Change (it's not all bad)

Change, some like it more than others, but very few people just love change. Myself included. When something is about to change, I'm not the happiest person on the planet. (Unless of course I'm the one making it change, and even sometimes then too.) 
Why are we scared?
      We are scared because change is filled with uncertainty, and as human beings, we want to know what is going on, and what will happen next. I'm sure you have heard the quotes and read the picture sayings that talk about change. Most of them say that change is sometimes needed for the better, and we shouldn't try and keep everything the same. "If nothing ever changed there would be not butterflies." This is a very well known quote, but go back and reread it. Really let sink in. If nothing ever changed there wouldn't be a chance for new and better things to happen. So, if you know something is about to change for you, whether it is in a job situation, school situation, relationships, life, etc.
 I challenge you to go into this change with an open mind and know that even though tough things happen during change, but good things do come out of it. When it's all said and done, you will rarely regret the times that you went into a situation that you knew was going to change, and you still kept an open mind. 

It's okay for something to change, whether it is your situation, your teachers and staff at your school, whatever it is, it is okay. Some things need to change, and that is okay also. Don't be scared of what could go wrong. Try being positive. Surely when something changes it can't all be bad. There has to be some good in everything. If you go into every situation (this is hard, and takes conscious work every time) with an open mind, and looking for positive outcomes, not only will you be a happier person, you will make a lasting impression on others as a happy, and fun person. 

So this song doesn't really have anything to do with change not being bad, but it is still a good song, and I wanted to share it with you all!

Respect

There are people that everyone knows who don't respect anything. (Including themselves) Not only is this annoying, it's depriving others and themselves from something everyone deserves. It might be easier for me to give you an example. 

Julia and Abby were friends. Julia noticed that Abby's stuff was always out of order, and tore up. Abby also noticed that her friend wasn't even kind od nice to people she didn't agree with. She didn't have the decency to respect their opinion. Abby saw later that Julia didn't even respect herself. The ways hse talked about herself, the way she dressed, and the way she treated herself and her things were all very good clues to Abby that her friend didn't have respect. 

Do you understand? It's not hard to walk up to a large group of people, and sort to which ones respect themselves, and which ones don't. Respecting others takes a little more time, but you get the gist. Don't be one of the people who doesn't respect anything. It will pay off in the end. 
Respect doesn't take much, but it does take you having enough decency to let other people think what they want, and you don't try to change their opinion. Really, respecting others starts with you respecting yourself. If you treat yourself like you want other people to treat you, then you can "[treat] your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 19:19) 

Respecting and being kind are basically the same thing. This song by Tim McGraw talks about being kind, and altogether a good person. Check it out

Everything happens for a reason

So, there are many of beliefs that not everything happens for a reason, and that some things happen by chance. If you believe this, I would encourage you to continue reading this. I'm not trying to tell you that you're wrong and rub it in, but I just want to introduce a new idea. "Everything happens for a reason"

In any situation, there is both good and bad. Now, it might be hard to find the good in everything, but if you really look and try to find it, it will be there. If you are in a horrible spot in your life, and you're just asking why just remember that this situation is not meant to know you out it's meant to know you down. As harsh as it may sound, it's true. It is a test to see if you are strong enough to get back up and try again. I believe that if you get back up, it's not only making you a stronger person, it's proving that you are unstoppable. If you make it through, you know that there will be more trials, but you would have never been able to get through them if you wouldn't have gone through what you have already that makes you unstoppable.If there wasn't a plan to either make you a stronger person or eliminate you it would make the trials in life seem pointless and brutal. You may not be able to see the reasoning behind your situation now, but trust me, when you look back in 20, 10 or even 5 years from now, you will see why you had to go through that, and that you are a better person now that you have gone through that. 

I was in a tough spot, and I had to grow up, and find a way to make the best out of what I had, and I know many of you are the same way. We all have trials in life, some early in life, and some later. But everyone has to get through their own situation, and if you have that belief somewhere deep down it makes your situation seem less brutal. That's not saying that it's not bad, and it doesn't seem that way, but it gives you an underlying sense of peace that you wouldn't have if you thought that you got accidentally put in this situation, and you have to suffer unfairly because you don't deserve to be here. Don't lie to yourself, that is a thought that crosses all of our minds, and we need to do all we can to shove it out. 

Here is a song for you before you go! IIt is a song that I like, and I think it has a good meaning behind it, and the music video is really good. 

Why are you happy?

What makes people happy? Is it someone else, or is it the feeling they get when they are around that person. When people say “you make me happy” do they really know if you are the one making them happy? Could they just like the ways you make them feel? If you make them laugh, and they love to laugh, are you making them happy or is the feeling you are giving them making happy? I think that most people who say that someone makes them happy are confused. However, I do think that a person can make you happy. Especially in relationships, I think if someone has not got along with their parents, and haven’t experienced love and respect at home, met someone who treated them decently, with respect and friendly love, they will instantly fall for that person (whether they are the same gender or not). That person, however, is confused, they think that person makes them happy, and makes them a better person, when in reality, the other person is just treating them how they ought to be treated, so the other person is really in love with how they feel and not necessarily the person. Someone might not like the taste of coffee, but they like being able to stay awake after drinking it, so they drink it. It is the same way with medicine, a person might hate the way the flue medicine tastes to drink, but not throwing up all the time makes them feel better, so the endure the taste of the medicine, and enjoy the side effects. This is how some relationships are. A person might really dislike something about their partner, but they like the feeling of not being single, or they like the feeling of being wanted, or anything that keeps them in the relationship.

For example; Bert and Hera are dating, Hera sometimes lies about what goes on in her high school classes, and Bert knows this, but he is afraid that if he leaves her, he won’t get another girlfriend, and he doesn’t know if he can handle the feeling of being single, so he decided to stay with her even though she lies and he dislikes it. Did Bert do the right thing? Most of you are probably saying no. I agree with you, but be honest with yourself, do you endure things that you hate, just so you can get a feeling that you don’t think you can live without? It doesn't’ even have to be a relationship. It could be anything.

Love

Love, it's a word that people use a lot. "I love this picture!" "I love this place." and "I love you" are just a few examples. In the Greek language, there is a different name for each use of the word "love". To explain, if someone said I love this pizza, I love my girlfriend, and I love my brother, there would be a different word where we use love. As English speakers, most of us use the word love lightly and throw it around, but could there be a deeper meaning than what we give it credit for? What does it really mean? According to Webster's ninth new collegiate dictionary, Love means " 1 a; 1: strong affection for another arising our of kinship or personal ties 2: attraction based on sexual desire; affection and tenderness felt by lovers 3: affection based on admiration benevolence or common interests. Basically, all of the definitions have to do with affection and lovers. So how did we come up with the word love for pizza and outfits? Humans exaggerate too much! If the actual definition means something with affection, why do we use the word so freely?
The answer is that in the world today, people don't think about what they are saying, and what it really means. 
Where I'm from, people tease each other a lot of the time and don't think much of it, we say things we don't mean and none of us think about it, the important thing is that whoever we are teasing doesn't take it the wrong way. I don't see anything wrong with this, so why am I talking to you about using the word love lightly? The truth is I really don't know. I want to know why people use it so freely, though. 
When dating, people use the word love also, there are guys and girls who will tell the other person that they love them, and they love their personality so much, and blah blah blah... but a lot of the time, in the end, someone ends up leaving, saying that they were wrong.

I guess that my challenge to you is to: only use the word love where it really needs to be.

Best wishes!!!

Stay Motivated!!!

When you are little, you have big dreams, everyone has a person they want to be like or a job that you are sure that you will someday be doing. But something happens when we get older; we start saying that there are so many reasons that we can't do something. But if you don't try and work towards that dream, what do you have to live for? If you leave your plan for life in elementary school, what's the point of Junior High and High School?
The way I see it is; if you have nothing you are striving to achieve, you have no life. Now that is really strong, and not always true. But while we were younger we were so sure of how our lives would end up. Then all the sudden, we stop.
If there is no reason for you to get up in the mornings, why do you? If you don't wake up with a dream in mind, or a goal that you think ought to be achieved, what's the point of getting up? The simple answer to those questions is; there isn't a reason to get up. When you have something you are working on, you are motivated and you work for what you know needs to be done to achieve your goals. It doesn't matter if your goal is to get good grades in school, you still have to work hard, and study, that gives you a reason to wake up and get your stuff done during the day. Your goal could be anything to do with sports. Making a team, getting a position or starting spot, or just improving yourself as a player and a teammate. That makes you get up and get stuff done, because if you aren't willing to get up while playing sports, you are in trouble. Your dream could be music. You might want to learn to play an instrument, or whatever, and if you just don't practice one day, if you simply take a day off what happens? You get behind, and you miss one day that would have been great for practicing and improving your skills. There are many, many, many dreams out there and I would love to hear about them in the comments.

I guess the whole reason I wrote this down, is just to encourage you all to get a dream, and if you already have one, to keep it, and try your best to achieve it. It doesn't matter if other people think it is silly, or you are afraid that people might think you are silly for having that kind of dream, or goal. DO NOT LET THEM TELL YOU WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T DO!!! Because if you don't have a dream or a goal, you don't have the motivation to do anything, and as people today, without motivation, we rarely get anything done.


Stay motivated, have a wonderful week, and you'll hear from me soon.

Rumors

Rumors, everyone has had rumors said about them. It started way back in elementary school (or whenever the first time someone said something about you that weren’t true). In elementary school, it could have been that Jerry said that you didn't like Billy anymore and you will only play with Frank from now on or something like that. It might seem a little silly looking back on, but at the time, it was a big deal. However, even now, there are tons of people spreading rumors about you. We can't do anything about the people. But, we can decide how we want to handle what people are saying about us. A lot of times, you hear what someone else is saying about you, and you are hurt. You can't believe how they could be so mean or you can, but you still are hurt and mad that they would be. When you tell your friend(s), or when you were younger, you parents, (or even if you don't tell anyone) the common response is just that whoever was talking about, was just jealous of you. But is this really the case. You hear that they are jealous and you think WHY?  My life isn't interesting.

I think the best way to deal with rumors is to ignore them. I have had plenty of rumors about me, and I haven't handled all of them how I should have. When I was younger, my parents and older brother always told me "water off a duck's back." It took me a long time to finally figure out what that meant, but when I started using that, it helped. What they meant by telling me that, was that if what the people are saying isn't true, then don't let it bother you. Water doesn't soak into a duck's back, the feathers deflect the water, let the insults and rumors deflect, and don't even pay attention to them. This is hard to live out. Not caring what other people say about you goes against your entire will, but if you can do that, you are going to be so happy.

If you think about it, why do people spread rumors about you?

The answer is that they are looking for attention, and they want a reaction from you. If what they said wasn't true, (and it usually isn't) and you didn't even acknowledge that they had said anything at all, they never get what they want. You didn't react to their behavior, and therefore, they didn't get attention. Now, like most things, not giving the other person attention is easier said than done. But if you can do it, they will get so board with you that soon they'll stop altogether. I think the non-reaction works more efficiently than reacting, and confronting the other person.

For example, a while ago, I heard that someone was mad at me because I was stalking them. That person also said that I had stolen their boyfriend. None of this information is true, and I was a little irritated when I heard this. However, I didn't make a big deal out of it to the person who started it. As a matter of fact, I don't know is she even knows that I know.

Now, I'm far from perfect, I just used an example where I did what I just suggested you do. There are many instances where I haven't done this, and I should have.

If this theory worked(s) for you, please let me know, and if you have a different way of dealing with rumors, I would love to hear about it.