Today's post is a little different because I chose to use a song today. I figured with the snow outside and icky winter dragging on for what feels like forever that we could all use an upbeat bouncy song! I love this song because it makes me super happy, and I love the message that it sends. I hope you all enjoy it too, and enjoy your warm day inside while it snows outside!

I missed yesterday because it was my first day of classes and early morning babysitting, so I was exhausted, I'm sorry! But I'll post 2 quotes for today to make up for yesterday!

This one pretty much speaks for itself, your life story will be filled with much more happy memories if you try to find the best in everything, and I feel that this next quote goes along nicely with this idea as well.

This quote is one of my favorites (not that I could ever pick just one favorite, I love them all!). It's high up on my list because it means a lot to me. Sometimes I need to be reminded that happiness is something that I have to choose, not just something that happens to me. It takes just as much effort to be happy than it does to be miserable, and sometimes that's hard to remember when you're curled in bed and want to have a pity party. And I'm not saying don't do that! Sometimes we need a good cry! But after you've gotten it all out of your system, you need to try to pick yourself back up and get back on track to being happy. It takes effort, it's not just luck, trust me.

It is important to remember that emotions are no excuse for actions. Trying to act without the cloud-of-how-we-feel above us can be difficult, but not impossible. We are always held responsible for the way we behave, and the way we feel during a situation is no excuse for bad behavior. Although it doesn't seem fair, that is the way things are. We should always do our best to remember that the way we act reflects on who we are as people, as well as who our friends are, and in my case, what my sorority is like. It's cliché, but actions really do speak louder than words, and we are the only ones responsible for our own actions.

So many times it can be difficult to walk away from something in favor of something new. This can be especially hard if, in the process of leaving, you are leaving behind good memories or good people. There isn't much that I can say that could make anything like this any easier, except that you should try to remember that there are better things ahead, that good memories will remain with you, and that good people will remain in your life. If there is somewhere you need to go, then go, because there is so much out there for you.

With a new semester starting tomorrow I thought I should touch on the pressure that we feel during the school year. It can be so hard to maintain good grades, a social life, and sorority life. There is a lot expected of us as college women. So let's all do ourselves a favor in honor of the first day of classes tomorrow; decide what you want to get out of this semester. Try not to worry about what others want, just do your best to make yourself happy, because at the end of the day, you're the one that really matters. Good luck ladies!

Hi all! First of all I'm so sorry I was a slacker and didn't post anything yesterday! But it gave me an idea. Next week we'll have our first chapter meeting of the semester on Sunday, so I think after today, I won't be posting on Sundays. That way I can focus on preparing what I need for our meeting that night, and I don't have to worry about writing a post. That being said, here's today's:

I cannot express enough how much I love the idea that being positive will get you positive things in your life. I know in many cases it's easy to worry or jump to the worst possible conclusion, but that doesn't help, in fact it can really put a damper on your day. If you think good thoughts, good things will happen! So as we go into a new week, let's all try to work on keeping a positive outlook. I know it's something I need to work on too, so it will definitely be one of my goals for the week!

I watched this video a few days ago, and I have thought about it a lot since. It's a pretty lengthy one, but if you have the time to sit and watch it, I really suggest that you do. This video has given me some excellent insight into the realm of changing my life for the better, and I love it. (Also I'm sorry that the video is not quite lined up with the post, I'm still new to this and I don't know how to fix it! Sorry!)

I think this quote pretty much speaks for itself. We don't get different results if we don't change our actions. If you want to make something better you have to work toward making it better. Change what you do and you will change what you get. Repeat the same actions, and you will receive the same results. It's as simple as that.

Hating someone feels really really good...for about the first 5 minutes. Then, it starts to ruin your day. Trust me, I've been there. A hate so strong it consumes your every thought. "I'll show them!" Really? Are you really showing this person that you hate anything? You're stomping around being grumpy, snapping at anyone that gets in your way, and you sure are making a scene. But is this person affected by this show? Probably not. But boy oh boy I bet you are. No one wants to hang out with you if you're grumpy, and nothing seems to go right for you on a grumpy day either. So really this hatred is hurting...you. Try not to let your negative feelings toward someone else ruin your day, because chances are they're still having a pretty decent day, while yours is spiraling. If you really must show someone that you are upset with them, talk to them, tell them why you're upset, it'll feel good to get it off your chest. And then? Let it go! Don't hang on to this feeling all day, or your whole day will be ruined. Your "hatred" of this other person is hurting you, not them.

Growing up, I feel like we hear those three words all the time, "just be yourself!" Although it's excellent advice, what people don't like to admit is that being yourself is hard. In this society that we live in, there are very specific rules that we are expected to follow when it comes to being liked by others. The worst part is that most of these rules are huge double standards. "1. Be friendly, but don't scare people off with personal information. 2. Dress nicely, but not too nicely because you don't want to look like an overachiever. 3. Do well in school, but not too well or you're a nerd..." A list like this could go on forever, so it's no wonder that people have such a difficult time staying true to themselves. However, it is not impossible to be yourself. Trying to be yourself in a world like the one we live in requires a lot of effort, and a ton of confidence, but those who succeed are among some of the best people. It makes it so much easier to find happiness and true friends if you don't try to change yourself. So try to be yourself,  and against all odds, it might just work.

We're about to get personal folks. Almost a year ago I got out of a long-term, long-distance relationship. It was not a good breakup. We had been together for about 2.5 years, and when it ended...well, I wasn't happy. However, not too long after the end of this relationship, I realized a few things. The first was that I had been limiting myself because of this other person. The second was that now that I was on my own, I had so much more available to me. The third, and probably most important thing, was that holding myself back to keep someone else happy was never going to make me happy. Since then I have expanded my graduate school search to span the entire country (instead of only the places that this person would want to travel to with me), I've decided that I want to continue my education to get a research doctorate in my field of study (instead of selling myself short because I wanted to keep the other person happy), I have decided to apply to a summer research program (8 weeks at the University of Maryland!), and, of course, joined Alpha Delta Pi (which I never would have done because it would have taken up valuable time that could have been used to visit the other person). I know that if this relationship had not ended when it did, I would not have had these life-changing realizations, and I would not be nearly as happy as I am not. So I guess the point of this long winded post is that just because you hit a bump in the road, it doesn't mean that the road is ending, in fact, it may be opening up into a huge road full of opportunities. 

I am a huge supporter of the idea that you receive what you ask for. For this reason, I cringe when my classmates say that they are "definitely going to fail this test" or when people tweet that they "already know it's going to be a bad day." I want to tell them (and sometimes I do) that "yes, it is going to be a bad day", or "yeah maybe you won't do so well on this test," and then I add "but only because that's what you have already put in your head." If you put negativity into your life, negativity will follow you around. But fear not! If this is true, then the opposite must be as well right? I certainly think so. Try to put a little positivity into your day, think about what's going right, instead of what's going wrong. For chronic nay-sayers this might be difficult, but don't try to totally flip from negative to positive in one day, it'll feel phony. Start with one positive thing when you wake up, and see where it takes you. I think (and I hope, now that I've spent so much time writing about it) that you'll be amazed by how much better you feel.

There are few things worse than someone who enters a room like a whirlwind, tears everyone up, and then struts out, leaving everyone else on the floor in a hundred pieces. These people find a sense of accomplishment in making others feel like less. Every day I make an effort to be the opposite of these people. I want to encourage others to grow into better people. Similarly I want others to help me learn more about myself and help me be a better person. When I become a part of someone's life I try to work with them so that we can learn and grow together.  Do you?

Beginnings

When I was elected to be the Chaplain of my chapter of Alpha Delta Pi, I was excited to have the opportunity to reach out to my sisters and work to grow into better, more lovely women, and to learn from each other along the way. I immediately went to Pinterest so that I could start collecting quotes to use at chapter meetings. I found many that I loved, but I didn't feel content with just having them on a board on Pinterest. In order to move them off the internet and into the real world I got out a pen and paper and pretty colored highlighters, and began splitting the quotes into categories, writing them all out, and highlighting the most important parts. Then it occurred to me that I could use things besides just quotes, and began searching for videos, songs, books, movies, poetry, anything that could help out a sister in need. Still, it didn't feel like I had done all I could. That's when Rachel, one of my ADPi sisters and one of my best friends, suggested that I use all of these resources I had collected to start a blog. Finally, I felt like I was really onto something. So starting today, I will post something every day in the hopes that I can inspire at least a few people. I will do my best to include a little message with each post that explains my thoughts on the post of the day, but with spring classes starting soon, I won't make any promises!