My grandma didn't text

When I was young, I was in LOVE with Nsync...well, what I thought was "love." I remember my friends and I use to buy these magazines, so that we could rip the Justin Timberlake poster out of it, and quickly tape it to our walls! I swore back then I would marry him! Everything was so easy when it came to love, because all I knew how to do was just be myself...

As I got older...things changed. All of a sudden having a "crush" on someone ment I had to "date" them. But what the heck did that mean?? Movies always told me that dating was when you go out to dinner with a man....seemed simple enough! Then I realized it was more than that, it was having to act a certain way, look a certain way, be a certain way....what???

I remember reading Seventeen magazine trying to learn how to be like Jennifer Love Hewitt. She was the perfect girl then who could get any guy she wanted! I would read articles about how I need to be sexy and mysterious and "strut my stuff." But I was just....me. And I didn't have much stuff to strut anyway! LOL!
I have to wear high heels?? And a skirt too?? I was never the kind of girl that naturally knew how to be "that girl." I always prefered sneakers over heels, sweats over dresses! I was being thrown into a world where none of it seemed to make any sense!!

I was about 17 when this little thing that took up SO much of my time was invented....the cell phone. This brought in a WHOLE new mess of confused! Now there were even more rules about what to do when you like a guy or how to get a guy to like you! Wait 10 minutes before you text back....use wink faces if you want to flirt....dont write too many hahaha's its creepy! Wait...but what if its funny and I really am hahahaing?!! Doesn't matter...my head was hurting!

If girls weren't confused enough...they had to go see "He's Just Not That Into You." When I saw it, I remember feeling so sorry for those girls. They were sooo stressed trying to do the "right thing" when it comes to dating. Problem is, the stress of trying to do and say what they were suppose to, made it impossible for them to be themselves...or enjoy their lives for that matter. Don't get me wrong, a lot of that movie was very true! And that was the sad part about it...I thought, there has to be a better way...

I realized the love that we all want and dream about, doesn't have to be complicated. When my grandparents met, there were no "texting games" at all. They were just themselves and they were married for 70 something years until the day my grandpa passed on...dating shouldn't be a game, it should be about getting to know someone, who they are inside. If we're so focused on "the rules" how can that ever happen? My grandma respected herself and she never compromised....never tried to be someone she wasn't....and you know what, my grandpa put a ring on it! Haha! I don't think you have to read a book or watch a movie to know how to be yourself. And I don't think you have to kiss a dozen frogs before you find your prince. Love is simpler than that, life is simpler than that....and I know for a fact, my grandma didn't text. :-) Peace <3

When life gives you lemons....make lemonade.

I've been hearing the saying "when life gives you lemons...make lemonade" since I've been a little girl. I never really agreed with it though. I mean, what does that actually mean?  When life gives me a bad situation, I'm suppose to just lay down and die? Make the best and just roll with it?

Sammy Davis Jr. one of my all time favorite performers! There's nothing this man can't do! He sings, writes, acts, taps, does impersonations...but the thing I always admired about him most, is that he didn't take no for an answer. He faced the hardest battle in trying to do what he loved. He was an African American, trying to make it big in what was then, a racist society. Life gave him lemons, it gave him all his talent but with a skin color that wasn't approved. If he would've just accepted that, taken no for an answer and "made lemonade," I don't think we ever would've known his name.

50 Cent. Whether you love him or hate him, we can all agree he is a VERY successful man. Here's a man that came from virtually nothing, and with hard work and perseverance, he built himself an empire! I always love quoting him "get rich, or dying trying." Its so simple, but really amazing. Because the truth is, it's a mind set. It's saying you won't accept failure, won't accept NO, and certainly won't accept those lemons! He threw those lemons back and worked for some diamonds! Lol...to me, there is something so incredible about someone who will go after what they want in life and will turn every road block, into a stepping stone.

Life to me is like a never ending journey. Filled with surprises, some sudden corkscrews and lots of dirt along the way! However, its also filled with adventures, new discoveries, and always purpose. One thing I always promised myself was that I would never give up. Like my mama always says, "the only way you lose, is if you quit." I live by that! If you keep going and pushing and striving and don't take NO for an answer...how can you lose?! You can't! That's the beauty of it.

What if Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I had a dream....not really sure if I should say it though...it's probably best that I don't." Do you think our world would be the same today?? He chose to not accept his lemons. He chose to do something about his situation, not just watch it happen. I love that!

I friend of mine gave me a poem a couple of years back....


"If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t
If you like to win but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost.
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win the prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can."

What do I say? I say don't take the lemons. Always reach for more! Anything you want in the world can be yours, you just can't be afraid to go get it! You deserve more than a few sour lemons...so why settle?? Besides, I prefer strawberries :-) but this is just one simple girl's blog...unfortunately, your mother, sister, brother, father, and cousin's friend's dad's neighbor will probably keep saying, "when life gives you lemons...make lemonade." Peace <3