Lesson #38: "When life hands you lemons, make... Grape juice?"

Everyone knows the saying "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade!" Well, lately I've been making a lot of lemonade. Or, trying to. But life keeps throwing too many lemons at once! So I was thinking, maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. Maybe the lemonade I'm making isn't the right kind. Maybe I should take these lemons that life keeps throwing at me and making something completely different: Grape juice. (No one will ever see that coming!) When I think lemons, I think sour. Sure, you can add sugar to it to make it sweet, but you will eventually run out of sugar to do so. I don't know how many of you have tasted freshly made grape juice, but it is out of this world. Just requires a little time and work. Same with our lives! You can keep putting sugar on those lemons, but eventually you'll run out and then what? OR you could make grape juice. It's not always fun, or quick, but in the end, it's worth it. It's not fake, and it doesn't require anything but yourself.

Does 2+2=5? No, but you can most certainly make grape juice from lemons.

Lesson #37: "Why not?"

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."  ~Milton Berle. We can't just wait for something to come along in life. Because nothing will come to those who don't make an effort. So build a door, and odds are, opportunity might come knocking. Could be a small opportunity, but many small ones can get us somewhere quicker than waiting for one big one to come along!

Oh yeah, and when you ask why I'm going to tour ACU if I already "know the campus", well, why not? Free food, a day of fun, learn more about college, and skipping school? I think that answers itself.

Lesson #36: Life is tough, wear a helmet.

Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Amen.

Lesson #35: Friends are the best medicine.

When times get tough, surround yourself with good friends. They always make things easier for you! So to all my best friends, I LOVE YOU.

Lesson #34: "You remember that one old computer game? With the mouse?"

Today was ahhhhhh-mazing. The weather was beautiful, it was a Friday, and I got to spend time with my wonderful friends! The last three periods today were all free days. In physics, Reilly, Beth, Kyle and I went and laid in the grass in the courtyard. In study hall, Daniel and I rediscovered an old computer game! (I'll get back to that). In Theatre, well, today was supposed to be a half day so he didn't have anything planned. Our class just went back outside and chilled. Anyway, back to the old computer game. On our old computer, when we still had windows '95, there was a game called 'Rodents Revenge'. Anyone else remember this game? I used to play it ALL the time! I'm not the best at it, but I still love playing it. (I found a link to the game if you'd like to play it, also!) It just brings back memories from my childhood, when we still had dial-up Internet and I wasn't allowed to be online 24/7. (Oh the good ole days..)

Today was awesome.

Lesson #33: Don't judge a book by its cover.

I'm pretty good at hiding my emotions when I want to. But there's those days where I just can't hold them in any longer. I hate it when I'm like that, because I don't like attention. So I normally try to hide the fact that I'm upset or angry. But there are those times where its easy to tell how I'm feeling.

I'm sure a lot of people try to hide their emotions as well. Everyone is going through some kind of battle. Just because they look happy and care-free on the outside, doesn't mean they feel that way on the inside. Just remember that even the super happy positive people like I try to be go through sad times. And remember that they need care and love just as much as those who show their emotions. I honestly don't like attention, but I don't particularly like being ignored just because people think I have everything right and I'm perfecty fine. Everyone needs the same amount of love. No matter what they're going through on the outside, there's always something different going on on the inside!

So don't assume that just because the outside of this book looks good that the inside is good, too. Take the time to find out!

Lesson #32: Only God can make this flower grow.

I love flowers. They're just so happy and beautiful, and by far one of my favorite of God's many creations. My favorite flowers are daisies. They just seem so happy. Even the name is happy. I don't know about you, but when I hear daisy, I think of smiles! If I was a flower, I'd be a white daisy.

1 Corinthians 3:7, "So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." There's the planter, and there's the seed. There's the sun, and there's the water. All of these things can help produce a flower. But God is the only thing that actually makes it grow. Everything ties back to God. In life, we are the seeds. As we grow, we go through cycles of dry heat, bitter cold, and lush sunlight. In the bad times is when we need to look to God for our water and sun. Without it, we would just be a dead plant sitting in the dirt. How does that sound?

Sure, we have the "planters" who help us grow in our spiritual life. We call them preachers, ministers, mentors, elders, etc. But who put them in our life? God. We have the "water" in our life, we call them friends. Who put them there? God. We also have the "sun" in our life. We call him Jesus. (No pun intended.) And who put Him there? God. Everything in our spiritual life ties back to God. So let's remember that He, and He alone, is the rock. I'm not perfect, I struggle with this concept a lot.

Only God can make this flower grow.

Lesson #31: Only Justin Bieber can sing 'Baby'.

Today was great. It felt so stress free. Mainly because I missed half the day, but still, I'll take days like this any day! I think I seem to take days like this for granted. Despite not feeling well, today was wonderful. This week has just been wonderful so far! I have the best friends I could ever ask for, and I am so blessed.

Oh, and I love Sam on Glee, but only Justin can sing 'Baby'. Sam comes close, though, I have to admit! 'Somebody to Love' was also a good choice, but JB is one of those artists you can't redo their songs. Along with Journey.

Lesson #30: Life is what you make it.

After writing the title, I immediately thought of a song. Yes, it's by Hannah Montana. No, it's not what inspired this blog tonight. (Although the song could be nicely applied here!) Today was Valentine's Day! And today was probably one of the best days I've had in awhile! Not necessarily because it's Valentine's Day, but because I decided to make it a good day. This morning on my way to school, I was rushed and trying to hit every green light and take shortcuts. Well, I got behind a really slow person who just would not get out of my way! I got so mad and frantic because I was afraid I would be tardy. (I wasn't, thankfully!) As I finally got past the slow car, I thought about how stupid would it be if I let that ruin my day? Pretty stupid. So I said to myself,"I am going to make this a good day." I actually did say it out loud to myself. And it stuck with me the rest of the day. I knew there would be some negativity today, as part of Valentine's Day every year, but I just stayed as optimistic as I possibly could, and you know what? I had a great day! I have great friends, a great boyfriend, an amazing family, all of which I wouldn't trade for the world.


Life is what you make it. It really is. If you go into the day thinking it's gonna be "one of those days", say aloud to yourself, "This will be a good day." Odds are, it won't turn out too bad.

Lesson #29: Read the instructions..

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! I remember in Elementary when everyone would bring a box of valentines and each person in the class would get one. There were always different ones: Batman, Barbie, Spongebob, Little Mermaid, and so many others. Then we got into Middle School. At Franklin, we had the VPO (Valentine's Post Office). You could buy a rose or some chocolates for that cute guy in your Algebra class or that girl you've had a crush on since the fourth grade. Then along comes High School. All the hype and celebration kind of died down school wise. High school classes don't normally have Valentine's parties. (Which stinks! You're never too old to get a Scooby-Doo valentine!)

Valentine's Day can be fun if you choose to make it fun. If you have a valentine, great! If you don't, don't let it ruin your day. It's not the end of the world, believe me! (Singles Awareness Day, right?) Just love yourself and share the love with the people you love! Isn't that what Valentine's Day is all about? LOVE? So tomorrow, tell those you care about how much you love them! For those reading this, I love you! You guys are the greatest, and I couldn't ask for better friends in my life!

Oh yeah.. And read the instructions when baking.. Otherwise your cookies might burn..

Lesson #28: Never say never!

Yes, cliche title, I know. I saw the Justin Bieber movie tonight, and may I just say that it was probably one of the best and one of my favorite documentary type movies I've seen so far. Yes, I like Bieber, but I am not, nor will I EVER be, one of his crazed fans, crying (literally) to him... But he IS very talented, despite what all you haters say!

Anyways, the title of the movie was "Never Say Never," which is what inspired this blog. The song Never Say Never is probably my favorite song by him, (And I may or may not have memorized the rap by Jaden Smith...) and the words really are inspiring. In life, we have our goals and dreams that the world tries to tear down. For instance, my goal in life is to be a physicist or scientist. And I'm pretty sure that every single person I have told this to has either tried to talk me out of it or tell me it's a bad idea. "You have no idea what you're getting into!" or "Yeah, good luck with that!" Well, no, honestly I don't know exactly what I'm getting myself into, but I love physics and math, and I'm willing to try. So can people just stop telling me otherwise? Everyone has to start somewhere!

When the world tells you no, prove them wrong!
"Never say never!"

Lesson #27: It'll warm up to 39 tomorrow.

Today was possibly the coldest day ever in the time I have lived in Abilene, TX. it was only 18-29 all day, but the wind chill made it feel like it was -5! I walked to chapel this morning and when I made it to the band hall, my eyes were watering so bad it made it look like I was crying. I do not like being cold. At all.

But hey, it'll warm up to 39 tomorrow.
Where's the 70s?

Which reminds me of a song.

Cause I'm sunny with a high of 75 since you took my heavy heart and made it light. And it's funny how you find you enjoy your life when you're happy to be alive. --Relient K.

This song always puts me in a good mood. No matter what. God puts us on this spiritual high, and it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I love that feeling! The last phrase speaks the loudest in my opinion. "And it's funny how you find you enjoy your life when you're happy to be alive." If you're negative all the time, do you wonder why you're never happy? So enjoy life. Because odds are, you will be a happier person when you look on the bright side of life!

Lesson #26: Life is crazy.

Last week was crazy. We had 4 days off of school because of the snow, and now we are expecting another snow storm tomorrow? Really Abilene? NOW you decide to give us snow? It's nuts!

"I'm in love alright, with my crazy beautiful life."

Life gets crazy sometimes. But if life wasn't crazy, what would it be? Dull. Boring. Lifeless. So always remember that when you get frustrated and stressed, just remember that you'll always look back on these crazy times, and smile! It may seem frustrating, stressful, annoying and well, crazy at the time, but later in life you'll always look back and smile or laugh.

So just love life while you can, because it goes by in the blink of an eye!

Lesson #25: I can't wait until college.

Today I visited my future college: Lubbock Christian. My dad drove Brantly, Jaci, and myself to Lubbock for LCU's Master Follies. (For those of you that don't know, it's like Sing Song or Spring Sing). We got there a little early, so we decided to take a tour. I've grown up going to LCU, so I pretty much already know my way around. But I still like to take tours, because I love to just know more about the school. I'm pretty much set on LCU. I know it's only my junior year, and I have a whole nother year to think about it, but I like to think way ahead. LCU is kind of like ACS to me. It's a small school; the student to teacher ratio is about 15:1. I'm a social person, but I love small schools. I love getting to know the teachers personally and also getting to know everyone in my classes. I also love the Christian atmosphere that LCU has. ACS has a good Christian atmosphere. And I would feel right at home at LCU. I plan on trying to be involved in everything I can! I want to play indoor soccer, maybe golf, do choir and theatre, and most definitely participate in club! (I'm thinking Kappa?) Aaaaaand MASTER FOLLIES! Which is what inspired this blog post. I went to Master Follies for the first time last year. And I have been looking forward to it since then! I just can't wait until I get to be on that stage with my club, or even being a hostess! I LOVE singing, and I really want to be involved in more "singing" activities.

I can't wait until college.

Lesson #24: The bikini was named after a nuclear test site.

So it is day three of the great blizzard of 2011, and I'm pretty sure I am suffering from cabin fever. Again, we have no school tomorrow... (So one good thing is that I only had school one day this week!) Earlier today, my parents, Jaci, Maggie and I ventured out into the frozen tundra and had lunch at McDonalds. A usual two minute drive from my house to McDonalds took us around ten minutes. We saw about 6 cars stuck on the road, and even more being helped. It was scary! But I had so much fun! (Especially since I hadn't left my house in a couple of days!) My family and I just got done playing games such as Scrabble SLAM and Cranium. It was so much fun! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! As I said before, we should use time as family time! Most of a normal day, we (the kids) are at school, and our parents are at work. Not to mention the time we spend after school playing sports. We don't really get much family time. So, since we will still be staying in our homes for the next few days, let's use this time to spend with our family. We don't take advantage of it as much as we should.

Oh, and did you know the bikini was named after a nuclear test site?

Lesson #23: "Maggie, you can burp on command?!"

Maggie can burp on command. She's my hero.

Lesson #22: Texas failed kindergarten.

Texas weather is unpredictable. Yesterday, at 4 o'clock, it was sunny and 69 degrees. As I was leaving the golf course at 6, it started raining. As I was about half way to my house, it started hailing. Today, I woke up with almost a foot of snow. Who knows what tomorrow is going to be like! I love snow, don't get me wrong. But the only thing I don't like about it is that on days like this you can't leave your house. Well, you could, but it is discouraged for safety. Maybe days like this are the times you need to just spend with your family. Go outside and build a snowman or watch a movie together. I know that's not always the ideal thing to do on a snowday, because all you want to do is play with your friends! But take this time to appreciate the little time you get with your family!

(And your pets!)