Happiness

Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.-Abraham Lincoln

Happiness is a state of mind or feelings such as satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. We are each in charge of our own happiness and we make conscience decisions that help us on our path to happiness. Finding true happiness is a personal journey that each must take. We each have to learn to be happy with who we are regardless of our circumstances. I don't believe that happiness is necessarily you being content with life because I believe we have to continue to improve ourselves but we can be comfortable with who we are.

There are lots of things lately that have brought me happiness. Lindsay and Scott had the most perfect baby boy, Charlie, just last week. It sometimes amazes me how happy we can be for other people. I was so happy for them and loved talking to Lindz about becoming a new mom. 2 weeks before Nina had her baby boy, Rivers. She even let me come hold this handsome little guy yesterday for 2 hours. Thanks Nina! I was thinking how crazy it is that we can love babies so instantaneously. As soon as I held Rivers I loved him and with Charlie I fell in love with just a picture. They are so perfect and it makes me happy. One of my other best friends, Laura, got engaged this past weekend. I was so happy for her that I wanted to scream, or maybe I wanted to scream because she got engaged. No, seriously, I was so happy that she found someone that makes her happy. She deserves it. Then I was super happy this past week because it was one of the most enjoyable weeks. The weekend started off great and Friday night and Saturday were so much fun. Then church was canceled Sunday (I know this really shouldn't make me happy but it did) and I was able to go hang out with Ben and that was a ton of fun. And to make it all the better I get a phone call while I was at his apartment and school the next day was cancelled so I was able to stay and play longer. It made me extremely happy. Then this past weekend was a ton of fun too. Wow, I didn't realize how much I was enjoying life until I started writing this. Anyways, I was just thinking that I am pretty happy with my life right now. Sometimes I smile for no reason and I like this feeling. It is in no way perfect. There are things about it that make me want to scream but I feel comfortable with where I am. Happiness isn't a moment but it's a continuous feeling. There are moments that make me extremely happy and maybe giddy for a few minutes but they pass. Happiness lingers and I am feeling it now. I guess I'm having a hard time expressing here what I actually want to say, this drives me crazy because I feel it has become the norm for me. I've had a hard time recently expressing myself.

I am happy and I am going to go with it. I know we are suppose to be a happy people and I am loving it. Life is good, I am good. I know that this is a rambling but I needed to write it. I truly believe that success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.

Things I am trying to focus on right now that will lead to great happiness.
Focus on the positive. There are already too many people looking for the negative
Create Happy Endings Whenever Possible

Enjoy the Simple Pleasures in Life

Take Responsibility for my life. I am in charge of my own actions

Are there exceptions?

Hello family and friends. I haven't blogged in a while and thought I would just give a quick update of my life. Nothings changed, The End.

No, seriously. Life is pretty good and I am learning to be content with it. I went to Riverdance this past Saturday night and it was fabulous. I loved it. I recommend it to everyone! Just going was great but going with Ben was even better. He's a super fun person. I'm sad I didn't get a picture. I use to take pictures of everything and now I don't. I'm going to get better at taking pictures.

As for my church life, I am up to three callings now. Yes, I said 3. I am the branch librarian, I teach gospel principles, every Sunday, and I am the Enrichment leader. I know it's hard in a small branch to fill all the callings with worthy individuals but if they try any more I might have to say no.

As for the title of my blog I thinking about how we all want to be the exception to the rule in something in our life but we are not. I know, it sounds harsh. But once we learn that we are the rule, not the exception, we will all be able to sleep better at night! I must constantly repeat in my head, "you are not the exception".

Best and Worst

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. --Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities
It would seem that this famous quote is applicable in all of our lives at different points. I sometimes feel this way and would think everyone does.
I'm at one of those points now. I am loving life but then right when I think that I am happy thoughts creep into my mind about things that are out of my control. I do not like this one bit.
I love when he says we had everything before us, we had nothing before us. I feel this way. I feel the world has so much to offer but then when I take a second glance it has nothing for me. I like this quote and love how applicable it is in my life. I'm blessed with so many things that I try really hard to be positive and remember these things. We are only given what we can endure. Just when I think I'm at my breaking point there is always a little relief sent my way.
So, as for what I did on Valentines Day. I had a great day. I started by going to the temple, which is always a good idea. That night I went out with Ben. He gave me a potted gerber daisy. This was awesome because gerber daisies are in my top 2 favorite flowers. He didn't know that but still, it was a good choice. It was super nice and thoughtful; I hope that I don't kill them. We went to a really cool little Ethiopian restaraunt and then went and saw "He's just not that into you". I had an awesome time and love hanging out with him.
On a side note, if you are going to eat at the Ethiopian restaraunt, be prepared to leave smelling bad.

Almost

When I was 17ish my favorite song was "Almost doesn't count" by Brandy. I loved this song and for some reason yesterday I was thinking about it. It's so true, almost never has counted. It doesn't count in the gospel, in sports, in love or in life.
With the gospel if you think that you can almost keep the commandments then the Lord will almost bless you. It doesn't work! I'm not saying we are perfect but we have to do our best.
With love you can't almost make someone love you. They either will or they won't. Then sports you don't almost make a point, you either score you don't. I have been thinking about almost a lot lately. I know it's random but it is what it is.
I've also been working on learning that if you never act, you will never know. I have been trying to be more bold. Yea, it makes me real nervous but so far there haven't been any crazy repercussions. We'll see, I'm having fun!
Oh and I kinda hate when people say that, "What's the worst thing that can happen". Well for a start I can be rejected, I can get embarrassed, there are multiple things that could happen. And while these do not compare to loosing an arm, at the time you might rather cut off your big toe.

Doing my Thing

So, I thought I would give a little life update. This past weekend I had a RockStar party at James' house and it was alot of fun. We played Guitar Hero world tour, this is played with 4 players. There was a total of 18 people there so we rotated through who got to play. I think everyone had a fun time and some even dressed up for the occasion. We had fake tattoos for those who didn't and we had tons of food. I believe that everyone really enjoyed themselves. I sure did. It started at 8pm and the last person left around 2am. It was a good time.

Then Saturday night my branch had a bonfire and a chili cookoff. It was super cold but it was a lot of fun. I made some super good chili. I had several people tell me that they thought mine was going to win but in the end it didn't. So I got a picture with Ben, the winner and me, the should have been winner. It's okay, next time I will be better prepared. I like to win.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm putting myself out there. I'm trying to be social and make friends. It can be hard at times but it's been fun.