More Love, Less Hate!

I’ve been making a list of the things they don’t teach you at school. They don’t teach you how to love somebody. They don’t teach you how to be famous. They don’t teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don’t teach you how to walk away from someone you don’t love any longer. They don’t teach you how to know what’s going on in someone else’s mind. They don’t teach you what to say to someone who’s dying. They don’t teach you anything worth knowing.

Nothing is more beautiful than a girl who doesn’t pretend to be something she’s not, down to earth, and lets no guy define who she is.

Do you remember when we went to bed early on Christmas Eve, the day before Easter, and any night that we lost a tooth? We had to, or else we wouldn’t get presents, or the chocolate eggs, or that quarter. Remember running around in your witch costume, collecting candy from complete strangers, no matter how cold it was? Don’t forget the days of orderly lines onto the school bus, and waking up extra early for Saturday morning cartoons. What happened exactly? And when did I miss it happening? Now, we are walking in the door at 2 am on Christmas morning, being the Easter bunny, and only losing teeth if we did something stupid. We’re too old to trick-or-treat. We’re lucky if we even catch the bus and they don’t even play cartoons on Saturday mornings anymore. Maybe it’s our society, maybe it’s in our biological makeup, or maybe it’s the human desire to fit in. We left our childhood behind without even giving it a second thought, and now 95% of us would give anything to go back to it.

Dear whoever is reading this: you’re beautiful and someone out there is crazy about you. So smile. Life’s too short to be unhappy.

Life is a journey, not so much a destination, but a transformation. Looking back, doesn’t it sometimes feel like our richest times come right in the midst of our hardest? But God made us to live in community, to laugh and cry, to hurt and to celebrate with each other, no matter what we’re going through. And transformation is tough, and we don’t always end up where we think we will. But we have to remember, that even when we struggle to believe in Him, He always believes in us. He fills our life with purpose and passion, if we just let Him. And the best part of the journey, is that the God of the Universe, sometimes allows us to play a part in changing the world. Isn’t that a trip?

People change. Time’s moving. Years go by, and I’m not the same girl you used to know.

Sometimes, I feel alone. Some days are long and hard. But when I look out into the world, I am struck by the impossible beauty of it all. Those billions of magnificent accidents that lead us to where we are today, that led us to paper planes and nautilus shells and the tiny, crooked smiles of children. When I think of all the small perfections of the world, I have faith that my time will come. I have faith that someday, a warm light will flood over me, and I will find peace. 

God isn’t the one who is lost; we all are. God is where He always is. We need to stop trying to “find God” and instead rid ourselves of the things that we used to hide from God.

What makes you happy? Is it the feeling you get when you’re excited but scared at the same time when a thunderstorm is happening? Or when you finally see someone you haven’t seen in a long time? Is it merely just loving life? If you think that achieving your goals, or being in a relationship, or thinking about your future makes you happy, you’re not. You can’t be authentically happy about things you have no control over.

The hardest tests in life: the patience to wait for the right moment. And the courage to accept that you’ve waited for nothing.

You are a perfectly acceptable human being right now, this minute. You are just as valid as any other human being, without changing a single thing about yourself. That doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to want to grow, evolve or improve yourself, or you can’t do better sometimes. It just means that right now this instant, you are worthy of your own self love. Even if it is hard to love yourself sometimes, or you’re struggling with some really difficult stuff in your life, you still deserve it. So be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and give the best version of yourself that you can give, but know that even in the tough times, you are still valid, worthy and deserving.

I’m never shocked when people let me down. I just hate the fact that I put myself in a position to be let down in the first place.

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we only see the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places- and there are so many- where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is a marvelous victory.

Life is about trusting your feelings and taking chances, losing and finding happiness, appreciating the memories, learning from the past, and realizing people change. 

This life is what you make it. No matter what, you’re going to mess up sometimes. It’s a universal truth. But the good part is, you get to decide how you’re going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends- they’ll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything- they’re your true best friends. Don’t let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they’ll come and go too. And babe, I hate to say it, most of them- actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can’t give up because if you give up, you’ll never find your soulmate. You’ll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn’t mean you’re going to fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself. Because if you don’t, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up. and most importantly, keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.

Learn from your past, move on, grow stronger. People are fake, but let your trust last longer. Do what you gotta do, but always stay true. 

You know that feeling when you’re just waiting, waiting to get home into your room, close the door, fall into bed, and just let everything out that you kept in all day, that feeling of both relief and desperation? Nothing is wrong, but nothing is right either, and you’re tired, tired of everything, tired of nothing, and you just want someone to be there and tell you it’s okay, but no one’s going to be there, and you know you have to be strong for yourself, because no one can fix you. But you’re tired of waiting, tired of having to be the one to fix yourself and everyone else, tired of being strong, and for once, you just want it to be easy, to be simple, to be helped, to be saved, but you know you won’t be, but you’re still hoping and you’re still wishing and you’re still staying strong and fighting with tears in your eyes. You’re fighting.

When finding love, don’t look for someone with that perfect smile. You have that. Find someone who can make you smile that perfect smile. 

Before you can grow up, you must fall in love three times. Once, you must fall in love with your best friend, ruining your friendship forever. This will teach you who your true friends are, and the fine line between friendship and more. Once you must fall in love with someone you believe is perfect. You will learn that no one is perfect, and that you should never be treated as anything less than you deserve. And once, you must fall in love with someone that is exactly like you. This will teach you about who you are, and who you want to be. And when you’re through with all that, you learn that the people who care about you the most are the ones that you hurt, and the ones that hurt you are the ones that needed you the most. But most of all, you learn that love is only a concept and is not something that can be defined, it is different to each and every person on this earth, knowing that everyone wants to be loved. 

No matter how many quotes and song lyrics you post, or however much you write your heart out, sometimes words can’t describe how you feel. You just have to feel it for yourself and that’s all there is to it.