Still Blogging

Almost a year ago, I decided I was done with this whole blogging thing. Someone had commented and tore apart what I had written, something that I had really believed in. I was mad and done. And (obviously) I got over it because there's more to life than how people respond to what you believe in. There's more to life than what social media has to say about you. And there's more to life than what those around you think of you. At some point, you have to decide who and what truly matters.

And what matters to me is that I love my family. I am beyond amazed by the love and marriage I have just entered. And God, who gave me all of this, matters. Matters more than the perception of my peers, more than the perception of my friends. My life, my family, my marriage, none of it would be possible without God. Which is why Timothy's letter rings so true to me today.

Remind people of these things
and charge them before God to stop disputing about words.
This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen.
Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God,
a workman who causes no disgrace,
imparting the word of truth without deviation. (2 TM 2: 8-15)

I'm not perfect. My words are not perfect and that's not what matters. What matters is when we present ourselves before our God, we have no shame, no disgrace. We imparted the Words of Truth to the best of our ability, and did our best to share the Love we have for our God without any deviation. And that's what matters. That we did our best to share what we truly believe, irregardless of how others react. And as Timothy reminds us earlier in his letter, we were not made to be timid.

Tota tua.

Happy Anniversary!

Two years this past Saturday, Oct. 18th was when I started this blog. You may have noticed that link, title, and website name for the blog has changed.

That's because I have changed.

Two years, Pope Benedict XVI announced a Year of Faith, and I got to work. I was not a person I was proud of two years- my freshman year at Pitt State had been hard, and I need to do better. My grades weren't the best, my faith was not as strong as it had been in the past, and I knew I could do better.

Then why start a blog if I wasn't the best Catholic I could be?

Because I needed something to help hold myself accountable, and because I loved writing.

A blog seemed to fit all of those things- it gave me something to do, to work towards, and to aspire to fulfill. The blog also pushed me to learn more about the faith I claimed. It pushed me to constantly look for the Light in everything around me, and add a dash of Catholicism to everything I did.

Two years later, I feel like an adult in my faith. I feel more confident in my abilities to lead and guide, as a secular female who works with youth in her diocese, and has her own "crew".

Safe to say, I feel good about myself and my ability to lead. I've gone from unconfident, isolated, and disappointed to confident, successful, and loved. So, to culminate these past two years, here are the top five things that have happened to me and this blog!

1. Hands down, getting the job as the Camp Re-NEW-All Director has been the best thing to happen to me and this blog, pushing me to a new level of Christian-Catholic leadership
2. Our most popular post was the one written this summer on servant leadership, which makes sense considering it was about Camp!
3. The third most exciting thing could arguably be first, but because it's more broad, I put Pope Benedict's retirement and Pope Francis's arrival third. That entire event was historic for our Church and amazing to witness.
4. Friends! I've made so many amazing friends in the last two years, and maintained great, healthy friendships with others including Myka, Cearrah, and Josh.
5. Sigma Alpha Iota leadership, I have joined this amazing sisterhood and served as Secretary last year, and this year as president, pushing my leadership skills and making great connections with wonderful, talented young women who all share my interest in music and community!

Alright, I'm done bragging! Be sure to note that the website name has changed, and share this with all your friends, let's beat "Servant Leaderships" 230 page views record in the weeks to come.

Thank you to all who read and support me, and as always,

Totus tuus,

LeAnn 

Role Models

I was recently asked on a job application who was someone I admired most and why. The smart girl in me said to choose someone who fit the job's archetypes; Mother Teresa, Pope Francis I, or some other Catholic figure head. The twenty-one year old female in me screamed for Taylor Swift, Emma Watson, or my mom. I struggled with it for a few minutes; and then I went with Emma Watson.

As I justified this in mind:

She's intelligent. She's modest. She has a lot of charity work. She plays Hermione Granger. 

I was also tearing it down in my mind:

Do I really want this job? Shouldn't I be writing to please them? Why in the world are you not writing about Pope Francis I right now? 

My reason, when it was all said and done, is that they asked for role model and that she is immediately who popped into my head. I find her modest, chaste, tasteful body image to be inspiring. I love that even though she is an incredible actress, she still continues her education because it's something she values. I find it impressive that she uses the influence she has developed to benefit organizations that she believes in. Why is that something to be ashamed of?

Role models are what we make of them. Whether or not everyone else finds your particular role model inspiring is unimportant. What matters is that this name, this person helps to inspire you. Never mind how anyone else sees you, or her.

Whether your role model is someone you met on the street, found in book, discovered in a movie, or is part of your faith, they influence you. Embrace that, use it to your advantage. Be inspired, be bold, use them as something to push and encourage you.

Totus Tuus,

LeAnn

Priorities

1, 2, 3...

When I decided I was going to do this whole blog thing, before I even started I made it a personal goal to post every Sunday and Thursday.  And already, that isn't happening.  I missed on Sunday, but with what I consider to be good reason.  

We all have varying levels of priorities.  Friends before school; family before friends; maybe even school before both of those.  Whatever they may be, we should have our priorities straight in our head, knowing what we value most in each situation. 

My top five:

1. Personal well-being
• It looks self-centered when I put this at the top of my list, but I firmly believe that before you can help anyone, you have to help yourself.  What good am I to anyone if I'm not happy and healthy? 
• This also includes my personal spirituality.  God before all else, because He is the one thing that is never going to let me down.  
2. My family 
• this includes my immediate family and a certain level of my extended family
3. Best friends
• These people are almost as good as family and I hope that they know that by now
4. My education
• homework before hanging out, class before personal time, and a constant attempt to do my absolute best 
5. My future
• When I'm making a decision, and have already examined it against the other top four priorities, my final thought is if my future self would be proud of me, would I be proud to share my life-adventures with my future family?

With those being stated, Sunday and Monday didn't allow for me to write this post.  Personal well-being and family took precedence, which is probably why I'm already recovering from whatever strange bug hit me the last two days.    

Vote, don't do drugs, live life on the edge, and if you really want to get crazy, leave me a comment with your top five priorities!

Totus tuus,  

LeAnn