You're The Best

I would just like to say thank you to all you readers. Thank you for making this little web address a fantastically wonderful place for me to rant, rave, and write about nonsense, while simultaneously writing out my heart and soul. It's a little bit of everything in my life, and I appreciate you taking the time to care and build friendships with me. The comments and emails I get truly make my day (even if I don't always respond! I promise I'm not being a jerk on purpose) and I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you. 

Lately I've been thinking about blogging, and what an interesting atmosphere and experience it can create. Or even how it can tremendously affect your life. Blogging has allowed me to find the best part of myself. I've been able to work on my writing, something I have always loved. My style is exceeding any hope I ever had for my ability to put a shirt and some shoes together. Talents that would otherwise lay dormant are making use of themselves and I've even picked up a few new skills. Relationships I have built and lives I've been able to influence and serve help me feel that I am contributing to the greater good for sharing my story and take on life. Even with some rather harsh criticism along the way, I have learned to grow thick skin and do some major soul searching as I plow on in this blogging journey, digging up confidence that gets lost here and there.

Most importantly, I am learning to be true to myself and constantly reinventing my life into what I want it to be. I can easily get caught up in what other people are doing and wanting to be just like them, but I've very recently come to a point where I am doing, saying, wearing, and creating what I want because I love it, regardless of trends and "supposed to." Doesn't matter if everyone is doing it or nobody is doing it, I am doing it because I identify with it.

Quotes are the butter to my gluten-free bread, and make life a more pleasant and sensible place for me. There is something soothing and hopeful in the words of others that let you know they've been there, done that, and know exactly how you feel. I leave you with a few of my most cherished quotes...

"The grass is greener where you water it." -Neil Baringham

"In order to lead a fascinating life -- one brimming with art, music, intrigue, and romance -- you must surround yourself precisely with those things" -Anonymous

"People inspire you or they drain you. Pick wisely" -Hans F. Hansen

"Those shoes are definitely bi-curious" Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock

"Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't." -Eleanor Roosevelt

"The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Never judge a book by its movie." -BookFiend

"Want to make a great car interior? Stop looking at other car interiors." -Dodge commercial

"Don't feel stupid if you don't like what everyone else pretends to love." -Emma Watson

“Even after all this time, the Sun never says to the Earth 'You owe me'. Look at what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky.” -Hafiz

"The less you give a damn, the happier you will be." -Anonymous

"There is no great genius without some touch of madness." -Seneca

"Your past is not your identity... You, living now, is your identity." -George Lawrence-Ell (The Invisible Clock)

"Comparison is the thief of joy." -Anonymous

"With a little time, and a little more insight, we begin to see both ourselves and our enemies in humbler profiles. We are not really as innocent as we felt when we were first hurt. And we do not usually have a gigantic monster to forgive; we have a weak, needy, and somewhat stupid human being. When you see your enemy and yourself in the weakness and silliness of the humanity you share, you will make the miracle of forgiving a little easier." -Lewis B. Smedes