Bad Bachelor Track Record

It appears that Bachelor star Juan Pablo Galarvis and girlfriend Nikki Ferrell have officially called it quits after attempting to rekindle their relationship in Couples Therapy. That makes 22 failed relationships from the ABC hit TV show, The Bachelor. So why do they have such a bad track record when it comes to love? After all, it is a show that is aimed to help people find the love of their lives. 

Out of the 28 seasons of the Bachelor and the Bachelorette, only 6 couples have made it even after the cameras have stopped rolling and the season finales have aired. Some went on to get married and have children and others are planning their weddings at the moment, so be watching for that next Bachelor/Bachelorette live wedding!

Of that six, four are married and the other two are engaged. The very first couple to pull through, Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter got married in December of 2003 and now are married happily and have two children together. Jason Mesnick was a Bachelor and proposed to the winner of his season Melissa Rycroft but proceeded to break up with her on their After the Final Rose special, telling her that he fell back in love with his season’s runner up Molly Melaney, now Molly Mesnick as they got married and recently welcomed a baby girl, Riley. 

Other couples are Bachelorette Ashley Hebert who is now Ashley Rosenbaum. Ashley married finalist J.P. Rosenbaum and they now have a son Fordham Rosenbaum.  Season 18 Bachelor Sean Lowe, proposed to his bride to be Catherine Giudici and they wed on national television in a ABC live event. Desiree Hartstock who was sent home on Sean’s season became the next Bachelorette and is currently engaged to fiancee Chris Siegfried and Andi Dorfman, the most recent Bachelorette is now engaged to former baseball player Josh Murray.

So why out of 28 possible marriages did only 6 actually make it to their big day? I think that it’s easy to be in love and carry out that relationship when the cameras are rolling and it’s not out in the real world but when the filming ends and those couples are forced to adapt their relationship to reality, it makes it hard for them to make it work. It makes it especially hard to adapt when you become such a recognizable couple and the media is all over your relationship as if they’re just waiting for them to call it off so that they can be the first to report the breakup. 

I believe that the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are good shows that try to help people find love, but I also believe that it’s really not relatable for people. When people are taken out of the context of reality, it makes it so much easier for them to focus on each other and pursue the relationship, but when the show ends and they are thrown back into reality, that’s when you see many of the relationships die because they now have to face all of the difficulties that come with that the first half of their relationship didn’t have to deal with.

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This is the month of pink. Everywhere you look you’ll see pink, pink and more pink. As you probably know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s the month where we make people aware of the harshness of the disease that so many women have to endure all over the world. 

To me, I love the month of October and I love the idea of dedicating a whole month to making people aware and raising money for such a good cause. Although part of me starts to wonder if the whole month is beginning to lose a little bit of it’s meaning.

In the beginning, it was all about raising the awareness for this cancer that didn’t have a cure and was affecting women everywhere, and now you see more of just all the pink and less of the explanation and talk of the meaning behind it all.

All month you see NFL football players wearing pink somewhere on your uniform and clothing brands come out with a pink line of clothing, but I’m starting to notice it being talked about less. The only time i’ve really seen it talked about so far this month is doing a pink out for high school football games. 

I love all the walks/runs that they do to raise awareness and allowing people to make teams in memory of people they know who have had breast cancer and been fortunate enough to overcome it or for the people who haven’t been as lucky is great as well. Maybe it’s just the city that I live in, but I have noticed a decrease in talk about Breast Cancer Awareness Month this year and I don’t like it, I think this month should really be recognized as it has in the past and I don’t want to see it fade.

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Misty Upham Tragedy

Many people know Misty Upham for her starring role in the 2008 film Frozen River. On October 5, 2014 the family of Misty shared via social media that they had not seen or heard from Misty since the previous weekend and that they were concerned for her welfare as she has had both mental and physical health issues in the past.

At the time of the announcement, the police did not open up a case or declare Upham as a missing person due to occasions in the past where they have been called during her disappearance but she had always been located soon after. I think that the police approached this the wrong way in this situation. 

They said that they never opened up a case because she had always been found within days after opening the case but this time by the time the family had contacted the local police department, Misty had already been missing for almost a week. The police also should not have just gone off of the previous record. If they would have not have gone off of what has happened in the past and opened up a missing persons case then you can’t help but wonder if they would have found Misty alive.

They found Misty on October 16, 2014 at the bottom of a cliff in the middle of a wooded area. She was discovered by her family during a small search party that they had organized with a few other members of their tribe. People believe that Misty’s death was an accident, that she tripped or slipped and fell down the cliff and that her life could have been saved if there had been a more open and thorough search done by the police department.

The family of Misty Upham is now speaking out about the lack of involvement they received from the local police department and telling people that if the department had gotten involved like it is their duty to do, they could have prevented Misty’s death. They have accused the department of lying and saying that they didn’t have evidence that pointed to Misty being a missing person when they really did and have told the media that the police department decided not to get involved because of past abuse to Misty.

I hope that the whole situation could have been completely avoided and I hope that they are able to get this figured out because I would never want something like this to happen to anyone else or anyone else’s family have to go through what Misty’s family went through. R.I.P. Misty Upham.

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Ebola Paranoia

Lately, everyone has been extremely worried about a disease that’s been in Africa for awhile, but it just now making an appearance in the United States. That disease is Ebola. Ebola is a disease that in the later stages causes it's victims to bleed both internally and externally. Most of the time, the early symptoms are a lot like that of the common cold. A fever, sore throat, headache etc. 

The first reports of Ebola being present in the US were of Thomas Eric Duncan, a  Liberian who came to the United States to visit family in Dallas. Duncan passed away from the Ebola virus on October 8, but not before he transferred the disease to two nurses that were working his case during his stay at the hospital. Both nurses, Nina Pham and Amber Vinson tested positive for the Ebola virus days after complaining of a fever. 

Ebola is terrifying people around the nation frankly because of the fact that we have absolutely no idea how to cure it and it can be spread so quickly and in so many different ways. It’s also scary the fact that the early symptoms can easily be mistaken for  just the common flu and can be misdiagnosed unless medical  professionals are made aware of any previous exposure.

Now we have the big debate over the fact of pets. Many people think that pets are transferring the virus somehow. When nurse Nina Pham was diagnosed, her dog was put into quarantine and now they are debating whether they should put the dog to sleep so they don’t have to possibly risk the transfer of the virus to other people. This news has brought so many people into the debate such as animal rights activists who are trying to keep the dog as well as any other pets from being “murdered.”

It’s really sad that it has to go one way or the other. We either have to end the life of an innocent animal in order to eliminate risk, and if we don’t then we take the chance of losing the lives of many innocent people. So it all comes down to the one hard choice of which to choose. I think that the people in a position of power will choose the innocent lives of humans over innocent animals any day, but either decision they make will have people against it and leave people upset.

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That Time of the Year: Haunted Houses

It’s just that time of the year again. People break out the costumes and masks and prepared to be scared. That’s right folks, it’s time for haunted houses. For me personally, I absolutely love going to haunted houses. Although I’m always terrified going in and I need someone with me at all times, I still love going and putting myself through the torture of almost peeing my pants every 5 minutes.

Every year, I always do the special trip to the haunted houses in my area. That’s right, for some reason I don’t just do one, every year I continually put myself through the agony of 2 or 3 haunted houses in one night. But it’s a tradition and I love doing it.

The one thing I’ve been super interested in are all the extremely scary haunted houses that I continue to hear about. I kept hearing about this haunted house in Baton Rouge that’s 13 stories of pure scary and they actually use live snakes and spiders and such. So I did a little research and the stuff is true!

The haunted house in Baton Rouge, LA is called 13 Gates and it’s 13 floors of complete terror and fear. Honestly I don’t know how someone could put themselves through that. They even have to put up a warning telling people that it they have faint heart problems, it’s advised that they shouldn’t go! How can someone put themselves through that? And there’s so many more haunted houses that are just like that! Some even go year round! I feel like if I tried any of those, I would possibly be emotionally unstable after!

There’s a certain level of scary that I can go through and the haunted houses in my area are about as much as I can take. Like really, live snakes and spiders!? I already have a deathly fear of them and then put them in the context of people in scary masks popping out at random points on top of that and it’s almost guaranteed that I will pass out!

If you are one of those people that love to be extremely scared then I totally suggest getting online and finding the scariest haunted house that you can, but for me I think I’ll just stick to the ones close to me that I know and I know I won’t die of fear because of!

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Long Awaited Gossip Girl Baby is Finally Here!

Finally, something that so many people have waited for is finally happening. Movie stars and loved couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have announced that they are expecting a child! Personally, when I found out I was very excited. Blake Lively is one of my favorite actresses of all time since I started watching her on Gossip Girl a couple of years ago and Ryan Reynolds is just a great and extremely attractive actor.

This power couple announced their pregnancy via Blake’s website when they posted a maternity picture of Blake. The couple has received absolutely nothing but great vibes from fans on the news.

When I first started watching Gossip Girl, I completely fell in love with Blake Lively and her character Serena van der Woodsen. I love her look and the things she stood for on the show so I’ve been a huge fan ever since. I was super happy when they announced the pregnancy. From reading about them in magazines, I’ve known that since they got married, they’ve always told people they wanted to have kids and start a family.

Of course it didn’t surprise me one bit that the couple didn’t divulge their pregnancy to fans until Lively was well past her first trimester but she did spill the news to her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars long before anyone else.

Blake Lively first met on the set of their movie, Green Lantern when they were both dating and married to other people. Their relationship started out with a friendship which is something that anyone would hope for their relationship someday. I think that it is so great that the couple made it a priority to have a solid friendship before proceeding with a relationship. They started dating and wed in 2012 and now look where we are! Awaiting the arrival of their first child who will no doubt be an adorable little baby!

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Football In Full Swing

NFL football has become such a huge part of American Society. I know in my house, once August rolls around and preseason starts, Sundays become designated football days, and our TV is on ESPN nonstop. I absolutely love the game of football. Now I would never play it, but for me it’s such a fun sport to just watch. Sure, watching your favorite team every week on your TV is fun but let me tell you, there is nothing better than getting to go to the stadium and watch everything happen live. Each year, the NFL makes approximately $800,000 dollars in ticket sales for each game. When you go to the stadium, there’s no commercial breaks or TV buffering, it’s all just happening live.

            I’ve had the luxury of being able to go to at least one football game each year. I am a Green Bay Packers fan (yes, I can hear some of you groan) and so is basically everyone on my Dad’s side of the family. After waiting for about 30 or more years, my grandparents were able to get Packers season tickets, so we have reserved seats for each home game. Since I was 11 years old, my dad has taken me to one every year, and the memories I have acquired are unforgettable.

            My first game that I went to was the Packers vs. the Bears and it was probably my favorite. When I arrived at the stadium, I was completely taken aback by how large it was and how many people were there. When we were able to find our seats, we sat by two older ladies. One of them was completely decked out in Packer gear, like I’m talking head to toe even her socks and shoes were Packers. I immediately fell in love with her entire outfit and I guess she could tell because a couple minutes into the 1^st quarter, she started handing me small pieces of her outfit. All in all, I think I got a pin, a hairpiece, a scarf and some pom poms that day!

            Some games you may not have the best experience. About 2 years ago, I attended the Packer vs. Vikings game at Lambeau Field. There were so many people drinking at that game, as you would expect for a football game, but what I wasn’t expecting was that many people who were extremely drunk. About a half hour before the game even started, we went to our seats and when we got there, there was a drunk man the row in front of us talking on the phone. He was asking his friend where he was and then I turned around and saw another man a row behind us also drunk talking on the phone as well. To me it sounded like they were having almost the same conversation. Turned out they were, they were just so drunk that they couldn’t figure out where they were.

            So with football season back in full swing now, millions of Americans will begin to dig through their pockets to purchase the tickets that will give them the memories to last a lifetime and something so much more fun than watching it on TV.

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