Write About It Wednesdays: Laughing

 

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I fully believe, and stand behind the quote that “laughter is the best medicine”. It can cure nearly anything, even if just for a moment. It makes us forget about the horrible things in the world and escape to a happier place. But, when I was thinking about laughter, something unsettling hit me. I don’t know when the last time I had a good, honest, heartbreak-curing laugh. A can’t breathe, tears rolling down my face laugh. The fact that I can’t remember means it has been far too long.

The routine and stress of everyday life has consumed my thoughts and has kept my mind focused on the more serious side to life. Now, don’t get me wrong. The serious stuff is important too. The world is filled with challenges and risks and peril. The news is littered with heartbreaking stories of tragedy. The positive stories get pushed to the side and will never be reported. Being constantly exposed to all of the negativity in the world makes it hard to see the positive side to life. When we are being spoon fed the bad, we forget what the good tastes like.

Thats why I think laughter is important. Why its the fireworks of our soul. It lights us up and shows us the good in the world. And thats why I think we should laugh more. Smile more. Enjoy the good things in life. Look for the positive articles on the news or in the paper. When your out in the business of your day, take a second to look around and take in the wonder of the world. Find something that will make you laugh and share it with the world. Laugh at yourself. Loosen up and have a good chuckle about all the little quirks that make you who you are.

I mean, have you ever felt worse after laughing?

 

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Write About It Wednesday: Impossibility

Currently in my Intro to Philosophy class we are discussing the philosophy of religion. More so, we are learning the different arguments for and against the existence of a traditional western God. A few of the arguments seem a bit far fetched to me, but nevertheless have really made me think about life. I leave that class feeling very confused about my purpose and the purpose of humans in general. I leave with questions like “What if this is all a dream?” or “What if there is another planet out there in our forever expanding universe that is the parallel to our life on earth?”.

I started thinking about the universe and how infinitely small our little planet is. Sure, in comparison to our physical beings it is absolutely ginormous. There is far too much to explore in a single life time, however it is minuscule in comparison to the universe. The universe is a scary yet wildly intriguing topic in my mind. Scary because we don’t know what is out there, but intriguing for the same reason.

It really is a miracle, this life of ours. Whether you believe that some being created this world of ours thousands of years ago or if you believe that some chemicals reacted in space and boom here we are, it is a real life miracle (that is, if this life is actually real). Most times I think that fact is taken for granted. We tend to focus on the things that in the long run won’t matter. I am guilty of this just as much as anyone. I spend far too long worrying about people and things that don’t deserve my time. I get stressed and flustered over the little things and waste way too much time trying to impress people who don’t want to be impressed.

I guess what I am trying to say that ultimately, we are just tiny little pieces of matter floating around somewhere in an endless space. Our time here is limited, so there is no reason to waste it on worrying about the little things. We should make the best of our time here, and enjoy every second of this incredibly impossible life that we were given. We have the freewill to make whatever out of this life that we want to, so why not make the best of it.

Okay. There is my philosophical little spiel on life and what not. I hope you are all having an absolutely amazing day and maybe I’ve inspired you to let go of the little things.

Peace out, enjoy life, and live the adventure.

Write About It Wednesdays: Adventure

What’s up dreamers!

Recently, I have been in love with the idea of adventure. I’ve always been intrigued by going somewhere I’ve never been, but in the past few months this intrigue has grown to desire. Its most evident on my Pinterest boards where I have pinned hundreds of photos of mountains, road trip ideas, and ideal locations to explore. I mostly do it so that I can feel like I am exploring while I avoid studying (sorry mom, but I eventually get all my work done). Its my late night obsession and looking back on these boards gets me all excited for the future. 

As I shared with you this weekend, my sister and I are traveling in Europe again this summer. I am so excited, but I feel like I cant wait that long to go out and see new things. I’m getting antsy to explore. Honestly, I should have taken advantage of my long winter break to go out and do something. I had planned on going to Nashville to visit an old friend, but that never worked out. Anyway, I want to go out and do something. I have a million ideas for spring break, but I can’t decide on anything. All I know is that I want to do something I have never done.

My first idea is to do a road trip along the whole Blue Ridge Parkway. I would stop at as many outlooks as I possibly could and do some of the hikes along the way. I think it would also be fun to stop in the little towns and explore a bit. I’ve lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains my whole life, and I never get tired of the vast expanse of mountains. Also, I feel like it would be fun to be a tourist in my own neck of the woods. I haven’t really explored much of the parkway because I always forget it is there. This would be my chance to do the whole thing.

My second idea is to go on a short backpacking trip on the Appalachian trail. One of my friends is planning on hiking the North Carolina section of the Appalachian trial this summer, so I was thinking about going with her. She could have a week long trial run, and I could join along. Now, I haven’t actually spoken to her about this yet… (Kaela if you’re reading, are you interested?) so I should probably get on that. After my camping trip this summer, I’ve had the itch to get back on the trails. Plus, I got an Eno hammock for Christmas, and I am dying to use it.

My third idea was to do a road trip out west. This is the most exciting, yet most unlikely of my three favorite plans. Partly because I would want someone to go with me, and I don’t exactly know who that person would be, and partly because I don’t know if I will have enough time to do a lot of exploring out there. I also don’t know if I have the expenses to do that as I really need to save my money for Europe this summer. Ideally, I would want to drive out to Glacier National Park and do some exploring there. There is this lake, Pebble Shore Lake to be more precise, that I really want to visit. This probably wont happen, at least not this year, but I want to go. 

Anyway, I thought I would just write all of this down so I will remember. But its a goal of mine to have more “firsts” in 2016… more adventures. Comment down below which, if any, of my ideas sound most interesting to you. And I encourage you to do something for the first time this week. Whether it be large or small.

Peace out, enjoy life, and live the adventure!

Write About It Wednesdays: My Path

Whats up dreamers!

I’m back again with another motivational Monday. I was a bit selfish in choosing this quote because this is something that I really need to hear and think about right now. Let me give you the low down: design school is hard. Its mentally, creatively, and physically draining. My mind is constantly being challenged to think in new ways and to push my ideas further and further. I’ve spent hours in my studio coming up with concepts, and dozens of more hours making those ideas come to life. I’ve crashed quite a few times along the way, and the thought of quitting has entered my mind multiple times.

But luckily, I’m still going. I’ve not even finished one semester of design school yet I know that I’m on the right path. I keep telling myself that everyday: even when finishing a project means staying in the studio until the wee hours of the morning… or spending way too much money on materials… or having a mental breakdown that leads to an amazing discovery. Because thats why I’m confident that I’m on the right path. Those amazing discoveries… those ah-ha moments… they keep me going. Even if they are as small as connecting paper differently, or realizing that hanging up a massive cardboard structure isn’t as hard as you might have thought.

I’m insanely lucky to have found something that I am passionate about, and even luckier to have the opportunity to pursue that passion. Maybe its not easy. And maybe it will cause me a great amount of stress and anxiety. But I know its worth every second and every penny. Its what I love, and I will have the chance to do it for the rest of my life, after being trained by amazing artists and designers. And that my friends is the dream, no matter how much sweat and tears it takes to get there. I’m meant for this!

I hope you have all found something that you are so passionate about, and you are doing everything you can to make that possible. If nothing else, I want you to follow your dreams, even if it means taking a rough road.

Have an absolutely wonderful week, and I’ll talk to you again very soon!

Peace out, enjoy life, and live the adventure!

Write About It Wednesday: Technology

I was raised in the technological age. I grew up with computer screens and cell phones all around me. I can’t remember a time before the Internet, and my life wouldn’t be the same without it. However, I am incredibly lucky that my parents understood and stressed the downfalls of technology since I was young. No, I wasn’t one of those kids who was never allowed to be behind a screen, but my parents did a good job limiting the time we watched TV or played video games. I am eternally thankful for my parents for teaching my siblings and I how to use technology appropriately.

I’ve always recognized that I was less obsessed with my phone than many of my friends, but this really came to my attention when I came to university. I can’t tell you how many times I have almost been walked into because someone was on their phone. Every time I get on the bus, everyone’s head is down staring at a screen trying to look busy. So many people in college are so consumed by what is happening behind the screen of their smartphone that they miss out on real life. They don’t listen to the birds chirp in the mornings, or enjoy the color of the changing leaves (unless to snap a photo for Instagram). They rarely ask for directions, or have a genuine conversation with a real stranger. My generation hides behind their phones to avoid possible awkwardness.

Now, this isn’t my declaration of technology abandonment. Nor is it a pledge to go “off the grid”. Its more of a written realization that every minute that I scroll through Instagram or watch a 10 second video on Snapchat, I am wasting time that I could be admiring the stars, listening to the crunching of leaves, or meeting a person that could be in my life forever. I’ve realized that I need to put my phone away more often, unplug my headphones, log off of social media websites. I want to be more present wherever I am. Spend more time focusing on the details and using my senses more. I encourage you all to do the same as well.

Well, I hope you are having an absolutely amazing week so far, and I’ll talk to you all again on Saturday!

Peace out, enjoy life, and live the adventure!

Write About It Wednesday: Happy World

Good morning lovely dreamers!

Today is one of those fall days where its cold and rainy outside and all you want to do is cuddle up in your blankets and watch a movie. The sun is hiding, and I want to too! But unfortunately, I have class and other things I need to do today. Sometimes I wish I could just take a sick day from life. Or pause everything so that I could just take some time to rest. College is busy busy busy!

With that said, I am trying to push myself to get out of this funk. I’m going to do everything that I possibly can to turn my day around. I’ll start with some coffee, maybe go see a friend, smile at everyone I see (forcing the happiness really works sometimes), hold the door open for people, random acts of kindness. Basically I just need to get out of my room and into a more productive environment for a little bit.

Another thing I do when I get into these “life sucks today” kinds of moods is making to-do lists. Seeing everything that I need to do all laid out in front of me helps me feel so organized. Plus, checking things off of a list might just be the best feeling ever. That visualization of getting stuff done and being one step closer to a nap is amazing.

Also, music helps. On days like these I listen to as much happy music as I can. Surely if I’m surrounded by a good mood, I’ll eventually feel better, right? Its that fake it till you make it mentality. Hear it till you feel it.

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes life truly does suck. We all have bad days, but its how we make them better that counts. Its turning the rain into sunshine that makes a difference. One step at a time.

So, there we go. Another rainy day happens and life goes on. Its a cycle. I hope that you are having a exponentially better day than I am having thus far, and if not, I hope you are able to find some ray of sunlight to make it better. If worst comes to worst, go buy yourself some chocolate and make your taste buds happy.

I hope you have a marvelous rest of the day and I’ll be back on Saturday with another post!

Peace out, enjoy life, and live the adventure!

Write About It Wednesdays: Getting Stuff Done

As you all well know (and hopefully appreciate), my blog has become a lot more active recently. I’ve probably put out more posts just this month than I have the rest of the year. Now you may be wondering why this is. No, I have not dropped out of college, and I don’t really have endless amounts of free time on my hands, but I am beginning to learn how to manage myself. I used to play things by ear and just do things when I felt like doing them, however this left me feeling very unproductive. I wasn’t putting 100% into anything that I was doing.

I guess you can say that there has been a major shift in my mentality. Since this shift I have been preparing things in advance rather than doing them at the last second. This is evident when I look at my drafted blogs, my submitted homework assignments, and my increased organization on my desk. Its amazing what a little shift in perspective can do!

Now that I don’t feel so overwhelmed my all of the things that I need to do, I can take more time for myself. I can begin to do the things that had moved from my “later” list to my “never” list. My blog was one of the first things to move from my “never” list to my “now” list, and I already feel better for it. Now I’m working on taking care of my self and exercising more. Yesterday I went to my first Zumba class in a few weeks, and didn’t feel like I needed to be anywhere else. Tonight I plan to go either on a run or a long bike ride to get some excercise in. It feels amazing to be able to set aside time for myself without feeling like I am cheating on my school work, or my blog. 

Moving past the paralasis of a long to-do list has been so beneficial to me. Doing things now, rather than waiting has reduced the stress in my life incredibly. Anyway. I just thought I would share my breakthrough with you all, and hopefully inspire you to get stuff done as well. 

I hope the rest of your week is absolutely amazing, and I’ll talk to you again very soon.

Peace out, enjoy life, and live the adventure.