Today Means Amen

Hey Guys and Gals,

It’s motivational Monday, but to be honest, I wasn’t feeling the motivation today, and I really didn’t want to post at all. But, you guys are awesome and don’t forget to make me a part of your week, every day, and I love you guys and I appreciate that more than you know.

So picture this, it’s about an hour ago (around 7 p.m.) and I am scouring the interweb, trying to find something to write about for you guys today, when I’m really not feeling the love and all I really want to do is hop into bed, when BAM! It hits me on YouTube. So, one of my many subscriptions on YouTube is a page called Button Poetry, because I love getting inspiration from them. I watch a few videos, still not feeling anything special, until I see a link called, “Sierra DeMulder//Today Means Amen”. I click it, not really expecting anything at the beginning but by the end, there were actual tears in my eyes.

Now, to get the full effect, you guys are going to have to check out the video, which I’ll post, probably at the end of this blog. But for your convenience, I have transcribed the poem for you (don’t say I never gave you anything), and am going to post it below. Now, because it’s Monday, you guys know that I’m going to have to give you a challenge for the week, so here it is: email me or comment under this video, telling me if and how this poem effected you. I’m really curious and interested to find out the stories that you guys have, and on Wednesday, I’ll share mine with you.

So enjoy the video guys, as always, if you liked my brutal honesty and this video, be sure to “like” it. Also, comment, subscribe and share this blog with your families and friends. I love you all, and I will see you next time…

Today Means Amen: By, Sierra DeMulder

 

Dear you,

Whoever you are, however you got here. This is exactly where you are supposed to be. This moment has waited its whole life for you. This moment is a lover and you are a soldier come home baby. It’s over, you don’t need to suffer anymore.

Dear you, this moment is a surprise party. You are both hiding in the dark and walking through the door, this moment is a hallelujah. This moment is your permission slip to finally open that love letter you’ve been hiding from yourself. The one you wrote when you were little, when you still danced like a sparkler at dusk. Do you remember the moment you realized they were watching, when you became ashamed of how much light you were holding, when you first learned how to un-love yourself?

Dear you, the word today mean amen in every language. Today we made it. Today, I’m gonna love you. Today, the box cutter will rust in the garbage. Today, the noose will forget how to hold you. Today, today, today…

Dear you, and I have always meant you. Nothing would be the same if you did not exist. You, who were once as small as bouquets, who could sleep in the laps of strangers, nothing would be the same if you did not exit. You, whose voice is someone’s favourite voice, whose face is someone’s favourite face to wake up to, nothing would be the same if you did not exist. You, the teacher, the starter’s gun, the lantern in the night who offers not a way home but the courage to travel farther into the dark. You, the lover, who worships the taste of her body, who is the largest tree ring in his heart, who does not let fear ration your love. You, the friend, the sacred chorus of “how can I help?” You, who have felt more numb than holy, more cracked than mosaic, who has known the tiles of the bathroom by heart, who has forgotten what makes you worth it. You, the forgiven, the forgiver, who belongs right here in this moment. You, this clump of cells this happy explosion that happened to start breathing by the grace of whatever is up there. You got here. You made it this whole way. Through the nights that swallowed you whole, the mornings that arrived in pieces, the scabs, the gravel, the doubt, the hurt, the hurt, the hurt is over, today. You made it. You made it. You made it. Here.

People Suck, Now Carry On

Hey there Beautiful People,

I’m back for you with a totally awesome Motivational Monday! But before I get to inspiring you all with my amazing wise ol’ words of wisdom, let me just say this. I realize that I suck at posting everyday, so, here’s my compromise. Whenever I do post, my first post that day will always correspond to the day that we’ve agreed the topic should be. If I’m not completely burned out when I’m done writing that post, I’ll either do a random rant (because you all seem to love my sweet nothings) or I’ll write about a topic that you guys have emailed me (I’ve got several pages f a notebook filled from you guys’ ideas, y’all are awesome). On a similar note of things I’m proposing a change to: As of now, Friday’s are generally known as “fitness Fridays”. The problem with that is, there’s only so many ways that I can try to talk you guys out of eating blue foods or what happens if you skip leg day. With that being said, I’m proposing that Friday’s now be Free For All in the sense that, at my discretion (or the highest number of votes I get for that week, Friday post will either be “Freaky Friday” “Fitness Friday” “Family Friday” or “Freakin’ Whatever Fridays”. What do you guys think of that? Leave a comment or message me if you guys have any other suggestions or if you do/don’t like my changes.

Now that that’s all out of the way, let’s talk about drama and rumours!

So just recently, it was brought to my attention that I was having “relations” with one of my really good friends, and that this had been going on for several months, behind the backs of both my boyfriend and my friend’s girlfriend (who happens to also be a good friend). Now, when I heard this, not only was I impressed (I didn’t know that I could have a “thing”  going on behind my own back), but I was also overall annoyed. First of all, the person that I heard this rumour from (a high-schooler) had apparently heard the rumour from another person (a college graduate). Now, I get it, I live in the middle of nowhere in a place where if you spit, you would probably hit your old kindergarten teacher, but seriously, for a person to take that much of an interest in me and not even give me a really cool hook-up with like, Josh Ramsay (the lead singer/guitarist in Marianas Trench) is almost insulting, but I digress…

After hearing about said rumour, although I didn’t actually seek out the source (does it really matter who started it) it was time for damage control. I figured that if the rumour had gotten to me, it had probably gotten to the other two people in the situation, so I went to the person I figured would be the most hurt by the stupidity, my friend’s girlfriend. When I spoke to her about the incident, I found that I gained more respect for her than I had before (which is saying something, because she is one of the most level headed people that I know and sometimes I wish I could be her, anyway). Basically, while she had no idea that there was drama that was trying to breed, she said that it didn’t matter. She said that she and (enter male friend name here) have an understanding that if something inappropriate were to happen (be brought up) it would be up to each of them individually to deal with it and put things right…Mind. Blown.

So after that story, you may be asking why today’s motivation is about dealing with people that talk about things behind your back. Well, think about what my friend said and did. First of all, she didn’t care that people were talking about her, indirectly (which is disrespectful in and of itself). Not only that, but she felt that if what people were saying was worth a reaction, she would have trusted her significant other, to handle it on his own. Think about that for a second. How much confidence do you need to have in yourself to walk away from drama and not let it spread? More that either way, how much trust and faith do you have to have in your significant other to know that they would do the same.

Oh, if you’re wondering how my boyfriend reacted to that, he laughed it off. We’re all friends and we all trust each other, and we all know our boundaries with each other. I’m glad that I have such good people in my life that I can learn things from. I hope that if you guys don’t have that kind of relationship with your friends, that you either develop it, or make some new friends.

With that being said, I hope you guys had an awesome Monday. I hope you’ve regained some respect for the human race after reading this post (though that’s not likely), and I hope that you guys go out and tell your friends how awesome they are and how much you love them. If you liked this post, be sure to “like” it. Also, leave a comment, or message me, telling me about your “Restored Faith in Humanity” stories, I love hearing from you guys. “Subscribe” if you guys want to be the first ones to know when I add a new post and I’ll see you all next time. I love you all, and until then….

Yeah, Bring on the New Year

Hey there beautiful people, welcome to Monday Motivation!

I hope you guys all have had a super awesome New Year so far and have made some attempts to at least begin the process of making New Year’s resolutions. Now personally, I’ve never made any New Year goals before but because people have been on my case about it in a way (I do read all of your comments), I decided that now would be a good time to start. Granted, I realize that I just made some goals about a month or so ago, which I will update you guys with on Wednesday probably, but you can never have too many life goals.

So, my first goal of the New Year is to get back into the guitar. You guys may not know this but I have wanted and wanted to play the guitar for years now and about five or six years ago, my mom bought me a guitar instead of giving me babysitting money for watching my brother. Since then, I have taught myself how to play via YouTube, various guitar websites, and one class in high school. The thing is, for the past year or so, my skills have seriously dwindled because I’ve been too busy or too tired or too lazy or…well, you get the picture. But this year, that is going to change, and I am going to start playing again.

My second goal of the New Year is to get straight “A’s” this coming semester in college. Last semester I took four classes and got 3 “A’s” and a “C” but this year, I’m going to try really hard to be a straight “A” student. I really think it’s achievable and it’s something I’m really going to make an effort to do. I’ve always been a pretty good student (I am extremely jealous of people who don’t have to study or try in any other way to make good grades) but I’ve never cared about getting “A’s” so much as just passing the class, so this semester, I’m really going to push myself.

The third goal I’m going to set is one that I probably should have pushed for years ago. As you guys know, I am a writer. But in addition to writing op-ed pieces (which is essentially what this blog is) and various (bad) poetry, I also write short stories, novellas and novels. The problem is I’ve got approximately 7 or 8 of them started right now that I haven’t looked at in about three months, and so many more ideas in my head that are waiting to get out. So my goal for this year is to finish two of the current projects that I’ve got going on. Now I know what you’re thinking (that’s only 25% of what you have). Listen guys, it’s okay. I’ve only ever finished one of my writing projects. Two more would be the greatest accomplishment in history for me. It’s also very do-able, which is definitely key in making resolutions. It’s attainable and being attainable is super important, otherwise, your setting yourself up for disappointment.

My last goal for the New Year is not to completely cut out junk food and soda (which are both really bad for you but are super yummy) because I feel like denying myself completely will only make me want them more, but it’s to seriously cut back on the amount of junk food and soda that I consume. I’ve been doing really good at making smarter, healthy decisions about what I eat and drink (well, up until November) and I think that if I seriously limit the junk that I put in, I might see an improvement in the rest of my life.

So, that’s it, those are my goals. I’m really interested in what you guys have to say or if you have goals of your own that you wish to declare right now. I’m challenging all of you to set somewhere between three and five New Year’s resolutions, making sure that while they may be challenging, they are doable. I want you guys to write them down on paper and hang them somewhere you’ll be able to see them every day. In addition to that, I’ll be updating you guys on how I’m doing on my goals, both the ones I set today and the ones from a month ago, and I want you guys to keep me updated as well. I read and answer all of your comments and questions, but I want us to be able to take this journey together.

As always, comment this post, like, subscribe and share with your friends. I love you guys! I’ll see you tomorrow.

The Secrets to a Good Life

Hello my lovelies, welcome to another motivational Monday.

Okay, now that I’ve got your attention by sounding like a cheesy Saturday morning cartoon or something, let’s have a little chat, shall we? Now, what makes you guys happy? What are some of the things you love? I was pa-rousing the internet like I do every day of my life because I’m a lame teenager with no life (See last Wednesdays post if you actually believe that one) when I came across a video (which is basically what this post is about) that challenged me. The person in the video actually made me cry for a few minutes because I knew that if I tried to do what she had done, I wouldn’t be able to, and that (putting it mildly) made me really angry.

So again, before I say anything else, I ask you. What do you love. Take a second (your webpage isn’t going anywhere) and write down the first 15 things that you love. I’ll share with you what I put down.

1. My brothers

2Sampson (my dog)

3. my friends

4. Writing

5. Music

6. Books

7. colors

8. my grandparents (Sorry I was so late with that one)

9. Tea

10. showers

11. swimming

12 Coke (the drink)

13. pizza

14. movies

15. Ice cream

In going back through this list now, I realize that I completely forgot about my parents, but they’re in my mind, I promise. (I have to say that, they’re probably reading this right now).  So there you have it, 15 things that I love. I’m guessing that you guys have somethings that are similar, others that are different. But here’s the big one, the challenge that made me want to kick myself in the face. How many of you guys have yourself on that list?

In the video, which I will link at the end of this post, Ashley Wylde made my think of myself in a completely different way. Now, I know this is motivational Monday and things that I say today are supposed to inspire you to go out and live happy and all that junk…so here’s my motivation for you. Love yourself. Seriously, that’s it. Truly love yourself and you can close your internet browser right now. Ashley challenged me (and I failed, actually) and now I challenge all of you:

Go into your bathroom, right now. Look yourself in the eye and say the words, “I love you”. Go on, I’ll wait.

How many of you could do that? I already admitted to you that I couldn’t. For all of you that could, I genuinely applaud you. I am actually really happy that you can do that. For the rest of you. I challenge you to go into your bathroom every day and tell yourself “I love you” until you believe it.

I believe that if we can do that together, however long that might take, we can truly be inspired.

With that heaviness out of the way, I hope you guys had a great weekend. Leave me a message or a comment telling me what it is you did, I love hearing from you guys. Also, leave a comment if you are going to join me on this challenge to love ourselves. As always, if you enjoyed this post, be sure to like, comment, share and subscribe. I will see you guys tomorrow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qqm8B2p1aI

Meet Yourself in the Mirror LIVE- Ashley Wylde Slam Poetry

The First of Many

Hey Every bunny, I’m back.

First off, I want to say thank you to everyone that’s new to my blog, I’ve gotten quite a few followers since I’ve last posted and to all of you guys, this is me saying “hey, thanks for joining me on this crazy, gorgeous adventure”. With that being said, I’m really sorry to all of you guys. I know, I haven’t posted in over a month and one of the last things I said was that I was going to try and post every day. , All excuses aside (I will be giving all of my excuses in the coming weeks, so stay tuned), I’m back. I’m energized, and most of all, inspired to start writing again.

So here’s the plan, if you guys are on YouTube and watch CarlieStylez, you are well aware that I stole her idea (Well, more of her concept than her idea, but whatever makes you clever). Instead of challenging myself to post absolutely every day, (which we are now convinced that I am not able to do at this point), to go along with some personal changes that I am making and structuring in my own life, I am now adding structure to my blog.

I am going to attempt to write a blog post five days a week, and if I miss a day or so, there’s no stress. The schedule I am going to try and keep up with for now will be as follows:

Motivational Monday- just a little something to inspire and motivate everyone while starting their week. This could be anything from a quote, to me sharing a story that made me smile, or even random pictures of my dog, because he’s adorable. Basically, this is my virtual coffee to all of you guys; a little pick-me-up to make Mondays a little brighter

Too-Tiring Tuesdays- we’re all going to have fun on Tuesdays, because after Monday, we deserve it. Tuesdays will probably become my rant days because I’m a really silly, weird person and my opinions are hysterical (to me, at least). If you guys have any ideas for Tuesdays, leave them in the comments and I’ll try to make you all happy.

Whatever Wednesdays- as the title says, Wednesdays will be about…whatever I feel like writing about. These are the days that I will probably be sharing more about my life, or more serious topics. My opinions on life, love…other “l” words? Whatever, I’m not creative. These might also be my book and music reviews (hint, hint) so be prepared for my theories and wonders.

Tip Thursdays- Because my opinion could not be more shoved in your faces, I’m giving you tips on more randomness. The holidays are coming up, so there will probably be Christmas-themed blogs for a little bit. I might throw some recipes in there. Some nail stuff, some organization stuff. You know, random girly stuff, because I’m a girl…duh.

Fitness Fridays- That’s right, we’re working out again. Fridays are meant to make you feel good, and quoting Legally Blonde, “Exercising gives you endorphins; endorphins make you happy, happy people just don’t kill their husbands!” Luckily, my non-existent husband is safe (I’m only 18, remember), because we’re working on our fitness. Fridays could be about anything from workout plans, how to do different things with different parts of your body, water and nutrition advice, vitamins….whatever! I’ll fill you in on where I am on my fitness journey and we’re just going to have a good time.

I hope you guys enjoy the themed days. If you have any suggestions on anything, feel free to let me know. I read all of your messages and take everything you guys say into consideration. With all of that being said, we’re going to jump right in because there’s no time like the present. Motivational Mondays, everyone.

Now, the quote that I chose for today is actually at the top of your screen, it says, “If plan “A” didn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters. Stay Cool!” I love this quote. I feel like it can really apply to everyone. It applies in all different aspects of life. It applies to me event is the construction of this blog. I had a plan last month, it didn’t work out, so now plan “B” is in the works. Plans fail, they shift and they change, if we can’t adapt to them, we’re going to be stuck, and that’s not fun. Basically, this quote is saying “Keep calm and eat a cupcake!” Cupcakes make everyone happy, and when you’re enjoying a cupcake, you’re not thinking about any of your worries. So be cupcakes, guys!

Thank all of you again for bearing with me as I get my life together. I have actually set out specific blogging time in my schedule for the week, so we’ll see how everything goes. As always, like, comment, subscribe and share this post. I love you all, and…I’ll see you tomorrow!