Savannah Hendricks's Blog, page 22

Luckiest Girl Alive ~ book review

When a just released book is referred to as better than Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn), and movie rights have already been purchased, AND Reese Witherspoon has a hand on it…I had to rush out and get a copy.

Luckiest Girl Alive by newbie author Jessica Knoll was not what I expected.

The story’s main character, TifAni FaNelli is typical. Too typical. But TifAni has a secret. Guess what? The secret, sadly, is known to many women in the world, and thus typical. This book should not have been compared to Gone Girl. It is right to say that the writing is comparable to Gillian Flynn, but more like Dark Places (BTW, they made that book into a movie too, releasing August 2015 with Charlize Theron…great choice!!!)

Luckiest Girl Alive kept me reading, only because I was waiting for something more, something bigger than what it was. Parts of it were good, parts were rushed, parts didn’t flow, and overall I didn’t connect with the character because of the choppiness of the story layout. In addition, it is written in the new and modern style that has taken over the book world from ex-editors of magazines and newspapers obtaining publishing contracts (Knoll a ex-editor at Cosmopolitan and Self magazines).

2.7 out of 5 stars

HaPpInEsS iS hArD tO dO?

I recently read an article in the April 2015 issue of Redbook (THANK YOU LIBRARY CARD!) by Stephanie Wood. In the article she reported a statement by Alice Domar, PhD., saying that for most people seventy percent of your life is satisfying and fifteen percent goes to being happy and another fifteen percent goes to being unhappy.

WHAT?!

I could not believe what I read.

I felt immediately disappointed and sad with this percentage. I also felt a bit of relief because this number was close to what I felt. And I didn’t like seeing it on paper.

The article goes on to mention that for women everything basically needs to be perfect at home, at work, with family, health and money (Domar, PhD., 2015) in order for them to be happy. Men’s happiness was not mentioned. Probably because it takes less to make a man happy. Us women can be tricky.

I don’t like fifteen percent against seventy percent. It’s not like I will get to come back and do this life over again, so why can’t the seventy percent be happy and fifteen be satisfied? Because…why not?! Well… Matthew McConaughey would say why not!! And did so at recent graduation speech at The University of Houston. McConaughey declared that joy is what one should strive for, and not happiness, because trying to achieve happiness will result in a let-down. Dare I say…unbelievable?!?! (Which according to McConaughey is the “stupidest word in the dictionary.”)

Good thing I will advise you all to think for yourselves, and what works best for you to find happiness in what matters to you.

For those wanting the Time Magazine take –  McConaughey  – read the whole speech.

For those wanting Entertainment Tonight’s highlights (with actual video clips of the speech).

The Desert Rose

Living in the dry and dusty city of Phoenix provides a chance to explore some rather few and far between plants. For the first time I saw a Desert Rose at the Tohono Chul Park in Tucson. I was really surprised by this plant or tree’s (whichever one wants to call it) beauty. It was completely bare except for the blooms. Examining the Desert Rose I thought about how it represents life. Or how it could represent life.

I see the base as one’s past. It is strong but should not hold onto anything, it should and does move forward. It takes the strength of the past to push beauty into the future. The Desert Rose’s base/trunk is just that, bare. Forcing all of its beauty towards the tips. Like life the focus should be the beauty now. Finding and living in the beauty of the present. Accepting the beauty, even if at times we need to remind ourselves that it is there.

****Please note The Desert Rose is toxic to DOGS, CATS, & HORSES****

The End of One Journey

I have come to the end of a long journey. I finished college, graduating with my master���s degree.���

I started college in the fall of 2003 in Washington, four years after I graduated high school. At the time I was only going for an associate���s degree. I was near completion when I moved to Arizona and ended up having to take many extra classes to match Arizona’s requirements to obtain my associates. I graduated in 2009 (yes it took that long for me to graduate). A lot of things in life were changing and I soon decided I needed more and applied at the local university to obtain my bachelor’s degree and graduated in 2012. I decided I had one more achievement I wanted or maybe I needed. I applied and was accepted for the master’s program. I officially graduated Cum Laude with my master’s degree in criminal justice last week. Why does this journey matter? It matters because…

I repeated 3rd grade.
I did Hooked on Phonics.
I went to Sylvan Learning Center.
I had after school tutoring.
���My high school math teacher called me the stupidest person he had ever met.
During my senior year parent teacher conference my English teacher told my father not to bother sending me to college.

Those reasons are why it matters. To prove that what matters in life is not a person’s words or what others think. What matters are actions. Your actions.

 

 

I Will, Will You ~ POEM

As Long as it WAS Not my Decision

A friend recently told me to ask myself some questions. I made time…and started to think about the questions. I started to think about my life. I started to think about my choices, my beliefs, my thoughts. I sat and wrote in my journal. I listened to the silence in the room. I listened to myself.

After about an hour I had a realization.

Thinking back to childhood, then through adolescent years, and my early twenties that I had developed a hate for making my own decisions.�� I discovered that for many life events I went with a decision based on someone else’s beliefs or ideas, or what I thought others wanted.

I started to think about all my beliefs and my thoughts through the years. I realized most (not all) of my paths taken were after getting someone else’s opinion, or not listening to my own opinion. If I like something it’s because someone else told me to. If I don’t like something it’s because someone else told me to. If I did something it was against what I really wanted.

Why had I been doing this for such a large portion of my life?

I was and I am scared to make the wrong choice. I am afraid of failing.�� I am afraid of my own voice and thoughts. Ultimately I am afraid to be me. YET…I have failed, I have picked the wrong thing, I have had bad decisions. And what happened from them?

I journeyed down another path. It was longer, darker, and scarier. It was a path that was not mine.

Everyone always says life is a journey full of different paths that you will learn from. I never understood this until now.

 

 

Things to NOT Contemplate When Writing Your Thesis

My mind wanders…a lot.

And during the process of writing my thesis for my masters degree it has been doing just that!

Things my mind has been contemplating during my thesis writing:

Why is Nutella not a major food group?

Why are all plants not grown upside down like the new trend of tomato plants?

Why have mopping shoes not been invented?

Why are we still using trains and boats to ship things? (Do you know how many trains I have passed in my car!!??)

What happened to the Dixie Chicks?

 

 

 

happy weekend

peace and love

I woke this morning with a memory of my bedroom at my mom���s house when I was younger. Visions like these weave into my mind at random times.

There was always a feeling of peace and love in my mom���s home whenever I was there. It was even there when we all gathered for the funeral so many years ago. She had not lived there for several years, but many of the items and the feelings still remained.

When I woke with this feeling today it reminded me of my dogs and the love and peace that they bring into my home. Charley brings a lot of peace which is an odd thing to say because she barks at everything. Yet when I watch Charley sitting outside in the dark, soaking up the night and call her six times, and she just gives me the look that she doesn’t want to come in, I can really see how at peace she is.

As it goes for Bayou, he brings nothing but love. You can see this when birds land in the yard and instead of chasing after them he stares at them and barks at them. As if to say welcome, come and play with me. Everything about his personality is love.

It is important to have peace and love in my life. I have lost and found it. I have given it away and taken it back. I have embraced it and fought it. I know I will continue to watch it grow in many ways in the future.

5 Jake Gyllenhaal Movies to Watch Before You Die

���A little extreme, sure….
But I’m serious!
Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the most underrated actors in the last ten years. His character portrayals are deep, moving, emotional, strong, and mind-blowing crazy.
His movies are about watching movies. To really watch, observe, to get into the movie. The kind that make you want to put your phone in your purse or pocket and leave it there.


NIGHTCRAWLER (2014)
PRISONERS (2013)
END OF WATCH (2012)
BROTHERS (2009)
OCTOBER SKY (1999)