 Would you rather walk through a graveyard at midnight or spend a night in a spooky abandoned old house? I would rather walk through a graveyard at midnight. I think that if spirits exist, they’d likely be around their families and loved ones rather than in the graveyard. Would you rather dunk for apples or carve a jack-lantern? I would rather carve a jack-o-lantern because right now dunking for apples is pretty dangerous with COVID. Would you rather meet a vampire or meet a werewolf? I would rather meet a vampire because I don’t think werewolves traditionally know what they’re doing, but a vampire does. By that I mean that most werewolf stories feature the person waking up having no memory of what they’ve done to others.
Would you rather be dressed up as Superman / Wonder Woman or as Batman / Catwoman? I would rather dress up as Wonder Woman because I don’t think a latex suit would be very flattering on me! Would you rather go trick or treating or stay home and watch a scary movie? When I was a kid, I would have picked Trick or Treating. But, I love scary movies so much, so I would much rather stay home and watch one of those.
Would you rather eat candy apple or candy corn? I think candy apples are a little hard on the teeth, so I’ll go with candy corn. Would you rather go to a real haunted house or watch a horror movie marathon? I would 100 percent rather watch a horror movie marathon. I love watching movies, especially scary ones.
Would you rather have a creative costume or a scary costume? I’ve always been a fan of creative costumes. I grew up with a very crafty nana and mom, and so creativity is in my veins.
Would you rather watch a scary movie with a scary movie buff or watch a scary movie with a scaredy cat? I’m used to watching scary movies with both. I like watching them with scaredy cats because I think it is funny to see what they find scary vs. what I find scary. Would you rather be absolutely terrified of the dark or be afraid of the the thing underneath your bed? I love the dark, so I guess I’d rather be afraid of the thing under my bed. You can’t really get away from darkness. Maybe I could sleep on the couch instead.
Would you rather get attacked by a giant spider or a spooky skeleton? Omg, spooky skeleton. I hate spiders, so a giant one wouldn’t work well for me. Would you rather eat candy every day for a month or have no candy for a month? I would rather have no candy for a month because there are other sweets I could have, and I wouldn’t want to get sick of candy!
Would you rather visit a haunted house or a haunted graveyard? Haunted graveyard because there wouldn’t be doors that ghosts could lock and I could get away much easier. Would you rather be scared or make someone else scared? I would rather make someone else scared.
Would you rather go trick or treating with a group of friends or with a group of family members?
Family members. Is Trick or Treating a family tradition for you? It was when I was a kid. Would you rather have candy for dinner or have candy for breakfast? Candy for breakfast because it can give me energy for the day.
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 Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I like to think I know a lot about it already. However, I find myself learning more and more each year when I do my annual Spooktober series. In today’s blog post, I wanted to share 8 interesting Halloween facts with you all. 1: THE TOP PUMPKIN PRODUCING STATE IS ILLINOIS
2: THE HOLIDAY IS CENTURIES OLDOriginally, the holiday of Halloween was celebrated as an end-of-summer festival and marked the end of fall harvest times. Obviously, the holiday developed different traditions, but the act of trick-or-treating came sooner rather than later. In medieval times, youngsters dressed in costumes would go knocking on neighbors’ doors to perform a song or trick for food or money! 3: A HALLOWEEN TRADITION TO FIND A HUSBAND? You read that right. Young women in the 18th century developed rituals for Halloween that would help them catch a man! They would throw apple peels over their shoulders. It was said the first initial of their future husband could be seen in the pattern of the fallen peels! 4: ANIMAL SUPERSTITIONS
5: A LOT OF TRADITIONS CAME FROM THE IRISH
6: A GREAT MAGICIAN DIED ON ALL HALLOWS EVE I had no idea, but apparently Harry Houdini, the renowned magician, died on Oct. 31, 1926, from a ruptured appendix. For some reason, I always though Houdini died from performing one of his renowned tricks, but it seems I was wrong! 7: MORE CANDY IS PURCHASED ON HALLOWEEN THAN ON V-DAY
8: CANDY CORN IS THE MOST PRODUCED HALLOWEEN CANDY I was shocked to learn this because almost everyone I know hates the stuff, despite my love for it. Apparently nearly 35 million pounds of it is produced each and every year. I hope you enjoyed this fun list, and I hope you learned something new. I know I did. Have a great day and be sure to check back here or over at YouTube.com/gemusiclover throughout the month of October for Spooktober 2021.
 PIRATE
WITCH/HOGWARTS HOUSE
CUTE CANDY CORN
DEVIL/DEMON
 1: NURSE/DOCTOR
What I hope I don’t see, but know that I will, are costumes poking fun at COVID-19. I know that some people choose to deal with tough subjects by making them into jokes, but COVID-19 is nothing to joke about. 2: RESURGENCE OF TWILIGHT CHARACTERS
3: BO BURNHAM “INSIDE” LOOKS
The special was funny at times but sobering for most of it. Burnham tackles subjects like technology addiction, opinions, social injustice, and politics. Burnham managed to capture visually pleasing footage, many frames of which were turned into trends on TikTok. 4: CRUELLA DEVILLE
5: BRIDGERTON LOOKS
6: ZOOM-RELATED COSTUMES
1: LINVILLE FALLS, N.C.
2: ASHEVILLE, N.C.
3: NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.
4: BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY, VA. Photo from Blue Ridge Parkway I'm a sucker for the South in fall, I know. Most of the items on this list have been Southern towns. However, I can't express how pretty the Blue Ridge Parkway is in fall. It's a great option if you're looking to stay in the car and stop along the way at pretty lookouts. As you can see by this gorgeous photo, there's so much lovely foliage in the fall. Not to mention that the Blue Ridge Parkway stretches from Souther Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. 5: GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS, TENN.
That's all for today's post. Tell me in the comments where your favorite place to visit in the fall is! Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
 1. You are sometimes your worst critic. 2. It’s OK to not be OK, and to seek help for it. 3. Removing that toxic person from your life can help you accomplish great things. 4. Love your community, and do what you can to make it better. 5. Speak up, even when it is hard or unpopular. 6. Call your loved ones, because one day you could wake up and they could be gone.
12. Don’t let other people steal your peace. 13. [Some] social media is fake. 14. All things truly do work for the good of those who love the Lord. 15. Take life one step at a time. 16. Find a spouse that’s willing to carry the mental load of your problems with you
24. Weirdly enough, astrological signs and characteristics are pretty on point. 25. Stop wasting time hoping everyone will like you .
 Disclaimer: I am sad and that is the dominate emotion I am struggling with. I am not suicidal. However, this is a pretty heavy post, so if you are struggling with that, this may not be the best post for you to read. If you or someone you know is struggling with these thoughts, please phone the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. A few weeks ago, my nana passed away unexpectedly. I was close to her all my life, but she became reclusive as she got older. She also had dementia and could be combative about doing what was best for her health at times. I’m guessing this is where my stuck and depressed feelings are coming from. That alongside anxiety I have for addressing anything that ever goes wrong in our rental with my landlord.
Those who don’t have a creative or physical outlet take comfort in talking to people. But I can’t seem to allow myself to do that, either. The people I love who will read this might get upset at me for saying that, because they’ve never given me a reason to feel like they wouldn’t be there for me.
I have no doubt in my mind that God has blessed me and my family, even though we’ve had a horrible experience in the last few weeks with losing someone unexpectedly. People have shown kindness and love, and family bonds have been strengthened. And because all of that, I have this overwhelming hate for my current depressive state and the fact that my brain can’t seem to sit that feeling aside for more positive thinking.
So, if you got this far, thank you for reading and hearing me out. Writing truly is a source of joy and maybe even therapy for me. Plus, I always ask myself if sharing my thoughts and feelings could benefit someone. I know I’m not alone in this feeling, but I would love to know if you have ever felt this way and what may have worked best for you when you were in this place.  I got a call from my mom last night telling me to head to the gas station to fill up my car. Why? Because the United States had been hit with a ransomware attack and a hacking group was holding access to the Colonial Pipeline hostage until they receive a payment from the government. According to the hacking group, their goal is to get money from this attack, not disrupt society. However, they underestimated just how involved gas is in our nation and in the eastern United States.
Our economy largely depends on gas for the transportation of goods to stores. Goods like groceries, medication, and clothing, not to mention our precious Amazon packages. This cyberattack certainly has and will disrupt our society, as the Colonial Pipeline fuels much of the eastern U.S. But what can we do to make our gas last? Let me offer up a few tips in today's short blog post.
If people continue to hoard the gas, it is very possible that limits and restrictions will be placed on how much gas each person can use.
5. Cut down on car idling time: I don't know about you, but sometimes I tend to let my car idle while I'm listening to the rest of an awesome song, on the phone with my mom after a long day of work, or when I'm eating my lunch in my car. According to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Idling uses up to half a gallon of fuel per hour! Idling even for a few minutes can cost a pretty penny down the line!
​I’ve always been told that a happy life is a balanced life, meaning that giving the proper time to family, work, hobbies, and self is imperative if you want a life worth living.
For me, though, that was much easier said than done. After graduating college, I drenched myself in cynicism. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I became a rather negative person. This, of course, resulted in several people in my life telling me to “just be positive.†My response was always the same: “The situation isn’t positive, so I’m not going to force myself to make it positive.â€
​I was filling myself with anxiety and, as a result, stress over situations that didn’t even exist. But after I visited the ER for what I thought was something serious only to find out it was nothing, I began to change my tune.
I was feeling anxious, for sure, but also sick. I felt like I had no energy, and my arm was hurting. I was freaking out. All my life, I’ve been told that I am high risk for things because I’m fat. Heart attacks, strokes, etc. Plus, my mom has a stroke history. So, it scared me enough to make me go to the ER, despite an “all clear†from an urgent care facility.
​It was then that I decided that I needed to find the balance. I needed to be positive about the things I didn’t have enough information about. I needed to work on my work-life balance and leaving the stress of the job in the office instead of taking it home with me. I needed to stop worrying so much about offending people when I disagreed with them and just say what I wanted to say kindly and professionally. I had to realize that not everyone will like me, and I shouldn’t let someone’s dislike of me control my life and cause me stress.
TIPS FOR MANAGING STRESS
1. GET INVOLVED: I know that might sound counter-intuitive, but getting involved in a hobby or organization that brings you joy or purpose can really help ease everyday stress.
2. WRITE IT/SAY IT: I got into the habit of taking videos of myself venting, or writing out what makes me stressed or angry. This really helped me think through my stress and realize where my mind was taking me. 3. LEARN TO TURN OFF: If you have a job and you didn't agree to be available 24/7, unplug from that job after the work day. Leave the stress of your job at your desk and enjoy your time off. 4. DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS: This one is hard for me and something I still struggle with. It is easy for someone like me to get a headache and immediately think I have something really wrong with me. If something is worrying you, go to the doctor or think up more reasonable reasons why you feel sick. If it is still worrying you, go get checked out. If you're unsure of something someone said, ask them about it. Don't make up scenarios in your head and add stress unnecessarily. 5. DO SOMETHING FOR YOU: We each spend a lot of our time doing things for other people. Working extra hard at our job, taking care of children or pets, serving in organizations. But we sometimes don't do anything for ourselves. No matter if it is deciding to get a mani/pedi every two weeks, buy yourself a new outfit, or hire a babysitter so you can get out of the house. Do it. Give yourself time to decompress and get away from your stressors. 
I've found that many women, like me, are hesitant to share their accomplishments. They feel like, when they share these great things about themselves, they're being egotistical. I find myself feeling that way when I share about something great in my life, so I often keep it quiet.
But not today! Today, I want to brag on myself. But first, I want to acknowledge that I give glory to God and thanks to my family for all that I've accomplished. I couldn't have done it all on my own, and I'm thankful for my support system. AWARD-WINNING WRITER/JOURNALIST
MILLENNIAL ADVISORY COMMISSION MEMBER
BLOGGING/TIKTOKING SUCCESSES
GREEK WITH THE HIGHEST GPA
I'M JUST REALLY GOOD AT MY JOB
I get it. People don't like talking about it. But I'm really good at my job. I get my work done, and I make sure it is the best content it can possibly be. I love the people I meet, the experiences I've had, and the things I've made. I'm great at what I do, and I'm going to say it. I was recently approached about judging some marketing projects for a doctoral program. I was the only one on the panel without a doctorate or master's degree. People care about what I think, and that makes me feel good about myself! I am so happy to help people in whatever ways I can. It make me feel needed and valued.
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