To My Faja

To My Faja 

People say that the first guy you ever truly love is your dad, and for me, that is unbelievably accurate. My favorite person in the entire world signs his cards Love Dad, answers to text messages that say I love you with 2, lightly pats me on the back while laughing when I pull him into big bear hugs, teases me always, makes me watch Drumline every time it’s on, snores so loud I can hear him from my room down the hallway, falls asleep on the couch by 7 pm, wakes me up at 8 am on the weekends, and just so happens to be one of the people I love most in life. 

When I was younger, I always thought that my dad looked like Shrek, I couldn't tell you exactly why my little kid brain related my dad to a green ogre that lived in a swamp. I think maybe it was the fact that their hands looked similar, they were both tall, had no hair, and that they referred to themselves as onions with layers. I never really understand what my dad meant by his layers until I was a little older when I realized that he has so many different sides to him. Like he races off-road, sport fishes, goes hunting, can build an entire house,operate heavy machinery, change a tire, but at the same time can cook the most amazing food, loves to bake, can sew Halloween costumes, design the interior of a house, and has the best taste in almost everything. There are only a few things on this planet that my dad isn't good at, and one of which is making calzones.

 I have always loved all of my dad's "layers" and when I was little if you asked me who I looked up to most in life, I would answer my dad. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be just like him, and not much has changed as I've grown up. I still answer my dad when people ask me who I look up to most, and I always think of dad when I see Shrek. The thought of making him and my mom proud is what gives me the motivation to live my life the way that I do. I am nowhere close to perfect, and I think I drive my dad nuts half of the time, but I know that at the end of the day he'll be there for me no matter what, cheering me on.  He has not only made me a stronger person but has taught me so many life lessons. Three of which are: 

• “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you are progressing you’re still ahead of everyone that isn’t trying!”
• "Your word is your word"
• And as my Faja would say, "Strong like bull, dumb like ox."

So Faja,  

I love you to the moon and back, 

Kayts, Boo Boo Bear, Ltlplmr

"NO! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers... You get it? We both have layers." -Shrek

SHARE:

0 comments

Take the Road Less Traveled

Take the Road Less Traveled 

For as long as I can remember people have been telling me that I walk to the beat of my own drum. It happened more frequently then not when I was younger. My friends and even their parents would comment on how I just didn’t care if I fit in or not, and for awhile I loved and fully embraced it. I’m sure my family and friends could tell you multiple stories of me doing crazy and weird things. Like the time I was at DQ with my family and some friends, and  I decided it was a great idea to pull the end of my dress over my head so everyone could see my underwear. Or the time in middle school I was obsessed with telling people how amazing my legs looked in my shorts and walking like I was on a runway. People change though, and I guess I kind of lost some of my spark to be the girl that didn’t fit into the mold. I couldn’t tell you exactly when I started to reign in the beat of my drum or why. Maybe it was around middle school, when I started high school, or even when a guy began to pay attention to me for the first time, but all I know is that now it’s sometimes hard for me to let people see every crazy part of me like I did when I was younger. Don’t get me wrong there are still a handful of people who see every piece of my heart, mind, and soul, who love me no matter how stubborn or quirky I get, but not nearly as many people see it as when I was younger. 

There is a big part of me that misses the confidence I once had when it came to not caring what other people thought of me. I never used to care if people thought the way I dressed was too out there or weird, or worried about what people might think if I said it out loud and I certainly never cared how many people liked my Instagram, or who retweeted my tweets. All these stupid things that worry me now are holding me back, and I think it’s about time that I change again. I know that it’s not going to be easy for me to step out of my comfort zone and put myself out there like I did when I was younger, but I want to try. I am so tired of being caged in by my own insecurities or anxiety, and watching things pass by that I would have loved to experience. So starting now I’m going to try to start saying yes I can do this, and stop telling myself that I shouldn’t do something just because I’m afraid of what others might think or that I might mess up and make a mistake. I want to make my life, a life that I am proud to be living, and I hope that I get lost a time or two because if we didn’t make mistakes, we would never learn new things and evolve as people. I was named “Miss Off the Beaten Road” by my NCL class senior year, and it’s about time I start living by that name, so here’s a list of things that I want to accomplish this year as a person:

• Don't let my anxiety stop me from missing out on something that could be an amazing experience 
• Learn that it's okay to do things by myself, it doesn't make me a loner 
• Road trip by myself with the windows down and music blaring 
• Talk on the phone to strangers, stop making my mom do it for me 
• Push myself to do things that make me uncomfortable 
• Say yes more 
• Go out with my friends more 
• Go to the gym alone and actually work out 
• Don't be afraid to fall in love again 
• Put myself out there as much as I can when I get to FIDM 
• Apply to be apart of MODE Magazine @ FIDM 
• Just really do anything I set my mind to

“If you trust your rebel heart, ride it into battle, Don't be afraid, take the road less traveled”- Lauren Alaina

SHARE:

0 comments

Once a River Rat Always a River Rat

Once a River Rat Always a River Rat

Have you ever had a place that just going there makes you smile and like nothing in the world could ever change how happy this place makes you feel? I have a place like that; it may seem a little odd that I love this place as much as I do, but one of my favorite places in the entire world is Parker, Arizona. This town on the Colorado River where the California border meets Arizona is my happy place. To most people it might seem like just another pass through town, to stop and get gas and eat on a road trip but this city in the middle of the desert is so much more than just that. It’s home to Blue Water Casino, the Parker 425, the Desert Bar, and for awhile my river house. 

I grew up going there, and I loved every minute of being a river rat. Some of my best memories as a child were in Parker with my family and friends. I can remember going on the boat with my family, floating the river, learning how to wakeboard, begging my mom to buy me wedge flip flops from River Rats, collecting rocks in the desert with my dad and sister, falling off of the golf cart cause my dad hit a bump too fast, doing donuts in the Rhino with Uncle Gary, riding my quad in the winter every chance I got, going to the Desert Bar in the Truggy, burning bushes with Avalon in the middle of the desert, or even watching my dad from a helicopter race his trophy truck at the Parker 425.

Parker is filled with so many happy memories for me, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do to have my river house back again. So I have decided that I’m going to start saving up now to buy a river place of my own… well, or I might just beg my dad for a new river house until he says yes… really whichever one gets me a river house the fastest is the plan that I will be going with… until then I guess I will just cherish the memories I have there and visit whenever I can… I don’t think I ever really got over the fact that we sold the river house and my mom always jokes that I’ll need therapy because of it. But like it was a really sad day when my parents told my sister and I that they had sold the Parker house and that Dad had already packed it up. To make things worse, we didn’t go back and visit for awhile. 

When we finally did go back, it was weird to see how much Parker had changed but still stayed the same. They had added in a Walmart, taken out Badenoch’s, closed Kahuna’s, taken out the area we used to ride our quads, and moved our favorite Mexican restaurant, but while things had changed it was still the place I knew and loved… It’s safe to say that Parker will always be my favorite place to go. 

SHARE:

0 comments

To My Baby Sis, Try to Listen

To My Baby Sis, Try to Listen

I think I am finally thankful that my mom and dad brought home my goofball Lil sis that day in January, seventeen years ago. The love I have for my baby sister Kortney is unreal. Even though she is my little ice princess, knows exactly how to push my buttons, how to get me in trouble, and has a hard time showing emotions towards the people she loves…She is one of my favorite people in the world. She steals my heart more and more every day and year I get to spend with her. She is my twin, my better half, my best friend, and most of all, the person I know will always have my back in life. She is the reason that I strive to be the best I can be, I want to be someone she not only loves but someone she looks up to. So Korts here are a couple of things that I want you to know: 

You need to stop growing, I am supposed to be the big sister here

You are the best thing Mom and Dad have ever brought home to me, well except for my Jeep and Koda Bear.

I know I may seem like a hot mess at times, but maybe try and learn from my mistakes. 

You are constantly out shining my achievements and honestly I couldn't be more proud (You are my better half)

 

You are the most beautiful person I have ever known, inside and out... don't let anyone tell you differently 

Yes, I do get jealous of you... Just ask mom 

I will always have your back, no matter what happens

I really don't mind anymore that people think we are twins 

Your my ride or die... there is no one I would rather have sitting shotgun in the Jeep 

And most importantly I love you so much more then you will ever know Lil Sis 

-Love you to the moon and back,

Kayts

 

SHARE:

0 comments

My Ride or Die

My Ride or Die

Today marks two months without my baby girl… Two months since I left my Jeep in the parking structure at GrandMarc thinking that I would be back soon to drive her. Little did I know that I would go so long without getting to see my precious Kali girl. I know what y’all are thinking…This girl is insane, she talks about her jeep as if it’s a person she loves and hasn’t seen in years. But I would just like everyone to know that this is the longest stretch of time I’ve gone without seeing my Jeep since I got her, four and a half years ago. It may seem weird to love an inanimate object as much I love my Jeep, but she has been there for some of the best times of my life and also for the bad times. She has consistently been a place I could go to clear my head, and just not worry about anything that’s going on in my life. Over the last four and a half years, God almost five years that I’ve had my Jeep we’ve gone a lot of places, seen a lot of things, and within her four doors made a lot of memories. 

    I can honestly say that the best present my parents ever gave me that wasn’t my lil sis or my puppy Koda, was my Jeep. I had to beg them to get her for me, anyone who knows me knows that once I get my mind stuck on something, it’s very hard to change my mind. And that’s exactly what happened with my Jeep. I had seen my next door neighbor, Tori get an adorable white Jeep for her first car and I just kind of fell in love with it. From that moment forward, there was no other option in cars for me; I was going to have a Jeep. I didn’t care if it was an old beat up Jeep, if it had two doors or four, or if I had to get a job and pay for it myself. I even told my mom that I would cry if she got me the little BMW, she was hoping that I would change my mind about. I know how much of a spoiled brat I sound like, and looking back it probably wasn’t the best way to handle the situation, but if I had any say in what kind of car I was gonna drive, it was going to be a Jeep. And on June 6th, 2012, my parents made me the happiest girl in the entire world, because sitting outside of Roy’s to celebrate me getting my permit was the most beautiful Jeep I had ever laid eyes on. Since that day she’s been my most favorite thing in the entire world, and I wouldn’t want to have any other car in the world. 

    So yes… I am obsessed with my Jeep, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love going on adventures in my too slow, a little too loud and slightly missed aligned Jeep because some of my best memories were made with friends getting lost in the desert or driving down PCH with all the windows down blaring music. I miss my Jeep more and more every day that I go without being able to drive her. I can’t wait to have her back home where she belongs and to take a very long much-needed drive; we have a lot of time to make up for.

“Silly boys Jeeps are for girls” 

SHARE:

0 comments

Amongst the Chaos

Amongst the Chaos 

 Recently my life has been filled with a chaotic amount of change. Deciding to uproot the life in Texas that I had spent the last year and a half working on, has been an extremely hectic decision to deal with. When I first decided that I needed a change in my life, I was like the tasmanian Devil wrecking havoc on everything. A total and complete whirlwind of emotions and thoughts who went back and forth between transferring to FIDM and not transferring at least 20 times a day. I have to hand it to my parents, though. They sure know how to deal with me when I get unwound about things because when they had, had enough of my indecisiveness. They took me to see the school that I desperately wanted to transfer to, and well I think y’all probably know by now but I fell in love with FIDM that day. The small fashion building at TCU was nothing compared to the huge FIDM building in downtown LA. The next day I made the decision to switch, and I withdrew from TCU, wrecking a whole new type of chaos on my life. 

    You would think that since I have made my decision to transfer, that my life wouldn’t be a chaotic mess anymore, but it still is. There are still so many unanswered questions, and unfinished tasks I have to do before my next adventure begins. One of which is getting my most prized possession back from Texas, if I have to spend one more day without my beloved Jeep, I swear I might die… Okay, that might be a little bit dramatic, but in all seriousness, I miss my Jeep more than y’all will ever know. My parents are making me drive an electric car, and I just want to point out that you can’t off-road in that. Another task being my interview at FIDM, which might just be one of the most nerve wrecking things I will do all year. 
    The chaos in my life doesn’t stop at the tasks not finished and unanswered questions. There has been a sort of chaos in the transition from living on my own and having all the freedom in the world to living back at home. I love my family more than you will ever know, but I also know I’m a handful and I hate being told what to do, so I can only imagine how weird it is to have me back in the house. It’s also been hard being one of the only people in my friend group to be home; I miss having my friends around so much. This whole process has been chaotic and hard, but there hasn’t been a day where I’ve woke up and said,"damn I made the wrong decision." The excitement I have for this next chapter is unbelievable, and as of right now, well I’m just learning to live amongst the chaos.  

“Think about a thunderstorm, they have a chaotic sound but when they are over everything is clean, fresh and beautiful again.” -Bob Ross 

SHARE:

0 comments

Meet the Girl in the Checkered Vans

Welcome to The Girl in the Checkered Vans!

My name is Kayts, and as y’all may have guessed I’m the girl in the checkered vans. I’m twenty years old and am currently in the very complicated process of figuring out what it means to be Kayts in the real world. I decided to make this blog as a way for me to document the journey that is my life and everything I love about it. Y’all may have picked up on a slight southern twang there. Well I would just like everyone to know that, that is just a nasty habit I picked up in my short year and a half at TCU, so if I say y’all one too may times I’m sorry in advance. I am a born and raised California girl, and for the most part, you can most definitely tell. I’m from Rancho Mirage, California; home of Coachella, snowbirds, no real changing of the seasons, and my personal favorite music festival, Stagecoach. Growing up in the desert has made me a certified desert rat, meaning that I love anything to do with the desert and with that comes my annoying obsession with my jeep and off-roading. So if I haven’t scared you guys away already, I’m sure you will get to hear a lot about my jeep, fashion, traveling, and just about anything that I find blogworthy.

Just so y’all know a little bit more about me as we share this journey together, I think y’all should know that I am a brutally honest person at times, and the first thing that pops into my head is typically what comes out of my mouth or in this case my hands… I have no filter and for that I am gonna say a quick sorry in advance. I have a deep love for traveling, art, fashion, photography, food, adventures, cheerleading and because I am my father’s daughter, off-roading and anything that has to do with the desert, ocean or big bodies of water. And as y’all may have guessed a great love for my checkered vans. I just recently decided to transfer colleges, but while attending TCU I was a Fashion Merchandising major with a minor that changed three times in the short time that I was there, it went from Business to Graphic design, to finally Studio Art. As you can probably see from the changing of my minor, I change my mind like I change my clothes… too damn often. So it shouldn’t be a big surprise that I am now going to be attending The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, California in hopes of getting a BA in Social Media. What can I say… you can take the girl out of California, but you can’t take California outta the girl… believe me, I tried… and while I enjoyed my short time in Texas… I am so happy to be back home where my heart belongs and on to my next adventure. 

I hope y’all enjoy reading what life throws my way because I’m so excited to start this adventure with y’all. 

-The Girl in the Checkered Vans 

                                       

"Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime of adventures"

 ~Lewis Carroll

SHARE:

0 comments