Moving Onward & Upward

Toxic people will drag you down and hold you back from reaching your potential & that's the truth. If you have them in your life, do your best to change that. If you can't change it, try to change the situation. If you can't change the situation, make the best of it and don't let them drag you down. Sometimes you have to let people go, because you grow. It's not because they are bad or you are better, but we all change. Change is hard, it can hurt. Sometimes you don't want to let people go, and sometimes you don't know how. 

I have a lot of mothers in my life. One of them told me that when someone does something to hurt you, and it seems to weigh on your mind a lot, you have to find a way to let them go. She suggested writing their name on a paper, building a little boat, and letting them sail away in a river or lake or some water. This is her physical way of mentally reminding herself that it's time to move on. Doing this allows for a weight to be lifted off your shoulders, it's an incredible feeling. 

Yes, bad things will happen to you. Yes, you might be hurt or offended by people. Yes, you have to let bitterness go. Yes, you should let yourself grow & move on. 

Let the negativity go. Let yourself be happy and let yourself move on. 

Have a fantastic day! 

Because of a Mother

Because of a mother, I have learned to stand on my own two feet. I've been taught that no matter what, you pick yourself up and dust off and continue forward, one foot in front of the other. If someone wants to push me around, I can stand up for myself. 

Because of a mother, I have learned the importance of helping other people. I have learned about selfless love and the ability to help everyone you meet in some way or another. It's not about having the fanciest things, but the most beautiful heart. 

Because of a mother, I have learned to appreciate my own worth and to never underestimate my potential. I have become aware that my moms don't want me to settle for anything less than my best. I have come to realize that my mothers believe in me when I don't believe in myself. 

Because of a mother, I have learned about selfless sacrifice. Sometimes your own needs or wants get pushed down the list. Mothers spend money and an endless amount of time to see others succeed. 

Because of my grandmother, I understand what surviving takes. I've learned that sometimes you have to be innovative and creative in your thinking when you don't always have everything you could want. I've learned that people, especially our family, come before any worldly items. 

Because of a rodeo mother, I've learned that you're going to fall, but you always always always pick yourself up and get back on. There's always another rodeo, always another time to better yourself. I've also learned that sometimes you have to grind down and get your calloused hands dirty and get the job done. 

Because of a basketball mother, I've learned to push through pain even when it hurts. I've learned that your knees might get bruised, but it's all for the love of the game and the love of your team. I've learned there is more to it than a win or loss, it's about relationships and accomplishing goals. 

Because of a mother, I have dreams and a desire to help the people around me, both strangers and friends. I have a will, if you will, to make the world a better place. I have been taught to go after what you want, and to not back down to a challenge, no matter how big or scary it might seem, because, after all, I know my mothers have my back. 

Be Kind to Yourself

We are often told somehow, whether it be through social media, or other people, that we need to be kind to everyone. People are always fighting a battle we don't know anything about, and we need to be there for them in their dark hours. 

Despite our best efforts to be kind to everyone, we usually end up neglecting someone, and for me, it's typically myself. 

I have always expected great things from myself. I've always wanted to be the best at whatever I was doing; I hate losing and I have a hard time being happy with my efforts, no matter what they are. I always feel like I could be doing something more to better myself and I can't seem to be happy with each stage of the process. I try really hard, and sometimes I try to act like I'm happy with it, but deep down I know I can do better.

I've had people tell me they admire my drive, but as much as other people might think it's good, I've had to learn to control it. Yes, it's good to be motivated. Yes, it's good to not be able to settle for mediocrity. I believe there's a point where it can be too much. It can completely take over your life, I've let this happen. When my drive starts driving my life, I lose control and end up driving myself straight into the ground. Not literally, but physically and emotionally I feel like I can't function. I become stressed out about everything. If I go somewhere, I have to tell myself it's okay, I don't need to be practicing or studying all the time. 

Although my drive is one of my strengths, it can also be counted as a weakness when it stops me from being kind to myself. 

Our journey will always be uphill if we are doing what's best and right for ourselves. It's meant to teach us, to push us, to refine us into what we are meant to be. Little by little, day by day, we begin to become more suited for the hill we are currently climbing. This is usually when we are then given a harder hill, and we can begin to feel discouraged. I promise you can make it up your hill if you keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

We are all going to make mistakes. We will mess up, and sometimes it might not seem like it will be okay. You will bounce back eventually. You'll make up for it. Just allow yourself to be okay with the rate which you are progressing. 

You are strong. I know you are. You're doing the best you can, and that's enough, so please be kind to yourself. 

Impossible

Impossible. 

Just that word probably sparked a thought of something you feel is currently impossible in your mind; maybe it was more than a single thought. 

It's different for everyone, but I know I have certain things I feel are impossible. That word is a blockade in our minds, it labels something impossible and we basically give up on it or move past it, and on with our lives. Sometimes this happens subconsciously, and sometimes it happens because we choose to let it. 

Now, I'm going to suggest something, and it's going to seem hard and daunting and maybe kind of scary. It might upset your mind for a while because sometimes our minds don't want to think outside the box. 

Here it is: nothing is impossible. Honestly. Whatever you have labeled impossible is merely labeled wrong. Yes, it might be challenging, but not impossible. 

Break impossible apart with me for a second. I'm possible. Replace everything you have deemed impossible with I'm possible. Easy? No. Possible? Yes. 

Set small, achievable goals. Work towards them step by step. Love yourself entirely, and impossible most definitely becomes possible. 

Impossible is a big word thrown around by small men who are filled with fear by the thought of creating a better world and not just accepting what they have. Impossible is an opinion, never a fact. Impossible is a dare, meant to spark a competitive drive and ignite a fire that can light a path to a new way of life for yourself and those around you. 

Take a stand today. Impossible is unrealistic, and suppressing. Challenging things are all around us, and they are meant to be worked at and can refine us into who we are meant to become. Impossible is temporary. Everything seems impossible until it's done. Whatever came into your head when you read the word impossible at the beginning is exactly what you should pursue!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I've been debating posting this for a while for a few reasons. Sometimes when I state my problems or issues or trials or whatever you want to call them, I feel like I'm begging for attention, which is the exact opposite reason behind this blog. I also don't want to say my problems are worse than someone else, because that is entirely untrue as I sit here thinking about other people I know and what they are going through. I'm also unsure how to say some of the things I want to say, but I still feel like I should write this post.

I've always considered myself a happy person. I try to look on the bright side of things and I try to do what I feel is right. I've found a few things I am very passionate about, and I devote most of my time bettering myself in these areas. Sometimes, they might run me down a little bit, but never taking a taxing toll on my body or mind. I love finding adventure in everything, and finding little pockets of joy around every corner. Normally, this works great for me.

Lately, I've had a harder time with this. I don't necessarily look forward to getting up for school. My body is sore and I feel agitated at little things that normally wouldn't bother me. Some mornings, it takes every ounce of strength I have to climb out of bed and go to school.

Part of this is because school gets harder when you advance in the system, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming. I think another part has to do with a concussion from basketball this year. Constant headaches are never fun...

But I think another part of it just has to do with the fact that life isn't easy and it definitely wasn't meant to be. We are meant to grow here, and sometimes, in order to grow, we have to be given challenges to overcome and learn from. God gives us trials to allow us to come back to Him and receive a boost in faith and trust in His perfect plan. We aren't created to fail, but rather to be taught and learn about life. If we weren't ever given anything challenging, we would stay the same.

I still question why it is so hard to be motivated sometimes. Tonight was one of those times. I walked outside and saw some blossoms on a bush in my backyard. Not all of them are blooming yet, but a few close to the ground have opened. I'm here to say that no matter how hard the winter, the spring is coming. It might take a little while, but it will come. The dark night will end, and oh, how glorious the sunrise. Yes, life might seem dark, cruel, and unforgiving. It might seem overwhelming and borderline impossible. It is on our own, but the great thing is we aren't alone. We have a Heavenly Father who knows us personally and loves us. ( If you want more information on this, visit https://www.lds.org/?lang=eng or https://www.mormon.org/) No matter how alone we may feel we are, He is always there for us. In our trials, we need to turn to Him, and ask for the strength to overcome them, rather than turn away and ask why we are going through this.

We can overcome depression, anxiety, fear, heartache, tragedy, or anything else that seems so prominent in this world. Even the worst day of your life only has twenty four hours. Every winter will end, and spring will come. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, we just need faith to follow the path until then!

Open Letter to a Girl in Love With Basketball

You're 5 years old when you first start playing. You sit on the front row of the bleachers, imagining what it would be like to actually be playing basketball right now. You watch in amazement as the Varsity girls make passes in perfect harmony with the cutter. You want to be like them, and you don't really understand that it's a goal you're setting, you just want to play. You start shooting at half time, and the basket seems so much higher than you thought. The ball is heavier than the older girls make it look. Next year, you can start little league basketball, and it makes you so excited you can't sleep at night. 

Now you're ten years old, and you're starting to get the hang of the game. You can now do a proper layup and get the ball to the rim, and it goes in sometimes. You're moving from three on three to five on five, and it's the best thing ever. Basketball is still for fun. You love it so much and still faithfully attend varsity girls basketball games and imagine how amazing it must be to play at that level. You continue to work on your game, and keep the dream of playing high school basketball in the back of your mind. You are also starting to make solid relationships with the girls you play with.

At thirteen, you play on your first school team. Your jersey has the same mascot or school name as the older kids now. The game becomes faster, and everyone is getting better. You have so much fun playing with the girls you've now been with for a few years, and you're sure you'll all play as seniors together. The game is still for fun, and you play because you enjoy it. Your competitive nature is allowed to be free as you dive for loose balls and get the first of many black and blue knees.  It's worth it though, it's all for the love of the game. 

At some point you're going to question if this is all worth it. The late nights and early mornings spent getting stronger or faster, the extra lines to make yourself more tired to shoot foul shots so you know you can make them when you're tired in a game. If it doesn't make the fire in your soul burn deep and powerful, then maybe it's not for you, but if it does, pursue it and don't let the fire die. 

Now you're in grade 10, and high school basketball tryouts prove tougher than you thought. There will be two teams, varsity and junior varsity. Some of your friends you've played with for five years didn't even come to tryouts, and some got cut, but you made it. All your hard work helped you, and you start to work hard, to give your team the best shot at win i g and you enjoy the new experience and the new pace of basketball. The games become more intense and the crowds become larger. Coaches from your younger days stop to talk to you in the store, and only then do you realize the impact they've had not only on your game, but on your life. You love everything about high school basketball and the thrill of it all. 

Somewhere along this journey, you're going to have coaches and you're going to have critics. Coaches will help you, and push you, even if they don't necessarily have the title. They are still there to remind you to keep your elbow in or to shoot the ball and quit pushing it. Critics are going to tell you you aren't strong enough, fast enough, quick enough, smart enough, tall enough, or athletic enough. Don't let this cause a detour in your progression. Push through it. It's all about determination and discipline. You are enough, if you decide to let yourself be. 

Grade 11 rolls around, and now you're playing varsity basketball. Everything you've dreamed about for the last ten years is now a reality, and it's hard. It's hard to balance school, sleep, and practice every day, let alone a social life. That goes out the window for five months. The court doesn't become just a place to play basketball. It becomes a stress reliever, a place you can be yourself. Your teammates don't expect you to keep your "everything is fine all the time" mask on. They get it. It's physically and emotionally draining and sometimes it takes every last ounce of courage you have to finish the last set of lines for the day. But then you prove to yourself you can do it. You can do whatever you need to even when it gets hard and that is important to always remember. Games come down to a few foul shots in front of a huge crowd. The whole town knows the outcome of your tournament before you even get home. Everyone has high expectations for you, including yourself and your teammates. Losses are heartbreaking, wins give you confidence you forgot you had. You become so attached to the girls on your team, and then you play the last game of the season. It's bound to happen, you knew it would all along. A prayer by your captain ends the season, and no one wants to walk out of the locker room after, because then reality sets in. It's over. The seniors you became best friends with are leaving, and you cant keep the tears contained anymore because you can't imagine playing without them. Before you know it, you give them a hug as you pull away from the hotel. That chapter of their life is over, and you have to okay without them next year. 

So, this is the part I'm supposed to tell you it's not scary. I'm not going to do that, because I'm not going to lie to you. It is scary. But, fear is natural, fear is good, it just means you are about to face something of importance and you can do it. It is scary, it's scary to know an injurie could end your career. It's scary to know you won't ever play with those ten girls again. It's scary to think what will happen in the next five years. It's a good scary, but that doesn't make it easy by any means. 

Heading into my senior season next November, I have a few things to say. It's all worth it. The relationships with these girls will last a very long time and that's the most important thing. I am asking you to stop and take a minute and enjoy everything. Enjoy every step of the way, because it's a journey and not a destination. Allow yourself to be happy and don't wish practices away (I'm guilty of this) because before you know it, it's over. Breathe, enjoy it, and have fun. Because, after all, it's a game, a game embedded with life lessons, and you gotta learn them while you can! 

Madness of Magic

Magic. The simple word evokes a sense of wonder and curiosity, it is the bridge between the known and the unknown, the seen and unseen. It can be a label given to a mysterious thing, or something we don't completely grasp.

I believe in magic to a certain extent. I'm not saying I believe in unicorns or fairies and pixie dust. I believe extraordinary moments in ordinary tasks of each day of our lives, I believe magic resides in each of us, and it comes alive in scenarios we need it, or to add a cherry on top of a fantastic moment.

Roald Dahl said, "And above all. watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."

Now, I don't know about you, but this speaks directly and powerfully to my soul. It literally makes me want to go out, and find magic. It makes me want to explore caverns untouched, and wander off the beaten path. It motivates me to do extraordinary things. Yes, all of these things sound amazing, but are they very realistic? Not at all.

Magic is to be found in the midst of ordinary tasks we perform on the daily. Magic can happen on a simple drive to wherever you need to go (school, work, etc.) as the sun is rising, and it finally peaks over the horizon, allowing the rays to spread across the landscape all around you. Magic can be present when we reach a goal, or a milestone. Magic can be present in the quiet hours of the early morning, when amazing and reaffirming thoughts enter our tender minds. Magic can happen when we all come together to create something that wasn't there before, or to help someone in need out. Magic is all around us, we just need to have the courage to see it.

I believe we as a society far too often dismiss magic as a mere coincidence, never giving it the full attention and credit it deserves. Magic doesn't have to be a spell, or a wave of the wand to be real magic. We forget the notions of magic we each once held dear in our minds in our earlier years, deeming it as unrealistic and a waste of energy. I challenge each of you to revisit those ideas, and allow yourself to feel magic in your life again.

Maybe to find magic, you have to get away from reality for a while. Unplug, refresh, find magical moments again.

I believe magic can be captured in a photograph, whether it's from a real camera or from your smart phone. I believe magic is passed around in a genuine smile or a contagious laugh. Magic is literally wherever we look for it.

Please find magic. You might see it occasionally, and I want you to look for it more often. You might never see it, and I hope you find glimmers of it, because it's there. I've seen it, I've felt it, and I've lived around magical people. Magic is in details, in flower petals and water droplets. All you have to do is look for it through glimmering eyes, and it'll be there!

P.S. I want to hear about your magic moments! You can comment on this blog post, or send me an email, or comment on my Facebook and/or Instagram post(s) regarding this blog post. I look forward to hearing about them!