Time

Time is such a simple thing that has more complexity than anything else in the world. The same amount of time can move quickly or slowly. It seems that it never does what we want it to--time has the ultimate control and can act as it wishes. There are moments when we want time to stand still and moments that we wish time would fly. Something I recently experienced that is so odd to me is an instance where time stops for you while everyone else's time is going on as usual. When my grandpa was being taken by the ambulance after his stroke, my time stopped. The family walking down the road gathering pinecones passed by and smiled with the biggest pinecones I've ever seen in their arms. After they passed, we were only a family that tragedy had struck and their lives were only affected for that moment, but the image of that family is forever burned in my memory. I stared at them as time was moving slower than it ever had, envying their carefree Thanksgving. I had to snap back to reality and understand that being jealous of their happiness didn't make my sorrow any better.  At that point in time, time drug along slowly for me and passed the pinecone family by quickly.   Times has been such an odd friend to me-- it has taught me so much. Whether it has been break ups, victories, special moments, laughs, or tragedy, time has been there waiting to use its power to teach me something. I've begged time to fly so many times trough difficult trials, but if it would have flown, I wouldn't have experienced some of the special moments that are significant in my life. Likewise, I have asked time to slow down when things were full of bliss, but if it had then I wouldn't appreciate those perfect moments. Time is constant yet never the same for any person. The only person unaffected by the test of time is God Himself. That's why I find myself calling out to Him to help time be good to me.

Life is a Beach

So, I'm shopping at Target with my mom on Sunday afternoon, just trying on clothes and living life. We are at the very back of the dressing room in rooms across from one another. My mom asks me to open the door and look at the bathing suit she tried on. She catches me mid-change, so I'm in my skiviez--a sports bra and panties. I prop open the door to take a peak, and as I do, a man starts to enter my dressing room. The three of us let out a startled yelp of embarrassment and I immediately shut the door. He apologizes about ten times and I just laugh nervously. Let me backtrack and mention that he had been shop-stalking me earlier. Shop-stalking is when that random guy keeps following you down every aisle you go down and smiling creepily. Did I mention he was wearing a wedding ring? (Bless her heart). Anyhow, as I exit the dressing room, he does too, of course. He aplogizes three more times and I assure him that it is OK. He then proceeds to say, "Nothing you wouldn't see at the beach right?" I, again, awkwardly giggle and escape from his creepiness. I guess life is a beach and he is just playing in the sand.

The Little Things

There are so many different aspects that make up one's personality and so many things in this world affect a person's attitude and feelings. Friends, family, food and fun are of importance in life (just to name a few...apologies for the alliteration). A person's words and actions can make or break your day, and a lot of that can be determined by the way you let them affect you. Food and fun tend to always have a positive affect to begin with, which is also known as instant gratification. However, instant gratification does not supply one with longterm happiness--keep that in mind. I say all of that to say this: It's the little things in life that make us truly happy. God designed us to reach contentment through Him and I believe that there are things in life that he created to make us happy while we are on Earth. If you really pay attention to the world of Twitter and other social media worlds, the tweets and posts about things that make people happy are pretty consistent among all users. Sunday morning church with family members, the happiness of young children, a phone call from a loved one or homemade ice cream on a hot day--generally speaking, all of these things make most people very happy. A long walk on the beach can soothe a worrie soul, Mama's cookin' warms anyone's heart and good music can brighten even the worst of days. Fireworks on the Fourth of July bring about different reactions as you grow older. When you are young, they amaze you, as you grow older and spend the holiday with a love interest, they bring about a romantic feeling and when you get even older, you reminisce about how fireworks once made you feel when you were young. All in all, those fireworks set off something in us all that brings a smile to our hearts. Maybe if we start remembering how much we appreciate the little things instead of focusing on the places we go and the purchases we make, we will find true happiness. Forget all the clothes you bought when you went shopping today, what about the laughs you had with your mom while you shopped? Thank your dad for the car he bought you, but think about how hard he worked to buy it. Always be kind to everyone you come in contact with--it might just make the difference in his day. After all, it's the little things in life that make us appreciate all that God gave us when we didn't deserve it.

Ruined Guacamole

So tonight I actually got in bed at a decent hour. I came home with a fever and a headache and felt awful. I had a bowl of cereal and continued to eat--I was craving guacamole, which I recently purchased. I dipped the chip into the green gunk and when I tasted it, it tasted a bit funny. I proceeded to wonder if guacamole needed to be refrigerated. I asked my friends and they told me that it needed to be kept cold, of course. I ate two more scoops and then placed it in the fridge (it had been sitting out for two days at this point). My stomach hurts. The guacamole is now in the fridge.

Insomnia

It's almost 2 AM and I am still awake. I have cleaned my room, packed my backpack, written a letter to my family and I stil have the desire to clean my bathroom and paint my fingernails. Is this what insomnia feels like? I mean, I could literally go for a 5 mile swim right now, and I hate swimming. I feel that if I had to go conquer the world, I could not do it in the afternoon; it would definitely have to be midnight or later. If ever I have a job where I have to wake up early, I will just sleep all day and wake up at midnight to begin my day. I mean, I'm blogging this right now and I coul be asleep. I'm really weird.

Thank You Sir

Post-Christmas basketball is always fun to watch, and high school basketball games never cease to be interesting, especially when the commentator is sitting directly behind you. I was actually unaware that there was a commentator at the Hayden Christmas tournament, but there clearly was. The score was 49 to 46 and apparently if Hayden made the upcoming free throw, they would have "51 points." And here I thought it would be 50. To the disappointment of the loudest man in the world behind me, the scoreboard showed 50 after the made freethrow. (Freethrow=1 point) He continued to rock my eardrums while yelling obvious information, which made the game much more enjoyable. Just when I was having the time of my life listening to his voice, his team got a technical. I have never heard a human yell that loud for that long. Luckily, his team won and he clapped (loudly) and yelled for a good 10 minutes in celebration, and we celebrated the fact that his game was over and the fact that he would be exiting the premesis.

FINALS

Finals come around twice a year, and they are awful every single time. For some reason, this semester, I have decided to just not stress and/or study. The problem with this is I am now having a nervous breakdown because I have procrastinated so much. Also, if I hear a freshmen say their finals are hard, I WILL SCREAM. I try to encourage them all to enjoy this one year of freedom because it all goes down hill from here. Although I will cry if I don't get that 4.0, I am currently sitting on my bed eating applesauce and uploading pictures...not reading the book I have to do a report on. The lesson to be learned from this is to stay a freshman forever.