My Day Job vs. My Passion

"There are no secrets to success but working harder than the guy next to you and wanting it more than the guy next to you." -Bill Rancic

If you are anything like me, you probably hear all the time, "I hate my job!" or "can it just be the weekend already" and really, one has to wonder, is everyone really that miserable? My opinion is that as Americans, we were just raised to fall into "crappy" jobs. We are indeed, at the core lazy, unencouraging, got-to-have-it-now, complainers. And as bad as that sounds, most of us would say that we do, in fact, tend to take the east way out.
It’s really just that simple. America is a land of FREEDOM; a fantasy land where dreams can come true and instead of grasping that as motivation we would rather sit by and let others do the work for us. It’s easy to say, “I can’t” and just let things fall into place as others take over the positions we know we’d rather have. We’ve learned to become comfortable with complaining about immigrants “taking our jobs,” when really they are just seizing the opportunities we were too lazy to take. The rest of the world knows our power; our opportunities; our chances, and they know all too well restraints and what they could do if only given a chance at freedom.
I have that freedom to do what I want and live in happiness. There isn't someone telling me what to do or where to live or who to be. I have the option to really make myself something and I want to be a part of those who really seek their passion.
I recently went through a realization that if I'm to truly be happy, I have to at least try for my dreams. I can't just sit around waiting for someone to walk up to me and say, "hey will you be a co-host on this news show?" As lovely as that would be, it's very, very, unlikely and I'll just be sitting at my "easy-way-out" job thinking, "I hate my job." I want to be one of the people who actually set goals and said, "I can make these dreams come true." I never want to be sitting at a desk thinking, "Well, it's too late now" or "what if?" Every single person out there has a secret dream or something they wished they could have done and I know I can make my passion a career with a little will power. I may never be famous or a billionaire but I can sure try to be the best that I can and try to do what I love.

21 Things to do Before 21

So after a long summer break, I figured it was time to get back into the habit of posting again. I decided I would start this school year off with a list I’ve had for a long time now, but haven’t finished. It’s a list of twenty one things I want to do before my twenty first birthday! I’ve accomplished a lot of them, but still have a lot to go, and only a year to do them…yikes!

1. Get a psychic reading
2. Go skydiving
3. Milk a cow
4. Go to a drive-in theater
5. Leave the country
6. Learn to play an instrument
7. Get ears pierced
8. Go to a concert
9. Take a road trip
10. Learn to drive stick shift
11. Win an award
12. Move out on my own
13. Go skinny dipping
14. Save $1,000
15. Buy a lottery ticket
16. Volunteer
17. Go to a college game
18. Go white water rafting
19. Shoot a gun
20. Ride a motorcycle
21. Be in two places at once

Here's hoping I can do them all! Wish me luck!

Stuck In This Rut

I heard this song today and (I felt) it was a direct reflection on how I see my life currently. I think today’s generation is becoming one that is so used to always being connected through text, Facebook, events, etc. that they have to always be entertained every second or is otherwise BORED OUT OF THEIR MINDS. I wake, go to school, go to work, study, and pass out only to wake the next day to repeat. I’m tired, and wearing myself down to the point where my friends want to go out and I would rather stay in my room. This is getting me to the point of not caring about anything. I do what is required and nothing more. I’m in a rut and don’t seem to care. I never take time to do more than what’s required. The sad thing is that I’m happy. I’m enjoying being bored for once. I don’t NEED to always be go go go! I admit I’m pretty busy but I always take time for myself just to think. It helps me stay sane but also tends to get me lost. I can spend hours not paying attention to my friends and am slowly becoming that person I said I would never be. I can’t explain it in words so this song is helping me greatly. However, that’s all for now because I have to go write a composition critique for my music class. Ew

Song: "Sunrise, Sunset"
Artist: Bright Eyes

Sunrise, sunset.
Swiftly go the days.
Sunrise, sunset.
You wake up, then you undress.
It always is the same.
a sunrise and the sun sets.
You’re lying while you confess, keep trying to explain.
a sunrise and the sun sets you realize
then you forget what you’ve been trying to retain.
But everybody knows it’s all about the things
that get stuck inside of your head,
like the songs your roommate sings
and she raised her hands in the air asked you,
When was the last time you looked in the mirror?
cause you have changed.
Yeah, you have changed.

Sunrise, the sun sets.
You are hopeful and then you regret.
The circle never breaks.
With a sunrise and a sunset there’s a change of heart or address.
Is there nothing that remains?
For a sunrise or a sunset.
You’re manic or you’re depressed.
Will you ever feel ok?
for a sunrise or sunset, your lover is an actress.
Did you really think she’d stay?
For a sunrise or sunset.
You’re either coming or you just left but you’re always on the way.
Towards a sunrise or a sunset, a scribble or a sonnet.
They are really just the same.
To the sunrise and the sunset.
The master and his servant have exactly the same fate.
It’s a sunrise and a sunset.
From a cradle to a casket.
There’s no way to escape.
The sunrise and the sunset.
Hold your sadness like a puppet, keep putting on the play.
But everything you do is leading to the point
where you just won’t know what to do.
And at that moment you may laugh
but there is someone there who will be laughing louder than you.
So it’s true, the trick is complete.
become everything you said that you never would be.
You’re a fool! You’re a fool!

Some quotes that have helped shape me...

"To fail is not our greatest fear. Our greatest fear is to succeed at things that don't matter." --Francis Chan

"And everything that was gold suddenly didn't sparkle so brightly...” -- THS "Basketball Wives"

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9

“If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” – Galatians 1:10

“The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be”
-- Marcel Pagnol

“Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, Wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you. Wait for the one who turns to his friends and says, ‘...that's her.’” – Unknown

"It's that moment when complete silence washes your mind of even conscious thought that you realize once again, some people aren't to be trusted." –LC

"Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." --Winston Churchill

“They asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy". They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life.” – Some five year old

“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” – Samuel Johnson

“When you speak, you're just repeating what you already know. But when you listen, you may learn something new.” – Unknown

“When you’re in a hole it’s generally a good idea to stop digging… stop doing the same reckless stuff that got you in trouble in the first place.” –Unknown

I Believe in Cooties

I believe in cooties and that even at the age of nineteen I’m allowed to act like I’m five every once in a while.
I can remember those days at the top of the plastic red slide, refusing to whiz myself to the woodchip ground simply because “those people” were at the bottom. Yes, “those people,” also known as boys, were sickening, covered head to toe in cooties. I never really knew what cooties were, but I knew that whatever they were, it was bad.
My belief in cooties goes a little deeper than that because even though I allowed myself to believe in such silly things like the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and cooties, there was nothing that could stand in my way. I didn’t care what people thought about me if I decided to wear a pink princess dress, boa, and crown to McDonald’s. I never wondered how I was going to pay for college yet alone gas, and I certainly never clutched my purse tighter as I walked to my car in the dark because any new person meant a new potential playmate. I was free, and nothing stopped me from having fun. As a child, I lived for the moment; I lived for those compliments on how pretty my pink crown was in line at the McDonald’s.
These days, it seems that people care way too much about public opinion. What’s funny is that usually, it’s caring about what strangers you’re never going to see again think of you. Take my mom for instance: she would never be caught dead in public wearing an old gaudy sweater or no makeup. My friends never cease to amaze me with caring too. My friend once ordered a salad at a restaurant when she was really hungry because she was afraid of what our waiter would think. We all seem have a little bit of insecurity in this way. We all think that people won’t like or accept us if we don’t act or dress a certain way.
So I believe that we should take the way children act as an example of how to live life. Live for the moment and don’t spend your time worrying about what others think of you. If you want, sing along with the radio in the car and wear mismatched clothes; just do whatever makes you happy and let others think what they will. A lesson I’ve learned is that you can’t always please everyone. My favorite quote is from Marilyn Monroe, “I let them think what they want. If they care enough to bother with what I do, then I'm already better than them."
Be who you are and people will like you for who you are and not this person society has formed you into. It’s ok to believe in cooties and it’s fine to act like you’re five every once in a while.