Youthful Life: X

The 20s are all about reflection. How often do you take time to look back and see how far you've come. We're often busy trudging forward and intently focused on the future that we forget that our past has imperative information to share with us. History repeats itself often but things never happen the same way twice. When we take time to acknowledge progress or to point our mistakes, we can know that our steps have been ordered exactly how they should be. We're taking the long way home.  Rolling hills, popping ear drums, and NPR discussion over the airwaves are some of my most vivid memories as kid taking scenic car rides with my dad. Sometimes he would just my siblings and I for a ride. We'd go to these hills that seemed vastly mountainous and we'd go zooming. I used to think we were going so far. "Wee," we'd squeal as we made our ascent in his red Volvo S70, and we reached the hill valley troughs "Haw!" we'd let out in our most ex...

The 20s are all about giving thanks. Thanksgiving marks the annual holiday season. It's the beginning of the most hospitable time of the year. For just over a month, people seem to put their qualms with one another to rest, spend excessive amounts of money, and finally express their gratitude. It's when nearly everyone finds their humility, recognizes where they are, and most importantly how they got there (one hint - we've all had some help, whether we're aware of it or not ... LOL at bootstrap theory). What you give is what you get, and so we bow our heads and say grace. Let me start with a quote. " Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse" Henry Van Dyke. Thanksgiving is the one time of year that people seem to wake up from the obliviousness of just how pretty good their lives are. The thing about life is that we can easily point ...

Being a teenager is all feeling safe and sound. When you're surrounded by people that know you and that comfortable sentiment is reciprocated, that's when you're at peace. Home is where you can be your absolute most honest, open, uncompromising self. You can do whatever and be the best version of yourself without all the societal influences that govern your actions the rest of the time. Home is like a safe house under witness protection, you just go and disappear into your own little world. This is safe haven. Thanksgiving for me is an absolute godsend. It's the first time I've been back home to Ohio since this school year began. You all know it was more than necessary for me to take a break. Thanksgiving is a family time, it's also my favorite holiday. Thanksgiving us exactly that, a time to reflect and take notice about what you have to be thankful for. I'm thankful for first and foremost my parents, brothers and sister. Without them, I would not be w...

Being a teenager is all about realizing just how lucky you are in life. While we all have a ton of things to complain about, as in our daily lives on a an everyday basis, we still really have things to be thankful for. The thing about life is that there is always someone less fortunate than you. Someone whose situation is worse than yours. You think you have it bad, well someone has got it worse and your life could be so much different. It's time to reflect on ourselves, find some homely cheer and give thanks for what we have. Let me start by saying that Thankgiving Break was just what I needed. I'm talking about sleeping in all day long. Eating real food cooked by people I actually know and watching so much TV it shouldn't be possible. I watched that new Disney show, Jessie, starring Debby Ryan and Cameron Boyce and instantly got hooked, it's actually funny. Then there were the 7 full Lifetime Movies that I watched. So much Holiday cheer and pure female betrayal. T...