Christina Epperly
Bio
Hello There ! I'm a blogger, writer and bucket lister! My bucket list has over 300 items on it. I am big believer in enjoying the little things in life. I also love collecting toys.
John 3:16
Stories (62)
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Be bold
I'm a writer. One thing about being a writer is that my head is always filled with creative ideas about the topics that I want to write about and the grand stories that I want to tell ,but often times I never actually get around to writing about even half of the things that I want to write about. The biggest problem I have with being a writer is that I often get in my own way. I do not like to admit it, but I struggle with worrying about getting backlash from the things I want to write. I want to write my truly unfiltered opinions, but I often hold myself back. I also have a hard time making time to actually write instead of just day dreaming about it. With all that being said, I think it is pretty clear what my goals are when it comes to writing on Vocal Media this year, but since I am a writer, I will go into detail. Goal number one is to actually write. I am a writer, after all. I wish that being a writer was my main job. I know that if I want to make that dream a reality, I have to actually write. Writing on Vocal Media gives me a chance to put my writing in front of more eyes and to make some money as well. My specific goal for this year when it comes to writing more often is to write and publish three or more posts each month on vocal Media. It seems like a pretty easy goal but It is easy for work and other commitments to get in the way, but I know I can make time, and who knows? I might just be able to write my way into a whole new career. I just have to do it. As for the second part of my vocal goals for this year. I need to stop caring about what other people might think about what I write. If people do not like what I write, then they don't have to read it. It is the time to let my ideas run free on the internet within reason, of course. I wrote an article last year about some of my controversial opinions, and I was worried about what would happen, but it turned out fine and I was proud of myself. I want to really challenge myself to not hold back this year. Writing about controversial things can lead to healthy discussions and cause people to reevaluate their own point of view. I have had controversial views for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I loved Scar from the Lion King, and I was quick to defend him, and I still stand by that. Maybe I should write an article about that. When I was younger, I was bolder, and I need to get some of that boldness back. I remember that I was quick to debate other kids who had been lied to and thought that Santa Claus was real. I did not let fear hold me back from speaking my mind. I think being a writer requires a certain level of boldness, and my goal is to embrace my boldness. If I achieve both of these goals, I will at the very least grow as a writer, and at the most, I will change my whole life, in a productive and positive way. I want to encourage all of my fellow writers and storytellers to be bold as well and make your writing dreams come true. Happy 2024, Vocal writers!
By Christina Epperly2 years ago in Motivation
I left the child care industry and I have no regrets
In October of 2022, I made the choice to leave the childcare industry for good. After working in the field of childcare off and on for many years, I decided to leave it once and for all, and I'm very happy with that choice. To give all of you a quick recap. I started working in childcare while I was still in high school. Since I enjoyed doing it, I decided to make it into my career. I went to a local community college and studied early childhood education, and I earned myself two certificates in that field. During my time in the field of childcare, I discovered that it is a job with a very high turnover rate. The stress levels are very high, and in my state, the ratio is one to twelve. To sum it all up, the pressure and stress are extremely high, and the pay is very low. Teachers often spend their own money on their classrooms, and they are often mistreated by children, parents, and management. To put it bluntly, I would not recommend working in childcare to my worst enemy. Since officially leaving childcare, I have been working in the world of retail, and of course, this field of work is not perfect, but in my experience, it is many times better than the field of childcare. After a day of working in childcare, I was exhausted in every way possible. Now, after work, I'm tired, but I don't feel drained in the way I did before. I no longer have the pressure of protecting children's lives while also having to stick to a sometimes too advanced curriculum. After all my years in childcare, it became clear to me that the world of childcare is in need of a lot of help, and unfortunately, it is the children that are suffering the most from this broken industry. Of course, there are always exceptions to rules, and there are some childcare centers that are good places for children and staff to be. However, those places are few and far between. A vast majority of people enter into this industry for all the right reasons. They have a talent for teaching young children and they have a caring and kind personality but this industry as it stands now is not a healthy place for these people to be. It is not unheard of or even uncommon really for teachers to quit on the spot with little or no warning. I personally saw this happen twice, but I have also head about it happening at other schools. The pure stress and often times mistreatment that is experienced by people in this industry can turn a kind and carrying person into a bitter and cold person. It is no secret that teachers and childcare workers are not valued the way that they should be, but I feel like we do not talk about the mistreatment enough. Teachers are often fighting uphill battles in which they are trying to do what is best for the children in their care while also keeping the parents and the management happy. It was not uncommon for me to cry during my time as a childcare worker, and I'm sure many others would say the same. I sincerely worry about the state of childcare in my area and beyond. Big changes have to happen if things are going to improve. The first thing that needs to change is the ratio. A one to twelve ratio for children that are only two years of age is ridiculous and, in my opinion, dangerous. With this ratio, child care centers are able to enroll more children, but it makes the quality of care that a child receives lower. I am convinced that whoever set that ratio did not spend much time at all working with children. Even if the ratio was changed, I still would not go back to the industry after my experience with it. However, it would greatly improve the childcare industry going forward, and it would probably increase the quality of teachers who want to work in the field of preschool or childcare. To put all of my thoughts into a simple sentence, I will say that if you are thinking about becoming a preschool teacher with the rules as they currently are, especially in the state of California, don't.
By Christina Epperly2 years ago in Journal
Squishmallows are this generation's Beanie Babies
I was born in 1990, so it may not come as a shock that during my elementary school years, collecting TY beanie babies was one of my main focuses in life. I'm not sure exactly why TY Beanie Babies became so popular maybe it was that they all had names, birthdates, and poems on their cute heart-shaped tags. For one reason or another, they became the toy most everyone wanted. I remember how excited I was when I counted my collection and discovered that I had 100 of the cute plush toys in my collection. As with most popular toys, the hype eventually died down, and their popularity faded. I even eventually got rid of my collection, but I have been working to build it up again and I probably have even more Beanie Babies than I use to have. I'm not sure exactly when I became aware of Squishmallows but the hype around them definitely reminds me of the TY Beanie Baby hype and it's refreshing to see a new generation focusing on something fun and wholesome again. I know I sound like an old person when I say this, but there is an abundant supply of things for kids to worry about in today's broken world. As someone who worked with children, it is easy to feel like kids in today's world do not get to experience the joy and innocence of childhood that previous generations did. A quick Google search informed me that Squishmallows became popular through social media during 2020. It makes sense that people were looking for some comfort during that year, and it is very easy to see why they became popular during that time. However, their popularity seems to be sticking around for now as far as I can tell. I work at a store that sells them, and I love seeing kids of all ages get excited about them. We have a ton of them in stock. Just like how stores back in the 90s would have shelves full of TY Beanie Babies. There is no denying how cute Squishmallows are. Similar to TY Beanie Babies, Squishmallows have names and pomes inside their tags. This gives each plush their own personality, and it is fun to try to find one that shares your interests job or even name. This one simple thing sets plush toys like this apart from the normal everyday stuffed animals. If for some weird reason I ever had a toy company, I would work to give each toy its own back story and personality because it is easy to see that toy buyers want that. I love how popular these toys are. Kids today have it harder than my generation did, and I'm not afraid to admit that. It's refreshing to see kids excited about toys again, and I want to thank Squishmellows for helping this generation through the year of 2020 and beyond. Collecting toys is a great hobby for any age, and I'm glad that the tradition of collecting cute plush toys is alive and well. Collecting is a great hobby but you have to have something that you are interested in collecting first. There is something so charming about toys like TY Beanie Babies and Squishmallows that makes it easy for people to want to collect them. As someone who has been collecting for awhile it may be a good idea for me to give some advice to the new generation of toy collectors. My advice to this new generation of plush collectors is this. Have fun, collect as many as you can, and be very proud of your collection. However, don't let anyone tell you that collecting popular stuffed toys is a good investment and will pay for your house someday. Ask any 90s kid about that, and you will probably get more information than you ever wanted to hear. I hope that the popularity of Squishmellows stays around for a very long time and that the next generation has something similar to collect.
By Christina Epperly2 years ago in Geeks
Warning controversy ahead!. Content Warning.
One of my favorite quotes from the world of professional wrestling is " Controversy creates cash. " - Eric Bischoff. If you think about it, it's very true. Nothing draws people quite like a controversy. Everyone jumps in to pick a side and defend their point of view. However, I thought that it would be interesting to put this quote to the test. Below, I have listed just three of my controversial opinions. I'm curious to see if this article will become popular with battles going on in the comments or if it will be just another internet article lost in the sea of other articles. Are you ready for some controversy?
By Christina Epperly2 years ago in Confessions
Underrated life mile stones
When you think of life milestones, a few things, such as graduation, getting a high paying job, buying a house, getting married, having kids, and getting your driver's license, may come to mind. These milestones are no doubt big accomplishments that should be celebrated. However, there are many other important life milestones that are often overlooked. In our world today it is very easy to compare yourself to others, and oftentimes, these well-known milestones are used to compare yourself and your accomplishments to other people and the things that they have accomplished. It is important to remember that everyone is different and we all have different resources and challenges in out lives, It is also important for everyone to remember that there are many different kinds of milestones outside of the well-known ones that I mentioned above. I have written a list below of life accomplishments that I consider to be underrated milestones. I know that there are many more milestones outside other than the ones below. Please feel free to share your own life milestones in the comments section.
By Christina Epperly3 years ago in Motivation
70 Ways to add some joy to your day
In today's world, it is so easy to get caught up in our normal work or school schedule that all we can focus on surviving the day. We often save all our excitement for the days that we have off. However, we never know how many days we have left, and it is important to try and find joy in our everyday routines. I have come up with a list of simple ways that you can add a little joy to your normal everyday routines. Of course, everyone has different resources and responsibilities, so not all of these ideas will work for everyone, but I hope that this list will inspire you to smile more and to enjoy life more. Please feel free to leave your own ideas in the comments. I'm excited to see what you come up with. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy your day today!
By Christina Epperly3 years ago in Lifehack
Write down your bucket list!
In the year of 2012, I started my bucket list. I liked the idea of writing down my goals and crossing them off one by one. After writing down the ideas that were in my head, I turned to the internet for more inspiration. Since then, I have crossed off many items from my bucket list. I have also added many items to my bucket list. Currently, my list has 315 items, including the items that I have already crossed off. My bucket list is filled with a wide variety of items. It includes simple items like drawing on a pair of shoes, swimming in a pool with glow sticks, and sleeping on a trampoline it also has more difficult items like reading the Bible cover to cover ,being able to run a mile easily and flying in a private jet. Every time I cross an item off my bucket list, I feel a strong sense of accomplishment. Having a bucket list and crossing off the items on it has become one of my main hobbies. My blog that I started about my bucket in 2015 has also become one of my main hobbies. Even though I write about a lot of different things on my blog other than my bucket list, I do not think that my blog would be what it is today without my bucket list. I often hear people talk about something being a bucket list experience or being on their bucket list however from what I have been able to discover most of these people do not have a bucket list that is written down. They have goals and ideas in their head ,but trust me, it is easy to forget bucket list items when they are only in your head. The purpose of this article is to encourage everyone to write down their bucket list. It makes it much easier to remember what your life goals are when you have them written down. It is also a lot more fun! I know I said it already, but I will say to it again. There is something so satisficing about crossing items off your bucket list. The sense of accomplishment that you get when you cross out a number on your list is a truly beautiful feeling. There is no way that simply doing something that you have wanted to do could give you the same feeling as actually marking off a number. Having a bucket list is also something that can help people get to know you more. You can tell a lot about a person just by looking at their bucket list. Also, if you ever play an ice breaker game where you have to say an interesting fact about yourself, saying that you have a bucket list that is written down is a great thing to say. You can also tell people how many items are on your list as a second interesting thing about yourself . Having an actual bucket list is a great conversation starter. Another great thing about having a bucket list is that it is a great topic for a blog, vlog, or podcast. I honestly do not know why more people do not write their lists down. Having a bucket list can be a great form of self care. In my experience, having a bucket list helps to build self-confidence, and it can be a source of positive memories when you are feeling sad. There are many positive points to having a bucket list, and it is a hobby that anyone can start. I have two main pieces of advice for people who are building their bucket list. Number one, try to think of things that you really wanted to do years ago. Adding your childhood wishes to your bucket list can be a lot of fun. Number two do not make it too hard. Be sure to add items that are easy to cross off so that you do not become frustrated. I hope this article has given you some inspiration to start a bucket list or to make your current bucket list even longer. Happy bucket listing!
By Christina Epperly3 years ago in Motivation
Ruby the famous cat
Ruby stretched out her legs and paws as the early morning sun came in through the bedroom window. She knew that her favorite human that was called Olive would be waking up soon. She was excited for the day ahead. They were going to be traveling to a large event on the other side of the country where they both would be performing for a large crowd of people. Ruby loved Olive more than any human she had ever met, and she had met a lot of them, especially since she and Olive had become famous. Olive was the one who had rescued her from the laboratory where she and many other cats had been used for experiments. Olive was the one who had discovered that the people at the lab had figured out how to make cats talk. It all began when Olive was walking on a trail that was located across the road from the lab where Ruby and her friends were. A brave kitten named Cypress had managed to escape the lab,and he had found Olive. He was young, and he had no idea that most people did not know that cats could be made to speak in the same way that humans could. When Cypress spoke to Olive, she almost passed out from the shock. However, Olive turned out to be just the person that all the lab cats needed. Olive had posted a video of the Cypress online. In the video, Cypress told the world about the lab. However that was not all Olive had done she was worried that the people at the lab would try to get rid of the cats to cover up their work so she had made sure that the police could get into the lab before she posted the video. All the people involved were arrested for the illegal experiments that they had done on the cats. After the rescue the cats were all adopted to good homes. Olive had wanted a friend for Cypress, so she adopted Ruby. Cypress was not a huge fan of all the fame and attention, but Ruby was. Olive was a struggling actor and writer when she had found Cypress. After posting the video that led to the awareness of the situation at the lab. She began to get offers to be on many different TV shows, movies, and pod casts. Cypress had enjoyed all the excitement at first, but since he had gotten older, he was not as outgoing as he used to be. Ruby was happy to step in and take Cypress's place in the spotlight while Cypress stayed home and relaxed. Ruby was very excited about the event that they were going to. She had been in movies and TV shows, but live events and meet and greets were new to her. She loves meeting her fans, and she had been day dreaming about all the fans she would be meeting and talking to. Her fans loved to hear her talk, and she was more than happy to talk to them. Just a few minutes after Ruby had woken up, Olive's alarm began to make loud noise that Ruby hated. Fortunately, Olive heard the alarm just seconds after it started making noise, so she was able to quickly turn it off before it bothered Ruby's sensitive ears too much. Olive greeted Ruby by telling her good morning and petting her on the head. Ruby asked Olive if she had slept well, and Olive responded that it was not long enough. There was not much time before they had to leave, but luckily, everything they needed had been packed up the night before. About an hour later, Olive's friend Aaron arrived to take them to the airport. Ruby loved flying because she got to see a lot of people she loved to see the people, and the people loved to see her. However, she did not like being in such a small space for so long. But she was good at sleeping during the flight and making the time pass quickly. Before she knew it, the. The plane had arrived at the destination. There was a car waiting for them when they got off the plane and it took them to a big fancy hotel in the city that they would be performing in the next day. The next morning was not as relaxing as the one before Ruby and Olive had to rush out the door to make it to the stage to practice before their performance. luckily, there was time for a quick breakfast Ruby could not perform without breakfast. After practice, it was time for their first meet and greet of the day. Ruby and Olive had a great time meeting their fans. Ruby loved the way her fluffy white hair looked against the blue background as she took photos with fans. After a short break, it was time to go back to the stage to perform. As Ruby looked out on the audience, she realized just how happy she was. Her life had not gotten off to a great start, but now it was so perfect that she wouldn't change a thing. After Olive and Ruby were introduced, they walked out on the Ruby, opened her mouth, spoke into the microphone, and said hello to all her new friends
By Christina Epperly3 years ago in Fiction
Sixty amazing ideas for your next scavenger hunt
I love scavenger hunts! I don't know why exactly why. I've only been on three scavenger hunts that I can remember, and it has been many years since the last one that I participated in. When I was in my teen years, I loved looking at YouTube videos of scavenger hunts. I have recently started looking at scavenger hunt videos again. There are many different types of scavenger hunts. Some of them involve taking pictures of certain objects, others have questions you have to answer, and then there are ones with tasks that have to be completed and then photographed or recorded for proof. Some scavenger hunts determine a winner by the number of items completed, and other scavenger hunts use a point system to determine a winner. It does not matter what system you are using it can be difficult to come up with ideas to put on your scavenger hunt list. I decided to do my part to help solve that problem by making a list of items that you could include in your next scavenge hunt. I have put the list in categories based on different types of scavenger hunts. I hope your next scavenger hunt is super fun!
By Christina Epperly3 years ago in Motivation
Valentine's Day is for everyone!
Hello, there before I go any further. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm 32 years old, and I have never officially been in a relationship. The reason why is complicated, but I will try to make it as simple as possible. I have been on a date before, but I have come to the realization that I only liked the idea of being in a relationship. We are told through many different forms of media that when you grow up , you fall in love, and then you get married. It's just what you do. Naturally, I thought that I would eventually find someone. However, I have figured out that being single is what's right for me. That being said, it does get difficult to be single at my age. Sometimes, I'm proud of being single. Other times, it can be really challenging. I know that I can't be the only one in this situation so I decided to write about it. When it comes to Valentine's Day, I have a love-hate relationship with it. I have good memories of this holiday when I was a kid, but as I got older, it got less fun. Sometimes, it was hard in my teens and early adult years watching everyone who was in a relationship celebrate their love. It was easy to feel left out even if you knew that more than half the relationships being celebrated wouldn't stand the test of time. Sometimes, it feels like Valentine's Day presents itself as a holiday that only certain people can celebrate. That the holiday is only for children to celebrate with their classmates or for adults who are lucky enough to have a romantic relationship. Sometimes, you can ignore the fact that Valentine's Day is approaching, but when the day comes and everyone is posting about the person they are in love with, it can make you feel inferior. I know that I am loved by family, friends, and my cat. However ,since I don't have romantic love in my life, it is easy to feel like I have a lower status than other people around me. Sometimes, this makes me sad or even angry. With all that being said recently, I have found that the best way to fight back is to think positively and to be thankful for all the blessings you do have in your life. This year I'm going to celebrate Valentine's Day and I'm excited about it. I have learned that a lot of times, it is best to ignore the media's expectations for you and to set your own expectations and goals for yourself, and Valentine's Day is no different. Love comes in many different forms, and no matter what the media say, the love of family and friends is just as valuable as the love that comes from a romantic partner. I used to think that the best was to fight back against my feelings of being left out was to be against Valentine's Day and to be negative towards it but now I have discovered that it is much better and healthier to celebrate Valentines Day anyway no matter what you are told. You have the power to make Valentinus's Day a great day no matter your relationship status. You can make or order dinner for your family, buy your friend a heart shaped box full of chocolate, decorate your home or workplace with hearts, and you can buy yourself a gift or even get yourself a card. Instead of being upset this year, I'm going to celebrate all the love and blessings I have in my life, and I recommend that anyone who is feeling left out do the same thing. I guess the only thing left to say is I hope whoever is reading this has a truly beautiful and wonderful February 14th! Happy Valentine's Day!
By Christina Epperly3 years ago in Motivation
