A New Start

It's 2012, and one of my resolutions was to blog weekly. Don't know how well this will work, but I'm hoping to get in a good habit so that when I leave for university in the fall, my family and friends can quickly look at my blog to see what I'm doing and how I am.

If you're wondering, for the very few people who actually read this, yes, I did have another blog. But, I felt like it was missing something. Maybe it was experience, maybe it was lack of dedication to really blogging, I don't know. But this blog, this blog feels like I'm onto something. I really hope I am.

This is going to be a very exciting year, and I'm hoping to make it a great one. 

Each week, I will try to record some meaningful things that I have found, thought of, etc for the past seven days. I will try as hard as possible to do these blog posts on Sunday when I have more time than the weekdays and Saturday. These meaningful things might include:

• Songs 
• Quotes
• Recipes
• Insights, Scriptures, Religious things, etc.
• Miscellaneous

There may be more than one each week, there may be a lack of one, but I'm determined to stay on top of this!  I love reading back through journals, or past blogs, and seeing how I grow. If I stay on top of this, not only will I have completed my New Year's Resolution, but I will also have gained a greater understanding of myself, I will have an online journal (basically), and will be able to communicate with family members in a more detailed way when I leave to go to BYU-Idaho this coming fall.

The title of this blog means a lot to me at this point in my life. I thought about what to call it, but it finally came to me and I think it will display who I am right now, and who I want to be in future years.

Live: 

• Live life for a purpose. For without one, life is meaningless. I guess my purpose (for now) in life, is to help others around me be happy and learn to enjoy life. I need to share and express love to others better to help me be a better person as well as for them.
• Live every day like it was your last. Several experiences that I have seen in some of my friends and classmates this past year have made me realize that life really is not in our hands, but God's. The way we live reflects who we are on the inside, and we need to live in a way to thank Him for the marvelous gift we have been granted.

Love:

• Love deeply. Learn to create healthy relationships with family members, friends, and (hopefully someday) a wonderful spouse. Without love, nothing is possible.
• Love is the base of a fairy tale. When we nurture it and work on becoming a better and more loving person, the better the fairy tale seems to become. Just because we work for having a better "Happily Ever After," doesn't mean we automatically get one. Prince Charming sure worked hard to get to his princess in the castle to have his "Happily Ever After." We need to work hard to achieve our own personal goals, and I think that love needs to be the first step.

Laugh:

• If you know me, at all, you know I absolutely LOVE laughing. I love being happy and I love it when others around me make me happy and make me laugh. My friends are where I have truly learned to be myself and how to be happy and able to laugh without worry or care. I am truly thankful for them, and for the amazing ability of laughter and how a simple smile in your day can make everything seem brighter!

Grow:

• This last step was very spontaneous when I created the title of the blog. I added it because of what I will be doing this year. Graduation. Going to college. These things are HUGE. And it's just the beginning. 
• I will hopefully be growing by leaps and bounds this year. Spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and intellectually growing will be the things that the things this year will increase in knowledge. 

Well, I think I've basically summed up what my new blog will be about. I probably will not be adding on to my other blog, but I've decided to still keep it in order to see my old posts without having to copy and paste or have it forever deleted. :)

Check back often! I know I will be!

Live Simply. Love Deeply.
Laugh Often. Grow Willingly.