Steph Drahozal

After my mom died, people said things to me along the lines of, “at least you knew it was coming so you had time to prepare.” I look back on this statement, because now, close to a year and a half later, I don’t feel like I was ever really prepared. I agree that it was better to know my mom was sick and to be able to say my goodbyes to her, rather than her dying abruptly and unexpectedly. And technically I did have time to “prepare” myself. I started “preparing” myself the day I was with my mom at the doctor's office my junior year of high school when they told us they found a tumor.  However, I keep writing “prepare” in quotation marks because I don’t think there is ever really a way to prepare yourself for the loss of a loved one. I knew it was coming, and I knew soon I would have a life without her, but it is so hard to imagine while she is still there with you. I am no dummy. I understand science, facts, and statistics. I knew my mom’s odds were not good at all. I ...

Okay so I wrote this one back in June as well, just publishing a bit late... Graduation was very bittersweet. I was obviously sad to graduate and leave Virginia Tech, my home for the last four years, and all the friends I made there. I am going to miss not starting my days until 10 am (or so…), the $2 beers, the day drinking, the football games, the Law & Order: SVU marathons with my roommates… Graduation was also tough for me for another reason. I remember sitting in Lane Stadium in 2012 watching my brother walk out onto the field in his cap and gown. I was sitting right next to my mom and remember her telling me how happy she was to be at Chris’s graduation and all the wanted was to see me graduate, too. I told her not to worry about it, of course she would see me graduate. At the time, I really didn’t think that was going to be an issue- I thought for sure she would live that long, she was doing so well! Unfortunately, my mom was not physically there to see...

Another check off the bucket list… Skydiving! So I wrote this post right after I went skydiving and was just too lazy to publish it until now... My family is all about fun and trying new things. We had casually talked about skydiving a few times, but never made any concrete plans to do so. Last August, my cousin Melissa bought her husband a skydiving voucher for his birthday. We were all jealous until every time he tried to go it got rescheduled due to weather. Once it kept getting pushed back and pushed back, we had a brilliant idea- hey, why don’t we join him? We can do it after Steph graduates and make it a sort of graduation thing too! Graduate from college, jump out a plane 13,000 feet in the sky… Sounds about right. So we did it. Dad bought us all vouchers for Christmas (thanks, Dad!). Dad, Chris, Anna, Melissa, Tom and I all looked at our schedules and picked a weekend that we could all jump. It was actually finally happening! We hyped ourselves up (luckily not psychi...

A list of 16 things that I remind myself to live by and get me through... 1.  Celebrate life Life is beautiful, you are alive. It is a gift, not a privilege. Enjoy every second of it. 2. Live life with less worry Worrying does you no good, it only stresses you out. Don't stress the small stuff and don't worry about the things you can't change. 3. Make the best out of every situation Complaining about how miserable something is will not change the situation, find the good in everything and enjoy it. 4. Don't compare yourself/your life to someone else's You/your life is special! You don't know every aspect of another person's life so you can't compare. 5. Count your blessings! You have so many things to be grateful for. Be thankful for each and every one of them. 6.  Believe Everything happens for a reason. 7. Have faith There is a God who loves you. 8. Live in the present. Forget the past and th...

2013 in a nutshell... 2013 was a year filled with many ups and downs. I just wanted to create a short blog post to reminisce on the not so great times and celebrate the good things that happened during this year. First off, I got to travel the world!! I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend 4 months studying abroad and traveling to about 10 different countries in Europe. What an experience! I loved getting to see all the different countries and learn about their cultures. Really makes me want to continue traveling and seeing the world. I also made some awesome friends on this trip that I am so lucky to have for my senior year at VT. While I was abroad, Heaven gained a beautiful angel, my dad's mom, my Grandmommie. She was such a loving and kind woman who will be missed dearly. However I am happy that she is now reunited with the love of her life, my Papa. Her commitment to him when he was sick showed me what true love really is. ...