Learning to Live

"You go to concerts a lot." I do. I've decided that I need to go more concerts. I'm recovering from a shopping problem- like my credit card is taped to the wall- but I still make the decision to spend money on concert tickets. Why? Because I work hard. And concerts are awesome. I fully believe that I will never regret spending on money on these awesome experiences. I go concerts to enjoy the music of groups and people that I enjoy and I go to concerts with people I enjoy. All in all, it's a pretty great combo. I guess what I'm trying to say is I've decided that it's more important to collect moments instead of things. Sure these concerts might cost money, but there are other things I can focus on rather than things. Collecting things will not get me anywhere in life because no matter what, someone will always have more. Moments are more important. Moments will make me happy, and things will too, but only temporarily. In the mean time, I will co...

As a future English teacher I'm supposed to tell people to read books. It's my job. But we all had those English teachers that made us read books that we hated and that ruined reading for some of us. I hope I'm not that English teacher, but I know it can sometimes be unavoidable. As a reader who just finished my latest book in tears I wish that I could make everyone love and appreciate reading as much as I do. For those of us that read regularly, we understand the connection that we can make with characters. We understand how easy it is to lose ourselves in the text. We can become a part of the story. We can spend hours and hours reading. The English teacher in me wants to argue that reading is important for a lot of reasons; specifically, helping improve information literacy, understanding important elements of literature, developing critical thinking skills, and so many more. Although I agree with all of these reasons, I think there is more. We should read to lose o...

In my eyes, my grandma is the most wonderful human on the planet. Today was her birthday and I am using it as an opportunity to express my love for her.  As you can tell, my grandma is one of my favorite people ever. Not only does she make AMAZING french toast, but she makes it for me every time I come home, and then she just listens to me ramble on and on about my life while I gobble it all up. She has been making this french toast for years and it has never changed, and neither has she. She is the greatest listener of all time and she also offers great advice. However, she gives advice in a way different from most people because she's not telling me how to live my life; she is simply offering suggestions and they are so wise I usually have to take it. I have learned countless life lessons from her and I am so blessed to have had her by my side no matter what I am going through.  Although she gives me great verbal advice, she also sets an example for me by the way she ...

This past week was our Spring Break and I was lucky enough to spend it with a wonderful group of people on a Habitat for Humanity trip to La Porte, TX. This trip was an amazing experience and it taught me some valuable lessons about life. The first thing I learned is what happens to a random collection of people when you throw them together on a bus for 25 hours, make them sleep in the same space, and force them to build a house together. All of these things might sound like they would make a person go crazy, but the reality is that it creates a bond that lasts forever. Our entire group came from different parts of campus and we did not know each other well before the trip, but I can assure you that this group of people now has a secret language that definitely corresponds to late night games of Charades. And I can tell you with certainty that we learned things about each other that we may not have ever cared to learn (IBS). There were also countless hours of laughter, followed by ...

When I told my grandma that my new life motto was "don't think, just do," she got a little upset and reminded me that it's important to think things through. Understandable. Doing things without thinking isn't all that wise. So I guess I need to clarify. When we want to do something in life, it's important that we do it-- without thinking. Sometimes thinking gets in the way of what we truly want because it leads to excuses. I can't do this because of this. That's dumb. I guess what I really meant by not thinking is not overthinking. When you are put in a position to put yourself out there even if it is something you really want, you will find reasons not to do it. It's in our nature to find excuses to not do something. We will always find something to hold us back. And we might end up regretting it in the long run. We NEED TO STOP THAT. We need to understand that it is okay to step out of our comfort zone. We need to understand that this is part ...

I decided to make 2013 a year for bettering myself as a person and as I reflect on the past year, I know I am far from the person I want to be, but I definitely learned some valuable lessons about life. So here they are. 1. Appreciate EVERYTHING. I focused a lot on being thankful this year and with that I learned how important it is to appreciate everything: moments, days, feelings, things, and people. Especially people. And make sure you tell the people you appreciate that you appreciate them. That's something we don't do enough and it's important to do it while we can. Plus, everyone likes to feel appreciated. 2. Be honest with everyone- including yourself. Even though it can be difficult, it's better to be honest than to become trapped in a web of lies. And it's also a good idea to avoid lying to yourself. If you can be honest with yourself you figure things out a lot quicker and it will be easier in the long run. 3. You can't make everyone happy. Th...

Earlier this year I challenged myself to write down 1,000 things I am thankful for: http://erinthompson11.blogspot.com/2013/01/1000-things.html It has truly been a challenge and I'm sure there are a couple repeats on my list, but nevertheless I have found 1,000 things to be thankful for. It may seem like an easy task, but there are times when you feel silly writing down little things. But that's the point. We have so much to be thankful for. My list is filled with people, moments, feelings and things. It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to compile a list of 1,000 things, but we tend to think that we have to come up with really big and important ideas. Although there are big and important things, there are little things that are equally important and it's crucial that we realize how many things we have to be thankful for. It doesn't matter if you are religious or not, the act of being thankful should never be a chore and it is something we should pr...