 Before I start this blog post, I just have to say that Mother Teresa's smile is so contagious, even in the pictures! I can only imagine how contagious her smile must have been face to face! :)
Last night I came across a quote of Mother Teresa's and it told me exactly what I needed to hear.
"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."
Take a minute, and read that quote again. Let it sink in. After I read that quote I decided to seek a little bit deeper into it. I wanted to find out what it really meant.
I'm sure there are several ways that one can interpret this quote, some very different from mine - but this is the way that I took it. When I read it, the words hit me like a bulldozer. I'm usually one to try and keep the peace (well maybe not in debates but in general). But I know what it's like to feel betrayed and have people talk behind your back. Lately, I've had a hard time forgiving those people... Especially when they act like they didn't do anything wrong. But I know that God has a big heart and will forgive everyone so I should try to also.
If there "is no peace" then we have no room left to love somebody as a brother/sister of Christ. "We have forgotten that we belong to each other", and that God gave up His life for all of us. We are brothers and sister of Christ and we should all love each other.
Imagine if everyone stopped praying just for themselves but instead prayed for others. It would make a much bigger effect because one wouldn't just be praying for them self but for many and so on.
If we would stop judging people and arguing we would be able to love each other for the good inside of us. God sees the good in each and every one of us, that's what He loves us for. That is how He keeps the peace.
I know that I've kind of gone off on a few different things, but I feel that they need to be covered. We got to start loving each other for who we are and not for the bad things. We can only achieve peace after we remember that "we belong to each other." Jesus is in every single one of us! We can only be happy with each other (and with ourselves) if we acknowledge that.
When I'm upset with someone I like to remember this quote so that I can kindly address the problem, pray, and look for the good in the person. If we always look at the bad that will never get us anywhere. When we look at the good in our friends, family, and even our enemies we can create peace.
 There are loads of reasons to be happy and we can find them in our every day life! I know, some days are not just the greatest, but there's always a reason to have a smile on your face! :)
1. Congratulations - you're alive! Definitely something we should be happy about! :) God gave us so much to enjoy on this earth, we should have fun with it!
2. Friends - the family that you can't pick! You've got friends who are there for you and people to laugh with, laughing one of the keys to happiness.
3. Free Country - you live in a country that is free and gives you so many freedoms. One of my personal favorites is the Freedom of Speech. ;)
4. Music - one of the few things that can change your mood within a few words. There are so many different kinds, and different singers! There's pop, jazz, classical, rap, country, and more! :D So much to listen to and a lot to pump up your mood with!
5. Being Healthy - woot! Unfortunately, that's not the case for everyone but keep running and eat lots of veggies and you'll feel great!
6. Endless Possibilities - there's so much to do! Go do activities that make you happy! You can go for a run, go to church, read a book, hang out at the mall.... The list never ends! :)
7. You Can See - there are so many beautiful sights. Imagine the world without any light... I really don't want to. ;) God gave us so many beautiful things to look at! We have mountains, lakes, animals, structures, and things to read! That sure makes me smile! ;D
8. Smile - just one can make the whole world brighter. A smile can light up someone's world!
9. Books - reading takes you into a whole other world! Pick up any book and see where you land within the first twenty pages. Sometimes they make you cry or laugh, and at the end you wish that they never ended.
10. You Can Smell - I know it sounds weird, but I like smelling candles. ;) There's so many different scents to smell, like the mountains, Christmas stuff ;), and even those fancy hand sanitzers!
11. The World - it's so big! There are so many places to go and countless opportunities to take! We should never be bored with all the activities we have surrounding us!
12. Swimming - FUN! <--- I can only give you one word for that one. ;D
13. Sports - there are countless fun things that you can do and they make me smile all the time!
14. The Bible - it's full of GREAT things. :3
15. Jesus Gave Up His Life For You. So we should go and live our life to the fullest and be happy for what He gave us.
Now you have absolutely no excuse not to smile! God bless!
So I've been writing about a lot of serious stuff lately so I'm going to break the ice and give you some fun things to look at! ;D Who doesn't like to do awesome things? I know I do! I'm going to share with you a website called 1000 Awesome Things, just click the link! Here are some awesome things to keep you busy: :) -Collapsing into a bed when you are massively exhausted -Fantasies -The first bite of a piece of gum -Stretching your legs after a really long car ride -Fixing electronics by smacking them (hahahaha;) -Seeing a big dog in the driver's seat of a parked car Now this is an awesome cat! Doctor Cat - enough said. :3 I hope you enjoyed this really random post, I'm sort of facing a writer's block right now. ;D
 "Cigarettes are a lot like hamsters. Perfectly harmless, until you put one in your mouth and light it one fire."
Smoking puts so many lives at danger. I always ask myself- Why do people smoke if they know it hurts them self? It's the dang nicotine. It just bothers me, if the people know they're going to get hurt because of smoking they should at least try and stop.
A few months ago a lady from my church informed us with some bad news. Her brother, a heavy smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer. She quickly booked a flight to Europe and got to see her brother in the last few moments of his life. This lady still smokes, even though she unfortunately lost her brother.
Just letting you know, I'm not judging anyone. I'm just pointing out how hard it is to quit smoking.
Two weeks ago at church a different lady I do not know came up to me. She said, "Save your mom. I just came back from a funeral in Europe. My brother just died from smoking. Save your mom, don't let her smoke any longer." The lady had tears in her eyes and left me very confused. If a stranger came up to you and told you to save your mom how would you react?
And I do try. I try to tell my parents to stop, they have no clue how much it would mean to me if they did make the attempt. I know it's bad, but I even try to put them on the guilt trip.
They won't go to a doctor. They don't even try to quit either. I know I'm not the only one with a smoker in the family. Don't ever smoke. I know we hear it a lot in health class at school, and now sometimes on commercials. But seriously, smoking isn't cool.
It doesn't matter what you look like when you're smoking. You don't look "cool". Smoking is stupid. I don't understand why it isn't illegal. If something kills people the government should at least put some type of restriction on it. I just don't understand that part.
I don't even know anymore. But if I were in control, I'd really try to stop this problem. I don't even need to give you any statistics. They're just sad.
 Lately I've been thinking about a lot of decisions that I'm going to have to make in the future. Time goes by fast, so might as well not think about them last minute. In three years I'll be moving on to college and I'm going to have to decide what I want my career to be. I already know what I want to do, but one of my family members constantly tries to talk me out of it.
When you want something, don't let anyone or anything get in the way of it. "Follow your heart", is what one of my teachers told me (or was it "dreams", I can't remember), and I realized I hear that saying a lot. But it's true, we can't always go with the flow. Be bold. It's your life, not anyone else's- so don't let them make decisions for you. Go out, and be strong! Do what you want to do, as long as it doesn't hurt others.
Life is short, so with the little time we have left on Earth, let's make it special! Show everyone that you have courage, and be proud of yourself. Don't let anyone put you down. Never let anyone tell you that you can't do something. Prove those people wrong! Show them that you can do whatever you put your mind to.
Trust me, it's worth it.
 Just a few more days of school left and everyone is getting excited to go on vacation. Exams are in just a few days and some people are cramming the studying in, and teachers are trying to get through the last few assignments just in time to start piling us with homework for exams.
Just about everyone I know is excited to get out of school, but I'm trying to make the days go by ever so slowly.
I'm going to miss hanging out with my friends in the library in the morning. I'm gonna miss goofing around in my French class, and having that burst of confidence during first hour that seems to shy away as I take my path to English class. I'm going to miss acting out Romeo and Julliet, and having the ability to act out Julliet's part and the nurse's part. The class discussions of To Kill a Mockingbird will also be greatly missed. Living in a separate world with Scout, Jem, and all the people in Maycomb County. I'm going to miss being with some of my good friends in biology class, that's a class that I will never forget. Our inside jokes and sitting at the same desk, free to whisper to each other all hour. I'm going to miss the liver joke and the orange code (inside jokes). I am going to miss having lunch with all my friends and cousin. I'm going to miss telling crazy stories to my friends, and getting in huge debates that just go crazy! I'm going to miss that feeling of having a bunch of friends all together, that get along, well most of the time. It's going to be hard not to miss going outside for lunch with a picnic blanket under one arm, sitting under a shady tree, with everyone in our little group wearing some shades. I'm going to miss playing my flute in band class, we have such a great group. And my friends are moving onto different bands and that bond might be lost. I'm even going to miss my computer class, where I have all this time to blog because I get my work done so quickly. I'm going to miss my geometry class, even though I don't talk much in that class- but the people there are hilarious.
I never want to forget this year, the best year of my life. All the group texts and Skype sessions we have will be lost. If only I could have made the memories last for a little while longer. Like when two of my friends and I created a video for NASA's space lab contest. I'm not going to forget some of the crazy conversations I've had walking through the hallways with friends. Summer will leave behind laughing in the school hallway with friends, laughing so hard that you start crying with joy and you start to hiccup and your friends laugh even harder. It's funny that I'm even going to miss coming to lunch period late because of all the conversations I encounter on the way there, walking fast to our lockers but slow as a sloth when our group gets together and starts a big conversation.
When my uncle told me "Rachel, high school is going to be the best four years of your life. Those are the years that you will remember", I did not believe him. I didn't want to go into high school, but now that I'm here I never want to leave. In ninth grade I made a lot of new friends, and got into some really interesting discussions, I took some really interesting classes, and I started this blog- a place where I can share my beliefs for many to read.
This has been a really great year, but I do know that it has to come to an end. Yet, I can still look forward to the amazing years to come!
 "A hero is some one who has given their life to something bigger than oneself" (Joseph Campbell).
As you may know, Memorial Day was yesterday, the day we honor the men and women who have fought for our country. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, began after the Civil War when America decided to commemorate those soldiers.
Over the years it kind of seems that Memorial Day has lost it's meaning and now most just think of it as a long weekend to go to the beach or to shop with friends. So I would like to write this post to all of those who have fought for our lives. I would really like to say a thank you to everyone who has fought in the war, and to those who have helped in other ways. I really look up to those who give up their lives for others, those men and women are real heroes.
On the last Monday during the month of May some go and visit their families graves and decorate them with flowers. The tradition of decorating the graves with flowers originated on the 4th of July actually. Local historians say that in Boalsburg, PA in 1864 the ladies in the town adorned the graves with beautiful flowers which started the tradition.
The name and date of this holiday wasn't the same as it is today. The holiday changed from it's original name, Decoration Day, to Memorial Day sometime during 1882. The date changed from May 30th to the last Monday of the month to create a more convenient three day weekend. The law was passed around 1968, but it took awhile for everyone to become accustomed to the idea, and all 50 states starting celebrating the holiday's new date around 1971. In 1987 Hawaii's Senator, David Inouye, has introduced the idea to change Memorial Day back to it's original date.
On this day, the American flag is supposed to be raised to the top of the staff and then slowly lowered to half and stays at that position till noon. The half-staff position is made for us to remember that half a million men and women have died for our lives. At noon we raise that memory by the living, who stand up not in vain, but instead to continue to fight "for liberty and justice for all".
I would just like to say one more thank you to those who have fought for our lives and to those who continue fighting. They truly are our heroes.
 I have a Slovak background and every Easter Monday is the days the "boys get the girls". Every Easter Monday I usually wake up to running out of the house as fast as I can to school, careful not to wake my brother up in fear that he will get me soaking wet. The question is- How did this tradition originate? Well, I've done some reading and haven't exactly found anything saying how this tradition came to be, but I found some other interesting information. There are some reasons that the boys used to chase the girls down with water and lightly whip their legs with braided branches. The water is symbolic and is said to make the girls "pure" and to cleanse them. "The legend states that the branches used for whipping posses youth and beauty and that it is transferred to the girl"( cited from). Of course, this is just a legend.... Or as I read some people think of it- an excuse to get the girls wet and lightly whip them. Most girls do think that this tradition is fun. When else can girls enjoy several guys chasing after her? ;D A long time ago the girls used to wear traditional costumes (as seen above) and every time the guys would come and get them wet they would have to change into another costume. Back then, it was considered impolite to wet the girls in the afternoon. So the boys would have to get up early in the morning to soak the girls in bed or find them hiding in their closet or in the stables. After the boys were done wetting the girls soaked the girls would go in town to find their friends and brag about how many boys came to get them wet. After the boys pin the girls down and get them soaked with water, the girls wait again for other men to get them wet. I also read that in the past (I'm not sure if they still do it now) the girls would bring the boys beer when they were done and sometimes a colored egg. Now on the Tuesday after Easter the girls get the boys back, it didn't always used to be this way though- although some point in time the tradition changed a little. Even though I don't live in Slovakia I know several Slovak boys who got me soaked this year.... Let's just say some of them will gett it back even worse next year... ;)
I have had no clue what to write for days, honestly, topics just don't fall out of trees. So I guess I'll talk about this-
I'm really starting to realize how much people aren't grateful for what they have and instead they focus on what they don't have. Well, we all have our bad days and occasionally it's okay to cry it all out if you need to I guess. Anyways, we have to be thankful for what we have and I know that you probably hear that a lot but that's not what we do all the time. It's easier to talk the talk rather than walk the walk.
Everyone has their bad days, everyone gets into some trouble now and then. But I often hear "I hate this", "this sucks", "Why do we have to do this?" And a few other things that I don't really want to repeat. Sometimes I hear the occasional "I'd rather kill myself". Why would one say that? Your life is precious and no matter what is going on in your life you should never take it away.
We have to be grateful for what we have and who we have. We need to be thankful for every single moment we are alive, or else it will slip from our fingertips before we can close it in our palm. One might never really understand until one escapes death by a thread. One doesn't fully realize how much they will miss if they aren't alive.
If I died I would miss my friends, family, school, fun activities, and even homework. There's so much that we just think of as unimportant, but everything matters and we should be thankful for everything! We should be thankful for the good and the bad times. We should be thankful for our family and friends, no matter how many arguments we have. We should be thankful for the life we have and not the life we want to live another because God made us live the way we do for a very important reason. A reason that we may not find out till the day we die.
When one learns to truly be grateful for life it is the most amazing feeling in the world! You'll be more positive and happy and the world will seem to be round again. Remember, "When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile." I've always loved that quote. You can always have a reason to smile, just gazing at nature can make one happy. Such as the way little squirrels will run up and down a tree without a care in the world. Or how a little baby will laugh at a dog chasing after a ball. A smile should curl your lips up when you look at the things you have done instead of the things you haven't.
Smile at your friends, smile at your family, smile at your life. Smile at the world and remember to be thankful for your life. God gave it to you, be happy.
I read an article on Yahoo about a little boy with autism who was bullied by his own teacher. Bullying is a big problem, not just in America but everywhere else too. Unfortunately, there is something that we all have to understand- no matter what, bullying is never going to stop. Technology advances every day and so does bullying, people don't just bully in person as you may know, they bully over the internet too now. When some one makes fun of another person it makes me feel really bad, especially when I don't have the guts to stand up for the other person. Most of the time I do, but I'm going to be honest- not all the time I will stand up for some one because I know the bully will come after me too if I do. But that stops right here, right now. Trust me, I know what it feels like to be made fun of. Everyone does-everyone knows how it feels. The questions is- Why do they do it to others then? I really don't know. Some say people bully others to make themselves feel better, some say they do it out of sheer meanness. There's another kind of bullying that really disgusts me. When people make fun of the kids that can't defend themselves. Now that is sad. How low can some one get to make fun of some one that cannot defend them self! How cruel can people get? Doesn't that bother you knowing that there are people who get made fun of everyday and can't even defend themselves? We have to try our best all the time to put a stop to it. I know there is never going to be a final stop to it, but we can at least try. We can come together to show the victims of bullies that there is some one out there who cares about them. There are people out there who want to kill themselves to get away from the horrible words that people throw at their face when they get to school. If we all come together we can show them that somebody does care! I know what it feels like to be the victim of bullying, I know how much you long to get away from what some people call the safe place of school. It's not fun going to a place where you know that you will be treated awfully. I know how it feels, and I'm sure a lot of other people do too. It's amazing how many things you can learn from a bully though, they teach you what not to do to others. They teach you what it feels like to feel down in the dumps. I know it's not fun, but at one point in our life we have to learn. A lot of people write books about teenagers who get bullied and all- I'm sure they wouldn't be able to write them if they didn't have the experience of some one bullying them. That's probably why I can write this blog because I know how it feels to not want to come to school because I know other people will be mean and hate me and know there is nothing I can do about it because I didn't do anything to them in the first place. This part is directed towards those people who have been bullied and are being bullied right now- You may not see it, but there is some one out there who cares. For starters, I care. Even if I don't know exactly who you are, I always pray for those who get bullied and made fun of. There's always some one you can talk to, remember. I know it sounds kind of lame because you hear it over and over but it's true: there is always some one to talk to whether it's your grandmother, grandfather, parent, counselor, teacher, or friend. Please remember there is always some one who cares about you and loves you. Remember it no matter how bad of a day you have there will forever always be some one who cares.
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