"Families are okay" -Eleanor Roosevelt probably 

I'll start with saying I personally love my family a lot. I'm the youngest of my two sisters and two brothers. This kinda gives me a good perspective of how to deal with family in your twenties. Because when you get older, family changes a whole lot. My family grew twice the size, and now I have a million other siblings in my life. 

Out of the above people you see, I only grew up with two of them. Below are the idiots I grew up with, (minus my oldest brother Matt).

The gawky santa in the back is my brother Zach, the girl with glasses big enough to be seen in space is Jenna, the girl with most likely my Barbie doll is Laura and I'm the unbathed rude little girl in front. Together we were chaos. 

Now having my siblings grow up faster than me was an interesting transition into my adult life. I saw what high school might be like, then college and then post college life. Each of them a little different, I saw multiple paths to my future and how to get there on my own. But at the time I hated it. I hated when they left home, I hated when they moved out, and I hated the idea of having to share them with their own families. Now I was young when having these feelings and I didn't know I would actually love my in-laws more then my blood siblings; I wish I could have understood what was going on. 

Well here it is, they were growing up. They were moving on in life. Things change. 

And it's a good thing!

Now below I am going to list a couple things I wish I would have known about a family growing up. Because readers, you are adults now! Your family is going to change, if it has not already.  

WEDDINGS

Stress stress stress. No matter what they say, it's stressful. Even at my brothers wedding, at age 8, I was so stressed out about not getting red lipstick on my dress I barely enjoyed the getting ready. I also did end up getting lipstick all over the front of the dress, and had to borrow tide from the mother of the bride.

Tips on a stress free wedding day

1. It's not about you, it's about your sibling. Do what you can to make their day easier and maybe don't put red lipstick on your white flower girl dress.

2. Go over your speech ahead of time. No matter what you think of yourself, you are not a stand up comedian or inspirational speaker. Type out a speech and stick to that.

3. Make sure the guests are having a good time and your sibling is having a good time. Make sure they eat and don't have to fix any messes that occur.

Here are three pictures from three of my siblings weddings! 

IN-LAWS

It's really not someone who takes your sibling away from you, it's getting a new sibling that will treat you better then the sibling you already have. In-laws are awesome.

Tips:

1. Include them in family events. Let them be apart of your sibling dinners and outings, they want to be included!

2. Get to know their family, try to take interests in what they like. My brother Stu is the biggest Auburn fan in the world and now I love Auburn too! And it makes our relationship better.

3. Hang out with them without your sibling. You want to be able to get to know them for them, not just what your sibling says about them. Plus you can dish about what makes your sibling the worst.

Here are the before and after pictures of my family.

Because of Zach, I have Nikki.

Because of Jenna, I have Stu. 

And because of Laura, I have Travis. 

And Lastly, 

NIECES/NEPHEWS

There's nothing better then having a niece or nephew. These children are like your own, except you don't have to worry about them growing up to resent you. They love their aunts and uncles and will automatically think you're cool because you're not their parents. 

Tips:

1. Don't tell your siblings what you let the children do. If they had some candy or broke their arm on your watch, its not really necessary for them to know. 

2. Don't try and parent them, be the cool adult that they will listen to and want to hang out with.

3. Be there for them at special events in their life. Go to the recitals and games, be present because they're going to remember who was there for them while they were growing up. 

Here are two of my nephews. They're awesome and way better then their parents. 

Semaje!

Isaiah! 

Last tip: Love your changing and growing family. Life is beautiful. 

DIFFICULT WOMEN: MAY WE TRY NOT TO BE THEM OR GIVE BIRTH TO THEM

When I hit 20, I realized that not all women want the best for you. In fact, many women you encounter in life, want the worst for you. I had known this when I was younger, but I always thought that once I was an adult, people were more mature and nicer. In fact in elementary school I thought this about middle school, then about high school and then about college. Truth is, people just get worse, especially because they are older and smarter.  What was once a "you're a fart face, go eat lunch with the nerds ", turns into "you simply cannot sit here due to your stench and low income, please take your lunch break in your car alone". 

A common misconception about these females, is that they go away at a certain age, or that they become less rude. While every case is different, I have dealt with difficult women throughout my small lifetime. Every case was different, but they became more hurtful over time. I am going to go through five different scenarios with these women, using personal experiences while I was growing up. 

5 YEARS OLD: 

 

Note: My sister Laura is an angel, probably one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. She is caring, thoughtful, loving and kind. Without her, my life would not be complete. However, this story is about her alter ego, younger Laura, my arch nemesis. 

I am the youngest of five siblings and the closest in age to me is my sister Laura. Growing up, we shared everything and nothing. What I mean by that is I shared most things and she "shared" some. An example of this confusing sharing process that I am not sure she understood, was when we shared a room. The room had a door, a bed, a closet and a large window. Laura decided that to "share" the room, she would tie a string across half of it and split it up. The half she got had the door, the bed, and the closet, while I had the window and some carpet. This is sharing with Laura. When we did performances for my mom and dog, we "shared" the stage. When we got Christmas presents, we "shared" them. While she loved me more than probably anyone in the world, she was still very difficult in a living environment. Laura was probably the first female in my life, that I had a difficult time getting along with. 

10 YEARS OLD:

In fifth grade, I sucked at math. I had to stay after school and go over my tests with the TA in my class because I was that bad. Almost every problem was a challenge to me and caused long sessions with my teacher and TA learning what my other classmates seemed to understand. One day after school a girl in my class asked why I always had to stay late with the TA. I explained I was having trouble with the math tests and needed to go over the material. To that she laughed, told me how well she was doing in math, and that the kid behind me doesn't even have to see the TA. And just to clarify, the kid behind me ate his boogers and glued stuff to his face, the kid wasn't entirely going places. While the comments seem stupid now, at the time I remember being really hurt. 

15 YEARS OLD:

When I was fifteen, I had become really close with one of my teachers. She was tough, but I really respected her and wanted to make her proud with my work. While at one point she really liked me, as I grew older she became less of a fan. Her comments were always very honest, but one really stuck with me at that age. She said, "Amy you are like a plateau, you never get any worse or any better". 

20 YEARS OLD:

I've really only been twenty for a couple of months now, but nevertheless I have still dealt with difficult women. Only a little bit ago I had a woman of significance in my life tell me that I am not a role model or leader in life. This woman had not known me more than maybe a couple months, but still felt the need to remind me of my leadership capabilities. 

Minus my silly sister and the snotty little girl from fifth grade, these women had a significant impact on my life. Neither of the women knew me all that well, but still felt the need for pointless hurtful comments. Women sometimes tear each other down, because of the insecurities they have in their own lives. The comments really never go away completely, as you can see they can follow you around your whole life. But I would encourage you to not let them get to you. Everyone gets hurt sometimes, and everyone has hurt someone else. In fact after my teacher told me that, I punched her in the face. Just kidding, but I thought about it! 

Difficult women are all of us. We all can be difficult in someone else's eyes. Be more aware of your actions, be kinder, and when hurt from a woman try to brush it off and love them anyway. 

You know  what sucks? Yes that’s right thank you, dating in your twenties. All kinds of different old hags tell you exactly how and how not to date while you sit biting your nails and ripping out your hair. THIS ENDS NOW. 

Ladies of the internet, stop googling how to date and who to date and get out there and find out for yourself! No article is going to tell you exactly who is right for you, and when they do they could be wrong! 

I’m gonna go through every advice I’ve been given and prove that no one way is the right way. You can do whatever you want in finding what you want out of your relationships!

1. DATE AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE

This is a great way to really know what you want in a partner. After dating so many people, you are bound to figure out what exactly you expect from someone while dating and who works best with you! Whoever you are, you are awesome. And you deserve better than the first person you ever date. Plus you can spend this time casually dating people while traveling or working on your career. Because you, can do it all.

2.   DATE ONLY IF YOU SEE A FUTURE WITH THE PERSON

This way is also great if you really want to get married or stay together for a very long time. Going into each relationship with the expectation that it will be a long lasting relationship, is a really mature way to go about the dating life. If your end goal is to be married or whatever, then you are literally dating people in the hopes of that outcome! Good for you for knowing what you want in life. #ringbeforespring #ringbeforefinals #ringbefore40 #ringbeforeidie #optimism

3.   DATE SOMEONE WHO IS DIFFERENT THAN YOU ARE 

In most peoples lives, people associate with people they share common beliefs and ideals with. In this type of dating you are forced to understand different peoples opinions and love and respect them for it. You become a more mature, and well rounded individual. Good for you, you’re brave and openminded.

4.    DATE YOUR SOULMATE, AND THEN MARRY THE CRAP OUT OF THEM 

If you start dating someone you know you’ll spend your life with and want to marry them, then do it! If you know that will make you happiest and you will love them forever then what is holding you back? You are a lucky one, I wish you all the happiness in the world and an invite to your wedding and reception and  family gathering and I’ll be staying in your house the week of the wedding.

5.     DATE NO ONE

You don’t need no one holding you back. People can be the worst, especially in relationships. But you, you are free! You can work on your career, move to a different country, spend time with friends, family; really do whatever you want. Don’t let people tell you that you need to date in order to be happy. You define your own happiness!

In all these, it is important that they are not mutually exclusive. You can always travel or move to a different country while being married or in a relationship with someone. You can also be extremely fulfilled in your life without a romantic partner. Every person is different, and every dating experience is different! Date who you want and forget the rest. 

Also just a small note on dating:

Today I saw a lady on the subway looking on her phone. My cell phone was dead and at home (100% charged and in my hand), so I was completely forced to see what she was doing on her phone. She was going through each of her photos of her and her husband, zooming in on not her face like most of us do, but her husbands. After every zoomed in picture she would smile to herself and go on to the next picture. When looking for a partner in life, I hope you all find a person you want to zoom in on just their face. I hope they make you grateful and remind you how precious love is in life, just like the woman on the subway. 

Micheal Cera

This blog post is called Micheal Cera because he’s the face of puberty in my head. His awkward essence and ever changing body reminds me of what women go through in their lifetime. 

After 15, you’re basically screwed. Your body won’t be able to handle your hourly five course meal, in fact it will want a permanent residence in your insides. But if you want my opinion, AND YOU DO BECAUSE YOU’RE READING MY BLOG, who cares. When I die I want people to think I was a nice person and had people that loved her, not my body type. Honestly I would be offended if someone at my funeral said something like “well I remember she was skinny, RIP”. Like who is that person and how did they get into my funeral? 

In my opinion (and probably most sane people), all women should feel beautiful. What songs like "Anaconda" and "All About That Base” get wrong is that its not about hating skinny girls, it’s about loving all bodies no matter their shape or size. 

But I do understand the occasional feelings of “omg I’m fat”, because that’s just life. So I wrote up some tips on how to handle these issues.

1. workout/eat healthy

BlahblahblahMichelleObamaBlah

2.VISUAL TRICKERY!!!!

One can achieve this look multiple ways.

A.   Wear vertical stripes, “drawing the eye up”. These lines will either mess up someone’s eyes so much they will literally be blinded by your body (recommended), or be tricked into thinking you have Barbie’s dimensions(harder to do). 

B. Wear Black. Black looks good on everyone. It’s cool, it’s what the kids are wearing these days and almost anything you would want to wear comes in black.

C. Wear your Grandfathers clothes. My g-pa was hip, so I stole some of his flannels and my body literally disappeared into them in high school. Baggy clothes are the best clothes, and that way people don't even see you on their level to judge.  

D. Wear something almost unbearably tight. It'll suck everything in and hug your bones, making you look almost skeletony. Beauty is pain so suck it up.

If you follow any of these steps you’ll be feeling 15 again, and if you don’t feel that way who cares! Being beautiful starts on the inside and the rest doesn’t really matter. What do you want to be remember for?


Also sorry there's so much Khloe K on here, but she's the queen of looking good.