Out of the 15 weeks that make up a summer, I packed and unpacked a suitcase 26 different times. To say that I know what living out of a suitcase feels like, would be a complete and total understatement.
Looking back, as this summer quickly comes to close, just like all the summer before have mimicked, those 26 different suitcases indicate an excessive amount of travel. This summer was different because it felt like I had two lives to live: one that consisted of the everyday life here in Grand Island, and the other based on things that came into play because of my first year at college. And let me be the first to say that managing both sides wasn't always easy. Ya see, I'm a homebody, and I always have been. I remember being at my first sleepover as a 7 year old, calling home in a panic to my mother to come and get me, and, at 19, sometimes I wish I could do the same. Packing my suitcase for good for my first year of school, and then on and off again in the weeks that followed my summer at home has probably been one of the harder things to overcome, but it's also taught me a lot about home and what that really means. Webster dictionary defines home:(n)(adj)-as the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household. However, I think I have my own definition. Home isn't a place. It just can't be. Places are not promised, and never guaranteed. Anything can take away a home: wind, rain, a job transfer or move. If a home is only a physical space to you, then I think you're missing the point. I think that "home" is a much more complex and intangible thing. It's a feeling. The one that you get when you hear your mom's laugh because your dad did something ridiculous in the kitchen again. It's smelling spaghetti when you walk in the door after a sports practice. It's jabbing your siblings in the side with your thumb because you know it annoys them. Home has nothing to do with the location of these events, it's the people that make them possible. So to actually leave home requires a lot more than just leaving some drywall and shingles behind, because at the end of the day that's not what makes a place feel like home, and the great thing about a home consisting of its household members only means you have a mobile structure to follow you wherever you go: Your mom's laugh, your dad's humor, the family's cooking, and your siblings squeals are not going anywhere, regardless of where you end up in this big old world. Home will always move with you, always be your support system, and only grow bigger as you come to know and love more people, because once your physical home changes, you only latch onto more people to give you that feeling of security and love that you feel with your family. It's not restricted to blood line, it's the people who love you where you're at. That new scary apartment doesn't seem so bad when you think about the people you're taking with you. So pack your suitcase, and feel free to shed some tears, because in no way do I mean it's easy to leave. Those drywalls and shingles may not actually mean anything, but they were your sense of security for as long as you can remember, but they aren't the things that wiped away tears from your first loss in baseball, took your senior prom photos, and argued over who cheated playing Pitch. Those moments were the people. And believe me, they aren't going anywhere. So webster, here's my shot at what home really means: Home:(n)(adj)- a place, or feeling, of a sense of security centered around the unconditional love, support, and faith from the people who've been there since the beginning. Example sentence: Home is where the heart is, and that's never too far away. Be intentional. Please take responsibility for the energy that you bring into this space. Welcome back everyone! The two quotes you just read are the inspiration for this week's blog. (No fancy intro today, it is what it is). The everyday mundane can be just that... mundane, and, because most days are so ordinary, it's easy to get in a rut, and feel like life is moving in slow motion, as if your feet are in a hundred yard dash through quick sand. Not every day is going to have breakfast with a view, a hike to the top of Mount Everest, finished by a private plane flying you to dinner in Italy. In fact, I'm sure that none of us will have a day like that in our lifetime. But we still get so hung up on the grass is always greener, which is why I recommend... Be intentional. Wake up everyday and find a purpose. Set a goal. Make the ordinary day, an ordinary day with a cherry on top. For example, most of my summer has consisted working with kids in some way shape or form. This past week at work,we took them to the pool. After much pressuring from some fourth graders, I decided that I was going to go off the high dive. Some background knowledge for the rest of this story, I am absolutely terrified of heights, so this was the last thing I wanted to do, but I thought to myself "Alyssa, as an almost twenty year old, you can't go off a high dive, that some of the kindergartners are showing you up on. If you can't do that, and overcome that fear, how is the rest of your life going to be any more interesting or adventurous." So I climbed the ladder. Didn't look down. And ran straight off the edge. Intentionally. I hit the water, came up for air,went and jumped off again.This time with less fear. Had I not gone off the board, it would have been a day. I probably wouldn't have had any complaints, and it probably didn't alter the course of time, but when I came home I had something to talk about. Something to make today memorable, because I was intentional with what I did. For you this might mean a couple of things: tackling that art project you've been meaning to get to, taking time to listen to your favorite artist's new song, getting coffee with an old friend and catching up, smiling at everyone you see, sitting down and cracking open the bible, or it really could be planning a vacation to make the ordinary day extraordinary. I really don't care, just be purposeful. Secondly, take responsibility for the energy you bring. By energy, I mean your attitude, your work ethic, your actions, words, everything that makes you, you. It's not your boss's fault if you come into work annoyed that you're there. That's the spin you've chosen to put on the day. You have every capable tool to be a light in any situation, and it's so easy to place blame on an external cause, when internally you can control yourself. We've been hardwired to think that placing blame on someone else for our bad day is the easy way out, when really I find it more difficult. If I'm having a bad day, it's only going to get worse when I make the choice for it to be a bad days If I don't acknowledge that choice,it's easy for me to just sit in my mood and not be capable of pulling myself out. Instead, I try really hard to recognize the negativity before it becomes a consuming thing, and look for something else to focus on. It's so easy to think about how tired I am when I'm working an eight hour shift, but it's even harder when I let my focal point of the day be "when am I going to get out of here". The better days always occur when I'm able to step back, find some kids who are playing a game and jump in and enjoy my time with them. Take responsibility for what you're feeling and then do something about it. Days are long, but there's really not enough them to waste wondering what Mount Everest would look like. Be intentional with your days, and take responsibility for the energy in your life time, and see how extraordinary the ordinary can really be. With everyone officially on summer break, it's nice to finally sit back to take some time off for enjoying life and the little things just a little bit more.
After coming home from college, naturally I was asked about what my summer plans would be: Where will you work? Who will you be seeing? What adventures have you planned out for yourself? When I really go thinking about it I realized my summer plans consisted of this... A whole lot of nothing, and a little of whatever I wanted. Summer has always been a time to slack off to spend time doing all of these "do nothing" things because we feel like we've been doing everything for the previous nine months. Between class work, and real work, and all of everyday life's in betweens, we deserve this much needed break to refresh ourselves to do it all over again in the fall. But what's the point of doing everything we have to do, and then never doing the things we want to do only because it's easier to do nothing. And what's the point of doing nothing? So this summer I'm challenging myself, and anyone reading this, to make this summer an investment of sorts. Instead of a summer of nothing, have a summer of the something you wish you had time to do when you had to do everything you didn't want to do. Invest in yourself. Do that Pinterest board called "summer fun", try the new recipe, read the new book, start a new hobby, try the new work out, and feel good about yourself in general. I don't know why we were ever taught to believe that a summer of complacency would be a summer that brings us the most satisfaction. Sure, you can say you watched all 9 seasons of The Office twice (believe me I'm just as guilty as everyone else out there), but did you learn anything? Did you grow in any way shape or form? Because the summer's free time should be used to actually do something that will make you feel a little bit more alive. To put it qutie simply, invest in something other than the day time naps and Netflix binges. For example, some areas in my life that inspire some investment include...
I strongly believe that doing things you want to do and are passionate about, rather than binge watching Game of Thrones, will leave you just as satisfied, if not more, when your summer of productivity comes to a close. You'll feel accomplished, and proud of yourself for completing so much and learning that much more about yourself in the process Take some time to feed the soul, and see how refreshed you feel after. Happy summer everyone. I am a self proclaimed concert junkie.
Which makes a lot of sense really, considering how much I love listening to music, but when the crowd gets going, and the band is the good kind of loud, live music is ten times better than my headphones. I've been to 10 concerts in my lifetime, that are split about half and half between small time acts, big time names, and it's safe to say that the big time names always leave me wanting more. But overall, I think the number one thing that makes concerts so enthralling is the crowd. My first real concert was Justin Bieber (for all the people who hate on JB, just hang in here for a sec, there's a point I promise), and I still remember the moment he came out on stage, and all 17,560 of us in the Centurylink Center were going nuts, screaming our hearts and lungs out. I wasn't even a huge fan at the time, but the momentum of the crowd was contagious. Soon I was screaming and jumping up and down as if he was my hearthrob, and I was a tween with his posters all over my wall, and the energy stayed that high the whole time. Taylor Swift was the same way. A sold out show, with mega fans who knew all the words to every single song. Ya see, sometimes it has nothing to do with the act in front of you. Honestly, I could probably go to any concert where the performer has a great fan base, and totally enjoy myself. It never fails to blow my mind just how many people are in the arena, and that for one night, every single last one of us have something in common. Almost 18 thousand of us agreeing to the same thing. One of my favorite moments in any show is when the lights go up and you can look out over the crowd and see the thousands of bodies standing with you, and it's this crazy overwhelming feeling to be in such a sea of people, and know you still have something in common with everyone in the room. Even better, is when the lights go up and we are all singing along to the same song at the top of our lungs, swaying to the music and the artist looks out to the crowd and painted on their face is an emotion that just scream "Wow, I did this." That's what I've always loved about music. It's power to bring people together. What other subject can get thousands of people to agree on the same thing? Politics? No. What restaurant to eat at? Impossible to solve. However, get everyone to buy tickets to the same show, and boom, we are all connected. Why do you think it's so easy to make friends with the people around you at the shows? Because everyone's happy to be there, and they already know you are halfway normal if you agree with them on their music taste. I love the energy in the room, and I love being able to feel the music. The drum beat pounding in my chest, and the bass line buzzing in my feet, while my ears are trying to decipher between the music and the roar of people yelling. The moment when you take it all in, all the chaos and you let it consume you, because 17,560 people are doing the same thing. And for two hours, you aren't the only crazy person in the room. 5 states, and a 19 hour car ride makes for an interesting car ride, but put a week's worth of events between both ends of the drives and you get an interesting trip.
Some of you may know that I spent my Spring Break in Bear Branch, Kentucky, or Leslie County, Kentucky, or just Eastern Kentucky depending on how you look at it. Basically, it was a really small group of small towns in the small corner that is Eastern Kentucky. It's not too small to name the individual towns, but it's small enough that you can't tell the differences between places because the town lines blur between the wooded trees and mountains of Appalachia. It's funny because they aren't really mountains either. They are more along the lines of really big hills that are covered completely in trees and brush, and trying to hike them is like crawling on your hands and knees at an upward angle of almost 180 degrees. It's not like the rockies people. During the week we worked alongside Big Creek Staff, a mission group who works in Leslie County, and fellow Christian Student Fellowship members (my campus ministry, also called CSF). Different teams went out into the community each day to provide a variety of volunteer work to the people who need it. Some of the main projects included the construction of a 90 foot wheelchair ramp, fixing up an older man's home. Other groups could volunteer at the retired community, adult day care, or working with high school students. I spent my first two days at the high school, and I got to hang out with students to talk to them about their interests in college and moving away. Which, just like any other high school, the majority of the students had plans to leave and start over somewhere new. It was interesting to see the similarities between this high school, and the high schools I have experience with back home in Nebraska. It was also just as interesting to hear the differences. For example, my friend Logan was talking to a boy who said (without knowing we were from Nebraska) that if he could go anywhere, he would pick a place with a few rolling hills, some corn fields, and maybe even a few cows. It's crazy to think that our home is someone else's dream location, and put a lot of things in perspective. The next two days I spent volunteering at their local coffee shop called, The Well, and should you ever find yourself in this part of Eastern Kentucky, I promise you that it's worth a stop. The store is run by all volunteers, and all of the money that they make goes towards the up-keep of their local food pantry. It was really fun to work there and meet a variety of people from the area and hear their stories. I think one of the coolest things I heard from the customers was that, because they had grown up in the mountains their whole life, they felt that if they weren't surrounded by the mountains, they would feel unsafe. It's like the mountains act as some sort of shield from the rest of the world. I had never even considered that symbolism considering we live in such a flat area, but I found it to be a beautiful illustration. Overall, it was an amazing trip. I learned so much about myself, and the people I was with. It really is true that no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. It didn't always feel like I was doing much, but without the little bits that each person contributed on the trip, there would have been no progress at all. I would encourage anyone to take a step out of their comfort zone to go and serve someone in need, because it really does change the outlook you have when you come home. Going to college may seem hard at times, or holding down a job, but when you look at the big picture, we are so blessed to have these opportunities because that hard work will pay off to provide further opportunities that not everyone has privilege to. For example, did you know that their closest Walmart is about an hour away. They have to worry about how they are going to get groceries, while I think i have to worry about picking just one grocery store to go to. I am so grateful to CSF for giving me the opportunity to serve, and I'm even more grateful that I was able to go on the trip. God is so good, and I can't wait to go back next year. Good afternoon all! This post might seem a little ironic, as it's coming to you live from social media, but I've really been doing a lot of thinking this week, and I've come to the conclusion that...
Social media is killing me. Okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but this weekend I really took notice to how much of a distraction it was causing me. It started when I posted an Instagram photo, when I was supposed to be writing a midterm paper. Every paragraph I would allow myself a, what was supposed to be, quick break, in order for me to see the number of likes my picture was getting. That would then turn into me telling myself that it was okay to check Facebook, and then Twitter, then snap chat. I'd have to refocus my energy, and then in the next 15 minutes I was intertwined in the same vicious cycle. I noticed it again when me and my siblings were sitting in the living room watching a movie. Not only was the tv screen lighting up the room, but so were four other individual screens lighting up each of our faces. All four of us completely engrossed in what was in front of us. Now, would an earth shattering conversation have happened between the four of us that could change the world, had we not had our phones in our hands? Probably not. But we might have shared in some quality sibling bonding time, had we actually been paying attention to each other. When I preparing to write this blog, I thought of the other ways social media has created a distraction in my everyday life, and it turns out it happens a lot more than I realize, not only does it distract me from doing simple tasks like homework, but it also dictates when I wake up, and when I go to bed. How many are guilty of reaching for our cell phones first thing in the morning? An even better question is, how many of us are guilty of sleeping next to our phones? I can assure you, I do both. I check it right when I wake up, and it's usually the last thing I do before falling asleep. If I could get over my addiction, I imagine my mornings would be more productive. I wouldn't have time to lay in bed, and I might actually get up to do that early morning workout I've been trying to do. Or I might not lie awake at night for an extra hour scrolling through endless amounts of feed. Please don't get me wrong, I am never going to be the person who thinks that social media and technology are the things that are ruining the minds of millions, because they're not. In fact, I wouldn't be who I am today without creative outlets like Twitter and Instagram, but just like anything else, too much of something is always going to be a bad thing. With that being said, I'm going to offer myself a challenge, and I will extend it to you too my fellow readers. 5 days without social media. No Facebook, no Instagram, no Twitter, a full blown detox from the internet realm we so often call our home away from home. (For those of you who just had a minor stroke from the thought of quitting cold turkey, instead try cutting back. Rather than checking your phone right away in the morning, read the paper. If you check twitter more than five times a day, try doing it less than three. See what results come your way.) I'm not doing this as some sick form of torture, I'm honestly intrigued on what other things I will spend my time on, when I'm not lying in bed watching pointless youtube videos, or scrolling through funny twitter accounts. I'm also doing this as sort of a detox before I spend the next week in Kentucky doing Mission work. I feel like my mind will be much more focused on a servant's heart if I'm able to step away from the "me" attitude that comes from posting my every thought out to the world, and maybe you feel the same way. I'm not guaranteeing a perfect week on my part, but I am planning on taking a step back for the five day time limit. So detox away my dear readers, and let me know how it goes. One of the most prominent feelings that I can remember in high school, was the exact moment that it ended. We swore that we wouldn't make it out alive, and, that those days never had to end. But then they did. Now, I am in college, and it seems like I'm never going to get out of here either. I'm never going to graduate, but then that day will come, and I will be just as awe-struck, that again, the world kept turning, and it kept going somewhere, because the world doesn't stop for anyone. The hardest part with realizing this, becomes the fact that once you finally reach the beginnings you've been waiting for, it's going to eventually come to an end, but it's what you do with the middle that matters. All of life is just one big middle, and if we spend the whole time waiting and wanting to get to the end, we miss the best part. It's like eating an oreo, and skipping the delicious cream filled center because you know the chocolate covered ends will get eaten eventually. Crazy, right? Lately, I've been struggling with the middle. What do I do with it? How do I enjoy it? Or the better question, what makes today special? It's not always easy to answer these questions, because the every day always seems so mundane. Wake up, get ready, go to class, go to work, do homework, go to bed, and do it all over again the next day. It's not like everyday can have a Beyonce concert at the end of it, but sometimes we wish it were that way, huh? But if we really thought about it, if every day was that special, then none of them would be. Honestly, every single day is that special, because we get to wake up, and do you know how many people would kill to just wake up? Each day we wake up, we get to drink our favorite cup of coffee, and on the way to work or school, we can listen to our favorite song, and at night, we get to be in our favorite place, home. So many things that happen in the everyday routine of the mundane, are so special, but we don't realize it because we do it every day. Imagine taking ten seconds out of every morning to appreciate your favorite breakfast cereal. It doesn’t take that much work to do, but it has the power to change your whole mindset. You see, the middle is the best part. We just take it for granted because we get to have the best part of life, which is living, that we get to do everyday. It's so important not to wish we could fast forward to the end, or the part we've been waiting for. All we do then, is miss all the moments that got us to the important moments in the first place. Without the middle, we wouldn't amount to much, so we should stop wasting it away, and try and make something of it anyways, because the middle matters people, just like you do. Your everyday routines matter to everyone else too. Milestones aren't the only thing that keep us going, because once we reach them we start chasing for something else to live for, and while the milestones are important, we technically have the capability to make everyday a milestone, and that's a really beautiful thing. So enjoy your middle today. It's been a long road from my first day of college to now. I've been in Omaha for about 200 days now and I think it's safe to say that I have learned more in 200 days of college than I did in my almost 2000 days of high school. (Okay fine, four years of high school is actually about 1,460 days, but you get what I'm trying to do.) It seems like more often than not, me and my friends are talking about how much we have learned over the course of our Freshman year of college, and how much more we are probably going to learn in the upcoming year. I've been doing some thinking, and realized the multitude of milestones I, and some of my fellow Class of 2015, have been meeting this year.
The first thing I had to learn to do, was go grocery shopping. Which for some reason, has become one of my favorite weekly activities. I don't know if it's because it gets me out of the house, or because I'm simply buying food, one of my favorite things in the world, but really though, I live for grocery shopping (and Hyvee fuel saver points), but that's beside the point. The real adult thing that I do, is picking out my groceries. I love gushers, and ice cream, and fruity pebbles as much as the next girl. However, the law of freshman fifteen, does not. Therefore, I have found myself buying things like whole wheat bread, skim milk, and fresh fruit instead. The thirteen year old me would have gasped at the concept of eating healthy, but the adult me gets it completely. I also have gotten into this nasty habit of having to be in bed before 10pm on weekdays. I kid you not, this is the strangest thing I've learned. In high school, I could go to school on four hours of sleep, have a ten hour day of school, practices, and rehearsals and be perfectly fine. Now, it's like heaven forbid I go to two classes, and do a couple hours of homework and I'm ready for a nap. I've just learned that without my 8-10 hours of sleep, you really don't want to talk to me the next day. I don't know what sparked this change into adult world, but it hit hard. By now, you're probably thinking "Gee does Alyssa, or any college student for that matter, do anything besides eat and sleep?" Rarely. We rarely do anything else. Of course, when I do get to spend time doing whatever I please it has seemed to start showing some adult tendencies too. For starters, I have a blog? Like what's that even about guys? Just kidding, this is one of my favorite hobbies, but I also enjoy watching talk shows now. The Ellen show anyone? Talk about your daily dose of joy. I didn't think I would enjoy talk shows as much as I do, but they really are a delight. Actually, scratch that, anything with Ellen is a delight. Anyways, I'm getting side tracked here. I also find myself watching the GOP Debates, and being thoroughly entertained. All of the sudden I care about politics (something all collegiate students should care about cough cough, our votes matter too). Netflix is a hobby for any age, and I still have no shame to show there, but I think it's safe to say that if you'd ask my younger sister what she found fun, it would not be talk shows, politics and writing. I'm afraid that I'm getting old. Besides just fun things, I've also learned some real life skills. For example, before coming home this weekend, I had to get oil and power steering fluid for my car. Which I was able to pick out and put in my car, all by myself. (Though I will give a shout out to the kind stranger who helped me get the cap off the oil tank, faith in humanity is not totally dead guys.) I've also recently had a couple instances where I've had to go to the doctor's clinic, and I've been the one to schedule all my appointments. All of the adults right now are probably shaking their heads in shame right now, but I know my freshman folk are in total agreeance here. Talking to a stranger, remaining professional and organized while on the phone, it's a whole new world for the up and coming adult in me. Either way, in 200 days you can learn a lot. And I don't only mean in school, (although that's happening too, don't worry Mom and Dad, tuition isn't totally going down the drain), but just about the real world in general. It's not always been fun, or easy, but I'm glad to say that I'm at least getting the hang of it. The snowpocalypse has come my dear readers.
Snow days are the gem of all school holidays. Unexpected and highly anticipated when rumors of a storm blow in, these breaks are what we live for. Sadly, these massive snow storms only happen once and a while, but when they do, it's like the whole city shuts down just for a short lived twenty four hours. Snow days don't come often enough, so when they do I suggest making the most of them. While you're all snowed in and enjoying your time off, I've come up with a list of things to do to make sure the day doesn't go to waste. 1. Stock up on food. Sure, you can take this on like a responsible adult and get your bottled water and batteries, but I suggest getting a massive stockpile of your favorite comfort foods. Get the cookies, and the soups, and the popcorn bags and prepare yourself for a day surrounded by your favorite snacks because... 2. It's a movie day. Snow days are perfect for catching up on all the movies you never have time to watch because life is always getting in the way. Rent a redbox, purchase a Netflix account, figure out how your on demand works. I really don't care, just find access to an unlimited source of movie heaven and enjoy. 3. Sleep in. You've got absolutely nowhere to be, and I can guarantee you won't be going anywhere for awhile. Shut off those 6:00am alarms and stay in your pajamas. It's not every Tuesday that you can tell the alarm clock to shove it. Don't even bother putting on real pants, who's gonna see them? Your dog? It's all about comfort, and there will be no short cuts taken. 4.Spend some time with the people around you. You've got food, movies, and jammies on. There is no better place to be than together on snow days. Everyone pick a favorite spot on the couch and settle in, because you're gonna be there for awhile. Enjoy eachother's company, too often everyone has somewhere else to be, except this one day, because you're all trapped in the same house, make the most of it. 5. Just enjoy it. Put a pause on life outside. Who cares about work emails, who cares about your project due next week. Take one day off and I promise it won't kill you. It's good to take a day for you every once and awhile, besides you're pretty much forced to stay home, so revel in that. Snow days don't come often enough, but I can tell you I've cleared my schedule for the next 48 hours to do all those things. Feel free to comment your favorite way to spend snow day. Stay warm everybody! I love words. Must come as a shock from a girl who has her own blog, and writes for the pure pleasure of doing so huh?... Sike. I'm that girl who has a million things to say, but sometimes the organization of those words, doesn't come out as eloquently as I would like them to, so I find a quote. In fact it's one of my favorite hobbies: to scroll through the internet, finding bits of fantastic writing that apply to my life either literally, or futuristically. I thought I might share a few with you in hopes they make you feel the same way.
Without this one, I'm not sure I would have even started college. Although, the beautiful thing about this quote, is that there are so many beginnings and firsts in this life, and so many chances to start over. I think it's a great reminder of the capabilities we have as people to be who we want, and live the life we want to, if only we have the courage to do so. we are hard pressed on all sides,but not crushed:perplexed but not in despair:persecuted but not ABandoned: struck down but not destroyed. Therefore I will not lose heart. Talk about saving grace verse in this sea of confusion called college. I love to remember this when all seems lost: I'm drowning in homework, I had the bare minimum amount of sleep, or I'm really missing home. How good to know that when it seems you've reached the breaking point, God's got you to say "You're not done yet, and you can do it." Everything's a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It's up to you. This is from one of my favorite books Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon (I would also highly recommend this for a good read by the way). I like quotes that spin perspective, and I'd never heard something like this before. When you really think about it, not doing what you want is the risk. Not taking the risky job, not going on the risky vacation, you risk missing out on life experiences by choosing not to takes risks, just like if you would take them. Where you invest your life, there your heart will be also This last weekend I went on a retreat with my college youth group where we learned a lot about our relationships with other people and ourselves. Randy Gariss was the speaker here, and, man, if I could put his messages on my blog, I bet I would get some attention. Anyways, this quote came from him, and it has a lot more too it than you think. It's the same concept of, what you put into it: sports, academics, family, friends, is what you'll get out of it. The second I take a half step back from a person, my heart will take a whole step. The more you put into the people you love, the more your heart will grow to care about them. Insert anything else in the same place as people you love, and you'll get the same result. For growth to occur, YOu have to be uncomfortable. I'm not sure where I heard this quote, but it's one of my least favorites because this one has put me in situations where I didn't feel comfortable, safe, or even like myself. But it's in these situations that I learned the most about myself, and came out way stronger, smarter, more courageous than before. So while it sucks in the moment, I look back and realize it's gotten me a lot further than any of the others, so I'll give it some credit.
Sadly, I wasn't the person to come up with the wisdom to come up with these quote, but man am I glad someone was. |
Purpose:To express, explain, and exclaim the lessons life continually throws at me, and my take on how to deal. Archives
December 2021
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