My Trip to Paris:The Unplanned Happened

 

The Eiffel Tower as it rains outside. 

  It has been an interesting school year for me. Since the start of Spring 2014 I have been doing a lot with starting a school organization, doing extracurricular activities, hanging out with friends, and trying to maintain good grades.

  Therefore I was excited to hear that I was going to study abroad to Paris and London for a month this summer! I couldn't believe I was going on this trip, in fact I didn't tell anyone I was going ( except my family and those going with me) until  I think the day I got to Paris. It wasn't because I felt like I was dreaming, but an unnerving feeling in my gut came about when I thought about it sometimes.

  However, I, along with over a hundred students, boarded on a one way flight to Paris. It was surreal. The day I got there my roommate and I went to go and eat a nearby sandwich place. While siting outside eating croque.  (delicious French version of grilled cheese!) I couldn't believe I was there, relaxing  in the cool wind, glancing at the esoteric architecture, watching the Parisians walk by.It was surreal. 

Infamous croque! So yummy!

  Each  day  was filled with whirlwind adventures. I enjoyed eating at a crepes restaurant by myself late at night, trying escargot for the first time with my friend,  hour-long museum  tours with my classmates, and hanging out at the beautiful Luxembourg and Parais-Royal Gardens. It was bitter-sweet, because as I was enjoying my time I was bummed we were only staying for  two weeks. Besides I had already been to London when I was twelve. 

    Unfortunately, something  happened. I wrote a post about this before, but previously I was hospitalized for almost two months and one of the reasons was from having avascular necrosis. It all started trickling down when our class went on the Louvre Museum tour.The Louvre was one of the attractions of my  "Things to do in Paris list" I had to check off. Before the day of the tour, I had done a lot walking and had a tour of my own with my friends and a couple of my schoolmates. The day of the Louvre tour,I  was having sickle cell crisis (not too bad),  I took some pain medicine and tried to carry on with the Louvre tour. 

   However, during the tour it became increasingly difficult to move on. I wanted to desperately capture and appreciate years of artwork, but I started feeling ill and wanted to pass out. I thought maybe I hadn't eaten enough while taking my medicine, but when the effects of the  medicine wore off the crisis came again and much stronger. It was impossible to walk any further and I  had to sit down multiple times. 

What up, Mona? 

   At the end of the Louvre tour I was in tears from so much pain. Thankfully I was approached by a few girls from my class who saw me in pain and stayed and helped me. After eating a sandwich and taking my medicine I felt a lot better and was able to go out and eat at  "the best French restaurant"(details on that soon). 

   Unfortunately,  days later I would be in pain every day. It became harder to take long walking tours with my friends. Mostly the pain was in my hip, and one day after looking for a subject to shoot for my class project it got so bad I had to get the doctor called immediately. I  spent a few days in my room not being able to walk. 

    It was getting to the point where it was questioned whether or not I could continue on with the trip. Yet, those who know me, know that I don't back down easy. It wasn't until the last day of Paris, I had already began walking incredibly slow and I didn't want anyone to be bothered with my difficulties. Therefore, after eating a croque sandwich  I was to spend the day alone and take the Metro to the Shakespeare's company. 

   I couldn't make it down the steps of the Metro.  I sat on the steps just having the physical feeling of defeat. Two security guards came rushing in to help me, despite the fact that they didn't speak English and I don't speak French. Moments later I was rushed to the Emergency Room  in an ambulance. I thought I was only going to stay in the hospital for a night, but I stayed for six days leaving behind my friends, London, and the past and future experiences. 

   It wasn't my ideal situation to end up in the hospital in Paris. Since this experience is still new to me ( I just got back to America), I am not sure what lessons are to be learned here. All I know is, things happen unexplained, unplanned. I just have to move on from it. I can still say I've been to Paris, which not many people can say. Additionally, I took a lot of pictures and some videos of my Parisian trip that I will gladly share to everyone. Just remember to be positive, if not for you, for someone else. 


     

My Favorite Moment of the Year Is...!

My trip to Puerto Vallarta! The clock is ticking and that made me reminisce on the moments of this year. I promised that I would upload a video for you all on my experience traveling to Mexico alone in the summer. But like the procrastinator I am, I wait until the last day of the year, wow! Anyway, here it is I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for all those who have read and enjoyed my blog this year and I hope that next year I will blog more and make it the best blog it can be!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S DAY TO YOU ALL!

Catching Up: Helping Out the Community & Strutting On the Catwalk

                                                       

                                                             
   Hey everyone!  I haven't been able to post due to being in college, and having to take exams! I know crazy, right? Besides studying, I have been able to get out of my bed and do something for once! Some really important events that happened was that I got involved in a sickle cell 2k walk, and I got to put on my high heels on, smize and strut on the catwalk. 

  I have said before that I have sickle cell disease. While it has been very hard having to deal with sickle cell, I will not allow myself to be a victim or have people feel sorry for me. But instead to spread awareness  of a very debilitating illness.

  A few weeks ago, I was able to go to a sickle cell 2k walk. I did arrive late to the festivities, but I was able to make it just in time for the Barbeque and some soul inducing music (90s music is the best music). As everyone knows I am shy, so it was a bit nerve wrecking to come into a group of strangers. I had asked a few of my friends to come with me, but everyone was busy or sleeping (It was at 8 AM on a Saturday).

  I felt that eyes were on me, but I locked up the tension away, and introduced myself to people and even got the courage to take pictures of some of them. I met sickle cell warriors young and old ( the oldest being 64 I think) which is great, since most warriors have been told they can't live past fifty. Here are some photos:

          

      

    Overall, this was an important event for me not because of the great cause I am supporting, but also because I was able to meet sickle cell warriors my age. I never really had friends that share the same struggles that come along with sickle cell. So it was nice to meet a guy who when I looked into his eyes also have jaundice, the stamp that marks the appearance of sickle cell, and a girl who attends the same college as me and is in a happy relationship.

   The event gave me hope, and it was something that I really needed. Speaking of hope, another important event happened yesterday. A friend of mine is on the fashion committee here at school, and asked me to audition for a fashion show. After making it through the audition, I was selected to be one of the few models for the show. The whole auditioning process was like America's Next Top Model!

   After a few rehearsals, the big day arrived. I was really nervous, but after my makeup and hair was done and I was fit into a dress by the great  designer Raya Kassisieh, that only me and one other girl could fit in, I was ready to put my Naomi Campbell on (whatever that means).  And guess what? I didn't fall, which is great because those were some of the tallest shoes I had ever worn.


                             

         

     When that was done, I soon went into the audience to find my friends and hang out with them, and to my surprise my mother had came to see me. It was nice to chill out with my friends after all the chaos backstage. Literally, a model was dragged on stage with her shirt unbuttoned and  turned sideways. However, the chaos paid off because it felt like I was in New York's Fashion Week and Anna Wintour was sitting in front row.

                                       
   The fashion show was an important event because the morning of , I was very sad and I kept feeling bad about myself, nothing positive was coming into my mind. It just felt like I was carrying a heavy fog around my head. But when I was able to laugh and eat with my friends that night, it seemed to help a lot. Now I'm ready to take on whatever circumstances that happen, and hope that I can just be positive no matter what...after I finish studying!

Life blog: Life isn't always what you plan--Seriously!

Source: www.hugloo.com/poem-on-life-oh-my-life/

  School has not always been the best for me. I was teased and bullied a lot, as we all know when you
stand out like  I did (super tall and super skinny) you tend to be outcasted. So when college decisions came about I really did not want to attend. I instead sought  for something else---modeling! I never in my wildest dreams thought I could be a model, models look like Tyra Banks and Cindy Crawford not curve-less ladies like myself. But soon people kept telling me I should model, and after school instead of looking at colleges online my mouse wandered over to local modeling agencies and fashion blogs. I would practice my walk and poses striving to be the next Chanel Iman or Jourdan Dunn. But what  I really wanted was to fit in, I heard stories of the awkward lanky girl suddenly becoming the next Giselle overnight and I wanted that to be desperately me. To come into school and laugh at all those who teased me for my looks and say "Hah! What now!" Well my senior year was almost up, and after not getting signed to any modeling agencies I discovered that I needed to go somewhere. I DID NOT want to stay in my town, where for years I felt miserable I wanted to live in NYC, the city of freaks, so I can fit in somewhere because I need to fit in somewhere! So the only school that I got accepted to was SCAD, I thought, "hey, they're artsy kids like myself, it's not NYC, but hey maybe I'll fit in, why not?" WRONG! I was miserable and was teased and bullied worse than in high school. I was also more hospitalized,  had more sickle cell crisis, and a cop had hit and tarnished my car to death.

        After a year I had to leave to save my sanity and enrolled in my hometown's local college much to my dismay. However, I did much better I got into the Dean's list several times ( President's list twice), joined my literary magazine,  I am transferring to either the Univesity of Florida or the University of Miami (the top colleges in my state), and I finished my last term with straight As.











  I am not a fashion model traveling around the world,  and living it up in NYC but I still am living my life. People still make fun of me whether or not I am on campus or shopping for groceries, but whether I was a fashion model or a college student wouldn't make so much of  a difference with my daily interactions of others. Haters 'gon hate! Basically, the good things in life don't always  come from where you are, where you live, what your job is but who you are as a person.

While being a beautiful fashion model sounds tempting ( and who knows, I'm still young maybe I still have a chance), there are horror stories of eating disorders, cramped model apartments, short career, being away from loved ones, the list goes on. I can still live my dreams, I can still travel, live in NYC, and while fitting in isn't at the top of my list right now, there could be a group of people that will accept me for the dorky, skinny, "freak" that I am.

    Just remember, there is always someone who wishes they where you and is doing worse than you. You may have a plan for your life, but God has a better plan for you always!