As Easy As a Song

Wouldn't it be nice if life was as easy as a song? Maybe then it wouldn't take a year to find a few minutes to sit down and write something. Maybe then life would be like a Beatles song, where all you need is love and we'll all come together and the world is suddenly a better place. Maybe then it would be like something the Goo Goo Dolls sang about, and we'll all find better days and whatever we're going through will get easier. Maybe life could be like what Landon Pigg sang about, you meet someone while you're at a coffee shop, boom you're in love and life is great. Maybe life could be like Johnny Cash sang and you and your love will meet in Jackson or we could have a life where if your heart's true no one would be cruel like Elvis sang. Or maybe just maybe life could be like any one of Josh Groban's songs (which I would not mind at all since he is my personal favorite. smile.).

If only life worked like that. As easy as a song.

Lately there's been so much going on in my life, as well as the lives of the wonderful people around me. It is really hard to stay positive. I mean half the time I'm ready to just throw up my arms and say 'I'm Done' and I know I don't have it bad at all! Among many other things that keep me going music is one way that really helps me to stay motivated. My Pandora looks bipolar, I have so many different stations to relate to any possible mood I'm in. My iPod has so much music I can't even tell you what's on it. But somehow there's always that perfect song that makes me feel just a little bit better about whatever situation I may be in.

Recently I stumbled upon Linda Eder. She was the first person I ever saw in concert and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed her music. While so much has been going on especially over the past few months, I promised my best friend that no matter what happens I'll always be there. I know there were so many people that came in and out of her life and if I knew anything, I knew our relationship could go through hell and back and we would come out stronger. I knew this from first hand experience. After everything that we have gone through we should have ended up losing our friendship a long time ago, but some how we managed to defeat the odds and we are practically sisters. For better or for worse we will always be there for each other. There's always more chocolate cake mix and always more chocolate frosting to get us through anything.

With all of this in mind, when Linda Eder's song "Make today Beautiful" came on I immediately thought of the most beautiful person I know. My favorite lyrics from that song go something like this;

"I'm not chasing perfect, it's not worth it. Things can't stay the same so let the sky grow dark now. Go ahead and let it rain, let the sky fall down. No matter what I face I'm gonna make today, make today beautiful. I'm fighting the tide, hope is my only guide. With just one ounce of faith I'm going to make today, make today beautiful"

Even though I would like to say I face each day thinking this, I couldn't do that without lying. But at least it can be a goal. Maybe it will be one of my New Years Resolutions. Make each day BEAUTIFUL. I've always found beauty in the little things, in a song, a sunset, a friendship, a laugh, a smile. It may be impossible to be so positive all of the time but I believe if we were to, if I were to, put some effort into making even the darkest days beautiful, it wouldn't matter what we went through. It would only matter that we went through it, came out a stronger better person, finding the beauty in the simple things in life. One day maybe I'll be able to make things beautiful, one day it could happen.

Family Time

It would be nice if families could always be together. This isn't always possible though. I am lucky to have my family together, but I was reminded that's not the case for everyone. A friends status read that she did not believe in tears of joy because she had never experienced it. But while she was at her game she balled her eyes out when she say her mom back from Afghanistan after 7 months.

I got all teary-eyed when I read that message and it just amazed me that I don't think about how many people, how many of my friends are separated from loved ones because they are protecting everyone else and risking their lives everyday.

I just wanted to thank everyone who serves and protects. Maybe one day everyone will be able to have their family safe at home. Until then my prayers are with all those who serve and all of their families.

In Honor of a Great

Wouldn't it be nice if people did not discriminate based on the color of your skin? Martin Luther King Jr. hoped for this and I know I'm a day late since MLK day was yesterday but its better late than never right? He inspired so many people including myself and I think we can still gain a lot of insight from his words today.

We all know his famous speech, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." These words inspired a whole generation and continue to inspire millions. We have come far from the days of Martin Luther King Jr., some might argue not far enough but I view the progress we have made a a positive one.

What I find most interesting are some of the quotes that I wasn't familiar with. One of my favorites is "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'". I love this because I think everyone should try to become more selfless. Everyone these days seems to only care about themselves. It reminds me of a show my mom watched the other day. It's called "You're Cut Off" on MTV I believe. Its a series that follows these rich girls who were cut off by their parents in order to be able to figure out how to function in "the real world." For an hour you get to hear girls talk about the thousands of dollars that they spend everyday. One girl said having $200 a week to buy food was going to be hard because if she was out to dinner with a party of two spending $200 would mean they were going to be starving. I just have to say I sincerely hope that the majority of people are not that selfish. What are these girls doing for others when they could potentially have all the resources anyone could ask for? The answer is nothing. One of my many goals is to be more giving and think of others before myself. If I could just give a little of myself each day into something that is bigger than me, than maybe I could change the life of even just one person.

Another quote by Dr. King I really liked was, "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Sometimes taking the first step is the most difficult, but afterwards it's a breeze. Maybe I can learn to keep faith in the things I believe in and take the first step into doing something that matters.

One more thing that I loved and felt like i had to share was the quote, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." This is important to remember. We cannot just face others with hate, we have to learn to love and to be the one who brings a candle to light up the dark room. By not being so hateful and so inconsiderate of other we could make a better world for everyone. I know, I know it sounds a little cheesy but I think that even just the change of one person could be enough to change the world. One day it could happen and we'll have the some of the greats like Martin Luther King Jr. to continue to thank for it.

Open Hearts

Wouldn't it be nice if we could say how we really feel? While talking to a friend (you know who you are. smile.) they had said that even though they thought a person knew how they felt it was hard to actually tell them. Why do we build up so many walls between people? What if we just came out with exactly what we were feeling? When we're asked how we're doing we say something like fine, or good. What if we said you know what, I'm having a rough time because.. or I am really happy since...? What if we were able to walk up to someone and say you are pretty remarkable and I like you a lot? Imagine how much that would change everything! If people opened their hearts and weren't afraid to be faced with the thought of being rejected or being judged. I wonder what kind of world we would live in. If it would make things better or worse or maybe it really wouldn't make a difference.

I will try this idea out and we can see what happens. I am inspired to make an effort to be honest with myself and with others around me. In turn, I am no one to judge the people who have courage to say what needs to be said sometimes. I want to open my heart and let people in and give a little of myself to those who inspire me. I want to become an honest person, one that isn't thought of as ever being "two-faced." Maybe one day my heart will be opened, I will have no walls built up, I will not be afraid of being judged or rejected, and I will honest not only to others but to myself also. It could happen.

Let me explain

It would be nice if everything we could want could be achieved in an instant. Unfortunatly life doesn't work like that, but as I go down this road of life that is infront of me I have found many things that inspire me to work hard to make what I want happen. It's not ewasy, and it doesnt always work, but hey a girl can dream. I wanted some place that I could wirte everything. The small things that make me smile and most importantly, the goals I have and the things that would be nice if they would happen.

It started last week in my Spanish class. We had the French teacher come in to talk to us. At first none of us knew why we would want to talk to her. How could she help us in our class? It turned out that she is a very inspiring person. She explained she took Spanish in school and that she found she had a passion for language. In College she took Spanish and also Freach where she found that her heart was truely French. She also can speak German and when she travels she teaches herself a crash course in the language as she called it. She learned how to speak Russian and Italian. It seems amazing to me the stories she told us of her travels.

I was glad to be sitting in the front row along with my friends who also love hearing stories like these, while everyone enjoyed an hour of free time I was being inspired. She gave us many tips as to how we could make learning a language easier but she also told us how to make learning in general easier. We were told that we control our success, if things are hard and we tell ourselves we cant do things, they wont get done. Instead she said to tell yourselve, Wouldn't it be nice if... Wouldn't it be nice if I could learn this. Wouldn't it be nice if one day I could travel here. Just by saying that we change our mindset. It turns from putting ourselves down into setting goals for ourself that we would want to obtain.

From now on I am willing to think of "it would be nice if" and who knows, maybe the things that I have wanted to do will actually become reality and I can finally feel like I can accomplish anything in my life. One day it can happen. smile.