day 5: hot chocolate and blankets

          On a cold (or sad) day, a cup of hot chocolate can make you feel better. It warms you from the inside out. A blanket is almost the same, but it warms you from the outside in. A friend can do the same thing just by their words/ small acts of kindness. I am lucky enough to have many of these friends who have done all of the above. I decided to go to a football game the other night with a very dear friend. It was really cold, and I had been kinda sad that day, so we grabbed some blankets and a few other friends.  We got to the game and my dear friend sat close to me. He kept me warm with his kind words, sweet and very simple actions. He made sure I had a blanket covering me so I stayed warm, and at when we had to leave the game he bought me a cup of hot chocolate.
          I love having this friend around, and when it was time to leave to take him home I didn't want to have to. We drove to his house slowly, but in enough time for his curfew. We walked to his door and tried to put off saying good bye. He gave me a sweet, sincere, safe, and very strong hug. This hug was special because it warmed me from my heart to the outside. I felt so happy but so sad because I had to say good bye. He didn't just end the hug and head inside his house, he lingered with me still wrapped in his arms. He looked in my eyes with the sweetest expression that melted my heart. he gave me another quick huge, whispered goodnight in my ear, and then he had to go inside
          I had forgotten how much these simple things meant to me until that night I got to spend with him, how often do we forget how much a simple hug can do for some one. Take time to do a simple act of service, go out of your way  to cheer or help some one.

Day 4: Who would you be?

How many of the simple things in life would we miss if they disappeared?

• Do you love the smell of rain?
• Do you like the vibrant color's it leaves behind?
• Do you like the taste and smell of an orange?
• Do like feeling a pine needles even if we think they only come from Christmas trees?
• Do you like being able to hold a book in your hands and turn the pages?
• Do you like to see a small butterfly gracefully slide into and then out of our view?
• Do we like to hear the sound of a little river, or the sound of chirping birds?

             What would you do if you no longer could smell or taste and orange?  How would we know our surroundings now if we couldn't hear any sounds? What memories would you have if you could not feel the needles on a pine tree at Christmas, or the paper cuts from turning pages in a good book? What would you do do if it never rained again, if the colors faded away, if you could never see a butterfly again?

             Our creator knew how everything on this earth would work for us, he planned down to every little pouch of juice in an orange peel for us to enjoy! The calming sounds of an ocean or river are perfect for a stormy day in our lives, and God knew that we would have hard days and need to unwind in constructive ways, and he gave us ears so that we may hear all of the calming sounds around us. We have the sense of touch to help with our lack of other senses, but with out it we may not be able to learn some important lessons in our lives. If we never got a paper cut we wouldn't appreciate all the times our fingers went unscratched by the paper.
          Being able to turn a page a physically hold and read a book to help you know that it is true makes so much of a difference. Even a military commanding officer who had seen battle, but never had any interest in the LDS church recognized that the Book of Mormon is true! he said, "The authors of this book have been in many wars and Joseph Smith could not have written the Book of Mormon, because he had never seen battle. It has to be true because no detail of war is glorified as it is today."
        God has put so much thought into our lives, but do we realize all the simple things we enjoy that are very in depth. How many people sit and think through the water cycle and how it was created when it rains, or how God created light in a way that it can be refracted and reflected to create a rain bow? If the colors in the world faded, and your eye sight was gone, what would you do? 
           One of my dear friends who passed away two years ago, was blind. Devin was a very optimistic boy. One day I asked him what it was like when he felt like he had his eyes open even if he couldn't see. He told me, "I can't see like you, not the same at all. My eyes feel heavy and sad, but I can see still. I can see the vibrant colors on a basketball, just enough to know where it is, and where it is going when I pass it. I wont be able to use my eyes now on this earth but at least I can understand every thing you say, and I will never forget a voice I hear."
        Devin was an inspiration to so many people, and especially me. He had a strong testimony of the gospel, and his comment about never forgetting a voice always makes me wonder  how many other voices does he remember now that he has passed on. He must have never forgotten our God's voice. Even if we can't see, hear, smell, taste, or touch our God, doesn't mean he isn't there, it just means we have We would miss the simple things in life.

"Do you know God paints every color on a butterfly with his finger."
- The Ultimate Gift-

Day 3: The Accompaniment to my life

    Fingers flow over the piano keys like a river running out to meet the sea; with rough starts, smooth curves, and some small waterfalls on the way. Every listener interprets my song, differently, but I know it's meaning and how I want it to sound. As the latest chord of my song is played, the sound resonates and slowly fades to nothing but a memory.No one moves or breathes, but as I look to my audience, not a single viewer's eyes has let emotion slip through. One day , when the listeners understand the meaning of my song, their eye's will not be dry as the last chord of my song is played. No matter how many different languages are spoken around the world, there are two universally spoken languages that reach straight to the listener's heart; love and music. These two languages speak the loudest and strongest without using any words. A song starts out starts out in the mind, and is eventually written down onto sheet music. This sheet music contains many small marks of time signatures, key changes, and symbols. These small marks that cover the pages of sheet music may be overwhelming and confusing to the viewer  but without the small markings the song will not be the same. When my story is written down on paper it may seem overwhelming, but without the simple stories in my life I would not be who I am today. One of the simple  and yet complex ways to describe my life can be contained in one word, music. I play the piano that accompanies the story of my life.

Day 2: The Unheard Stories

Some of the most beautiful things in this life are the ones that are so simple and yet so taken for granted, but how often do we forget how different we would be without them. Friends are a simple thing in life that without knowing we have them we would feel so alone. There are so many stories that go untold of the simple things that people have done for us. If we only could tell every story and hear both sides of the story, we would understand things much better. All we have to do is take time to listen, not just with our heads, but with our hearts!

This TED Talk was shown to me, and there are so many people where I haven't told them about the "loli-pop moment" that they have had in my life. One day when my memory is perfect I will go up to every person and tell them every "loli-pop moment" they have had in my life. Enjoy your life and be the best you, that you can be! Don't  worry what others think about you, just be you and try your hardest to be true to yourself.

Day 1: The sweet things friends will do

            On a day when life seems daunting, the simplest thing can make a huge difference. Waking up in the morning is hard enough to do, but when you know you have a long day ahead of you this small task of opening your eyes is the first step to what feels impossible. I woke up today not wanting to go to school and face the way my grades look, not wanting to move my feet one more step, but each morning and day there is always someone there to keep me going. 
           A phone call in the morning to remind me that some one else is depending on me for help, gets me moving. When I get to school this friend doesn't desert me, but they stay with me. They wait patiently close by, and they help me. They tease me in the best way to help me feel better. They are accepting of the others I choose to keep company with. They never get angry at me, and are kind enough to kindly point out my silly mistakes so I can improve each day!
           My family is most definitely not perfect, but whose is? I know that we all try hard to get along and pull our weight, but when the weight is shifted from one person to another I feel the stress. I carry it through my day and it weighs me down, but by the end of the day it is much less than when I started. My friends talk to me and they truly listen. They give me advice and try to help me relax and feel better about the situation. 
            One day I will be able to repay my friends for all the simple things they do for me to keep me going, but for now all I have are my words that can tell about my friends. Even if there are not specific names mentioned in this post, my friends know who they are, and I hope that they always will remain my friends!