Just Have Hope

 "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience." ~Eleanor Roosevelt  Two weeks ago was one of the best experiences I have ever had.  FSY is a life-changing experience and I can testify to that.  Where to start? So much transpired during my visit to the University of Wilmington. It would take me hours to explain it all. I'll just tell you the highlights. =)  FSY taught me that you really can get a lot done in one week. We went straight from one thing to another. I was surprised to see that my physical stamina lasted that week. I had really good health the entire week which made me happy. In fact, the even bigger miracle is that I still am feeling great and I didn't come home with Covid or another sickness.  The spirit was with me the whole week. I was on fire. I found myself thinking about things I had learned throughout the week. Specific things would be brought...

 "Present opportunities are not to be neglected; they rarely visit us twice." -Jesse Neo I have learned that time has a way of changing things. This means that the opportunities we are given and the chances that come our way will change because our lives are constantly changing.  The opportunity of something that I am given now will not be the same exactly a year from now. That's because things will change. The circumstances may be different and your recent life experiences will alter from the previous year. So the opportunity will not be the same. Say for example you wanted to recreate a youth dance that occurred the month before. Same people, same decorations, same food, same kind of time frame as last time. The thing is you would not be able to replicate the same exact experience. Sure the decorations may look the same, but the people will be different.  What if a young woman had just had a fallout with her best friend a week or two after the first dance. If she comes ...

 I walk through the doors of the two-story building. It's another day of high school.  All day I hear language, see immodest clothing, and learn about the bad decisions students have made. Then there are the few, the few in my school who go to the same church as me. However, sometimes I feel like the only one who lives the way I do. The only one who has the standards I do...  "I have always held myself to high standards." -Nick Foles Have you heard of anyone who read the For Strength of Youth pamphlet many times, and then developed their standards further by spelling them out? Yeah, that's me. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  The For Strength of Youth Pamphlet is wonderful. One of the best resources provided for youth in this modern age. I made sure to understand what the booklet explained and taught, however for me I wanted more. So I took those standards and wrote them in greater detail. This allowed me to have specific things spelled out for me....

Laura's smile started to fade when she turned down the next street. She avoided looking at that exact spot in the intersection. She focused on the stoplight, checked for traffic, and zoomed off. She refused to be there any longer than necessary.  She hadn't even looked at the exact location but the memories came back. Her best friend-gone, all because of one car. It was more than just another street, it was a place where something happened.  “In your life, there are a few places, or maybe only the one place, where something happened and then there are all the other places.” -Alice Munro   There are places we go to every day or at least on a regular basis. School, church, our homes. These places become a constant. A location that's always there.  Locations can bring memories. When I think of Clayton, I think of places I went and then I pinpoint specific memories. However, the places "where something happened" are life-changing events. The things we think back on a...

"Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come." ~Zig Zigler I have found that sometimes we tend to forget that moments will fade and things will change. Like the embarrassment we just faced. Sometimes we can only feel the embarrassment and the torture of facing how people will view us now. However, the greater truth is that things will change. People will move on from the embarrassing scene as long as you aren't there to remind them.  It's strange how only a few months ago I had very different worries than what I do now. Moving has changed all of that. However, the things that are important to me now, at this moment, won't be five months from now or maybe even next month since my classes at school will be different.  I sometimes get caught up in what's happening right now and how that one small thing will affect the future when in reality it may not have as much of an effect as I originally thought. There h...

I have a quote in my room that sits on my bookshelf.  "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." ~Dr. Seuss  I think this quote has a really good point. I think sometimes it can be hard to be happy when something is over, for example, you are at a really fun event and now it's time to leave. As my Dad says "All good things must come to an end."    I have had lots of experiences with this. For example, I have had many family members I haven't seen in a long time come to visit and then we reach the point where they have to leave or we have to go home. That has always been hard.  Another important point to mention is that even though a fun experience is over, there will be other fun experiences in the future. We just have to remember that they won't happen right away. If day-to-day life doesn't seem worthwhile, find something to look forward to each day and that will make life all the more meaningful.  I hope all of us will always...