Tag: 2017

TNTH Related Stuff

Happy Thanksgiving! (& some other stuff to discuss.)

liz

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Hey guys, welcome back to TNTH.

Happy Thanksgiving, TNTH readers! Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, I hope everyone has a “first official day of the holiday season” and eat up all the food you want! I personally don’t look forward to Thanksgiving for the food; I really enjoy it for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade because it’s always been a tradition of mine to sit in the kitchen with my mother and watch the parade as she gets ready to start cooking the food. A typical Thanksgiving day for me is just that: watching the parade, the dog show, and doing homework for the rest of the day.

Also, Thanksgiving is definitely a day of reflection for me. It reminds me of the year as a whole and who I’m grateful for being here for me in the year. This year, I have a lot to be grateful for; this year my family and I personally went through a lot; so I’m grateful that even though we’ve all been through a lot, we still believe that the only people we’ll have in life are our family. I’m also incredibly grateful for Obie for continuously being there for me whenever I needed him the most. Thank you for being around when I’m happy, sad, stressed, anxious; pretty much thank you for being around 24/7. Seriously though, thank you for having such a kind heart, and thank you for allowing me to see that.

Of course, I am also grateful for the people who continuously show up and support me on TNTH, whether they know me personally or if you’re someone from around the world! I personally want to thank you all for supporting and reading TNTH for the last 11 months. it’s been an adventure writing for the blog and having the tiny community we have on here. Again, thank you for reading and for being a part of a journey that I had no intentions of going on when I started 2017!

Which brings me to my next topic:

TNTH isn’t officially back from hiatus. I just wanted to stop by and wish everyone a great day, and to let you all know that I have plans to make TNTH even bigger and better than it was before. But before I do that, I have to wrap up this semester! So, like I said before, TNTH will be back the week of December 18th!

If you’ve been here from the beginning, you would know that I launched TNTH on my 23rd birthday this year and in January 2018, it would be a year since I started the blog; I want to celebrate this milestone! As I mentioned on the TNTH Facebook Page, I’ve been following a content creator I’ve known since high-school, (you can find her on her Youtube channel and her social media accounts under “MermaidQueenJude” if you’re interested in seeing what she does) and she is currently daily blogging every single day for the month of November, and I really enjoyed following her along with it. I decided that for the entire month of January, I will be daily blogging on TNTH! I will finally have the time to write content for you guys, and the best time to celebrate my birthday month and TNTH’s anniversary month will be a “Blogaversary Month Thingymabob”. The name is pending. 

If you’d like me to talk about something while doing this 31-day writing spree, please let me know either here, or under this post on the Facebook page!

Again, thank you guys for everything you’ve allowed me to express and talk about on this blog. This blog has opened a new door for my writing, and I hope I get to do something like this for the rest of my life.

I’ll see you guys in December! I got papers to finish! (and parades to watch and food to eat!)

 

-Liz. (:

Important

Hurricane Relief for Puerto Rico. 🇵🇷

liz

Hey guys, welcome back to TNTH.

I wanted to come on the blog to inform you about Hurricane Maria and how you can help those who are and have been affected by the storm, particularly those in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico, although a hotspot for vacationers, financially aren’t capable to repair the damage Hurricane Maria caused. As a Category 4 hurricane, Maria is the first hurricane to directly hit the island in 100 years. The island, as a whole, does not have power, which means simple survival tasks like eating and drinking clean water are slim. Because of the financial issue Puerto Rico has, there’s a possibility that the island will not have power for 6 months. It’s scary and life-altering, especially those who don’t have anywhere to go in the time of reconstruction of the island.

Most of my Puerto Rican family live on the island and have lived to see both Hurricane Irma and Maria hit them full force in a time span of two weeks. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see and hear that the beautiful island it once was is now completely destroyed.

As Americans, we need to acknowledge that Puerto Ricans are also Americans. Please do not ignore them just because it’s not one of the 50 states. Treat this tragedy as you did when Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and when Hurricane Irma hit Florida. Puerto Rico needs the most help they need, and it’s only right to help give back and spread awareness about this.

If you or anyone you know has family or friends who live in Puerto Rico, share this post. Below are a couple of phone numbers to call if you are trying to check on anyone who is in Puerto Rico, as well as a Refinery 29 article of all the organizations and donation pages to help the Caribbean Islands get through this hard time. Below is just the couple of donors that help Puerto Rico specifically:

Puerto Rico Check-In Phone Numbers:

  • 202-778-0710
  • 787-777-0940
  • 877-976-2400

 

Organizations & Donation Pages for Help/Hurricane Relief in Puerto Rico*:

  • The local nonprofit ConPRmetidos is raising money for relief to communities in Puerto Rico impacted by the hurricane.
  • The first lady of Puerto Rico Beatriz Rosselló and a group of companies created Unidos por Puerto Rico to help the victims of the storm.
  • The Hispanic Federation is raising funds to help with emergency relief in Puerto Rico.
  • The Puerto Rican women’s health organization Taller Salud has created a relief fund for families on the island.

*These listed above all come from the Refinery 29 article; there are more options to donate and help the other islands affected by Hurricane Maria and the ones listed above are just a few of the many pages you can visit to help and donate.

 

In times of need, we all need to come together. Simple as that.

 

-Liz. (:

 

 

 

Topic Tuesdays: Random

Happy Fourth of July! 🇺🇸

liz

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Happy Fourth of July to all my American TNTH viewers!

July has always been one of my favorite months out of the year for this reason and this reason only. For as long as I can remember, I spent my Fourth of July’s with my family; whether they be at my aunt’s house with her pool in Staten Island, or at my grandparents’ house in Pennsylvania. (One year we even went to iPlay America in New Jersey.) The fact of the matter is, summer is pretty much at its prime whenever the Fourth of July comes around. Everyone is going to the beach, having barbecues, and just doing summer things, really. I like to joke around and say that the day after July 4th is the end of summer because companies are quick to throw their “back-to-school” commercials literally after the day is over, so – enjoy the summer before it ends!

In honor of this holiday, here are some of my snapshots from the previous Fourth of July celebrations I’ve kept over the years. 😀

 

 

2016. Haven’t had a sparkler in ages before this.

 

 

2012. I was on my beach blonde babe vibe.

 

 

2016. Me and my sister, Megan. She must’ve been looking at another camera…

 

 

2011. My aunt used to have like watermelon or corn eating contests. This one resulted in some vomiting shortly afterward.

 

 

2010. If this picture doesn’t scream summer fun, I don’t know what does.

 

 

2011. My aunt had a karaoke machine this year. My cousin sang KISS’ “I Wanna Rock N’ Roll All Night”.

 

 

2016. One more with the sparkler. It was a great night.

 

I hope everyone celebrating this year has a safe and fun Fourth of July!

 

-Liz (:

Topic Tuesdays: Random

Congrats, Class of 2017! 🎓

liz

Congrats to everyone who has graduated already, will be graduating soon, and who are graduating this year! Specifically, congratulations to those who are graduating today at the College of Staten Island. Today is the moment you guys worked so hard to see, and now it’s time for celebration for your accomplishments, and I couldn’t be more proud of those who I personally know that are graduating today. I feel like a proud mama; last year I was the only one out of my friends who were graduating, so seeing them now have their time and feel the things I felt when I walked in my cap and gown is a bittersweet feeling.

 

The Great Lawn; June 2nd, 2016.

 

Without a cloud in the sky, the 67th Commencement Ceremony took place at The College of Staten Island with roughly 3,000 graduates getting their college degrees. I was receiving my Bachelor’s of Arts in English Writing and Honors within Sigma Tau Delta International English Honors Society. I was the first in my family to receive a college degree.

 

Professor Simon Reader leading the 2016 English Graduates.

 

Walking to The Great Lawn with my fellow English major graduates, I had this overwhelming feeling that I made it. Years of hard-work, dedication, and even thoughts of dropping out when things got too hard, I completed everything I needed to complete in four years. I didn’t cry, but the knot in my throat definitely was there while walking and taking our seats. Seeing everyone in their cap and gowns of all different ages and genders and nationalities was a beautiful sight to see. Although the big ceremony was boring and honestly useless and my parents didn’t get to see me in the departmental ceremony, the overall day was one I would want to relive over and over again.

 

Post-graduation 2016.

 

I can’t believe this was almost a year ago. It just comes to show how fast time flies. It feels like I just graduated, and now next year, I graduate with my Masters. Yep, a new dress, a new gown (with a fucking cape/hoodie) and a new degree. I’m excited to write about my own graduation in 2018 a year from now, and receive my second degree (which feels so fucking surreal to me still).

 

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Some of the Banners of the majors offered at the College of Staten Island.

 

But back to those who I personally know at graduation right now and are experiencing the feelings and moments of their graduation currently:

This is your day, and I hope no one takes it away from you. I know a few of you worked your asses off to graduate on time and be where you guys are today. All the hard work finally is paying off, and I hope that you guys end up in places where you are happy, inspired, and successful; wherever life takes you guys. Some of you will be teachers, others will be researchers, and others will be continuing their education for higher degrees, and I hope that the memories you had in college (whether good or bad) stay with you for lifetime. I know I met most of you during my last year of undergrad, and because of the great memories we made, you guys made my last year one that I’ll always remember. 

I love you guys, and mama is proud of you and your accomplishments! 

-Liz (:

Self-Reflection

Happy 1st-Month of TNTH!

liz

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Hey guys, sorry for no #TBT related post today, I just wanted to take the time out on this special milestone to personally thank you all who have been supportive of me and this blog since it launched one month ago.

In celebration of the 1-month milestone, here are some of my favorite posts I published since the launch of TNTH:

Because of you guys, I’ve been able to showcase my writing and show you guys just how passionate I am of doing so. I’ve had many of you write to me personally, expressing your interest in certain posts (definitely the #TBT ones) and letting me know just how much my writing helps them. It truly means the absolute world to me to know that there are actual people viewing my content and reading what I have to say.

Unfortunately on my side of things, this month of TNTH has been quite an eye-opener for me.

Continue reading “Happy 1st-Month of TNTH!” →