undiluted transparent memoir

I'm not really a fan of just watching something collapse and have no say about it. Which I believe makes me transparent, as all my thoughts easily flow out of my mouth. But if there's something I really want to be known of, it's that I'm a work in progress.

[ephanie]

Day 01: Your Blog’s Name

So I really don’t know how to start this, but let’s just “go with the flow”. 

So hmmm, when did I start this blog? A few months ago. Not so long. I was looking through blogs to find examples of the basics of starting one, and to find out it is mandatory to have a title. When I was brainstorming of one, I had many come to mine, but Transparent Memoir was the one that popped out for me. One of the personalities that I believe that stand out of all the others is my transparentness. I’m very extroverted, I tend to say a lot of things that I just instantly think, as you can hear my thoughts, it results for me to being transparent. I want that for my blog. I freely explain my thoughts on this blog, as you can say that it could be a creative outlet. 

As for the memoir aspect of it, I want this to be a biography-ish, documentary-ish of my life, of my thoughts. To be that proof or memory that I did this, or I did that. Or that time I ranted over that stupid thing or something.

As of two days ago, I’ve changed my title, well not so changed, but refined it to Undiluted Transparent Memoir. So why add undiluted? The definition of is not moderated or weakened. It will be a sweet motivation for me to press on, not be weakened and not be changed by the patterns and negativities of this world. 

So this blog will be a weakened, freely said, documentary. Both said and done. 

Start and share your 30-day Blogging Challenge with Live, Love, Simple too!

[ephanie]

30 - day Blogging Challenge

I was finding some inspiration on what to post, but my ideas were no where to be found. And to add, not only ideas but motivation. When I was casually browsing through the internet, I stumbled upon a wonderful blog called Asetival Reverie. I noticed she had started a challenge called the 30-day Blogging Challenge by Live, Love, Simple. This will motivate me to post more and for you to get to know more about me. 

So here is the challenge:

From what I know, I need to explain each topic of each day. Not simple, but ready for it. To be honest, there will actually be times where I miss a day just because I’m busy and going bonkers. But truth be told, I’ll try my very best to post EVERY SINGLE DAY.  

I’ll see you tomorrow for day 1 and have an endearing evening.

Thanks to Live, Love, Simple for the amazing challenge you have curated. 

[ephanie]

how is life going?

It’s good anonymous. How are you?! 

[ephanie]

Happy Journeys | 01

Hello, Lovelies! So with this, I decided upon the idea of creating this series about moments that got me happy. Happy Journeys will mainly circle around the events that put a smile on my face or made somebody else happy. 

So here’s the journey:

So I was talking to my music teacher for around 7 minutes as I was waiting for my ride to get home. When I had asked to hang out with him while I wait for my dad, he seemed pretty hesitant at first. He soon agreed when I convinced him it’ll only be about 5 minutes. So I sat down on one of the chairs while he continued playing with his ukelele. At times, he tried to make a conversation with me but after it sort of died down. Until I asked what was he playing on his cute ukelele. He had stated that it was a song that was still yet to finish. Which made me wonder how do you even create a piece of beautiful sound? So with this, he explained how he how he’d come about of this tune. While we were having the conversation, it reminded me that time I tried to compose a song for a contest and got to nowhere. Ah, those times. 

My music teacher had left for rest of last year (I don’t blame him, he seemed super stressed) and had a supply instead. So this year, he’s returned and he hasn’t changed a bit. Towards the end of our conversation, he recalled the moments last year before he left. To my surprise, he remembered the times I kept bugging him about all these things that fall along the lines of music and music producing. Like, how do you create a remix or how do you play this riff on the guitar? And I guess that’s the part that makes me happy. He remembered those time I was super annoying, those times I constantly bombarded him with questions (that weren’t really never answered…). 

I believe that is one of those things that make us happy. When someone remembers about things you wouldn’t have thought they would. Just as simple as someone remembering to ask how are you, or remembers that you don’t like these certain types of things make us simply happy. Knowing that someone cares about you and has space in their brains to remember the small things could make a big impact to one person. 

In the end, I (sadly) interrupted him because I needed to leave. As I went home, I hummed the melody of the song he was playing. And when I wasn’t humming to it, it replayed in my mind over and over and over again. It was beautiful. 

[ephanie]

The Sunday Currently 002

Hey, y’all! There’s 32 days left till Christmas! I’m so excited, are you? Especially till holiday break. So with this, let me share you my Sunday, yeah?

CURRENTLY

Reading tweetssssssss! I’m on twitter! I just started like a few weeks ago. Follow me!

Writing The Sunday Currently vol. 002 and a whole other stuff in my drafts.

Listening to “good vibes” kind of music.

Thinking of how close I am to getting my braces off! So close to that perfect smile.

Smelling the lingering barbecue smell left on my hands.

Wishing that my I’ll ace my math test tomorrow! 

Hoping I have faith in Him.

Wearing once again, black skinny jeans paired with a peachish & black warm sweater from H&M. 

Loving Nutella & go. It’s so addictive. 

Wanting Adidas Superstars! I just really, really want them. 

Just look at ‘em. 

Needing time. Everyone needs it, someway, somehow. 

Feeling good. Today was a good day. 

Have a spectacular, fabulous, spontaneous week my loves! 

Share your Sunday with Siddathornton too!

[ephanie]

Pray for Paris

Dear Paris,

I know that your hearts are weary, and your minds are confused. Full of questions that start with why. Why did this happen? It makes me question too. But what I do not conceive is the complete feeling that you hold. That unexplainable feeling of when you know your life is in danger.

I don’t get it. I don’t get how this world has been existing for billions and billions of years, and nothing has been improving. Generations upon generations have been repeating the same mistakes over and over again. Still hatred and pain is being treated by revenge. Hasn't anyone learned from our ancestors mistakes? Though we’ve attempted to improve, history has been repetitive, just with a different scenario. I still am dumbfounded. I still do not grasp the reason of why humanity is not learning from its mistakes.

All we can do now is pray.

Pray for not only Paris but pray for the whole world. Pray for people who are struggling, people who are lost. Pray for the ones who don’t know what to do. Pray for the ones who make trouble. Pray. All we can do is pray.

So Paris, you might go through hurdles as of now, but in the end, you will rise up and get through this, as the whole world right now is praying for you. So as our hearts join your grief, just pray, for that is all we can do.

#prayforparis #prayfortheworld

[ephanie]

Devotions | 01

I was analyzing the verses Luke 1:39-49 to help me choose songs for the next time I minister through music and I couldn’t help but share the marvelous things I've discovered when I read these verses. I’ve come to a decision that I might as well make this a series. Whenever I have a powerful encounter with the Lord in my devotions, I’ll share it with you. So with this, I proudly present to you, Devotions vol. 01. 

DEVOTIONS | 01: Luke 1:39:49

I suggest that you should read the verses to have a better understanding as you read this. 

So how do I explain this to you? It’s so overwhelming of how the Lord opened up so many things to me through this time. The title that they had named for this preaching was Faith: Blessed Is the One Who Believes. All of what my mind was lingering over was the thought of faith. This women had faith in the Lord, so she had finally been blessed with a baby. So now, Mary had visited, and Elizabeth felt that the Holy Spirit comes upon her, and now Mary praises the Lord for Him being mindful and all the blessings He’s poured out on them. With all this, all I was thinking was that the message about this was going to be around the thought of being faithful to the Lord and then He will reward you. 

These verses is where they described where faith is put into action. Where they present the aftermath of when Elizabeth had been blessed by the Lord after she had place all her faith in Him. It did not explain what had happen before. It did not explain the whole background story. But what it did explain was that she had been blessed, and at that moment, they dedicated that time to worship the one who was mindful of them. It explained that they praised the Lord for what He has done. 

In the end, I kept thinking about the root cause of how faith was to apply to the verses. Yes, Elizabeth was faithful, so now she had been truly blessed. But it was not mainly about that. It was about them praising God for what He has done.

Towards the end of my devotion, a sudden revelation had struck me as I was jotting down my thoughts. It was not really connected about how we are faithful, but about He is faithful. Sense had suddenly collided through my confusion. They were praising God for His faithfulness. They were praising the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, for His faithfulness unto us. He is faithful to us all because He remains to keep fulfilling promises. 

[ephanie]

Mountains That Smoke ALL THE TIME

Just recently, my family and I drove all the way from Toronto to Gatlinburg Tennessee to see the Great Smoky Mountains.  The drive was around 12 hours, which resulted in my butt to cramp. Well, it was all worth it.

When my parents told me we were going to travel there, the first thing I had thought that had popped in my mind was the reason behind the name. When you get to see it, the view explains everything. Our resort was located somewhere on the mountain, but it wasn't too high. When you see the mountains, it is filled with multiple beautiful tall trees completely covering the sight of the ground. So as you see trees, a simple fog surrounds the whole mountain and gets between the gaps of the trees. So when you see the mountain, it makes sense why they called it smoky mountains. It was breath-taking. The beauty of nature was literally laid in front of you. It's a great place to just meditate, relax and just be mesmerize by nature's beauty. 

Aside from the mountains, I've gone to two restaurants that look sort of retro, which I've truly adored. From checkered tables to colourful chairs, and striped cushions, it fascinates me how different it is now. When we were driving to Tennessee, it just so happens that we stopped in Kentucky to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch. You can tell that everything was old, yet it was so marvelous.

Other than food, I've come to realize that Tennessee the Smoky Mountains is big, it extends from Tennessee to North Carolina. When you go on their highways that are on top of the mountains, you see the numerous trees filling the mountain tops. Not only trees are what I saw, I actually witnessed a mother that is a black bear sitting around with her three cubs. Some national parks in Tennessee and North Carolina are basically where you drive into the are path and you just get to take in all that you witness: nature. I went there at the right time because it was fall, it was the time of year where the trees start to change colour and all the leaves start to fall. It was perfect because you see vivid trees standing tall as plants linger in between them. As we went through the parks, turkeys would come and go here and there. When I went to then park in North Carolina, there was a moose who was just doing its thing. 

PLACES TO GO (the estimated distance from Gatlinburg, Tennessee) 

WonderWorks | 10.7 miles

Caves Cove | 33.5 miles

Cataloochee (located in North Carolina) | 61.7 miles

Dollywood | 10.6 miles

Westgate Resort (which is the once I stayed in) | 2.6 miles

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies | 1.1 miles

So those are the places that I thought were cool to visit in/close to Tennessee. By the time I left, I have come upon the realization that Gatlinburg is a very amazing place to keep yourself busy. When you go through the streets, you can see there are so many places to go to that make your trip worthwhile. From beautiful parks to fine restaurants to exciting amusement parks, you can never go bored in Gatlinburg. 

the photos I took 

[ephanie]

c o l o u r 

[ephanie]

the smoky mountains is smokey

[ephanie]

plants here literally grow on walls 

[ephanie]

The Sunday Currently 001

Hey there! So I was looking through Maine Mendoza’s blog and I was intrigued by her recent posts called “The Sunday Currently”, as I also saw few other bloggers did the same. I found out that it was a link up created by Siddathornton. I thought it would be cool to do it since I haven’t posted a lot on this blog. So here it is, the Sunday Currently volume 1.

CURRENTLY 

Reading mainly posts by Maine Mendoza. I enjoy how cute and very relatable they are. Other than that, I’ve been still reading The Giver by Lois Lowry whenever I have the time to. I’ve also been reading this day-to-day book about effective worship called Pure Praise by Dwayne Moore. 

Writing The Sunday Currently vol. 001 and about my trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. Hoping to get it done soon! 

Listening to Rita Ora’s Body On Me ft. Chris Brown. I loooooove it. It’s amazing. You should listen to it. 

Thinking  about high school/future. 

Smelling nothing. My nose is completely stuffed, so it’s not possible to use this sense. 

Wishing that the next few months of school will turn out well.

Hoping that I will keep focusing on Him.

Wearing black stretchy jeans, and this new comfy blue sweater that my mom never liked. 

Loving as usual, an ineffable God, my phenomenal family, and my hella rad friends. Other than that, I’m loving this Instagram profile called Unknown Recipients. It’s all letter that were never sent, or really never received. 

Wanting this cold to go away. Cold, cold go away, don’t ever think of coming again another day. Through Tylenol, I hope that it will leave before school starts once again. 

Needing more rest. I’m so done. I give me rest, please.

Feeling not myself. When I’m sick, I feel like all my happiness and energy has suddenly drained. 

Happy Sunday, chums! 

Share your Sunday with Siddathornton too! 

[ephanie]

Going To School In Canada Around November, Means Your Willing To Learn Will Getting Sick From Your Peers

I have a stuffy nose. I feel tired. My backs aching. Kleenex tissues are piling around me on my bed. I’m not happy. This is what happens when kids don’t wear jackets when it’s cold, and then they choose to spread the cold to other kids who do wear jackets so that they can avoid getting a cold. 

This is my life every time of this season. 

[ephanie]

HELLO THERE, MY NAME IS STEPHANIE MICAH

SERIES OF QUESTIONS COMING YOUR WAY

So, why might I start blogging?

In all honesty, it’s probably because numerous human beings are doing it since who knows when. So now all of you are probably sitting there, reading this post, cringing at that first line. Well, it’s true, but I say that is not the main reason why. The idea is to just really talk about my travels, my life, my rollercoaster emotions, and what tops it all of that is awareness. I want to make you guys be aware of global issues that really mean the world to me. 

What will I be posting? 

This blog will consist of many things that I’ve created. Anything along the lines of taken pictures, and collecting of words. All created as an outlet of my feelings and my emotions. Or really just a past time. 

So I hope you enjoooooy and keep doing what you’ve doin’.