Blessings; see them for what they are, not what you wanted them to be.

-COLLEGE-

Over the past few months, this has been an extremely touchy subject in my life. I've been bitter about not being able to go where I thought I should have gone. I've been jealous of all of my friends whose lives seem to be progressing, while mine is still on pause. I've been selfish. 

I haven't taken five minutes to step back and realize how lucky I really am. I've been focusing and dwelling on where I thought my life should be right now, when my life is exactly where it should be. 

 

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Tonight I got the chance to go visit my best friend in the whole wide world at her new dorm in Cedar. I won't lie to anyone... I've been jealous of her too. Mostly jealous of all of her fun room mates, but her as well. Seeing her tonight gave me the opportunity to see and realize that even though we've both taken different paths, we're both going the right direction for us. I also realized that even though we don't get to see each other as much as we used to, we'll always be as close as we were when we did. I think that by taking that 30 minute drive tonight, I gave myself the closure I needed to move on and stop being jealous of something that wasn't meant for me. 

-

I'm so blessed to be able to stay at home. I'm blessed because I'm getting an education for free. I'm living at home for free. I get to see my family every single day, which is something that I'm sure a lot of freshman in college wish they had. I get to see some of my closest high school friends multiple times a week. 

There are so many blessings that I've over looked, because I've been sitting here, bitter about what I didn't get. My life was on pause because I pushed the button.

-GROWING UP-

I think that one of the things that bothered me the most about not being able to move away for college, is the fact that everyone around me was telling me that it's the only way to "grow up". Since my Junior year of high school, it's been shoved down my throat that the only way to grow up, was to get out of town. THIS IS SO NOT TRUE! 

::ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL KIDS::

You do not have to get out of town to"grow up". Growing up is something that comes with time, and it doesn't matter where you are. Growing up is about taking responsibility for yourself, and learning how to do things by yourself. Well... I've been doing this for the past four years! Just because I'm nineteen years old, and I still live with my parents while I'm going to school, doesn't mean that I'm not growing up. If anything, it means that I have grown up, because I saw a great opportunity to save money, and go to a good school, and I took it.

Growing up doesn't depend on location; it depends on mind set. 

::ALSO:: 

Don't tear the blessings that others receive down, to uplift yours. Everyone receives different blessings and circumstances for different reasons. It's not up to anyone to judge another person's situation, especially to make theirs look better. 

BE HAPPY FOR PEOPLE.

One of the stupidest things that I've done this year is be jealous of others. It has only made me feel bad about myself, and made me resent the other person. If someone gets exactly what they want, then you should be nothing but happy for them! Jealousy does nothing but hold other blessings back from you. Being jealous of someone else hurts no one but you.

Okay everyone, now it's up to you. If you're feeling bad about yourself, and you're constantly jealous of others, re-evaluate your life. Look for those hidden blessings that I know all off us have. You'll never be able to be happy for others if  you're not happy for yourself first.

Change your outlook on life, and it will change your life. 

p.s. another hidden blessing in my life... my computer shut itself down before I got to publish this post, but somehow, it was saved. The Lord looks out for everyone! What matters to you, matters to him.

Hey, you. GET OVER IT!

Why do us girls feel the need to linger on every little thing that other girls do, or say that offend them? Why do we let the small, unimportant stuff ruin our lifelong friendships? Why can't we just get over it and move on?

::NEWSFLASH::
Let's Get Real.

Why can't we just all be happy, and nice to each other? There is nothing more destructive to a friendship than lingering on something that doesn't really matter. If people brushed more of the unimportant stuff off, there would be half as many problems in the world today; I swear by it!

I can't tell you that I haven't ever done this, because I totally have! It just took me until now to realize that not just letting some things go, is one of the stupidest things that someone can do....

So, in 8th grade I had this friend. We were BEST friends. We used to do everything together, and we used to have so much fun. I liked this boy, and my best friend knew it, but she started to "go out" with him anyways. No one told me. I found out about a week later, and as soon as I found out, all heck broke loose! I wouldn't talk to her, I wouldn't hang out with her, and I wouldn't forgive her.

Even though my friend did a really, really crappy thing to me, it's my fault that we weren't friends after it happened. I could have chosen to forgive and forget, and not let a stupid BOY get between us, but I did, and because I did, I lost a really great friend. Now, we both had really great friends in high school, and we were cordial to each other, but we missed out on so many memories because I wouldn't just let it go.

::ON THE OTHER HAND::
Why are girls so mean to each other? We know how it feels to be judged. We know how it feels to be disliked, so why do we put that upon other people when we know how badly it hurts? Again, I can't say that I haven't done this either, though I can't think of a specific instance, but I hate that it happens. It's unfair to everyone in the situation. NO ONE feels good about it in the long run; and for the person who is putting this undeserved hatred onto another person, you might feel powerful now, but in the long run, Karma will come back to get you, and I know that to be true.

Everyone, it's just not worth it. Lingering on stupid things like "who got the boy" or something that someone said without thinking, just isn't worth it. The best way to deal with a situation like this is to simply, get over it, forgive, forget, and move on.
also,
Be nice whenever possible, and it's ALWAYS possible. 

"The Savior made a clear connection between being forgiven of our sins and forgiving others who have wronged us. Sometimes the wrongs others have done to us are very, very painful and very hard to either forgive or forget. I am so grateful for the comfort and healing I have found in the Lord’s invitation to let go of our hurts and turn them over to Him. In Doctrine and Covenants, section 64, He said: “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. And ye ought to say . . . let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds” (D&C 64:10-11). Then we must drop the matter completely, letting the Lord take it from there, if we desire to be healed." Elder J. Devn Cornish