From the time we are born, we are surrounded by rules. Don't cross the street without holding Mom's hand, no dessert till you've had your dinner, do your chores, be in bed by nine. As we grow up the rules are lesser and lesser, but, still, we are always governed by some sort of rules. So why do we voluntarily add more restrictions to our lives? Why do we unnecessarily add so many rules that really aren't important after all?
Don't talk to that guy because he talked to that one girl for an hour and a half last Sunday and they sorta have something goin' on.
You can't be friends with her. I don't like her, therefore, you don't like her, and y'all can't be friends.
You can't buy that shirt. I saw this girl two weeks ago at some gas station in Auburn, and you wouldn't want to match her.
He cheated on you. He deserves to die, and you can't in any circumstances be friends with that guy.
And the list goes on...
You shouldn't do this, and you shouldn't do that, and that's not cool, and sorority girls don't do that, and that's so embarrassing, and you look ridiculous.
WHO CARES?
Do what makes you happy.
For years we've waited for the freedom to be away from our parents and make our own decisions. Why now, when we are finally on our own, do we remain so uptight? We create so many unnecessary restrictions, so much pointless drama in our lives for absolutely no reason. So I say it's time to let go of these rules. I say it's time to start living, start loving, start taking chances. We miss out on so many exciting opportunities, so many new relationships, so many new memories when we abide by rules that aren't even rules at all. So let's start bending them, maybe even breaking them, let's live a little. Do what you wanna do, say what you wanna say, be who YOU wanna be.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
It's Your Life
"It isn’t the mountains to climb that wear you out, it’s the pebble in your shoe."
-Muhammad Ali
I know, I know...it has been months since I've blogged. Call it a bad case of writer's block, call it a bad case of laziness, or call it a bad case of the blues, but blogging has been the last thing on my mind.
Over the last two months, I've slowly begun to realize that some people simply aren't meant to be in your life, no matter how bad you want them there. No matter how strongly you cling to something (or someone), it won't change the fact that they aren't just meant to be there. Maybe this person is the problem causing your sadness or your anger. In reference to the quote I posted at the beginning of this post, maybe this person is the pebble in your shoe.
So if you've isolated the problem, and you know what it is that is causing so much heartbreak. Why do we continue to hang on? Why can't we just let go. It's taken me months to realize just how stubborn I am, and months to realize that it's time to let go and move on. There comes a time when we have to come to the realization that something just isn't right. There comes a time when you have to realize that YOU are the most important person in your life and YOU choose whether or not you'll be happy or miserable.
Why would you keep someone around who hurt you? Why would you want to keep someone around who quite frankly did not care enough to make sure you were in their life? Why would you want to waste all of your feelings and effort on someone who viewed you and your relationship with them as disposable?
Why would you continue to walk with a pebble in your shoe?
Once you remove the problem, the distraction, the hurt, you free yourself to move on and you open up your life to something so much better. You open up your life to new opportunities, new people, new relationships, and you open up your life to the people who matter. You say good-bye to those who hurt you, to those who don't feel that you're worth it, and you finally allow yourself to focus on those that who truly love you and care about you and prove it every day.
YOU are beautiful. YOU have a bright future. YOU are blessed. YOU have almighty God on your side, and with Him all things are possible. And YOU have the decision every day to be miserable or to be happy. It's all up to YOU!
Monday, March 21, 2011
It's A Great Day to Be Alive
Over the last couple days, God has reminded me just how precious life is. Two girls my age passed away over spring break. We celebrated Ethan's 20th birthday without him, for the second time. I visited my Pop in the rehabilitation center, noticing how much older and more fragile my grandfather had become. I said hello to all the lonely nursing home residents, and, on one particular day, Grandma and I met a family friend as he was leaving the nursing home and tearfully informed us that his grandmother had finally passed away a few minutes before. His mom followed his statement with, "It was time though. She's lived a lot of years."
Some people are lucky to grow old, to live a lot of years. Others are taken way before those of us left behind deem necessary. The bottom line is that we never really know when God is ready for us. We never really know when our time here is up. When it's time to go home, can I look back and say that I really lived?
So over the course of the weekend, I found myself soaking in every moment spent with my precious grandparents. I savored every smile, every laugh, every bite of homemade pound cake, every warm robe in the morning, every hug. I found myself crying on the way home as I realized that Grandma and Pop won't be with me for the rest of my life. It's hard to imagine them being gone, and with Pop sick, the realization that their time here is temporary only sinks in more. Every day that he is here and healthy is a great day.
And I began to think about the families of the two girls who passed away over the break. I began to think of all the unanswered questions that the families must have, and I began to think of my sweet Ethan as I realized that they are asking the same question that we once asked...why? Ethan's birthday was a hard one again. He was taken from us far too young, and we didn't see it coming. I wanted so badly to be able to wish him a happy birthday to his face, as I know so many others did, too.
And as all of these thoughts came together, I rolled down the windows of my car and rode down the streets of Talladega blaring my Travis Tritt and screaming that it's a great day to be alive. Life is so precious. It can be gone in an instant. When that time comes, will I be ready? I can't wait to finally meet my Father in heaven, and I can't wait to see all the people who made it there before me. But until that day, I'm continually savoring every day, every emotion, every person in my life. I'm alive, and I'm infinitely blessed....so every day that I'm still breathing is a great day to be alive.
Some people are lucky to grow old, to live a lot of years. Others are taken way before those of us left behind deem necessary. The bottom line is that we never really know when God is ready for us. We never really know when our time here is up. When it's time to go home, can I look back and say that I really lived?
So over the course of the weekend, I found myself soaking in every moment spent with my precious grandparents. I savored every smile, every laugh, every bite of homemade pound cake, every warm robe in the morning, every hug. I found myself crying on the way home as I realized that Grandma and Pop won't be with me for the rest of my life. It's hard to imagine them being gone, and with Pop sick, the realization that their time here is temporary only sinks in more. Every day that he is here and healthy is a great day.
And I began to think about the families of the two girls who passed away over the break. I began to think of all the unanswered questions that the families must have, and I began to think of my sweet Ethan as I realized that they are asking the same question that we once asked...why? Ethan's birthday was a hard one again. He was taken from us far too young, and we didn't see it coming. I wanted so badly to be able to wish him a happy birthday to his face, as I know so many others did, too.
And as all of these thoughts came together, I rolled down the windows of my car and rode down the streets of Talladega blaring my Travis Tritt and screaming that it's a great day to be alive. Life is so precious. It can be gone in an instant. When that time comes, will I be ready? I can't wait to finally meet my Father in heaven, and I can't wait to see all the people who made it there before me. But until that day, I'm continually savoring every day, every emotion, every person in my life. I'm alive, and I'm infinitely blessed....so every day that I'm still breathing is a great day to be alive.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Inventory Control
"Knowing what you’ve got, Knowing what you need, Knowing what you can do without-That’s inventory control." -Revolutionary Road
Lately I've come to realize that I have a lot of extra "baggage" in my life. I devote so much extra time, energy, and emotion into people and things that don't deserve it. So today I've decided to let a few things go. I've decided that I shouldn't waste anymore time trying to make people happy who couldn't care less if I'm happy or not. I've decided that I'm not going to keep working towards maintaining friendships that the other person could care less about whether or not they're in it. I've decided that I'm going to devote more energy to the healthy, meaningful relationships in my life and less to the ones that are nothing but a poison to me. The sad thing is that as I'm writing this, some of my closest "friends" come to mind.
So....Today, I'm thankful for...
The friends who txt or call me just to see how I'm doing or to wish me good luck on a test.
The friends from high school who wouldn't dare let the distance get the best of us and call me every time they see my name on Skype.
The friends who want to see me, not just when it's convenient for them, but whenever they possibly can.
And the friends who, in turn, don't expect me to drop everything the minute that they decide they want to hang out with me.
The friends who realize that I have a life, too, and that sometimes I'm gonna be busy.
The friends who realize that I have a life, too, and that sometimes I'm gonna be busy.
The friends who answer my phone calls and listen to me cry even over something ridiculous.
The friends who go with me to the library, or Kroger, or the tanning bed, or the doctor, no matter what time it is, what they could be doing, or what they should be doing.
The friends who are never selfish, never jealous, never judgmental.
Real friends.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Dartboard
Today, I was reminded again of some of the best advice Mom has ever given me.
It was an absolutely beautiful day. I had a wonderful time at the social last night. Woke up and went to all of my classes. Then spent what should have been a meaningless afternoon running errands with my boyfriend, but turned into such a fun couple of hours being with him and enjoying the weather. Chapter was just a paper chapter. I got to play with my nieces (the puppies), and Julia and I went over to the boys house to have steaks for dinner. Complete and total blissful, enjoyable day.
But this morning I got all stressed out and worked up over my classes, how busy I am, and all the things I had to get done. And then tonight, some silly girl got under my skin and caused a little tension in my relationship. Just stupid little annoyances...just darts.
Whenever I'd had a perfect day and dumb little things brought me down, Mom always told me that it was just Satan throwing darts at me. It was his way of trying to ruin my happiness and good mood. It was his way of trying to bring me down and give me a sour attitude. But Mom always said I had to tell him no. Tell him that I wasn't going to take it. I won't put up with his darts, and I won't let them hurt me.
So today was one of those days when I was the dartboard. Today I let Satan get a few stabs in. I let him make me feel discouraged, frustrated, and just plain not good enough. I let him bring me down, and I let him take away from the wonderful day I had filled with beautiful weather, lots of laughs, and some of the best people I could ask for. It's so important to remember that we do have an enemy, and that he does not want to see us happy. He does not want to see us glorify God, nor does he want God's light to shine through us. So it's important when we are the dartboard, to catch those darts and tell Satan no. It's important not to let him in and allow ourselves to have those perfect days. After all, I truly am much too blessed to be stressed. :)
"Don't take much for this crazy world to rob me of my peace, and the enemy of my soul says You're holding out on me. So I stand here lifting empty hands for You to fill me up again." -Francesca Battistelli
It was an absolutely beautiful day. I had a wonderful time at the social last night. Woke up and went to all of my classes. Then spent what should have been a meaningless afternoon running errands with my boyfriend, but turned into such a fun couple of hours being with him and enjoying the weather. Chapter was just a paper chapter. I got to play with my nieces (the puppies), and Julia and I went over to the boys house to have steaks for dinner. Complete and total blissful, enjoyable day.
But this morning I got all stressed out and worked up over my classes, how busy I am, and all the things I had to get done. And then tonight, some silly girl got under my skin and caused a little tension in my relationship. Just stupid little annoyances...just darts.
Whenever I'd had a perfect day and dumb little things brought me down, Mom always told me that it was just Satan throwing darts at me. It was his way of trying to ruin my happiness and good mood. It was his way of trying to bring me down and give me a sour attitude. But Mom always said I had to tell him no. Tell him that I wasn't going to take it. I won't put up with his darts, and I won't let them hurt me.
So today was one of those days when I was the dartboard. Today I let Satan get a few stabs in. I let him make me feel discouraged, frustrated, and just plain not good enough. I let him bring me down, and I let him take away from the wonderful day I had filled with beautiful weather, lots of laughs, and some of the best people I could ask for. It's so important to remember that we do have an enemy, and that he does not want to see us happy. He does not want to see us glorify God, nor does he want God's light to shine through us. So it's important when we are the dartboard, to catch those darts and tell Satan no. It's important not to let him in and allow ourselves to have those perfect days. After all, I truly am much too blessed to be stressed. :)
"Don't take much for this crazy world to rob me of my peace, and the enemy of my soul says You're holding out on me. So I stand here lifting empty hands for You to fill me up again." -Francesca Battistelli
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