Loving With Your Whole Heart

Unrequited Love: (noun) love that is not openly reciprocated, returned, or understood as such.

I'm not just talking about that boy that didn't really like you back, either… 

What about the friend that, no matter how nice you were, never seemed to like you quite as much? Or the grandma that always seemed to like your cousins better than you, no matter how sweet you were to her? Some unlucky people might have even had a parent that just didn't have time to "do the parent thing"…  

Yep, that's all considered unrequited love, too, and it's certainly not fun. 

What are you supposed to do when no matter how hard you love someone, he/she just doesn't return it? 

Love. Them. Anyway. 

I mean, basically this is what the bible teaches, but I read this article and it really got me thinking about it. Even though it was probably meant to be a fluff piece, it's about love advice Taylor Swift gave to a fan recently and it blew me away. 

It's pretty short, and you really should read the whole thing, but in a nutshell, she said this: loving someone without expecting something in return is selfless, beautiful, and kind. She added that you should "Feel good about being the kind of person who loves selflessly."

That really hit home for me. As a girl who's never had a boyfriend, most of my relationships have been built on unrequited love… Taylor worded this so beautifully, too. She said, "I think unrequited love is just as valid as any other kind. It's just as crushing and just as thrilling."

So the next time you're feeling down on yourself for being twenty years old and still being single, (First, let me know I'm not alone), then think of Taylor's advice: Just keep loving everyone with your whole heart, and someday you'll find someone who loves you in the same way. 

Also, if you're feeling a little discouraged on this Monday morning, try reading this…

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I hope your week is off to a good start! 

Reflections on Freshman Year

It's official. I'm completely finished with freshman year. Pretty soon, life in Scholars Hall will only be a memory.

Wasn't I just moving in and decorating my dorm room? Why do I have to pack everything up again?

How did that happen so quickly?

I feel like if freshman year were a picture, I probably blinked at the moment it was snapped, but not because I wasn't ready or wasn't in the moment -- only because it was a picture like this.

Full of laughter. Full of love. Full of life. 

No need for a do-over or another take, though I wish the photo shoot would last for a little longer.

As I was taking my final exam this afternoon, I started thinking about some of the lessons I had learned in my short time here at Nicholls. I even included some in my paper about F. Scott Fitzgerald (No, I can't exactly remember how they went along with the topic. Finals week gives me amnesia).

Here it is: the nuggets of advice I feel that I have authority to give all of you (whether you're going to college soon, you're there now, or you've been long gone from the halls of your alma mater). This is life advice for everyone!

• Be open minded. 

Don't be afraid to try things outside of your comfort zone.
It's super cliche, I know, but only because it's true!
Join a club, (or a sorority!), talk to strangers, make new friends, and don't be scared to eat alone every once in a while.
I'm still working on this one, but you really have no idea how open minded I've become over the span of one school year.

Also, I feel like this goes along with being open minded: don't let yourself judge others! Destructive thoughts destroy our lives. 

• Draw your lines. Don't be afraid to re-draw them. They're going to change and that's okay. 

Earlier in the semester I felt like I was losing my way.
I had become so different from the person I was a year ago. But the thing was…
I didn't not like it.
This had me so confused, so I went and talked to my favorite priest in the whole world and he gave me this solid advice.
I had told him that "my life was in a downward spiral and I didn't recognize myself anymore" (what can I say, I've got a thing for dramatics).
He told me that in college, it's okay to let yourself make a few bad choices to learn why they're bad for you.
He told me that I had to draw my own lines. I could try to base mine on the lines that the church draws, but ultimately, they were my lines. And it's okay if they change, a little or a lot, throughout the course of my life.
College is a time for learning and growth. It's okay to try new things, but only if we understand the consequences of pushing the boundaries of our lines or even pushing past them. Sometimes the results aren't pretty, but that's okay, too.

• Love yourself and your life. 

I love the person I'm becoming -- the person that I am.
High school-Sydney loved very little about herself, but college-Sydney finds a reason to smile every day.
I've found that keeping a positive attitude can be hard sometimes, but it's worth it. No, I'm not happy all the time, but whenever I'm feeling down, I try to build myself back up.

Always look for the good: silver linings in the clouds, the green in the grass, the blue in the sky, the way the sun paints the earth in shades of light. I love the e e cummings quote that says, "The earth laughs in flowers."
We live in an absolutely beautiful place, and it's hard to be sad when you think about it that way.
One of my best friends taught me how to see nature this way and it's, without a doubt, helped me in some of my darkest times.



So here's to a summer of happiness, of laughter, and of life. One of adventure and of new experiences. A summer of relaxation and rest, but also of fun. One to remember.

With love, from one of the newest sophomores on campus!