God knows me better than I could ever know myself. He knows what is right for me, whether I realize it or not, in the end I know He always does what is right for me.
I am so thankful to have a God who loves me, for my amazing church community, for the opportunities that are true blessings in disguise, for my loving family & friends and for all the gifts God has blessed me with… especially dance.
Dance. I don’t just dance, I am a dancer. From head to toe, dance is my medium of expression. It is how I get through life, to fully embrace my joys and my miseries. Dance is an opportunity to not dwell on my past, not worry about my future but completely embrace the present; to open my heart and surrender.
For all He does for me, how can I not give Him everything I have and have every action be one that will glorify Him?
Tonight began as one of those nights where you ask yourself why you signed up to participate in something on your second day of winter break, especially when you’re functioning on four hours of sleep, brilliant, I know! Starting to crash as the concert begins and realizing there are thirteen pieces before yours, the stress sets in. Then realizing it is usually best to have more than two rehearsals so you can actually be confident about the piece…yeah…….but once the music is on, everything else melts away, no longer is the movement for one’s self, it is done for something greater. The feeling is breathtaking, something everyone should get the chance to experience, such a high, true fulfillment. Everything is going to be ok; with God in the equation, it always will be. God works in the most mysterious ways… and miracles do exist.
Everyone comes into your life for a reason. The frustrating part is that you don’t always know the reason or when you do know and simply just don’t agree with it. Every experience lived, good or bad happened so you can learn a lesson. All the hurt that you endured helped to make you stronger. I am who I am because of these people because of these experiences, because of these tears. And while all of this has an impact on my life, I get to make the ultimate decision…am I going to make it a dramatic heartache or am I going to look at the positives and overall embrace a happy ending for myself?
God has a plan for each of us, for each and every situation, He wants us to be happy. We just have to look through the destruction and see His plan for our life.
I am so very thankful for all of the wonderful people God has blessed me with. I would not be the person I am without my family. Throughout every experience of my life, they have been at my side, holding out their hand to help me along the way. My big little brother has been such an inspiration just by the way he lives his life; looking at every situation as the glass half full, moving forward with no regrets. For him, everyday is a new day.
As amazing as my family is, while away at school, my friends with all of their unending love and support help me make the most out of each day. My friends are the people who help me help myself, by their positive attitudes and enthusiasm I am able to get through the toughest times. Their presence alone makes me want to get the most out of life and enjoy every moment because you really don’t know when it’s going to be your last.
I have learned the hard way, that you are the only person who can make you happy. You can surround yourself with loving, fun people, but ultimately it is you who has to put yourself in the situation and open up to let the joy in. God gave man freewill, so it is up to man to use it to his advantage, and embrace the love of Christ that shines through His people.
Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.
~JP II
As I reflect back on my summer I cant help but smile. I had a great summer. I was productive, completed three summer school classes, moved into an adorable apartment, enjoyed good food with good friends, went salsa dancing for the first time, enjoyed bon fires on the beach, made new friends, hung out with old ones, spent a weekend with my amazing dance family, grew closer to my Delta Zeta sisters, went line dancing, received a reality check on life and how precious each day is, had a beautiful vacation with my family to appreciate all that America has to offer, and am pleased to say that I learned a lot of life lessons that have already started to help me grow as a person.
This summer I have learned to be honest and true to my feelings and myself. As difficult as it can be at times, I have learned to face my fears and speak up, to say what I really feel. Feelings may get hurt, which really does break my heart, but as cliché as it sounds, honesty is the best policy. Beating around the bush or settling to avoid hurt feelings only creates more problems down the road.
Every person deserves the best. No one needs to change themselves, his or her expectations or standards for anyone else. It is all about patience. God put each and every one of us on this earth for a reason, He knows us; our past, our present, our future …and in the fullness of time we will too. Little by little He will expose another piece of the puzzle. We just need to be happy with ourselves in the present, striving everyday to do His will so we can come a little closer to that next clue, to learn more about God and only from there, ourselves.
My summer has truly been filled with many clues I have learned how much God loves me and supports me; for He has opened my eyes to see more of what He has created, He has given me hope for my future. And now, after my experiences this summer, I am more prepared to fully lay down my worries and fears at the feet of Jesus.
i think i sometimes forget that God loves me. but He does, no matter what happens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ
As hard as it can be to believe at times, God has a plan for us, and the most frustrating part is that He doesn’t tell us straight forward what it is; we have to live life, go through the ups and downs, fight the battles to the best of our abilities and have faith that God is right, that He knows us and has a plan for us that is greater than one that we could ever come up with on our own. ♥
I have some absolutely amazing people in my life and unfortunately there are times when I forget about these blessings that God has given me. I become consumed by those who are having a negative impact on my life and forget what really matters. Life is way too short to be unhappy or to worry about the things that don’t really matter in the big scheme of things. The amazing people in my life have been there for me whether or not they realize it and I want to be able to be positive and to do the same for them.
“Learning to think rigorously, so as to act rightly and to serve humanity better.”
— Pope John Paul II
“Do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace, to live peace…Peace will be the last word of history.”
— Pope John Paul II
” This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops. Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern metropolis. ”
— Pope John Paul II
♥
“Life is a very complex dance & the older you get more improv occurs”
~Flavia Zuniga-West
I love my dance sister, she is so smart, speaks dance, and is always there for me ♥
Everyday you learn something new. Everyday can be a good one, but its up to you to determine how your day is going to turn out. Everything can go terribly wrong, but only you can say it’s bad. When things go wrong it is an opportunity to learn and not only make things right, but better. With all the stress in today’s society as well as the personal stress we put on ourselves, anxiety and depression is flourishing. However, it is how we deal with these two feelings that helps us determine how we live our life.
Ballet has always been, basically, my passion, my grounding force. Dancing helps me to focus on the present and forget about the stress and disappointment, usually, consuming my life. For me, especially today, ballet is worth waking up for at 8am on the only day you get to sleep in because it is the one thing that will clear my mind to be able to focus on what really matters in life.
It is interesting how life overlaps. In ballet this morning we were talking about depression. Like myself, my classmates are addicted to dance and when we don’t dance, you can tell; grumpy would be a nice way to put it. Our teacher was explaining how exercise can be used as an antidepressant because it releases, naturally, serotonin which is a key ingredient in antidepressants. So this is excellent, I can chemically be positive and therefore transfer this positivity onto my outlook on life and the curve balls that are thrown my way. The only catch is that I have to dance everyday. I think, no, I know I can do it.
Happiness is a grateful spirit, an optimistic attitude, and a heart full of love. ~Unknown
Talk about having the best first day of school ever! The weather is beautiful (82°), so I walked to school, realized that not only do boys attend my school but are actually in my classes!!!!!!!!!! (yeah i’m not excited at all to realize i go to a coed school), sat for 40 minutes listening to my “old man” teacher talk about how he likes to joke around, walked home, hung with the roomie, walked back to school, walked to Chipotle with Ash, ate a whole burrito, and walked home. And I didn’t even get sunburned!
A new major, a new semester, a new start. It’s going to beautiful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k59feB2MHic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCHk7USyIgc
I am so blessed. ♥ love my life :]
The best days are those after a fantastic dance class where you come to the conclusion that you really don’t need anything else in life.
Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise. ~Alice Walker
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love this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV2U0_7nwb0
