Let Me Ask You This...

Can I ask you something? It's not really the wonders of the world, but close to it...

Why do people lie so often? How do they not realize that lying just gets you into more trouble, and later in life you'll feel bad about it? Don't they know that mistakes happen and sometimes you need to accept what you did wrong instead of lying about it so it's not your fault? What do they think they'll get out of it? I'm sure at some point lying will come back and hit you in the face... It's not like you can never ever lie, because everyone does at least once, but some people are a little excessive. They lie more than once every day. And they don't only lie to strangers- they lie to their best friends and their family. But why? What's the point? Honestly, one lie just leads to the next. So why do people do it?

Why can't girls get along? Why can't we just accept each other for who we are? How come someone can be your friend one minute, and then completely ignore you the next? It's amazing how someone can say something bad about someone else, and then next leave you for the person they said they didn't like. Is it really that hard to be individual, and stand up to mean, "popular" girls? Honestly, the only reason half of the popular girls are "popular" is because they can talk to guys without turning beat red and embarrassing themselves and like to blurt out smart-alec things in class. And then they twist their power and think they rule the world and are mean to everyone else. Okay, so I may be stereotyping a little, but in my world, this is what I see. If things are this bad now, how will things be for our kids?

How is it that money has become so scarce? Where did it all go? Humanity is losing hope, and quickly. Gas prices rise and house values lower. People are being laid off left and right. In 2005 it was reported that 100 million people all around the world are homeless or living in dirty, unhealthy, and unacceptable conditions. That's approximately one-quarter of the world's population! What happened to all men and women being equal instead of just taking all the money for yourself? What happened to the good in humanity? Because I don't see it anymore.

Again, I'm faced with the question of why I wrote this. Well, I don't know- again. I write these things because I feel like sharing thoughts I have... That's the whole point of blogging, right? I want you to consider this. I'm not sure what you'll get out of it, but you'll be the one to answer that, won't you?

We all need a place to get away...

From the title of this post, you might think that I'm going to be advertising some fantastic vacation I just went on and why you should go to the same place. But since I haven't been on vacation since summer, well, you know that's not that case.

No, I'm here to explain how we all need a place to take us away from the craziness of our lives. This place doesn't have to be 1,000 miles away, it could be right outside your door.

We all have stress in our life and at times we cross paths with great sorrows. When a family member dies, when you have no money, when you're getting terrible grades in school- we all have these things that stress us out and make our lives 10 times harder, no matter what age. Day after day, things go wrong. Nothing good is happening and you can't escape. We all have felt this way at least once in our lives. Yes, all of us.

That's why you need a place to get away. A place to go where you can forget about everything bad happening in your life. Where you can just relax and enjoy life, take a deep breath and smile.

It's impossible to enjoy nature when you have a weight hanging heavy on your shoulders. It's so hard to appreciate the good in life when all you can focus on is the bad and how you might be able to fix it. Life gets tough, and that's the way things are meant to be.

So you go to your special place- whether it be at your parents house, in a tree overlooking fields, or even an old shed you used to play in as a kid. Whatever brings your soul peace- go there.

What's my special getaway place, you ask? Well, those of you who know me should know what I'm going to say.
My getaway place is wherever horses are. All I have to do is smell them, and I'm happy. Just feeling their soft winter coats is enough to bring me peace. I forget everything, and my world is them. They have my full attention, because there's nothing I'd rather be doing than being with a horse. I don't even have to be riding- in fact, I've found it to be more pleasurable to just sit with them and watch them eat. Just visiting with them in the paddock- it's all I need. They're my life, and nothing will ever change that.

So your next question  is, why did I even write this? Here's my answer: I have no clue. It was just a thought that I thought of (well, obviously if it was a thought, then I thought of it...) and felt like sharing. There really was no purpose, it's just something I wanted to share.

Well, now that I've been rambling and have wasted 5 minutes of your life (or shorter if you're a fast reader), I'm going to go now.

Friday Five! (of videos)

Hey everyone...

Happy Friday!

Here are the videos for this Friday:

1.) So I got this video in a email forward about a year and a half ago. And it wasn't until now that I remembered the video. It's a serious video, and it makes me happy and sad at the same time. I watched it again and decided I should share it, because I think everyone should watch it and pass it on!

"The Power of Words"

Now that you've watched it... pass it on or tell someone else about it!

It's truly heart-touching.

2.) My sister Alex showed me this video... you have to watch VERY carefully... It actually turns out to be pretty funny.

"Color Changing Card Trick"

What did I tell you??

3.) I found this video on a website. I think these kinds of things are cool. It's something similar to a flash mob... but different...

Watch it!

"Frozen Grand Central"

4.) All I can say to this one is WOW. SO cool!

"Best Basketball Shot Ever"

5.) Touching story... very touching...

"A Father's Amazing Love"


That wraps up our Friday Five of videos! TGIF!

It's not ALWAYS greasy...

I've had multiple classmates say to me, "Eww... you like McDonald's?! Do you know what they put in their nuggets?!" So yes, I do like McDonald's. In fact, I LOVE McDonald's. How can you not enjoy their delicious, salty french fries? And I agree that not all of the McDonald's food is good for you. Okay, never mind, almost ALL of their food is bad for you. But, notice my almost. Not all McDonald's food is terrible for you. I mean, obviously if you go to McDonald's you can't plan on getting the healthiest meal on Earth. But  if your careful, you can go to McDonald's and have an average-healthy meal. Take a look at some of these websites and THEN judge the majestic fry house:

LiveStrong.com

FitSugar.com (Click the orange "Next" button to see the foods.)

 DrGourmet.com

This is proof that not everything on the McDonald's menu is trash. Obviously, as I said before, it's not as healthy and other restaurants, but it's something!

Where Are YOU Living??

YOLO. Do you know what that means? It means, "You Only Live Once." And it's true, but I don't think people realize it that often. I know that I, for example, don't really consider life...well... LIFE! This is our only chance. I'm only turning 13 once. Once the moment is gone, it's gone forever. Once it happened, it's never undone. It's kind of scary to think about it like that...

I know that I do not "live in the moment" like some people do. That's why I'm wondering "where you're living". In the moment, or in your mind?

If you live in the moment, you take risks. You don't think about what happened yesterday, or what might happen tomorrow, you're just thankful for what you have NOW. You go for opportunities that are given to you and you try your best because it's your only chance to show what you've got. I looked on Yahoo! Answers to see what they said, and cj_justme said, "It means to enjoy where you are right NOW, rather than brooding about the past, worrying about what might happen in the future, or wishing for something we may want to happen 'someday'. The past can't be changed, and the future is unknown. All we can control is what happens right now." And I couldn't have said it better myself! If you live in the moment, you make the best of the things in you life, even if your struggling with things. Recognize the good things you have. And of course, this is easier to say than to do, but it's something to think about.

If you live in your mind, you usually think about yesterday and how you could have made it "such a better day." Or you think about the future and wish for things you want constantly. If you live in your mind, your worried about how things might turn out, even though there's nothing to do to change it, so why worry about it? And it's okay to do this a little bit, but personally, I think living in the moment is a lot better. Of course changing to living in the moment would be hard, but if you're interested in taking on the challenge, here are some links to some websites that tell you how:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200810/the-art-now-six-steps-living-in-the-moment

http://www.wikihow.com/Live-in-the-Moment

http://stopandbreathe.com/2011/07/08/how-to-live-in-the-moment/

This will be a challenge, but it could change your life forever...

Good luck!

The Meaning Of Words

When the waiter brings you your food at a restaurant, you say thank you. When you receive gifts on Christmas, you say thank you. When someone says thank you, you say your welcome. When someone says I love you, you say I love you too. But do you ever think about what your saying and really, truly mean it? Or do you just say it automatically and not think about it at all? Is it possible that we say these words so often that they completely lose their meaning? I think yes. To be completely honest, when I say thank you to someone giving me my food I'm trying to be polite. I'm not thinking about what I'm saying at all. If it's something big, like someone gives me a present I wasn't expecting and I really like for Christmas, then I mean it and I really honestly appreciate it. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate anything else, though. I do. But I know that everyone (including me), at some point in their lives, says thank you, or please, or I love you, like it's nothing. Like it has no meaning, it's just something we all say. It doesn't mean you should feel terrible about it and cry about it, because everyone does it- it's just something I know we all can improve on. The point is- we should try to mean these words when we say them. Thank about what that person is doing for you, how they're somehow making your life easier, and thank them sincerely and mean it. When someone says I love you, look at them and truly love them and give them your heart, and then say it back. You don't have to do it every single time because that's obviously very difficult. And you don't need to spend 5 minutes thinking about all of this, just really mean it. And if you don't think about it at the second it happens (because yes, it would definitely very difficult), think about it when your trying to fall asleep at night. Recognize the people you said thank you to, or who you said you loved, and then mean it. Think about the meaning of those words.

***Please note that I wasn't trying to offend anyone in any way! This is just my opinion that I wanted to share.

Counting Sheep Works!

Sometimes I lay awake at night, trying to fall asleep, but I never can. It frustrates me, so I try silly things that people tell me that might help. Sometimes I'll try a muscle relaxation thing to try and relax me. That only works some of the time. Then one time I decided to experiment and tried counting sheep- only to find that it actually works! That is- if you do it correctly. It takes a lot of concentration and focus. You have to picture in your mind a field with a fence, and have multiple sheep jump over it. Then you have to count each and every one of the sheep and you cannot stop or let your mind wander, or it won't work. If you completely focus, you should be able to fall asleep. I think what happens is your using your brain and concentrating really hard, so when you finally stop you become more tired. Research shows that counting sheep can make a person focus, but relax at the same time. So next time you can't sleep but need to sleep, try counting sheep!