"A hard beginning maketh a good ending."

The End(:

Wow. I can't believe that 61 days have passed since I started this blog. When I first started I wasn't really that committed. I just wanted something to keep me occupied to get me through this ridiculously long summer. I never knew that people would actually care what I had to say or that one summer could teach me so much about myself and the world around me. Now 1,439 views and 61 lessons later, it's done(:

THANKS YOU:
-First and foremost, I absolutely must thank God. He's been such an incredible influence in my life this year. He's given me the strength to do more than I ever thought possible. Without him I would be absolutely NOTHING.
-Secondly, my family. Without even know it you've given me so much support to make some big decisions in my life. I appreciate and love you guys will ALL of my heart. 
-Subway! Haha, working there taught me not only how to be a master sandwich artist but to deal with ridiculously annoying people and work with others. Adding on to that I must thank my awesome coworker Jessica for being the best closing buddy ever and for always being willing to discuss stuff that matters(:
-All those lovely guys I've met this summer. Without meeting each and every one of you I wouldn't know half the stuff I do about the real world. Without even knowing it, you inspired half of my lessons.This time last year you guys would have intimidated the heck out of me but I guess it's all how you look at it(:
-Tallah and her lovely partner in crime "courtney". Thanks for um proofreading my blog and telling me to write lessons about you. I did. You just don't know they are about you.
-Alma, Amber, Andrew, Sean, Nick, Big, Destiny, all of my wonderful Phi Mu sisters- For just always being there for me(:
-Everyone who has ever done me wrong or has given me a "lesson"- Thanks! You've helped me learn so much about myself. I wouldn't change anything about the choices that I've made. Good friendships aren't defined by the moments when everything is calm, but more when everything is a total mess.


If I forgot anyone THANK YOU! I'm so thankful for everything and everyone in my life. So be brave, love yourself, forgive, breathe, learn, smile, stop worrying, be passionate, find yourself. 

                                                                             

                                                   God bless♥

“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.”

Lesson 61: There are no mistakes, only lessons.

Everyone makes mistakes. It's part of life. But it only stays a mistake if you choose not to learn from it. In my lifetime so far I've made plenty of mistakes but surprisingly I have absolutely no regrets. I've learned from everything I done. Sometimes it's rather difficult to learn from a mistake because you are too busy being worried about the right here and now. Move past it. Actions are irreversible and if you go through life trying to be perfect or dwelling on past mistakes...well, your life will be pretty miserable. Start seeing the lesson in your mistakes and try not to stress so much about them. Just don't repeat them(:

"Wise men are not always silent, but they know when to be"

Lesson 60: Stop making plans. 

I always find that right when I make plans, they go wrong in some way. I think that this is Gods way of telling me to stop trying to control my life because he is in charge. So yeah, stop trying to be the boss of your life and surrender fully to Jesus.


"Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

"When nothing goes right, go left."

Lesson 59: Bad days will happen.

I've had more than my fair share of bad days. And I'm sure that you have too. You know those days where absolutely nothing goes right and no one seems to be on your side? Yeah, everyone gets them. We need to wake up and realize that those sort of days are going to happen, especially when we really don't need them. In the end, all that matters is what you do with it(:

"You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do."

Lesson 58: Fuck what people think.

I'm so tired of such judgmental people. Stop judging people based on how they act, how the dress, what they like, etc. It's such a waste of time!

So I'm sure I'm ten years behind because I just discovered how much I love them today! Listen & you'll fall in love(:

"All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that."

Lesson 57: Waste  your time wisely.

Stop wasting time on pointless things. If you don't do something that is meaningful in some way everyday, then what is the point of living?

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."

Lesson 56: Say I love you all the time.

Recent events have made me realize that you can never say I love you too much. You never know when that person won't be around for you to tell them you love them. There is no harm in saying it too much. Only in saying it too little. I've always been a big "I love you" kind of person. I'm even sure I use that word too often and with people that I probably don't actually love. But I guess it's better to go through life loving everyone and everything than to love nothing at all. So yeah, I love you(:

"God has given you one face, and you make yourself another."

Lesson 55: Don't be two-faced.

Ugh. Biggest pet peeve. Just say what you want to say and stop lying. I promise, most people will appreciate it more if you just say how you truly feel and not take time to lie. Seriously.

"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away."

Lesson 54: Do it because you want to. Because it makes you happy(:

Something major that I've learned this summer is that you don't have to have a reason for everything that you do. Sometimes its okay just to do it because it makes you happy.

"How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours."

Lesson 53: People treat you how you let them treat you.

Start standing up for yourself. If you act like a pushover that is how people will treat you. If you listen to what they say, it will be so. Be who you are. Don't let someone else define you.

"Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have."

Lesson 52: Make healthy choices.

I bet you thought this was going to be a post all about having a healthy diet. Well it's not. Only part of it is. 

Make healthy choices:
1) In what you eat- Your body is your life. It's what keeps you alive. So take good care of it by eating things that give you the nutrients you need. Also, get plenty of exercise and drink A LOT of water.
2) In what you think- Try to stay positive. It's probably not as bad as you think it is. And even if it is, only you can fix it. 
3)In who you spend time with- Surround yourself with people who lift you up and make you feel better about yourself. Life is ridiculously too short to spend time with negative people.
4) In what you do- Make time EVERYDAY to do something for yourself. Something I live by is before I do anything I ask myself "Would I like to be doing this when the Lord comes back?" and if the answer is no I stop. It sounds really silly but it actually works.

"True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost."

Lesson 51: No matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.


Good friends are few and far between. But everyone is going to hurt you. You can't put someone on that high of a pedestal because the will only disappoint you. So cherish your friends and forgive them because you can't expect from someone else what you don't expect from yourself.

"God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them."

Lesson 50: Crave God's presence. 

Sometimes I find myself just absolutely desperate to be closer to God. Ever feel that way?

PRAY ABOUT IT! (:

"If you can dream it, you can do it."

Lesson 49: Have no regrets.

So many times I hear stories of people who reach old age and say "I wish I had done that when I had the chance." It's one of the saddest things I have ever heard. We go through our lives putting things off, neglecting to say the things we want to say and postponing dreams to fit our busy schedule. We worry about the tiniest consequences of our actions and let society's thoughts govern how we act.

What if you could do anything you wanted without failing?


Of course given that circumstance we would probably do things that we had only dreamed of before. But if you really think about it, so what if you fail? You just get back up and try again. I think it's better to have tried and failed than to never have tried at all and end up regretting it.

"For every situation there is a suitable line from a song."

Lesson 48:Music is incredible.

Yes, this may be the band geek coming out in me. But in my opinion, music is the most powerful thing we have left in this world. That's all. No frills this time.

LISTEN!

You don't even have to know anything about why this piece was written to be absolutely amazed by it. Maybe it's because I played it so many times in high school and heard the story so many times that every time I hear it I get chills and almost cry. SUCH a good song!

When I hear people say they just don't understand why some people are so obsessed with this kind of music...I just don't get it. Obviously you don't know what good & moving music is(:

Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it.

Lesson 47: The best things in life aren't things.


My favorites:
-The feeling you get when someone says I love you.
-Tiredness the day after you stayed up all night talking with a goof friend. 
-Knowing that my family will always be there for me even if I mess up.
-The knowledge that the almighty Jesus loves me always.
-When my little sister smiles, takes my hand and wants me to go play with her.
-When I'm laying in bed at night and I realize what a magnificent life this is.

It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you are not."

Lesson 46: Be confident in everything you do.


Everyone makes mistakes. I bet all of you have heard this sometime throughout your life...probably when you have messed up and someone is trying to reassure you that you are not alone. I've heard a lot of people say "why be shy or cautious about anything because even if you mess up, who cares?" I've always feared (like most everyone else) facing public humiliation. I don't like speaking to large groups of people, going to a new place alone or even working in bigger groups. It's not that I'm a shy person, I'm just not an extrovert and I worry about doing something ridiculously stupid. 


Today I was talking to my mother about this. After our talk I began to think about everything I could do if I wasn't this way. The list was practically endless. So now I've made it my personal goal to fear less and just go for it. I'm going to try to be confident in all of my endeavors. We'll see how this goes(:

*Just saying: I love George Bush, but this was too funny and cute(:

Lesson 45: Learn how to listen.

Most people like talking about themselves. But very few people know how to shut up and listen. Listening to what others have to say will gain respect, make them more likely to listen to you and it's just nice(:

SO LISTEN UP!

" Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice."

Lesson 44: Believe in magic.


This lesson is in honor of Harry Potter..since it ends tonight at midnight.


Short and sweeeet: Believe that amazing things DO happen.

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.”

Lesson 43: Always give 100%

A lot of times I find myself doing something that is simple and seems almost trivial so I end up not working as hard on it as I would another task. For example, at my current job at Subway I sometimes find myself slacking and only giving about 75% because the work is so easy it just seems unnecessary to put so much effort into it.  In reality, I should be giving 110% because every task I take on deserves the same amount of attention. 

My high school band director used to say to us "You have to give your 100% during EVERY performance. I don't care if it's for a football crowd, at a band competition or if it's just for this empty school. You have to put all your effort in every time." It used to drive me insane because I wondered...why bother being impressive if no one is watching? But when our band started giving 100% ALL OF THE TIME, we were great. 

So to sum up what I'm trying to say, it doesn't matter if you are researching the cure for cancer or collecting garbage. Giving your 100%, 100% of the time is so much more rewarding than if you go through life only giving half.

Yes, I am showing off my awesome high school marching band(:

"If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it."

Lesson 42: Stop whining & do something about it.


The loudest noise in the world is the sound of people whining. 


Don’t add to it.


Yeah, we've all been guilty of whining. Even myself. In our minds I guess we think it will make it better to complain. I realized this when I was really having a bad day and a bunch of people were at my house. I got really angry and snapped at a few people and then started complaining about everything that had gone wrong so far. Suddenly one of the guys interrupted me with "Yeah, I heard complaining made it better." And of course that made me almost strangle him. But now I look back, laugh and realize that he was absolutely correct. Whining about something usually doesn't change the situation. You have two choices. 

1. Sit there and complain and things stay the same.

or

2. Get up and do something to change the situation.

SO FREAKIN' CUTE!

“In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him.”

Lesson 41: It's all about perspective.

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered:

"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing?

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we 

have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

“Every day, people settle for less than they deserve. They are only partially living or at best living a partial life. Every human being has the potential for greatness.”

Lesson 40: Stop settling for second best.

I find myself doing this way too much. You should always aim for you exact goal. Never settle for anything less than everything. In every aspect: relationships, school, work, etc(:

“You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy.”

Lesson 39: You have to love yourself before you can love another.

This is pretty straightforward. It's really impossible to love someone else fully until you love yourself. If you try to love someone else first it feels...weird. I've had a lot of struggles in the past with loving myself and it's also made forming relationships with others very difficult. So you need to find yourself and love yourself before you can make anyone else love you.


I'm not a fan of Lil Wayne. But I really like this song. It's cute(:

"A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you."

Lesson 38: Friendship is quality over quantity.


I used to stress about not having a lot of friends. I've always had a few really good friends and then some people that I was more like friendly acquaintances with. For a long time it drove me insane. Why couldn't I become friends with everyone? Then I realized I probably didn't want to. In your life you don't need a hundred friends to be someone. Find people who you can really relate to and that should be plenty. 


I joined a sorority so I could branch out and make more friends And yes, I did make plenty of new friends But even though I met these people I still find myself turning to those that I was closest to before I joined. It's weird, but I think they are all I really need. I'm not saying I don't like meeting new people and making new friends But when it comes down to it, I'm pretty content with who is in my life(:

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are people."

Lesson 37: Everyone should be a feminist.

I know, I know. Some of you out there are laughing at me right about now. I know this statement seems a little absurd, especially to the guys reading this. But is the idea that women are equal to men completely ridiculous? Everyone should be in favor of giving women equal status in society and of everyone being free from oppression. Every time I see statistics where women get paid less for an equal amount of work or hear a joke that suggests that a woman's place is in the kitchen...I almost explode from anger. It's so stupid that women are referred to as the weaker sex although they face equally difficult  challenges as men. When you think about it, because women are still so oppressed they actually face bigger hardships than most men do. Sometimes I almost cannot believe some of the ways that women are oppressed throughout the world.

For example:
-In Saudi Arabia, women aren’t allowed to drive, or even ride bikes, and men aren’t allowed to drive women they’re not closely related to. wth?
-Husbands in Egypt and Bahrain can file an official complaint at the airport to forbid their wives from leaving the country for any reason. In Syria, a husband can prevent his wife from leaving the country. In Iraq, Libya, Jordan, Morocco, Oman and Yemen, married women must have their husband’s written permission to travel abroad, and they may be prevented from doing so for any reason. In Saudi Arabia, women must obtain written permission from their closest male relative to leave the country or travel on public transportation between different parts of the kingdom. -Men tell women where and when they can go? Oh heck no.
-Women’s unequal legal rights increase their vulnerability to violence. In many countries in the region, no specific laws or provisions exist to penalize domestic violence, even though domestic violence is a widespread problem. Domestic violence is generally considered to be a private matter outside the state’s jurisdiction. Battered women are told to go home if they attempt to file a complaint with the police. Few shelters exist to protect women who fear for their lives. Spousal rape has not been criminalized; husbands have an absolute right to their wives’ bodies at all times. Penal codes in several countries in the region also contain provisions that authorize the police and judges to drop charges against a rapist if he agrees to marry his victim. Can you believe this? Like really?
-Many countries criminalize adult, consensual sex outside of marriage. In Morocco, women are much more likely to be charged with having violated penal code prohibitions on sexual relations outside of marriage than men. Unmarried pregnant women are particularly at risk of prosecution. The Moroccan penal code also considers the rape of a virgin as an aggravating circumstance of assault. The message is clear: the degree of punishment of the perpetrator is determined by the sexual experience of the victim. -So men are the only ones allowed to decide when they can have sex?

Isn't this absolutely ridiculous? Even in the US women face things like this everyday. Maybe not to this extreme, but still.

“Judgments prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances.”

Lesson 36: Stop judging.

This is what drives me absolutely nuts.

1. People who judge others based on appearance- Everyone is absolutely perfect because they are a creation of God. So it's ridiculous to base your opinion of someone on how they look. I know that today's society has defined what it means to be"beautiful." But people need to stop adhering to those strict stereotypes and understand that there is different kinds of beauty.


2. People who judge others based on their beliefs- Mahatma Ghandi once said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” And I hate to agree with this but a lot of times it's very true. Before I was saved by His amazing glory, I was sometimes overwhelmed by the overly-judgmental people that attended church. Even now I hear people around campus who say things like "Well I would go to church but the people who go are so mean and if you're not a Christian they judge you so harshly." That's so unnecessary. I wish I could tell all of those people out there that even though there are people like that out there, the church will ALWAYS welcome you.


3. People who judge others based on what they have- Something I HATE more than pretty much anything is when I hear people my age whose parents are well off brag about being "rich." Guess what? You're not. You're PARENTS are rich.  Besides, money isn't even that important. So stop being so superficial and stupid. kthanks(:

“Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets.”

Lesson 35: Hardships are necessary.


A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could gono further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings. It would then be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.


Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives!


If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
I asked for Strength.......and God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom.........and God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity.....and God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage........and God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love....... ..and God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors.........and God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted.........I received everything I needed.

 

TEN DAYS! (: (: (:

Lesson 34: Size doesn't matter.

I'm honestly so tired of hearing all about how sizes 2,4 & 6 are "sexy" and if you are anything bigger...GROSS! That is so messed up! I'm a size 12/14 and I'm very proud of it. Of course I have my days where I start to think being a smaller size would just make things easier. But I'm glad I have womanly curves! 

The whole world needs to wake up and realize that being pencil thin isn't any more beautiful than being curvaceous. When I read magazines now I completely ignore the ads for clothes because I know I can't determine how it will look on me since the person wearing it will probably be a size 0. Forreal? Put some real women out there! 

I challenge everyone to start focusing on TRUE BEAUTY and not just the size of a person. Seriously. I'm getting ridiculously sick of it.

“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.”

Lesson 33: What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today?


Okay, I found this question on StumbleUpon a few days ago and since then I have lost sleep over it and I can't stop thinking about it. When I first read this I pondered it for a moment and I came to a horrible realization. I would have had nothing. Absolutely nothing! It was such a terrible thought I couldn't sleep that night and I couldn't get it off my mind. It made me realize I tend to kind of  drawing this separation from God when I'm busy, or distracted or having fun. I tend to forget to thank Him for bringing all these good things into my life. Or even to come to Him with my problems and worries. That's what he is there for. To be an ever-present help in good times and bad. 


"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. " -Proverbs 3:5-6

"You can’t find something that’s already there. Happiness exists now. It’s not something you have to find. That’s like trying to find your breath."

Lesson 32: The Secret to Happiness: Stop Caring.


Our lives are plagued with practicality and productivity. We think that if there’s no purpose to something, there’s no point in doing it. In reality the best things in life have no purpose. We sacrifice our time and our sanity doing what we don’t want to do, so at some future point we will create the freedom to do what we love. We seek happiness in things. We seek happiness in the acceptance of others, in material possessions, in social status.  We sabotage ourselves and our entire lives because we fail to understand a very simple but easily overlooked fact.

[The Search for Happiness is the Single Greatest Cause of Misery.]

It’s the grasping of the mind that causes unhappiness. If you’re not happy, it’s because your mind doesn’t allow you be happy. And the reason your mind doesn’t let you be happy, is because you’re stuck in the vicious cycle of productivity, judgment and purpose. That’s not to say productivity is bad, or that doing things that have a purpose is wrong. It’s basing the reason for your existence on them that causes so much anguish.


What now?

• The best way to solve the problem of not having a lot of cool friends is to stop caring about having cool friends.
• The smartest way to be happy with the place you live is to stop caring about living in a two story house with a pool, a fireplace, central air and satellite TV.
• The simplest way to be content with yourself is not to achieve greatness and praise, but to accept yourself fully for who you are now.
• The quickest route to happiness is to stop caring about finding happiness and to start being happiness.

“If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut.”

Lesson 31: Don't gossip.

It's late so I'll keep this short and sweet(:

Before you say anything to anyone, ask yourself three things:
1. Is it true?
2. Is it kind?
3. Is it necessary?


Trust me. You'll be a lot happier without useless gossip. And people will probably be less likely to gossip about you & even if they do you'll be less likely to care(: