Volunteering is Good for the Soul

 

Hello friends! It's been a hot minute! I miss writing on here and I miss writing in general, but I have been so busy with going back to school and the holidays happening. I'm currently at work and I have some down time so I wanted to make this post! 

Volunteering has always been a part of my life. I can remember my youth group volunteering at local shelters and even going on a road trips to help re-finish houses in different states. I've always had good memories with volunteering with my friends. I never really took into consideration that I was helping people, if I'm honest. Of course, I was a pre-teen who didn't want to dive deep into any type of feelings, so I just showed up at volunteer places that my church set up and helped. 

As I got older, I had stopped volunteering. I had a really uncomfortable time once when I went to Feed My Starving Children and helped out at their center. I was just...not great at doing what we needed to do there. I think it put me off for a few years because I was "so bad at it."

 But as I matured in the past few years, I realized there was a lot more volunteer opportunities than I know. I came across VolunteerMatch.org  somehow and there was where I found a world I never knew was there! You type in your location and BAM, it shows you places that need volunteers. 

I started off by writing a blog post on mental health for a small company around the Chicago area. I actually forget which one...but I did it for free and I found them through Volunteer Match. I had a few phone calls with the social media director and talked about my ideas for a blog post. After the post went live, it was very well received and they wanted to keep me on board to write more. I ended up passing on that, but another bigger opportunity arose.

NAMI. 

National Alliance on Mental Illness. A HUGE  organization that I really looked up to. Long story short, the NAMI center about an hour away from me needed volunteers. I had a couple interviews and I got the position of NAMI speaker in the Northern Illinois region. All thanks to Volunteer Match (which I'm not sponsored by! I swear!)

 I remember my first ever speech I gave with NAMI. It was in a state mental health institution and it was in real bad shape. Looking around, I remember seeing all the faces of grumpy people who just wanted to not be there (I would be the same way). I started my speech and I made all the right pauses, all the right breath intakes, and it went so good. The patients had to fill out a sheet of paper saying if I did well or not. Kind of like a review. I asked if I could have a copy of the reviews and the officer there was shocked. "I never had anyone ask to see them before" she said. 

Here's what one of them said:

I will never get over that one word: "Hope"

I stopped NAMI once Covid hit (even though I had such great opportunities lined up).

I decided this year to hand out cards made by my friends to all the residents in my senior living community that I work at. It was called Cup of Cheer holiday cards and it was a HUGE hit! At first the residents gave me a "huh?" face when I handed them a card. I explained a bit and told them that I put a letter from me in the card too, to explain more. 

I had residents who barely talk to me, come up and say "that card really warmed my heart. Thank you." Family members of the residents kept telling me how much their parents loved the cards. All in all, I'll definitely be doing it next year, too! 

I feel like volunteering my time to help others really grew with me as I got older. As my boss rudely put it once: "Megan, you have a savior complex. It's not great." After I tried shaking that comment off, I realized that helping people isn't a bad thing. If volunteering didn't give others joy, then that's a sad life. 

I hope you guys put some of your time to help others this new year. VolunteerMatch.Org is a great way to find things like I did! Put your skills to use, ya'll! 

As an end to this post, please enjoy this picture of me and my resident wearing the same shirt (Santa hat for privacy reasons!)

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Cup of Cheer Care Packages 2022

 Let's get right to it:

Cup of Cheer is now....ALL YEAR!

Yes, I love how that rhymes. So, what's going on?

I created Cup of Cheer Holiday Cards this year. If you missed the memo, click HERE.

Cup of Cheer was aimed at giving senior living residents a very merry holiday with handmade cards from all over the US. These card makers put in so much effort and love and I feel like even though I put together this organization, I wasn't as hands on as I usually am. I then got to thinking about after the holidays, when the weather is dreary and the moods are low. The seniors can't walk around outside or even sit on outdoor benches because of the cold Midwest winter (and let me tell you, these residents LOVE their walks). 

I researched what I could do to keep up their spirits. I won't be going back to school until Fall 2022 and although I'll be vigorously working on scholarships in the spring, I won't be ATTENDING school. Which means I have (somewhat) some free time. And what better way to have this free time than to give back. I usually do some volunteer stuff on VolunteerMatch.com during that time, but my heart and soul is connected to this Senior Living Community right now. 

So, Cup of Cheer is staying all year! Well, at least for this next event. What is that, you ask?

CARE PACKAGES! What better way to show some wintery cheer with a cute little box of goodies?!

What I've learned from my residents by paying close attention: They're always cold, they sit upstairs in the loft alone to work on puzzles, they like a good book and they're always looking for simple activities to do.

What I'm thinking about putting in the packages: nonslip socks/gloves, a good puzzle book, some playing cards, lip balm (for the blustery winter), and a handmade bookmark (by me). 

Of course, this is a very simple list right now and I don't even know if I'll raise ANY funds, but I'll be needing to make 150 boxes, which equals $1,500 for each $10 box. I would like to make it more because I think $10 is too low, BUT it is what is it and I don't want to ask too much. 

My residents have created a bond with me and I would love to give them anything I can. This is my volunteer activity that feels close to my heart :)

I always tell people: for most residents, this is their last home. I'm happy to work front desk at a place where I feel like I'm helping. 

Now it's your turn to help ME (please!) 

Below is the GoFundMe that will be going until February and I HOPE to reach that goal.

Here's a list of things I will be looking to purchase but if you have any BRAND NEW items of these, please send them my way!

Please email me HERE for my address or any questions!

LINK TO THE CARE PACKAGE GOFUNDME

Thank you for keeping your heart open!

Love, 
Megan 

 

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Congrats, Grad

 

When I was 18 years old, I decided to attend our local community college along with my friends. I had my parents support but I don't remember much of my academics, just some random times I had there in 2011-2013. I took my general education classes and couldn't seem to pass my last math class. I took it 4 times, with all different teachers. I got accepted into art school (AKA university) even though I didn't yet have my associates. I took some art classes at Illinois State University and kind of hated them. The school taught straight from the book, no room for creativity, type of art. I was way to "strange" with my art and I didn't fit in. I dropped out after a semester.  

I still didn't have my associates degree. 

While all this was happening for 3.5 years, I was dealing with severe mental health issues. I couldn't control what I was feeling and how I let it out. I hurt people, I hurt myself. I didn't want to keep living, let alone graduate college. College was something that was going on around me, but my mentality held me back from being my best college student self. 

After I dropped out of college in 2014, I had a lot of hard times with the jobs I worked and ended getting my brain surgeries in 2015 (please read my book if you don't know what I'm talking about! THIS IS A SHAMELESS PLUG). I didn't even think of going back to school during all of that. But after my recovery and years after, I was so tired of putting on my job applications that I only had a high school degree, even though I went to college for almost 4 years (thank you to the applications that gave the "some college" option!)

In 2019, I applied for my community college once again. I wanted to take that last math class. I got accepted into the school, but....never went. I was too scared I wouldn't pass again, so I didn't try. 

I, of course, didn't even think of going to school in 2020 as I was too busy working and Covid happened. 

I had a new therapist in 2021 after I knew I needed some help again, mentally. I told her that I want to go to school again and she helped push me in the right direction and I ended up going back to college in the fall of 2021. 

I was so scared of what to wear, which backpack to pick out, if my One Direction folder is ironic or cute. I was also scared of my age and that my peers would judge me for it. 

I worked so hard with my math class this semester. I have tutoring with the teacher ever Thursday before class, I have done Monday online tutoring with her, too. I am putting in the time and effort and as an adult who has a better grasp of who she is, I am really proud of myself.

I am currently getting a C grade in the class and since the math I'm taking is not preparing for any other class, a D is passing. I'm 1000000% I can at least get a D (although I'm hoping to keep my C...)

Which means, after 10 years full of heartache and hating everything, I am now full of love and life.

AND I'M GRADUATING THIS DECEMEBER! 

I am so excited that I'm telling everyone and posting it everywhere. Yes, an associates degree is a little one, but good Lord, I did it. I don't care how small it is, I passed it after 5 math classes. Finally.

I had so many people support me through this and I want to thank each and every one of them. My mom, my friends, everyone who cheered me on.

I'M ONE DEGREE HOTTER! 

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It's Been Waiting For You: NYC 2021 Part 3

 

The last and final installment of MEGAN TAKES NEW YORK CITY 2021. ( I hope you yelled that in your head). 

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The Statue of Liberty was a sure-thing for me to do. I mean, I'm already in New York, I have to see some history!

TIP: If your boat ride to Liberty Island is at a certain time, get in line at least 20 minutes early! They check bags and screen you (which I had no idea about.) 

We also took the official way to get on the island via Statue Cruises. I recommend this ferry 1,000%. I bought sketchy tickets for another cruise around the island and didn't read the reviews before I bought them. As I was in contact with the place, trying to make my reservation, they were extremely rude via email. THEN I read the reviews. They were so bad that I decided to not put us in danger and got official tickets!

Anyway, the ferry ride itself isn't nausea-inducing, so that was a plus for me. I'm saying it was maybe 10 minutes long to get to the Island. They have tons of benches to sit on but you can also stand to get a better view. 

Liberty Island itself wasn't all that big. It had a museum, a gift shop, and the actual statue. And of course, beautiful views of the New York Skyline! Here's a cool picture of me and the skyline:

I was kind of bummed about all the construction around the base of the statue. The nice pictures of the statue definitely suffered with the tacky forklifts in the background. But it was still cool to see up close. For some reason, the museum actually made me tear up? It was weird, but it happened. 

TIP: Ellis Island and Liberty Island are TWO DIFFERENT ISLANDS! I was so confused about that. The ferry ticket includes both islands, but we didn't end up going to Ellis Island unfortunately. 

That was our big adventure for the day as we were definitely tired.

The next day, though, turned out to be a big one for me!

I met a lovely lady named Mavis on Twitter in 2015, during the One Direction era. She was my age, we loved a lot of the same things, but...she lived on the East Coast where as I lived in the Midwest. After years of saying "come visit me" to each other, I got Mavis to come to New York City to meet up during this trip!

By far, one of my favorite humans I know. She is exactly as sweet and funny as she is over text. Plus, she's probably going to be hired by me in the future to be my photographer. That girl has camera skills!

I first met up with her by picking her up at a bus station nearby and we hugged like we were meeting for the first time (LOL). Later on after our breakfast, I left Noe in the hotel room and dragged Mavis  to explore more of New York with me. 

I wanted to go to NY's biggest bookstore for a long time, The Strand. I finally went and it did NOT disappoint in being so big. They claim to sell 18 miles of books!

I bough some merch and of course, some books, then we headed out to chill in Union Square Park. New York City has way more parks than I even knew. Mavis got melty ice cream and we sat and just talked and took cute pictures.

Then, we got pierced. We looked online for a while for a piercing shop close by that would accept walk-ins but to no avail. I wanted my second nose piercing and Mavis wanted her 4th ear piercing. Alas, the magical Mavis found a shop, she called to make sure we could come in, and they said yes! So, we got piercings at a little shop where Christina and Britney got pierced at before. Iconic. Also, mine hurt so bad. Not complaining though because it's CUTE.

FRIENDS WHO GET PIERCED TOGETHER, STAY TOGETHER

We then picked up Noe after our adventurous day and went to dinner at The Magic Hour, a rooftop restaurant. It was covered in pink roses and was SO Instagram worthy. Other than it being pretty, it...wasn't great. My food was not the best and the waitress never came back? We had to flag someone random down for the bill. But...the pictures turned out AWESOME

   

My favorite is the one with Mavis and I. Look at the Empire State Building at night!

We were kind of over that place, so we somehow ended up on the rooftop of Margaritaville at cool bar. The view was unmatched. The drinks were pretty good, too. The bartender was super cool (and took off some of my bill because drinks are way too expensive in NY. Thanks, sir!)

The night didn't end there! We left the rooftop bar and ended up in the heart of Times Square. I didn't go that deep into it last time, but we sat on the red stairs and everything this time. Here's Mavis showing her camera skills off with Noe:

My favorite picture she took of me was definitely this one, as she shouted at me "We need some bag action! Bring the bag in front!" (Good call, Mavis).

Then, we went back to the hotel, and slept. 

__

The next day was our day to leave. Mavis, Noe, and I went out to breakfast, we went into mall (where I finally purchased Gucci Bloom perfume for the first time. FANCY!) and then said our goodbyes. 

It was a very tiring trip and our plane home kept getting delayed. I finally arrived at my actual house around  3 AM. I was exhausted to say the least.

But hey, New York was QUITE the experience!

____

Just wanted to thank some people: Noe, Mavis, my mom, Noe's brother (for driving us to the airport), and my poor body that got brochities because of the plane ride (yikes). And thank you all for reading my New York City adventure! 

Any guesses where I'll be going next? ;)

 

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NYC 2021: Part 2

 Welcome back to part 2 of my New York City trip! 

Let's just dive right into day 2 of my wonderful vacation.

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I have start out with the question I'll probably get asked: Did you visit the Empire State Building? Yes we did. And yes it was closed. I heard a lot of buildings and observation decks were closed, but the Empire State Building wasn't something we were dying to see, anyway. 

Day two started off with a recommendation from a friend (I have no idea who anymore) to eat at a breakfast place called Sarabeth's. I learned to look up dress codes while in New York because Sarabeth's was fancy and I wore jeans. Oops. It was located right across from Central Park and it seemed like such a long walk from the subway (but was it really a long walk or was I being dramatic?) The restaurant itself was not great. My eggs benedict was pretty much hard boiled and we had a tea cup of coffee (cute) but it only got refilled twice (not cute). Noe's French Toast wasn't amazing either. I got a side of bacon for $13 and let me tell you, not worth that amount. So, no recommendation from me for this restaurant. 

After breakfast, it was onto Central Park. I had been excited for the Central Park row boats since I started planning this trip. But first, we had to tackle the giant that is Central Park. Holy COW is it big. 

Tip: Wear comfortable clothing while exploring Central Park. It's big and you'll get sweaty and jeans was not the best option for me.

We had to use Google Maps because there were no signs of which way was which. Once we saw that there were legit roads in the park for bikers, with stoplights and all, we were like "ok this is massive."

  Tip: Bring your charged phone so you can used Google Maps to find your way around.

The row boats were $40, but $20 was a down payment that you get back at the end. I found out that I was TERRIBLE at rowing, so Noe rowed for us. I felt bad about it!

We took a lap around the lake and the lake itself was so gross. That just means you have all the more reason not the fall in...they have life jackets if you are nervous, though!

Don't forget to stop and see the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park! 

Next stop: The New York Public Library

A definitely big library that you can lost in (heck, I got lost, too.) Stepping off the subway, the first thing I noticed that there were about 10 police officers standing around, wielding assault rifles. They were laughing with each other and not paying anyone attention, but it was honestly extremely uncomfortable. 

We passed those officers and went inside the library. Chandeliers and marble were everywhere. It was beautiful. 

They had some education info about people I've never heard of, but I kept thinking "I wish I could write something that would end up in this library..."

I bought some souvenirs from the gift shop and off we went! 

Here's me outside of the library!

 We went back to our hotel to rest (I definitely took a quick nap), then headed out to Little Italy for our dinner reservations. 

TIP: The pictures online are most likely better looking than the restaurant. 

The Little Italy restaurant was just okay. A little tacky, even though I thought it was going to be a fancy place. The waiter forgot about us and it took forever to pay. I got seafood and it was pretty good. I hate tomatoes and didn't know it came with sauce (it didn't say that on my menu), so I didn't eat the pasta. But it sure looked pretty.

Noe and I looked on our Google Maps for a bar nearby. We found one called Home Sweet Home that looked promising. 

AND IT WAS. We were the only ones in this little dive bar and it was so much fun talking with the new bartender (she had only been bartending for 3 weeks) and I had her make me a new shot that we named the Pin Shot (Pineapple, vodka, and simple syrup). I didn't catch her name but she had awesome curly blue hair and was super pretty. So if she ever sees this: THANKS FOR BEING SO KIND TO ME IN NEW YORK!

I definitely recommend this dive bar for people who are near Little Italy! Take those steps down to the bar and turn right. There, your Pin Shot awaits. 

The last thing of the night: TIMES SQUARE BABY!

It was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We didn't go deep into Times Square the first time, but we got the gist of it!

I also tried some ice cream from a truck because I was hungry for dessert. The ice cream was a definite 4/10. Not great. Too melty. But it was fun!

After sitting on a stone riser and eating my ice cream, we went back to the hotel and slept for the night. __

The next post? The Statue of Liberty makes an appearance. STAY TUNED FOR PART 3 IN NYC!

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Welcome to New York: NYC 2021

 If you've been following me on social media, you already know this, but if you haven't heard: I WENT TO NEW YORK CITY! 

The city of lights, the fashion capital, the city that never sleeps, the Big Apple. You get the gist.

(This city definitely sleeps, FYI.)

I couldn't wait to write these next couple of posts of what I've learned from being in New York City for the first time and what I did on my trip. Also, I took some great pictures on this trip and I have to share them! 

I have no idea when I said to myself "New York City, let's do it", but I apparently did last year sometime. I told my travel buddy, Noe, and he was on board right away. He hadn't been to NYC ever either. I planned an actual itinerary this time since last time we took a vacation to Las Vegas, I didn't plan the best...so I used Pinterest, Google, and friendly recommendations and I was off to the races with planning. I used the app, Trip It, which is VERY recommended by me and my family. I put in my flight details, my event ticket conformations, and my hotel times, all on one place. I love that app.   

I packed a suitcase with extra wiggle room for things I would buy in New York. I always check a bag because I stay somewhere for a few days or more. I never quite reach the 50 pound luggage limit, but I'm always so nervous that I will. (EXTRA LUGGAGE ROOM IS KEY ON FUN VACATIONS! YOU NEED THOSE SUVENIORS/CHRISTMAS GIFTS!) 

The plane trip was smooth and when we got there, we stayed in Queens, NY because if we flew the next day instead, we would have paid $500 more for the flight. We saved that money by flying in a day ahead and staying in a hotel semi-close to the airport. Queens wasn't an ideal place to stay and the room was barely big enough for the both of us. Noe and I went and got our first ever New York pizza in a small, cramped place called Amore. My God, it was DELICIOUS. You, of course, need to fit in by folding your pizza in half, then eating it. A New York tradition and if you don't do it, you definitely stand out as a tourist. I got 2 big slices and it cost $8. I was hoping for the famous 99 cent slices, but not in Queens. 

The next day, we got to our NYC hotel in South Times Square. And by that they mean a 10 minute walk to actual Times Square. I stepped out of the Lyft (which are cheaper than Ubers in the city, which is a hot tip for you) and the first thing that hit me was the smell. New York City smells pretty bad. There is trash and sewage everywhere and the smell is just...terrible in some places. I really didn't expect that. Chicago is so clean and smells fine so this city smell was new. "They just get used to it probably" Noe told me.

Our hotel was adamite on not letting us check in early. I don't know if that's a New York thing because even Las Vegas will give you a room early sometimes. The staff at our hotel wasn't very nice, but I have been told that New Yorker's are usually ruder than most people (which, by the way, isn't completely true, but it's not NOT completely true...) Our room was very nice though and I'm surprised how I got such a nice one, honestly. Before we checked in, we left our luggage at the hotel and explored the city and a cafe for a bit. I took the first city picture of the trip because I was all starry eyed at the first big buildings I saw. 

The cafe we went to had a 45 minute time limit and I learned a lot of places have time limits. A strange thing for paying customers, but I guess they just want people in and out. I got a hot lavender latte and Noe got a coffee and he told me it was the best one he had on this trip (and we drank a good amount of coffee). Old Country Coffee had SO many different coffee options and flavors and it's 100% recommended by me and Noe!

We then went to the Hudson River to kill some time. It was a huge walking/running path but there were no beaches or fun parts to take pictures at, really. I mean, it is pretty dirty water, so I guess I get the beaches part. Who really wants to swim in a river? But it had a water fill up station and that was pretty cool. 

After finally checking in at 3 pm to our hotel, we unpacked a bit then explored some more. We found a beautiful building that we had no idea what it was but took pictures on the bird-poop ridden stairs anyway. 

Madison Square Garden was the next street over from our hotel so of course we went 

I then stopped in my tracks while walking the street. THERE IS SUCH A THING AS 99 CENT PIZZA! I actually went to that pizza place by myself one night and it was not that great. Queens made way better pizza (sorry, not sorry). 

That night, we went to a close Irish Pub called Jack Doyle's and had NO idea there was a football game that night. I also had no idea why everyone was dressed in Minnesota Vikings gear...we were in New York...but these Vikings fans were nuts. I enjoyed my Angry Orchard, my iffy Bangers and Mash, and got the heck out of that noise. Noe loved it. I thought it was an aggressive place. 

That night, we chilled in our room, listened to music, and watched the sunset through our hotel window. It was so beautiful and I captured  it in a great photo (says me)

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I wrote too long of a post already, so I'll be splitting up my NYC posts for everyone. I don't want to overwhelm you! I'll end this off with some thing I've learned from the city:


*If I were to be injured or killed on NYC, it would be because of a bicyclist. I don't care who you are, you are not more important than people who are walking. 

*As I said before, that place is stinky. There are some spots, like Times Square, that don't smell like poop, but if it doesn't smell like trash, it smells like weed. The weed smell is overwhelming and I just got so tired of smelling it. 

*Get the unlimited subway card for a week. It's cheaper than buying an each day pass and it's only $34. I felt a lot more comfortable just swiping and going without having to pay $9 each day. 

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Stay tuned for the next NYC post!!

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