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They can be found growing anywhere they're looked for earnestly!
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1. Meet my loved ones in the predetermined spot,
2. Get a hold of as many antibiotics as we could,
3. Head for shelter! -
Every. Other. Day!
And one day, I'm pretty sure that I will. I carry my car keys and license with me wherever I go and when I can, I keep my gas tank full. My car is equipped with snacks, water, a pillow, a blanket, a flashlight, and a giant stuffed gorilla to keep me company. Couple that with my belief of only having one "wild and precious life" and you've got a dangerous combination.
"...I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is is you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?"
--Mary Oliver -
In this moment?
Dinner. No more homework. Warm weather. Perfect health. With a loved one drinking something warm and talking about how we see the world, what we're afraid of, and what we have hope in.
Today?
To have my homework finished and to feel like I got something accomplished at the end of today.
This week?
To design and finalize my major and my summer. To mail out letters to Brianna and Pam. To practice piano, to work out, and practice my swing dancing routine. To commemorate the best consecutive 100 days of my life with reverence, thankfulness, and joy.
In my life?
To live as intentionally and as much as I can.
To love and be loved. To help and be helped. To know and be known. To learn and to teach. To understand and be understood. For my loved ones to be content with who they are and where they are but also to have dreams and a drive and a purpose. To spread Good News. To do my best to be my best and to do all I can with all I have for everyone I can. To show people that selfless unconditional love is real. To give people a sneaking suspicion that life might not be as terrible as they think or have been lead to believe it is. To share with people the joy and love and grace and peace I've experienced. To never stop growing, learning, and changing. -
Only be able to have a shaved head.
Although I did at one time really look up to Rapunzel,
I realize now it was only because she was high up above me in a tower. -
Thank you for the kind words and for the question! I really enjoyed thinking and writing about it. I'm both flattered and honored that you thought to ask me and that you responded as well.
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I believe that love is real and it is also a choice.
I personally don't think people "fall out of love"; I think people give up. I learned a lot of what I believe and practice about love from my family. At times when I couldn't stand being around one of my 6 brothers or sisters my parents would encourage me to get over it and help me work through it. They told my siblings and me that we were a family and the only family any of us would ever have; they said that while we lived under their roof we were all going to choose to stick together, work together, help each other, and to love each other. I learned how to share and take turns and give gifts and compliment and listen fairly and respect and obey and forgive and trust. I learned to love unconditionally. Because of this, my home became a safe haven from the world. No matter what, to this day I always know that I can go home or to a family member during a trial or time of need and be held and cared for and listened to.
When I was younger I thought everyone loved-- I thought it was a part of our genetic makeup. I learned quickly of broken homes, domestic and hate crimes, and other evils of the world and of the heart. I learned that just because someone is family doesn't mean you have to love them and just because someone is human doesn't mean everyone will treat them as such. I learned that I had a choice to make every day on how I would decide to treat others around me.
To me, true love is two people putting each other first and treating them as well and better than they would like to be treated. I think loving someone is going out of your way for another person without any expectations of reciprocation. I don't think love is filled with unrealistic expectations. I think that it is practical and beautiful and smothered in forgiveness and grace. Every time someone asks me for forgiveness for anything I could EVER imagine myself asking forgiveness for, I forgive them. I choose to forgive them because if I was in that situation that would be what I wanted.
Life isn't perfect; neither are people or relationships or family members. Life is messy and hard and frustrating at times. I think love is being able to look past people's imperfections and ugliness(because we are all broken and ugly). I think it takes a lot of work, faith, hope, and trust but I do believe it is real. I don't think anyone is perfect at loving others; everyone has moments of weakness. But if they have people who love them in their life to be there for them, they can be encouraged through the times when they don't feel or act 100%. I think if two people love each other, neither of them need to be perfect.
I believe love is real and a real choice and one of the most beautiful things to witness, experience, and share in life. I think that it's what we were made to do and I believe that we thrive best when we are loved. -
My favorite subjects to study are psychology and sociology.
My favorite subject to talk about with people is philosophy. -
I think the two are incomparable! A snowball fight is best when it is unplanned and somewhat unprepared. Sledding is most often planned and you must be prepared with the right equipment. Snowball fights are great when filled with energy and good spirits and attitudes; they are also great group activities and help with logic, strategy, and social skills. Sledding on the other hand takes less energy and more time. You can race other sledders making new friends with strangers on the hill while in most cases, strangers don't usually join in on snowball fights. At the same time, it's hard to join in on sledding without a sled unless someone shares. I think I'm more partial to sledding because people don't usually cry at the end from getting an iceball to the eye and it's adventurous to go on jumps and race and try to fit way too many people into a sled and it's safe for most ages to participate in.
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I'm still learning a lot about both but from a worldview standpoint, I think I have somewhat of a mix of the two beliefs. I believe in Yahweh the creator God that the Christians believe in and I believe that we have sin and that Jesus is the salvation from that sin and separation. Though I also believe that without God, there is no meaning to life(like existentialists) and that you get to choose your own purpose and that its not what happens to you, but what you do with what happens to you. I think we're in control of our lives and our fate. With the Christian perspective I think that means I'm in control and have the choice to be a Christian or not. I think that the way they can mix is that a person could see that life has no inherent meaning (like a blank slate) if it's apart from faith and they can choose to find their own meaning through the christian faith and by being a seeker of truth and love through Jesus. I think a Christian can live in the moment and take advantage of every opportunity like an existentialist with the perspective that they want to do as much for the kingdom of God while they can instead of seizing the moment to live life to the fullest for themselves. I think you could say I'm a theistic or christian existentialist or maybe an existential christian. Or maybe just a confused young woman trying to figure out the world around her. Most likely, the last one!
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Because it's an institution and has to pay the 1,000 big guys, 500 middle men, and 200 little people. Also, it has to pay for all of the advertising on cheesy billboards and commercials.
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Milkshake- Chocolate
Kool-aid- Cherry
Ice cream- Chocolate
Skittles- Cherry and Lemon
Laffy Taffy- Red
Popsicle- Grape
Rapper- Flav -
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You know the saying "He who smelt it dealt it."?
I think the Baha Men did it and wrote the song to point the finger somewhere else. Sort of like "Who took the cookie from the cookie jar." -
I say this for two reasons;
the first being that I'm really silly and corny in everything that I say and do.
The second being that I really like corndogs! -
Because there is no King of France I would take him the to 19th story of Wayside school which doesn't exist to have lunch with Mrs. Zarves who also doesn't exist.
If you mean the last King of France, Louis-Philippe I, I would take him to the nicest restaurant in France I could find today to show him how far his country has come cuisine-wise since he's been gone.
If you mean Nicolas Sarkozy, the current French president, I would take him to a beach on Lake Huron to watch the sunrise then take him on a road trip through all of lower peninsula Michigan until sunset when we'd watch the sunset on the beach then go to a nearby drive-in movie. His wife would also be invited. -
Not one of these questions! haha, I am an existentialist who lives in the moment. Honestly, I haven't given much thought to the future.
In ten years I will be 29, cresting the 30 year hill. (That's so unreal to type!) I don't have a current life plan or even a major for that matter. Ideally, I'd like to see myself out on my own living life and loving others. Hopefully I'll be writing and I'll be happy. I'll be well out of college and maybe in love or at least have had experienced real love by then. I'll be involved in my family's lives. In ten years my nephews will be in middle school and high school so if I don't have a child before then my kids won't play with my siblings' kids. I'll probably have more family members and nieces and nephews by then. Maybe I'll have a child! That is so weird to think about. I don't know if I'll get married or have kids or if I'll want to. Maybe I'll be a foster mom. Ideally I will have traveled the world by then(or at least have been on the other side of the Mississippi or into Canada). I imagine I will be helping others. Possibly counseling or coaching or teaching. Maybe writing. Maybe more than one of these.
Ideally I'll be content. Ideally I'll be doing what I think is right and what makes me happy. Ideally I'll have my life as "together" as possible and the huge problems I have now will seem so small I will hardly remember them at all.
Thank you for the toughest question in the world!
I can't believe I haven't thought about my future at all. -
I think in order to have close relationships you need to take things out of hiding and into the light. I wouldn't necessarily say that I hide things, but at the same time I don't broadcast my entire life to strangers and acquaintances; I think it'd be inappropriate to do so.
I'll admit I'm not anywhere close to perfect and there are many things I'm glad the whole world doesn't know about me. My family and my close friends know of my faults, fears, and failures though. By sharing them with people I trust who then accept me anyway, I feel like this creates a positive and safe environment for me to grow. I also know that because I'm washed in the blood of Jesus Christ that I can and will get past my past because I am being made new. I can look forward to a bright future where less and less things are kept in the dark. I think that's what makes my situation "different"-- I'm taking advantage of my mistakes and using them to learn how to be a better person. Besides, it hurts to hold those kinds of things inside.
I think you're right that everyone has things they'd rather have stay left in the dark. I also think that because we are all share this fact, we should feel comfortable sharing our secrets with ones we love and trust because they have them too and by acknowledging this, we can become closer to each other.
If there is something you would like to know that you think I wouldn't be comfortable sharing on formspring, feel free to facebook me or ask me in person. I think that by sharing in our weaknesses, we are all made stronger. -
Damien Rice's "Elephant" or Page France's "Chariot".
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Megan, I pretty much love you too, and all of the wonderful childhood memories that we share! I love how you are a shining light and have remained one even after every trial life has thrown at you; I feel like that is something we have had in common since we were little. I miss those old'en days too! Especially when we would meet the mailman at the mailbox every morning hahaha
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Valerie
Michigan
Valerie’s Bio
I'm a lover, I'm a dreamer, and I'm a corndog.
I'll admit that this is my first rodeo.
