Life-isms.

God puts a lot of people in our lives. Just think of all of the people you know. The ones you know well, the ones you've met briefly, the one's you've only heard of. Plus millions more that just occupy the same planet as you. These people all have the ability to impact our lives, often in the smallest ways. But that's okay, small can be good. For today, I'm talking about positive impacts. For today, I'm talking about learning from these people. Let them teach you. It's the best deal you could possibly get. It's free, there's no homework, no finals, no grades, no pre-requisites. Heck, half of the time they won't even be aware that they're teaching you. Take advantage of this. Schooling isn't always easy, and it isn't always cheap; especially not at a higher-education level. Take it from a poor college student. But aren't some of the most important lessons those not taught in schools?

Example.

Don't fall down. Did a teacher ever give you those directions to follow? Don't fall down. Don't trip in a crowd. Don't land on your face. No, that's a life-ism. You learn this in conjunction with learning to walk. If walking upright, proud, tall, successful is your goal, then what naturally is what you don't want? To land on your face. To get hurt. To suffer embarrassment. To fail.

You don't have to wait to be told this to pick it up. So why wait for anything else?

Don't hold out for an instructor to impart his irrefutable words of wisdom. Let yourself and the people around you be as much your teachers as any certified ones. If you see a co-worker mouth off to the boss over the lack of a window in his cubicle, and subsequently he is fired, let that be a lesson to you. Choose your battles. Which is more important? Daylight distraction? Or steady income? Choose accordingly.

And don't forget to let yourself teach....well, yourself. You're smarter than you give yourself credit for! (Probably.) They say you only have to burn your hand on a hot oven once to know not to do it again. Don't be that person who doesn't learn from past mistakes. And don't think that just because you've never actually been told something, it must not be right. You don't have to hear something for it to be true.

Also, we're all different. Me, I'm different from you. And you, you're different from the guy next to you on the bus, or in class, or in line at the movies. Sure, you may share some similar qualities, but just because that dude with the 'fro can wait until the day before the test to study and still pull an A doesn't mean you shouldn't just go ahead and start looking at those notes.

Example.

I learned that if I get an idea for something to write, I need to at least jot down the basic idea. And I mean fast. Because if I can recall it later-- and I mean if-- usually the feeling of epiphany is long gone and it's harder to manage very much coherent, enlightened thought. I learned this from a couple of times where great ideas were lost to a couple of hours of sleep, or watching TV. Now I know not to trust that I'll remember them with great clarity even in the near future. Especially after doing something else.

Another Example.

I am not a fun person to be around when I don't get sleep. Enough sleep. Lots of sleep. Ask anyone. Ask my parents, my friends, my dog. I mean it. Some people can pull all-nighters and be functioning members of society the following day. I, however, am not one of those fine individuals. I don't really have much midnight oil to burn. I get emotional, easily frustrated, irritable, inattentive, plus many other not-so-fantastic qualities. Yes, it sucks. But yes, it's true. So I try to get a decent amount of sleep, and all the best to people who stay up late, get up early, and on, and on, etc.

Parents are also fabulous teachers. Seriously. I know everyone has heard their parents tell them that, "You'll thank me when you're older," or, "You'll understand when you're older." Well trust me guys, I'm old enough now to tell you that THEY ARE RIGHT. And I'm still young enough that you should believe me. Your parents know what they're talking about. They've been there before, even if you can't imagine them as teenagers. They did it. They overcame it. They had homework, they had peer pressure, they had parents telling them 'No', they had annoying siblings, and guess what--They also came out on the other side. It can be done. And you should trust them. Learn from them. Take their advice, use their experience to better your own. You won't regret it. Cross my heart.

I would challenge you to be aware, be on the lookout for opportunities to take full advantage of the people that God has placed in your life. Learn from them, listen to them, take their advice and chew on it, figure out if it works for you. Figure out what works for you. Get to know yourself. It's so much easier for other people to get to know you when you know yourself. It takes awhile, it's not always easy, and really it's just an on-going process so don't expect to spend 45 minutes on it and be done for life. It comes and goes, pops up when you least expect it. It's in that advice your Grandmother repeated to you countless times, in that long talk you had with your Dad. It's in actions, too. Like the guy who didn't watch where he was going and fell flat on his face. Try not to do that. It's just common sense.

Here are a few things to get you started.

My Grandmother always told me, "Space is the cheapest form of insurance." This will make a lot of sense to you when you start driving for the first time.

My Grandmother also told me, "Don't give a rat's behind what anyone else thinks. Who cares!?" This is fantastic advice. I try to take it to heart every day. These are wise words. The sooner you can embrace them, the better.

My Dad taught me, "Pick your battles." This is not easy. Especially when you feel very strongly about something. But weigh it, think about it. Figure out if it's worth it. Sometimes it isn't.

My Mom taught me that, "A clean room will make you happier than a messy room." This is...I can't even explain how true this is. I hate cleaning my room. Don't get me wrong. But I hate living in a messy room even more than I hate cleaning.

My Great Grandmother taught me, "Don't cry over everything." Well, she tried to. But I was quite young. And I'm far too emotional. But this is still a very good lesson. It's too emotionally tiring to cry over everything.

My Grandpa taught me that sending someone a birthday card, or a Christmas card, or any card for any occasion can make that person's day so much brighter. Let people know that you think about them, that you care. I loved getting cards from my Grandpa.

My best friend, Matt, taught me that you should never leave a glass of milk in a hot garage for an extended period of time because it will solidify and that's just gross.

These are just a few of the lessons I've accumulated so far in my life-long life lessons education. Take them, chew on them, and feel free to add them to your life-isms catalogue as needed.

Carpe diem.

Destination: College Station

Moving for the first time is a life changing experience. As an adult, I mean. I've moved before, but that was back when my parents did most of the packing for me. Although...come to think of it, that's not much different from this time.

Kidding, kidding.

But seriously. I always knew I had a lot of stuff. All of those things that you accumulate throughout the years, all of those things that are far too important to throw away, even though you probably wouldn't notice if they went missing. Those things also happen to be the same things, the same stuff that you just can't fathom leaving at home when you're moving to a new place.

I know this. It has just happened to me.

This last Thursday my parents and I loaded up a UHAUL full of stuff and headed down to College Station to move me in to my new apartment. Naturally this meant that I didn't finish packing until the morning of the move. Even as I was pawing through my things, making last minute decisions about what I could and couldn't live without, I started to realize something. I have so much stuff that I don't even have the energy to pack it all, much less UNpack it, reorganize it, find a new place for it.

And so this begs the question...

Do I have too much stuff?

If all of the junk, odds and ends, books, clothes, shoes, amount to more than I'm willing to load up and bring with me, one could argue that maybe I should try getting rid of some things. And yet somehow it always seems like instead, I just buy more.

For example, after halving my possessions and transferring them to my new place, I realized that the first thing I needed to do was--you guessed it--buy MORE stuff. I mean, it's not all my fault because let's face it, before now I've never needed stuff like that for myself. I had some of that stuff at home, but not here. And I've never shopped for a dining room/living room/kitchen before. Not really. But still.

Considering all of the stuff I brought, we managed to get unpacked pretty fast. The most tiring part was probably my Dad's--He got the noble task of building my bed, desk, chair, and nightstand. And he got the bed done almost right after we got to the apartment and unloaded the UHAUL, which happened to be at about 8:30, or 9. Pretty much way later than we'd planned on getting there. So thanks to him, I had a place to sleep the first night. Everything else got built on Day 2, and on Day 3 decorations started happening. It feels much more homey now, and I'm settling in pretty well. Minor separation anxiety happening, but I'm an only child who is very close to my parents, so I've definitely got some adjusting to do. And I'm not the only one. My dog, Tucker, is still getting used to this new place and he's really missing our backyard at home. The way I see it, that just means I'll have to take him back every now and again.

I found pretty quickly that the biggest problem with getting all new stuff for a move is that now--when I look around my room-- nothing is familiar. I didn't initially bring much besides clothes, odds and ends. The big ticket items, the most noticeable items in the room (such as the bed, the desk...) all new. All more or less unfamiliar. All have only ever existed in my life since moving to College Station. Still, it feels pretty comfortable. Having Tucker with me, my trusty four-pawed sidekick, definitely helps it feel like home.

And for those of you who haven't had a chance to video chat with your friends and family online-- you're seriously missing out! It's actually quite...a relief, I suppose, to be able to see familiar faces as you're hearing familiar voices. Just make sure you don't pick your nose or anything, because they can actually see you. This is a very important fact to remember.

Anyway, I've done it. I've made the move. Soon I'll be starting classes at Texas A&M. (WHOOP!) And my room will continue to accumulate more stuff that I won't like/want/need near as much when I eventually have to move again, but for now I'm not worried about that. For now, I look forward to new experiences, new people, and furthering that good ol' education. Oh, and how anxious I am about starting classes. Positive thinking! Maybe that's the key...

As always, more later...

A 4th of a Road Trip

Stars, stripes, patriotism, fireworks... It's that time of year again! We caught the tail end of Midlothian's fireworks show last night, and spent the day taking a day trip to Weatherford. To me, spending time with your family is an excellent way to celebrate freedom. I know I sometimes take for granted the fact that I can basically do whatever I want, whenever I want. I don't have to worry about not going to that side of town that's being bombed, or what have you. This truly is a wonderful country we live in.

We intended to get an early start on our little road trip, but little Tucker wasn't feeling well. So once we did get out, the first stop was lunch. We ate at Colter's, and let me just say that it was indeed fantastically delicious!

After that, we stopped at Starbucks because it just wouldn't be a holiday without a nice cup o' coffee. Or, if you're me, a tall Java Chip Frappuccino. 

Then, on to Weatherford! We were hoping to check out some Antique shops and the like, but a lot of places turned out to be closed. Even still, we took some pictures of some cool buildings and we had a really great time! 

But if you don't want to take my word for it, take a gander at the pictures we took!

I call this look "determination". :)

Me and Mom!

Mom!

We decided to head home so that we could meet up with some friends and see Public Enemies. It was so crowded that not all of us could sit together, which was kind of a bummer. My parents and I ended up in the third row, or something. It was one of those situations where having glasses is irritating because I couldn't quite fit all of the screen into my glasses, if that makes sense. (If you wear glasses, you'll know what I mean.) And since we were so close, I had to pick one thing to look at on screen. Like Johnny's left eye, nose, hat. Okay, maybe that's a little big of an exaggeration. But you get the idea. It was more or less impossible to focus on the whole screen at once. And action scenes took me so long to focus on I'm pretty sure I missed them all. But the good news is, from what I could tell, the movie was really good! It would help to see it in order, though. Yeah, our theater had for some reason had to tinker with the film reel they were sent, and as a result we saw Public Enemies out of sequence. It was a tad bit confusing. But we got free passes to any other movie at the theater in return, so I figure that solves the problem.

After the movie, we trekked over to IHOP for a late dinner and stayed there chatting until about 11. At that point, I was starting to get sleepy, and Tucker was in the kitchen at home and had been ill the last couple of nights so we wanted to make sure he was alright.

All in all, it was a wonderful 4th! Especially if you consider the fact that it was spent with my family and a couple of close friends. I hope everyone else had an eventful, fun-filled 4th of July! :)

Happy 4th of July!