An Intern's Recipe for Happiness

Hey folks!

Hopefully this upcoming term I'll have time to write more regularly. Yesterday I ended my internship with Cosmos Sports. It was a great run, and I'm terrified of how much I'm gonna miss it, since the fact that it's over hasn't really sunk in yet. But, I've learned that it's important to live in the present.

Yes, you should always have goals for the future and work towards them. But enjoy the good moments with what you have now. For example, I'm excited to have a car in the near future because I loathe standing in freezing cold bus stops and depending on others' for my punctuality. But hey, at least I don't need to worry about gas, insurance, or parking! AND I get to knit during my commute to work. With regard to the past, I think it's okay to think about good memories... especially when using them as a reference in discovering what things make you happy when planning your life. But when you're constantly dwelling on it to the point where you forbid yourself to be happy unless you have a time machine that'll take you to the past, you're not being fair to yourself. Accepting change is not only good, but it's important if you want to be happy. It's normal. It's part of life. It's healthy. Makes you open-minded and strong.

I really enjoyed my stay in Ontario and didn't regret coming here for a split-second. I discovered my passion in HR, made friends, and I learned a lot! And I think that's the key to being happy, regardless of the circumstance you find yourself in: see the good in everything and grasp it, get to know and take an interest in those around you, and see what you can learn from your situations and apply those lessons. One can easily discover faults and choose to be unhappy. Seeing the good in it and learning as much as you can? That takes a little more effort and a little more strength. But anyone can do it. I'm not saying my life in Ontario was a breeze... I had to move out of my first apartment there and find another place 20 days before I was supposed to fly back to BC, my aunt passed away, and though I loved what I did and the people I worked with, I still had stressful and frustrating moments at work. It's not that HR isn't for me or that the company wasn't a fit; it's just something everyone faces regardless of the career path they choose or who they work with.

I could easily say I hate Ontario because it reminds me of losing my aunt and not having any family members nearby. Or that housing in Ontario sucks because of that one apartment I had to move out of. Or that I hate recruitment because of that one game series for the Brampton Beast where we were understaffed. We need to grow up and accept the fact that life isn't a walk in the park and that happy people face struggles in life too. The difference is that happy people take those struggles as learning opportunities and strive to make things better, rather than dwelling on them and feeling sorry for themselves. My dad once said that the best medicine for sadness or frustration is work. That's what I did when times got hard... I put my head down and worked my Brazilian butt off. I swallowed those negative emotions down, slapped a smile on my face and cracked jokes around my coworkers. They didn't deserve to have me take my hardships out on them, because they were awesome. But even if they were jerks, they still didn't deserve it, I think. Work ethic and attitude are therefore, from what I learned, the two key ingredients to being happy.

Another secret to being happy is to develop hobbies and discover your passions. This last summer I taught myself how to knit and found out I love it. The summer before that I got back into writing by starting this blog. I also discovered working out can be fun! Whenever I have a bad day, I know I can count on my blog (and hopefully you readers), the gym, or my knitting needles to lift me up. Have that back-up activity. Don't ever allow yourself to have one of those "I'm bored and depressed because my friends are busy and I have nothing better to do right now" moments. Take classes. And if you're cheap, Pinterest and YouTube are up and ready to teach you new things.

I'm sad to leave Cosmos Sports and the Brampton Beast. I absolutely LOVED my internship there and have nothing to complain about it at all. I'm going to miss coming to work every day in either one of the offices and being surrounded by amazing people as I do what I love doing. I'm going to miss learning every day and I'm going to miss my coworkers. But I'm excited to have a car in Kelowna. I'm excited to reunite with Puppy Char (my friend who I haven't seen in 18 months) and Kaylia, who will be back in February. I'm also excited to prepare for my endowments and for my nephew or niece to be born!

I also have really awesome news... yesterday I got a letter from Citizenship and Immigration Canada inviting me to take my citizenship test on January 12th in Kelowna. I've been told that the time between your test and the ceremony is very short. This means I will become a Canadian citizen soon!!! YAAAAAAYYY!!! Time to start studying :)

Thank You!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just realized it's been a little over 3 months since my last post... I've been busy with life and all. I decided to post in this Thanksgiving day. Story time: the other day I was blessing my dinner. As I prayed, I had so much to thank, that when I got to the "please bless" part I felt too inadequate to ask for anything other than a blessing on the meal.

It reminds of that hymn, Count Your Blessings:

"When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

"Chorus:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

"Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

"When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

"So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end."

In this Thanksgiving day, I decided to take some time and count all of my many blessings. And as I do, I feel somewhat audacious thinking about what else I could ask for. No, my life isn't perfect and I don't have it all together 100% of the time. And yes, there are many things and accomplishments in life I look forward to which I should actively pursue. But on the other hand, I don't think I have the right to complain when I've been given so much. Now, the purpose of this post isn't to brag or to compare myself to others; my hope is that those who do take the time to read this post will be uplifted and inspired to count their own many blessings. Here we go:

1. My family: As I've prepared for my endowments, I've come to understand and appreciate the sealing ordinance more. I am so grateful for the unconditional love and support I receive from my family and that if we live righteously, we can live together through all eternity. The things of most value are those that money cannot buy; my family is one of them. I'm also grateful for all the babies coming to the world -- My cousin Nathalie and her husband Eddy had a beautiful baby boy named Ammon, my brother-in-law's sister Nana had a cute jabuticaba-eyed baby named Miguel, my cousin Gui and his wife Gabi just had a gorgeous baby girl named Luiza, my cousin Steph and her husband Andre are having a baby in April, and my sister is having her baby in May!! I'm so excited and grateful to be an auntie. I can only imagine those special spirits in the spirit world all lined up and coming to Earth and my grandparents telling them how excited they should be to join our family.
   
2. The Temple: As mentioned earlier, I'm planning and preparing to receive my endowments sometime next summer or sooner (no I'm not engaged or going on a mission... I'll explain what led up to this decision in another post), depending on my parents' ability to come see me. I've been studying and reading a lot, attending as many baptismal sessions as humanly possible, and taking temple prep classes. The more I prepare, the more this decision feels right, the more I feel God's approval and trust in me, and the less afraid I am of this big commitment I'm about to make. I'm so excited! I'm so grateful these saving ordinances have been restored and that through the atonement, I have been able to get to a place where I'm ready and progressively prepared to make covenants with my Heavenly Father and show my love and commitment to Him.
   
3. Atonement: These past couple years were pretty rough for me, that led me to a pretty dark state. My faith in the atonement was tested to its full capacity and through that test I learned how to accept the atonement. As I consistently got on my knees to plead for help and did everything that was under my control to turn things around, I allowed the atonement to work in me. My testimony has been strengthened. My knowledge and understanding have expanded. I've been shaped into a better person. I had a change of heart. But it wasn't overnight. It took time. But I can say that I know with all my heart that the atonement is real and that Jesus is indeed our saviour, because I have seen it change me. He is my best friend and I know that I can always count on Him in any circumstance.
   

There have been other blessings in my life (i.e. my job, a roof over my head, food, friends, etc.), but I'm honestly hungry and I need to clean my room now.

What are some things YOU are thankful for?

Why I Refuse To Take My Flag Down

First of all, I'd like to thank those who were rooting against Brazil for not sending me insensitive texts/messages. A lot of people don't get how devastating it is for a Brazilian to watch their country lose a soccer game so tragically in their own home. So I'm grateful for those of you who cheered me up or who refrained from being jerks. As for the rest of you, I hope you buy some sunscreen and join Zúñiga at the same unpleasant place I told him to go to... :D (Oh yes, I did).

Those of you wondering how I'm doing, I'm heartbroken. I'll admit that I wasn't sure if Brazil would win or lose today. But during the first five to ten minutes of the game where Brazil was on fire, I was positive Brazil would win. But as soon as Germany scored the first goal, I was shocked. I still had hopes that Brazil would eventually catch up and beat them. There goes the second goal. There, we're done. Again, I was shocked. But this time, I had less hopes of Brazil's victory. Third goal came along -- I thought (and hoped) it was just a bad dream. I couldn't believe it! I'm sure at that point the players' self-esteem went down to sub-basement, which affected their focus and thus their performance. I don't blame them; they were under shock and a lot of pressure. I wasn't angry at the game though, which is unusual for me. Not once! Just sad. Then the 4th and 5th... yeah, we were DONE!

At that point I just stopped paying attention to the game and chatted with my friends. When the 6th and 7th came along, I didn't even care. I guess you could say sticks and stones, baby! To contradict what I said earlier about not being angry, I was pissed at the arrogance the players demonstrated though, which is totally biased by my sore loserness. They were at 4 and relentlessly aimed for the goal, like kicking a dead dog. And when the goalie was mad over that one goal Brazil scored? I was pissed. I understand you have to be ambitious and all of this is totally blinded by my emotions, but if I did something that would benefit me at someone else's expense, I'd do it until I had what I needed. Once I reached my basic necessities, I wouldn't ambitiously prevent that other person from getting some necessities. Again, this is SUPER biased (and somewhat communist) -- but that's how I felt at the time.

After the game, I decided not to wash off my makeup or to take my Brazilian-themed shirt off. Why? Because I wanted to show the public (and myself) that I'm still proud to be Brazilian -- that my patriotism isn't determined by the number of goals Brazil scores in the World Cup. My patriotism is determined by me. Not Julio Cesar, Neymar's spine, Dilma's incompetence or dishonesty; no, it is determined by me. It's up to me how much I will love and stand by my country. To be patriotic doesn't mean you're 100% satisfied with the way your country is at the moment; it means you'll do whatever it takes to make your country a desirable and better place, because you love and believe in it. A good parent would never walk out on a child for being imperfect (the way a lot of Brazil fans left the stadium as soon as Brazil started to lose); no, they will love that child unconditionally and will patiently try to correct that child. A good parent would never stop believing in a child just because that child makes mistakes.

I remember last summer when Brazil had those protests against the government. It reminded me of a meme I saw which said, "I don't work out because I hate my body; I work out because I love my body!" -- that's the same with the protests: "I don't protest against the government because I hate Brazil; I protest against the government because I love Brazil!". I believe in Brazil's potential; I truly believe that if our country was run by competent and honest politicians, give it some years and we're on our way to become a first-world country. That is why I root for Brazil; because I believe in it. And my belief in it is all that I will allow to affect my love and pride for it.

Another reason why I kept my Brazil look is cuz my makeup looked awesome! Here's some pictures:

 

  

But of course there's pro's and con's with keeping my Brazil look -- a couple strangers talked to me about the game. This one guy smiled and said, "Hahaha! What happened to Brazil today?"
Offended, I said, "I don't wanna talk about it."
He laughed then said, "Man, 7x1. BOOM! HAHAHAHAHA"
A-hole, I know. I should've said, "When Canada actually makes it to the World Cup and beats Brazil, come talk to me." But I didn't because I didn't come up with that witty answer til after he was gone.

Later I went out for wings with the boys. They really cheered me up and made me laugh! We took selfies, we laughed, we chatted, and had a blast. Martley's date Aaron was there too but successfully avoided pictures:

 

Another encounter I had with strangers regarding my apparel was after wings a guy said, "sorry about your loss".
Sad and tired of sarcasm, I said, "Yeah I cried" hoping he'd take the hint that I'm a sore loser and unable to laugh at any remark he was planning to make.
To my surprise, he said some very kind and encouraging words to me. Then his mom gave me a tight prolonged hug then looked me in the eye (her face was about 2 inches away from mine) and stroked my face and told me it was okay. I was more uncomfortable over the fact that a stranger was touching my face than comforted, but I guess it's the thought that counts!

But despite the sadness and shock, I'm still proud to be Brazilian. I'm not ashamed of our team or my beautiful 5-star country (just the government, which will hopefully change in a few months)! I'll always root for Brazil in all aspects -- sports, economy, leadership, education, health care, morality, opportunity, growth, etc. And let's face it: although Germany had a 7:1 goal ratio today, I'm sure Brazil has a 7:1 hot girl ratio forever.

And hey, there's definitely things I learned today:

1. Humility: Maybe Brazil isn't the best in soccer, and I should allow fans of other countries to express their love for their teams without beaking them.
   
2. Unconditional love: The way Brazilian fans reacted to Brazil's loss taught me what unconditional love is (and isn't).
   
3. True patriotism: I'll admit that before this particular cup, I never considered myself patriotic. But hearing the national anthem being sung at the first game against Croatia changed things up for me, and I couldn't help but love my country. After its loss, I found that I still loved it deeply. Somehow I learned to love Brazil for the right reasons this cup.
   
4. Sportsmanship: I learned to be nice to rival fans and players, whatever the outcome may be (or at least started to learn that it's improtant to be nice).

Guy Made A Racist Comment To Me, This Is How I Responded...

Hey peeps,

I've sucked at blogging... When I'm not working, I'm either knitting, partying, watching soccer or spending time with my family. Today I was actually supposed to attend yet another party, but I bought 3 yarn balls so I decided to stay home and knit instead. So, I haven't had time to blog. Nevertheless, I wanted to share this experience with you guys:

Today when I was at Walmart buying a pack of socks and 3 wonderful yarn balls (picture to come.. I'm so excited!) I went into the express checkout line to pay for my new crap. I was talking to the chick in front of me and the lady behind me about how awesome knitting is and blabla...

Then a guy was talking to the chick in front of me and I heard them talking about the Walmart in Airdrie. I butted in and asked, "What about the Airdrie Walmart? Is it better or worse?"
The guy said, "Oh, way better!"
I asked, "Oh, is it bigger?"
He said, "There's just way more white people there."
Shocked, but too classy to get into a public fight with a stranger, I sarcastically said, "Uhhh... thanks?"
He said, "Yeah, I hate to be a racist, but it's just the way it is." and he went off about what made the Airdrie Walmart better. I immediately ceased to participate in that conversation.

Surprisingly, I wasn't offended or mad. More so because I'm used to people saying stuff like that to my face, and working in customer service thickened my skin. So I let it go and forgot about it within 30 seconds. Then it was the guy's turn, so he was gone. Then it was the chick in front of me's turn, but before she left she whispered "That was really rude" and I agreed (though it took me a split-second to remember what she was talking about), then went into my register.

After I paid I was walking out of Walmart towards my car and the guy had finished paying the same time as me and was going the same direction as me. He came up to me and asked if I thought he was being rude. I don't like drama with strangers, so normally I would've said no it was fine since I had let it go anyways but for some reason I felt that I should be honest. So I told him (as friendly as I possibly could), "Well, how was I supposed to take that?"

He was suuuuuuuper kind about it and apologized to me. I was so surprised! I was expecting him to be like "Oh yeah, lol, what ethnicity are you?" which I ALWAYS get. Instead, he put his head down and said he was sorry. I could feel his sincerity and sympathized. Note: He was at least 6'4, buff, and full of tattoos -- thus, sensitivity from his part, particularly after a racist remark, was unexpected. He was seriously so humble and kind, I think I even felt the spirit (crazy)! He then proceeded to explain, "it's cuz you look white!" -- my feelings then went from Christlike love to borderline confused. Maybe he was referring to my good English or something.

His friends joined in and named certain ethnic groups that they consider to have a different mentality. I politely interrupted and told them (in a gentle, non-confrontational way -- in more of a conversation tone if that makes sense) that we can't judge people based on their skin colour. I explained that it's not skin colour that determines a person's behaviour or manners... but the way they were raised, how long they've been in Canada, whether they've acclimatized to the culture, if there's a language barrier, if they're educated, and I even said, "I'm half-Asian, quarter Italian, quarter Portuguese and I'm way more polite than a lot of white people I know!"

They nodded their heads the entire time and genuinely agreed with everything I said. I told them, "But you know what? I completely see where you're coming from. I work in customer service and I deal with tonnes of people from different countries and I definitely see a pattern with the way they treat me. Some people can be really, really rude and it irritates me too! But I always try to keep in mind that they come from countries where they're used to people taking advantage of them and everyone's kind of on their own. To them it can be instinctive to be what we call rude to protect themselves." They agreed again and we ended up introducing ourselves to each other and became friends!

I thanked the guy for taking the time to approach me and apologize to me. It really was a noble thing for him to do and I was so touched by it that when I got in my car I felt so much love for Him and I can only imagine how much God must love him.

Lessons learned:

1. God loves even the racists. Who knows, that may even include Hitler as well! :O haha
2. EVERYONE has good in them. So don't hate on random strangers just because they said/did one stupid thing. It's so easy to make terrible assumptions of a stranger. We need to take the time to get to know them before making those judgments.
3. We spend way too much time getting offended and judging others. If we take the time to try to see them as God sees them, forgiveness is a breeze.

My most important lesson of all?
*Humility and kindness are the most noble attributes one can have*

Anyways, I was really touched by this experience and felt prompted to share it with you fellow followers.

Love you all! <3

5 Steps To Disobeying God

Whattup!

I'm sooooooo tired.. if I were to explain how sore my back feels from being on my feet at work all day you'd be surprised I'm only 22. Man, my back's gonna suck by the time I'm 60. Ew.

I hope those of you who read my last post could get something out of it. I put a lot of thought into it and my hope is that the way you feel about yourselves improved after reading it. If you haven't yet, please take the time to read it. Last week I left you guys with a teaser, and I hope it worked. But let's cut to the chase. We need to learn to love ourselves -- it is a commandment. When we are being hard on ourselves, we are disobeying the Lord in five ways:

First, He asks us not to be judgemental.

Some of us do such a good job at not gossiping or beaking people behind their backs, because we know it’s disrespectful to them. So, if it’s disrespectful to a person to judge or bad-mouth them, doesn’t that apply to us? Aren’t we disrespecting ourselves when we tell everyone about our past transgressions or go around saying nasty things about ourselves?

People don’t need to know our weaknesses -- especially if it's in the past and repented for. If they are any smart, they should know not to expect you or any human being in this planet to be perfect. So stop. Let God be the judge of you and in the meantime, strive to do the things you know you’re supposed to do. Work with your bishops should your problems be more severe. He can help you. He is called to serve as a witness of the redeeming blood of Christ during those times.

Second, he asks us to be patient. 

Here’s a quote by President Uchtdorf, “Forget not to be patient with yourself. I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect. Let me add: God is also fully aware that people you think are perfect are not. And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others – usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet.

"As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. It’s wonderful that you have strengths. And it is part of your mortal experience that you do have weaknesses. God wants to help us eventually turn all our weaknesses into strengths. But He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect, and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s okay that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself.

“Dear sisters, many of you are endlessly compassionate and patient with the weaknesses of others. Please remember also to be compassionate and patient with yourself. In the meantime, be thankful for the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots, these successes may seem so tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweet experiences. (...) Our journey toward perfection is long, but we can find wonder and delight in even the tiniest steps in that journey.”

Third, He asks us to be grateful. 

We are taught to count our blessings and to have a spirit of thanksgiving. I can guarantee you right now, no matter who you are or what your circumstances may be, that you have gifts, talents, and attributes that you have inherited from your Heavenly Father. The difference between those talented people who always seem to have the spotlight and people who are kind of hidden in the corner isn’t that the first type of people are more talented; it is simply that the first type have discovered their talents already.

So go out and try new things; discover what you enjoy and what you’re good at. Do things you enjoy doing and maybe it’ll turn into a talent. Don’t let anybody convince you you’re not talented, because that is a lie. EVERYONE is good at something – we just need to figure out what it is we’re good at. All of this being said, if God has given you these gifts and instead of recognizing those blessings and thanking Him for them, we do the exact opposite – we are being disobedient. You may think it’s just yourself you’re hurting when you tear yourself down, but you’re also hurting God because He created you and He loves you, and you choose to reject that gift that He so lovingly created.

Fourth, He asks us to be forgiving. 

In Doctrine and Covenants 64:10, we read, “I the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.” By all men, this includes ourselves. And how many times should we forgive people? 7 times? According to the Lord Jesus Christ, 70x7, or 490 times. Not literally, but he meant to say tonnes of times. Here’s another goody in D&C 61:2, “(…) I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts.” So if you’ve done your end of the bargain (i.e. ABCD’s) in the repentance process (Acknowledge, Be sorry, Confess, Don’t do it again), MOVE ON! Stop punishing yourselves.

If the Lord has forgiven you, then you need to forgive yourself too. Art thou greater than him? Never. So, trust His judgments. I think a lot of us get so afraid of falling into temptation and sinning again, that we make the mistake of thinking that by punishing ourselves, we guarantee it won’t happen again because we feel bad about it. It’s quite the opposite actually. Satan is the one who gives us such feelings of inadequacy and the minute we accept his lies that we aren’t good enough, we take crap from him. Eventually this will lead us to think “I’ve done this once, I can do it again” or “I’m just a loser, I give up on this repentance thing”.

Fifth, He asks us to believe and have faith. 

When we think of believing or having faith, the first thing that may cross our minds is believing in God, or believing in a miracle, or in the prophets. Those are definitely important things to believe in, but we overlook our belief in ourselves. If we refuse to believe in ourselves, we are denying our divine nature and potential. Faith, according to the Bible Dictionary, is “to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true (…) To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone.”

We need to have faith in ourselves, or it would be impossible for us to progress into our potential and exaltation. Though we may not see our potential right now, God sees it, and we must believe in and hope for it. Re-read the BD's definition of it: "to hope for things which are not seen but which are true". Have you ever wondered why faith is the first principle of the gospel? If we don’t have faith in the Saviour, we can’t truly repent, and if we can’t truly repent, we can’t be baptized, and if we’re not baptized we don’t have the Holy Ghost. The same way with our divine potential; if we don’t have faith in ourselves, we can’t progress. Only God sees our potential, but we don’t. Part of having faith is to hope for that, though we don’t see it.

So what are some things we can do to improve our self-esteem and believe in ourselves? Honestly, I wish I could tell you, but this post is getting really long so I will save it for the next post. In the meantime, I would encourage you to think about that to yourselves (and send me suggestions if you’d like them to go here).

Those of you who have overcome past feelings of inadequacy: how did you do it? Did you simply suck it up and got over it, or did you take certain steps to do so?

Love Me, Firework

My lovely and faithful readers,

I'm gonna start this off by getting you to listen to this song and to pay close attention to the lyrics:

Unless you skipped the video, at this point you can guess what I am about to talk about: self-love. Self-love is a concept that most of us may be familiar with but often take for granted with regard to its importance. In the scriptures we are taught to be humble, selfless, submissive, meek, fearing of God, secretive about our good works, and non-judgmental. Some of us apply these things to such an extreme that we lose respect for ourselves, and we eventually forget to love ourselves.

One evening I was meeting with the employment specialist and we were working on my resume. Because it was skills-based, my job was to list all my qualifications as an HR person. That was a challenging assignment, and I told him straight-up how I felt about myself and expressed my thoughts. After telling me he wanted to spray water on me like he does to his cat, he proceeded to say many inspired things and I could tell he was moved by the spirit as he did so. I really felt the spirit and came to the conclusion that there was so much more to me than I knew.

He challenged me to come up with a list of qualities I had that made be eligible to land an HR position. I did as he asked. As I did so, I just felt so much genuine, Christlike love for myself. The minute I decided to stop focusing on the mistakes I’ve made, my bad habits, my failures, and my weaknesses, and allowed myself to remember the good things I’ve done, the moments where I chose righteousness over temporal pleasure, the moments I served others and made someone feel special, or the moments I blew peoples’ minds, I was able to see my qualities.

It's okay to love yourself. Scratch that -- it's ESSENTIAL that we love ourselves. Yet, some of us don't. Why? I've come up with 3 reasons:

1. Some of us try so hard to please others, we forget about ourselves to the point where we let them walk all over us.
   
   Yes, we should be selfless and put others' needs above our own. But too much of a good thing can lead to the neglect of other good things. In other words, if it gets to the point where "serving" others requires giving up important things like your values, those people you're trying to please are not worth your efforts -- not even your Mr. or Mrs. Right. Why? He/she would never require that from you, because they will not only love you and accept you for who you are, but they will also expect you to love yourself. The thought of you not loving yourself would be incomprehensible to them.
   
   My healthiest, longest friendships were ones where those friends not only made me feel good about myself, but also encouraged me to do so. Not loving myself is unacceptable to those friends. Think of a friend, a sibling, or anyone else who you love. When you truly love that person, you can't help but admire their qualities and will do anything to make them see those qualities and encourage them to continue to develop more of them.
   
   So, don't be afraid to cut off those people who make you feel less about yourself, and surround yourself with people who truly love you and want you to feel the same about yourself. Why? Because, you are amazing. You're a child of God who has placed in you divine qualities you have yet to discover. And if a person can't see your potential or your qualities, they're not worth your time and you are better off without them.
   
   
   
    
2. Some of us let the cruel things people do or say to us define the way we feel about ourselves. 
   
   This is a very common mistake (emphasis on mistake). Never let the way people treat you define the way you feel about yourself. You need to love yourself enough so that when people mistreat you, it can't hurt you. Never give these people that power or privilege, because they obviously don't deserve it. Sure, it sucks when people go around talking trash about you and people believe and side with them. I've been there. But trust me: see that as an opportunity to realize who your true friends are.
   
   Develop emotional independence. Or in other words, never give someone the remote control to your emotions. Be so emotionally independent that when someone says cruel things to you, betrays you, and causes some other form of harm to you, you won't let it get to you. Is that possible? Yes. Because when you love yourself, you know the difference between being a low person and a genuine person. And you know that it takes a low person to go out of their way to put others down.
   
   When you love yourself, you won't feel the need to get even, or even demand that respect out of them. You may argue that you should stand up for yourself, but I have learned that, not spending a second of your time or energy on low people, is the best form of standing up for yourself. It shows that it doesn't get to you and that they're so low, they're not worth getting back at. When you love yourself, you don't get upset; rather, you'll be genuinely kind and pray for them in return. (Hence turning the other cheek). When you love yourself, things like that don't hurt you because you know none of it is true.
   
   
   
   
   We make the mistake of wanting to prove to others that those negative things they may think about us aren't true. But you know what I learned? If you believe in something and know it to be true with all your heart, it really doesn't matter what others think on that regard. You won't feel like you need to defend it or prove it because if it is true, people will eventually see that. And if they don't, obviously they catch on slow, and if you're like me who doesn't have patience with stupid people, we can both agree they are not worth your time. Jesus himself wasn't all upset that people thought He had a devil in Him; He was upset that people didn't follow Him because He knew there'd be spiritual consequences for that, but He didn't run around begging people to listen to His side of the story or any of that crap we do.
   
   
3. Similar to the second reason, some of us lack faith for whatever reason and as a result refuse to love ourselves.
   
   All of us go through trials. They suck. I am NOT and will probably never be one of those people who thank God for trials, because I'm not grateful for them. However, I am grateful for His help and His love through it all, and for what I could learn from them. I look back on some trials I went through and still don't understand why I was given them or what I could learn from them. But, some of them are there just to teach you how patient you can be, or how kind and forgiving you are capable of being, or how faithful to God you are. That is the point I am trying to make: if you are given a trial, don't lose faith and instead, see this as an opportunity to see yourself the way God sees you.
   
   When we lose faith, we don't understand how much God loves us. When we understand how much God loves us, we can't help but love ourselves. Ever had that experience where we feel God's love for someone so strongly that we can't help but love that person ourselves? (Yeah, so when you're struggling to get along with someone, ask God to help you feel His love for them and that should do the trick.) So, why can't we have that experience for us? Why can't we, when feeling God's love for us, feel that way about ourselves too?
   
   Faith is a principle of action. When you have faith in yourself, you do the things you're supposed to do to get to your divine potential. If you love and believe in yourself, you see the end-goal and you endure. You do what you can to reach that goal and nothing can stop you.

Ever wondered what makes a BA a BA? It's their confidence and self-respect. Ever noticed in scenes where the villain tries to insult or hurt the BA, the BA confidently makes a witty sarcastic remark or just walks away? Notice their indifferent expressions? Be that BA.

Story time:

"There was once a bunch of tiny frogs, who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants.

The race began…

No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. They shouted, “Oh, way too difficult!!! They will NEVER make it to the top” and “Not a chance. The tower is too high”.

The tiny frogs began collapsing, one by one except for those who, in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher….

The crowd continued to yell, “It’s too difficult! No one will make it!”

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up… But one continued higher and higher. This one wouldn’t give up! And he reached the top.

Everyone wanted to know how this one frog managed such a great feat.

His secret? This little frog was deaf!!

The wisdom of this story is:

Ignore the pessimism of others. It can take your dreams from you. Stay positive."

All of us have different qualities, attributes, and talents. But moreover, all of us have that je ne sais quoi. Each and every one of us have that special and unique something about us that set us apart from everyone. It's a matter of discovering it.

One more Katy song to whose lyrics I will request your attention:

Be you. Love that person you truly are, and many positive results will come from it. Because honestly, when we are being hard on ourselves, we are disobeying the Lord. True story! How? I've come up with five ways:

Stay tuned for next week's post and you'll know...

The Little Things

Hey kids!

I haven't written a nice long post in forever... I was in Utah for almost two weeks and didn't really have time to be inspired. Before that I was busy with finals, so you can guess where inspiration went. I have a friend who's a writer himself and said he can write even when he's not inspired (I need to learn that)! I love writing so much.. I just lack the creativity and the 'sudden rush of a million thoughts' moment sometimes. Luckily, however, I've got a bunch of posts on inventory here that were waiting to be finished up. I picked this one: my bucket list! :) I started writing it right after my 22nd birthday!

I love travelling, so that's my first category. As an ADHD, I get bored really easily. I just want to go out and explore what's out there. I don't wanna be one of those narrow-minded people who stay in their countries for the rest of their lives because they lacked that curiosity. Man, human beings like me are part of completely different cultures than mine. It's so fascinating and I just want to keep learning and exploring. I'm super open to learning new cultures, trying new foods, and going to different places. The following are some places I'd like to go, but there's tonnes more that I would love to explore.

1. Greece: Don't judge me, but Mamma Mia was what sparked my interest. Their crystal blue waters, history, landscapes, and architecture are all so unique it's fascinating. I want to see it with my own eyes.
2. Paris: I've been there a couple times as a kid living in Switzerland, and I remember it. However, I didn't appreciate it. There's so much sight-seeing to do there that I used to find super tiring and boring as a kid. You could be in Paris for 3 months and that probably still wouldn't be enough time to see everything Paris has to show you!
3. Rome: A lot of our culture and education (in my case, language as well) is influenced by the Romans. Why not explore my roots?
4. Egypt: The Ancient Egyptians are probably the most fascinating topic I studied in high school. I'd love to see a mummy, pyramids, and learn more about their history by visiting. 
5. African safari: I love animals, wildlife, and hot weather. 
6. Hawaii: I've been to Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, and tonnes of Brazilian beaches. I love beaches and tropical places. Hawaii seems like a neat place to go. Why not?
7. Tokyo: I'm half-Japanese and it's a shame that I don't know my ancestors' culture as well as I should. My baby cousin is currently serving his mission in Tokyo actually, and I get super fascinated with all the pictures my aunt posts on Facebook. Gotta see it!
8. Go on a cruise: I've never been in one, and my parents say it's awesome. My sister went on one for her honeymoon and she really liked it too. I guess it's for the sake of trying it that I'd like to go on one.
9. Fly in a private airplane: I love flying! It'd be a fun adventure.
10. Swim in the dead sea: It floats people. And I'm a terrible swimmer. So it's a win-win!

I also love animals. I love them because they're innocent, most of them are cute, and it's interesting to see their different methods of survival from ours. And heck; they're God's creations! I want to appreciate some of the things He's made.

1. Pet a wild feline: Felines are the superior animals (on land) in my opinion. If you were to compare a cat to a dog, you'll see cats' bodies are way better designed for survival than dogs. The only advantage dogs have to cats are their mouths. But other than that, cats have good balance, speed, reflexes, perception, claws, and looks. They're also not noisy, stinky, clingy or slobbery like dogs. I love kitties! I love lions and tigers and I'd just love to cuddle with one or both of them someday. There's something about cuddling with a cute animal that puts me in a good mood. I hate dogs with passion though. There's some dogs who are smart and clean though so there's exceptions. But yes, I'd love to cuddle with a wild feline. They're just so graceful and yet strong and powerful at the same time.
2. Swim with dolphins: Dolphins are smart and cute. It looks like so much fun!
3. Go horse-back riding: I've done it, and it was uncomfortable. But I wanna do it again!
4. Ride an elephant: I can see myself panicking with the height and all that, but it's a fun thing to try at least once in your life.
5. Ride a camel: When I was 6 years old my family went on a trip to Morocco and I had the chance to ride a camel with my dad, but I chickened out and regret it to this day. Also, camels are cute!
6. Milk a cow: I'm random.

There's also a couple fun random stuff I'd like to do some time for entertainment purposes

1. Go in a hamster ball in the water
2. Go camping

So, I still had a list of skills and accomplishments on my bucket list. But this post is already super long, so stay tuned! What's on your bucket list? What are some things you'd like to try? It's important to set some random little fun items on your bucket list because life isn't just about the big things you accomplish. Those little things in life, like holding a baby, making friends, cuddling with a kitten, kicking a dog in the face, making a stranger on the street smile.. those little things put together are what bring happiness.

To deepen my explanation, I'll give you an example. A little boy is trying to raise money for a bike which costs $100. He starts off by starting a lemonade stand where he makes $30 before realizing he wouldn't make any more money than that as the fall season was approaching. He was happy, however, with each new customer and each extra cash added to his piggy bank. Then he learns to knit scarves and starts selling those. He makes another $50. Every scarf he sold made him feel super accomplished and happy. Then he washes his neighbors' cars and makes $30. Every neighbor that agreed to a car wash made him so happy! Notice how in this example he had numerous little instances of joy that together accumulated into his ability to afford a bike and pay tithing. Suppose he had sold his old video game for $100. It was just one joyful event. Sure, it got him $100. But he definitely would've appreciated his new bike a lot more with the first scenario than the second.

This is the same with life. Sometimes we're so focused on the big things (like getting a college degree, grad school, job, marriage, family, church callings, prizes, etc.) that we forget the little things in life. The strengthened faith and inspiration that comes from reading a chapter of the Book of Mormon, the warm fuzzy feelings after making someone's day a lot better and lifting their burdens, the joy of hugging a nephew or niece and hearing them tell you they love you, kissing your mom on the cheek, eating a cupcake, taking a walk in a colourful garden on a sunny day, listening to our favourite song, taking a nap, or feeling beautiful after getting your hair done. Those little things put together are what make us happy. This is why they say that accomplishing great things after a lot of hard work is far more rewarding than accomplishing great things after someone simply handed them to you -- because of the little things they had to do all piled up to get there.

That quote by President Uchtdorf was from his "Forget me not" talk in October 2011 at the Relief Society meeting. I would definitely recommend reading it, because it was really inspiring and I felt the spirit as I read it which can only mean that the words he said were true! Yup, I know everything He said are exactly what God or Jesus would say if they were here. He's an apostle called by God to say these words which I know to be true. So read, read, read!

Stereotypically Effed.

My dear followers,

It is I again. This time, you will not see me whining about things people repeatedly say or ask. However, I will whine about something in our society. I came across an article recently where they talk about a radical feminist, Jessica Valenti, who beaks former Governor Sarah Palin saying she cannot be a feminist because she is a conservative, a wife, and a mother. Some of you may be thinking, "aren't feminists supposed to be liberals though? Feminists don't usually get married." or whatever other thoughts may be running through your mind that would lead you to agree with this Jessica chick.

In high school and until the beginning of my university years, I hated feminists. When I thought of a feminist, the thought that came to my mind was a bitter divorcée, old maid, or lesbian who hated men, and blamed society's values for that. That may be applicable to some modern feminists out there. But I've come to realize that that is not what defines feminism. When I was in high school I was talking to one of my teachers about feminism, and said, "Urgh, I hate feminists. They're just a bunch of angry women who want to rule the world."
This teacher, in response to the comment I made, said, "Jesus Christ was a feminist if you think about it. He forgave the adulterous woman, taught men not to lust on other women, and treated women with respect." Her response was what marked the beginning of my quest to redefine feminism.

Originally, the objective of feminism was to grant women equal rights that men had. In the USA women weren't allowed to vote until 1893 (and that was just for the state of Colorado), until 1963 women made $0.75 for every dollar an equally qualified man made in the same job, women didn't start serving in the jury until 1870, and the first birth control clinic wasn't open until 1916. (Information Please Database, 2007). So yes, in a political and economic sense, women have been historically oppressed, especially when compared to men. So there is logical reason to place more emphasis on women and building them up politically and economically when pursuing gender equality.

But here's the problem: with time, women took this to the extreme. They, through their attitudes and coherence in lifestyle and values, took it to the point where they allowed society to redefine feminism. People don't see feminism as granting women the same rights that men have; it's about making women identical to men, it's about undermining men, it's about holding irrelevant liberal views. If I were to tell someone I'm a feminist, they don't see me as someone who simply believes in gender equality; they see me as one of the crazy women from Salt Lake City protesting to have the priesthood.

Thus, my objective for this post is to list out the common stereotypes for feminists and discuss why feminism has no causation for holding the views and values that feminists stereotypically are expected to hold.

Stereotype #1: Man-haters

On one occasion, I was hanging out with a couple guyfriends and they were checking out girls and commenting on their looks. I turn to them and say, "Why do you men objectify women this way? They're human beings composed of more than just boobs and a butt."
One of them said, "Kim, are you a feminist?"
I said, "Depending on what you define as a feminist, yes."
He said, "Ah, so you're a man-hater."

I don't hate men. My close friends can stand by me on that. Yes, they have their stereotypical weaknesses (though, not all of them have them) -- like promiscuity, indifference, superficiality, impulsiveness, etc. But they also have their strengths; think of the industrial revolution, for example. It occurred before women were granted the rights that they have today (1700's-1800's), thus making it clear that, thanks to the men, we have machines that facilitate our work and increase efficiency (though leading to structural unemployment, which is another issue). Yes, one can argue that had women been given the same rights, opportunities, and privileges that men were given back in the day, we could have still had those things, if not better. But, we didn't. And what a great thing that men were able to use their time in the spotlight wisely!

The point I am trying to make here is, to be a feminist doesn't mean you need to resent or undermine men. Yes, it is exciting to see women succeed and shine, but men don't need to be put down in order for women to achieve that spotlight. If women are as awesome as they have been proving to be these past decades, there is no necessity to label men as pigs, stupid, incompetent, perverted, etc.

Stereotype #2: Pro-choice

I guess you can argue that abortion has to do with feminism in that a woman has the right to choose not to carry an unwanted child for 9 months she can't afford to sustain. But when I think of feminism, I think: "Society and government have some things to correct so that women can be given the same rights and opportunities as men do." In this case, the fact that women have to carry a child for 9 months followed by a painful delivery as a result of unprotected sex, while men can just walk away from the situation, isn't the government or society's fault (unless it's rape); it's nature's fault.

The same way the sky is blue, female bodies are naturally designed for a more demanding procreation role than men's bodies. Yes, it's unfair -- but there's not much you can do about it (other than abstaining and/or using protection). Getting an abortion will not equalize your rights to those of men. When I think of rights, I think of voting, working, voicing your opinions, or contributing to society in some way -- not of seeing your unborn child as a parasite that needs to be removed. In fact, I think the only party whose rights are being played with are the child's which is to live (not the mother's or the father's).

Stereotype #3: Single parents

Here's another liberal view that stereotypical feminists hold: family. They would argue that women shouldn't need a husband in order to have children; she should have the right to have and raise children without being married (though sperm donor, adoption, etc.). Motherhood is definitely a great thing and you could even argue that those women have better hearts than married couples who purposely plan not to have children. One can also argue that waiting to be married to start a family is a form of depriving a woman of her right to raise a child.

But how is choosing to provide a complete family for my children keeping me from my rights? I don't see choosing to deprive my child of a father as a right. In fact, I think when you wait until you're married to start a family, you're granting your child the right to be raised in a complete, two-parent home. So, in other words, it's not about you -- it's about your kid and choosing what's best for him/her, and that's what motherhood is about. So if a mother chooses to raise her kid in a two-parent home, she's not being an anti-feminist; she's just choosing what she believes to be the best nurturing environment for her child. Isn't feminism about granting women that right to choose?

Stereotype #4: Keeping their last name

Last names are another one too. I love my last name Mottola. If I never get married, I'll be happy keeping my last name. It's cool. But if I do get married, I think it's traditional and fun to take your husband's last name! How is that depriving myself of any of my rights if I chose to take my husband's last name? You could argue that if your husband had an ugly last name or for whatever other reason you didn't want to take his last name, and you weren't allowed to keep your own, then that's being deprived of a right. Sure, that's fair. Just don't label married women who choose to take their husband's last name as anti-feminists. That's just silly.

Stereotype #5: Career-oriented

I read an article the other day about a conservative woman (Phyllis Schlafly, founder of pro-family organization Eagle Forum) who said that women paid the same as men won't find husbands. Obviously this is an extreme way to look at it, and yes I would agree that that's an anti-feminist comment. So in this sense, yes, I would agree that women should never shrink themselves just so they can find a husband.

On the other hand, if a woman chooses to sacrifice her career to be a full-time mom and wife, she's not being an anti-feminist. That was her decision. Unless of course she was trying to get other women to do the same. Like the argument I used for abortion and for single parents, she's putting her children's needs first, and that's her right. A woman can believe in gender equality and fight for female rights without paying a nanny to raise her kids for her.

Stereotype #6: Rape is only the guy's fault

I totally agree that rape happens because the rapist chose to rape and that no one should ever blame the victim for getting raped. But, for safety's sake, girls should avoid walking by themselves at night in skimpy clothing. It would be easy to argue that this kind of a mentality is a deprivation of a woman's right to wear whatever she wants. But would you ever wear nice clothes and expensive jewellery when walking alone down a dangerous neighbourhood at night? Of course not! For your safety's sake, you wouldn't wear that. Are you gonna be an expensive clothes activist because of it? No, because that's dumb. For the same reason, it is safer to keep yourself from a situation where you could more likely be raped.

Stereotype #7: Chivalry is dead

How many times have I heard boys say they were hesitant to open the door for girls because the last time they did, the girls reacted negatively? Seriously, how is letting a dude be nice to you undermining your rights as a woman? As my friend so wisely put it, "Girls who don't like chivalry are stupid". Dang, right! If you really feel inferior every time someone opens the door, helps carry your books, pushes your chair to the table, or lets you in first, instead of feeling respected (which is the original purpose of chivalry), it's your self-esteem that needs some working on. It's one thing to not expect boys to be chivalrous, but it's another thing to not allow them to be chivalrous.

The moral here is that the concept of feminism is not and shouldn't be correlated with liberal values, or modern feminist lifestyles or views. The same way conservative people shouldn't beak the Clinton chick for being pregnant and actually keeping her baby (though some of the tweets were hilarious), liberal people shouldn't beak Sarah Palin for being called a feminist. A conservative woman like Sarah Palin can be a feminist. And I'll even be bold enough to say that a radical conservative Phyllis Schlafly can be considered a feminist because she believes in women's basic rights (freedom of speech being one of them, evidenced by the books she published and her talks and interviews). Obviously she has very extreme anti-feminist views that I personally don't agree with, but you don't see her protesting against a woman's right to vote, to be educated, or to work. I think the problem here is people have taken certain concepts to such an extreme that society has redefined them to the point where those concepts which originally had progressive approaches have developed negative connotations. Some have responded to this by coming up with new terms to replace those original concepts, or, which is what I'm trying to do, redefine those concepts by what they originally meant through research and study.

All Day I Sit Here Waiting

Hey people!! Right now I am at school waiting until 6pm, because I finished my exam early and I'm not allowed to leave the room til then. Pretty sure I'm about two weeks late in blogging... On my defense, I've been busy with exams, a trillion doctors appointments (I found out I'm allergic to dust mites! It's probably the most annoying allergy to take care of), and career development/job hunting. Things are going well though. Anyways, I've got this habit where I get inspired and start free writing like crazy but then something comes up (usually laziness) and I stop and don't continue for weeks. And I only post posts if I'm feeling it! I need to learn to write even when I'm not inspired though. The following post is about three wells old:

So, I'm studying for my accounting exam and I just can't get myself to focus. First, because I don't like accounting and I don't get it so I get frustrated at the additional amount of time and energy I have to put into my studying in order to first get it, practice it, and let it sink into my bran so that I'm prepared. This frustration just makes me want to do other things. Secondly, I have tons on my mind right now. How am I supposed to focus if I have something on my mind that's super distracting? Third, I'm just lazy. URGH! Help. Yes, I have ADHD (diagnosed when I was 14) and yes I took Ritalin today.

I came up with a list of things I do when I'm procrastinating, because I'm procrastinating right now and because if I ever get bored and wanna figure out something to do to fill my time, I can just come back to this list.

1. Painting your nails: Let's face it. When you're not in the mood to study for accounting, that's when you notice just how chipped up your nail polish is and you realize it's been over two weeks since you last painted your nails. You think: what's trendy? What looks good on my skin colour? What am I wearing this week? What colour will look good with my outfit for church? Once you have all those questions answered, you start painting. Oh, I gotta let it dry now. Woops, has it been an hour? Shiz.
2. Planning your church outfit: I look at my closet and think "hey, that's a cute dress. When was the last time I wore this? Last summer? Does it still fit? I should try it on. Oh, it fits! What can I pair this up with? Should I curl or straighten my hair? Boots, flats, or heels? How should I do my makeup?" Two hours later I punish myself.
3. Running errands: Is it weird that running errands is one of my favourite hobbies? As a kid a hated it when my mom would be late picking me up from school because she was running an errand and/or would stop to run an errand on the way home after picking me up. But, I inherited that from her. I love running errands! I just hate waiting for people to run their errands. It's annoying. I feel productive running errands.
4. Writing your diary: I rarely write in my diary. I have to be going through something where I can't talk to people about it. But, when I need an excuse not to do something, I'll write in my diary. I'll usually resort to other things first though. I like reading my diary! It's fun to remember stuff I've done in my life and hardships I've overcome.
5. Trying new hobbies: Hey, it's a good thing to do! The other day I went rock climbing and that was fun. I wanna do it again sometime but, I keep procrastinating... or uh... I've been busy studying for my exams... Seriously though, it's nice to try new things.
6. Tweezing your eyebrows: I feel an urge to pee when I'm studying. I wash my hands after I'm done, and look in the mirror and notice how bushy and not-shaped my eyebrows are. I pull out the x15 mirror and notice a lot of excess hair... I tweeze them out. Oh, wait... I should probably trim them to line it up. Let me pull out my pencil to fill them in now. Holy cow, do my brows look good! Let me check them out in the mirror for another 30 seconds... or two minutes... crap, I've been doing my eyebrows for 30 minutes now. At least they look good!
7. Cleaning: I can't focus because my granola bar wrapper is on my desk. I should throw it out. Man, look at all these clothes laying on the ground. I should put them away. Maybe my living room is messy. I have so much crap on the coffee table! Let me throw it out. I'm gonna fold the blanket now. I should clean my bathroom too. Oh, the kitchen must be messy. Let me take the trash out too. Has it been two hours? Ah, I deserve to lie down cuz I'm tired from all the house work.
8. Showering: My exam is in 3 days but I think I smell bad. Or I'm just making that up. Hmm.. my hair feels greasy. I should shower because I can focus better when I feel clean. Wow, hot showers are so nice. I'm just gonna stand here and relax a little longer. I'm too cold to get out. I'm too wet to put my clothes on. My hair's too wet, I should blow-dry it. I'm sleepy... I'll just wake up earlier tomorrow.
9. Straightening/curling your hair: Yes, I'm half-Asian. But my natural hair texture is a wavyish straight. Especially now that it's shorter and more layered, I look like a cocker spaniel. Some girls have cute curls.. my hair's just thick and volumous and dry and weird. I'll post a picture of it so you have have a better idea. Anyways, I can't focus if my hair looks gross. So I need to straighten or curl it. Which one should I do? After 10 minutes thinking of what I should do, and finally do it, I take another 10 just to pride myself in how awesome my hair looks.
10. Blogging: If I am not in the mood to study, I will zone out into lala land. After about an hour of zoning out and daydreaming, a thought comes to my mind. "Wow, that's a really good thought. I should write about it in my blog when I'm done with finals. I'll just write it down now so I won't forget. Oh, another thought that builds to this argument came up; I should write that down as well. Ah, screw this studying thing... I'm inspired, and inspiration doesn't come too often." And blogging away I go.
11. Applying for jobs: I still don't have a job, I should apply. Oh, this position looks cool. It needs a cover letter. Let me write a cover letter. Okay, done. One job isn't enough to apply for. I'll apply for more. Twenty applications later: Shoot, I should study.
12. Cooking or Baking: I'm craving for [food]. I'm a poor student, so I should just make them myself since I have the ingredients anyway. (Make food). I should clean up after myself before my roommates get home. I should load the dishwasher. I should start the dishwasher.
13. Eating: I don't feel like studying... what's a good excuse? I'm hungry! I need to eat or else I will die. What should I eat? (Look at Pinterest, go out to eat, cook, or invite myself to a friend's house for dinner)
14. Working out: I feel chubby... when was the last time I got on the elliptical? Two weeks?! Okay, I'm going to the gym! [After an hour of cardio] Man, my arms could use some weights since I'm already here. Might as well do 100 sit-ups too! And squats. Ew, I need a shower. Oh crap, I've been here for almost two hours! Whatever, at least I look hot.
15. Pinterest: I'll study after I scroll through my newsfeed on Pinterest for 5 minutes. 4 hours later: 100 new pins, 4 new boards, 0 studying done.
16. Watching One Tree Hill: I'm going through a sticky situation in my life. Hey, didn't Brooke Davis go through a similar problem? How did she handle that? I should watch that scene on YouTube. [Watch it] Dang, that's a perfect way to handle it. Oh, I wanna watch this related video because I liked that scene even though it has no relevance to my life. I'll watch this scene too. Oooh, I like Haley's makeup in that scene, let me watch that scene. I feel like I should just watch the entire episode. Ah, what happened after that? I can't remember. I'll watch the next episode too. Might as well watch the rest of the season.
17. Writing the missionaries: I miss Charlene, I wonder how she's doing. I should email her. [After an hour of writing a super long email] Hey, I miss Kaylia just as much. It wouldn't be fair to her if I didn't write her too. [Another hour] Who else is on the mission? I should write Preston too. And these 5 million other people. Wow, I didn't get any studying done. But God will bless me because I wrote missionaries!
18. Laundry: I should really study but man, my laundry basket is pretty full. I'm running out of underwear and socks too! Also, I need a white T-shirt. Okay, I'll do laundry. [After an hour or 2 of doing both loads and putting them in the dryer] Wow, they're so warm, and clean, and soft, and dry! I'll put them away now. [an hour later] Shoot! I need to catch up on studying.
19. Calling my family: I can't focus, so I'll blame it on being homesick instead of just admitting that I'm lazy. Okay, I'm homesick! I should probably call my parents or else I'll be depressed. [Talk on the phone for 2 hours] Hmmm.. I wonder what my sister and my brother-in-law are up to!
20. Playing the piano: I love playing the piano. It's one of the things that helps me if I'm ever sad or stressed. It's fun to work your fingers around and have something beautiful come out of it. My left hand is pretty rusty, particularly when it comes to the bass clef. I'm really good with chords though, so usually when I have sheet music I look at the notes and figure out what chords fit better. Before I know it, I've been doing it for three hours!
21. Hanging out with my random friends: "Man, I really don't feel like studying... I wonder what this person is doing" [call person] "Oh, you're not busy now? Sure, Scandia sounds like fun. I do need to study first though. Actually, I'm all done studying. I need a break because I've studied all day! Okay, I'll see you in a bit."
22. Facebook: I'm bored, I wonder if anyone wrote me or commented on my shiz on Facebook. Nope, just random likes. Dang it, I'm bored... I'm gonna scroll through my newsfeed and see what's going on in peoples' lives. So and so is engaged? Cool, let me like it and comment and congratulate them. I wonder if the bride or the groom have good-looking relatives for me to meet at their reception. Facebook creeping mode on. Nope, nothing. Oh, so and so is also engaged! Sweet! She got her mission call? I didn't know she was going on a mission. Look at all these cool articles on global news! Three hours later: informed on peoples' personal lives and on current events, but no accounting sunk into my brain.
23. Watching YouTube videos: I think it's pretty self-explanatory...

Well, I hope you all enjoyed my how to procrastinate tips! Gosh, I'm bored from being here. I wish I brought my laptop because I hate browsing the internet on mobile devices.