Pregnant? 8 things you might (unfortunately) experience
I was 10 weeks pregnant. The nausea, exhaustion, and emotional instability were unbearable that day. I came home from work and crawled into bed at exactly 5:23. When Michael arrived home, I called out to him from under the covers in a rather pathetic voice, “Hi dear. Can you come up here?” He came trotting […]
“OHHHH. IS THIS YOUR FIRST BABY?”
I am pregnant?! My muddled thoughts came screeching to this conclusion. The morning sickness, the “weight gain”, the craving for sweets—I’m definitely pregnant. Enter panic from stage left. You know in Runaway Bride when she’s about to actually make it down the isle, starts to panic, and her best friend gives her a brown paper bag […]
Story Time | Naked Americans, “Treats”, and Acceptance in China
Three years ago around this time, I was living in China and embarked on my first 24 hour train ride with my friend “Sky” to experience an authentic Chinese Spring Festival. It would be safe to say that I did not have the faintest idea of what those weeks would hold! I miss China and […]
Learning Chinese | Restaurants and Unforgettable Foreigners
My Mandarin language study started off on the wrong foot, so to speak, when my teacher asked me if I had “some problem with your ear?”. Chinese is a tonal language, and well… I’m nearly tone-deaf (just listen to me sing). She insisted I couldn’t learn Chinese and suggested I try something easier like French or Spanish. […]
Ruthie vs. Airplane: On Overcoming Fear
Overcome your fear. I hear people use this phrase, but what does it really mean? My dad used to tell me I needed to overcome my fear of heights by going on a roller coaster. To date, I have only allowed roller coasters to take complete control of my body twice. Once, at Six Flags with my dad and […]
A Letter to My Freshman “conch-shell-necklace-wearing-midriff-showing” Self
On my drive home last week, a wave of nostalgia overtook my car and I swung by my old Alma Mater. From the chaos, I knew it could only be freshman move-in day. Oh joy! I remember my first day freshman year at Vanderbilt almost too vividly. My entire family –all six of us–made the […]