Reflections

The topic for this post was inspired by the extra time that I have had to reflect on things. These things have probably come from recent events occurring in my life and I want to share these things with all of you.

First, I will discuss birthdays. It is fascinating to me how the range of importance that people place on birthdays varies so much. For example, most people make a big deal about a baby's first birthday. Why is this you ask? Who knows. It is almost like everyone else is celebrating that the baby is still alive and the baby just has to go along with it. For me I don't see why people do it, the baby can't even remember this time in their life and so why make a big deal about it? Another example is the coming of age birthdays. For some countries girls come of age at 15 yrs, and others it is 16. Some people make a big deal for the 18th birthday and others it is 21. In my family we have always celebrated our birthdays. We have parties for friends and then parties for family members. But, we decided to stop the parties after the 18th birthday. Some of my friends don't do much for their own birthday and others throw big parties. I guess it all just depends on how much you appreciate yourself....ha ha.

Next it is interesting to me how we as people are so peculiar. Do you ever wonder why for some people it is hard to express our feelings and others wear their hearts on their sleeves? Some people are afraid of their own actions and others embrace the opportunity to make a difference in their own lives. Why is this? Is it merely our upbringings? How we were taught growing up? Or is there something more? For me I really want to be able to just express how I feel about people right off the bat. But, saying it is easier than doing it. Why is it hard to tell the girl I fancy that I like her? The only plausible excuse I have is that maybe it will blow up in my face and my whole life might change. And after thinking that I realize it really isn't a good excuse at all. I have thought a lot about this and I have decided that life is too short to not take chances. I think that all of us should try harder to make a difference in our own lives and make the necessary changes that will make us all better people. Embrace change, it isn't bad and it is happening all of the time. Express your feelings to those you love and be honest. The other day I was leaving my friends house at night and I said, "k bye, love you guys," and while I walked away I heard them whispering how surprised they were that I would say that and that they didn't know how to respond. I was thinking, 'I really do love my friends, and shouldn't they know that?' and I hope that they would say it to me too. Now, as for dating, I am still not sure how to approach this. I am aware that girls might be turned away if I just walk up to them and say they are pretty and funny, that I would like to try dating them. This would be awkward for the both of us. But, I do think that gradually one can start to express their feelings in these situations when they are already dating, or at least on the date. After all that is the purpose of dating and you both should know how the other feels, even if you don't say it with words. So, I hope after reading this that we will not be afraid to say, "I love you guys" or "you are nice" or even just "I like your hair today" because I believe that it will really make a difference in every one's lives.

Finally I have been reflecting on time. It is almost limitless and yet I have so many things to do each day that I find myself saying, "I don't have time to do that," or "there is no time to this." And at the end of the day I am disappointed that I didn't have time to apply for that job, or workout, or read my scriptures, or write in my journal, etc. and I fall asleep saying that I will do it tomorrow. Now, I can bet that most everyone has felt this one at one point or another and I am here to say that we are all lazy. There are a few people in the world who know how to get things done and I admire them and strive to be like them. But most of us aren't like them. Just writing this blog has taken time and effort and  I have given the excuse many times that I didn't have the time to write again. Well I was lying. I have had plenty of time, but, the problem is that I wasted it. We are given about 16 hours in a day to get the things done that need to be done (and the other 8 hours is for sleeping). If that is true then why can we never do it? Because we don't manage our time and priorities. In other words we are spending too much time in front of the TV, or sitting around lazily that we lose that precious time that should have been used to do something so much better. That doesn't mean we have to be robots and I think that breaks and small amounts of entertainment are necessary to stay sane. But I think we can all do more with the time we have. So that means that now I am going to turn off the TV while I eat, focus in the shower to use it faster, and have a plan for the day so that I don't waste my precious time thinking of things to do. I am also going to make sure I study the scriptures, workout, and everything else I need to do in the day before I go over to a friends house and play or sit down to watch a movie. I think that I will get so much more done and anyone else can too by making similar changes. So remember, conquer your time and don't let time conquer you.

Now I ask that you please comment and submit your own thoughts on these topics.