Day 2: Meaning Behind the Blog Name

"You can turn off the sun, but I'm still gonna shine"

This title comes from the song "The Remedy" by Jason Mraz who happens to be one of my favorite artists. I find a lot of meaning in this song because it talks about not worrying your life away.. which I often do. I get stressed out really easily so music by Jason Mraz often helps mellow me out. Lately I've been trying to find more stress relieving activities to participate in such as yoga and pilates!

This particular quote from the song means something different to me though. I think it applies to my life, because regardless of what challenges I've faced, I always come out at the end with a smile, or at least I try to.

Here is the music video to the song I've been referring to. Enjoy :)

Day 1

My friend and I during winter break. (me on the left)

She was awesome enough to let me stay at her house for a month while my mom was out of the country!

This is the start to me doing the 30 day challenge! I'm actually determined to keep up with this so here is a recent photo of me as well as 15 fun facts :)

1. If I could go anywhere in the world it would be Iran, because my mom is from there. It's crazy there right now, so I don't know if I want to go anytime too soon, but in time I definitely will. I've even taken up a Persian class at my school to try and learn the language better. So far it's not too fun though....

2. I don't know how to ride a bike. Shocking I know. I guess I tried to learn when I was little and just never got back on. Learning is definitely going to be one of my goals, because giving up is never good even if it's not that important for me to know how to ride anymore.

3. Ever since I was little, I've gone up to Upstate New York twice a year to visit my dad's side of the family. I love my family more than anything and couldn't imagine not seeing them for any longer than that. They live in a small town so it's a fun change from DC life.

4. I am very indecisive. It's a problem I am trying to fix but it's difficult. I'm especially indecisive when it comes to my career goals. Currently I'm wanting to pursue a career in PR, and I've actually stuck with this for quite sometime now. I'm determined to find a PR internship for the summer so that I can really see what's it's like and decide for sure if that's what I'm meant to do.

5. I'm a huge sucker for love stories. I know all girls generally are, but particularly me. I think that's why I'm so picky when it comes to choosing a guy I like because I expect things to be instantly perfect and magical.

6. I went to Milan, Italy last Spring Break and fell in loooove. Everything about Italy was amazing from the food to the boys. I'm planning on studying abroad there next spring if everything goes as planned. I'll learn Italian too so that I'm fluent when I live in my future Italian summer home ;)

7. My sister is my best friend! We fight a lot and she's kinda like a mom at times, but regardless I forced a friendship between us. She's super awesome and fun (at times)!

8. I really enjoy writing and used to write poetry in my spare time. It wasn't very good, but it helped me express myself on nights where I couldn't sleep.

9. I have a weird obsession with cafés. I think they're the most adorable things ever and would love to go to as many as possible around the world!

10. My best friend Raha loves staring at the sky and always points it out to me. Ever since then I've had a strange infatuation with clouds and how beautiful the sky looks at certain hours of the day.

11. My favorite color is yellow! When people hear that they always respond with, "Wow, that's never anyones favorite color" but I find it a really cheerful and upbeat color :)

12. When I was little I used to have really bad asthma. Thankfully I grew out of it, but that's why I will never be a smoker.

13. I'm a third degree brown belt in Shotokan Karate. I'm always giggling so no one would ever expect me to be secretly tough.

14. I have the cutest puppy in the world. His name is Mickey Simpson and he has a facebook. Friend him :)

15. I have an obsession with cookies, which you may have noticed in an earlier post. So delicious! I'm probably gonna be one of those old ladies that bakes cookies all the time..

30 Day Challenge

It's a new year so why not start off with a fresh start? I've really been lacking in my posts in the past so I've decided to try something new and fun! In an attempt to spice up my blog and let everyone know a little more about myself and my thoughts, I will be doing the 30 Day Challenge! I'll try my best to keep up with it, but now that I'm back at school I'll probably be busy at times. Enjoy :)

Day 0: The 30 Day Challenge Explanation and Description
Day 1: Introduce, recent picture of yourself, 15 interesting facts
Day 2: Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3: Your first love
Day 4: Your parents
Day 5: A song to match your mood
Day 6: A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7: Favorite movies
Day 8: A place you’ve traveled to
Day 9: A favorite picture of your best friend
Day 10: Something you’re afraid of
Day 11: Favorite tv shows
Day 12: Something you don’t leave the house without
Day 13: Goals
Day14: What you had for dinner tonight
Day 15: Bible verse
Day 16: Dream house
Day 17: Something you’re looking forward to
Day 18: Favorite Place to Eat
Day 19: Something you miss
Day 20: Nicknames
Day 21: Favorite Picture of yourself of ALL TIME. Why?
Day 22: What’s in your purse?
Day 23: Favorite Movie
Day 24: Something you’ve learned
Day 25: Put your iPod on shuffle, first 10 songs
Day 26: Your Dream Wedding
Day 27: Original Photo of the city you live in
Day 28: Something that stresses you out
Day 29: 3 Wishes
Day 30: A picture of yourself this day and 5 good things that happened since you started the challenge

Bad Luck

I strongly believe in luck and all those silly things that have to do with it. Lately though, I've been having the worst luck. I could go on and on about the things going on in my life but instead I'll just name a few. First, I had my heart set on this internship for the summer, felt very confident that I got it, and then nope.. rejected. I get an email that reads:


Stephanie,


We were impressed with your skills, but are unable to offer you the position. We wish you the best of luck in your job pursuits this summer. May your summer be very blessed and fruitful.


Best regards.

How disappointing. I should have known constant bad luck was in my future when on one of the last days of school I get two flat tires. Not just one, but two and on the same side meaning all four had to be changed. Then while waiting for it to get fixed, I drop my iphone, something I have done many many times before and nothing has ever happened to it. I guess it was bound to crack eventually and eventually had come. The entire screen cracked. Moments later I try texting on it, and guess what? I get cut by the glass. More recently, I managed to step on glass in my house also which was quite painful. And the list continues... 

I went to Ocean City last weekend with my friends and right before I left, my mom forced me to participate in some persian voodoo thing to get rid of all my bad luck. Even she was worried for me. Well the other night, I had a talk with my mom and she said that everything bad always tends to happen at once. Eventually though, everything gets brighter, and your luck begins to turn around. Suddenly everything good will start happening in your life, even better than the bad once was. I agree with her. Things always tend to hit a person all at once. I think it's to test your willpower and see how you'll respond to it. Or at least these are the things I try to tell myself at times like these. Hopefully my luck will turn around soon!

"All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck - who keeps right on going - is the man who is there when the good luck comes - and is ready to receive it." 
--Robert Collier

Feeling Down?

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

The perfect solution to any problem! 

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together butter, vanilla, and egg in medium bowl. Add flour, baking soda, and salt; mix. Add oats and chocolate chips; stir until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

3. Bake 10-12 minutes.


Looking at this recipe probably isn't helping my diet....

But when you're finished baking, feel free to share with me anyways? :)

Do you believe in ghosts?

Recently I met someone who says he can see ghosts. That apparently they are everywhere.The thought of this was bewildering to me because I never really believed in these types of things before. Hearing it first hand from someone truly made me believe though. Why lie about such a thing? 


This caused me to further question what actually happens to us when we die. It is such a strange thought, because no one can ever truly know the answer to this question. It's about your personal beliefs.I've always had trouble believing in things that have no facts to back them up, such as religion, because in my eyes seeing truly is believing. But lately I've come to the conclusion that maybe it is important to just have faith and believe in something just because. It is a whole lot more settling thinking that someone goes on to another life, rather than their souls vanishing the moment their human body's heart stops beating. 


Now this friend of mine says he sees ghosts, just wandering around. At first this really bothered me because I wouldn't want a loved one of mine to be stuck in this world, with no purpose, wandering. And if in fact he was simply there for a purpose, how would he fulfill this purpose? Now finally I confronted my friend about this question and he said a lot of ghosts are simply manifestations of their energy. This was slightly more comforting to hear. Of course this is a touchy subject and one that is a matter of a person's personal opinion but to me it has always been interesting to think about.

21 before 21

So lately I've been hearing everyone around me tell me that when you turn 21 it is quite depressing because then there really aren't any other exciting birthdays to look forward to. This prompted me to want to write a list of 21 things I'd like to do before I turn 21. Seeing as I'm turning 19 soon, this gives me approximately two years to accomplish these goals. Wish me luck!

1. Study abroad- possibly Spain or Greece?

2. Run a 5k race for a good cause

3. Visit Iran

4. Go skydiving

5. Learn to play tennis

6. Finish reading the Harry Potter series

7. Hold a hedgehog in real life- my favorite animal

8. Intern somewhere that inspires me 

9. Learn to ride a bike

10. See Britney Spears in concert- I missed it because of rain when I was younger.. still not over it.

11. Have a valentine I really like

12. Maintain above a 3.5 GPA

13. Become a black belt in Shotokan Karate

14. Have a summer fling

15. Learn to cook Persian food

16. Become good at persian dancing

17. Go on an alternative spring break

18. Have a healthy lifestyle

19. Own a louis vuitton purse

20. Be sure of my career path

21. Wish upon a shooting star