For a change.

Once upon and time a prince asked a beautiful princess "Will you marry me?"  The princess said no.  The princess lived happily ever after.  She traveled around the world and met interesting people and learned new stuff.  She hooked up with some cute guys and nobody thought she was a slut.  She always put herself first.  She went to rock concerts.  No one ever told her "go make me a sandwich."  She kept her apartment and all of her shoes and never got cheated on, period.  She made tons of money.  And the toilet seat was always down (like it's supposed to).  The End.

Your life.

Everyday you wake up and you go out into the world.  Everyday you are scrutinized for what you do and what you don't do. You will be judged for the bad and envied for the good.  You will make fake friends and true enemies.  Nothing you ever do will please everyone.  You know what I say to that?  Screw it and screw them.  Go out and do what YOU want to do.  It is your life and you only live it once.  Why live it walking on egg shells trying to please and impress those around you.  Be happy.  Stay up late.  Wake up early and watch the sunrise.  Have a few too many drinks one night.  Go do something spur of the moment.  Do something for you, not for someone else.  It's okay to try and please people every here and there, but this is your life.  If you aren't happy with it, how do you expect other people to be?  So go out and live.  Live the way you want to.  Do what you want to.  Just be you.  The rest will fall into place.

Live.

My whole life I have been telling myself "don't be afraid."  And it is only now that I am realizing how stupid that is.  Don't be afraid.  Like saying "don't move out of the way when someone tries to punch you" or "don't flinch at the heat of fire" or "don't blink."  Don't be human.  I'm afraid and you're afraid and we're all alwaya going to be afraid, because that is the point.  What I should be telling myself is be afraid but do ot anyways.  Live anyways. 

A great start to the day.

Sometimes the best way to have a great day is to start it off great.  The easiest way to do that is to simply smile and laugh.  I understand that when you first wake up the only thing you want to do is hate the world.  You would rather sleep then do anything else.  Well life is happening and you cannot do anything but get up and go with it.  Here are some hilarious pictures to help you smile and kick off your day in the right way!

And if none of that made you smile, well this video of a cat having a nightmare will.

Remember.

You are not your bra-size, nor are you the width of your waist, nor are you the slenderness of your calves.  You are not your hair color, you skin color, nor are you a shade of lipstick.  Your shoe-size if of no consequence.  You are not defined by the amount of attention you get from males, females, or any combination thereof.  You are not the number of sit-ups you can do, nor are you the number of calories in a day.  You are not your mustache.  You are not the hair on your legs.  You are not a little red dress.  You are no amalgam of these things.

You are the content of your character.  You re the ambitions that drive you.  You are the goals that you set.  You are the things that you laugh at and the words you say.  You are the thoughts you think and the things you wonder.  You are beautiful and desirable not for the clique you attend, but for the spark of life within you that compels you to make your life a full and meaningful one.  You are beautiful not for the shape of the vessel, but for the volume of the soul it carries.

What princesses taught me.

Why was Snow White given a poisoned apple?

• To show us that not everyone is going to be kind and not everyone is really who they say they are.

Why did Cinderella run away at midnight?

• To remind us that everything does have its limitations, even dreams.

Why did Ariel exchange her fins for feet?

• To show us that people are willing to give up anything to be with who they love and just be happy.

Why did Aurora sleep for 100 years?

• To tell us that you might have to wait for quite some time for your true love to come along. Sometimes very long, but it's worth it.

Why did Princess Jasmine fall for Aladdin?

• To let us know that what the heart wants, it wants it no matter what.

Why was Belle in love with a Beast?

• To remind us that you can't really help what's on the outside, but if the inside is beautiful, then nothing will stand in the way of your love.

Why did Mulan pretend to be a man?

• To show us that despite what others say, you can do whatever you put your mind to.

Here is Jenna Marbles' take on Disney.  Very different then mine, but more hilarious then anything I could say.

Be you because you do you best.

Hey you.  Yes, you!  Stop being unhappy with yourself.  You are perfect.  Stop wishing you looked like someone else or wishing people liked you as much as they like someone else.  Stop trying to get attention from those who hurt you.  Stop hating you body, your face, your personality, your quirks.  Love them.  Without those things you wouldn't be you.  Frankly, why would you want to be anyone else?  Be confident with you who are.  Smile :)  It'll draw people in.  If anyone hates on you because you are happy with yourself then stick your middle finger in the air and say screw it.  My happiness will not depend on others anymore.  I'm happy because I love who I am.  I love my flaws.  I love my imperfections.  They make me me and 'me' is pretty amazing.

A compliment a day goes a long way.

Every so often I like to give my friends a compliment.  Not your typical "You are funny" compliment.  These compliments are odd.  They are way out there.  One thing for sure though is they get a laugh, and despite being odd, they tend to make people's day.  So pick one from the list below or make up your own and send it to a friend.  Cause despite being odd it will make someone's day, guaranteed. 

A little bit of wisdom.

There are so many things I can say to inspire you.  So many words I can speak to tell you what you want to hear.  But lets be honest, I am only a woman.  You won't listen to me.  So instead I will let these great minds, these very influential people, give you inspiration.

Mi familia.

There is one thing in the world that we cannot choose.  One thing that is truly ruled by fate: family.  Everyone has one.  You may love them or you may hate them.  You may see them everyday or they may no longer be with you.  But the one thing everyone shares is that at some point or another they had a family.  Now my family is not perfect.  We are loud, we fight, we are crazy, and extremely dysfunctional.  But on rare occasions you can see us all together laughing and having a good time, and it's actually genuine.  I might not talk to my family everyday and I might not always express how I feel, but one thing is for sure, I love them with all my heart, even my brother and my sister.  I did not choose them but I can honestly say that I would not change them for the world.  I may not always agree with what they say, but they give the best advice and are always there for me.  So I guess what I'm saying is that if you still have family around tell them you love them.  If you do not talk to them, just give them a call.  Family is the one thing that will never leave you.  You may fight, you may fight to great extremes, but they are your flesh and blood.  They love you even if they do not say anything.  So never ignore or put your family on the back burner.  Also remember that one day you will have a family of your own.  So love them with your heart, but also make sure you give them some space.  Your a child right now, so remember if/when you have your own children treat them how you want your parents to treat you.  But like I have said time and time again, love your family.  They are the only thing that will never leave you, even if it seems like they have.  I'm telling you a phone call will let them know how you feel about them and make their day.

My family.  They may be a little embarrassing, but I love them just the same.

Photo taken by Jane Hasty Photography.

Here is a link to other photos of my family!  http://www.janehastyphotography.com/?p=7899