2014 in Review

Hi Hello!

So 2014 has come to an end. It is the end of the year and in just a few hours the new year will begin. I have decided to look back on my year and I realized that I've had a pretty great 2014. I've done more traveling this year, and I've seen a fair amount of concerts (not as many as I wished to...but its been a busy year).

So here is a look back at my year...

Jan. 27 - Yellowcard Concert where I met Chad Gilbert, Kait, and Nezzie of What's Eating Gilbert. With John and Brittany.

May - In Orlando with Cherry.

June thru August- Just a few of the staff from Camp. These people were my family for 3 months.

August 17(?) - Milwaukee Irish Fest. Being part of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers' new concert DVD with Brittany and John.

August 25(?) - Chicago Comic Con with my aunts.

August 29 - One Direction Concert with John, Brittany and Cherry.

August 28 thru 30 - Chicago with John, Brittany, and Cherry.

November 7 - The 1975 concert with John, Brittany, and Cherry.

November 25 - The release of John and Brittany's Christmas EP. 

Looking back I've noticed that I have shared most of these memories with John, Brittany and Cherry. Three of my closest friends and I wouldn't want it any other way. When you are making memories you want to make them with the people that mean the most to you and I'm glad that in 2014 I did just that. 

I do have plans for 2015. I wouldn't say that they are 'resolutions' because I feel that you can start working towards a goal at any point in the year...you don't need the first date of the calendar to start. But I do have goals, as well as plans for 2015 and these are goals that can be calculated. 

1. I want to go to more concerts. This being said...I'm going to set a number goal to try and reach. I want to see at least 20 bands/artists live in 2015. In 2014 I saw 10 bands live but I was also at camp for 3 months of the year which limited the amount of summer concerts I could go to. So I feel like 20 is a good number for me.

2. I will read more books. Towards the end of 2014 I have gotten back into the proper swing of reading in my free time. I will set another number of books to read by the end of 2015...this number will be 50. Since the end of summer I have read 15 books. That is including textbooks for school. I feel like if I can read 15 books in 3 months I can get close to 50 in 12 months.

3. I want to see more places. In 2014 I've traveled to Florida, Illinois and Minnesota. In 2015 I want that number to grow. I want to get to at least 3 states I've never been to by the end of 2015. This might be a stretch..depending on how my financial situation is in the new year...but I would like to get to some new states in the next year; expand my travels.

4. Finally I want to meet more people. Not in the sense that I want to meet them and become friends. But I would love to just sit down somewhere and start a conversation with a stranger. I want to hear more stories, hear other peoples goals and ambitions, struggles and victories. I realized from being at camp for 2 summers that you meet so many interesting people from different places of the world and I am so fascinated with that. I want to meet at least 5 people in 2015. In 2014 I've met so many people from different corners of the world from being at camp but this year I'm not going to camp so I set the number low so I can reach it easier.

That is it for my goals for 2015! If you set goals or resolutions or whatever you want to call it for the new year I would love to hear what you have planned! I would also love to hear what your highlights of 2014 were! Did you go on a road trip? Meet new people? See a band or artist live? Whatever...I want to hear it.

Talk to you in the new year!

Until next time my misfits,
Stefanie

Searching For You

Hi Hello

Dreams. Goals. Ambitions. Everyone has them. When you're a little kid and you dream of having the newest GameBoy or Barbie doll, or you have a career ambition to be a firefighter, doctor or mother or father. Or even now, at your current age, you have a dream of having a family, living in a nice neighborhood or working at your dream job. Everyone has them and we think about them everyday.

But do you take action?

Do you, with the start of everyday, merely think about your dreams, goals, ambitions; or do you work towards them?

I have on my desk a piece of stationary that has my short term and long term goals. My short term goals are tasks that I can achieve in a day, week, or months time. Once they are completed I check them off the list and its the greatest feeling. And I wish to one day check off my one and only long term goal. To help striving artists achieve their goals.

I have never been one to think solely about myself and what I want. Growing up I always was helping other people get where they want to get. Now, as an adult, I want to help musicians achieve their musical goals.

My mission is to find those artists that are recording on their laptops on GarageBand to make an EP to sell. It is to find the artists that are going to local hang outs and playing their music on amateur night. It is to find the artists that are playing on the street corner of a busy shopping center, or concert venue, or tourist attraction.

Find these artists and help them in anyway.

If that means just buying one of their CDs out of their backpack, then that is what I'll do. If its helping them find their next gig, then that is what I'll do. If its spreading the word about them on social media or in my hometown, then that is what I will do.

I am here to help striving and hard working artists get to where they want to be with their material. And hopefully one day, I will be able to expand and travel to other states, or even countries, looking for these talents. But for now, I have to start small in order to build.

Until next time my misfits,
Stefanie

Christmas Memories November 25th!

Hi Hello

I am so excited to finally post this today, for the last few months I've been wanting to express my joy and excitement for this project that my dearest friends have been working diligently on AND NOW I CAN EXPRESS THAT TO YOU!

Now, like I've mentioned before, I have talented friends. One of those friends, John, actually has his own full length album (available now on iTunes) but now he has joined forces with our very close friend, Brittany, to make their debut Christmas EP! They have been talking about it since last year, and wanted to release something then but realized that time was not on their side and decided to put in the appropriate time and effort into making something as magical as the feeling of Christmas!

Their EP really brings home the true meaning and feeling of Christmas. Sometimes we get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and we forget what it really means to us. The true meaning (whatever it may be to you) is showcased in their song selections. Not only are they keeping true to some classic songs of Christmas, but they have also brought in some more modern songs, like Brittany's solo.

Working up to the release of the EP, on Facebook we will be releasing promo photos leading up to the release date that is November 25th! It is being called the "12 Days of John and Brittany" (like that play on words here...12 days of Christmas...12 days of John and Brittany...ehh? ehhh? get it?) Each day we are releasing a new photo of the two with little sniplets of information about the EP as well as John and Brittany themselves! Trust me, this is something you don't want to miss out on.

So go to the link above to view the Facebook page and hit that little 'Like' button to stay updated! Once the album becomes available I will be posting a link on here as well as all of my social media sites, which you can access from the side panel >>>>>

I am so incredible proud of my friends (not like I've never been...) but with this Christmas EP, and being that it is two of my closets friends in the world, I am over the moon and all jittery in excitement over the approaching release date!

With the spirit of Christmas all over this post as well as floating in the air, tell me below you favorite thing about the Holidays, favorite movie..song..family tradition..whatever comes to mind when you think of Christmas.

Until next time my misfits,
Stefanie

A New Leaf

Hi Hello

So today's post is going to be somewhat serious, something that I've been feeling really passionate about lately and I feel like the best way to express it is writing (or typing) it out.

We've all had those moments when we sit there and we plan our dream vacation or we talk with our friends and say how we wish we could travel here or do this or that someday. But with all that planning and dreaming, nothing gets done. Those plans and dreams remain plans and dreams and no one makes the move to go forward with anything.

In the past few years my friends and I have always been saying "Oh I wish I could just go to California, or London, or anywhere BUT Wisconsin." But we never sat down and really said, okay lets plan this out and start saving up. There has always been excuses. "I have bills to pay" or "i have to focus on school" or other lame excuses. And I'm sick of it.

I'm absolutely sick of the excuses and the plans that never leave the ground. You cannot live your life on dreams. You cannot just sit in your house saying that you're going to do this or do that but then never make any initiative to actually get that plan going and do it. If you want to achieve anything in life you can't just sit around and wait for it to fall in your lap, you have to work for it and make it happen. So why should your travel plans be that way?

In the recent months my family has experienced some medical hardships. My uncle was just diagnosed with cancer and thinking about his life and all that he has accomplished inspired me to write this post. I have been saying for the past year that I've been wanting to travel to all of these different places and just really experience life, but I never made an effort to save up my money and work hard to make these plans reality. Until now.

I made a deal with myself. The deal is, whenever I think of an idea, or create a dream in my mind I am going to write it down and start working towards it. If I think of a place to travel to, I'm going to write it down, start planning it out financially, and then start working and saving up my money to go to that place. If I think of a life goal or career goal that I want for my future, I will write it down and start working towards it. I do not want my life to be a list of unfinished plans and unachieved goals. I want it to be a list of accomplished goals and finished plans.

So no more "I wish I could go here" or "I wish I was doing this right now" and more of "I'm working and saving to go here." In fact, as I'm typing this I am currently planning a trip out of state with a few friends. We wanted to go on a vacation and I sat down and said, why don't we just go. So we planned it all out and in a few weeks we are leaving for vacation. And you know what? It feels good. It feels great to just plan a trip somewhere random and actually make it turn into a reality.

This one trip is simply the beginning of many more to come. Which is another reason why I started this blog. I want to be able to document my goals and travels as they happen and it all starts with this first trip.

Its the start of something new and I'm ready for you to join me in this experience. So you can either live in envy of other people's adventures, or you can start your own. Its your choice.

Until next time my misfits,
Stefanie

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