Take As Many As You Like.

Regret Nothing

For those of you that over-analyze things and think too much about things. STOP. If you can't decide what to do, stop thinking and listen to what your heart tells you. Never stop yourself from doing what you feel because you're scared. You will never fully live life this way. You will regret not taking those chances. Don't spend your time wishing that you would have done something. Do it when you have the chance. 
Wear your heart on your sleeves. Don't harden your heart to those that you never even gave a chance. Listen to your heart and let it guide you in your decision making. Albus Dumbledore said it best, "The consequences of our actions are so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed." If you try to do something like hardening your heart and never giving anyone a chance to know who you truly are just to protect yourself, you're just taking unnecessary precautions. You can never know what will happen. Even if it does turn out the opposite of what you would like, at least you had some good times and memories opposed to not having any if you had built up walls. Follow your heart sounds so cliche, but it's not. You are led to wherever you end up for a reason. Embrace that reason and go out into the world and do it all over again. 
Love others with your whole heart. Block out all memories, knowledge of rumors, and things that you may not like about someone and fully devote yourself to knowing who they are. Let them see who you are. People respond to genuineness. If you show love for them, they will be compelled to show you nothing less than that. It becomes so much easier to befriend someone that may not be your first choice of a friend when you look passed all those things.
Don't dwell in the past. Look forward to the future and build yourself up. If you reminisce of the past and what was instead of what could be, you are missing out on life! WAKE UP! Don't feel sorrow for past decisions or outcomes. Be excited that you can make new decisions and write your own book! Look towards the future with a free mind and open arms!
Be yourself. No one likes a fake but a fake. Love who you are and others will too.
Do these things and you will live with no regrets because you have beaten the odds and you have lived your life with full potential. 

That's all I have to say today and I feel like it's more than enough. 

........For me anyways. :)

Finding Inspiration

Inspiration. There's not exactly an endless supply of it. Its been over a week since I have been able to spit something out that I thought would be worthy enough for anyone to read. Things often happen in life that send our minds in a whirling dervish of confusion. This past week was full of dervishes that were thrashing about dervishly for me.
I love writing on my blog. I love the fact that people actually take time out of their day to listen to my thoughts and my feelings. I am so thankful for them. When I can't write, I feel like I'm missing something in my life. I guess it's my way of releasing all of my racing thoughts. I don't care what anyone tells you. Writing is therapeutic.
Back to inspiration. Since things in my life were going askew, I decided to look for the beauty in my surroundings considering other situations seemed to be lacking in such. At about 1 o' clock in the morning on Tuesday, I went outside to look at the stars. I couldn't get a great view of the sky so I put my camping chair on my dad's deep-sea fishing boat. The view was gorgeous! I LOVE stargazing. While I was sitting there pondering, I saw a shooting star. In my seventeen years of existence, I've never seen a shooting star. When I told someone that I saw a shooting star, they asked me if I made a wish. At the time, that thought never even crossed my mind. I was so ecstatic to have finally seen one.
Which leads me to my next thought. We are given so much beauty on this earth and how often do you hear people praise and breathe in the beauty that is given to us? All that is said in these days are down-putting and depressing. We can make the best of any situation by finding beauty in all places. When I feel down and I experience something like that, I feel love from my Heavenly Father (especially when I'm having a rough time).
I realize that to some, finding beauty in disaster is hard, so I have some suggestions to encourage that search.

• Open Your Heart.
• Be open to things that you wouldn't normally do or try. Give the unknown a chance. Go in on both feet even if you expect to come out on the ground. The only way to grow and change is to experience things other than your norm.
• Listen to Your Feelings.
• If you feel something inside you, and it is strong. Listen to it. It's trying to guide you somewhere. Don't try to suppress it, because it will only grow stronger until you do something about it. You will never know what would have been if you didn't take the chance. Who knows, it could change your life?
• Follow Your Instincts.
• This is the next step of listening to your feelings. Think about what you feel and put it into action. If you feel you should do something, DO IT! You will never know what would have been if you didn't take the chance. Who knows, it could change your life?
• Live Without Regrets.
• Regret is to think with a sense of loss. When you act on your instinct or use your intuition and the scenario doesn't quite work out as well as you have planned, don't be upset. What have you lost? If anything you've gained experience and learned something that you will have the opportunity to use later on in life. 
• Find and Embrace a Passion.
• When you find something that you're passionate about, your soul can escape from the binds that the world has over you. Your passion can help you solve problems, feel better, make you think in depth, and  forget about worries if you utilize it correctly. 
• Listen to Music.
• Music is what makes my soul escape. I love to listen to it while I'm taking a shower. It combines my thinking time with the free spirit I get when I listen to music. The combination is what keeps me going. Without it, I'm sure I would have exploded from stress by now. Sometimes, when I don't sing along and I just listen to the music I perceive lyrics differently than I had before and at that time it helped me out a lot. 
• Give to Others.
• Giving will ALWAYS make you feel better. Selflessness is A fundamental of life. If you cannot give of yourself, would you expect others to give to you? Giving is one of the (few) things that restores hope that I have for mankind. You don't always have to give money. Giving of time and yourself is always appreciated. Little acts of kindness here and there are also ways that you can give. Also included in that group is SMILING :D Smiling can make a big difference on people at the right time of their life.
• Appreciate Small, Simple Things.
• Expensive and extravagant things only give you temporary happiness. I heard someone on the radio today say that she loved to blow money on clothes. The thing about clothes, cars, jewelry, money, and many other things is this: They can be replaced. Find things that don't have money value but still offer you something. Sunsets, stars, friendships. Nothing in this world can replace the love and care of a true best friend.
• Don't Worry About Other's Opinions
• If you spend your life worrying about what others think of you, you will NEVER be happy. You will spend your whole life seeking the approval of the ever-changing and unappreciative world. The only way you can be truly happy is to be yourself. There is no one out there that is exactly like you. You have so much to offer and may even change someone's life through your example. You have something that NO ONE in this world can offer. You are so precious. Let the world see how precious you really are. 
• Don't Over-think Things.
• This is my downfall. I definitely over-think things to the point that it keeps me up at night. If I would listen to what I feel and act with my instincts, my life would be so much easier. Once I finally let things fall into place and say and do what I feel, I was soooo much happier. I wasn't worried anymore. I didn't have to regret not taking the chance. This rule has definitely helped me appreciate and follow all of the above rules. 

Wonderful Rainy Daze

I LOVE rain! It began raining at my house at about 3:30 today.  The lowly pitter-patter of the raindrops on the face of the leaves and the low grumble of distant thunder initiated the rain of the day . I attempted to take some pictures of the rain on some surrounding foliage, but I don't think I did too well of a job, but I'm still happy with the way they look. :)

The wind started to pick up soon after I got done snapping some photos as did the intensity of the rain and accompanying thunder. I really enjoy sitting in the midst of such intense weather and listening to the small roar of all of the raindrops hitting the road and the leaves. The low grumble of the thunder escalated into a loud roar. The clamor and the clashing followed the jolts of lightning that danced across the hazy sky. The lightning got so beastly that I had to go inside. Mabel, my dog,  followed me around the house while I attempted to save some of my valuables of electronic nature. Poor thing... she hates this weather. She literally jumped into my arms and would not stray from my presence or my lap. I love that animals tend to seek the companionship of other animals (including humans) for the sense of safety. Humans could learn from the way that animals think and interact, which in my opinion is much like that of a child. I think that we learn about ourselves on rainy days. We are forced to look inward instead of being satisfied by the instant gratification of the world. Rainy days are always my designated philosophy days. The way that we interact and respond to the rain tells a lot about who we are. I tend to go outside when it rains and listen to the lightning rip through the sky and envelop myself in the resonance of the thunder. It is so therapeutic to me. 

To exist is to change. To change is to grow. To grow is to go on creating
oneself endlessly. 

You cannot live while being stagnant. Next time it rains, look inside yourself and see who you want to become. The best way to find out who you want to become is to look at who you are and admit you want to change. I normally have a negative disposition, but I challenged myself to seek the beauty in the things that may be lacking exactly that. It has blessed my life so much! I challenge you to find a small thing in your life that you want to work on and work on it every day. Several times a day if you can. It can't hurt, so what do you have to lose?

Tracing the Stars

Tracing the Stars by Asa Draney

Upcoming Artists: Bryce Irvin & Asa Draney

"Tracing the Stars" was written by Bryce Irvin accompanied by Asa Draney on guitar. Bryce Irvin is only 15 years old, but has powerful lyrics and a seasoned voice. These are the words of an aspiring artist regarding the inspiration of his favorite song.

The inspiration for this song came from a powerful feeling. It’s the feeling when you love somebody so much, that you would give your life to save theirs. Then you’re telling that person, even though I might be gone, I’ll never really be gone. I’ll always be there in your heart when you need me. For me, this song is about my family and close friends. But at the time I was writing it, it was directed to one of my closest friends. She’s like a sister to me, and I’d do anything for her.

My favorite artist at the moment is probably Adele. I just love the soul and passion in her music. It’s like you can hear the emotion in her voice. I write my music from the heart and from my experiences, and Adele is good example and motivation. 

I guess my sound came from my personality. I used to be pretty shy when I was younger, so when I would sing it would be softer and had a raspier tone. However then my personality took a big change to becoming an extrovert, and my singing changed as well to a louder and brighter tone. So now, I’ve learned to use both the soft and bright tones in my songs for a really cool and different effect.

I was born in Livingston, New Jersey, which is about 30 minutes from Manhattan. Being so close to such a diverse city, I was surrounded by a variety of different sounds in my younger years. My mother was also a singer, and I remember going into the recording studio with her a couple times. That had a big influence on who I wanted to be in the future, and what kind of music I create. For the past 8 years I’ve lived in Georgia. I’ve always lived close to a big city, which I guess inspired me to try to get myself out there.

I believe everything happens for a reason. I think God gave me this gift to share with the world. And I’m doing my very best to accomplish this mission for Him. I’ve had some very rough times in my life and I've been in some pretty dark places, but He has saved me many times. The least I can do for Him is spread good, positive images to the world through music.

Music is my life. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t write.

New School-Year, New TOMS!

I love the new TOMS that have come out for the fall season. The general focus of the new line of TOMS is teaching/learning and heavy textural fabrics. I believe that TOMS was trying to youth-en up the drab plaid and tweed by weaving glitter into them. All of the tweed and plaid shoes are infused with a subtle bit of metallic. There are 26 new pair of TOMS varying in style. Although the fall line of TOMS are pretty rockin', I have to say that these have to be my favorite.  

Although these are more of a summer look, I just love how relaxed they are. When I look at them I think  of the beach & leaving all my worries behind! I love things that make me think that I have a chance of being free from the stress of my life! 

Wishfully thinking or ready for a new pair of shoes for school? Find all of the new styles here.

Overcoming Yourself

We are all our own worst critic,  but what drives us to the conclusions that we are not good enough? In my opinion, media is what leads us to believe that we are inferior in many aspects. Everywhere you look, (Movies, Magazines, Music, Actresses/Actors, Video Games, Ect...) there are standards that the world expects you to live by. These standards involve some of the following:

Immodesty
Being super-thin (even if it involves eating disorders)
Partaking of drugs or alcohol
Premarital sex
Partying with the wrong types of people
& basically many other types of immoral recreational activities

Just because the media has portrayed this lifestyle doesn't mean we have to pursue it. How many people are truly happy because they do pursue those things? Just by looking at those lifestyle choices, I can tell you that your health would suffer, your dignity would be lost, you might develop depression and regret, there would be no stability in your life, and most of all lonely. 

I, like some girls. tend to seek after things that build ourselves up. I am so grateful to have The Church of Latter-Day Saints in my life and to have grown up with the values and virtues it teaches. These are things we seek after:

Modesty

Being healthy

( Staying away from things that may harm our body)

Being Chaste

Being where we are supposed to be, when we are supposed to be there

& wholesome recreational activities

By doing these things, we can be truly happy. We also feel comfortable around others and ultimately are content with ourselves. 

When I was thinking about the things the media tries to force on us, I thought about modesty and swimsuits. As young women, we are naturally self-conscience about the way we look. So how can someone wearing a bikini be comfortable around others when the pressure to be thin is so overwhelming? I can't see how they ever could.

Drugs, sex, and alcohol are something that I will never understand. What good comes out of those things? Lets look at some possible outcomes. 

Drugs               Sex              Alcohol

  A temporary high   Pregnancy  Buzzed/ Intoxication

Loss of judgement Contracting diseases  DUI/ Manslaughter  

Those are just a few and you can imagine how those things would change your life. You could never be the same if those things happened.

By being 

HONEST*TRUE*CHASTE*BENEVOLENT*VIRTUOUS 

and seeking after things that are

 VIRTUOUS*LOVELY*GOOD REPORT*PRAISEWORTHY

we can overcome the doubts, the judgments, and the influence of the world. 

We should be happy and proud to be who we are. Let the world see what a unique individual you are without letting the world alter that by infecting you with it's smut. You have so much potential, and who knows, you might inspire someone else by your example. 

P.S.

This song came to mind while I was writing this. It is a very sweet, inspirational song.