Armapathy - v. Bringing your arm down after holding it up for 30+ seconds because the teacher failed to notice you somehow, and because the blood flow had stopped reaching your fingers.
Chirl - n. A chair that is highly uncomfortable and distracting to sit on because the fourth leg doesn't reach the floor.
Clutzor - n. A nickname for a person who constantly trips over their own feet.
Illuminoff - n. The burt-out lightbulb that nobody ever replaces because it's in the highest, most awkwardly positioned location.
Lawnominus - v. The act of ripping out handfuls of grass and placing it on the leg of the person sitting next to you.
Returnigination - v. The act of sifting through the fridge, closing it, and coming back after looking through the pantry in hopes that something new has materialized.
Telaudible - v. The act of yelling at sports referees through the television.
Teledetermination - v. The act of pressing the buttons on the remote significantly harder the second time, because they didn't work the first time.
Toitzheimers - n. The condition of flushing the toilet twice because you forgot you had flushed it the first time.
Wordeyed - adv. Describing the act of staring at a word for so long you begin to wonder if you spelled it correctly, and if you had always spelled it that way.
I need to write on my blog again. Like, make an actual post! The problem is, I don't have one specific thing I want to write about. So if my thoughts are everywhere, forgive me. Because I'm most likely just going to write what comes to my mind. So here goes...
Remember when we were children? When we ran around on those summer days with no cares in the world. Getting tired one moment, lying in the grass, feeling the soft breeze on our perfect faces. We would sit up, look around, and giggle as we took off once more, thinking that we had tricked our parents yet again. But they knew. They knew because they had been in our spot before. They knew because we were their children. They knew because we were children.
Aren't we still children? Do we really know what cares there actually are in the world? We pretend we do. We pretend like our math load is too much to handle. We pretend that we are too busy with some things to do other things. But the reality is, we aren't. I've lost count of how many times I've psyched myself out with my homework load, thinking that I will have no time for anything else. The outcome is always the same, though. I have free time.
But when you look at adults, do they get the free time we do? I don't know about you, but it seems like my dad never has any free time. And that's when I have to reflect back on my own life. Reflect back on what really matters at this point in my life. Is it school? Is it my social life? (Psych! Hahahaha. What social life.) Is it the extracurricular activities we are involved in? Is it close friends? What is it? Because some things come, and some things go, but only a few things stay. And I think that's what we should focus on.
So what things stay? It's hard to say, seeing as we can't look into our future. Will our best friends stay with us? Will the relationships we have formed at this time in our lives stay? Will the knowledge we "gained" in all of our science classes stay? (Hahahaha, no.) What matters? And what if what we think matters, really doesn't matter? And if what we think doesn't matter, does? What then? Well my friends, that is the point people start to have mental, and sometimes physical, breakdowns.
One thing I am sure of, however, is God's love. And that is one thing that is certain to stay. One of the most profound lyrics in modern music, in my opinion, comes from the song, "Don't You Worry Child." When I first heard it, I was like, "What? There is hope for the world??" The line was this:
Don't you worry child, don't you worry child, see heaven's got a plan for you.
And aren't we still children? Don't we still run around on summer days with no cares in the world? Do we really need to worry about what life will bring? Because as much as we do worry, and as hard as it is to stop, we really have no need to. Because heaven has a plan for us. All we need to do is trust.
Well, I was right! That went everywhere. I also made a new discovery about myself after proof-reading: all of my blog posts seem to end with faith in God, in some way. I don't mean to preach, I just post what I believe. I also think it's kind of significant as well. Don't all of our lives eventually tie back to God in the end? Just a thought.
As many of you have heard, my family was literally a signature away from leaving our lovely Lehi home to move to Chicago, the other windy city. I suppose that now it's all over, I can give a quick synopsis of the details and behind the scenes.
So a few months ago, my father found this company in Chicago while looking for new jobs, like he had been doing for a while. At the same time he was also interviewing with Microsoft in Seattle, which he had high hopes for, but ultimately didn't go anywhere. I knew that he was interviewing with both companies, and I informed him that, if it came to it, I would rather live in Seattle than Chicago. He laughed and reassured me that it was still a ways down the road and I didn't need to worry about it now.
Well the last two weeks have been the most difficult my parents have had to face, because we had reached that way down the road with the Chicago company.
Two weeks ago Monday, my dad was flown out to Chicago by the company he had been interviewing with so that they could get the feel of him in person. Two days later, they extended an offer. At first glance, my dad was ecstatic! He had been searching for a new job for quite some time now, and had finally gotten a great offer from a company he had high hopes for! And to top it off, it was in Chicago!
...Oh wait. Chicago. That's out of state.
Since my dad had come out of college, he had always expected to move out of state and raise a family outside of Utah. Whether because he had grown up in Utah himself, or was just an adventurous guy, I don't know. But coming out of college, he landed an internship in the very city he was now being faced with returning to. So it's not like it would be completely foreign to them. But moving! The costs were just too high to even consider it. So he regretfully informed the company of his dilemma, and prepared to keep searching for new opportunities.
Then the company came back offering an extremely generous relocation package. Oh boy. What to do now? Que the soul searching. Over the period of about the next five days, my parents went back and forth with the decision of moving - some days yes, some days no - but weren't always on the same page. He had to give them their answer by Monday at noon, and tried hard to find an answer by then, but he couldn't get it.
Then Monday came. He went into work that day preparing to inform the company yet again that he would have to decline, but right before noon came, he and my mom had a talk on the phone, during which my mom said, "Go for it." And so with that, his opinion changed and he accepted their offer. Look out Chicago, here we come.
But wait, it doesn't end there. After accepting the offer, my mom was still very apprehensive. She didn't know why, but she just had a terrible feeling about the whole move, and couldn't shake it. So Tuesday became the final emotional drain pipe, and Wednesday morning my dad once more called them back. He informed them of all the goings on, and the tough situation we had been in. He regretfully and very respectfully told them how appreciative he was about their extreme kindness and flexibility, but that uprooting a family was just too much of a strain at this time, and that he had to once again decline.
So imagine our surprise later that day, when we heard that he had gotten another call from them at 5:00.
They still wanted him. He could work remote. And he accepted on the spot.
Well let me tell you, it has been two long weeks for our family, but we are counting our blessings, and are amazed at the incomprehensible miracles we have seen. God loves His children, but sometimes you have to take a step into the darkness before you come into light again. Sometimes a leap of faith is necessary to jump into His loving arms, and to know that everything is alright, and everything will be alright. And He will always guide you.
My life is no different than any of yours. I wake up every morning to go through same routines. I eat the same food as you do, and I associate with many of the same people as well.
We are among the lucky ones of this world for many reasons, though. We have loving families, we have a warm shelter over our heads, and we are receiving an education. This may not seem like much, but if you think of the 1 billion people in China, or the children in the Middle East who are on a war front, or children in Africa who wonder each day if they will find something, anything to eat, then you start to appreciate what you've got a little more.
However, our potential is not limited to our circumstances. Of course, if you have never seen, or even know what a piano or a cello is, you aren't going to be a Mozart at it the moment you pick one up. That's the point of potential. It takes work and practice, and sometimes, the opportunity just never presents itself to start learning an instrument, for example. Potential's definition is: capable, or able of becoming; not: master at being.
Knowing this, we can strive to pursue any path to discover our potential. Sometimes, it's easy for us to see that our potential may not lie down a certain pathway. But sometimes, we can't be the judge for ourselves. For example, when I was still taking piano lessons, I was always asking my mom to let me quit. I would moan and pout and try to practice as little as possible, but my mom saw something I could have never seen as a nine-year old. She saw my potential. She knew that I couldn't just quit because she saw that I excelled in that area. Luckily, I never did quit, and I am so grateful for that, because look what has happened since:
One thing we need to understand about potential, is that it never comes quickly. It doesn't happen overnight, but it happens with years of work and practice. Potential is a goal, not a hole. (Haha I just made that up!) What I mean by that is, you work for goals, and you work to dig holes. But when you look back on your work, goals get you places in life, and holes just get you stuck. Your potential will never get you stuck in life, (unless you use it for illegal practices) but will always help you wherever you go, and even impress people along the way, saying, "Wow! Look at how much effort went into his/her talent."
However, it isn't just about us. We need to look out for those around us as well, because they have potential too. Believe it or not, those African kids I mentioned earlier have potential as well. They may not have your opportunities, or your resources, but they won't have the same potential as you, either. Maybe their potential is to be a leader, and they gain those traits throughout life. Maybe their potential is to look out for others, and they learn to do so by caring for their family and friends. But, like I said, you can't achieve your potential by yourself. Would I have ever come to my skill level in piano had it not been for my mom? No, in fact, I probably would have quit. We need to be that person in someone else's life who can see something in them that they may not be able to see. We need to be that person who says, "Come on, don't give up! Keep pushing through, because when you look back, you will surprise yourself at how far you've come."
On a last note, it's fun to reach for your potential once you've found it! Because along the way, you can show people how far you've come, because talents like yours are not meant to be only for you. Your talents can bless and help and inspire others to find their potential and grow their talents as well.
The goal I have been striving towards since last summer (2012) has finally been met, which was to release an EP on iTunes, and I am very proud of myself! If you haven't seen or heard, it would please me very much if you did. Thank you for reading my blog yet again, and have a wonderful day!
Hey guys :) (I always seem to start these posts with "Hey" or "Hey again" or "Hi." It's too mainstream. AHHHHHH!!!!)
...Anyways. If you have been a reader in the past, (or have gone and looked at my older posts) you may have seen my top ten list on words that I think should be words. Well, I enjoyed that so much that I think I'm going to keep doing that! Also because I have nothing better to post about. So here we go!
Words That Should Be Words
Volume 1
Shenga: (Shen-guh) verb - an alternate form of belly-dancing where one never actually even reveals the belly or any other body parts. The dancing is all done by jello in front of the abdominal area.
Nok: (Nock) noun - a large fish in a rediculously small lake.
Defarndo: (Dee-farn-doh) noun - an old man's name, more commonly found in Italy.
Hujujuju: (Hoo-joo-joo-joo) adjective - pertaining or referring to the mysterious aura surrounding drunk people.
Biguantionimrod: (Big-oo-an-ti-oh-nim-rod) noun - a rare breed of rock-fish that live on land, disguised as rocks. Found: everywhere.
Juhstenbeebrr: (Juh-stin-bee-ber) noun - impossible to define.
Heliobeliomeliocrakakaelio: (He-lee-oh-bee-lee-oh-me-lee-oh-crack-uh-crack-uh-ee-lee-oh) verb - to break every bone in one's, or another's, body by hitting them with an iced over water balloon.
And that does it for volume one's new words! Tune in next time for more words! Thank you, and goodnight.
