Learning

It's been a while. But the quiet has been for good reason. I've done a lot of learning recently and I've come to a pretty life changing conclusion: life requires effort. 

Sure, you can coast on by without trying at all but where is the living in that? 

You see, I am a dreamer. So, I spend a lot of time imagining what could be and what I would love to happen in my life instead of actually going after the life that I want. And in the past few weeks, I have learned that you can't just dream. Dreams are wonderful, incredible things, but, if you get so caught up in dreaming of what could be, you forget  about what is happening right now! 

Life is so rich with possibilities. Why not take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way? For example, I want to learn to play the piano. And it just so happens that there are 8 bazillion piano schools around my work!  

You have to go after the life you are craving. Very few have it handed to them on a silver platter, and, I mean, who really wants that anyway? Where's the fun in that? Something I have learned since becoming an adult and making big purchases is that yeah, I have had these things before but I didn't really know the value of them until I started buying them for myself. I think the same thing applies to the life you want. If you don't have to work for it, you can't really appreciate it when you make it. 

This year has been awesome so far. I've learned so much about who I am and who I want to be. I've grown and stretched myself. I've made myself uncomfortable in the hopes that it will help me grow. I am truly excited about my future. How could I not be? 

I am trying my best to live out this quote. It is difficult but oh so worth it. 

Exciting Times

I am so excited about my life right now.  So many things are going right.  The light is shining through at the end of the tunnel.  I am learning to take chances.  Live bigger and brighter.  I have one shot at this life and I am going to make it count.

Not everyone's life is the same.  There is no one "map to life", as the quote above states.  You stumble and push your way through.  You fall and get back up a thousand times.  You make a decision and realize it was the wrong one and have to find your way back.  You start over as many times as you want because life is not black and white.  Well, at least it shouldn't be!  Life should be bursting with color!  

Season your life with rich memories and beautiful friends and family.  Don't let the things that are important escape you.  And most of all, live a life you are proud of...

Lately, when I wake up in the morning, I remind myself that today is a new day.  I can choose to be anyone I want to be today.  I have the ability to choose to be kind...to be hopeful...to be funny...to be whatever I want!  

Possibility

Life is in constant motion.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the day to day that we forget to better ourselves. And after doing that for day after day after day, eventually those days turn into months, and those months turn into years.  Then, when we look back at what we have accomplished we see nothing.

Something that I am learning is that it is super easy to complain about where you are in life and not to change anything.  Einstein's definition of insanity is "...doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  Lately, I have found that this is exactly what I am doing.  I wake up, dread going to work, go to work, have a bad day, and then come home and prepare to do it all over again.  And then at night when I am once again dreading the next day, I wonder why I'm not as happy as I could be.

One of my friends said something very profound the other day: happiness comes from within yourself, not the things that you do.  I happen to agree with her.  If we don't find the positivity in ourselves first, it doesn't matter if we are millionaires living on a private island with all the pina coladas in the world--we won't be happy.  However, if we can spark that light in our souls and continue to fan it, no matter what we do in life, joy will follow us.

I love this.  I can be the most negative person sometimes.  Instead of trying to fix something, I just want to complain.  This hit me on the head with a brick when I read it.  

Don't stay stuck somewhere and leave it up to the universe to choose your fate.  Choose to live your life the way you want to live it.  

My last point in this very scattered blog post is to take chances.  Nothing great was ever accomplished by playing it safe.  JFK once said, "Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly."  

Myself and many of my friends are making awesome life changing decisions right now and I am feeling truly inspired.  I am blessed to know these people and honored to share in their lives.  I am hopeful that I will meet many more people along my journey and be inspired by them as well. 

Sometimes big changes can be terrifying, but if you know in your heart it's what you want, then take a leap of faith and be happy.   

Learning to Be Thankful

It is so easy to become caught up in our own little worlds where if the wifi goes down we think we have it bad.  We become so accustomed to having our lives a certain way and when it is disrupted even for a moment, we moan and whine about it without realizing that there are some people in this world (actually A LOT of people) who don't even know what wifi is!  Their worries are much greater.  They worry whether or not they will eat in the next week or if their child will soon die from a disease they can't control.

I have really taken a hard look at my life recently and I've come to the realization that I have an exceptionally blessed life.  I have food in my cupboards, gas in my car, and a steady job to rely on.  The bills are always paid, my family is all in good health, and I am content.

Especially living in Los Angeles where luxury is rubbed in your face all day, everyday, it can be easy to get caught up in the mindset of "more, more, more!"  But, when you stop for a moment and take a look around, it's plain to see that there are a lot of people struggling.  While you go home to share time with your families, relax on the couch, and maybe watch some TV, there are others who are getting ready for their second or third jobs just so they can scrape by each week!

Every month I am setting goals for myself this year.  One of this month's goals is to do three kind things for others that I wouldn't normally do.  I have only completed one, but the other two are in production, and I have to say, that it has been a great experience.  Sometimes you don't realize how necessary those little things are in people's lives until you give it to them.  It doesn't have to be expensive things or even something that will take up much of your time, but something that you have noticed that someone else needs.  It may be a quick compliment when you see someone is down, maybe paying for the person's Starbucks behind you in the drive-thru, doing your loved one's laundry unexpectedly, or even just a much needed smile to the parents whose child won't stop screaming.

This quote is so true.  You have no idea what someone has been through.  You can't know what has destroyed them or made them smile.  So why treat people like we are all the same?  Just because someone is rude to you, doesn't mean you have any right to be rude back.  I am slowly but surely grasping this concept.  You never know who you are talking to.  You never know if someone desperately needs some kindness. Be careful of the words that you say.  

  

Dogma

Definition of DOGMA

1

a : something held as an established opinion; especially : a definite authoritative tenet

b : a code of such tenets <pedagogical dogma>

c : a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate ground. 

Steve Jobs described dogma as "living with the results of other people's thinking," and to be perfectly honest,  I think his quote is right on target.  He probably knew first hand what that felt like.  He dropped out of college after only six months and went on for quite a few years just experimenting with all kinds of odd things.  Do you think most people supported his decision then?

However, what if Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, had never dropped out of college? What if he had stuck to his major and graduated like everybody else usually does?  Do you think he would have been as wildly successful as he was? Probably not.

To take this story even further, what if, a few years after starting Apple, Jobs hadn't resigned as CEO of the business to start another company he thought might do better? Although that business didn't do so well and was eventually bought out by Apple where Steve Jobs returned as CEO, Jobs bought Pixar during this rough patch and created one of the biggest, if not the biggest, animation companies in the world! Do you think his family and friends thought he was crazy then?

Something that I am learning is to not care about other people's opinions of me.  Other's opinions will change constantly and they aren't worth the time and effort of keeping up with.  

I'm not quite sure what I want to do with my life and at times, that can weigh quite heavily on my mind.  Sometimes it feels like everyone around me has a plan and I am lost in my own confusion! That's when I remind myself that this is my life and anything and everything that I decide to do is completely my choice.  I have often been criticized for not going to college after high school but to be perfectly honest, I feel that my path is leading me elsewhere.  I'm not quite sure where yet, but I'm figuring it out as I go.  

One of my favorite quotes is by Eleanor Roosevelt.  It says "Do what you feel in your heart to be right--for you'll be criticized anyway."  My life is not set in stone at twenty years old.  So many things can alter my destination.  One thing I am sure of though is that I am truly excited to get there.  

Just Breathe

As I am getting older, I like to think I am growing into a better person each and every day.  I have my set backs.  Some days, I am unexplainably furious at everyone and everything and some days I have little to no self confidence in myself.  However, more and more I am learning that I am strong.  I am realizing that no matter what has happened in the past and regardless what my future holds for me, I am certainly capable of living my life to the fullest each and every day.

I recently read "the trick is to enjoy life.  Don't wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead." -Marjorie Pay Hinckley

This quote is so profound to me.  Especially now that I am watching some of the girls I used to babysit grow and mature, I am finding myself constantly reminding them that this time in their lives is special.  It is not only necessary, but probably one of the most freedom filled times in their lives! (Of course, they beg to differ...)  It's funny because you don't see it until you've passed it and then there is no going back.  And I am sure there is somebody reading this who is older than me who is thinking to themselves, "just you wait...you've just begun."  I am also coming to terms with that fact and dealing with it the best way I know how: living each day like it's my last; savoring the sweetest moments; and then pushing aside the bad ones.

One of my favorite songs right now is "Catch My Breath" by Kelly Clarkson because it completely captures the way I am feeling right now.  Take a moment and watch this video.  This should be every twenty year old woman's mantra.

Exciting Things are Happenin' in 2013

Last year was a little crazy with a lot of low points for me, but this year seems to be shaping out pretty well!  It goes to show that at the end of a storm there is always a rainbow.

I am really excited for all of the memories that will be made this year.  I am making it a personal goal to worry less about money and to care more about time spent with family and friends.  If you think about it, that's all that will matter in the end, right?  We can't take any money with us when it's all over.  It is such a sobering thought that my life is not guaranteed.  I could be very lucky and have another sixty or seventy years on this earth or I could die tomorrow.  Will I want to die rich with money or rich with love?

Something I have been thinking about lately is how my attitude really impacts how my day goes.  One little thing, like someone cutting me off on the way to work, can either piss me off and then continue to ruin my day for the next 12 or so hours, or I can let it go and chalk it up to someone is in a hurry and it is most definitely not something I should even care about.  The minute details that make up our lives can either make us or break us depending on how we internalize them and then project them onto the people in our lives.

This is something I am trying to use in my life.  Sometimes it is tough to remember when someone is absolutely rude to you in every way, but if I put in the effort and take the time to diffuse a situation instead of fuel it, it all turns out wayyyy better in the end!  

So many things in my life are going well.  Why let little bad things distract me from the mountain of positive things?  Right?

And if you are having one of those days that just won't stop going down hill, watch this.  Trust me, it will make everything better.