A Day in the Life of Chelsey

It's been nearly a year since my life was turned upside down.  I can't begin to express the amount of pain, heartache, tears, and trauma I have been left with... I can't count on two hands the amount of times my eyes have been so swollen that I can barely open them because of the actual heartache this year has caused. It's strange, because we say the word heartache, but when we most literally feel our heart hurting, only then do we understand the meaning of it.              Nevertheless, as awful as 2017 has been, I wouldn’t have changed much. I mean, I most definitely wouldn't have wished pain or passing upon anyone, but it has taught me a great lesson about life.  Ah... Life.           (The last time I posted, I wrote about how I was going to continue blogging, but that was before chaos hit my life, even more. To be honest, I am not sure where to even begin with this post as it's ...

Well, here I am.. Over 2 years later and I am left with unfinished posts and drafted stories. There have been so many times since my last post in 2014 that I have wondered why I never kept up with my blogging.  Like Africa, life in Italy was full of funny, beautiful, and emotional adventures. I lived in a small city where everyone knew everyone else, and we passed the time by hanging out with the locals in the town centre where we grabbed Coronas at the  bars and ate crisps. After Italy, I moved back home to Canada to Fredericton for University where I spent my first year with one of my best friends that I met while in Italy, then I went on to face the next few years of university with new roommates and new people coming and going in and out my life.  I went through a lot of new transitions throughout the past few years that I never really thought were "important enough" to write about. A few years in University passed by and in January 2015 I met the love ...

My view on my way back from Italy!

If there were no challenges, there would be no struggles.. and without struggles it  would be hard to distinguish what your  gains are and when you are doing better, and what isn't a struggle, and when you aren't going up the big hill. Although we find that we may be in the worst area we shouldn't be the ones to knock ourselves down and beat ourselves up, which many of us do. A life worth living is one that is full of happiness, but getting there is never easy. Pain, grief, depression, anxiety, anything brings us down some(Or most) days.. yet on top of that we seem to blame ourselves for finding that we are in that area of life. That somehow this becomes our fault, or many people blame God. God would never hurt you. It is found that being grateful when you are in a tough spot, or even thankfulness is hard to attain when you just feel like maybe sometimes you are drowning in the sadness that surrounds you. But what good would it do to give up? Not a thing. But what good woul...

So for those of you who follow my blog, I apologize for I didn't and haven't written in a very long while. I guess I have been waiting for the moment to do so. As a sum up of my year in Italy: It was crazy, amazing, depressing, and full of adventures. It was a lonely year where I learnt to do things on my own and rely only on my faith, close friends, and myself. I spent days in my room upset because of the loneliness, and I spent amazing days with friends. It was a year full of craziness and stories for days. I had gone mushroom picking, snorkeling, to the beach, with friends day after day at the 'bars' aka cafe's, and I spent a lot of time getting to know my new families there. I learnt to love a small city (Although it can be hard) and I learnt to love Sardinia (Where I was).. I spent many days alone trying to get used to the new life. But after time I made many friends and a very good friend who ended up coming back to Canada with me! Overall, it was an amazing a...

"The minute you think of giving up, think about why you have held on for so long." It's suicide awareness day! For all of you who have lost a loved one, my deepest sympathies are with you, and for those who have tried to commit suicide, i'm  so truly happy you're alive.  In a world full of people with busy lives, it's hard to possibly believe someone's life has been taken.. by their own hands.. but half of the time we do not even hear of it. It's hard to believe that someone could think of themselves so negatively and think that there is no other option but to disappear. No one on this earth that was or is... or is to be.. deserves THAT. No one.   There's so many people who suffer from depression around the world, so many people who have had thoughts like "No one cares, I might as well be gone." And that my dear, is completely wrong. What I have taken from friends, and people from school/ in my area who have committed suicide is that...

Italian Adventures, Day 6: Wow! Almost a week already :) Not a very busy day today , relaxing until I start arts school on Friday. I woke up later in the day to make some Italian roasted coffee, then watched some crime show (ACTUALLY IN ENGLISH) and waited for my host father to get home. Once he arrived home we had to go out and apply for my residence card so I don't like get deported home hahaha. Otherwise, the adventures are mellow for now.. ;) Until then, my thoughts ramble on in my blog so beware readers, my mind is quite funky.

Everyday, thousands of children, teenagers, men, women, and even elderly try to become this thing that is impossible, yet has taken over our minds. A thing that is defined by humanity, but can never actually be obtained. Something that causes many people to actually take their own life. Perfection. We live in communities where people feel endless amounts of pressure to always appear perfectly happy, perfectly functional, and perfectly figured.  Humanity strives for this thing we call ' Perfect'.  (Google definition)  Per-fect Adjective: "Having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. Flawless." Verb: "Make (something) completely free from faults or defects, or as close to such a condition as possible.   " What is not realized, is that this thing we call "Perfection" is NOT EVEN REAL. As we go on with our daily lives, we look around and see happy people, smiling f...

La Sardegna e bellissimaaaa <3

Italian Adventures, Day 2: Wanna hear day two? Funny story... I was very jet lagged and slept until 4 pm. OOPS. Hahahaha, guess that is what happens after over 24 hours without sleeping and traveling on planes.  After 4, we decided we would go out into the city for a bit and walk :). Italian Adventures, Day 3: As I woke up in the morning, my host parents were away at work, so it was more of a lazy day. I e-mailed back home, and as soon as my host mother arrived home we decided we would go into the city, walk around and look at the beautiful old churches, and we ended the day with some Gelato!  Italian Adventures, Day 4: The most memorable day by far. We started out the day with a bit of relaxing, which was nice since I could catch up to myself because I hadn't been sleeping during the nights due to nightmares and uncomfortable beds and blah. Mid-afternoon my host parents and I decided we would take a road trip to the beach. The mediterranean sea!!! We took the car ou...

Italian Adventures, Day 1: Leaving my family was not as hard as before.. hahaha, Africa helped. But also.. I asked for a quick and short good-bye because well,       I hate crying.  Leaving my friends and loved ones.. Sucks, but I was off to a fresh start. My plane was to leave at 11:55 AM. I would get on at 11:20 however, and we would prepare to take off. This was it. The day I had been waiting for, for so long. Alone in airports, not fun.. but quite the thing! I had my red Canadian rotary jacket on, went through security easily because of it ,  and was ready to go. My heart was honestly beating so hard as I awaited my destined plane.    As it pulled in , I heard my number, and we were off. The first flight was short. I had a random man farting a lot next to me .. but it was good. I landed in Montreal  and had 5 hours to kill before my next flight. I walked around, met some friendly elderly people (SO CUTE)  and tried to kill time. It fin...

  If moving abroad were  easy , everyone would be doing it, right?  What makes people think that going abroad is equal to a young woman searching for love, and what makes people think that just because a young lady wants to travel, she is seeking something in particular? I just want to find who I am , grow into myself.  When I lived in Africa, that was honestly the most life changing experience ever.  I grew so much, learnt so much. Nothing could compare. Leaving a life behind, people you love, you know.. it isn't easy but if you don't take a chance and say yes, when will that opportunity come up again? What I have realized is that it  seems that we forget all about having FUN in life. Many students are off at Uni/College, others already sinking themselves deeply into work. People move on to having families, marrying.. and that's all great stuff, but I figured i'd open a new world of experiences, adventures, and most of all.. fun. As people grow up, ...

"Find a job you'll enjoy and be happy with in life!" They say...  ** You consider a couple different options and find something you're interested in..** "Well that won't make good money." They say.. "Find a job you'll enjoy and be happy with in life!" They say...  ** You consider a couple of different options and find something you're interested in..** "Well that won't make good money." They say..             In my opinion,  I would much rather do something I enjoy and love rather than having a bunch of money and work a job that I hate.. because the best things in life are not bought with money. The best things in life are not things, and if you want to  do something really bad, then do it.. because those who love and care for you will want what is best for you and what makes you the happiest. If you have to go through a few different things to find what you enjoy the most, then do it.  I'd rather hav...

 Hey guys!! So this is Ben's video that we had made awhile back :) Please check it out because he is an AMAZING singer and we really want him to be able to come to Canada!

Looking back on accomplishments.. and I really don't have any regrets except that I wish I could speak Swahili and explain to the children why I had to leave them. We're so fortunate, yet we live in a world full of CRAPPY stuff. People treat each other so badly, and sometimes it's really hard to relate to any friends because we've lived two completely different lives, and whenever I speak of an experience with Africa I usually get the weirdest looks. I miss the kids so much it hurts. I spent everyday with them, and to leave them out in the cold with who knows what and no "Mama Chelsey" there, was super hard. I wish that I didn't have it so good, but then again.. I am so thankful for everything now. It just feels really unfair when I look at things from a different perspective. High School kids are partiers who seek sex and alcohol, they all say. Honestly, I could care less. I don't relate to any of that and nor do I seek it. I'd rather have a memor...

I can't say that i'm perfect or haven't had my downs in life where I just want to give up and let go, because I have. Life isn't just worthless, it has meaning and every person in it does. That's what some don't realize. We all mean something, we all go through the similar experiences, yet still we go at each other like cats. We're all human, we all have a voice and heart that is beating, and we all put ourselves down feeling lousy some days. But we should never give up this fight. ♥ I'm always going to think back to the days of an orphan child in my arms and listening to their heart beat, because I know the meaning of how special a life truly is.

New dinosaur onesies... Yeh, I am pumped.

      So, I know it's been FOREVER since I have last posted. I've been home for awhile now, and i'm part way through my graduation year! I'm still not used to this life of luxury but, hey... I don't think i'll ever be. Africa changed me!  I can't ever stop thinking about how the kids are doing. I got home from Africa and ran for student council, got voted in and I am in charge of fundraising for the school, community, and for any causes worldwide.. etc. I am in cheerleading once again and have started back up the music. No more wrestling though :( Too much to do! (We used to practice everyday) However, It seems that I made an impact on the school and they want to do a project every year called the 'Murray Project' and they will fundraise for an organization in Africa :) (To the ones I believe are actually LEGIT) I am on like 4-5 committees within the school, one of which is my own, and the other I am a leader in. Plus I am doing volunteer work outsid...

The use of corporal punishment as a method of discipline has been well established throughout history across many cultures and continents. In recent decades, the use of physical discipline in more developed countries has diminished in popularity. Consequence and reasoning based methods of discipline have become more wide spread throughout the more educated world. I believe corporal punishment is an ineffective method of discipline. Corporal punishment teaches violence, encourages the use of weapons, diminishes the effect of reasoning as discipline, and can cause physical and psychological harm. History has taught us over and over that violence only produces violence. Wars have been fought, treaties have been written and broken, cities have been destroyed, families have been torn apart, tears have fallen, blood shed and nothing good has come out of it. Corporal punishment using canes is like a war. It is a war between an adult and a child, only tea...

I can't  understand. The kids in the orphanage are the sweetest,yet, they are actually treated like animals. Animals hauling the grass everywhere, cutting down fire wood for the cook, cleaning for the cook, having to go into people`s house to clean everything for them, cook for them, build brick walls, do this, do that. It`s so wrong. But do I have a say?   Things are everything opposite of what you can think of where I was. Pick your nose, and go shake your neighbors hand, if you don't listen to your husband and "Be a good wife" you'll be beaten, if you don't listen to your authority , out comes the cane  and you'll be beaten. Want to go help that screaming woman during the night that is being beaten? You'll probably be beaten too, or killed. Want to go outside at night and play? Nah, you'll probably be robbed and .. you guessed it.. beaten. Rape, abuse, caning, work like a slave, riots, murder, etc.. Yeah, what else can I say. It's hard to ex...