Up In The Air

Last week, I went to see the movie "Up In The Air." If you have not already gone to see this movie, go and see it. It illustrates a very different lifestyle that more than likely, very few people in our world probably live. It is about a man who has a job that requires extensive travel. He is hired by companies to fire people and flies around the country over 320 days a year. He literally has only the things he needs with him. These things do not include the relationships that many of us value and would struggle to live without. Can you imagine only having the things you need in your life to travel?

When the movie finished, I was faced with the questions: Can I live like that? Would I enjoy living like that? What "little things" would I take with me?

For the first question, I came to two conclusions, but settled on the second. I decided that I could live like that for basically the reason being that I do not like clutter in my life. I do not like it when my room is messy. I do not like it when my bathroom is dirty. I do not like having things I do not use laying around. Not being home, having my own bathroom, or not having useless things with me would eliminate those things I do not like. Then after thinking a little bit longer I realized that I could not live like that because seeing the people who mean the most to me is way more important. It would be neat to live this lifestyle for a few months, but in the long run, I would not enjoy it. It would be hard to come home to an empty apartment or feeling like I did not have a home. And more importantly, that people did not care about me.

As for the "little things" that I would take with me...well, the truth is, I do not have little things in my life that are that important. The things in my life that are important to me are big things like my parents, brothers, boyfriend, horses, and friends. I need those things surrounding me to keep me happy. I would struggle being away from them for extended periods of time. The little things are not that important to me, but the relationships I have in life are.

This movie made me realize how important relationships in life are. If you do not have relationships in life, what do you have to live for? To me, it would be a life of loneliness. Even though I love my "me" time, this lifestyle would more than likely drive me to insanity. What do you think of this lifestyle? Why do you think it is that some people can live a lifestyle like this? I walked out of the movie feeling thankful that I have the relationships in my life that I do.

Encouragement Goes A Long Way

Last year, there was one piece of advice I was given more than enough times to count. Sometimes it came from the same person. Other times it was from random people in random conversations. It is one of those pieces of advice you get when you are not asking for it, not expecting it, and do not realize you are even getting it. It was not until it popped up in a few random conversations in the exact same wording that I started to really take it to heart. So what is this piece of advice? It consists of the few shorts words of "encouragement goes a long way."

I bring this up now for 2 reasons.

First, it is at the beginning of a new year. That means that you are more than likely surrounded by many people who are working on living out new year's resolutions. Encourage them. Show them that you support them in their aspirations to become a better person. Whether they are doing something easy or hard (in your perspective)--encourage them. You will be surprised at just how far that encouragement can go.

Second, I feel it is a great thing to do in life. Why? Because it is true. I think about the times in my life when people have truly encouraged me to do things. That encouragement has taken me a long way. I am living proof that it works wonders on a person. Also, I have encouraged others and seen it work wonders on these people. It is a great habit to add to the relationships you have with others.

Try it. You'll be amazed at how much good you can do with something as simple as encouragement.

New Year's Resolutions

The new year has officially begun, and I have some new year's resolutions. Quite a few in fact. I usually keep my resolutions private and in the past have noticed that I have not been successful with them because of it. I wanted to write them down and publicize them in hopes that it will help me actually do them. Here they are in no particular order.

Emily's New Year's Resolutions

1. Work out regularly (4-5+ times a week)
2. Eat healthier
3. Spend less money and save more
4. Go riding more
5. Blog more (3-4 times a month)
6. Spend more time with family and friends
7. Read at least 1 book a month (preferably 2)

I will admit, I am not off to the greatest start right now in every area, but I haven't made out a plan for each one yet either. If I don't succeed right away, I am not going to look at it as failing. I will see it as a way to stop and reevaluate what I am doing so I can be successful with each resolution. My real hope in this is that each one will create a new habit in me and in the future it will all be a part of my daily routine.

Having Good Character

How many times in your life have you been chatting with friends, and you mention that a particular person is in a class of yours. You've never personally met them, but you know who they are. Your friends then go on to say their opinion of this person because they know them. Maybe they say good things about this person. If this is the case, it is a relief to you because it will make that person that much more approachable if you ever need to go talk to them. On the other hand, maybe they do not know this particular person, but they know people who know this person and those people do not like them. So your friend then proceeds to say negative things about this person whom they do not personally know. Or, maybe your friend goes on to say negative things about this person because they do know them. Whatever the case may be, I think it is safe to say that we have all been in a situation where we hear things about a person that we have never met ourselves. Let's face it. Our friends shape our outlook on things. They could shape our outlook on people, they could shape our outlook on the things we like, or they could shape our outlook on our own opinions. To me, there is nothing worse than when a friend gives you a negative impression of a person. The other things mentioned above are negative, but for now, I would like to focus on when our friends talk about another person negatively before we have even met this person. I think we can all admit that we have been in this position many times before. My question to you is, how did you react? The way I see it, there are two ways you could have reacted. 1. Did you let your friend's opinions of a person shape yours before you even met the person? Or 2. Did you ignore your friend's opinions and shape your own of this person after you got to know him or her on your own? If you chose #1, well, to say the least, I am disappointed. If you chose #2, awesome! I am glad you have the character to know the difference. For those of you who chose #1, maybe it did not even occur to you that you do this. I have good news, you can change. You can acknowledge when things like this happen, and make the personal choice to react differently. It comes down to your character. Do you have the character to recognize that your friends ultimately bring you down in a situation like this? It is up to you to rise above this. Now, maybe your friends told you that a person was not nice to others. I am not naïve; I know that the world is filled with people who are not nice to others. My point is this: if you make the choice to not judge a person based on someone else's opinion of them, you allow yourself to make your own opinion of the person. Maybe you will see that your friend was right. What is even better is when you learn that your friend was wrong and you gained a new friend because of it. Your friend could have had a negative experience with that person and said things that were not true because they did not want you to be friends with them. If you let other's opinions shape your own before you even give a person a chance, you are automatically going to miss out on a potential friendship. The choice is yours. Next time, choose option #2 because it will make you a better person.

Thankful. Blessed.

It has been a long time since I've last posted. Hopefully this doesn't happen again! In the midst of a crazy life, a lot of time has been spent on my part reflecting on what I am thankful for. Even though Thanksgiving was almost two weeks ago now, I still feel a blog on things I am thankful for is very appropriate. Here's the running list, in no particular order.

1. My horses, Sage and Vogue, because I am lucky that I somehow have found a way to support them financially while in college. I never expected to have them during this point of my life. Ultimately, I am just thankful they are still in my life. Also, what is more exciting than having horses? I mean, c'mon, it has been my childhood dream forever, so I plan to live this dream out as long as possible. Not only are they a dream I have had that came true, but they are a true test that I can do anything I put my mind too. After all, somehow I convinced my parent's to let me get them.

2. That brings me to the next thing, or people, I am thankful for. My parents. My parents have done nothing but support me in the things I do. They are always there to help me when I need help. Quite frankly, I'm lucky to have such cool parents. Yes, cool. I said it. I wish I had the maturity in middle school to realize just how cool they were then too. Not everyone can say that their parents will be there when they mess up or change their mind, but I can. Hopefully they know just how much I appreciate them, and how thankful I am that they are my parents.

3. God. I have never been one to be open about my faith, but I do know that I have a strong faith in God. I am thankful for that faith. Growing up, every night I would pray for a horse. I would always say, "God, if you help me get a horse, I'll never ask for anything again." Well, that has proved to be untrue, but He has continued to answer my prayers.

4. Friends. I have the best friends a girl could ask for. I'm not even going to elaborate, because they deserve their own blog post.

5. Music. No matter what I am doing, music helps me. Whether it is working out, studying, cleaning, or just hanging out, there is always the right song to boost my mood. Sometimes, I think I could go insane without music.

6. My boyfriend, Nick. He too, deserves his own blog post, but I want to say a few things. Never in my life have a met someone who "gets" me the way he does. He is the one person I always turn to, and he is always the first person to hear about how I am feeling. Have you ever heard the song, "Crazy for this girl" by Evan and Jaron? Well, change the lyrics a little bit, and it describes how I feel perfectly. No good love songs are written by girls anyways, ha ha.

"Would you look at him/He looks at me/He's got me thinking about him constantly/But he don't know how I feel/And as he carries on without a doubt/ I wonder if he's figured out/I'm crazy for this guy/

Right now/Face to face/All my fears/Pushed aside/And right now/I'm ready to spend the rest of my life/With you."

He knows how I feel, and all I can say is that I am so thankful he knows. And from the movie Juno, "He's the cheese to my macaroni."

7. My brothers, Nathan and Jacob. They are just cool. Each one spices up my life in their own way. Nathan helps me stay gangsta (in a good way) and has renewed my faith that everything happens for a reason, and Jake reminds me on a daily basis why I love being a country girl. It is quite the combo if you ask me, but I love them. I am thankful I have 1 overprotective older brother and 1 overprotective little brother, who has officially outgrown me.

Lastly, the more simple, yet important, things that don't need much elaboration.

8. Food.

9. Shelter (I really sweet apartment I might add).

10. Freedom. We are so lucky.

Ahh, yes. I am so thankful that I am so blessed.