Pay It Forward

We just finished watching "Pay It Forward" in theology in film class. It is essentially about a young boy who responds to an assignment by coming up with the idea to do good deeds simply to make the world a better place. From this simple and slightly idealistic concept, he starts a movement that spreads like wildfire across the country. The idea was uncomplicated: do three good deeds for three different people and then they would in turn do three good deeds for three other people until the number of people paying it forward increases exponentially. but the catch is, those good deeds have to be BIG things. things that person couldn't do on their own.

quite an idea, eh?

dearest readers, this week I challenge you to pay it forward. do something kind. do something unexpected, even if that just means letting someone cut in front of you in traffic. whether it be big or small, well that is up to you  my friends. because you never know how much of an impact one person has until you see it in action.

and please keep me posted, I'd love to hear about how you are changing the world.

weekend in a few pictures

{in no particular order}

 have a stellar week! 

much needed.

Dearest readers, I just so happened to have a extraordinarily lovely time this past weekend.  My friend Kendra summed it up perfectly on her blog if you are interested in hearing about it!
 http://thehugsandthewishes.blogspot.com/2010/09/wonderful-weekends.html

it reminded me that we have to live in the present moment. all we can do is enjoy life, seek adventure, and then trust that God's grace will always be enough for that present moment.

what is this?

today I can see a slight break in the clouds, a sudden shimmer of light peeping out to provide brilliant illuminating light and a new hope to cling on to. Yes dear readers, I am free of the all consuming burden commonly referred to as homework.

well, for tonight at least.

What is this strange occurrence? what did I even do with myself before my life was consumed by school?

As thoughts of my new found freedom began flying through my mind, excitement shook through my body as I thought of the fun things I could do with this abundance of time.  then the light slowly dimmed as I came to the stark realization that I still have an everlasting to do list looming over my head. (thank you college applications)

so I can't quite kick off my shoes and relax. not yet. 

must. keep. working.

but hey, it's almost the weekend! 

I hope you all have an amazing adventure in store for you! 

new thoughts

Dearest readers, I've come to a conclusion.

I'm not going to dread all of this work I have to do anymore.

I'm going to see it as an opportunity. and really, truly I'm going to just try to enjoy everything I do. 

because there's always going to be something needing to be done, and stress probably will never go away

also, I don't want to take myself too seriously, it just makes me stressed!

and stress=a mountain range of pimples on your forehead

I've also decided that I think I'm experiencing writers block. 

so here's a funny picture to make up for it! 

ok maybe not...

have a great tuesday!

sorry for lack of posts this week...

it's kind of hard to juggle the blog, college applications, physics, calculus AP, and cross country

gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

adventures of the weekend.

most of the weekend revolved around this:

after winning the meet saturday and mingling at the cross country social on sunday, I'm proud to say that this team is my life.

I love cross country. 

have a great week!

some thoughts on independence

WARNING: this isn't a "Hilarious" blog post, sorry mom…

picture for your entertainment, dear readers. gah. what a goofball.

As of late, I've realized the extreme importance of maintaining one's independence. By maintaining independence, I don't mean living as a hermit free from the ideas, expectations, or help of others; but rather, living in community with others while sticking to the sincerity of your soul. It's important to live according to your own values, free from the expectations of others.

 If we aren't independent, we will rarely achieve our goals and therefore rarely ever achieve happiness. This independence is strongly rooted in self validation and faith. It gives you a clear vision making it easier to help others, solve your own problems, and even strengthen the relationships in your life. To achieve this self reliance, you must realize that you don't need the approval of others to succeed. 

You stand proud, you stand tall, and you let society's expectations just roll right off your back.  And I promise, This  leads to immense joy.

I might be slightly idealistic, maybe even a little naïve. But who cares, I'm independent.

And I'm on the pursuit of happiness. 

...and I'm FREE

first.race.of.the.last.year.

wake up. 4:30 AM

I stumbled out of bed and got to work with preparing myself for the upcoming battle. 

The morning passed pretty quickly and soon I found myself eating my four slices of toast. They had grown kind of soggy (well just less toasty and crisp). I imagined all the energy present in the toast I was consuming. 

Then, there I was. on the starting line. and before I knew it we were off. I quickly assembled a strategy in my head-- run the first mile and secure a place, challenge others and myself on the second mile, and then race on the third mile. The whole race was tiring, challenging, and very difficult. Around the start of the second mile, I specifically remember thinking "why in the world do I do this!?". I also remember a little voice in my head saying something like, "you really are a bad racer. I don't even know why you do this sport. you're just have no competitiveness and no drive". 

but for once in my life, I didn't let those voices conquer me. 

WOOOOHOOO it's gonna be a good season. 

*sidenote* 

sorry about the frequent use of paint drawings in my blog posts. 

It really is just an excuse to keep me doing something other than applying to college/finishing my homework...

adventures of a wolf mask

I love my cross country carpool

we often spend our evenings terrorizing the town in a wolf mask while jamming out to various songs on the radio

have a great weekend

and do something adventurous!