Blessed are they who do things...

Wow! I am totally blown away and humbled by the response to my previous post about Instagram! I was not expecting that at all and I'm so thankful for all of the uplifting support I've received! People are so great.
Here's a "fab four" list of things I've been doing in the past week or so:


1. Faith
The Beatitudes! Gosh I love them. We sang this song at mass on Sunday and it reminded me of how much I love them. It was stuck in my head all day Monday, which eventually led to some reflection over the scripture it originates from. I have a few personal favorites:
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
I think sometimes I feel bad for feeling sad or upset about things because I get in this mindset that I'm supposed to be happy all the time if Jesus is in my life, and if I'm not then I must be doing something wrong. But life is way deeper than that, praise God! Check it out: He tells us its okay to mourn, and its okay to want things to be made right. In fact, its more than okay because blessed are you when you do. Blessed are you. Its not "I have to be happy because God says so," but its, "I can be happy even though I mourn and I hunger and thirst for righteousness, because blessed am I." Even in our sufferings He still continues to bless us. We are blessed because we suffer. He Himself suffered and it brought infinite blessings. So, like the song says, rejoice and be glad! Yours is the kingdom of God!

2. School
Okay, so if you don't already know, I'm a Human Development and Family Science major and I love it so much. I want to pursue elementary school counseling or work with the homeless...Well, I actually want to do both at some point...ANYWAY, here's a quote that I found interesting from an article I had to read for my Relationships and Marriage Development class:
"It is important to recognize that the development of attachment is not the same as the development of commitment, nor is attachment the same as commitment.  Strong attachments between partners often lead to commitment, but this is not automatic. It is the formation of commitment—a clear series of decisions about choices and the future—that brings security to a relationship, thereby settling any anxieties about attachment.  Attachment often pushes one to desire security but commitment brings evidence that one can actually trust that security exists."
This speaks so much truth! It also reminds me of that scene from Elf when Michael is reading Santa's book on the news and he's like, "Charlotte Denon wants a Tiffany engagement ring and for her boyfriend to commit already!" Attachment without commitment leads to anxiety and instability. I could write a whole post about this...maybe I will. #KakiMightDoThings

3. Fun
So many fun things! I was determined to make last weekend busy and action-packed.
Friday I went bowling with a group from church--and I won the second game with a score of 127. Look out world!

Saturday I went to Oklahoma City with Erin. Between the two of us, I'm pretty sure the entire color spectrum was covered. This was the only picture we got with our outfits in it, but I promise you, we're not 13. We are mature, college-educated young adults...ish. ;)

 

 

And Sunday-Funday certainly did not disappoint. It was a busy day and it also marked the start of Intramural soccer! I'm pretty sure this is one of my favorite parts of college. We tied our first game 2-2. Go bears!

4. FOOD
I mentioned in my first post that I wanted to start a clean-eating diet. So far its been a lot of fun! I've cooked and tried a lot of new and different foods, and I've gotten to the point where I can cook chicken without setting off the fire alarm! Last night I made this spaghetti pie for my roommate and two of our friends (and me, duh) and it was so good! And I think I'm going to make these cookies next weekend. This is the part where I'm probably supposed to post pictures of all of these gorgeous meals I've whipped up, but lets be real. 1, my food isn't always pretty (but its pretty delicious, promise!) and 2, by the time its done cooking, I'm just so ready to eat it that I don't even think to take a picture. Maybe soon if I can cook something pretty. Maybe the cookies. You never know what kind of things I will do....



"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity on the human heart." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Why I stopped filtering pictures of myself

I love Instagram. Like, a lot. What's not to love about seeing what all of your friends, favorite celebrities, and random people you don't even know are doing, eating, or wearing in a 2x2 inch square? And trust me, I very well know the satisfaction and excitement of seeing that little yellow speech bubble appear, alerting you of how many people liked your strategically arranged coffee and muffin snapshot on #sundayfunday. I love Instagram. If you're like me, you've probably had someone over the age of 40 ask you "well, what's the difference between "instantgrams" and facebook postings?"
Filters. On Instagram, you can give your pictures cool effects with the different filters. (okay, I know you can do that on Facebook now too, but that's still a new thing so hush)
Here's an (terrible) example:

But you can also use those filters to your advantage. Here's me, unfiltered:

Here's me with the "Nashville" filter:

Better, right? If only the DMV had Instagram filters for drivers license photos (now THAT'S a good idea...).
But then I realized something: That's not me. I mean it is, but not 100 percent. By filtering my pictures to make my skin look smoother and tanner and make my hair look blonder, I'm giving people an unrealistic idea of what I look like. They'll see me in person and it won't be the same.
THEN, I realized something else: By filtering my pictures, I'm giving MYSELF unrealistic standards for my appearance. I can't compare my reflection in the mirror to my picture with a filter because guess what? I'm not always standing in the most flattering lighting. I don't have perfect skin. Some days my hair isn't as blonde as other days (that one really stumps me too...how is that even possible?). But that doesn't mean I'm not beautiful. A picture may be worth a thousand words but being real is priceless. We don't need to hide behind filters to show off our radiance because filters take away from who we are. I'll still use them in other pictures and for artistic flair, but selfies and me trying to make myself look easy-breezy-beautiful can say goodbye to Kelvin, X-pro II, mayfair, lo-fi and the rest of the gang. We can't sell ourselves short! So move outta my way, filters! *cue I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross* *I'm actually listening to it right now*


"It doesn’t make sense to call ourselves ugly, because we don’t really see ourselves. We don’t watch ourselves sleeping in bed, curled up and silent with chests rising and falling with our own rhythm. We don’t see ourselves reading a book, eyes fluttering and glowing. You don’t see yourself looking at someone with love and care inside your heart. There’s no mirror in your way when you’re laughing and smiling and happiness is leaking out of you. You would know exactly how bright and beautiful you are if you saw yourself in the moments where you are truly yourself."

PS, follow me on instagram for more things that I do! @kakihoran

I am now one of those people

Well, here I am. I am now one of those people who blogs. Not that there's anything wrong with that...I love those people. I've spent many late nights surfing the internet reading about the lives of those people. I just never thought I'd be one. But I also never thought I would like Les Miserables and we all know how that turned out (oh, you don't? Long story short, I'm low-key obsessed). The moral of the story is, always believe in yourself I guess. Here's a little "this is my first blog post" list of fun-facts about me!
1. I'm one of the most die-hard extroverts I've ever met
2. Today has been one of those days where I think about random funny things that happened years ago and start laughing in public.
3. Catholicism--I love it. I talk about it sometimes a lot.
4. I'm trying this new clean eating thing.
5. By trying I mean I researched it today and bought some groceries. Clean eating blog posts will inevitably be coming soon to a blog near you. This blog to be specific.
6. My favorite things to wear include, but are definitely not limited to: Stripes (straight or chevron), skinny jeans, chiffon, lace, cheetah print shoes, teal, navy, toms, yellow, and my intramural soccer jersey. (#13, go bears!)
7. I don't know...what else should be known about me?
8. I drive a yellow beetle and I'm a Volkswagen enthusiast
9. DANCING.
10. Madly in love with life and all the good things in it.

So this is my blog, Kaki Does Things, where I'll blog about the things that I do. I feel like this first post has to make some kind of big impression but lets be real, everyone reading this (if anyone other than my mom reads it...hi mom!) probably already knows me. But I promise future posts will be more exciting! There will be fun stories, there will be pictures, there will be hilarious insight on my life.