Just Wanted to Say Thanks

Happy Summer!!!   It's crazy to look back and realize just two months ago I was freaking out about prom, finals, graduation, and everything in between.  And now I have officially graduated from Seton High School and I am looking forward to all that college has to offer me. But before I begin this incredible upcoming journey I wanted to say thank you. These last few years have been challenging, but I am incredibly blessed to have so many amazing people in my life who have helped me get through it all.

First, I would like to thank my family.  I mean without them, I wouldn't be who I am. They deal with every side of me, and they have been with me through it all. I always had my brother to make me laugh on my worst days, and my younger siblings to give me the best hugs. I've had so many late night talks with my sister just to get me through the week and sometimes just to get us through the night. (By the way these aren't ending because I'm leaving for college... you are stuck with me forever) I've always had someone to back me up. My parents have really been saints these last 18 years, I mean I'm something..but they never gave up on me and they always kept me going and I couldn't ever ask for a better set of role models in my life.

Next, to all the teachers and adults at Seton, thank you for all you have taught me these last four years. I learned so much from them and I am extremely thankful to have had this time with them. They were always there for me when I had a problem or needed advice. They are some of the strongest people I have ever met and often they were teaching us about life while keeping us laughing. Especially to Mrs. Carroll, who changed my life in the short time I have had the pleasure of knowing her, thank you. And to all the rest, I couldn't be more grateful to have them in my life.

Finally, to my incredible class, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for allowing me to be apart of the best family I could ever ask for. You have all impacted me in an everlasting way and I cannot even begin to explain my love for you all. Thank you for all the AMS classes, the strange assemblies, and the Haiti loadings. Thank you for all the tech weeks, and all the plays(especially Alice). Thank you for all the cross country seasons and all the crazy escapades. Thank you for just being everything each of you are, I am so blessed to have you all in my life. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us all, and I'm so grateful to have you all with me.  I love you!!

Why Be Happy

Everyday we are given millions of decisions, right?  Some are pretty easy.. It's easy to say Yes I will eat that chocolate cake or No, I don't want any anchovies on my pizza. But sometimes these decisions aren't so easy and we really have to think about what we are doing, and some of these take a lot of prayer. 

One of the few decisions I have found to be the easiest is the one I try to make every morning. I decide to Be Happy. Now you might be thinking this girl is crazy, but in truth it really is our decision. I used to hate it when people told me to be happy because it's not like something I could just turn on and off, right? Wrong. We choose our attitude and in choosing to be happy or to try to be happy we are setting ourselves up for success. There is that old saying, "The prettiest thing a girl can wear is her smile," and there is a lot of truth to that statement. I see girls with makeup and without makeup and yes, that does make a difference. But that's just it... they look different. Not better, not worse, just different. When I see people smiling it's just like joy bursting through the soul. Every person who smiles lights up the world and makes it just a little bit brighter. We are so blessed, why shouldn't we smile? 

I am the first one to admit life isn't easy, but if we can make it a little better, why dont we try it? Let's all try to be just a bit happier... because it could do us all some good. Why don't we all try to Be Happy, each and every day. It could do us all some good.