I have some good news. It looks like this is the last snow storm. It was said to come Saturday. I guess it came early. I'm really ready for spring.
I hate snow. I use to like it. Now I don't. There is so much of it. SNOW! SNOW! Go away. Ashleigh
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I love this quotes because change is always prevalent- no matter who you are, change happens in your life. It's a quote that everyone can relate to in their own way, and I appreciate that. Throughout my life, I have gone through many changes... both physically and emotionally. Through it all, I've tried to adapt as best I can and move forward with my life. But I don't want this post to be about me- instead, I'd like to focus it towards the future.
Advancements are being made everyday in the fields of science and technology- this year we even discovered a new organ in the human body. On a smaller scale, there have been many improvements with VR gaming consoles and even high-tech home systems that can control your home through voice commands. Now, as I get older, I don't want to lose touch with the world. While I certainly don't condone voice-operated homes, I do think that a lot of today's technology is extremely advanced and awesome. I feel as though there is this precursor that older people are inept when it comes to technology... and I think that's a stereotype that has become less of a stereotype and more of a reality as the years have pressed on. However, I think this is a reality that should (and will be) broken by the generation that is growing up currently. So many older people just accept that they're not meant to know something just because it doesn't come from their time period, and they don't want to "try too hard"... but I disagree. Technology shouldn't have an age. Technology is just the next step to improvement! I don't think anyone should ever feel ashamed to learn to better use it... and furthermore, I don't think anyone should just give up on it without giving it a chance. As I get older (and I mean in the long run), I never want to lose touch with the world. Yes, I may lose some of my physical attributes... but I want to keep my mind as young (and sharp) as I can. I want to know what I'm doing in the world I live in. I don't want to ever say "I give up" without even trying... and I never want to refuse to learn because I think I'm too old to. To get back to the quote that started this post... the successful species is the one that learns to adapt. This is how progression has led us this far. People adapt to the world around them as it changes, and come out better for it. Don't give up. Don't stop adapting. - Maddie I've tried coming back to this post a few times now. I have a quote I want to write about, but every time I try to go back to the post to write about it... I lose my thoughts. I get distracted by the smallest things- the wind blowing, a noise downstairs, a conversation going on a room over from me... it's awful. Every time I try to focus on this one quote, I lose my thoughts and I can't pull myself together enough to actually write about it. Maybe it's a sign- maybe I should just let it go, and leave the quote for another day. Maybe I should just leave it for my dad to write about.
Do you ever get that feeling? When you go to do something, and every time you try you get side-tracked so you start believing that maybe you just aren't meant to do that specific thing? I trust my gut instinct a lot in life, and I've come to find out that life will often shove you on the right path of things. It's your choice or not to follow that path- and if you're lucky, life will consistently remind you why you SHOULDN'T do that specific thing (for whatever reason) by sidetracking you from it over and over again. Mind you, I'm not saying that distractions are an excuse for things that NEED to be done... but I do think that they can be convenient. For example, there was once a time where I saw a truck fishtail off the road and almost hit the truck in front of us. That morning, my family had been on our way to church and one of us had been running slightly late for whatever reason... and while it caused brief turmoil in the car, it also prevented us from being slightly ahead of schedule- and right where the accident would've been. I call situations like this "stoplight situations"- and the reason for this is because when I was younger, I always used to overthink EVERYTHING- even if it was really stupid in retrospect. In any case, I always used to look at stoplights and count how many we could get through right as they changed, or while they were green. I always used to think that if the light wasn't green when we passed through it, then we were behind or ahead of our schedule because the light was supposed to be green when we went through it, if that makes any sort of sense. So in a way, our distractions can put us behind schedule... but in away that benefits us and puts us ahead of our scheduled death on any given day. I don't know. I just wanted to get my thoughts out a bit in this post. I hope you enjoyed. - Maddie I like pink. I don't know why though. I know why dad likes green. Because that is the color of his eyes. My eyes are not pink.They are blue.
Maddie's favorite color is black. Neema's is lilac. Because that is the color of her room. My room was lilac once. Then it became pink. Ashleigh Today I read a new book called ''Clementine.''One day a girl named Clementine went to school with her friend Margaret. Margaret had to go to the bathroom. After a long wait Clementine went to the bathroom and saw Margaret with art scissors and no hair. When the art teacher came in Clementine got in trouble.
When she was in the Principal's office she made a picture of Margaret with no hair.After that she went home to help dad with the pigeon war. Then she had an idea. The pigeons could live of the streets. A couple minutes later it was time to clean her room. After that they had some cake. Ashleigh I feel like every time I write one of these posts, I'm just making excuses for my own incapabilities. I feel like I shouldn't have to consistently write posts about what's going on in my life... and then I remember that I can't even use the word 'consistently', because all of my posts end up clumped together in bundles of 2 and 3 each day every other week, if I'm lucky. I feel bad for always saying I'll make an effort to write, and then having this happen. I feel bad for letting this blog... slip away, in its own way.
Currently, my sister is the only one posting regularly. Then again, it's not like she's balancing 4 other courses and a social schedule... let alone trying to work a crazy amount of hours, like my dad and I. The thing is, when I get the time to actually write a blog, I never have anything that I find interesting enough to write about. Most times I've already written something for another class that day if not multiple things for a separate class, and I just don't have it in me to sit and write yet another long-winded "assignment". I know that I've used the quote "Busyness is not an excuse for not getting things done, it's an excuse for not claiming your true priorities"... and I'll be honest with you, right now, this blog isn't my priority. While it is important to me, I'm more focused on getting good grades and keeping up with my classes so that I don't end up out of the system. I'm more focused on staying in shape, and making my karate/kickboxing classes matter. I'm more focused on maintaining a good relationship with the people who matter most to me... because at the end of the day, this blog will be here. My health and my grades won't always be here if I don't maintain them studiously... And that's more important than this currently. I feel like everyone struggles with priority in their daily life. I've heard my friends complain about it before, too... I think the key is to realize you can't fit everything in, no matter how hard you try. You can't have it all. So pick and choose- what will be there at the end of the day? What will most affect your future? Make your choices wisely. - Maddie Hand stands are so hard. Cartwheels are easier. You can walk on your hands in a Handstand. Its so hard. Trust me.
Cartwheels are so much easier.You get to bend and do handstands.One time I did one right into the wall. It hurt.I'm all right now. Ashleigh Mammals are fun to look at. My sister and dad would not believe this. Kangaroo's box.They also scratch themselves. Go 25 miles pr hour.
Bats are mammals. We are to. So are mud skippers Also Platipus. Ashleigh There are so many things in the sea. We are going to talk about penguins, Octopus, and seahorses. A Penguin Dad gives the babies squid. If an Octopus loses a tentacle it gores back on. A seahorse dad only gives birth to white babies seahorses.
Dad likes Penguins. I like Seahorses. A Dad seahorse only gives birth. Not the Mom. Ashleigh Today I read a new book called ''The Case of The Secret Valentine.'' One day a boy named Jigsaw and his friend Mila found a message. It said Theodore. Jigsaw picked it up and went inside. He wondered how it got there.
After school Jigsaw felt something in his pocket. He leaned in his pocket and pulled out two heart candies. One said BE MINE.The other said YOUR SWEET. After that they went home and talked. Finally one of there friends called Wingnut them that A guy named bobby took his batman. Ten they new hew it was. They finally gave him a card and took it back to Wingnut. Ashleigh 21. If you are in a bad mood, do you prefer to be left alone or have someone to cheer you up?
I'd rather be left alone if I'm in a bad mood. Anyone who tries to "cheer me up" oftentimes just ends up getting on my nerves and making my mood worse. I'm better off being left alone to cool down. 22. What’s an ideal weekend for you? An ideal weekend is one spent hiking or even just relaxing with friends, or going to see a movie with my dad. 23. What do you think of best friends of the opposite sex? A good portion of my close friends are male, and I think that it's great when guys and girls can get along as best friends. So often, particularly in today's society, guys and girls are idealized as lovers rather than friends when in reality, friendship shouldn't have a gender-bound code. Not only does it widen the horizon on the many different personality types you'll meet, it also opens the door for many new relationship possibilities. All good relationships start as friends first. 24. Do you judge a book by its cover? I try not to, but I've come to accept the fact that everyone makes snap judgements whether they want to or not. I just try to not actively follow along with my snap judgements without good reasoning to back them up. 25. Are you confrontational? I am incredibly non-confrontational. If I have a problem with someone, I try to resolve it on my own before dragging them into it too... and I try to make certain that I'm not making a mountain of a mole-hill. On the other hand, this doesn't mean I won't argue solid points if someone tries to confront me. I've actually heard one of my friends say "Something to remember is to never confront Maddie, because she'll destroy your argument with logic until there's nothing left to argue." 26. When was the last time you broke someone’s heart? I honestly have no clue. It's not like I go around keeping track of how many hearts I break, you know? Not something I'm proud of, and if I ever have "broken a heart" it wasn't intentional. In fact, it was probably an act of self-preservation. 27. Would you relocate for love? Possible, but not likely. The only reason this is even marked as possible is because I do want to travel in the future, once I've saved a good amount of money up. If I happen to be in a steady long-distance relationship and I like the location, I may re-locate. I highly doubt this, though. 28. Did you ever write a journal? Nope! The closest thing I have to a journal is this blog, and my thoughts and feelings are a bit muted here since they're being broadcast to a public audience. 29. What are you most thankful for? I'm most thankful for my amazing relationship with my dad and my awesome friends. 30. Do you believe in second chances? I believe in entirely too many second chances, if I'm honest. I'm an incredibly forgiving person, unless whatever was said or done is bad to an extreme that I find horrific and inhumane. I don't forgive people who treat others poorly for no reason. 31. What’s the one thing that people always misunderstand about you? People tend to misunderstand that any fact I say, I've backed up with research. I actually do take the time to read up on obscure topics and I research what interests me... but when I throw out facts in conversation, most people assume I'm just running my mouth and have no clue what I'm talking about. 32. What is your idea of a perfect vacation? I don't have an idea of a perfect vacation, honestly... though I did enjoy our cross-country road trip last summer. It was week-long and the sights seen along the way to San Francisco were incredible. In fact, I want to re-take the trip when I'm 18 along with some friends. You can read (and see photos from) this trip under the 'Travel' category of our blog. 33. What did your past relationship teach you? My past relationships have all taught me to not settle for less than I deserve... and that's the bottom line. 34. What are your thoughts on online dating or tinder? I (personally) think that both are pointless and a waste of time, but if it works for you then more power to you! 35. What’s on your bucket list this year? I want to hike Mt. Monadnock with friends again, and I'd like to complete driver's ed and get my license. If possible, I also want to get my first job. 36. When have you felt your biggest adrenaline rush? Fighting during either of my black belt tests. I've never felt more emotionally or physically alive than in those last fighting minutes of my tests. 37. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done and would you do it again? The craziest thing I've ever done was probably the black belt test I mentioned above... and yes, I'd obviously do it again. It's roughly 6 hours of physical torture, but it's the best type of torture if you ask me. 38. If a genie granted you 3 wishes right now, what would you wish for? 1). I'd wish to always have enough money in my pocket to do whatever I wished to do. 2). I'd wish to already have the knowledge I would've received from high school courses, but to already be graduated with A's in all classes. 3). I'd wish to know what happens after death. 39. What’s your biggest regret in life? I don't harbor regret. I see it as a waste of energy, since regret can't change the past. Nothing can change the past, so it's best to just learn from it and move on. 40. What do you think about when you’re by yourself? Everything and anything, but mainly whatever task is set in front of me. Today, I was at a bit of a loss trying to come up with something to write about. As I thought, I was scrolling through my tumblr and reading through some of my old posts. I found a questionnaire I had completed awhile back, and it got me thinking- how much do my blog readers know about me? I decided to take to Google to find a good list of questions, and I managed to find a long list of 40 questions on thoughtcatalog. I'll be using these questions as an outline for today's posts, and I encourage my dad to do the same. These will be broken into 2 parts- 20 in this half, 20 in a later half.
1. What’s your philosophy in life? My philosophy in life is to be kind and accepting of everyone, until they give you a reason not to be... and to respect everyone as your equal, unless they give you a reason to respect them more or less. 2. What’s the one thing you would like to change about yourself? Every day is a day of consistent improvement for me. I've been trying to learn to better control my emotion and to use more logic for roughly 3 years now. Aside from that, I'm happy with myself as a person. 3. Are you religious or spiritual? I was raised Catholic, but as I've gotten older I've found myself drifting towards spiritual agnosticism. I'm not quite sure what's out there, but I'm pretty sure it's nothing that most people expect. I do believe in God, but I believe in God as whatever created the world- be that science OR a higher power. I believe that being a good person is more important than being devout. 4. Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? I'm an extroverted introvert. At my core, I value solitude and alone-time, but I can be social when I need to be and I do still appreciate time spent with my close friends. 5. Which parent are you closer to and why? I'm incredibly close with my dad, since he's essentially the one who's raised me my entire life. He's been there for me through everything our family has gone through and is one of the most understanding and supportive people that I know. I wouldn't be who I am today without him and all that he's taught me over the years. 6. What was the best phase in your life? I'd say the phase I'm in now- I'm discovering who I am and making steps to recover from being depressed. I'm becoming a more peaceful and happy person- which is who I strive to be at the end of the day. 7. What was the worst phase in your life? Probably the entirety of the 4 years leading up to my mom's death, and about a year and a half after the fact. Those were incredibly stressful and depressing times for me, and I collapsed underneath everything that was happening and ended up falling into a long spell of depression. Even so, I made it out strong and I'm a lot better today. 8. Is what you’re doing now what you always wanted to do growing up? I'm still in the process of growing up, but I'm taking the steps necessary to become a psychologist- which is what I wish to be when I finally "grow up". 9. What makes you feel accomplished? Any time I can make someone smile. 10. What’s your favorite book/movie of all time and why did it speak to you so much? 'The Swimmer', a short story by John Cheever. It's important to me because it was the first story that ever taught me to read between the lines and see the story as more than what it was... it taught me to recognize metaphors. Come to think of it, it was this story that inspired my love of metaphors! 11. What is a relationship deal breaker for you? Cheating, abuse, manipulation, and any type of addiction (such as drugs, alcohol, smoking or gambling). Lack of humor and not being able to hold a conversation are also deal-breakers. 12. Are you more into looks or brains? Definitely brains. Looks inevitably fade away over time... and while I guess the mind can as well, I'd rather love someone for who they are; not what they have. At the end of the day, I'd rather have a deep conversation with my partner than have a piece of eye candy. 13. Would you ever take back someone who cheated? Never. Once a cheater, always a cheater... no one needs that bull in their life. 14. How do you feel about sharing your password with your partner? While I wouldn't mind it if it was circumstantial, I wouldn't give my partner my password if they asked because in my opinion, that's a red flag for a controlling and potentially abusive relationship. 15. When do you think a person is ready for marriage? I don't think that's for me to be saying. I think everyone knows when they've found the person they truly wish to spend their life with... there is no set marker for when you're "ready". 16. What kind of parent do you think you will be? I'd like to think I'll be a parent a lot like my dad. In fact, if I can be half the parent he is, I'll be more than happy. I plan on homeschooling my children and teaching them the importance of logic, respect, self-defense, and kindness. 17. What would you do if your parents didn’t like your partner? I'd sit down and ask why. Sometimes, parents can catch things that you don't when your perspective is clouded with emotion... if my parent didn't like who I was dating, there'd have to be a pretty damn good reason and I'd rather know why than just get frustrated because I think I know best. 18. Who is that one person you can talk to about just anything? My dad. Hands down, no matter what, I can trust him with anything and everything and anytime I have a problem, he's one of the first people I go to for a solution. I'm happy to consider him one of my best friends.* 19. Do you usually stay friends with your exes? Yes, or I try to at least. In fact, one of my exes is one of my best friends today and has helped me through so many things... including issues that have arisen within past relationships. I see no need to burn bridges unless the person was a COMPLETE jackass to me. 20. Have you ever lost someone close to you? I lost my mom 4 years ago after her long battle with addiction and mental illness... I'd rather not go into detail on this here, please see my previous blog posts or any posts under the tags 'Memories', 'Addiction', or 'Alcoholism'. *disclaimer: because I refer to my dad as my best friend does NOT mean he isn't also a great parent. He knows when to discipline me, and more importantly, he knows how to. Being a good parents doesn't constitute screaming "Because I said so" at your child, it means that you have to talk things through with them and treat them with as much respect as you yourself expect. THAT is what makes a good parent. If you don't have anything nice to say, then do everyone a favor and keep it to yourself :) Once their was a little princess. She lived with her Dad, Wayne. One day the princess went for an afternoon walk. She found some foot prints in the dirt. The foot prints were bigger than a lions.
So she followed them. They led to a cave. It was shaped like a dragon. A dragon came out. The little princess ran back the house. Ashleigh Lucky is still the same. He still sits by my side groaning for food. He keep's playing with me every day. He still nudges us. He still sits by the living room waiting for someone to say ''LUCKY!''
He keeps coming in my room when i'm getting driest.He still sleeps with dad. He still love every one of us. Including my aunt and uncle. Ashleigh "Sometimes problems don't require a solution to solve them; instead, they require the maturity to outgrow them."
This quote is very relevant to me, currently. As mentioned in a previous post, I've been having some trouble within my friend group recently... troubles revolving around a specific person and their aptitude for getting involved with all the wrong people and all the wrong drama. This person dragged down not just me, but my entire group of friends by repetitively offending us and then trying to play the victim to their own shitshow. This person was a problem in and of themselves... and for a good 6 months, they plagued my life as I tried to find a way to "solve" them. I tried everything. I tried multiple long talks with this person to try and see things from their side, to see if I was indeed the problem. This failed, as the person was more interested in drowning me out, ignoring me, and brushing off everything with a joke. I tried apologizing profusely for hurting this person, in case I had done something un-knowingly... they reassured me in the moment that I was not the problem, but would consistently label me as such in future arguments. Nothing worked. Finally, things hit an all-time low about a week ago and I decided I'd had enough of the drama, enough of the arguing, and enough of my time being wasted by someone who was so immature that they couldn't see over their own ego that they were hurting the people who cared about them. I gave up on looking for a solution that wasn't there, and cut the person out of my life entirely. I told them we needed space, that they needed to mature before we could speak again... and I left it at that. This past week has been the most peaceful I've had in a long while. This week, I've been focused on finishing my English 2 class. One of my assignments had me reading short stories with twist endings, and then writing my own twist ending for either the story I had just read or a twist ending to a story of my own. The story I chose to read was called 'The Boarded Window', by Ambrose Bierce. Upon reading the story, I recognized the author's name- I just couldn't place where I had heard it before.
I ended up needing help with my assignment, so I asked my dad to read through the short story as well and offer his own interpretation of it. Once my dad had read the story, he also told me why I was remembering the name- Bierce is the author of the Devil's Dictionary, a book I had read a bit of awhile back. It's an amusing book, and I'd recommend it to anyone with a sarcastic sense of humor. In any case, I was quite happy to flip through the book again- and in honor of my re-discovery, I'd like to share some of my favorite definitions from the Devil's Dictionary with you. Enjoy! Love - A temporary insanity curable by marriage. Egotist - A person of low taste, more interested in himself than in me. Patience - A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue. Faith - Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. Education - That which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding. Apologize - To lay the foundation for a future offence. Bore - A person who talks when you wish him to listen. Religion - A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable. "Speak when you are angry, and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret."
I love this quote because it's so true. Anger, in my opinion, is one of the most powerful emotions next to sadness... anger drives people and it oftentimes makes them lose their sense of logic. I can tell you from my own experience that anger will get into your head and make you toss aside facts that are staring you in the face for senseless emotions that end up turning you into a bitchy fireball (at least in my case). Everyone handles anger differently, but I'm pretty sure that all of us can say that we have at least a few small regrets that stem from anger- things we wish we hadn't done, things we wish we hadn't said. On a personal level, I tend to identify with the quote a lot. Learning to control my emotions better has been something I've been struggling and fighting with for years, and while I've made some definitive progress... I still have my bad days. When something bothers me, I can get set off very quickly, and I know it's a bother for those around me... with that being said, before I carry on any further I'd like to apologize to anyone I've lashed out at without any apparent reason. Small things trigger big reactions with me if they rub a nerve wrong. The point here is that anger can cause you to say some pretty awful things to the people you care the most about... or who care the most about you. That being said, those two categories of people don't always have to be synonymous, but that's another post in and of itself. I think what I'm trying to say is that when you're angry... take time and calm down before you go off on people. Take time to CLOSELY examine the facts of the situation. Don't use emotional biases in your arguing. Don't argue at all, if you can really help it. Keep your wits about you. "Don't promise when you're happy. Don't reply when you're angry. Don't decide when you're sad." If you're a long-time reader of this blog, you'll know that when it first started, my dad and I used to take motivational quotes and write blog posts about them. These posts were meant to help us- and to help others. Recently, a lot of depressing and stressful shit has been happening within the family, though... hence a .lack of blog posts and around my house, a lack of motivation.
I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way, but I always find myself wishing I had more time to do everything. Every day never seems to have enough hours in it to finish EVERYTHING I wanted to finish. Sure, I can get my work done and sure, I have time for karate... but I feel like I don't have time for myself, unless I want to neglect my sleeping schedule. I've been working on whipping that back into shape, too- I've gone from falling asleep at 3:00am to a much more comfortable 1:00-1:30am. All of that aside, I've also been having some personal struggles within my friend group that have been making life all the less enjoyable, if I'm honest. I've never been one for drama, but I always seem to get sucked into it and last week I had to make a difficult choice to cut off a close friend who seemed to be the main cause of it. Needless to say, I think I made the right choice. In honor of all these problems, I thought I'd return to the roots of our blog and post a few motivational quotes below, to tie up this post. Enjoy. “The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.” “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” Two days ago I got a game called ''Cooking Fever.'' It is very hard. It requires speed,and timing. I'm already at level 8. I got to level 8 in one night.
Here's how you play. You need to make food. Then drag it to the people who ordered it. If you wait to long the food will burn.Then the people get mad and leave. Like I said it is a hard game.I am going to play after dinner. After my job. Ashleigh Once there was a girl named Hilary. She wanted to be a pirate. She found group of pirates that had a map to a treasure chest. Lucky for her all of her friends found her. Her friends were named Charlie, Oliver, Miss Greyson, and Claire.
Soon she found out that Oliver was working for Hilary's dad.They wanted to beat Hilary's dad to the chest. They had to climb a wall. They also had to find a passage way. They found a garden, and a patch of dirt.Under it was a chest. It was empty! A few moments Later a women named Miss Pimm appeared. She was the head of the girls finishing school.Witch Hilary did not like. Miss Pimm though Hilary and her friends were trying to steal the real chest.Miss Pimm brought them back to school. So one night Hilary and her friends looked in Miss Pimm's office and found a button. Then they saw a chest gold and more. It was so noisy it woke up Hilary's dad. When he saw this they got into a fit. when it was over they sallied away. Ashleigh |
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