Twenty-one, Single, & Exactly How I Want It To Be

by sparkleandshinesami

During a recent dinner time conversation with my mom, we discussed dating, relationships, and friends of mine in serious relationships.

We then continued to discuss people I went to high school with that are engaged, married, or are having/have kids.

I’m not even close to any of these. Oh no, no, no. In the future – but not too near- I do plan on getting engaged, having my Cinderella themed wedding, and having kids.

But for now, I’m single- which is exactly what I want to be.

For right now, at 21 years old, I am choosing to be single. I am living my life by my rules, while I can. Life is what you make it- which is why I want my college years to be exactly how I want them to be.

I have so many opportunities presented to me at all times of the day. With these opportunities, I want to take them on with my own rules and my own perspective. If I want to go out to a club on a Saturday night, I’m going to. If I want to have a girls night, I will. I don’t have anyone else’s schedule to plan mine around. I don’t want to have to think before doing. I want to just live my life and live out my actions for me.

Right now, I am having the time of my life with my best friends – people who I know will be by my side in the future.

I am more focused on finding the women who will be standing next to me as my bridesmaids than I am the man standing next to me at the alter. I don’t want my kids to ask me about college and start my stories around “some boy” that no longer matters. I want them to be revolving around my friends, who they know and whose own kids mine will be friends with them.

I’m out, meeting new people. If you want to wine and dine me, I won’t say no. But at the end of the night, I am eating Dominos with my friends, talking about the night, then getting into our pajamas for a sleepover.

More importantly, I am learning how to be strong and independent. I can take care of myself. I can fix my own things when they break. I am working hard in all aspects of my life so I can succeed. I don’t need to depend on a man in my future. I am a strong woman who will not take a back seat to a man.

If it wasn’t for discovering myself and all that I accomplish now, by being single, I may never have had to figure it out.

This isn’t my pledge of swearing off boys – some of my very best friends are of the male gender, my future groomsmen.

This is my pledge as to why I’m putting more time and effort into me and my life. I’m young and I’m doing what’s best for me.

4Feb2015

Top 3 Instagrams of the Month: January 2015

by sparkleandshinesami

Happy February, my sparkling readers!

The first month of the year has already come and gone. Have you been following my January adventures on Twitter and Instagram? It’s been a fun-filled month thanks to being reunited with my friends and ADPi sisters for the second semester of junior year! Oh, and a whole less of fun when my computer got a virus, crashed, and had to be re-imaged, in which I lost my documents and photos. But, let’s not dwell on the negative.

A year ago, I posted my first ever Top 3 Instagrams of the month post. Since then, this monthly post has become one of the most popular posts of “Sparkle and Shine,” gaining hundreds of hits each time it gets posted! Due to the success, I decided to continue chronicling my year through Instagram and sharing the top photos of each month with you.

Without further ado, here is the top Instagram posts from January 2015!

2015 is the year that my best friends and I turn 21! Kathleen was the first of our friend group to turn 21 and no amount of snow, sleet, or sludge stopped us from celebrating and giving her a great night!

I’ve taken a step into the fashion blogging world, one cute shoe (or snow boot) at a time. In this Instagram post, I showed off my “day after” outfit for how to still look cute and comfortable the day after going out. To check out the post, you can go here.

A whole new yeaaaaar, a new fantastic point of view. No one (but my mom) to tell me no or where to go or say I’m only dreaming – except for one HUGE dream is no longer a dream, but a reality. I am continuing to work with Seventeen Magazine in 2015 as a member of their Social Club! This means not only new adventures for me, but for you, too, readers!

Continue to follow me on Instagram to see what February will have in store. I have a feeling that it will be just as exciting as January!

17Jul2013

Show your Greek Pride with GreekCoverPhotos.Com

by sparkleandshinesami

If there is one thing I love a whole lot in this world, it is my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. I love to show off my sorority pride whenever I can – whether it be through wearing my Greek letter t-shirts, using my Lilly Pulitzer Alpha Delta Pi phone case, or just telling the world that I am a sister of Alpha Delta Pi.

That’s why when Nahal of Greek Cover Photos e-mailed me asking to discuss their new site on “Sparkle and Shine,” I just couldn’t resit myself! (Plus, Nahal turned out to be a sister of ADPi, as well! How cool is that?!)

So listen up, fellow Panhellenic sisters, because I have some information on a new way to rep your sorority!

Greek Cover Photos was recently created by Nahal Poormasjedian, Zainab Aliyu, and Brynn Zoellner on July 7. The goal of the site is to have sorority girls rep their letters on Facebook with the best cover photos possible, according to the site’s about page.

Right now, the site has 12 sororities represented with cover photos, but you can view 11 when you click on the sorority tab. When you go onto the site, click on the sororities tab to select your sorority. If your sorority is not listed, you can click on the blue “sorority not listed?” box to request that your sorority be added to the list. That way, every sorority girl can get the chance to show off your sorority pride in a cover photo!

When I saw all of the Alpha Delta Pi cover photos, I had such a hard time deciding on which one I wanted to use. They were all just so cute! After scrolling through all of the designs, I finally decided on the one with Luke Bryan’s “Sorority Girl” lyrics about ADPi on it:

Once I decided on which cover photo I wanted, it was so easy to set it as my cover photo. All I had to do was click on it, which then brought me to a page that shows how it will look in a mock Facebook set up. Then, I hit “download cover photo” and it was saved onto my computer. Then, I went onto Facebook and changed my cover photo as I normally would. Nothing about it was complicated!

The cover photo fits absolutely perfect on Facebook. No part of the design is cut out, it is not stretched out, and does not look distorted. You can tell the girls of Greek Cover Photos took their time to make sure that their designs would look just right once they were on Facebook.

I recommend to every sorority girl to check out the Greek Cover Photos site to download a cover photo to represent their sorority! It’s also a great burst of pride during recruitment season!

Enjoy representing your sorority, ladies!

Did you end up looking at the site? Did you download a cover photo? Which one did you pick? Let me know below!