Wise words from friends

My advice to everyone reading this: Stop focusing on that huge, daunting task in front of you that seems so ominous and so endless. Stop staring at that long line of grass, wondering just how far it drags on. Start taking things bit by bit, day by day. Start focusing on those little patches of grass, remembering at every step of the way how beautiful each and every individual cluster is. And before you know it, that long line of grass will be a thing of the past. 

Not only will that big task go by much more quickly, but you'll have so much more fun along the way. You'll be able to focus on the wonder and beauty in the little things — all the little things that make up this crazy, beautiful thing we call life. 

I woke up this morning and the first thing I did after looking at my e-mail was check Blogger. I'm not sure why; usually Twitter gets looked at way sooner. I'm glad I did though because I got to read my dear Taylor's latest post about her time interning in Germany. Everything she wrote isn't particularly "new" and it's not like we all haven't heard that kind of stuff a hundred times already in life, but does that make it any less true? Not at all

The thing about Taylor and I, even though we're on completely different sides of the world right now and experiencing completely different things, we're still coming to learn the same things. It's been so fun to write mile-long Facebook messages to each other, all full of encouragement and kind words, knowing we're helping each other through life.

Life is hard, my friends. But that's okay because life is also totally awesome. It's just hard to remember that some times.

Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now. The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar alterations and changes. The difference between the changes in my life and the changes in yours is only in the details. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes. -Thomas S. Monson

Take today for instance: we said our farewells to Lorraine. That was incredibly difficult, but also totally awesome because she's going to do marvelous things in France. But time will march on and things will change. That doesn't mean we won't be happy, though. On the contrary, I'm sure some of our happiest days are yet to come.

The Fault In Our Stars

I have much to say about this book but dare not spoil it for anyone. I figured now was as good a time as any to write a sort of review. Had I done this right after reading the book, I doubt it would have made much sense. I don't guarantee it making sense now either but I will be much more articulate than I could have been that night.

To start off, this book will probably make you feel all the feelings. In a very broad sense, it's a book about a girl who has cancer. Beyond that, it's a book about time, happiness, relationships, and leaving a mark on this world. John Green does an incredible job of making you want to laugh instead of cry, though. I will admit, I did cry while reading this book. I cried a lot. More than I have probably cried in the past two years. (If you don't already know it, that is a huge deal for me.)

I have a fascination with time, happiness, and relationships so this book was right up my alley. I think constantly about how time moves and how some events or periods in your life feel significantly long ago though they are not. Or about how the time you spend with someone feels incredibly significant though it was not that really that long at all. The idea of infinity and forever, which I'm pretty sure are different, are another big part of this book. I mean, this girl, Hazel, has cancer. She's terminally ill, so obviously time is a big deal. And the way John references time throughout the book is just quite phenomenal.

And then comes the happiness. If you read my blog enough you'll notice my use of the phrase "happiness is a choice." I wouldn't say that totally comes into play in this book but there is a boy in this book, Augustus, who says, "I decided a while ago not to deny myself the simpler pleasures of existence" and also says, "I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things." And one more thing Augustus says, "You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you." Choices, people. They're a big deal. You can choose to be happy. I do it all the time.

That last quote from Augustus, the one about not being able to choose if you get hurt but getting to choose who hurts you, that brings me into a bit about relationships. I really like knowing why two people like each other and what makes up their relationship and if they break up why they broke up. This can be troublesome for me personally because I can't exactly go around asking boys I have previously dated all the specific reasons for why we broke up. And since we broke up, I can't ask them about why they thought we were together and what made up the best parts of our relationship. The idea of being able to choose who hurts me . . . That puts things into perspective. It doesn't necessarily matter why we dated or why we broke up. You just have to know that it was worth it. You cannot avoid being hurt, whether in relationships or in anything else in life, but you can choose who or what does the hurting.  (I just have to say that I am completely okay being hurt by the people who hurt me.) ((Also, I'm referring to boys in the plural here only because it's easier to do than singling anyone out. I really haven't been hurt that many times.))

So I realize this is less of a review and more a bunch of my thoughts relating to themes of the book. I don't think I know how to review a book, not really. I think my hope is that someone will come upon this and relate to the themes I explained and pick up the book and actually read it.

I also want to make the point that though John Green is a young adult author and that the main characters in this book are teenagers, it isn't just a young adult book. It's not simple and cannot be read without thought. Well, it could be, but any book could be. Trust me, there's a lot more to young adult books than you might ever expect. And anyway, teenagers/young adults are smart people. (At almost 21, I still consider myself a young adult. I'm certainly not a real adult.) There is no reason The Fault In Our Stars cannot be read as critically as any book for those so-called "adults."

I could go on and on about John and his novels but I'll spare you. Come talk to me if you really want to hear about it all.

And if you're looking for some good music to listen to while reading it, or any other book for that matter, I recommend The Head And The Heart's self-titled album "The Head And The Heart." It's the only thing I listened to while reading. And while writing this post I listened to all Noah And The Whale.

Last YouTube video I watched: Stop Motion Markers

P.S. My 21st birthday is in 8 days. When did that happen? Crazy stuff.

I'm laying down . . . and time

I'm doing that thing where I lay on my back with my knees bent and sticking up so my laptop can lean up against them and also sort of on my stomach and then I have both my pillows supporting my neck so in all actuality I'm just laying back without having to do anything but move my hands/fingers while I type. I've got my fleece blanket draped over my feet and my letter from yesterday's post sitting next to me. It's a great thing.

Basically, I figured I would write this while waiting for one of my Spanish speaking friends to show up and help me with this research paper. And by help I mean "he'll read it and fix my mistakes and explain why I need to change things". He's quite helpful and good at explaining why things are wrong.

As school comes to a close, classes end this Wednesday, I've got a lot to figure out and I've had a lot to reminisce about as well. I'm basically halfway through my college experience; when did that happen? This past year has been a blur and at the same time I remember distinctly how time has moved as it has. What a weird sensation, that time element. Suddenly I have to start legitimately thinking about a career when last year it was probably one of the last things on my mind. I have friends getting married, or dating seriously enough that marriage really isn't that far off. Last year it was the biggest joke to even think about getting married at 20, and now one of my closest friends is. She's so happy and I could not be more happy for her but still: marriage is for, you know, old people.

What is it about time that makes everything else in life seem strange? For a year to go by when I was in elementary school was sort of forever. For a year to go by now is ridiculous. After going home for the summer I feel like I haven't been there for months and months and months and months, yet somehow it's like I've never left. By the end of the summer I can hardly wait to get back to school, though that's due to the lack of my school family in Wisconsin and not due to the fact that I miss homework and studying. Once I get back in Utah it's somehow like I've never left once again; I see my school family again and it is as if we were never really separated.

How does that happen?

Last video I watched: Vocal Point, Jump Jive n' Wail