Santa Monica

spider at aunt feeties

muscle beach

the getty center

santa monica pier

the waves at Santa Monica beach

Happiness

Lately I have become fascinated with happiness, and why people feel they need to be happy. I have read poems, song lyrics, read blog posts, and even talked to a few close friends about what makes people happy and why. I have always written theories and philosophies in in my journal and other random places, but I have not blogged about it until now. My blog seems like the appropriate place to do so.My first real question, is happiness contagious? I believe the answer is yes, but there is a catch. I believe that happiness is contagious, but so is unhappiness, and unhappiness is easier to catch.

Second question, can someone be happy just by thinking they are happy? This is a tricky one, simply because it leads to another question. Is happiness really only a state of mind? I believe the answer to be a simple no, happiness is more than a state of mind. In order to be happy, I need to know that my family is happy, my friends are happy, and that I am doing what I want to do, and not what someone else thinks I should be doing.

The key factor in my happiness is my religion. I am a member of The Church if Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and I love it. I have a testimony of the teachings of Christ, His atonement, and his love for me. If not for my religion, I would not truly be happy.

I know that because of the way I have been raised and the things I have been taught, I can be happy, and I am. I obey the rules given to me by my parents, my church leaders, and my Heavenly Father because they allow me to keep my agency, which allows me to be happy. I see my life as a gift that has been given to me, and to live it in an unhappy existence would be nothing but a waste.

"Life is good, if we live in such a way to make it so.' . . . 'A good life' comes as a result of the way we do things, of the words we choose to say, and even of the kind of thoughts we choose to have. . . "
-Benjamin De Hoyos

If...

I could have 1000 of any single item at Target I would be torn between 3 choices:

1. Socks. Hanes, no-show, extra elastic, and white
2. Blank CD-R's
3. Chapstick brand medicated chap stick

My Personal Manifesto

For a Young Women's lesson in church on Sunday my Mia-Maid Leader gave a wonderful lesson. She talked about what we believe in, and how this affects our actions. During this lesson, all the girls wrote themselves a personal manifesto, or a list of things we believe. Below is a list of only 10 of things I believe in that definitely persuade my actions:

1. I believe in the perfect first kiss

2. I believe that being 16 years old is overrated

3. I believe that raising a child takes more than just a mom and a dad

4. I believe that not all teenagers are irresponsible

5. I believe that no matter how much chocolate you eat, it IS good for you

6. I believe in love at first sight

7. I believe that physical exercise is essential in any persons life

8. I believe that anyone and everyone can be happy

9. I believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ

10. I believe in eternal marriage

Ghandi once said, "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." I could not agree in this more and I would challenge everyone to think about what they believe in and how they let those beliefs affect how they live their life.

My Not-So-Gamer Lifestyle

Within the past few months I have grown attached to my big bros Xbox 360. I have devoted lots of my time to the few games I found interest in like Gears of War, Fable, Call of Duty 4, and just recently Sims. I just got grounded from my new found hobby for only a week now and it has been sincerely difficult. I think "gaming" is a sort of de-stresser for me. It gets my mind off things going on in my life that I need to forget about for awhile. Honestly its not like I play for unhealthy amounts of time, though my family thinks I do. All the time I should be spending killing Locust's (the aliens in my favorite game), I have been reading Breaking Dawn.

I started the book a few months ago when it first came out and I decided I didn't like it so it was put on hold. But since I have nothing else to fill my time, I have picked up the final book to the Twilight saga, and dived right back in.

I'm still having debatable feelings about it. I'm not as attracted to this book as once was. I don't make time to read it, I just read when I have time to kill.

As for the movie...to quote my mother, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," so I wont be saying much. For starters, I heart Jacob and always will, and I think ANOB could agree with me. :) Edward was too cavalier to be a vamp, Jacob's stature is not nearly large enough to be a werewolves', and Bella is way too average.

To conclude, my life without video games is a sad one filled with reading and naps, and I haven't decided if that's a good thing or a bad one.

Homecoming

My high schools Homecoming football game and Dance were a week or so ago and they were both so much fun!

So first thing was the football game on Friday. I went with Janelle, my new best friend and we won the game against west like 42-0! We had so much fun!



On Saturday I got ready for the dance and my date (Stephen) picked me up around 5:30 and we were on our way to dinner. We ate Olive Garden at some condo clubhouse and took pictures and then we headed off to the dance. Our Group (which was HUGE!!!) waited in line for about 45 minutes (which seems ridiculous to me when it would take us 3 seconds to do with our own cameras) and then we hit-up the dance floor!

I really did have a great time dancing but we got exhausted fast so we all car-pooled to our activity. We rented out the Bounce Zone at Classic Skating and it was a blast, but since we rarely get the chance, we acted like kids, which means rough housing and a few bandages...or ice packs. A girl in our group sprained her ankle, one of the guys hit his head on the cement and there were lots of bruises, bumps and burns from the rubber slides. It really was a great night and I got home around 2:30 remembering that i had church to attend in the morning.

I am definitely looking forward to more Cottonwood High School dances!

Dew Tour