Hawaii 2016

Helllooooo everyone!! May I just start off by saying that i’m so sorry i’ve taken so long to write a post. I got super busy with school and then I went on vacation and just started slacking big time on writing posts. But I am back I promise!! I hope you are all doing good! I would like to share my Hawaii experience with you guys. I had the time of my life and everything was just absolutely beautiful. If you guys ever get a chance to go I 100% recommend it. So me and one of my best friends stayed there for 8 nights and we stayed in the city of Kona (and yes, that’s the place with the AMAZING coffee!) We actually stayed at an AirBNB and it was super cheap and with flight and a room the trip was less than $1,000 believe it or not for a broke college student I think that’s pretty dang good!! So to start the adventure we rented a jeep and it was a big and beautiful 4 door red jeep. We arrived there at 2pm and got to our AirBNB at about 3:30pm we unloaded our stuff and headed out to get some food found a really nice local restaurant, got some food to go and went to relax by the beach to eat some food. That day didn't even feel real, I couldn't even believe that this was my life right now. Best friend by my side, chicken teriyaki in the hand, sound of the waves flowing through my ears and watching the sunset hit the ocean …. Just perfect. So surreal. The next day we headed over to the Hawaii volcano National Park and it was so rainy that day we didn't get to see much but we got to see steam vents and Nenes (A Hawaiian goose) so cute! That was really really fun. Day 3 we went over to Hapuna Beach and it is the most beautiful beach I have ever had the pleasure of going to! Such an amazing gradient blue and the water was so clear and perfect. It’s a white sand beach and again just so surreal. My friend and I just hung out at the beach all day until we were done swimming and laying in the sun….. About that day I got the worst sunburn on my legs!! Day 4 we headed to the Kona coffee farm! They gave us a small tour of the area there was a different tour you could buy tickets for but again, broke college students, so a free tour would do! We ended up spending a good amount on fresh organic coffee, and some cool nick nacks to bring back for family and friends. Day 5 I got really really sick, Unfortunately I was suffering from dehydration and “vog” which is volcanic fog and let me tell you what, it sucks! The worst headaches i’ve ever had my entire life. I had to stay in bed that day for about 5 hours but we still went out and got some nice dinner that day at a place called “umekes.” Day 6 we went to Punaluu Black sand beach. OH MY GOODNESS guys soooo pretty!!! And we saw a sea turtle on the shore just chillin there. My one wish in hawaii was to see a sea turtle and I saw one 3 times!! I have pictures to show you guys too. Day 7 We went to Hilo to go to Akaka falls and that was also one of my most favorite days. It’s a 440 ft waterfall and it’s breathtaking! Day 8 we visited the beach and went to Punaluu beach again where I saw a sea turtle again right on the shore line as i was walking alongside the beach and probably got about 3 ft away from it and they are beautiful!! Then our flight left that night at 10pm. Sorry this post is a little longer than most but i still didn't give you full detail on everything but I thought I’d let the pictures speak for themselves. If you guys wanna know any further questions please don't hesitate leaving comments and i will reply!

P.S I was thinking about adding some fashion into by blog, like Outfits of the day kind of deal. Or like a “One pair of pants 10 different outfits” ideal. I think it would be fun!! Let me know if you’d like that too. Have a great week and we’ll talk soon.

What is Beauty?

Hello, everyone!!! I hope your week has been great! I’ve had an eventful past two weeks with some stuff just going on with school and life in general. I do want to update you guys that I have bought a new camera and will hopefully have some (recent) photos to post soon. So yay!! But for now, let's get serious… I’ve had something on my mind lately that I'd like to talk about and that is, what is beauty? What defines us as beautiful? Is it the way we wear our makeup and style our hair? Or what brand of clothes we wear? Or is it the way we talk about life and the way we pursue it? Is it what makes us passionate? Is beauty the way you look at the world around you?

From my personal experience, i've had trouble looking in the mirror and seeing myself as beautiful and also with the “idea” of beauty. It’s something that I've always had trouble with and has always been a touchy subject for me along with body image. For a good chunk of my life, mostly my high school years, I always blamed media and how they portrayed their idea of beautiful. Being the young 21 year old girl that I am I can't help but always compare myself to everyone around me and yes, even the supermodel on a billboard, in a bikini, posing for Victoria's Secret. Anytime I looked at myself, I couldn't help but not feel good enough physically. My makeup didn't look good enough, I wasn't a size 2, my hair was never the right color and I didn't wear the right clothes to make myself “appealing” to the opposite sex. In the world we live in today it’s hard to not fit into the “standards” of Beauty. We always feel like we aren't good enough. We want the acceptance of others and we want to feel loved. But you see, I think that's where we’re all wrong. Everyone needs the acceptance of themselves. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. I can’t help but stress how important self love is for people both emotionally and physically.

Self love is embracing everything that you are and more!! Once you learn to love yourself and accept yourself you really do feel a sort of enlightenment within yourself being. Beauty becomes more than just an image. It’s more than comparing yourself to everyone around you. I’m not saying that I've mastered this technique of thinking but I have definitely improved! For me, I see beauty in people, when they talk about their passions, when people laugh so hard at their own jokes that they cry and when I see people partake in things that they love to do. I see beauty in the stars at night, the landscape around me and in the way the flowers bloom in spring.

Seeing  beauty in a different way that is more than appearance has in a way lifted a weight off my shoulders. I know that I am more than my looks and clothes. I am what my soul and heart is, and that is something so immense and passionate and full of love that there shouldn't even be a comparison. I think that more people need to stop looking at themselves and hating themselves because what they see in the mirror doesn't fit everyone else's idea of beauty. Everyone is beautiful because of who they are as a person and there are so many people I wish I could tell everyone that because I know they need to hear it. And that’s why I made this post today.

My inspiration for this week's blog post was a video on YouTube called “People react to being called beautiful” and it was so dang nice and such an amazing idea I couldn't help but want to talk about the idea of beauty this week. I will Include the link and it is here ----> https://youtu.be/aW8BDgLpZkI

Thank you, everyone, for reading my blog and I hope you all have a great week and I hope this will make you all feel a little better in some way, shape or form. I will like to end today's post with a quote and that is, “Beauty is not in the face, beauty is in the light of the heart.” - Kahlil Gabrin

Realizing Your Self Worth

Hello everyone! I hope the week has treated you good. So i’ve had some things on my mind lately and that is realizing my self worth and standing up for myself and coming to realize that i am good enough. Unfortunately i came to a recent dilemma in ballet and have decided i will not be dancing with my ballet teacher again and won't be dancing for the next 2 months. Why did this happen? I'll be more than happy to explain.

We have a big show that we do every May and last year we did “Beauty and the Beast” and it was one of the best memories I've had in ballet yet. I got the part of the Enchanted Rose and it was such an honor and pleasure to get to do so. All of my family, friends and boyfriend came to see me and support me and i just felt so special and happy. The show is something we practice for for about 3 months and my teacher always does a big announcement of who gets what parts and this year she didn't do one but she did announce that we were going to be doing “The Little Mermaid” and i was so excited!! I was like you know what I just got my pointe shoes and I've been trying really hard lately and I think I may actually have a chance at playing Ariel! And as the weeks go on we are practicing dances and she tells a girl she got the part of Sebastian and i'm just like ??? “well when does everyone else get to find out parts” and she says “i'm not sure I’m still trying to figure out some parts” so i keep waiting. One week I am looking at the costumes posted on the wall and i see Ursula’s costume and i ask the grand question “Who is going to be playing Ursula?” And she tells me, A student in phoenix. So i ask, Who's prince eric? A student in Phoenix. Whose Triton? … A student in Phoenix. I ask my final question, whose Ariel? Another student from phoenix.  

My thinking right now is, if this is our show why in the world are all the main dancers IN OUR SHOW your phoenix dancers?! So over all i didn't get a single part in the show but pretty much just another back up dancer. And don't get me wrong that's not what got me mad. But it’s also the fact that she wanted to charge me an X amount of money to be in a show i would only be dancing in for 5 minutes AND not only that but i deserve more than that because I've been working hard for the past 3 years to be better in my dancing and performing. And the fact that i didn't get anything really just made me really sad and like maybe i wasn't good enough for ballet.

In a matter of a week I found myself very confused and hurt. I kept going back and forth between myself and my passion for dance. I didn't want to stop dancing and miss out on an opportunity for growth. But then again i knew it wasn't worth my time and money at this point. I kept going to people and asking for their advice and everyone had something different to say which only made me more confused. In the end i had to listen to myself cause only i knew what would be best for me.

So i came to the conclusion of dropping out of the show and not going to class for the next 2 months. This was an incredibly difficult decision for me to make but overall it was something that had to be done. I will continue to dance on my free time and keep practicing pointe.

Overall what i wanted this post to be about is for everyone to realize that they are good enough. No matter what situation you are in whether it be in dancing, personal relationships or even if it’s with yourself emotionally or physically. Never let anyone tell you otherwise you are your own sun. I think we all need to believe in ourselves and everyone should love themselves as well. I am a strong believer in this and i hope you all are too!! I wish you the best and i hope everyone has a happy first day of spring and happy “International day of Happiness”!! Ill talk to you guys next week. Have a great week, until next time!

At last years show- our last bows to the audience, I did a turn

I opened the show in the "prologue" of Beauty and the Beast

The end pose to one of our other dances as a group

Vegas 2016

Hello everyone!! Sorry for the late post. It’s been a busy weekend with spring break but I recently went to Vegas and wanted to fill you guys in with my experience. It was my cousins 21st b-day and for his celebration he wanted to go out to vegas but the only crummy part was i had work and we are getting into our busy season and i didn't think i'd be able to make it but then 3 days till he texts me saying “Jenny i wish you could come :(“ and then another one right after saying “Everyone else is coming but you and if you're not there it won't be the same..” So i get really sad and my conscious starts to feel bad so i walk over to my manager and asks him if he has a minute or when he gets one if i can talk to him. So i go into his office and we exchange words about my schedule and how i really really REALLY need to and want to go so thank the heavens above he lets me go!! Anyways i lie to my cousin the whole time and tell him “sorry i can’t go but take a shot for me!” 

 
So i leave with my sister on a Friday night after work at 5 and the drive isn't too bad only 5 hours so we get there at 10 and i surprise my cousin there and everyone is excited and we are in vegas!! So mostly everyone is already kinda tipsy and tired when we get there but it’s my cousin's birthday and we gotta do something!! That night we decide to go out to Fremont street “aka the original strip” soooooo let me tell you what, Fremont is crazy!! I got 3 words for you, naked people everywhere! Just boobs, butts and man thongs or just tassels. But it was okay we didn't end up leaving until 11 and we were all so exhausted we only lasted about an hour and went back to the hotel.

 
The next day we get up and that's our party day!! We are pumped and ready to go! So we change get our best Vegas attitudes on and get the show on the road! So we head out and we are just walking on the strip my cousin and my sisters boyfriend take backpacks with them and fill them up with beers so they don't have to buy drinks which is very smart of them!! So we first go to “New York, New York” and they have an awesome roller coaster there and we see it and all of us are like we have to do it!!! So we go on it and it’s sooo awesome! The best way to start off our day on the strip!! And i have my camera with me to take a bunch of photos so i can document all the moments and post it on the blog. But anyways we keep walking on by and having a great time and we soon all become a little hangry and tired so we decide to start headed back and my cousin wants to eat at a place called “Dicks” and omg it was the best place EVER! So we walk in and we are a group of 8 and the lady asks us very angrily “how many?” And we say “8” and she leans over to the other girl and says “We got 8 bitches” and we just start cracking up!! Then the lady seats us. Then our waiter comes over and slaps a big piece of paper on the table and says “Make the table i'll be back” so we set it. He then asks us what we’d like to drink and he asks my cousin next to me first and he says “water” the guy says “waters in the toilet” moves on to me and asks me I say “water too” and he remarks “Follow that bitch” and points to my cousin lol anyways that’s the main attitude of all the waiters at the restaurant and it’s amazing. So the best part of this restaurant is they put hats on you and write very vulgar things on them like “ i love anal” and “even my mom thinks im a slut” but the most terrible one i saw was an older woman and her hat had a hole cut in the middle of it and it said “Cum dumpster” and oh my goodness i felt so bad for her. Waiters would walk by and throw paper balls at her face and it was kinda hilarious. The first one to get the hat at my table is my cousin who ordered water and it says “Im not gay … my butt is” and we just start laughing so hard because he actually is gay! And throughout the time we are there they play songs and make you sing a long and sometimes even dance and wave your hands in the air it’s just such a fun time in there i would highly recommend going there!!
   
Anyways that’s where our adventure ends and we head home the next morning and get some good rest after Vegas! But one very unfortunate thing that happened is that i lost my nice camera while i was up there …. So i have none of my artsy fartsy photos to post. Just what i had on snap chat and my phone. But i will make sure to post those for you guys!! But my main recommendation if any of you guys go to Vegas is to ride the rides and go to “Dicks” its so much fun and those were my favorite memories from Vegas! Until next time!! Have a great week everyone!

Typical selfie "peace" pose

The Vegas gang!! 

Me and Brandon. He's really excited!! 

"Im not a slut my mouth is" hat. Thanks Dicks!

The gang again on Snap chat

When is Love and Affection too much?

Good afternoon guys! So for today's post, I'd like to talk about love and affection. When you are walking outside and you see a couple holding hands and kissing, what do you think about it? Do you think it’s sweet? Or is it too much and kind of disturbing? I had a recent situation with this same problem about a month ago and I’d like to share it with you. Me and my boyfriend went out for lunch at a cute little coffee shop and we ordered lunch and some coffees then went on to look for a place to sit. There was a more secluded room with most of the seats by the walls taken up which left us no other choice but to sit in the middle of the room. We then go on taking a seat drinking our coffee, talking to each other, laughing and kissing every now and then. My food arrives and we continue, he has his hand placed on the bare of my back. I stop every once in awhile to look at the room around me. At the table next to us is a girl sitting with a coffee and her laptop who doesn't seem bothered by the world. I look to my left and there is a gentleman who also has his coffee and laptop with a newspaper who again doesn't seem to care about much around him. In the corner of the room are two older women in conversation with themselves. Behind me, there is another pair of older women engaged in conversation one with peppered hair and one with brown hair and glasses. While I finish up my lunch we share another kiss and suddenly there is a tap on my boyfriend's shoulder. As I look up there is the women with the peppered hair. She angrily says “Excuse me, can you guys stop doing that?! It's very awkward and disturbing!” We both look at each other like “... did that just really happen….” In awe we both just say “ok” The women storms back to her friend and she says, “That wasn't necessary.” which leads to the women blowing up again repeating “What!! It’s awkward!” I’m kind of baffled and embarrassed at this point and my boyfriend instantly becomes angry. You can barely hear a whisper in the little room and the fact that the women made such a scene makes things extra awkward after that. We left shortly after. We then began to wonder why was she so offended? How could she have been so bothered by a kiss that derived from such a pure and innocent love? Although I do know that sometimes society looks down on affection and thinks it’s unacceptable unless it’s under the comfort of your own home.  I am a lover of love so when I see cute couples kiss and hold hands it makes me happy for them. Overall the main bummer of this is that it made me afraid to kiss my boyfriend in public for about a week and I knew he knew it was because of the mean women and it hurt his feelings but then I came to my senses and realized I wasn't gonna let someone else's negative feelings affect my actions of love. Although I still wonder what her root of anger was it doesn't bother me and I will continue kissing my boyfriend dang it!! So to sign off today I’d like for all of you guys to “keep on keepin on” haha just kidding I just love that saying but with all jokes aside I want you to do what your heart desires even though other people might judge you in the process of it.

Wearing Pointe Shoes for the First Time

Hello everyone!! I have a short (and by short I mean long) story to tell you. I have always had an admiration for dancers and all kinds of dancing for that matter and always wanted to dance but was too shy to do so but luckily one of my friends convinced me to start ballet and I overcame my fear and I've been in love ever since. In total I have been dancing for about 3 years. I’ve been dancing contemporary for 3 years, which is like a loose form of ballet with a nice dash of sass and ballet for about 2 years now. And recently my boyfriend gifted me with pointe shoes for our one year anniversary, which was so incredible of him!! In case you guys aren't aware dancing in pointe shoes is a HUGE deal getting them is like a gold shiny metal that you treasure your entire life, you’ve reached a whole new level of dancing at that point (haha get it?!) so the fact that my teacher said I was ready was just mind blowing. The first week she helped me sew on the elastics and the ribbons so the next week I could get my feet used to doing releves, plies and rises. And that just happened last week and let me tell you what, slipping my feet in those shoes has never felt so rewarding! We just did feet/ankle strengthening so I don't break an ankle or anything and we only did that for 30 minutes and on a pain scale of 1-10 id say it hurt like a 6. So definitely uncomfortable yet amazing. When I took the shoes off I already had want to be blisters and calluses on my big toes and I've never been happier or more proud of my ugly little feet.  

Welcome To My Blog

Joyous Jenny

Welcome to my blog Joyous Jenny. First of all i’d like to introduce myself my name is Jennifer, better know as Jenny,  and i’m from a small town in Arizona and have lived here for the past 13 years now. I'm 21 years old and i’m taking a hold of my life by doing everything I love to do and going on new adventures no matter how big or scary they might seem. And you know what? The biggest drawbacks I've noticed in my life is how it happens to throw curve balls at me making me take a step back. But what I've learned is that no matter what, we can't let those things bring us down. And that's why I've  created Joyous Jenny! I want this blog to be a place where people can go to feel inspired. I'll write about certain situations that have happened to me and let you know the downfall of it but the bright side of it as well. Ultimately I want us all  to enjoy every moment in our life because the best is yet to come!