Breaking Through the Barriers

I don't know how this is even possible, but since I've been away at college, I've gotten even closer with my younger sister, Emily.  I've talked about Em before.  She's the twelve year old, and she's just a coooool breeze.  

We are SO different it's borderline questionable that we're related.  Here are some examples:

1) Emily is extremely into her physical appearance.  She does her hair every morning, her clothes always match perfectly from head to toe (even socks sometimes).  Her nails also need to be repainted like, every 5 minutes.

2) She's EXTREMELY athletic, something I seem to be lacking in.  I mean, it's pretty bad when your 12 year-old sister can beat you in a field hockey game, and she's only been playing for a few weeks....

3) She hates Taylor Swift.. I just don't understand how that's possible.

But despite of the reasons that we are so different, it's so awesome that she's finally getting to an age where I can relate to her.  I mean, I remember the middle school days like it was yesterday.  She has a lot of the same teachers that were teaching at Lakeside when I was there, so I can give her all the tips and tricks :)  

Plus, we both really like listening to Ke$ha, which is a bonding experience in itself.

AND we both get really annoyed by sitting in the house all day, so she usually comes with me on midnight taco bell runs, or things like that.

Through our mini bonding experiences, I really feel like I can finally with confidence say that my little sister loves me and we are friends.  She used to be like, this creature that I just didn't understand.... it's such a beautiful things when little sisters transform into real people :')  I'm just so thankful that I'm getting the opportunity to share my  experiences and mini life lessons or a middle school, soon to be high school survival guide :)  It's so great that we can finally relate, hopefully it can stay this way for a long time.... no one makes a better friend than a sister.

Attention: Support Needed

In anything in life, it's important to have a support system.  Some people find their support in a church group, teachers, coworkers, or even friends.  I am lucky enough to have a family who supports me, even when I'm not exactly sure what I need support for.

I'm at a difficult spot right now, in which I don't know how to deal with the college situation.  Although I love Eastern as an institution and I think it is a wonderful place, I do not think it is where I belong and where I will flourish.  I've been struggling with this from very, very early on this semester, and I was very vocal about it with my family.

At first they all said the same thing, "Jess, you're just homesick."  But I'm not homesick.  Then they said "You have to stay for the whole year."  But if I know I will end up transferring, what's the point in staying two semesters?  So I started doing my research.  I've been looking at schools, grants, and what classes I'm currently taking will transfer to other schools.  I've looked at countless schools in New Jersey, including my county college.  But  I am still not completely sure what the right thing to do is.

So while on the ride home today, my Poppop and I started tossing around the idea of me transferring.  I expected a lecture on how I needed to stay at Eastern because it is an amazing opportunity, and I need to make the best of it, and blah blah blah.  While I agree that being a student at Eastern has been a great opportunity, and I have learned about myself, it took a lot for me to take a step back and admit that this is not the place for me.

Poppop told me that my family would support me whatever I decided to do, as long as I stayed educated about the situation and didn't just blindly make decisions.  He told me that as long as I was in school, my family would be proud of me whether I stayed at Eastern or transferred to county or went somewhere like Rutgers.  That really surprised me.  I've always made my decisions based primarily on the opinions of the people I love.  If he had told me that I need to stay... who knows?  I may just stay for no reason other than the fact that it was what my family wanted.

But back to the point, the fact that whatever I end up deciding, my family will support me, means the absolute world to me.  I know how hard this decision is with the support, I can't imagine having to make it without them.

So, I know you guys are reading this.  I just wanted to say thank you.  Thank you so much for supporting me, even when I'm not completely sure of what the next move I need to make is.  Thank you for always showing me what a real, loving family is and teaching me how to support and love the people close to me.  This isn't going to be easy, but it'll be so much easier with you.

Baby Bella :)

The Rathgeb Family has a new member to the family!

The baby was adopted by our family this past Wednesday, November 7th, 2012.  She is a beautiful 8 week old little.................. German Sheppard name Bella :)

I came home Thursday night, and that was the first time I had ever met the little puppy.  By the time I arrived home at 7:15 PM, my family already had a system in place of how and when to feed her and how and when to take her to the bathroom.  My family was really working together as a team.

Don't get me wrong, my family knows how to work as a team... but it has always been different when pets are involved.  My sisters each have their own cats, and it has always been more of a competition of who takes better care of the cats and who's cat is the cuter one.  Now, we have to learn how to work together as a family to raise this puppy.  It's not about who looks cuter with the dog or who does the most to train her.  It's all simply about the dog, and making sure she is raised to the best ability that we can raise her.

I got to take my first night on "Puppy Duty" Thursday.... and it was not as easy as it sounds.  Waking up every two hours to take the puppy outside to go potty is not a glamorous job in any way, shape or form.  Being that it is November, it's extremely cold at night.  I don't really like being outside at night either...  Plus, missing out on sleep is not a fun thing either.  It seemed like no big deal, but I also knew that I would get to sleep in all day today.  I give so much credit to Madre and Kyle for willingly signing up to do this for the next few weeks until we have Bella potty trained.  

Bella will definitely be an awesome addition to our family though, and I can't wait for the hundreds of puppy stories I'll be able to tell soon :)  So everybody..... meet Bella!  Welcome home puppy :)

The REAL Jersey Shore

Growing up 30 minutes from the Jersey Shore, it wasn't uncommon to take a drive to Ocean City, Sea Isle, or Cape May for a night at the boardwalk, day at the beach, or afternoon at the zoo.  The Jersey Shore that I know and love is very different from the image projected on TV.  Me and my sisters grew up spending our summers at the shore, riding rides all night, and waiting for that perfect slice of Mack and Manco's famous boardwalk pizza!

I can remember fighting over what rides to use our tickets on, who would get to sit with my mom or dad, and when it was actually acceptable to go home.  Over the years, my family drifted apart from the Jersey Shore and leaned more towards enjoying our peaceful, week-long vacation in Assateague, Maryland... which just so happens to be on the beach.  However, the Jersey Shore has always had a special place in my heart, and we make sure to go as a family at least once a year.

This year especially, I developed a type on dependence on the shore.  From Senior Prom weekend until the week I left for Eastern, I spent at least one day/night a week in Ocean City, Sea Isle, or Strathmere.  I'll never forget loading up 5 cars full of my friends and driving to Ocean City to spend the night at the boardwalk and sitting on the beach talking about life, dancing, and enjoying the time we still had together.  I won't forget waking up at 8 o'clock on MY DAY OFF EVERY WEEK to go to the beach and laugh at the boys trying to pile up three people on their shoulders.  There is no way I'll ever lose the memories of driving to Ocean City every Forth of July with my family to watch the fireworks, and seeing the fireworks of the surrounding shore towns over the water. 

So many of my greatest memories, not only with family, but with friends and teammates, were spent living and loving life at the Jersey Shore.  So yeah.  A bunch of kids spend their time at the shore, nothing special.  Maybe not to you, but to me, its a lifetime of memories.  Memories that I hope I never forget.

I made a video to show the "greatest hits" of my nights spent at the shore, and these aren't even the half of it.  You should've been there for the times we were all having waaaayyyyyy to much fun to waste time taking pictures! 

Thanks, and I'll talk to you guys next week!  Here's to hoping the Jersey Shore can get back on it's feet before the summer of 2013...  Sandy may have done some damage, but I know how people from Jersey are.... and no one's giving up our beach and our summer without a fight!