Hello blogging world! I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve written a post. Not sure how many people actually noticed that I’ve been gone, but I have missed blogging terribly. There is no one to blame but myself for my lack of blogging and filming videos for YouTube. I have been extremely busy with my life; coping with loss and starting a new job.
WHERE I’VE BEEN
Last year was a struggle…probably the most difficult year of my life. I haven’t made it public here yet, I don’t think, so I will just say it. My father passed away on July 1, 2014. It was not easy dealing with loss, especially when I have had to be strong for my siblings (even though they are older). My siblings feel remorseful because they were unable to visit my father in the hospital in his last days for reasons that no one will understand, including myself. I was in the hospital with my father for a month and four days before he passed away. I was with him that day, as well, which is something that is very hard to push out of my memories. However, my brothers feel a guilt that will be with them forever, and in turn, I do, as well. I despise having feelings in general, but I am this upset because I just feel bad for the way they feel, it’s so much worse. Anyway, I have my good days, and I have my bad days. All in all, I have gone through the stages of grief, but it’s just so hard to think about. Even writing this post is difficult. The anniversary of his death is coming up, so these days have been pretty difficult as well.
I have discovered that the best way to get over loss is by distracting yourself. After my father passed away, I went on two trips. They were planned way before that happened. I went to New Orleans with my mom and boyfriend (Gio) and then Gio and I went to New York to visit his family. Both trips were extremely fun and was happy (or pretending to be) until now. But more on why I’m happy now, later on in this post.
Then, I distracted myself even more by getting a full time job. I got hired as a middle school band and orchestra teacher on the Friday before school started. It was so stressful trying to get everything in order so I could have a successful start. This school year was absolutely amazing. The school didn’t really have a music program, so I got to come in and make it my own. We had two very successful concerts and I look forward to witnessing how much my students grow as young musicians next school year. I am also going to miss some of my eighth grade students moving on to high school, but I know that they will come visit. Throughout this school year, I discovered how I want to be as a teacher. I want to be the kind of teacher that students want to be friends with, but I also want them to respect me. That is exactly what I received from my students. I listened to their problems, but when it came down to putting together a concert, they were extremely successful because they respected me. I had a balance of trust and respect and I was genuinely happy with how this school year went.
Our Engagement Story
Now, onto the reason that I am the happiest I’ve been in my entire life: I’M ENGAGED! I am so excited. The proposal was a complete surprise; I had no idea! Here is the story and who doesn’t love a nice proposal story?! At least once a year, Gio and I travel to resorts in central Florida with his family. This year was no different and about 15 people in his family stayed in a 7 bedroom mansion with a nice pool for a few days. Gio had asked me to bring some nice clothes and get my nails done because his uncle, who is a photographer, wanted to snap some pictures of the family to add to his portfolio/website so that potential clients could see his work. The photoshoot would be Friday night, so we had a couple of days to relax by the pool and whatnot. Friday night rolls around and I took my time getting ready because I want to look nice if I am being photographed. Gio’s uncle begins taking pictures of the kids and other couples in the family by the pool and then he gets to me. He takes some pictures of Gio and I separately and then together. There were some nice decorations in the background; some nice lights in the shape of hearts and a cute wooden sign that said “love.” The photographer wanted to snap a nice picture of us with me holding the scrabble tiles that spell “L-O-V-E,” so he did. As he was snapping pictures, I turned to Gio and said “This is a cute idea for an engagement picture,” and he smiled and said “Oh, really?! I’m not sure I like this.” He grabbed the letter “O,” and began taking the ring out of his pocket. As soon as I saw the ring, my heart leaped. At first, I thought it was a prop, but then he began saying. “Well, actually, the reason I brought you out here was…” and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. His family was all present and someone even got it on video. Of course, I said yes and I gave him a kiss and hugged him for a long time. He, then, whispered in my ear that this wasn’t the only surprise. I was thinking “what the hell more could there be?!” and then my mother and aunt walked out of the house. It was so surprising that they had been around the place we were for an entire day and I didn’t notice.
Gio had the ring since February and began coming up with a plan as soon as he bought it. He wanted to share the moment with the people we love most. Everyone was in on the plan and it was just so special. After the proposal, we went inside and there was a nice table full of goodies prepared for us. Among the goodies were little bags of popcorn that had stickers that said “Because he popped the question,” jenga tiles on a plate that said “Building a solid future together. Write words of advice on each jenga piece,” and a bunch of cupcakes in the shape of an engagement ring. We also had a toast with my favorite brand of champagne. It was a very nice and surprising dinner party.
I am very excited to begin wedding planning and now that it’s summer I have a bit more time to do so, along with write blog posts and upload YouTube videos. I really hope this post doesn’t make it seem like writing and filming is a chore, because it’s really not. I enjoy blogging and YouTube, I just wish I had the time and energy last year to keep up with it. Now that I am genuinely happy with my life, I will make blogging and YouTube a priority. I am going to include all of you in my wedding planning and I am just so excited.
I hope you enjoyed the proposal story and my life update! I am attaching the filmed version of my life update, in case you want to watch it. Don’t hesitate to leave comments down below.
xx
