Sweet Summertime :)

    Summer is here, ladies and gents! For me, it rolled around after a stressful end to junior year and some unnaturally cold June weather. Now, it is precisely 81 degrees outside, and the fireflies are blinking under the trees in the front yard. Oh, and did I mention I am officially a senior in high school? It is now the beginning of the end, and I am both sad and excited about whatever God has in store for me over the next year. Actually, now that I think about it, I get even more excited and happy and proud of myself for making it this far. It's a funny feeling, but I love it all the same:)
    So far, this summer has been great. And I'm surprised. Last summer I spent too much time overthinking and moping and feeling sorry for myself, and I ruined practically the rest of the year because of the ghosts I let captivate my mind. So, when the last few weeks ended up being lovelier than I had imagined, and the weeks to come started to fill up with things to do, I was pleasantly surprised.
    I don't know. All of the sudden I'm just really thankful to be here now, doing what I'm doing, and enjoying the life God has blessed me with.
    It's still a struggle everyday. I have to drag my lackadaisical self out of bed every morning, and work really hard at Positive Thinking, something I have never been a star at doing. Sometimes my sisters drive me up a wall. I get into fights with my younger brother. My friends let me down, or I forget to be there for them. But you know what? That's life, my lovelies. It's usually kind of a letdown if you have unrealistic expectations for the people around you. The only person you should expect to be a superhero is yourself, I believe.
    But who knows? I'm still very young and inexperienced; I could be wrong. I'll most likely go out into The Big Bad World and make a thousand more mistakes, and (hopefully) learn from a few of them. The very thought of being out on my own someday scares the hell out of me, honestly, especially because that Someday is like, next year. I keep thinking, "I like where I am now. I don't want to change." But...God has a plan for me, and no matter what, I have to trust in his timing. Is that hard for me? Yeah. I'm kind of a control freak when it comes to my own life. But I am learning how to let go. I think I'll always be in a constant state of learning; I'll never fully understand everything about life until, ironically, I die. I can pretend all I want that I have it all figured out, but I honestly never will, which is somewhat of a relief.
    Anyway, I wanted to close this post with something my friend Grace wrote to me in a letter. I was rereading it this morning, and I was like "Oh my gosh, not only does Grace have a beautiful face, she's also a genius." so, here is the link to Grace's fantastic blog, the one that inspired me to start writing more, and here is what she wrote (hopefully she doesn't mind me sharing this. I think only like 12 people read my blog, so she's got nothing to fear):
    "I had a thought while staring out the window at the trees. Humans are so much more alive than trees and have so much more to live for and yet trees are so much more peaceful...humans are the most privileged organisms on the planet and Americans are the most privileged of the most privileged and yet everyone is so upset or angry all the time. I don't know. I guess I feel like people are missing the point. There is so much to live for and so much glory that needs to be given to God and people (myself included) miss out on all of it...I just want to be happy, and live and bring glory to the Almighty and give him thanks for this awesome life he's given me to live." 
    Yeah. That pretty much says it all.
--Laura :)

Big City Dreams

So, remember that little sister of mine I told you about in my last post? If you don't, then you should go read my previous post. Right now. Because then and only then will this one make sense, and also that last post was arguably my best one yet:)

    My sister has a blog, and in her last post she wrote about what she intends to do with her life, and it got me thinking: what do I want to do? Nothing nearly as exciting as what Rose wants to do, but she's more of a lighthearted dreamer than me. Usually when I dream, my imagination runs away with me and I end up getting upset over problems that only exist in my beautiful mess of a mind.

    Yet, still I dream. I can't help myself from letting aimless wonderings about The Future seep through the cracks of my mind. I think about it as I drift off to sleep every night, and sometimes my dreams are so vividly real I become convinced they are premonitions of what's to come.

    But what really lies ahead of me, on the footpath of Someday? Only God knows. And, yeah, I know Jeremiah 29:11 by heart like any good Christian girl, but is it wrong for me to want to know what exactly those plans God has for me are?

    No, I don't think so.

    I know what I want to happen. I want to go to college and learn lots of things, to satisfy my endless  question of "why?". I want to make friends and travel the world and experience a culture through the eyes of a foreigner and help as many people as I can. I want to be a nurse, and miraculously graduate nursing school with as minimal college debt as possible. I want to have a cute little house with a wraparound porch and rooms painted in pretty colors and a Golden Retriever named Bingley. I crave adventure, and maybe I'll have a few adventures of my own. I'll read a thousand books and hone a thousand new skills and maybe do some serious work to make the world suck less.

    So, these are the things I want to do. There are memories I intend on making, too- being pinned by one of my aunts at my nurse's Pinning, being in my friends' and sisters' weddings, meeting people who make me laugh until tears stream down my cheeks. Oh, and maybe I'll write a book, or have a closet full of cute clothes and shoes, or adopt some orphans, or marry my best friend- agh, there are so many things on my bucket list. Yet I dare to dream that I, by the grace of God, can accomplish them all. And the very thought of doing all these fearful and wonderful things makes me excited and nervous at the same time.
    In closing, here is the link to my darling, dearest sister's blog. If you're ever having a bad day I highly reccomend you read it, and let the sunshine of her words warm your soul.

This picture basically describes mine and Rose's relationship.

--Laura :)

    

All The Pretty Things

    So, as always, I was doing a lot  of thinking today, and I realized: I named this blog All The Pretty Things for a reason. Because I wanted to write about the lovely side of life. I wanted to make myself fell better, and maybe even inspire a few people. Yet I have discovered that I have somewhat failed in the area of "positive thinking" and "happy writing." All I've really done so far is write about my so-called problems and post a few pictures of trees that I downloaded off of Google. Myopic? Yes. Inspirational? I think not.
    Therefore, today I have decided to write about some of the happy thoughts I've had lately. And maybe, someone somewhere will read this, and they'll laugh and smile and feel good on the inside. You never know:)

Pretty things that make me happy:
1. Coffee. Yeah, I'm that girl. The one who is a grumpy wolverine every morning when she wakes up at 8:00 B.C (Before Coffee). I am a completely unmotivated, pajama-clad slug until I have a fresh, steaming cup of the sweet nectar of life. I am not even joking when I say that coffee is what gives me strength to face every day (also Jesus- whoa there, I almost sounded like a heretic). Just this week I tried to fast from coffee, but I only lasted for three days. I discovered that me + no caffeine for 72 hours= one lethargic, lifeless human being who naps like a preschooler (I fell asleep after school yesterday and the day before, thus breaking my previous record of Naps Taken This Year, which was zero). I will argue with anyone who says that coffee isn't pretty. Excuse me, but have you been to Starbucks? Have you seen all those pictures hipsters post on Instagram of their mocha frappucinos, piled high with whipped cream in plastic-domed cups? Case and point. 
2. My little sister.

vertically speaking, she isn't my little sister, given the fact that she has at least an inch on me when it comes to height (but I am growing, I swear). She is my one and only baby sister, and she is most certainly one of the pretty things that make me happy. Sometimes, I think of myself when I was her age, and I get this funny, pride-like feeling in my gut, because she is so much more herself at fourteen than I ever was. Rosie is hilarious- she has no filter and has been bequeathed by her closest friends with a nickname: The Bucket of Sass. She's also tough as nails- I can be quite the demanding older sister, yet for all the ways I boss her around, or pick on her, she has not let it get to her. Usually I complain, because she can be kind of an introvert, which I find boring. This is what often happens when I ask Rose to join me at some social junction: 

Me: "Hey Rose, do you want to come to (insert name of social gathering)?"

Rose: *gives me her signature 'gurl please' face* "No."

Me: "Ugh, whyyyy?"

Rose: "Why not? I have books to read. And Tumblr needs me."

Me: "But you could make some friends if you came with me. And there will be free food."

Rose: "I have all the friends I need right here *gestures to stack of Harry Potter books* and besides. Mom makes me free food."

Me: "God, you're boring."

Rose: "Meh, I am who I is." *goes back to napping*

Although Rose prefers staying in bed and reading books to going out and doing stuff, I admire her. She doesn't need people. She knows who she is, which is something most girls her age cannot say. She's good company when I'm lonely, and we have endless private jokes that the rest of the world shakes their heads at us for. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with a cute, huggable punching bag, therapist, and future maid of honor called my sister.

3. Laughter. I love to laugh. My true sense of humor is sarcastic and slightly inappropriate. I like to laugh at myself sometimes (ironically though, I get Uber-sensitive when people make fun of me, because I always think they're being serious). People with witty senses of humor make me happy. When someone tells a joke, and it hits me right in the funny bone, my immediate reaction is to ask them to be my best friend for all of eternity, or (if they happen to be male) for their hand in marriage. You know that feeling? When you laugh so hard you literally stop breathing, with a painfully happy smile on your face? That is one of the best feelings in the world. I think laughing like that should be a good workout for your abs. If that was the case, I believe people would be motivated to laugh more. Then there would be more laughter in the world, all because some people wanted  6-packs.

4. Music. Usually, music is my go-to when I feel sad, or confused, or just drained. I love lyrics that speak the words I cannot voice, but only feel. I love music that moves me, those songs whose melodies stir up a fire in my soul. Music is certainly a Pretty Thing. Anyone with ears could tell you that. Surely everyone has the One Song that they listen to on repeat until it becomes their own, the one with the lyrics that they've memorized, because they feel like they are their lyrics. Even songs without words speak volumes- I love this one by the fantastic group called the Piano Guys. To me, it sounds hopeful. It sounds like the early morning, right after the sun has come up, when you have hardly said a word and as of yet, the day is unspoiled and full of promise.

    Maybe I'm a hopeful sort of person. I definitely expect a lot out of other people, and because of that I end up being disappointed a lot. I believe in the power of music, but I also believe in the power of words. Words can be a person's greatest encouragement, and also their biggest adversary. I believe we have the power to let someone else's words define us. We also have the power to ignore them, to make them meaningless to us. More importantly, we have to make that decision whenever someone says something that could potentially harm or define us- will their words make us, or will they break us? I think it's usually best not to let what anyone says hurt us, unless it is for our own good. The phrase "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is nice and all, but I personally believe that what you decide to not let hurt you really makes you stronger. You get tough, yet vulnerable at the same time. It's a strange conundrum, but it is life, and who am I to question the greatest gift God has ever given me?

--Laura :)