Please do not use the "R" word. Broaden your vocabulary to use more
accurate, descriptive, and less ignorant words. There are so many words
to choose from that do not insult a whole group of people. Handicapped is out of date too.
Person-first language is the right language to use. So instead of saying
a handicapped person, you say a person who has a disability. Actually
what is even better is to just call us by our names. You don't even have
to mention our disabilities.
This is an issue that I am really passionate about because I see way too many people ignorantly assume way too much about people who have disabilities. That is why it is so important to get to know someone before you judge them. We are
just as capable as anyone else. A disability does not mean a person is
capable of less. It means we have to adapt and be more creative to do
the same things as everyone else, just differently. The Paralympics is proof that people with physical disabilities can still be athletic and do amazing things, often even beating Olympic records. I know these things because I
have a disability. I have cerebral palsy, a mild case of right side hemiplegia (meaning my right arm and leg are effected). But I do not let this hold me back. I play soccer, run, ski, travel, hike... and much more.
Do not judge what we can do by our
appearance. Just because someone has a physical disability or is in a wheel chair, does not
mean they have a cognitive disability, and just because someone has a cognitive disability, does not mean that they are not smart. People sometimes assume I have a
cognitive/intellectual disability when they notice my physical disability, especially when I am volunteering with people who have cognitive/intellectual disabilities, but
that is not true. I also see people treat my friends who have cognitive or even physical disabilities like they are children. This is so rude, offensive, and ignorant. They are not children and they are very capable of living independent and successful lives. They deserve respect. People with cognitive impairments can even go to college to improve their independent living skills. I volunteer with an amazing group of students in the ClemsonLIFE program. It is inspiring to be a part of and see how they become a family that loves, accepts, and supports each other, as they grow as individuals.
There is so much more to who we are as a people than just our disabilities. There are many ways to describe and explain who
we are, better than our disabilities could. These include things such as our personality traits, what we are passionate about, our strengths.. and the list is
endless. We are just as capable of being intelligent, athletic, and
successful as others. We are often even more capable than others of being accepting, kind, loving,
compassionate, empathetic, optimistic, patient, persistent, determined,
and hard working because of the challenges we go through. For example, the challenges I have gone through because of my disability have inspired me to want to help others who have disabilities too. Aren't these
the capabilities that matter most, anyways? In my opinion, these are the
capabilities that matter most. Having the ability to overcome challenges and using those struggles to help others also matters more than the disability that caused those challenges.
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Monday, August 29, 2016
The Meaning of Life
"I think the purpose of life is to constantly draw closer, to exhaust
ourselves in the incredible journey of exploring every inch of
ourselves and this planet, of feeling love and passion and curiosity and
joy (things we’ve all felt before) but feeling them on a grand, deep,
moving level; to an extent where you think to yourself that you didn’t
think it was possible to feel this way, how could we ever go back to a
life of mediocrity, of “good enough”; i think, the purpose of life
is trying to get as close as possible to our truest, best selves, and
oftentimes we’re at our most humble and beautiful and invigorated and
compassionate when we’re surrounded by landscapes that feel more like
home than the house we grew up in, and in the company of people that
feel more like long-lost brothers and sisters and soulmates than the
small-talk friends we see day-to-day in our normal, 9-to-5 routine. it’s
about going out into the world and experiencing moments and people and
places so spectacularly awe-inspiring – moments where you think, this is
what it means to be alive – and promising to spend the rest of your
life never settling for less than extraordinary.
because once you realize just how miraculous the world can be, with all
its people and possibilities and moments just waiting for you to
discover, and all the wonder you can feel and grasp and hold and touch
if you just are out there, it’s hard to be okay with anything less.
Remake, decide, repave, find a way to your bliss.
I think that is the purpose of life." Found on Tumblr
Remake, decide, repave, find a way to your bliss.
I think that is the purpose of life." Found on Tumblr
Reasons Why You Don't Have To Be In a A Relationship
" Can I tell you a secret? You don’t have to be in a relationship.
I mean it. I know they force it down your throat until you choke on it. Girls aren’t pretty unless they’re wanted. Boys aren’t men unless they’re having sex with someone. People aren’t lovable until they’re dating someone.
But a relationship won’t always make you happy, and as wonderful as romance is, it isn’t the only love that exists. I have seen friendships that are deeper and more pure than couples who swear it’s forever - and yet the friendship is the one people ignore.
I have heard so often “nobody loves me” out of the mouths of people who are single. And it kills me because if you ask them: where are your parents, your teachers, your classmates, your pets - they say, yes, okay, but it doesn’t count. Of course it counts, love doesn’t diminish just because someone doesn’t want to have sex with you. In fact, doesn’t it sort of make that love more real that they want nothing - not even a date - out of you?
It is pretty to be in love. It’s magical, I’m sure. But it’s also wonderful to stop for ice cream in your prom dress with six other girls. It’s also wonderful to go visit the world with nothing but a bunch of buddies who are really excited about learning.
The problem is: we’ve made everything about “the one”. But maybe “the one” is just you, loving yourself, having fun, and being happy. Maybe instead of looking for our other halves, we should be piecing ourselves together." Found on Tumblr
"There’s so much more to life than finding someone who will want you, or being sad over someone who doesn’t. There’s a lot of wonderful time to be spent discovering yourself without hoping someone will fall in love with you along the way, and it doesn’t need to be painful or empty. You need to fill yourself up with love. Not anyone else. Become a whole being on your own. Go on adventures, fall asleep in the woods with friends, wander around the city at night, sit in a coffee shop on your own, write on bathroom stalls, leave notes in library books, dress up for yourself, give to others, smile a lot. Do all things with love, but don’t romanticize love like you can’t survive without it. Live for yourself and be happy on your own. It isn’t any less beautiful, I promise.”
― Emery Allen
“The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. It may look paradoxical to you, but it's not. It is an existential truth: only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core of another person--without possessing the other, without becoming dependent on the other, without reducing the other to a thing, and without becoming addicted to the other. They allow the other absolute freedom, because they know that if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now. Their happiness cannot be taken by the other, because it is not given by the other.” Osho
I mean it. I know they force it down your throat until you choke on it. Girls aren’t pretty unless they’re wanted. Boys aren’t men unless they’re having sex with someone. People aren’t lovable until they’re dating someone.
But a relationship won’t always make you happy, and as wonderful as romance is, it isn’t the only love that exists. I have seen friendships that are deeper and more pure than couples who swear it’s forever - and yet the friendship is the one people ignore.
I have heard so often “nobody loves me” out of the mouths of people who are single. And it kills me because if you ask them: where are your parents, your teachers, your classmates, your pets - they say, yes, okay, but it doesn’t count. Of course it counts, love doesn’t diminish just because someone doesn’t want to have sex with you. In fact, doesn’t it sort of make that love more real that they want nothing - not even a date - out of you?
It is pretty to be in love. It’s magical, I’m sure. But it’s also wonderful to stop for ice cream in your prom dress with six other girls. It’s also wonderful to go visit the world with nothing but a bunch of buddies who are really excited about learning.
The problem is: we’ve made everything about “the one”. But maybe “the one” is just you, loving yourself, having fun, and being happy. Maybe instead of looking for our other halves, we should be piecing ourselves together." Found on Tumblr
"There’s so much more to life than finding someone who will want you, or being sad over someone who doesn’t. There’s a lot of wonderful time to be spent discovering yourself without hoping someone will fall in love with you along the way, and it doesn’t need to be painful or empty. You need to fill yourself up with love. Not anyone else. Become a whole being on your own. Go on adventures, fall asleep in the woods with friends, wander around the city at night, sit in a coffee shop on your own, write on bathroom stalls, leave notes in library books, dress up for yourself, give to others, smile a lot. Do all things with love, but don’t romanticize love like you can’t survive without it. Live for yourself and be happy on your own. It isn’t any less beautiful, I promise.”
― Emery Allen
“The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. It may look paradoxical to you, but it's not. It is an existential truth: only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core of another person--without possessing the other, without becoming dependent on the other, without reducing the other to a thing, and without becoming addicted to the other. They allow the other absolute freedom, because they know that if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now. Their happiness cannot be taken by the other, because it is not given by the other.” Osho
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Quotes
Quotes
I hope one day
somebody loves you
so much
that they see violets
in the bags under your eyes,
sunsets in the downward arch
of your lips
I hope one day
somebody loves you
so much
that they see violets
in the bags under your eyes,
sunsets in the downward arch
of your lips
that they recognize you
as something green,
something fresh and still growing
even if sometimes
you are growing sideways
that they do not waste their time
trying to fix you.”
― Trista Mateer
“What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do- especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.”
"Sometimes
the future changes quickly and completely and we’re left with only the
choice of what to do next. We can choose to be afraid of it, to stand
there trembling, not moving, assuming the worst that can happen or we
can step forward into the unknown and assume it will be brilliant.”
I am learning everyday to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be, to inspire me and not terrify me.” ― Tracee Ellis Ross
"Don't let the politics and chaos fool you. This world still brims with glory.
There's a beautiful moon in the sky right now. At this moment, your lungs keep inhaling and exhaling with unfathomable complexity and grace. Your heart, and billions of other hearts keep beating. Every country around the world has people in it right now who are singing. Laughing. Dancing. Making love. Kissing their babies goodnight. The strings of our being keep vibrating and that deep mystery of love that is the All underneath it all keeps holding it all together.
as something green,
something fresh and still growing
even if sometimes
you are growing sideways
that they do not waste their time
trying to fix you.”
― Trista Mateer
“What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do- especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.”
The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.
–Henry Miller
I am learning everyday to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be, to inspire me and not terrify me.” ― Tracee Ellis Ross
"Don't let the politics and chaos fool you. This world still brims with glory.
There's a beautiful moon in the sky right now. At this moment, your lungs keep inhaling and exhaling with unfathomable complexity and grace. Your heart, and billions of other hearts keep beating. Every country around the world has people in it right now who are singing. Laughing. Dancing. Making love. Kissing their babies goodnight. The strings of our being keep vibrating and that deep mystery of love that is the All underneath it all keeps holding it all together.
Yes, there's a lot to grieve lately. Violence. Terror. Climate change.
Racism. But there is also so much love, hope and beauty surrounding us.
Goodness that won't get reported on the news, but is present in
countless thoughts and interactions. Most of this beauty goes unnoticed
by most people. I encourage you take a moment to open your eyes and
your heart and notice the glory brimming in the world around and within
you now."
Be broken and messy and all of contradictions that you are.
"What you have no one else has so there will be a place for you. Don't think that because someone got something that you're not going to get soething else. There's room for everybody."
"There is always a space for you because there is no one that's exactly like you."
"I never, ever blow out someone else's candle to make mine brighter."
Chelsea Handler
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.~ Rumi
"I think the purpose of life is to constantly draw closer, to exhaust ourselves in the incredible journey of exploring every inch of ourselves and this planet, of feeling love and passion and curiosity and joy (things we’ve all felt before) but feeling them on a grand, deep, moving level; to an extent where you think to yourself that you didn’t think it was possible to feel this way, how could we ever go back to a life of mediocrity, of “good enough”; i think, the purpose of life is trying to get as close as possible to our truest, best selves, and oftentimes we’re at our most humble and beautiful and invigorated and compassionate when we’re surrounded by landscapes that feel more like home than the house we grew up in, and in the company of people that feel more like long-lost brothers and sisters and soulmates than the small-talk friends we see day-to-day in our normal, 9-to-5 routine. it’s about going out into the world and experiencing moments and people and places so spectacularly awe-inspiring – moments where you think, this is what it means to be alive – and promising to spend the rest of your life never settling for less than extraordinary.
I mean it. I know they force it down your throat until you choke on it. Girls aren’t pretty unless they’re wanted. Boys aren’t men unless they’re having sex with someone. People aren’t lovable until they’re dating someone.
But a relationship won’t always make you happy, and as wonderful as romance is, it isn’t the only love that exists. I have seen friendships that are deeper and more pure than couples who swear it’s forever - and yet the friendship is the one people ignore.
I have heard so often “nobody loves me” out of the mouths of people who are single. And it kills me because if you ask them: where are your parents, your teachers, your classmates, your pets - they say, yes, okay, but it doesn’t count. Of course it counts, love doesn’t diminish just because someone doesn’t want to have sex with you. In fact, doesn’t it sort of make that love more real that they want nothing - not even a date - out of you?
It is pretty to be in love. It’s magical, I’m sure. But it’s also wonderful to stop for ice cream in your prom dress with six other girls. It’s also wonderful to go visit the world with nothing but a bunch of buddies who are really excited about learning.
The problem is: we’ve made everything about “the one”. But maybe “the one” is just you, loving yourself, having fun, and being happy. Maybe instead of looking for our other halves, we should be piecing ourselves together.
Tumblr
Be broken and messy and all of contradictions that you are.
"What you have no one else has so there will be a place for you. Don't think that because someone got something that you're not going to get soething else. There's room for everybody."
"There is always a space for you because there is no one that's exactly like you."
"I never, ever blow out someone else's candle to make mine brighter."
Chelsea Handler
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.~ Rumi
"I think the purpose of life is to constantly draw closer, to exhaust ourselves in the incredible journey of exploring every inch of ourselves and this planet, of feeling love and passion and curiosity and joy (things we’ve all felt before) but feeling them on a grand, deep, moving level; to an extent where you think to yourself that you didn’t think it was possible to feel this way, how could we ever go back to a life of mediocrity, of “good enough”; i think, the purpose of life is trying to get as close as possible to our truest, best selves, and oftentimes we’re at our most humble and beautiful and invigorated and compassionate when we’re surrounded by landscapes that feel more like home than the house we grew up in, and in the company of people that feel more like long-lost brothers and sisters and soulmates than the small-talk friends we see day-to-day in our normal, 9-to-5 routine. it’s about going out into the world and experiencing moments and people and places so spectacularly awe-inspiring – moments where you think, this is what it means to be alive – and promising to spend the rest of your life never settling for less than extraordinary.
because once you realize just how miraculous the world can be, with all
its people and possibilities and moments just waiting for you to
discover, and all the wonder you can feel and grasp and hold and touch
if you just are out there, it’s hard to be okay with anything less.
remake, decide, repave, find a way to your bliss.
i think that is the purpose of life." Found on Tumblr
Can I tell you a secret? You don’t have to be in a relationship.remake, decide, repave, find a way to your bliss.
i think that is the purpose of life." Found on Tumblr
I mean it. I know they force it down your throat until you choke on it. Girls aren’t pretty unless they’re wanted. Boys aren’t men unless they’re having sex with someone. People aren’t lovable until they’re dating someone.
But a relationship won’t always make you happy, and as wonderful as romance is, it isn’t the only love that exists. I have seen friendships that are deeper and more pure than couples who swear it’s forever - and yet the friendship is the one people ignore.
I have heard so often “nobody loves me” out of the mouths of people who are single. And it kills me because if you ask them: where are your parents, your teachers, your classmates, your pets - they say, yes, okay, but it doesn’t count. Of course it counts, love doesn’t diminish just because someone doesn’t want to have sex with you. In fact, doesn’t it sort of make that love more real that they want nothing - not even a date - out of you?
It is pretty to be in love. It’s magical, I’m sure. But it’s also wonderful to stop for ice cream in your prom dress with six other girls. It’s also wonderful to go visit the world with nothing but a bunch of buddies who are really excited about learning.
The problem is: we’ve made everything about “the one”. But maybe “the one” is just you, loving yourself, having fun, and being happy. Maybe instead of looking for our other halves, we should be piecing ourselves together.
Tumblr
“Travel is little beds and cramped bathrooms. It’s old television sets and slow Internet connections. Travel is extraordinary conversations with ordinary people. It’s waiters, gas station attendants, and housekeepers becoming the most interesting people in the world. It’s churches that are compelling enough to enter. It’s McDonald’s being a luxury. It’s the realization that you may have been born in the wrong country. Travel is a smile that leads to a conversation in broken English. It’s the epiphany that pretty girls smile the same way all over the world. Travel is tipping 10% and being embraced for it. Travel is the same white T-shirt again tomorrow. Travel is accented sex after good wine and too many unfiltered cigarettes. Travel is flowing in the back of a bus with giggly strangers. It’s a street full of bearded backpackers looking down at maps. Travel is wishing for one more bite of whatever that just was. It’s the rediscovery of walking somewhere. It’s sharing a bottle of liquor on an overnight train with a new friend. Travel is ‘Maybe I don’t have to do it that way when I get back home.”
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Everyone Has Their Own Path To Travel
Everyone has their own path to go on, their own journey to take. Everyone has their own unique insecurities to accept and their own mistakes to make.
These days it is easy to compare yourself and your life to others. Especially because social media has taken over our lives. But you never know what someone's journey is all about and no one can judge your own journey because they have not experienced what it is like to be you. Your experiences makes you who you are and no one can take that away from you. We are all just trying to do our best and make the most of our life in this crazy world. No one has the perfect life. Why would you want to be someone else and have their life when you have the power to be who you want to be and have an extraordinary life? Each person has to decide for themselves what they want out of life. No one else can or should do that for you. What I want out of life is to experience as much out of life as possible: do new things, go to new places, and meet new people.
Most people tend to only put up the best parts about their lives on social media, making their lives seem perfect. It can be easy to get caught up in comparing their best to your worst, when you are having a bad day. You never know what someone could be struggling with behind their seemingly perfect life on social media. For me, seeing people travel is what I get jealous of or compare my life to.
I forget to be thankful for all of places I have been to and things I have done. Not a lot of people are lucky enough to get these opportunities and I am so thankful. Sometimes I feel greedy for wanting more, but I can't help it. I have wanderlust. I have gone on trips to London/Paris, Mexico, and Greece/Turkey with my family but they have only lasted 10 days or so. I have even gone on a month long volunteer trip with cheetahs to Africa, where I did amazing things, but It still felt too short. I feel like I might never be satisfied. But maybe being unsatisfied is not so bad, because it gives me the motivation to travel more. I think before I went to Africa, I was afraid of getting home sick or not being ready to be gone longer on my own (without my family or anyone I knew before my trip at least ) but now I realize how passionate I am about traveling. I will do anything to make it happen. Going to Africa for a month, made me wish I was able to study abroad for a semester, but that never really worked out with the ups and downs of my college career.
I think sometimes people don't realize they do have the resources to be able to travel. What they need or lack is the passion and dedication it takes to make it happen. Seeing Facebook friends who are the same age as me, live out the dreams I have of long-term traveling, made me believe that I could do it too. But other times I do get overwhelmed by how many places I want to go and things I want to do. I get overwhelmed by realizing how much money I need to save, how much time it will take, and the amount of planning I will have to do. I also get overwhelmed by how many places other people I see on Facebook have traveled to. I think about how I want to go to that many places and be able to travel that long but I feel like I can't catch up or I do not know how to make it happen. But it's not a competition. Life is not a competition. Instead, I should use their experiences as motivation to create my own experiences. I should ask questions to see how they are able to travel so much. Instead of getting jealous of their opportunities and techniques, I want to use the opportunities they used, as advice to find my own opportunities and techniques.
I have to realize I'm young and still have time. Studying abroad was not my only opportunity to long-term travel. I have to just take things one step at a time. Each person goes through different seasons of their lives at different times. Maybe the best things come to you when you least expect it. There is no one right way to get to where you want to go. Doors will open if you continue to put effort in what you are most passionate about. For me that involves saving money, researching, and planing to travel. For others, that could be finding the right person, or the best career. I think the important thing to realize is to not to compare your life to others. You may think that they have something that you want, but you may have something that they desire. There is no point on dwelling on comparisons, because all you have control over is your own life. The best thing to do is have confidence in yourself, to be able to be all the things you want to be, do all the things you set your mind to, and go to all the places you desire. All you need to be who you want to be and have an extraordinary life is passion, dedication, and determination.
Here is some of the best advice I have gotten from quotes about this topic:
"What you have no one else has so there will be a place for you. Don't think that because someone got something that you're not going to get something else. There's room for everybody.""There is always a space for you because there is no one that's exactly like you."I never, ever blow out someone else's candle to make mine brighter."- Chelsea Handler
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."- Theodore Roosevelt
"Somehow, we'll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be. But for now, we simply have to be satisfied with who we are. " Unknown
"I am learning everyday to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be, to inspire me and not terrify me.” ― Tracee Ellis Ross
"Yeah there is a lot to see and do and it is daunting. But it is also exciting. And even if we don't see it all, there is something immensely comforting in the idea that there are spectacular parts of our world that exist, even if we never see the. There are northern light hover in the sky right now , somewhere in the world.A long with a mountain gorilla carrying an infant and a market buzzing in the early moring in Japan, and a heard of wild horses walking in the sand dunes of Namibia. It's out there and I think that is pretty amazing. In and of itself. You are young. You got it. Don't be discouraged. Be inspired. You are going to live a full, beautiful life"- Tate Drucker
These days it is easy to compare yourself and your life to others. Especially because social media has taken over our lives. But you never know what someone's journey is all about and no one can judge your own journey because they have not experienced what it is like to be you. Your experiences makes you who you are and no one can take that away from you. We are all just trying to do our best and make the most of our life in this crazy world. No one has the perfect life. Why would you want to be someone else and have their life when you have the power to be who you want to be and have an extraordinary life? Each person has to decide for themselves what they want out of life. No one else can or should do that for you. What I want out of life is to experience as much out of life as possible: do new things, go to new places, and meet new people.
Most people tend to only put up the best parts about their lives on social media, making their lives seem perfect. It can be easy to get caught up in comparing their best to your worst, when you are having a bad day. You never know what someone could be struggling with behind their seemingly perfect life on social media. For me, seeing people travel is what I get jealous of or compare my life to.
I forget to be thankful for all of places I have been to and things I have done. Not a lot of people are lucky enough to get these opportunities and I am so thankful. Sometimes I feel greedy for wanting more, but I can't help it. I have wanderlust. I have gone on trips to London/Paris, Mexico, and Greece/Turkey with my family but they have only lasted 10 days or so. I have even gone on a month long volunteer trip with cheetahs to Africa, where I did amazing things, but It still felt too short. I feel like I might never be satisfied. But maybe being unsatisfied is not so bad, because it gives me the motivation to travel more. I think before I went to Africa, I was afraid of getting home sick or not being ready to be gone longer on my own (without my family or anyone I knew before my trip at least ) but now I realize how passionate I am about traveling. I will do anything to make it happen. Going to Africa for a month, made me wish I was able to study abroad for a semester, but that never really worked out with the ups and downs of my college career.
I think sometimes people don't realize they do have the resources to be able to travel. What they need or lack is the passion and dedication it takes to make it happen. Seeing Facebook friends who are the same age as me, live out the dreams I have of long-term traveling, made me believe that I could do it too. But other times I do get overwhelmed by how many places I want to go and things I want to do. I get overwhelmed by realizing how much money I need to save, how much time it will take, and the amount of planning I will have to do. I also get overwhelmed by how many places other people I see on Facebook have traveled to. I think about how I want to go to that many places and be able to travel that long but I feel like I can't catch up or I do not know how to make it happen. But it's not a competition. Life is not a competition. Instead, I should use their experiences as motivation to create my own experiences. I should ask questions to see how they are able to travel so much. Instead of getting jealous of their opportunities and techniques, I want to use the opportunities they used, as advice to find my own opportunities and techniques.
I have to realize I'm young and still have time. Studying abroad was not my only opportunity to long-term travel. I have to just take things one step at a time. Each person goes through different seasons of their lives at different times. Maybe the best things come to you when you least expect it. There is no one right way to get to where you want to go. Doors will open if you continue to put effort in what you are most passionate about. For me that involves saving money, researching, and planing to travel. For others, that could be finding the right person, or the best career. I think the important thing to realize is to not to compare your life to others. You may think that they have something that you want, but you may have something that they desire. There is no point on dwelling on comparisons, because all you have control over is your own life. The best thing to do is have confidence in yourself, to be able to be all the things you want to be, do all the things you set your mind to, and go to all the places you desire. All you need to be who you want to be and have an extraordinary life is passion, dedication, and determination.
Here is some of the best advice I have gotten from quotes about this topic:
"What you have no one else has so there will be a place for you. Don't think that because someone got something that you're not going to get something else. There's room for everybody.""There is always a space for you because there is no one that's exactly like you."I never, ever blow out someone else's candle to make mine brighter."- Chelsea Handler
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."- Theodore Roosevelt
"Somehow, we'll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be. But for now, we simply have to be satisfied with who we are. " Unknown
"I am learning everyday to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be, to inspire me and not terrify me.” ― Tracee Ellis Ross
"Yeah there is a lot to see and do and it is daunting. But it is also exciting. And even if we don't see it all, there is something immensely comforting in the idea that there are spectacular parts of our world that exist, even if we never see the. There are northern light hover in the sky right now , somewhere in the world.A long with a mountain gorilla carrying an infant and a market buzzing in the early moring in Japan, and a heard of wild horses walking in the sand dunes of Namibia. It's out there and I think that is pretty amazing. In and of itself. You are young. You got it. Don't be discouraged. Be inspired. You are going to live a full, beautiful life"- Tate Drucker
Sunday, July 12, 2015
My Long Random Thoughts About Love
What is love? Love can be so complicated and confusing sometimes. Love means many different things to many different people. According to Google "love is an intense feeling of deep affection". Love comes in many different forms- family, friends, and significant others. True love is unconditional. Does this means that when you really love someone, you love them your whole life no matter what? These days love does not always seem to last that long . But does that mean that love was never true love? I guess that could mean it was not unconditional love.
People change sometimes, for better or for worse. Sometimes one person may change, sometimes both will but when you are in a relationship people usually need to be changing in the same direction for it to work out. People tend to stay the same in their core characteristic traits but may change in their behaviors or actions. So maybe when people fall out of love it is not that they do not love that person anymore but it is that he or she loves that person who he or she use to be more than the person who he or she is now. But what about for better or for worse?
People are really valuable to me. When I find someone who loves spending time with me, understands me or at least tries, and accepts me just the way I am, I want to keep that person in my life. Sometimes people turn finding love into checking things off a checklist. I think it is good to know what you want in someone that you love but it is not about finding a perfect person that meets everything on your checklist. Perfect people do not exist, maybe that person could be perfect for you but...
Everyone has flaws. Sometimes the things that you think are flaws end up being something the other person loves about you. When you love someone, you take the good and the bad. You forgive their mistakes. When you really love someone the bad does not often compare to how much good there is about that person. The bad is worth the good. . When you love someone it is best to focus on the positive instead of the negative. This does not mean you ignore the negative, but you accept it. This means you communicate and compromise with your partner about the things you can not accept. But you do not try to make that person into something that he or she is not. When you love someone , you love he or she for exactly who he or she is not who you want he or she to be.You should not change your morals, values, beliefs or personality traits for another person to like you. But you can improve on things like communication, putting other people before yourself, and accepting people for exactly who they are. Relationships require communication and compromise. Improving on these things can help a relationship grow stronger. I think the best kind of relationship to be in would be one with someone who sees the best in you and one that you help each other to be your best selves.
I think loving yourself first is best and will help your relationships in the long run too. I also don't think it is wise to make the person you love, your whole life. Having all of your happiness depend on one person is not the best idea. It is important to create your own meaning in life and have your own passions and goals. It also important to spend time with other friends and family members that you love too. It is important to always remember to be true to yourself first, don't give up what you want in life for another person. Sometimes you just need time to be on your own.
Settling is not good but it is only up to you to decide for yourself what is worth being with someone and what is not. I don't understand why people marry young sometimes because I feel like there is so much time for that, with the exception of some circumstances. Maybe it is for the comfort and stability or maybe marriage is their number one dream. But for me there is so much more to life than that. I want to do so much with my life before I get married, settle down, and have kids. I want to explore, go on adventures, learn more about myself and this world. Not that you can't do that when you are married, I just think it is important to do these things before too. I think It will also help in making sure you know what you want in life too.
The thought of marriage scares me sometimes because of how much things, people, and feelings, can change. I feel like it is hard to know for sure if you will want to commit to spending your whole life with someone. The future is unpredictable. The only constant thing in life is change. Divorce scares me because of how much it happens these days and how stressful and sad I imagine that could be. But part of me does not want to be scared of divorce because being alone and happy is better that staying with someone you are not happy with. Also how will you really know if you want to be married to someone/ what being married to that person will be like unless you marry them? My motto is you live and you learn and then if you need to you move on from what does not make you happy anymore. Although, It would be better to do the best you can do to avoid divorce by doing your best to marry someone you think you could be happy with for your whole life. Maybe to believe in love, you have to believe that a person can feel the same way about you and you can feel the same about that person for your whole life. People and things change but that does not mean your feelings have to change. Although doubts are normal sometimes and it does not make your love any less real.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UWGKzqMwso&feature=youtu.be What is Love by Soul Pancake
This is a great video on other perspectives of love <3
People change sometimes, for better or for worse. Sometimes one person may change, sometimes both will but when you are in a relationship people usually need to be changing in the same direction for it to work out. People tend to stay the same in their core characteristic traits but may change in their behaviors or actions. So maybe when people fall out of love it is not that they do not love that person anymore but it is that he or she loves that person who he or she use to be more than the person who he or she is now. But what about for better or for worse?
People are really valuable to me. When I find someone who loves spending time with me, understands me or at least tries, and accepts me just the way I am, I want to keep that person in my life. Sometimes people turn finding love into checking things off a checklist. I think it is good to know what you want in someone that you love but it is not about finding a perfect person that meets everything on your checklist. Perfect people do not exist, maybe that person could be perfect for you but...
Everyone has flaws. Sometimes the things that you think are flaws end up being something the other person loves about you. When you love someone, you take the good and the bad. You forgive their mistakes. When you really love someone the bad does not often compare to how much good there is about that person. The bad is worth the good. . When you love someone it is best to focus on the positive instead of the negative. This does not mean you ignore the negative, but you accept it. This means you communicate and compromise with your partner about the things you can not accept. But you do not try to make that person into something that he or she is not. When you love someone , you love he or she for exactly who he or she is not who you want he or she to be.You should not change your morals, values, beliefs or personality traits for another person to like you. But you can improve on things like communication, putting other people before yourself, and accepting people for exactly who they are. Relationships require communication and compromise. Improving on these things can help a relationship grow stronger. I think the best kind of relationship to be in would be one with someone who sees the best in you and one that you help each other to be your best selves.
I think loving yourself first is best and will help your relationships in the long run too. I also don't think it is wise to make the person you love, your whole life. Having all of your happiness depend on one person is not the best idea. It is important to create your own meaning in life and have your own passions and goals. It also important to spend time with other friends and family members that you love too. It is important to always remember to be true to yourself first, don't give up what you want in life for another person. Sometimes you just need time to be on your own.
Settling is not good but it is only up to you to decide for yourself what is worth being with someone and what is not. I don't understand why people marry young sometimes because I feel like there is so much time for that, with the exception of some circumstances. Maybe it is for the comfort and stability or maybe marriage is their number one dream. But for me there is so much more to life than that. I want to do so much with my life before I get married, settle down, and have kids. I want to explore, go on adventures, learn more about myself and this world. Not that you can't do that when you are married, I just think it is important to do these things before too. I think It will also help in making sure you know what you want in life too.
The thought of marriage scares me sometimes because of how much things, people, and feelings, can change. I feel like it is hard to know for sure if you will want to commit to spending your whole life with someone. The future is unpredictable. The only constant thing in life is change. Divorce scares me because of how much it happens these days and how stressful and sad I imagine that could be. But part of me does not want to be scared of divorce because being alone and happy is better that staying with someone you are not happy with. Also how will you really know if you want to be married to someone/ what being married to that person will be like unless you marry them? My motto is you live and you learn and then if you need to you move on from what does not make you happy anymore. Although, It would be better to do the best you can do to avoid divorce by doing your best to marry someone you think you could be happy with for your whole life. Maybe to believe in love, you have to believe that a person can feel the same way about you and you can feel the same about that person for your whole life. People and things change but that does not mean your feelings have to change. Although doubts are normal sometimes and it does not make your love any less real.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UWGKzqMwso&feature=youtu.be What is Love by Soul Pancake
This is a great video on other perspectives of love <3
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Lessons I Learned in South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland
The rainbow nation of Africa quickly felt like home to me this past month because of all the friendly people i met there. In Africa, UBUNTU means we are who we are because of other people. The people I met in Africa have definitely made a difference in who I am! I had an amazing time volunteering with cheetahs at Shingwedzi Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre - De Wildt in South Africa and then adventure touring in Swaziland and Mozambique! Going on game drives, cliff jumping, caving, swimming with dolphins, learning to surf, visiting an orphanage, and learning about their culture was such an amazing experience for me! I want to give a huge thank you to everyone who was apart of my experience, International Student Volunteers, and Shingwedzi Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre - De Wildt, for making my stay in Africa so great! Africa is a beautiful place filled with great people! Everyone is so happy there and they remind me what is most important in life! I love Africa and I hope to go back to visit again soon!
Lessons I Learned
1. I learned how important sustainability and conservation is. We impact our environment and the wild life around us so much but we can make a difference by being aware of how we can impact our surroundings less and by educating others .
2. Traveling helps you be more open, learn more about yourself, and learn more about the world. This makes me want to travel as much as possible!
"The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware."- Henery Miller
I think the best way to become more aware of everything around you is traveling!
I think the best way to become more aware of everything around you is traveling!
3.Appreciating what you have is so important because many people have less. But at the same time I realized how little material things matter to me because material things do not make me happy. Sometimes the people who have the least are the happiest people in the world because they know what matters most. Worrying about the small things is silly. What matters most to me are my experiences, lessons learned, and the people i meet. These are the things that I want to remember!
This picture explain what is most important in the African culture. "An anthropologist thought he would test these African children. He placed a bowl of fruit underneath a tree and told them that the first one to reach the tree could have the fruit. When he told the children to run, they all took each others' hands and ran together. They all enjoyed the fruit together. This is the African concept of Ubuntu. In my opinion, it is also why Africa is preyed upon by the vultures untamed and let loose by other cultures.When asked why they didn't run the course alone, they answered, UBUNTU! How can we be happy when others are sad?UBUNTU in Xhosa is roughly translated, "I am because we are."I found this on an African website and wanted to share it with you.Now, if we could just get rid of those vultures"- Cynthia Mckinnley
This picture explain what is most important in the African culture. "An anthropologist thought he would test these African children. He placed a bowl of fruit underneath a tree and told them that the first one to reach the tree could have the fruit. When he told the children to run, they all took each others' hands and ran together. They all enjoyed the fruit together. This is the African concept of Ubuntu. In my opinion, it is also why Africa is preyed upon by the vultures untamed and let loose by other cultures.When asked why they didn't run the course alone, they answered, UBUNTU! How can we be happy when others are sad?UBUNTU in Xhosa is roughly translated, "I am because we are."I found this on an African website and wanted to share it with you.Now, if we could just get rid of those vultures"- Cynthia Mckinnley
The people I met in the orphanage in Swaziland were some of the happiest people i have ever met.
4. Volunteering and doing what you can do to help all around the world is so rewarding! Volunteering helped me to not focus on myself so much and see the bigger picture of things. One person can make a difference! When people come together to make a difference, they can do even more!
5. Go for your dreams despite your fears! I overcame my fears a lot during this trip by caving, cliff jumping, scuba diving in a pool, and surfing. I pushed myself to do more than I ever thought was possible! Thank you Graeme and all of my group for your encouragement, I could not have done it without my chummies(friends)!
6. Be a traveler not a tourist. Instead of judging the place and culture, go and learn about it. Find out for yourself. Talk to people, wander around, explore new adventures! "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone" :)
(http://magazine.good.is/articles/africans-post-positive-images-of-continent-combat-media-stereotypes?upw ) An article and a twitter account that explains why you should not judge a place just by what you hear about it.
7. Disconnecting from technology is good to do every once in a while because it forces you to live in the moment and reflect on yourself and your life.
(http://magazine.good.is/articles/africans-post-positive-images-of-continent-combat-media-stereotypes?upw ) An article and a twitter account that explains why you should not judge a place just by what you hear about it.
7. Disconnecting from technology is good to do every once in a while because it forces you to live in the moment and reflect on yourself and your life.
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