Welcome 2015.

One year ago, just after the clock struck 12 and we welcomed the new year, I made the bold prediction that 2014 was going to be a great year. I just knew it.

Ringing in 2014.

I was right.

2014 was wonderful for many reasons. This year was full of new opportunities, new relationships, chances to trust in God, and answered prayers. It was also full of challenges, hardships, disappointments, and even some tears. It wasn't a perfect year, but in my opinion, it was the best.

Every year has trials. But if you can come out stronger on the other end of them, it's a win. I had some very low points this year, but I'm a much better person because of them. I learned not to take anything for granted. I learned that God has my back no matter what. And I'm starting to learn (though I'm not quite there yet) that I shouldn't let what other people think of me dictate what I think of myself. 

Hey, Look! I'm Blogging!

So it's been waaayyyy more than 7 weeks. Oops.

Since it has been practically an eternity since my last post, I'm going to attempt to do a giant catch-up post recapping the last...what, 50 weeks or something? (12. It's been 12.)

A lot has happened since my last post, and before I dive back into posting regularly, I really want to fill in all the gaps. You know, for context. And because some awesome things have been happening lately and I want y'all to think I'm cool.

Yes, you heard right! I am going to [attempt] to start posting regularly again starting...now! And by regularly I mean once a week. And I also mean that there may be a week (or two, or six) where I don't get around to it. But I'm reallllyyyy going to try because I miss it.

Speaking of missing things, here's all the fabulous (just go with it) details of my life that you may have missed in the last 12 weeks:

9 Things No One Told Me About Teaching.

Today I finished my 6th week of teaching and I promised myself that I would write a blog post no later than today.

I've started several posts the last few weeks but stopped because I wasn't sure what to say. I wanted to talk about my new job and how wonderful it is, but that wouldn't be the truth. 

The truth? It's hard. Like, the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. That doesn't mean I don't love it -- I do -- but the reason I haven't posted is because I was trying to find the balance between being honest and not complaining.

I knew this was going to be hard. I didn't choose this career because I thought it would be easy. I just didn't know exactly how hard it would be.

It's also extremely rewarding. When students start to really get it, when they hug you and tell you that they love you, when they make you birthday cards and pictures, when you can tell that they are really starting to love learning -- those are the moments that make it all worth it.

I just look forward to the day when those moments outnumber the challenging ones. ;)

Anyway, here is my list of things I've learned in my 6 weeks as a teacher that no one had ever told me (or they had and I didn't believe them). They told me A LOT, but there are some things you just have to experience for yourself.

High Five for Saturday: Because Friday Was Too Mainstream.

I never got around to posting this yesterday, so I thought about just skipping it this week. But then I remembered how awesome this week was, and it needed to be shared. So I'm switching things up, breaking all the rules, and posting on Saturday! (I know, I'm a rebel).

Not that my posting was that regular anyway (I'll get there eventually, I promise), but it's definitely going to be pretty sporadic the next couple of weeks as I prepare for school. Just a heads up. 

This week was a week of change for me. I left my job of four years and I started training for my new teaching job. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed since school starts in a week and I was a last minute hire and I've got a lot to do. But my new coworkers are so helpful so I know it will all work out.

I also crossed two things off my bucket list this week! Details below.

Here are some of my favorite moments from the week:

God Blew My Mind.

A week ago today, discouraged and broken, I told God I was ready for Him to blow my mind.

And blow it He did.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that yesterday I was hired as a kindergarten teacher at a local elementary school.

I edited this photo to make myself look tanner because I blended in with the whiteboard.

But let me start from the beginning.

High Five for the Past Two Fridays.

Since I missed last week, this post will cover the last two weeks. So long as I can remember what happened last week. I might not.

I mentioned before that the last couple weeks have been really crazy for me. The short version is that I've been really focusing on trying to find a teaching job, now that school starts in like two weeks. I'm still looking, so I would appreciate prayers for that.

Last Sunday my car wouldn't start after I had just paid a bunch of money to get the alternator replaced. We took it back in a few days later and they discovered that the alternator had gone bad, so they replaced it again. And then the next morning my car wouldn't start. And we took it back in and I had gotten another bad alternator. So they replaced it AGAIN and then the next morning my car wouldn't start.

It was getting old.

We were going to go get the battery checked, because we knew it wasn't the alternator that time. But then we charged up the battery and so far it's been fine. So hopefully the problem is fixed now.

Anyway! On to the highlights:

The Return of Tumultuous Tuesday.

Okay. FIRSTLY, I sincerely apologize for my absence the last week and a half. It's been really crazy, but I'll explain that another time.

SECONDLY, this post has nothing to do with my typical Wednesday theme. It really should go on Tuesday, but I don't want to wait a week to post it. It happened on a Tuesday (yesterday), so that counts.

If you read my old blog, Uncharted, then you know that Tuesday is by far my least favorite day because nothing good ever happens. There are endless stories about Tuesdays over there.

Strangely enough, since I began Wonderfully Made, Tuesdays have been really normal. Actually, in general nothing really out of the ordinary has happened to me lately which, again, is really strange. And also the reason I've been lacking in blog content.

But yesterday. Oh yesterday. Yesterday was definitely a Tuesday as I know Tuesdays to be.

If it keeps up, Tumultuous Tuesday may have to replace Enchilada Tuesday...

Anyway, here's what happened.

High Five For the Most Random Week.

Y'all. This has been such a great week! I'm excited to share it with you.

At the end of this post, you'll probably be thinking "Wow, Kayla sure is easily amused." Which is true. I am a simple person. It doesn't take much to keep me happy.

I'm just gonna jump right into it.

1. First things first, I got my laptop back. Joey, Jr. was greatly missed during his absence.

By the way, his name is Joey, Jr. because my first laptop was named Joey. I don't know why but I thought that was a great laptop name. And when I got my Macbook, I still thought it was a great laptop name, hence Joey, Jr. My next laptop will more than likely be Joey III.

Birchbox vs. Ipsy: July.

Receiving my month's beauty boxes is one of my favorite parts of each month. You all know how much I love makeup, and these these two packages give me the opportunity to try out products I may not have normally picked for myself. My favorite thing is when I get a product that is something I NEVER would have thought to try, but end up loving.

 I received both Birchbox and Ipsy last week, so here is my July Birchbox vs. Ipsy review!

(If you're new to the idea of Birchbox and/or Ipsy, click here to read my past reviews and learn more about the two services.)

The Adventures of NyQuil.

Welcome to my first Enchilada Tuesday post! Or whatever we're calling Tuesdays.

Sunday was a long day for me. I was gone all day, and the entire day I was surrounded by people.

I love people. But I find them exhausting.

I got home around 9:30pm Sunday night and crashed.

Considering how tired I was, it was surprising how long it took me to fall asleep. Like, maybe an hour. And when I finally did fall asleep, all I dreamed about was people. No storyline. Just people.

And then around 1:30am, I woke up. And every time I closed my eyes, I saw people. People everywhere.

A Love Note to Joey, Jr.

No Monday Smiles today because this is far more important.

On this day, July 21, 2014, a beloved member of the Holiday family has returned home after falling victim to a terrible keyboard disease.

He underwent an emergency keyboard transplant, and now all keys are functioning as normal.

Welcome home, Joey, Jr.

In your absence, I wrote you this note. I hope you like it.

High Five for Friday + An Announcement!

Today's post is brought to you by my mom's laptop because mine is currently visiting Tech Support.

Remember the keyboard issues I started having a few months ago? They recently got, like, 1,294,329 times worse. It was basically unusable. And since a keyboard is kind of an important part of a laptop, it was time to get it fixed.

I'm really digging deep to find 5 things to share with you guys from this week. It was fairly unproductive but I'll do my best.

1. I had family in town last week, which I mentioned. On Friday, we ate lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and then did some antique shopping. We visited this store that is PACKED with lots of vintage clothes, jewelry, furniture, even old letters and photos! It was amazing. I bought an antique hand-painted plate, which I have been meaning to start collecting for awhile. (Now my collection has officially started!)

Monday Smiles: Timeless Beauty.

This is a little different than my usual Monday post. It may not interest some of you, but it makes me smile, so it counts.

Lately I've really been channeling my inner 40's diva -- curly hair, red lipstick, full eyebrows. I love the classic, flawless look of it all.

For fun, I put together this list of some of my favorite style icons from the 40's and 50's. I hope you enjoy looking through them as much as I do! (And maybe you'll even find some new inspiration!)

Elizabeth Taylor is one of my all time favorites. I think her eyebrows are my favorite part of her look. They're so striking and bold, but they frame her face beautifully and actually draw more attention to her stunning eyes.

High Five for Friday: And She's Back!

Guess what, y'all? I'm back!

I took the week off, which was totally unplanned but kind of nice. 

Since I've been gone for awhile, today's High Five is a special two week edition! But still with only five things. Because the last two weeks weren't all that eventful.

So here goes!

1. I guess I never showed you guys a picture of the finished cupcakes I made a couple weekends ago. Here you go:

Top left: Snickerdoodle; top right: chocolate & peanut butter; bottom left: chocolate & Nutella; bottom right: vanilla.

Monday Smiles: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

This sort of goes along with last week's post, but I came across this verse this morning and it super encouraged me so I wanted to share. Enjoy!

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

High Five for Friday: Because It Is In Fact Friday.

I had no idea today was Friday. Hence the delay on this post.

I blame my new work schedule. And also my sleep deprivation.

I've been having some trouble sleeping lately, and it's starting to affect my sanity.

The other day I was driving down the highway, and -- I kid you not -- I saw a giant gray monkey climbing over the railing, like some real life version of Planet of the Apes. Or King Kong.

As it turns out, it was just a plastic bag, but it seriously gave me a mini heart attack and I almost wrecked my car.

That same day I also almost ran a red light because I imagined it turning green.

I'm not sure if this is better or worse than the elevator nightmares.

When I wasn't hallucinating/making up my own reality, I actually did a few really fun things that aren't as funny but definitely worth mentioning.

Birchbox vs. Ipsy: June.

It's always a good day when I receive my month's beauty boxes. I received both last week, so here is my June Birchbox vs. Ipsy review!

(If you're new to the idea of Birchbox and/or Ipsy, click here to read my past reviews and learn more about the two services.)

Kayla's Creations: Icing Cupcakes Like A Pro.

I've been into baking for like, six years now. But until recently, I was terrible with icing.

I had never really made cupcakes until about a year ago. Weird, right? I'm just not a big cake/cupcake person. Cookies are more my thing. I love cookies.

Anyway. I came across this recipe for Snickerdoodle Cupcakes and they were just SO CUTE. So I decided to make them as refreshments for my Growth Group at church.

I made the cupcakes and the little cookies to top them with and everything was going just as expected and I was so excited to see my little cupcake creations. I followed the directions for the icing and whipped up two batches (I was making a double recipe).

What happened next is now referred to as the Frosting Fiasco of 2013.

Monday Smiles: Accidental Joy.

Sometimes, mistakes turn out to be pretty awesome, don't they?

I've found that some of my favorite moments came to be completely on accident. As someone who makes a lot of mistakes, it's become second nature to me to make the most of them. Here are some examples:

Back in the day (2008), I was running around outside with a camera and accidentally took the above selfie. It's a little creepy, but I've always really liked the picture for some reason.

 

High Five for Friday: Cupcakes...But What Else Is New?

Okay, so I may have lied last week when I talked about the big things I had planned for the blog this week. I actually meant next week. (For real this time.)

This week I started a new work schedule, so instead of working Monday/Wednesday/Friday, I work Monday - Wednesday and have a four day weekend. I am not at all opposed to this.

Most of the week, I've been busy working and trying to get my car fixed. I have been having some car troubles, and Friday after work my battery was completely dead. I had to have a friend of mine take me to get a new one so I could get home. But, now that I have a new battery AND a new alternator, I shouldn't be having anymore issues (hopefully).

Needless to say, my car issues are not making my high five for the week. Thankfully, plenty of other good things happened to make up for it.

Monday Smiles: MY Day.

A little Monday encouragement for you:

High Five for Fridays: A Distraction From My New Phobia.

Does anyone else ever have nightmares about elevators?

I'm talking broken elevators, hanging on by a thread, going super fast to the wrong floor and people falling down elevator shafts.

No? I'm the only one?

I have them ALL. THE. TIME. I swear, I'm one bad elevator dream away from never setting foot on one again. I'm really starting to develop an elevator phobia. (Side note: Did you know there's no official name for the fear of elevators? How do they have a name for "fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth" [arachibutyrophobia] but not for elevators???)

Anyway, enough about how awfully terrifying and risky elevators are. Let's talk about something happy, shall we?

Monday Smiles: Childhood Memories.

Did anyone watch the Miss USA pageant last night?

I love watching pageants. I grew up with them. My dad is a photographer, and when I was little we traveled to Florida every year for a pageant that he shot.

I loved it.

It was a children's pageant, and there were two age groups -- petites and pre-teens. At the time, I would have fit into the petite age group, but I thought the pre-teens were the coolest people ever. I was so heartbroken that my dad worked for the pageant, which made me ineligible to participate. I SO wanted to be a contestant.

Watching the pageant last night brought back so many pleasant memories of my "pageant days." In fact, many of my favorite childhood memories involve this pageant.

High Five For Friday: This Post Might Make You Hungry.

Hopefully next week I'll be back to posting these first thing in the morning, but I knew that I was getting my haircut this afternoon and I wanted to be able to share that today, so I waited. 

That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.

This week was mostly fabulous. A lot has happened since last Friday, my friends. I honestly don't yet know which five moments are going to make the list. Let's find out, shall we?

1. Saturday, I went to a wedding, and then I came home and made this giant double chocolate cookie.

Monday Smiles.

Okay, so here's the deal with the Lessons Learned From series.

I hated it.

I mean, I didn't hate the idea behind it or the actual posts. It was just too specific and I had a hard time coming up with a post for it every week, so it turned into more of a chore. And chores aren't fun.

The whole point of Lessons Learned From was to bring a little happiness to Mondays and encourage people to find joy in everything. But I felt like there was a better way to do that without having to always learn something. Not everyone likes learning.

SO. I'm revamping my Monday series.

Same idea. New name. Less rules.

Normally I'm all for having rules, but not with writing. 

Anyway.

Welcome to my new and improved Monday series: Monday Smiles.

There's only one rule for this series: write about something that makes me happy.

This opens the door for so many new posts. It could be something like what I would post about in Lessons Learned From, but it could also be a fun moment from my week, an entry from my happiness journal, or an encouraging verse or quote.

Whatever it is, I hope it brings a smile to your face.

I'm going to keep today's short since I've already bored you with a long explanation. So I'll just leave you with this quote in honor of the late Maya Angelou:

Via.

High Five for Friday: Late Night Edition.

It's 10:00pm and I just realized I haven't posted yet today.

I'm so good at this.

I'm also pretty tired so I'm going to keep it to the point. Also, it may not make a lot of sense. Also, I don't really have any pictures. Sorry.

Top 5 moments from the week:

1. First and foremost, I finished watching One Tree Hill. This is actually kind of sad (I always get depressed after finishing a show), but also kind of happy because it means I can have a life again.

All I'm saying is that this is a very, very accurate definition.

Lessons Learned From...Making Plans.

Wow. I totally almost forgot it was Monday. I had the day off because of Memorial Day, so really it felt more like Saturday.

Anyway, I promised I'd be back this Monday with another LLF post. So here it is!

Via.

Most people who know me know that I can be pretty stubborn at times. What can I say? When I set my mind on something, I pretty much stop at nothing to get it. Or not get it. Depends on what it is I set my mind on.

Anyway.

High Five for Friday: I Didn't Totally Waste My Week.

Good news, y'all! I actually did some stuff this week other than watch One Tree Hill. (Though, let's be honest, I did get through another three seasons).

I really have nothing else to say so I'll just get right to it.

1. As I mentioned last week, Friday we went down to Austin for my cousin's graduation. I majorly underestimated how many graduates there would be. I was thinking like...50-100. There were 1200. So that was a surprise. Here's a picture of me in front of the Capitol. I made my dad pull over and take one since it was my first time in Austin.

Birchbox vs. Ipsy: May.

First of all, SO SORRY for not posting on Monday. I was uninspired so I took the day off. I'll be back in action next week.

But, as promised, today is Wednesday so here is my May Birchbox vs. Ipsy review!

If you're new to the idea of Birchbox and/or Ipsy, click here to read my April reviews and learn more about the two services.

High Five for Friday: I Blame Netflix for my Boring Week.

This week was incredibly unproductive. I spent the majority of it watching One Tree Hill...I started on Saturday and I'm already on season 4. I'm not sure whether to be proud or ashamed of that...

Today is going to be a long day. After work we are immediately leaving for Austin (about a 3 hour drive) to go to my cousin's college graduation, and then we are immediately coming back. We won't be home probably until around 2am BUT it should be fun. :)

It's really hard this week coming up with five awesome things that happened since this was all in all a pretty lame week. But rules are rules, and I do enjoy a challenge, so here goes!

Choosing Joy.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." ~ James 1:2-4

I'm interrupting my usual Monday series to make a confession.

I'm not a naturally happy person.

I'm not one of those people who wakes up with a smile on my face every morning, focuses on the positive, makes the most out of opportunities, and inspires everyone around them to be a better person. As much as I wish I was one of those people, I'm not.

That being said, I'm not naturally sad, either. Or any emotion really. I'm more of a "go with the flow" type of person.

If something good happens, I'm happy. If something bad happens, I go through the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance). If something horribly unjust happens, I turn into the Hulk. I react to whatever is happening at the moment.

High Eight for Friday.

Y'all. This week was crazy.

Mostly in a good way. But because of that, I can't choose just 5 things to tell you about. I have to tell you about them all. So let's get started.

1. Friday after work I treated myself to a cookie in celebration of the weekend.

I may or may not have also gotten a brownie.

Lessons Learned From...Sunrises.

Wanna know a secret? I like sunrises more than sunsets.

Okay, so it's not exactly my deepest, darkest secret, but I think most people tend to prefer sunsets. Maybe because they're not awake for the sunrise?

Don't get me wrong, sunsets are beautiful. But there's something about the promise of a brand new day that motivates me. A sunrise is a clean slate.

High Five for Friday: I Never Want to See Another Cupcake.

This week was jam-packed with activity. Between helping out at a church event, writing a lesson plan for Sunday school, writing an article for my church's magazine, and online classes (not to mention a pretty busy week at work), I barely had time to breathe.

But the great thing about being busy is that you get a lot accomplished. Or you should, at least.

Unfortunately, due to my busyness, there aren't a whole lot of super fun or exciting things to share. But, there are still five particular moments that stood out from the rest. 

Lessons Learned From...Ruth.

Now that it's almost not Monday anymore...here is my Monday post.

To be fair, I had a busy week and was unable to write this post until today. And then I had a crazy day that involved being late to work thanks to a dog running under my car, a bug flying INSIDE of my keyboard at work (for all I know it's still in there), writing an article that I've known about for like a month but decided to wait until today (the day it's due) to start, and watching reality TV.

Oh, and did I mention that the keyboard on my Mac isn't working right? It's useable for the most part, but the delete key (which functions like the backspace for all you PC users) doesn't work AT ALL. Which is reeeeeeeaaaalllyyy inconvenient for someone who makes a lot of mistakes...

So, yeah. Anyway. Monday's post.

Via.

High Five for Friday: Easter Edition.

Every Sunday I sit down and plan out how the rest of my week will go. I have a dry-erase weekly calendar hanging on my wall on which I plan out events, blog posts, school work and other various tasks I need to get done each day and I make it a goal to stick with that schedule.

That being said, the latter half of this week did not go even remotely as planned.

With a million and one things to do this week, the last thing I needed was another thing on my plate. Until I got a phone call Wednesday night asking me to sub for a third grade class the next day, and without thinking I said yes. There went all my Thursday plans.

But despite the fact that my week didn't necessarily go as planned, it was still a pretty good one. Here are some of my favorite moments from the week.

Lessons Learned From...Daisies.

Happy Monday everyone! Today I'm introducing a new series I'll be doing every Monday called "Lessons Learned From..."

The purpose of this series is to find beauty and meaning in the simple things -- something I enjoy and often do. It can be anything from a tangible object to a recent opportunity. Whenever I take the time to appreciate the things around me, it shifts my perspective and puts me into a positive mindset. I'm excited to be starting each week off this way, and I hope that you are encouraged by it, too.

Today's lesson comes from my favorite flower: a daisy.

High Five for Friday: Sparkles and Cupcakes.

It's been a really busy week for me, and it's only going to get crazier. 

In addition to finishing up the online courses for my teacher's certification -- I'm almost done! -- I'm doing a lot of baking for various events, helping out with a magazine my church is doing (and writing an article for it), and of course, trying to keep this blog up and running. Not to mention I'm still in the job application process. I still have to finish my resume. Put together a portfolio. Prepare a lesson for a Sunday school class I'm teaching next weekend. The list goes on.

But Friday is for focusing on the good things that happened this week, so let's do that, shall we? Here are my five favorite moments from the week. :)

Birchbox vs. Ipsy: April.

Today I'm jumping on the Birchbox vs. Ipsy bandwagon and comparing my April box against my April Glam Bag!

For those of you who don't know about Birchbox and/or Ipsy, here's a quick overview.

Both Birchbox and Ipsy are subscription services (both are $10/month) that send you 4-5 beauty products each month. While the two are similar, there are some differences between the two:

• Birchbox sends products in a nice box, while Ipsy sends their items in a custom designed makeup bag (called a Glam Bag)
• Birchbox typically sends more hair care/skin care products with the occasional makeup item, while Ipsy errs on the side of makeup
• Birchbox's products tend to be higher-end and more expensive, while Ipsy's can often be found at drugstores or Ulta for a reasonable price
• Birchbox sends smaller sample sizes, while Ipsy will often send full sized products

I tend to prefer Ipsy just because I'm more into makeup and I'm cheap. I think as a general rule, younger generations will prefer Ipsy and the older ones will be more interested in Birchbox. This month is the third Ipsy bag I've received, and my sixth Birchbox. Here's what I thought of this month's products.

Liebster Award: Get to Know Your Fellow Bloggers.

Marci over at If These Walls Could Speak nominated me for the Liebster Award, and since I'm new around here, I thought I'd participate so you all can get to know me better. Here's how it works:

1. List 11 facts about yourself.

2. Answer the questions of the person who nominated you.

3. Create 11 new questions.

4. Nominate 11 new bloggers.

Here we go!

High Five for Friday: Cookies, Rainbows, and Friends.

It's been a SUPER busy week for me. Besides having a ton of stuff going on at work (including working 5 hours on my day off due to a problem), I've been working hard on finishing up my teacher's certification, as well as a few other projects I'm working on.

Here are some of the highlights from my crazy week! Oddly they all took place at the beginning of the week...after Monday it was pretty much just work around here. But hey, being productive is a good thing!

Kayla's Creations: S'mores Cookies.

Ever since I got into baking years ago, it has been a dream of mine to create my very own original recipe. I even put it on my bucket list.

Yesterday at work, I randomly had an idea for a cookie recipe. Take a peanut butter cookie recipe, replace the peanut butter with Biscoff spread, throw in some chocolate chunks and stuff them with marshmallows, and bam! S'mores cookies.

When I get excited about something, I get really impatient. So as soon as I got off work, I ran to the store to get the ingredients. Actually, I ran to two stores, because the first one didn't have Biscoff spread. (Most people would give up there, but I'm dedicated.)

High Five for Friday: Love and Spring Are in the Air.

It's Friday!

Another week has come and gone, and it was a wonderful one that kept me busy, hence no new posts on the blog (hopefully I'll be back in action next week!). Here are my top five moments from the week.

1. Saturday evening, I went to the wedding of two of my coworkers. This particular event was so awesome, I'm giving you three pictures instead of just one.

 Me with the bestie; photobooth fun; me and the beautiful bride.

High Five for Friday!

Friday is about to become my favorite day, and here's why.

Lauren over at Lauren Elizabeth hosts the High Five Fridays link up every Friday and I'm excited to participate!

Here's how it works: You pick your five favorite things that happened during the week and share them. That's it!

I love this because it puts the focus on the good things that happen in our lives, and challenges me to look at the positives even if I've had the worst week ever.

So without further ado, my High Five for the week:

The Beginner's Guide to Skiing {Without Dying}.

Last week was spring break in Texas and I spent this time with my friend Meagan and her family in the beautiful Colorado Rockies. It was my first time to Colorado, and especially my first time skiing. However; I survived, and I do believe that makes me an expert on skiing. Therefore, I consider it my civil duty to impart my advanced knowledge to help beginners -- of which I no longer am -- become more confident in their skiing ability. To fulfill this duty, I have compiled a list of my top 10 lessons learned about skiing. You're welcome.

Insecurity.

My whole life I have struggled with feelings of inadequacy, comparing myself to others and falling into depression when I couldn’t measure up.

My whole life I have based my self-worth and value on how many friends I had, how many things I was good at, how many boys would flirt with me.

My whole life I have poured every effort into trying to please everyone around me because I was convinced that happiness was directly related to the number of people who love you.

My whole life I have believed that I am just not good enough.

My name is Kayla Holiday, and I struggle deeply with insecurity.