Continue in Patience

How come I never get to witness anything like this? oh yeah...

Gorgeous wedding gown: Check.
Stroller with dyed poodle: Check.
Gold slippers: Check.
Dyed beard: Check.
Parrot on head: Check.
Fuzzy ankle accessory: Check.

You would never see anything like this in Provo.

Yet another reason why

I need to move.

:)

You Gotta' be!

Songs always have a way of bringing back memories that you haven't thought of forever, or even remember all that well, but the minute you hear the song its like your right back in that moment. Sometimes that really sucks. Like a love song that makes you remember all of the good, and positively none of the bad things about a past relationship. Or another song that you listened to so many times during a particular phase in your life, like for example, I can't listen to Fall out Boy or Cartel or the Academy is or any other of our gangster hip hop music, without being taken back to Jr. year of High School driving around Bakersfield with Reagan. Or Lollipop by Lil Wayne without remembering my first summer out of the house living with Reagan in Provo. Or Just got started lovin you, which always reminds me of my first boyfriend and hanging out with him every night!

Music is so amazing! This particular song takes me right back to being 7 years old and going to Rio Bravo with my best friend Mika and our moms. I guess its pretty sentimental to me cause it's one of my first real memories I have of music. And it takes me back to such a simple times in my life where I didn't have anything to worry about but whether or not me and Mika were going to get in a fight that day or not, and if we did get in a fight how I could keep her from biting me! I wish I could go back and talk to 7 year old me. And tell her to stay young and naive and innocent as long as possible. Stay away from boys and listen to everything my mom tells me. And tell her not to be afraid of the pool vacuum or monsters roaming the streets, to practice the piano more, and beg mom to let me take gymnastics. Graduate early, it's the best thing you will ever do. Finish BC asap and buy a cooler freaking car, with AC! Don't quit soccer, play volleyball as much as possible, be nicer to Jenna, NEVER get a perm and stay away from any guy named...well quite a few names. haha. anyway this is a good song. It makes me feel like a little girl again and honestly gives me a reason to try and conquer trials in my life, if for no other reason than that I know 7 year old me would want me to.


Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers they may cause your tears
Go ahead release your fears
Stand up and be counted don't be 'shamed to cry

You gotta be, you gotta be bad
You gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know love will save the day

Herald what your mother said
Read the books your father read
Try to solve the puzzles in your own sweet time
Some may have more cash than you
Others take a different view
My, oh, my
he-eh-y

You gotta be bad
You gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know love will save the day

Time asks no questions it goes on without you
Leaving you behind if you can't stand the pace
The world keeps on spinning can't stop it if you tried to
The best part is danger staring you in the face


Remember, listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try to keep your head up to the sky
Lovers they may cause your tears
Go ahead release your fears
My, oh, my
He-ey-y

You gotta be bad
You gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know love will save the day

Why can't we be friends?

Fun fact about Meaghan #204! I love to read! Especially when its a good book, a good story or when it teaches you something. I just finished reading Ender's Game which was a pretty sweet book about this kid who fights aliens and saves the world! haha for reals. but its good. Not as good as Hunger Games, where all the kids are forced to kill each other cause the government is so corrupt, but pretty sweet nonetheless. And now I'm reading a book I found in my new place (I may or may not have stolen it from one of my roommates) called "The Art of Seduction" sounds kinky huh? Haha ;) its actually super interesting! I'm learning a lot! But more on that later. When I was reading Ender's Game at my super boring job, I came across this...

"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves."

When you first meet someone you obviously have absolutely no mental connection to the person, no opinion formed of them. (unless of course you've heard about them or have a mutual friend, but we're talking about meeting them for the first time ever) You don't know their likes or dislikes their hopes or dreams or fears or frustrations. What experiences shaped them and what ones made them see life the way they do. That person really is nothing to you, they may walk away and you may never see them again. They are known to you as nothing more than that guy or that girl, a stranger. Often a first impression of a that person will make you judge them, and most times very harshly. I think we all have the tendency to judge people based on their appearance, and feelings of resentment, jealousy, disgust or indifference may lead you to assume something about that person that isn't true. I know I'm guilty of that! But thats really all it is, is assumption. Its not until you spend time with the person, or have some sort of interaction with them (hopefully on more than one occasion) that you really develop an opinion of them.

Not everyone in the world likes everyone they meet. Some people hate others purely on principle (which is ridiculous) some people dislike people that don't know how to drive ( :P ) or who smell bad or who are prettier than them or richer... some may not like each other because of a misunderstanding or something said by another while in a bad mood....

Something that always has been crazy to me that has always really frustrated me; how can I like someone, be in love with them, or best friends or good friends or just friendly acquaintances, and then someone else out there completely despises the same person I think so highly of! Is it all circumstantial? It's so sad!

Thats where this part of Ender's game comes in, "Its impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, (and I'll add, their hopes and desires, likes and dislikes, their good and bad experiences and how those shaped them) and not love them the way they love themselves". Now you may be thinking, "uh Meaghan, it is indeed possible, some people are just mean, some people call me ugly and take my shoelaces!" That isn't the type of love i'm talking about. If you really take the time to get to know people, understand what makes them tick, why they have the views and opinions they have, you will eventually love them, and maybe not like, but love the person they are. The kid in this book definitely didn't love the "enemies" he was talking about but I think he is referring more to a sense of understanding that makes you appreciate the person for who they are. An understanding of why they act the way they do.

Moral of the story, and a reiteration of my biggest pet peeve that a person can possibly have: Don't judge other people. You can't possibly know the things they are going through or went through that make them act the way the do, and if you truly did know, or took the time to try and understand them, chances are you would like them, quite possibly want them as a friend, you may even love them!

This all may sound really cheesy but its something I think about ALL the time!!

"Why can't we all just get along?"

"Why can't we be friends?" :)

I wish that I had time and the ability to get to know everyone in the world! I'm not joking! And it breaks my heart that the people that I do know, and get to know and have loved aren't always going to be a part of my life. I've said it before, I wish that everyone that I have liked and loved can be a part of my life forever. Cause obviously there was a reason I loved that person. And if we all weren't so caught up in our own lives and our own selfish ways of thinking we would never just start hating someone or not want them to be around anymore. If you really think about it, it only makes sense. How can you just stop loving someone? Is it really love then? And if it is, how depressing!

In my heaven I will be able to get to know everyone, their entire life story, and more than that, I will get to stay in contact with them, be with them forever.

Impossibly Balanced

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

Nothing is impossible, before I die, I'm going to:

1. Climb to the top of a mountain

2. Go skydiving

3. Travel the world

4. Become famous

5. Be rich enough to have an Audi and a Jeep Wrangler....and a huge truck.

6. Also be rich enough to have a Diet coke fountain machine in my house.

7. Become a Dietician, or a nurse.

8. Have some kids.

9. Fall in love with a man worth loving.

10. Be happy.

BALANCE: when the sum of the forces exerted is equal to zero.

Balance = happiness

18 STEPS TO BALANCED LIVING:

1. Slow down! 2. Emotions: Keep them in check. 3. Choice is yours. 4. Do not hang onto negativity: just let go. 5. Write down your goals and plan. 6. Learn to enjoy silence. 7. Discover something beautiful each and everyday on which to meditate. 8. Simplify life; offload cumbersome baggage. 9. Develop a balanced sense of humor. 10. Develop a discerning manner. 11. Do not pretend; you only fool yourself. 12. Celebrate life; no matter what the circumstances. 13. Accept you cannot control everything. 14. Only you can make you happy; and then share this with others. 15. Don't be selfish. 16. Anger serves no master; you degrade yourself in anger. 17. Find time to be alone every day. 18. Learn the art of having a quiet sense of humor.

"Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life.

It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to
serve others by using them." Thomas Kinkade

"Live a balanced life - learn some and think some

and draw and paint and sing and dance and play

and work every day some." Robert Fulghum

Cause I gotta get used to it!

"This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now." Thomas S. Monson, “Finding Joy in the Journey,” Liahona, Nov 2008, 84–87 ---Great Talk!



Hope everyone is having a wonderful life-changing day! :)

Jessica's "Daily Affirmation"

This little girl, aside from being quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen, is such an inspiration! I want to be more like her!


There are many people in my life who I strive to be more like;

My incredible Mother with her patience and amazing ability to raise six kids, love us all unconditionally and still keep her sanity.

My sweet Daddy, who works so hard to give us everything we needed, is a spiritual giant and has the best sense of humor ever! I know if I am fortunate enough to find a man even half as incredible as my Father, I will have done just fine!

My brothers and sisters, also some of the best examples I have to look up to in my life. And many more!

I'm so lucky!!!! I am constantly trying to improve myself and looking to others to see what traits I want to incorporate into myself, and what ones I would.. well much rather do without! Recently I have decided I want to become a whole lot more positive! As the title of my blog insinuates, I often have the tendency to be fairly cynical and sarcastic, which I know will always have a place in my personality, but I want to start striving to be more and more optimistic. :) When I was younger I knew I could do anything and I had complete and utter faith in myself. I didn't doubt who I was at all and I knew that I was a loved Daughter of God. As I have gotten older life experiences have torn down that way of thinking in more ways then one, I'm working on building it up again :) I've been so blessed! I'm going to start now to enjoy every day I have, not just endure it!

I'll keep you updated ;)
This reminds me of my mom, she is constantly telling me I need to learn to make myself happy and not wait for things or people to do it for me!

"I can do anything good! Yeah yeah yeah, I can do anything good! Better, better than anyone!"