You Don't Find These Often

     Every now and then we all have bad days, and we all know how badly they suck. A bad day is definitely not fun, but they just happen, you can't do anything about it. You can only try to stay optimistic and hope the next day will be better.
     I have a friend and she is the realest person I know. She goes through a lot she shouldn't have to but she still finds the time to make sure everyone is having a good day. If they aren't she takes the time to listen and help out in any way she can. Many of times I have called her up hysterically crying, at some points I couldn't even talk. She would just listen to me cry and I would listen to her tell me all the reasons why I shouldn't be crying. She doesn't like to see anyone having a bad day. She puts others before herself all the time. But the thing is, she doesn't have to do that. She does it because happiness is important to her. Happiness for herself, and others.
     She sends out a Word of Encouragement almost everyday. And everyday I try my best to stick to the advice and spread it on to others. But recently one Word of Encouragement really stuck out to me.

 It read:
You there,
The one reading this now,
I want you to do something foe me,
Smile.
Smile because you are beautiful
because you are amazing
because you are unique
because you are a fighter
because you are a survivor.
Smile because your smile is too beautiful to hide away.
Smile because today is a wonderful day and tomorrow is a new one.
Smile because no matter what you think, someone loves and appreciates you.
Smile because you deserve to.
     I love that Word of Encouragement, it is by far one of my favorites. I just can't express enough how much she has helped me and how much I appreciate her for being in my life and making a positive difference everyday. She is truly a great soul, one you do not find often. I wish I could be a least half the person she is.

You Are Life

   
     From the time we were little kids, all we ever dreamed of was growing up. We would dress up and put on make-up because that is what the older kids did. We imagined growing up and getting the perfect boyfriend and the coolest job in the world! We would dream up the most spectacular wedding and later on imagine the perfect family to go with it. As kids we thought the adults always had it together, they had done everything right, and their dreams came true. As kids we had this idea that life had a meaning and if you did everything the right way, life would give you your hopes and dreams. But at some point we grow up.
     There comes a point in our lives that we realize our childhood was so much better than growing up. We have always imagined what it would be like to be older, but when we do grow up we finally understand it's not all that it is cracked up to be. But we still thirst for those moments we dreamed of. That perfect boyfriend, getting into the school of our dreams, the day of our wedding, and what our family would be like. We loose ourselves in dreaming about what kind of future we will have. Maybe life is not all about finding that one great love or family. Maybe it's about living in the moment while they last. Maybe it's about the summer days you spend trying to make art and end up making a mess. It could be about the rainy days when you just feel like staying in bed and having a movie marathon. It's about the your favorite ice cream, book, and song. So why spend all your time waiting around for "the one"? The greatest individual you could ever dream of falling in love with, is yourself.

     We are all unique in special ways, and if we spend our lives searching for that special moment or someone to come into our lives to make us feel unique or significant, we miss ourselves. So lets be real. Life really has no meaning if you think about it. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. Do not overlook yourself, you are magnificent in everyday possible. If you spend each day asking what is the meaning of life, then you are wasting your time, because you are the answer. 

Love

     Love: a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. You see love everyday, whether you see it in public affection, or in the little things. Love comes to us in all sorts of ways and leaves with a foresighted manner. It looks out for you. It sees you when you are weak and struggling and it sees you when you are arrogant and overbearing. It is a force to be reckoned with, it can be your comfort or your worst enemy. Love is much more than any of us. 
     To be loved is one thing, to love in return is much different. To love gives us more. It shows us how important the little things are to people. Everyone in the world needs a little love, and you may be the only person to show that too them. They may not know what it is like to have someone there to listen to them, or not have to pay for their only meal of the day. People in the world today, grow up not knowing what it feels like to be loved by the people around them. It makes me realize how fortunate I am to have the family, friends, and opportunities, that I do. And how fortunate I am to have parents that raised me to love others, no matter what. They showed me that a little love can go a long way in someone else's heart. No matter what a person looks like, no matter what their past looks like, or what they believe in, a person is a person, and they deserve the same respect and kindness. I don't know how to love without using my whole heart, I don't know what it is like to love someone just "half way". I give everyone love in the same way I would like to receive it back. To love gives us more. It teaches us more. It helps us more, than receiving it. To be kind, even though your day has gone to hell and back, strengthens your heart. Who knows, that could be the only love they receive that day. You never know what anyone is going through. Why make it worse with being unnecessarily impolite to the people around you just because your day is not going as you planned.
     Love is lacking in the world around us. Not only to people, but to the animals and the Earth. We need more love. We need more respect. People out there in the world do not know what it is like to feel compassion in their heart. They don't understand how a compliment could change their entire attitude. They don't believe in the tenderness of their peers. Love to them is non existent. You have the power to change someone's entire day. Love is an important thing, and to give that gift to someone would mean the world to them. 

SeaWorld Camp

Please take some time to read this link. 
https://www.gofundme.com/24gt4xcp

Thank you.

Behind The Scenes: Europe

     I often put up pictures with my stories and don't really explain them. Sometimes the pictures are not even related to my post, they are just pictures that I feel go with it. As I was going through my pictures today, I was reminiscing on my amazing trip to Europe last summer. I looked at those pictures and I just laughed. Some of the greatest times of my life were captured forever, and the stories behind the scenes just make it greater! I decided to share with you some of these amazing pictures.

     You could say this was our trip in one picture. Every single one of us are showing our love and excitement of our trip through this picture! After kissing the Blarney Stone in Blarney Castle which is pictured behind us, we wanted to express how happy we were to possible get AIDS. This was a stop on our way out of Ireland to Wales, we were just beginning to realize how amazing this opportunity was, especially with our friends.

     This picture made the entire trip the best! As you can see we stopped at Stonehenge on our tour of the UK. This was my most anticipated attraction of the whole trip! The guy in blue behind me, I met him in the Heathrow Airport in London and I introduced myself because I noticed he had a book bag on that was the same company sponsor that I had for my tour. I thought we were going to be traveling together, and all my friends were begging me to say something to him cause you know, if you are going to be traveling together, why not start early? He ended up not being in our tour group, but we did occasionally bump into his tour group. When this picture was taken I had no idea he was in the background mocking my pose! When I discovered it, it made our little meet in the airport, a fun memory and friendship forever captured in this picture.

*NOTE: Laura's face in the background.

     This pictures taken as we started our ascend to the top of King Arthur's Throne, a dormant volcano in Edinburg, Scotland. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! This hike was brutal, but well worth it! We woke up earlier than the rest of the tour group and conquered the volcano in 3 hours. It took us 3 hours, because we went up the wrong mountain as we discovered when we got to the top! It was full of complaining and lots of sweat stains but we were determined to do everything we could while we had the chance! We struggled but these people will forever be apart of this amazing memory.

NOTE: We are all smiling but we were crying on the inside.

     This picture is my absolute favorite picture from my trip to Europe! I love cows so much! Even where I live cows are a normality, but I still love every one of them! We were touring through Callender, Scotland and we stopped at this risky dink gift shop because some people had to use the bathroom. I didn't so I noticed two huge cows with super long hair, they were called Highland Cows. I had never seen these kinds of cows before so of course I had to go see them! Later I found out that the gift shop sells bags of vegetables to feed to them. SO OF COURSE I had to buy a couple bags! I stood there feeding the cows until we had to leave, that unexpected moment right there in Callender was one of the greatest moments of my trip!

     Looking back on this trip, I can't imagine it without my friends! They really made it a trip to remember! Everything from the late nights in the hotel rooms to trying to trying to find our way around the city, makes me wish I could just rewind and do it all over again! You guys are the best, I wouldn't have had such a great time without you! These pictures will forever be apart of me and so will you guys! 

You Are....

     

Society makes you think things about yourself that are impossible. Society only looks at what is on the outside. It sees your skin color, hair color, height, weight, and clothes you wear. Instantly you are put into a category according to what they see. That right there is the problem, it's only according to what they see. Before anyone ever speaks a word, before they even ask any questions, or try to get to know you, they see you and judge the outside directly.

Photo by: Ian Keel a super bomb guy

     What society doesn't realize is, there is a multiple layers to a person. There are more colors to a person than just their skin. Underneath the outside shell there is ambition, desire, and love. But society would not know because they don't even care to talk to you if you look just a little unusual.

    So I am here to say, you are not your age, or  the size of the clothes you wear, You are not your weight, or the color of your hair. You are not your name, or the dimples in your cheeks. You are all the books you read, and all the words your speak. You are your croaky morning voice, and the smiles you try to hide, you are the sweetness in your laughter, and every tear you have cried. You are the songs you sing so loudly when you know you are all alone, and the places you have been to, especially home. You are the things you believe in, and the people that you love. You are the bright memories you create and the future you dream of. You are made of so much beauty that you have seem to forgot when you decided that you were defined, by society. You have beauty that society will never see, because they are too cowardly to go beyond just what they see. They do not have the mental capacity to handle such an stunning human being.  

     

Live For Today

     Happiness: a state of well-being and contentment. When you think all things are lost, and things aren't going as planned, all it takes is those people who have loved you from the beginning to turn things around.
     As life goes on and we get distracted by things that won't matter at the end of the day, we loose sight if the things that do matter. You don't feel it until you wake up from being distracted, it slowly slips away from you, and slowly takes the pieces that mattered. You think you are happy with the distractions, but they are just that, distractions. You loose yourself in them. It's like you are acting in this grand play, your not yourself. But, you always wake up, eventually!
     You can't rely on anything else for your own happiness. Only you can be responsible for that. Accept who your are, completely, the good and the bad. Make the changes you need in your life to make YOU happy, don't accommodate your choices for someone else. I don't want you to forget who you really are, behind those distractions. I'm not talking about your so called real name. All names are made up by someone else, even the one your parents gave you. You are the only one who knows who you really are. When you're alone at night, looking up at the stars, or maybe lying in your bed in total darkness, you know that nameless person inside you, don't forget who that is, no matter how many distractions are in your life. Your happiness is what matters the most, not your best friends, or the girl next to you in class. Don't live a life full of "what if"'s and "if I", don't regret turning down those opportunities that were given to you.
     One day your life will flash before your eyes, make sure it's worth watching. The people that have loved you from the beginning are the most important people to love with all your heart. They give me happiness I have lost in my distractions. Live for today, because yesterday is gone and tomorrow is never promised.