“How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it.” —George Elliston

A sincere kindness act is such a powerpul force.  It makes you feel wanted in this world.  It makes you want to give to others.  It makes you believe that evil is hard to find.  Today, I put a dollar into the vending machine.  As my peanut mnms dropped, they got stuck.  Already having a bad day, I angrily shook the machne, but nothing seemed to budge.  I stood there and stared at the machine.  All I wanted was those mnms to make me feel better..and to wake me up from the long night I had had the night before.   The cleaning lady came up behind me and saw the stuck candy.  “Stay here,” she said and before I knew it she had brought back a dollar of her own and out poured another pack of mnms.  The mnms were way beyond the kindness of this act.  To think that a stranger would stop and show compassion over a small bag of candy astonished me.  Thank you cleaning lady in Torg for making my day. 

Life is a game.  Kindness is the best strategy  take.  Random acts of kindness get us through it.  Today:  Do a random act of kindness.  Or, if a random of kindness is done towards you, just smile and say “Thank You.”  Be like the cleaning lady—going out of your way for someone makes you feel good and the person you are helping feel great.

“Waste not fresh tears over old griefs”–Greek Philosophy

Let’s face it.  We all cry over our past.  Sometimes it’s a person, other times it’s an event.  Recently, I cried over so many things in my past.  My drunken, embarassing night.  My crush on a boy who turned out to be a mistake.  My constant ability to lose things and the list goes on and on and on.  Then I thought for a second.  Why would I waste my feelings on things in the past that just don’t matter anymore?  As humans, we dwell on the past and have fear for the future, but what about the present?

Live in the present.  You’ll miss all the chances you don’t take if you dwell on your past.  Life is lovely…Today: Make a list of everything in your past that causes you to be upset.  Then, rip the list up and throw it away.  Or throw it in a fireplace. Or send it ina bottle into the middle fo the ocean.  This will help you to forget your regrets in the past, and be happy with your life in the present.

“Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.”–Shirley McClain

Everyday we pass people on campus who could potentially be our friend.  My favorite story is about my two close guy friends.  The only reason they met is because one of them said hi to the other on campus, and the rest is history.  Take a chance.  Open yourself up to someone knew.  Be friendly.  Start a conversation at a bus stop, in class, while standing in line at the grocery store.  You never know–you could make that person’s day or even yet make a friend.

Expand your horizons.  The world is full of people who could impact your life in the best way possible.  All you have to do is make a connection and you have a new friend.  Life is lovely..Today, talk to a stranger.  Who knows, they could be the person who changes your life forever.

“I keep waiting to meet a man who has more balls than I do.”–Salma Hayek

We’ve all had those boys we thought we were in “love” with.  The ones that just seem to catch our heart, but then float away oh so innocently, into a world where they drag another girl on for awhile and continue the cycle of hooking up, talking, texting, then just dropping you out of the blue.  Girls, it’s time to forget that boy.  It’s been said before and many other times, if they don’t want you, they don’t deserve you.  Move on.  Erase him out of your memory.  The more you ignore him and let him get with other girls, the more he will want you the next time he sees you.  The more he wants you, the more he will want to get with you, then when you give in and start kissing his lips, stop and announce, “I have to go.”  That’s how powerful a woman can be, only if you believe in yourself.

I could tell you numerous stories about boys, or lack of boys.  The only way to a man’s heart is confidence, sexiness and power.  Life is lovely…Today, be Blaire Waldorf or Serena  from Gossip Girl.  Have power.  Be bold.  You are sexy.  If you believe it, other people will.  Today, listen to the song “Sexy Bitch” as you walk through campus.  It will remind you to check out the eye candy that walks past you, and if you notice them, they will notice you.  Walk with power.  You are YOU.  That man is just an accessory to your outfit, so choose wisely.  No one likes to carry last year’s purse or wear ugly shoes.

What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies.” –Aristotle

People enter our lives for a reason.  Sometimes the reason is good.  Other times it is to teach us a lesson.  I hate it when people enter my life, then leave for no apparent reason.  They just disappear in the deep oceans of life.  It is those friends who cruise on the ship with you through deep and shallow waters that are important.  Yes, sometimes those men that have fallen overboard may somehow find their way back to the boat, and when they do, you should invite them back on for the ride, for they came back for a reason; whether because it was that they couldn’t swim and needed you to throw them a life-jacket, or that the island they left your cruise ship for was just not what they were looking for, or maybe they were just sea sick, and needed a break to recover.  Whatever the reason may be, know that you should invite them back onto the ship.  Invite people back into your life; don’t hold grudges.  You can only hope that someday when you have fallen off the boat, that there is someone there to throw you a flotation device.  If for some reason though you truely feel that this person is just a pirate, trying to take over your oh so fun cruise, then let them find their own ship in the sea.  It doesn’t mean you can’t be kind or allow the pirate to linger on your ship until they find their own ship, it just means to be cautious.  We all have people who have entered our lives and have left and now we realize we are just better off without them.  Just be cautious of who you write off. Forgive once, forgive twice, forgive three times.  After that, escort them off the ship.

Today, ponder on your relationships.  Is there a friend you should catch up with?  Has someone been onyour mind that you want to talk to?  What about that sixth grade teacher you loved so much in middle school?  Life is lovely…Write a letter, give a phone call, grab lunch—do whatever it takes to remind  yourself of the people in your life.  Also, forgive someone who has hurt you.  Once you forgive, you will feel much better.  Friendships can be rekindled.  It’s never too late to gain a friend, or gain back a friend.

dedicated to: my three best friends from home who never jumped off the ship; my three best friends who jumped on the boat here at college; the kids next door who make my cruise through life so much more entertaining; my sisters for being my co-captains.

thank you. and thank you to everyone who lets me sail on your ship.  Being considered your friend is simply wonderful.

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within”–Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

October 19, 2009

Self confidence and motivation is a hard thing to find within yourself.  Its not something you are born with, but something that everyone has that only grows on the outside when a person discovers it on the inside.  Your insides much match your outsides in order to display that self-fullfilling image.  For years, I have wished that I was thinner, had curly hair, perfect skin, different eyebrows even a different name.  Once I came to college and found myself surrounded by girls with beautiful figures and the long, blonde curly hair I yearned for, I realized how unhappy I was.  My unhappiness on the inside displayed on the outside, until one day I realized that I was beautiful too.  My eyes matched the blue sky on a spring day.  My hair was naturally sun-kissed from the sun.  My cheeks had pink painted on them right where any girl would place their blush.  If I walked with the confidence of a queen, other poeple would eventually see me for the person that I truely was.  When I stopped comparing myself to other people, I found happiness with my self-image.  It was not until I ran into a friend of mine on campus over the summer on my way to the gym did I realize that my personality created my self beauty as well.  I can’t remember the entire conversation, but it included me saying “Things could be worst.  Life is good today and everyday,” in which he laughed and said the nicest compliment anyone had ever given me, “You have such a positive outlook on life.  It’s beautiful.”  Today, I know I could be more confdence in myself, I just have to remember how to.  Once you take the first step to falling in love with yourself and life, you will soon find that people will fall in love with you.

Do something drastic and do it with confidence.  Wear that tye dye scarf you have been dying to wear, but are worried people might think youre a hippie.  Say hi to that cute boy in your accounting class without worrying if he has a girlfriend or thinks your not up to his standards; sing at the top of your lungs in front of your friends, smile as you walk through campus, remember that there is only one you.  So love yourself.  Life is lovely….Today:  Be humble.  Be positive.  Walk like you own the world.  Be confident that the world loves you as much as you love the world.  Once you have achieved these feelings, I gaurentee you that you will shine like the sun.

“There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.” — uknown

October 18, 2009

Gratitude is a joyful feeling, whether it be expressing how thankful you are or doing something that demonstrates your gratefulness for someone.  I remember one specific time when I was most grateful.  He actually did not even know he had done something nice for me.  After a long day of disappointmets and awful news, I walked up to my apartment, and as I passed my neighbors window he shouted, “Hey babe.  I love you!”  Although this was a common phrase spoken by him, it was just the thing I needed to hear.  I was thankful for his kind words and as I went to bed that night I remembered how lucky and thankful I was for such great friends who love me so much. 

Today:  Make a list of ten things you are grateful for.  Your list could include people, places, things, events or even feelings.  Reread your list and think about the last time you told a person on your list how tahnkful you were for them.  As for the places, things, events and feelings, continue to visit those places, respect those things, remember those events and feel those feelings.  When we are thankful for something or someone and we recognize it, we tend to have a greater respect for that thing or person.  The more gratitude you give, the more gratitude you will receive back.  Life is lovely…Be thankful for the happines that fills your life.

My List.

1.  My mom.  She is always on my side. 

2.  A friend.  He did a lot of “behind the scenes” work when I was having a difficult time here at college.

3.  My dog.  Although he ignores me, I know he will always be there to lick my face, especially if I have bacon.

4.  Happiness.  I have had a lot of sadness in life, yet somehow I can finally see the sun through the clouds now.

5.  My silver heart necklace.  It has two hearts hanging from it.  One heart reminds me to take care of my heart, and the other reminds me to open my heart to others.

6.  My dad.  We share a lot in common and he understands me.

7.  My umbrella.  No one likes to walk in the rain.

8.  Mittens.  Freshmen year I did not have a pair of gloves for a long, long time.  Now I never forget the feeling of warm, wool mittens on my hands.

9.  Listening and hugs.  Sometimes you just need someone to listen to your thoughts.  Then hug you for extra support.

10.  Laugher.  I do it a lot, but if it was not for the people in my life and the rediculous events that seem to occur in my life, I would probably never smile and giggle.

So, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

“The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.”–Flora Whittemore

October 17, 2009

Change is something that does not come easy to many people.  Mostly, we’re afraid to of anything that is out of the ordinary.  We have a certain routine we follow, and there’s no questioning it.

Today:  Change the way you start your day.  Many times as college students we start our day late because of a night of partying with friends.  Start your day off with an early walk or run to clear your mind and think about what positive changes you can make in your life.  Give yourself time to think.  We all need alone time to evaluate the person that we are and the person we may want to become.  This is a great way to start off the day, cause chances are if you start the day off with positive thoughts, your day will only get better and better.  Life is lovely…Today, evaluate yourself in this world.