Makes Me Think!

Today, at the final home game of the season, the entire boys basketball team at our high school entered the gymnasium in pairs of two holding hands. They did so in protest of the fact that two gay students had been sent to detention for a week for simply holding hands in the school’s hallways. MMT

Today, a week after I donated three bags of clothes to a local homeless shelter, I saw a homeless woman sitting on a park bench wearing a tye-dye shirt I made when I was a teenager. I walked by her and said, “I love your shirt!” She smiled and said, “Thank you! I really do too!” MMT

Today, one of my 80-year-old Alzheimer’s patients can't remember his own name, or where he is, or what he did the day before. But when his wife comes to visit him every afternoon his face lights up with joy and he says, "Hello my love!" MMT

MMT stands for makes me think. These are all from a website I discovered this morning called http://makesmethink.com/ People have posted a variety of little anecdotes in the same format as these above, and they truly are things to think about. I definitely teared up pretty bad on a few. So, you should check out the website and read a page or two just to give you some different life perspectives and gratitude! :)

We all have our stories

Well, I don't know how to insert a video from youtube in here, so I'm just going to post a link to take you to a short, inspiring video I came across.

Before I do that though, let me just say that today I had the worst day that I've had in a while. Technology is just not my friend all of the time and I had some major trouble with it today. Long story short, it majorly affected the amount of money in some of my bank accounts. I was randomly charged multiple times for things and when you're on a budget as tight as mine, it's very frustrating and I let some tears flow. But I'm learning that I get upset over such trivial things, and while crying can be a great form of release (especially for me), there are people in the world dealing with a lot more than you and somehow, have a much better attitude. My usual (and favorite) example of this are patients in Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Most of these very young children have experienced more in their thus far short lifetime than we have in twice that long. Yet somehow, they are living more positively than most. Tonight though, I have a new example to share, in the form of this youtube link I'm posting. This man is absolutely phenomenal not only in his attitude on life but also on sharing it with others!

Enjoy this and share it with your friends and family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE&feature=player_embedded

Kids Helping Kids

I am a very fortunate person. Despite a few bumps, I am very thankful for how I've lived, who I've been surrounded by, and the way that I was raised. One thing that I want to focus on though is how thankful I am to grow up in the world of volunteerism. My mom has this crazy, amazing streak in her that screams "MUST HELP OTHERS" and I'd like to think she passed it down to me (though she is still more adamant about this than almost everyone that I know.. I think you're pretty much tied with Kristyn, mom). Because of her I spent a lot of time as a child volunteering. HabiJax, Men Against Violence Against Women, bringing supplies to the Sulzbacher Center, every single Mitzvah Day, a kajillion service projects through Girl Scouts and A LOT more. She made sure that I was well rounded in the realm of volunteering. I seriously cant express my gratitude to her for that. As she calls it, she passed her mushy heart down to me and I wouldn't want it any other way.

When I was at the elementary schools last week encouraging them to make cards and pictures for CMN patients, I was so surprised in a few different ways. Way #1: There were kids in these classes that say they've never volunteered before. It made me realize how glad I am that I was raising in a giving atmosphere. It also made me excited to jump start them into the world of service. Way #2: CREATIVITY! Holy moly these kids radiated with some out of the box thinking and it was incredibly impressive. I had kids that wrote very inspiring messages, made their cards 3D, did crazy drawings, made two cards in one, made booklets of comments, tips on how to get better, the list doesn't end! It was very inspiring and my first time working with kids in this kind of setting. I hope that after doing one good deed, they're inspired to do more. Because they definitely inspired me to do more! :)

Smiling is Contagious

I dont know why cruel things happen to innocent people (especially children). This has always been hard to understand for me, and I'm sure for most of you as well. When I was on twitter, I stumbled across this blog: http://alicepyne.blogspot.com/

It is a blog of a 15 year old girl in England named Alice who has been battling cancer for 4 years and it's gotten to the point where she isn't expected to win. This young life that has so much left to experience is more rapidly being taken from her yet her attitude is inspiring. I don't know if I could put on such a strong game face as she does. She says, "You only have one life - live it!" Regardless of what happens to her, she is a miracle. She is spreading the message of the meaning of life and the importance of persistence and motivation and passion. She has in a short amount of time inspired thousands of people to take action in some way.

I found myself balling my eyes out because she deserves to have a long life. I looked at the links on her blog (this 15 year old is a gifted blogger, I cant figure out how to make mine look that great and link things up like that for a million dollars). She shares a UK link called Post Pals - Happy posts for poorly kids. Here you can be linked to many children with terminally ill diseases. I began to cry harder. Why do cruel things happen to innocent people/children? This website is amazing though because it gives you the opportunity to learn about different children and write them letters (similar to what I've done with children at elementary schools for CMN hospital patients). The link is: http://www.postpals.co.uk/ and I encourage everyone to find one child they'd like to make smile.

Making others smile (whether you see the smile or not) makes a world of difference in a place where hope is the fuel for tomorrow.

sprinkles on donuts.

so first i wanted to post this.. it's mcdonald's new advertisement in france. and i LOVE it. rock on french mcdonald's!

secondly, i got a twitter. i said i would never ever even go on the website, but there i am. amandaelaineh. uncool that amandaelaine was taken! there can't be that many of us in the world..

one more thing..

i have always been very particular.. and thats not going to change, i cant help it. 

but im trying something new.. see what kind of difference that makes. :o)

little red wagons.

its funny how one thing that happens to you can completely change the way your brain operates.i know that is vague but true. im sure there is a more scientific way to put it. 

this weekend i brought kristen back to jacksonville with me. it was the first time i enjoyed jacksonville for being jacksonville in a while. i was actually proud of that damned place. i enjoyed being there. when im there i love seeing my family, but i enjoyed the city itself. being there with someone who'd never been made me appreciate all the different parts of the place i spent 18+ years of my life. 

im finally in a bouncing back mode. its so wonderful! i love dwelling on things sometimes, but im so glad im past that point. i feel great.. besides my upcoming astronomy doom that is. i love learning about it but it takes a while to sink in.. and i dont like tests. 

i dont think i would survive without john mayer. his music has become a daily part of my life. 

HARRY POTTER COUNTDOWN: 9 days!!