A Busy Bee Christmas.

I'm still here, I promise! :)

I feel bad about the fact that my blog often feels like a burden to me. I am always aware that it's just sitting here, waiting for me to post something new all the time. It's like it's nagging at me whenever I turn my computer on! I blame that on the fact that I had to write 5 major papers and a few more minor ones before the break, so my blog felt like it was just another assignment to add to my stack of work. I'd have to come up with a topic, then stare at my computer screen while I created something that would pass as clever. 

(Funny thing, I'm supposed to be doing another major paper, that's due on January 4th. But..uh..I'm not. Obviously.)

Whine, whine, whine.

Anyways, I love Christmas and everything leading up to it (sure, shopping for gifts is always very stressful for me, but I do like giving). One of the worst feelings in the world, though, is when I realize that Christmas is over once again. It comes and goes so quickly each year! But, some of the best feelings come from looking back on each Christmas, and remembering why I always love it as much as I do.

Before this starts, though, let me just say that I placed the pictures ever-so-nicely, only to realize that they don't show up that way after I publish the post. Grr. It took me so long too! Never again am I doing a post like this. But, you know...enjoy!

This year, I came home to my parents house on December 21st, after a long day of shopping.

The drive from my current location to my hometown is only 20 minutes, but I enjoyed every second of it! The hoarfrost was so thick on every tree and wire, which made for some beautiful scenery! 

We had a very white Christmas this year, which always puts me in the Christmas spirit! The photo above is what our backyard looked like when I arrived home.

Speaking of being in the Christmas spirit, my mom did a wonderful job of decorating the house. Garland, lights, angels, candy canes, bows, and the Christmas tree (and the dogs, of course) greeted me right when I got to the house!

                   

             

I was already excited to come home, but seeing all of the decorations filled me with the warmest of feelings! I always remember decorating the house with Mom, listening to Christmas music, while picking out ornaments and putting them on the tree. I got some well need relaxation time that night, and I could not remember the last time I had felt so content!

On December 22nd, my two sisters and I had appointments to get our tattoos. We had the appointments booked for over a month, and we were all very excited, and just a little bit nervous to actually get them done. We are all very happy with how they turned out!

My oldest sister came up with idea for us to form the letters of our first names in sign language for the picture. The black triangle represents our birth order (I'm on the right, and I'm the youngest).

On December 23rd, I had a lot going on! First, I went with my mom and dad to the Tarbolton district, where my mom's side of the family lives. We helped the other members of the community decorate the old country church, where our Christmas Eve service is held each year. After we finished that, my family and I jumped on the back of "Ol' Blue" and headed to the field in which we went tobogganing, singing Christmas carols on the way. I only got to go down the hill a few times, but it was still a blast! It was freeeeeezing, though!

My cousins's boyfriend, my two cousins, and my aunt.

One of the many pictures I took before I had to leave. ----------------------------------------->

After about an hour drive, I wound up at my Dylan's parents' place, where his family was expecting me for supper. We ate, played a gift exchanging game, and then played a game of "Chase the Ace". Once everyone left, Dylan and I exchanged one gift each, and left the others for Boxing Day. 

The bag was almost as big as me! Inside of it was an extremely comfy pillow that I LOVE (not quite as much as him). :)

The next day, Christmas Eve, my family and I headed back out to the Tarbolton church in the evening. It has been a tradition for 14 years that my sisters and I sing at the service and, this year, my oldest sister and I sang "A Holly Jolly Christmas" with, what we call, a "Tarbolton Twist" (that's where I change up the words to a song that everyone knows to make it all about Tarbolton). We had a great time, as we always do. The Tarbolton Christmas Eve Service is such a huge part of my life and I can't imagine the holiday season without it! It makes my Christmas what it is and I always look forward to going.

Beautiful candles, huh? Can you tell that their fake? :P

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My cousins, showcasing their talents at the service (singing and playing the violin).

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My family always starts Christmas Day rather late. We sleep in, eat, shower, wait for the other sister/daughter to come along, we visit, and then we start opening gifts. We had a wonderful morning and afternoon, filled with giving, receiving, love, and thankfulness. I absolutely adore having my family together. It's not ever day that we can all be together, as my oldest sister lives about 4 hours away, and we all have very busy schedules to work around. But, we all love being together as a family, and our Christmas was, I'm sure, more than we all could have asked for. One of my grandmas and two of my uncles came over for a delicious supper. We all opened Christmas Crackers, visited, and watched the "Pawn Stars" marathon. ;)

As I mentioned, Dylan and I exchanged our gifts on Boxing Day. It is extremely hard for us to be apart during the holidays, since we are so used to being together during the rest of year. It seems unfair that we can share each day together, except for holidays, usually, but our reunions are so wonderful, since we miss each other so much. Dylan got me some very, very fantastic gifts and I was so thankful to be able to be with him and give him the gifts that I got for him. We spent Boxing Day and most of December 27th together in pure contentment. We are both very much looking forward to the New Year, when we can continue to grow as individuals and as a couple, and accomplish even more than we did in 2012. I am so extremely thankful for, in no particular order, my family, my closest friends, and my Dylan, as well as all of the opportunities I have. This busy bee feels so blessed to have everything and everyone that she has in her life. Thank you for being a part of my 2012, and I hope you look forward to 2013 as much as I do!!

My to-do list.

Along with a lot of other people around me, I have been feeling a ton of pressure pushing on me from many different directions these days.

Naturally, since this is often how this time of year works in the life of a student, I am trying to fight to complete many different assignments that are due before the Christmas break...however, I find myself procrastinating because I don't know where to begin (reading, presentation, presentation, essay, essay, reading, reading, paper proposal, essay, essay, presentation, essay, or research assignment...)! I'm really starting to feel my overloaded term right about now. 

In my life as a dance (and "musical theatre combo class"...and Zumba... and "Pop Stars") teacher, I am expected to have all of lesson plans sorted out (which is totally natural), and I'm expected to start all the routines and Christmas songs for the students to perform in a few weeks/months. So, I have to prepare for all of these classes between my own classes. That's okay. I can handle that....I think!

Somewhere in there, I attempt to remind my friends that I really don't hate them, I'm just a hermit!

And, on the side, I am waiting on pins and needles to hear back from an audition for a musical that I so bravely slugged through yesterday. (It really wasn't that bad...I'm just a wreck when it comes to singing in front of people sometimes.)

So, as you may be able to believe, my to-do list is quite a bit longer than the one above. The only reason why I'm writing this post is because it has been on my actual to-do list for weeks! But, after I saw the much lovelier to-do list on Facebook this morning (Thanks for posting, Lisa), I felt myself feeling a little bit more calm about the pressures that I'm currently facing.

Count my blessings: 

Even though I am quite cranky these days (including right now), I really am thankful for my wonderfully caring boyfriend, my fabulous friends, and my lovely family. I am thankful that I have all the opportunities that I have, and that I live in an all-around safe city, in a safe province, in a safe country. I really do have a lot to be thankful for.

Practice kindness:

I really do try to live by the phrase, "treat others the way you would like to be treated". I try to do at least one kind thing for someone each day, if I can. Even something as small as stopping my car to let a pedestrian cross the street, letting a car into the lane ahead of me, holding the door open for someone, picking up someone's pen when they drop it...I don't know! Doing those sorts of things makes me feel like a good human being...and that's a good feeling.

Let go of what I can't control:

This one is probably one of the hardest ones for me, and I don't know why. I spend a lot of time wishing that I could control certain things that either no one can control, or that someone else in charge of. I probably spend a lot of time reminding myself that I can't control whatever I am worried about. All I can do is be the best person I can be, the best student, the best teacher, the best girlfriend, the best friend, the best colleague, the best daughter, etc. Sometimes, I (and I'm sure a lot of others do too) lose sight of this, whether I am worried about what I can't control, or whether I am not doing well at what I can control. Either way, this is something I can and will work on more and more. 

Listen to my heart:

Sometimes, we are all driven by what we think other people want us to do, or what other people think we should do. If you listen to your heart (your gut, your feelings...whatever), you will feel so much better with what you decide to do. Even if it's something minor.

Be productive, yet calm:

I find that I can't be truly productive if I'm not calm. So, these things go hand in hand for me! 

Just breathe:

I think we all have to take more of these moments in a day, just to relax for a few seconds and take that four second inhale, four second exhale that I mentioned in one of my previous blogs (I think...). My boyfriend likes to make fun of me a bit when I get a little riled up about something small, saying "let me just look outside to see if the world ended....nope" (jerk :P). But, seriously, that is what we need. We need to realize that what we're stressing over really isn't as big as we think it is. Breathe, then let it go. 

You should do what I just did! Go through this "to-do list" and remind yourself of these steps. It might make you feel just a little bit lighter! 

A tad sad.

Just as heads up, this post is a tad depressing. It's not like my usual posts, so I didn't really write it for the reader in mind this time (except for the ending). I just figured that typing this out will help me feel a little less sad.

In the summertime, Dylan, my boyfriend, had made me a promise that once we both moved back to the city for school, he was going to buy me a rabbit. Three and a half weeks ago, after a bit of a discussion, I decided that I wanted Dylan to bring home one of the two rabbits bigger rabbits that had been at the pet store for a few months. I had forgotten these rabbits looked like, so I was pleasantly surprised and immediately attached when Dylan took a very adorable, floppy-eared bunny out of the box that he brought it home in. I named her Pokey.

I got a big dog kennel from my parents' house and made a "bunny mansion" out of it. I made sure that my wonderful pet always had plenty of hay, veggies, and fruit, so she would never get too hungry. She loved to be let out of her cage, so she could wander around my suite, jumping up on everything she could, so she could get the best view of the room. As she got even more used to me, she would jump up on the couch to visit me, or sit in the dust pan as I was cleaning her cage. It would make me so happy to just come home and peek in on her cage when I got home, rescue her from the top of the stairs (she was too scared to come down herself), or to watch her discover new things around my suite.

Yesterday, I came home and saw that something was wrong with my cute little floppy-eared Pokey. She hadn't touched the food I had put in her cage the night before (which was very, very unusual for her), and she was barely breathing. I took her out of her cage, Dylan and I gave her a warm bath in the sink (my sister saved one of my pet mice that way once), wrapped her in a towel to keep her warm, and I snuggled with her. Dylan called the vet and we took her there as soon as we could. Pokey would move every once in a while and she felt warm in the towel, so I had a bit of hope that we could be bringing her back home. After being taken to the back of the vet's office by the nurses, the vet met with us to tell us that Pokey wasn't going to make it. She told us that my little bunny was far too skinny, barely responsive to anything, and was 5 degrees colder than she should have been. She explained that rabbits are great at hiding illness, and after we told her that Pokey ate very, very often, the vet decided that Pokey must have had an internal issue that would not allow her to absorb food and nutrients. Our only option was to have her put down.

It wasn't enough that I had to leave my rabbit forever, so after paying $90 to have her put down and cremated, Dylan and I came back to my place.

I was quite broken up about it, which I didn't expect. If I had have read this sort of thing from someone else a little while ago, I wouldn't have been able to really take it seriously. I have seen many hamsters come and go, I buried a different rabbit last year, etc...but I wasn't terribly sad about those other pets. I always saw the small pets to be on a completely different level than cats and dogs. I'm not sure what's different about the death of this "small pet". Maybe it's because I wasn't prepared for it, maybe it's because I knew Pokey should have had a longer life span, maybe it's because I know I was taking such good care of her, maybe it's because she didn't just die naturally, or maybe it's because she was the little furball that kept me company when I had to be cooped up in my suite by myself. I don't know...but, either way, it will take me a little while to get over not having her around. At least I know that she was warm, cozy, and safe in my arms for a little bit, and that I was able to give her as much attention and love as possible. I just hope she was feeling peaceful and comfortable enough as she died.

I was right. Typing this out did help me. I think I can look back on this sometime and feel happy about the little bit of life Pokey did have and the little bit of time she could spend with me. If you did read this, I recommend that if you ever have something that makes you sad, type it out (or write it out), just like I did. Go through the whole situation...the good things and the bad things. Write about what made you happy and why you think it made you happy, and/or what made you sad and why you think it made you sad. It should give you a better understanding of yourself, and maybe it will help to relieve your feelings a little bit, whatever they might be.

The calm before the storm.

It's that time of year again! The time when my "busy bee" label fits just right.

This may not be the same for others, but I find that I rarely remember the fall season each year. I remember the beginnings of the school year and all other activities and things...but I can't really remember the leaves changing colour and falling off the trees, or that patch of different weather between +30 and -40. I get another year older in there somewhere, too... Honestly, it seems like just a normal thing to have the fall season fly by faster than I can say "please stop, I'm ripping my hair out". 

I remember saying last night, when I got home from my 6 day road trip, that I really wish I could have two full days before school starts, rather than just one, so I could have more than enough time to tackle my pesky to-do list and to get all prepared for getting "back to the grindstone". After having a migraine all day and just feeling terrible in general, I only get to feeling better after suppertime. On top of feeling completely under the weather, I was also feeling frustrated. I had so much to do today, and very little time to do it. Of course it would be my health that was the one obstacle for me today. That rarely happens. I tend to be able to work around being sick, but not this time. It wasn't until mid-afternoon that I finally came to terms with the fact that there was nothing I could do about my health, except rest and drink plenty of water.

Then, I came to a wonderful realization. Today was one of the best days I have had in a very long time, because I could spend it feeling completely stress-free (after a while) with my loving boyfriend. We are in the middle of starting a new chapter and there really isn't anything in the world I needed more today than spending that time with him, feeling how much love he has for me, and having him taking care of me. He was still able to get his work done, will I snuggled in and felt completely at peace. Those are the types of moments we live for, aren't they? As much as being productive is certainly something that is needed most days, we still need to soak up the little moments in life too.

So, always look for those little blessings in disguise because I certainly had one of those today. My body was just forcing me to slow down and enjoy some beautiful moments, since I clearly wasn't planning on doing it on my own. 

Loosening the brain vice.

I have always been the kind of person that just has to be going all the time (while still being just a little bit lazy...how does that work). Thinking ahead to what I have to get done, thinking of the most efficient way that I can get my tasks completed, thinking about what I can get accomplished now, so I don't have to worry about it when I'm swamped enough during the school year, etc., etc., etc....That's all part of being a Busy Bee, after all. But, my thoughts are always zipping around at the speed of light. Sometimes, I even have trouble trying to remember what I wanted to put on my list of things to remember! It can really be quite exhausting. The thoughts just race each other while spinning and fluttering around each other. They keep going and going and going until....

I'm all tuckered out!

Okay. I know I probably sound just a wee bit crazy. It's not like I have a problem focusing, 'cause I don't, unless I'm tired, but who doesn't have that problem? My brain just never really stops working, which I think is pretty apparent to those who know me. My thing is that pretty much everything is thought-provoking to me. From the things that people say and/or do, to things that the typical person wouldn't normally give any thought to in a day, and everything in between. I can honestly find the simplest things to be fascinating. Take for example, a rock. Yeah....a rock. I can pick up a rock and think of how amazing it would be if I were able to see what the rock has "seen". I think about how long the rock has been there, where it was before it ended up in my hands, and if it were at the bottom of the huge lake that is now Manitoba. You might laugh, but this is how life really is for me! Some may see a commercial on T.V. and think absolutely nothing of it. As for me, I think of how much money would have gone into making the commercial, how many people were involved in the process of creating the commercial, and why the company chose that particular commercial to advertise their product, when there were probably many other options to choose from. 

It's not like this every second of every day, but this gives you a little glimpse of what sort of things happen in this head of mine. So, the whole point of this post (there's always a point, after all) is to remind myself, and everyone else, to quiet the brain down a little bit, every once in a while. I can just tilt my head back, close my eyes for a while, breathe deeply, focus on that breathing, heave a few sighs, sometimes I clench and relax my muscles, and then I feel like my brain is coming out of a giant vice. Try it! You don't have to follow the "instructions" or anything, as these are just a few suggestions that have helped me out before. I am certainly not the expert in this, as I very rarely do this sort of thing. But, as I make a vow that I will do this far more often, for my own physical and mental health, I encourage you to join me. What could it hurt, right? Let's take more time to relax and calm down, maybe take some time to go pick up some rocks to think about (=P). There. That's the Brittany version of "stopping to smell the flowers/roses". We would all feel so much better if we relax a little more, and that causes one of the best possible chain reactions. Enjoy!

Once upon a time, there was a canoe...

It feels great to be back to "busy bee" status recently. My summer job has gone from being totally boring to extremely busy, as I work towards being able to close my office for the summer. I took a road trip with my dad to Fargo, N.D. last Friday, where I became a licensed Zumba instructor Saturday, and, Sunday, my lovely friend and I had an unexpected situation, involving a canoe. That's where the post actually begins. Get ready for a story! It has a nice point, though, I promise.

So, the aforementioned friend and I decided that we wanted to have some sort of a "beach day". She had never gone canoeing before, so we figured that coming to my family's campsite and going canoeing on the lake was a great way to pass a Sunday afternoon. I was very exhausted from the Zumba training I did the day before, so a relaxing canoe ride sounded even lovelier as the plans were made. 

We headed to the campsite, my dad got the canoe all ready to go, and we started our little journey, oars in hand. We rowed a little bit, for fun (my friend was so excited because she felt like Pocahontas), then decided we were just going to float and drift for a while. After a nice, long chat on the lake, we decided that it was probably time to get back. When we went to dip our oars back in the water, we realized how far away we actually were, from our starting point. It was alright, at first. We would paddle a little bit, then rest and talk...then paddle some more. The waves were starting to get pretty big, for a lake, which we didn't really think much of, since there were a few boats that had been zooming around us. One even stopped to ask if we needed help, but I politely declined. 

By the time that our attention was fully drawn to getting ourselves back to shore, we didn't really know where the shore was. Once we decided what direction we had to go, we realized how windy it had become. This strong wind was blowing us away from our destination, and the waves this wind had created were also putting us off-course. My friend and I rowed and rowed and rowed, but it didn't seem like we were getting any closer to our journey's end. The ever-growing frustration expanded when the wind blew us ashore, causing us to exert ourselves, even more than we had been, to get us back on-course. This happened a second time too, which made our efforts seem even more fruitless. Our arms were aching and becoming less and less functional, and we were incredibly parched, but if we stopped for even a second to rest our weary limbs, the wind would blow us back to where we had been moments before. We rowed as hard and fast as we could. Once I caught a glimpse of the shore we wanted to get to, we just had to keep telling ourselves that we were "almost there". After an extremely long time of rowing in frustrated, determined silence, we got back to shore, where my dad was waiting, laughing at us. It turned out that he had asked the people on the boat that had stopped, to check on us, so he knew we were okay. 

All was well. We re-hydrated, bought some ice cream, and went home to relax.  

There was certainly a point where I had almost given up. That doesn't happen very often with me, since I'm terribly stubborn, but I was trying to think of an easier way we could get back to the dock that didn't involve the way we ended up getting there, in the end. But, I came up short. There was no other way. 

Basically, the point to this story is: no matter how exhausting and frustrating that journey was, and how hopeless it seemed to be, our goal was still achieved. Sometimes, you may have to do things the hard way to achieve the best results, or the only results. You may have to go through frustration, anger, exhaustion, sadness, or what have you, to reach your desired destination. No matter how hopeless your journey may seem, though, if you are really willing to work hard to get to your destination, you will always come out with your head above the water. Let's face it, rewards are so much more appreciated if you have to work a little bit to get them, right?

In response to a comment

Before I get into writing more blog posts, I would like to address a comment, by "Rainbow Addict" that was left on my post "Optimism and realism, working hand in hand!". The reason why I am addressing it on a post, and not just by comment, is just because others may have similar thoughts. Here is the comment:

"Good and bad are relative to your own perspective, culture and your genetics. Humans are born with a basic feeling of empathy, so it is bad to hurt others. However, the python that you've lovingly raised to seven feet long is thinking how good it will be when he finally eats you. Is he evil? I think not. We only have good and evil because we are social animals (a dog feels pain if he/she hurts the pack or does something the alpha decides is 'bad' and feels good when the pack is happy) however a snake or a reptile would only feel pleasant vs. unpleasant. It would be very pleasant he thinks, to eat your chihuahua, even if it is an unusually sweet and obedient one. The world isn't harsh, it just is."

Thanks for your input, as this is a good point. I am very aware of the point you are stating, actually. In fact, many of the themes I have studied in my literature classes revolve around this very point (good wouldn't exist without evil and vice versa). However, I'm not 100% sure if this is trying to work against my post, or with it, or if it's just a neutral statement. As you said, "good and bad are relative to your own perspective...", so saying "the world isn't harsh, it just is" is simply your perspective. So, thanks for adding your perspective after I gave mine. That adds for the readers to put in some extra thought, which I like. My perspective is stemming from Optimism vs. Reality, which was the theme of my post. In my mind, someone who is purely an optimist, who does not have a good sense of reality, would see the world as a flawlessly beautiful place, with people that are all "good", nothing can possibly lead to disappointment, and there is no such thing as an obstacle. I'm not sure if there are people like that out there, but that's where my word choice came in. From my perspective, the world is "harsh" because of the fact that "not everyone in is good" and " not every situation can or will lead to a happy ending" (as mentioned in my post), as well as the fact that the stronger people (intellectually, physically, etc.) will have a greater chance at succeeding in life than the weak (the whole Natural Selection/survival of the fittest argument). My choice of using the word "harsh" comes from the large contrast between pure optimism and that of "harsh reality". Thank you for taking time to comment, though. I will admit that my posts are not thought out well in advance or anything. I just sit down and type, so it's more like typed out pondering, or whatever else is going around in my head that I feel like sharing! I hope this all makes sense to everyone!

I will be adding another post of a different topic shortly. 

Optimism and realism, working hand in hand!

You know, I realize how annoying optimism must be the eternal pessimists out there. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. You're looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses/eyes. You don't know what the real world is like". I understand why that attitude exists. However, I am not only an optimist, I am also a realist. I totally get that the world is quite a harsh place. Not everyone in it is good. Not every situation can or will lead to a happy ending. But, I do believe that with every negative point you find in anything, there is typically a positive flip-side. Try it! You can be sure to either annoy the heck out of the pessimists or help out your friends. Either way, you have fun and there's no harm. ;) I find that my optimistic statements tend to start with "at least...". Like this: "I got a ketchup stain on my new white pants!" "At least the stain will come out if you attack it with a bunch of wet napkins for an hour and half." (My Saturday morning experience, as Dylan and I were heading to Portage.) Okay, maybe not exactly like that. But, there really is a positive side to most things, it just takes a second to expose it sometimes! I understand that the world is not all unicorns and butterflies, but it's not all death and destruction either. I just choose to see the beauty and opportunity of the world, but that doesn't mean I'm avoiding the bad things and pretending that it's all going to go away. Optimism and realism can work together!

My brain has now turned to mush. I guess that's it for today!

It's not so bad...

Life is never as bad as it seems, do you notice that? No matter how much you're dreading something...it's never that bad! In fact, the day you're dreading can end up causing you to feel quite good about yourself, in the end.

Take today, for example: I was really not looking forward to today at all. I hate to admit it, but I was definitely dreading it. I really hate finding that I'm dreading my days. It makes me feel like I'm wishing my life away, and I don't like doing that either. Life's too short as it is. But, I had that Sunday night feeling of wanting to hang on for dear life to what was left of my weekend, knowing full well that I had a lot on my plate the next day. And, well, the "Monday Blues" are inevitable. To-do lists, in my opinion, are one of the best "inventions" ever. Once I sat down and wrote one for myself, the day seemed a lot less scary. It started to become more of an organized list of mini-goals to achieve, rather than a big pit of tangled, twisted objects to sort out, one by one. I actually love being busy, rather than bored, so I ended up rather enjoying the first half of my day quite a lot. It  helps to have a fantastic friend who keeps me company on Facebook every day and a loving boyfriend to send long e-mails to.

But, after tackling the things I had set out to tackle this workday, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. There are more things that I wasn't really looking forward to this week, but I am looking at them now through a new attitude of positive determination. They will happen. And they will be successful.

It's funny how that works. I find that, for me, being pessimistic is so much easier than being optimistic. Once you think one negative thought, you just end up being like a big ball of tape, rolling down a hill. You collect so much momentum and dirt, you become harder and harder to control until you hit an obstacle and you stop dead in your tracks, unmoving, with no more energy left, and nowhere else to go. A negative state of mind is an easy place to stay in. Optimism, I find, is the opposite way. You have to find the energy to climb that hill, shed all the dirt that you've collected, be determined enough to keep going, and then, after all your efforts, you finally reach the top. But, think about it...isn't standing on top of the hill, looking at how far you've climbed, much more rewarding than looking at how far you've fallen? I think so. And that's why, after the feeling of dread I was experiencing yesterday, I am now feeling like I am standing on top of a hill, looking from my wonderful vantage point at what is coming, and being ready to take on whatever is approaching.

Life is never as bad as it seems, do you notice that?

Inspiration From Others, Yourself, and Me!

In the past few days, I have been looking at blogs here and there that have been posted by people from totally different walks of life. I find it very interesting how, no matter how different people's lives can be; no matter how different the experiences, inspirations, goals, etc., they can still put together something that they wish to be shared with others, to spread some sort of message or point. (I have a feeling that would be one of those moments where a certain English prof. would have written "improper use of ;". Forgive me if I used that incorrectly. Anyways...) I have read about things from life-changing trips across the world to teach English, to experiences that a beautiful family has from day to day, and even someone's thoughts and emotions as they continue on the road to forgiving someone who sexually assaulted them.

No matter how different the messages and points are that come out of these blogs that I have been reading, I find myself feeling even more inspired in my own life because of them. Inspired continue to try to make a difference in the lives of others, inspired to achieve the goals I have set for myself, and inspired to continue on my path to keep forgiving those who have done me wrong in the past. I am fiercely motivated to continue to be the best person I can be. I know it sounds cheesy, but it makes me feel more purposeful and keeps me looking forward to what is coming in my life.

I have been keeping a journal since the beginning of my summer break from school. I look back to the very first entry, and I start to feel very proud of myself for overcoming all that I have since then. I know that my bad experiences don't come close to the sufferings of others, but I am still proud of what I have learned, even in the 3 months since my first entry of the break. I have learned that I am the best person to rely on 100% of the time. I trust my judgement, even when others may not. I am ready to deal with what ever else life decides to throw at me, in the most responsible, sensible way possible.

I don't say these things about myself to seem cocky or full of myself. I say them to show that I'm no longer afraid of my own decisions, my judgement, or anything else. Those fears developed because of the lack of faith other people had in me. Once someone develops faith in themselves, a lot of insecurities can go away, and that's a beautiful feeling.

I guess my point here is that I wish that people could become their own heroes and heroines. Be happy and excited to be your own person and live your own lives. I hear too much of "I wish I had this.." and "I wish I were someone else". My wish is that people could be satisfied and happy in their own lives. Life is what you make it...make it something fabulous!

I guess that's all for my first blog entry. If there are any errors, forgive me, as I'm now distracted by the T.V.

Love, love, love!