The Necessities of Life

Let it go. How many times have you stayed up worrying about something happening tomorrow, or something that already happened during your day? Maybe I could have said it better. Maybe I could have done it differently. Maybe they actually hate me, even though they keep saying they’re fine. Here’s a harsh reality: you need to   let it go. No one actually cares as much as you think they do. When you spend so much time worrying or stressing about these things, you miss out on the beautiful parts of life. We spend so much of our time stressing that we forget our lives can end at any minute. Instead of worrying, take a deep breath and give it to God. Would He actually let you down? No. It might not seem like it at first, but He is always teaching us something. Those bad days? They don’t last. And the good days? They don’t last either. So, let it all go—and give it to God. It doesn’t matter who they are—if they hurt you, walk away. Sometimes, we fall into the traps of toxic family dyn...

Every eve of the new year, we are faced with this sentimental thought: what did I achieve this past year? Every person has a different list with different goals, different memories, and different outcomes. We all experienced the year, but each one of us is on a different path, experiencing something different each day. Some of us lost loved ones, and everything crumbled beneath our feet like an unexpected earthquake. Some of us graduated, got married, and had kids. Some of us experienced breakups that either crushed us or gave us our life back. Regardless of what you experienced this past year, please know that your journey is not going to be the same as everyone else.  God is literally the author of all of our lives. We are our own main characters. We will go through our own plots, experience different conflicts, face highs and lows, and in time, reach our endings. Everything we are experiencing is like a journey we're destined to travel through. It's not a race, but a journe...

It’s 6:00 a.m. The house is quiet, everyone still asleep, but you burst from your bed with excitement. You rush down the hall to your parents’ room, screaming and cheering until they wake up. Then you sprint to the living room, where the presents sit waiting beneath the tree. Soon, everyone is gathered together, tearing open wrapping paper. Your dad is recording every moment on the video camera, your mom beaming with joy, smiling ear to ear as she watches you open your gifts. All is right with the world. You blink, and suddenly, twenty years have passed, and everything is different. You no longer care about the presents under the tree; you are simply grateful to be surrounded by family. There is no rushing anymore, just going with the flow. You do not worry about how much food is on your plate, and you go back for seconds because it is all just that good. The day slips by in the blink of an eye, and before you know it, you are back home, lying in your bed. ... The years have passed fa...

When the countdown nears 0 days, the butterflies begin to dance around your stomach, your cheeks become sore from smiling so much, and there's a sense of peace that drops over you because you're finally marrying the love of your life.  This is the best time of your life, and you could not be more overjoyed.  Suddenly, sadness starts to hit you like a tidal wave that came without warning. The tears start flowing and cannot stop. You can't breathe, and everything else starts to feel heavy. There's an empty void that cannot be filled, and your chest begins to break in two.  This was the best time of your life, but now it's all starting to hit you in a million pieces.  The one person who should be here- your rock, your stability in an uneasy balance, the glue that has held you together- is not here. Your mom.  ... It's no secret that I have been through more obstacles than I'd like to admit. Several of these obstacles occurred when I least expected them, like a ...

While it’s no surprise that we’re big Taylor Swift fans in this household, something about this newest album release felt different. On the eve of the drop, anticipation ran high. Some of us drifted off to sleep with visions of glitter, feathers, and showgirls twirling in our minds. Others fueled up on caffeine, determined to stay awake until the clock struck twelve. And when it did—on October 3—we were ready for it. But this time, I chose sleep. The next morning, headphones in hand, I pressed play as soon as I woke up—and almost immediately, I felt something shift. Taylor’s music has always been deeply relatable—that’s never been in question. The Life of a Showgirl follows the forever-endearing The Tortured Poets Department, an album I adored with every ounce of my being. That record proved what so many of us already knew: Taylor is a poet at large. Naturally, expectations for this new album were sky-high. The Life of a Showgirl promised to peel back the curtain—to reveal life beyond ...

 Dear Graduating Seniors,  You did it! You are finally graduating from high school!  I am sure you are all so anxiously excited to finally get out of here and start your new adventures. College, military, trade school, whatever you are doing, it will all be worth it.  Although it may not seem like it now, one day you are going to look back on all the fond memories and reminisce about all of the wonderful and tragically horrible things that happened to you while you were a high school student. The person you are right now is shaping who you will become in the future. The achievements you've had, the mistakes you've made, all of those things happened so you can develop more in the character of your own story.  There are so many wonderful things ahead of you, but also some scary things. You get to live on your own, away from the family and friends you've grown up with, and experience the true art of adulthood. You can make decisions, set your own curfews, and live ...