to be the first to know when the line officially launches. :)
Photo Source: 100 Layer Cake
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Disappointment. Dreams crushed. Etc. Etc.
I told my roommates not a week ago that if Adele (the singer from the UK) ever did a US tour, I would be sure to be at the nearest concert. Well, she's doing a tour. And she's going to be in Atlanta in June. But guess what I'll be doing in June? Studying 10 hours a day for the bar exam and working 2 hours a day. No time to go to a concert 2 hours away. :( Sadness. Despair. Hopelessness.
Ok. Dramatic sequence has ended. Back to my normal blog posts.
Photo source.
Ok. Dramatic sequence has ended. Back to my normal blog posts.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Even Our Clothing Companies are Stupid
You know, I understand some undereducated middleschooler locked in the public education arena making this mistake. I even understand a fresh-off-the-plane-i-don't-speak-english traveler making this mistake.
BUT AN AMERICAN CLOTHING COMPANY??
BUT AN AMERICAN CLOTHING COMPANY??
Good work, there, butchering the English language, Wet Seal.
My head hurts from all this ignorance. I need to lie down.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Afternoon Tea
Yesterday, I experienced a full “Afternoon Tea” for the first time. A British tea house recently opened in my University’s town, and 4 of my girlfriends and I went.
The ladies that own and run the house are just lovely! Both are from England. The owner, Pat, was born in Dover but then lived in Cambridge. The other lady that served us is from Cambridge. They didn’t meet each other until they both happened to move to our town, though, and Pat opened the tea house. They are such wonderful ladies! And both still have a good bit of their British accents. I loved it!
Every tea cup in the place is different, so each of us had beautiful, colorful china cups and saucers to drink our tea from and a tiny silver tea spoon as well.
I drank over 3 cups of tea and lost count of how many different things I tried, so I was definitely caffinated and sugared up for class last night. haha!
Overall, it was one of the most lovely experiences I’ve had in a while.
Oh! And on April 29, they will be broadcasting Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding on loop ALL day. Guess who’s going to be at the tea house THAT day??? ;)
Here's the link to the Tea Room if you'd ever like to visit.
(Photo source)
The ladies that own and run the house are just lovely! Both are from England. The owner, Pat, was born in Dover but then lived in Cambridge. The other lady that served us is from Cambridge. They didn’t meet each other until they both happened to move to our town, though, and Pat opened the tea house. They are such wonderful ladies! And both still have a good bit of their British accents. I loved it!
Every tea cup in the place is different, so each of us had beautiful, colorful china cups and saucers to drink our tea from and a tiny silver tea spoon as well.We were served delicious scones, jam, Devon cream; watercress, salmon, roast beef and horseradish, and cucumber tea sandwiches. Also, there were probably 15 different cakes and pastries including eclairs, lavender jam rolls, orange marmalade jelly rolls, coffee cake, raisin puffs, and cream tarts.
I drank over 3 cups of tea and lost count of how many different things I tried, so I was definitely caffinated and sugared up for class last night. haha!
Overall, it was one of the most lovely experiences I’ve had in a while.
Oh! And on April 29, they will be broadcasting Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding on loop ALL day. Guess who’s going to be at the tea house THAT day??? ;)
Here's the link to the Tea Room if you'd ever like to visit.
(Photo source)
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Year
I'm not making resolutions this year. I'm sure I'll make plenty of changes, though, as the year goes on, but I never keep any resolutions that I make. So to keep myself from failing, I'm not even going to set myself up. Ha!
So instead of resolutions, I'm going to list things I'm excited about that are happening or will be happening soon.
1. I will take (hopefully) amazing classes this semester. I've signed up for "International Human Rights" and "Child Abuse and the Law." I'm pretty excited about both of them and especially for the International Human Rights course, because the professor is a lovely lady who grew up in an African village, traveled to the US to graduate from Harvard, work for the United Nations, and then become a Fulbright Scholar. She has a beautiful soul, and I can't wait to get to know her better through her class.
2. Spring is only a few months away. That's something to be ridiculously happy about. I've realized, however, that it's not so much winter that I hate - it's COLD winter. I've been home for Christmas, and it's been pretty mild this week. We did have record snow last week, but this week has been in the upper 40s, and I'm ok with that. I just don't like frozen tundra temperatures like Virginia has, so hopefully I won't hate winter so much once I graduate and move back to Georgia.
3. I don't have the death flu anymore. I'm very, very happy about that.
4. I GRADUATE in May! May 14th. I started the countdown today.
5. I'm excited about starting work for the Judge after graduation. He wants me to work a couple hours a day while I'm studying for the bar (May through July), and I'm ok with that. I'll be getting a bit of a paycheck while I'm killing myself cramming in three years of learning into 6 weeks and then regurgitating it all back in a two day exam. Whew! (I'm NOT excited about the exam, but I have to push through it.)
6. I'm excited about moving back to Georgia after graduation. I've missed it so.
7. I'm excited to make a paycheck again.
8. I'm excited to make my first student loan payment. No, I'm not crazy. I really am excited. The sooner I start paying on it, the sooner it goes away, and the sooner I'll be DEBT FREE!! I can't wait to see that day!
9. I'm excited to have a normal, non-law-student schedule. I will never do a degree-program like law school EVER again. The worst three years of my life. Anyone that says they "enjoyed" their work-load and schedule during law school is a crazy person.
10. Since 10 is a nice number to end on, I'm excited about being near my family again after graduation. I feel like I miss SO much when I am away. I can't wait to be able to see them and do things with them and not have to work around my break schedule.
11. Ok. 11 for good measure. I'm excited for summer and sunshine and heat and tans. :)
Saturday, December 25, 2010
My Christmas...
So I’m sick for Christmas. Not good. But I did have a nice day other than the sickness.
My gifts:
* My first pair of Sperry Topsiders (Angelfish in Greige Nubuck/Tattersall color)
* A silver-colored business card case with my initials engraved in the cover
* Cosmetic brushes
* Nine West sunglasses
* Get Smart movie
* Enchanted movie
* The Goonies movie
* A new set of ear bud headphones
* A portable speaker for my i-pod
* A whole stocking full of chocolate
* A large picture of Audrey Hepburn to hang on my wall (lovely)
* Two sets of Vera Bradley padded hangers. So pretty.
* A pair of Isotoner leather gloves with faux fur on the inside
And we ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast, BBQ sandwiches for lunch, and cheddar potato chowder and cornbread for supper. All interspersed with chocolate at random times. :)
Oh, and the coolest part is that it snowed. In Georgia. On Christmas Day. We havent had a White Christmas in 130 years. So yeah. It’s a big deal. :)
How was your Christmas?
My gifts:
* My first pair of Sperry Topsiders (Angelfish in Greige Nubuck/Tattersall color)
* A silver-colored business card case with my initials engraved in the cover
* Cosmetic brushes
* Nine West sunglasses
* Get Smart movie
* Enchanted movie
* The Goonies movie
* A new set of ear bud headphones
* A portable speaker for my i-pod
* A whole stocking full of chocolate
* A large picture of Audrey Hepburn to hang on my wall (lovely)
* Two sets of Vera Bradley padded hangers. So pretty.
* A pair of Isotoner leather gloves with faux fur on the inside
And we ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast, BBQ sandwiches for lunch, and cheddar potato chowder and cornbread for supper. All interspersed with chocolate at random times. :)
Oh, and the coolest part is that it snowed. In Georgia. On Christmas Day. We havent had a White Christmas in 130 years. So yeah. It’s a big deal. :)
How was your Christmas?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Finals
My first final is tomorrow, and surprisingly I'm not nervous or stressed out. Maybe it's just old hat to me now, I don't know. Or maybe I have accepted that I will not make high grades in law school. However, I feel like I will be doing my best when I take these exams.
Sure, I could have studied more, read more, slept less, stressed more, outlined more, memorized more, etc. But I am happy with myself, and I refuse to put myself on a guilt trip and get upset.
I realized the other day how different law school graduation in May will be from undergrad graduation. When I graduated undergrad (Summa Cum Laude, 7th in the class), I was berating myself for not getting all A's - for not working harder in the 3 classes that I made B's. For not being 6th, or 5th, or 4th, or 3rd.
Yet this graduation, I will be pleased as punch to be graduating at all. I'm pretty sure that I am somewhere in the middle of the class, and I'm ok with that. I won't be counting how many people are in front of me, I won't be wishing I had more extracurriculars on my resume, and I won't be upset with myself for not having special honors or achievements. I'll be smiling just as much as #1 when I walk across and take my diploma.
Law school has been the hardest thing I have ever, ever done. I have stretched myself FAR beyond the point that I thought I could stretch. I have pushed myself, abused myself, gone from emotional highs to very dark lows. But I've made it through.
And looking back, I'm proud at the strength that I've shown. Would I ever pick this road again if I could do it over? Absolutely not. But I am surprised at the tenacity and the inner fortitude that law students are forced to develop.
I have changed in ways that I don't like. I've become less emotional (almost cold sometimes), and I've become even LESS sociable that I was before. I don't trust people, and I have very little hope for this world.
But I feel like, once I graduate, I will be able to find the fun side of me again. I'll be able to be almost anything that I want to be and do anything I want to do. I'll have free time again. I'll be able to read novels again. I'll be able to have a few hobbies again. I'll make money again!
And I'll be back home.
All that's standing between me and home is two more rounds of finals. :)
Sure, I could have studied more, read more, slept less, stressed more, outlined more, memorized more, etc. But I am happy with myself, and I refuse to put myself on a guilt trip and get upset.
I realized the other day how different law school graduation in May will be from undergrad graduation. When I graduated undergrad (Summa Cum Laude, 7th in the class), I was berating myself for not getting all A's - for not working harder in the 3 classes that I made B's. For not being 6th, or 5th, or 4th, or 3rd.
Yet this graduation, I will be pleased as punch to be graduating at all. I'm pretty sure that I am somewhere in the middle of the class, and I'm ok with that. I won't be counting how many people are in front of me, I won't be wishing I had more extracurriculars on my resume, and I won't be upset with myself for not having special honors or achievements. I'll be smiling just as much as #1 when I walk across and take my diploma.
Law school has been the hardest thing I have ever, ever done. I have stretched myself FAR beyond the point that I thought I could stretch. I have pushed myself, abused myself, gone from emotional highs to very dark lows. But I've made it through.
And looking back, I'm proud at the strength that I've shown. Would I ever pick this road again if I could do it over? Absolutely not. But I am surprised at the tenacity and the inner fortitude that law students are forced to develop.
I have changed in ways that I don't like. I've become less emotional (almost cold sometimes), and I've become even LESS sociable that I was before. I don't trust people, and I have very little hope for this world.
But I feel like, once I graduate, I will be able to find the fun side of me again. I'll be able to be almost anything that I want to be and do anything I want to do. I'll have free time again. I'll be able to read novels again. I'll be able to have a few hobbies again. I'll make money again!
And I'll be back home.
All that's standing between me and home is two more rounds of finals. :)
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