Following the Spirit

Sometimes the Spirit tells you to do something weird.

And sometimes that thing is write a blog post.

And He says, "You know, Anna, you have been blessed to have many awesome friends in your life. You should challenge all of your awesome friends to do something remarkable and uncomfortable. You need to tell them to reach beyond their circle of friends to include someone who really needs a really awesome friend." 

So here it is, my outstanding, incredible friends: Go out of your way today for someone you barely know. Or, maybe you already know them really well, but have been avoiding them for some time now. Or, maybe you haven't even met them yet.

Someone out there needs you. And someone out there who loves them (hint: ↑) wants you to reach out. 

So get out there! Get your smilin' at strangers on! Talk to the person who sits next to you. Don't just passive-aggressively stake your claim on the armrest. 

You can do this! Otherwise, you wouldn't be asked to do this.

On behalf of all of the lives you will touch, thank you. 

Even if it's just one  person, you can make a difference. 

In fact, especially if it's just one person, you can make a difference!

Advice

1. Smile every day.
2. Compliment other people sincerely.
3. Look for the good in yourself.
4. Don't be afraid to look like the idiot in the room.
5. Live your values.
6. Sing. LOUDLY.
7. Wear what you want.
8. Listen to your parents.
9. Read.
10. Don't waste time.

Guys, in case you've forgotten, life is good.

My Life Goal: Composed by Chopin, Expressed by Benjamin Zander

TED talks. You've heard of them. This website is how I occupy my time when I'm feeling too lazy to actually get up and do something, but at the same time, I need to feel productive. 

Yesterday, I had an awkward amount of time between class and institute. Twenty minutes is too short to make any real progress with homework or text book reading, and, besides, it was 9:30 am, so I wasn't really feeling like taking a nap. So, I TEDed. This talk. It was great! And I love what he said, towards the end. "It's not about wealth and fame and power, it's about how many shining eyes I have around me."

I want to inspire people to live up to their potential. I want to empower others. I want "to awaken possibility in other people". 

This is my goal. 

You had to be there

Me: "Blog title--So My Best Friend is Dating my Ex."
Ex: "Sorry."

Semi-political and Mildly-heated Rant

Let me apologize in advance.

I apologize. 

You may now read on.

How much sense does this make?

• Getting upset about the poor air quality in Logan, Ut. (sure, I can see that).

• Holding a rally on behalf of the elderly, the pregnant, and the young who are the most likely to be affected by the poor air quality. (logical and somewhat noble, even).

• Holding said rally outdoors on a red air day. (uh. . .).

• Inviting the elderly, the pregnant, and the young to participate in said rally in the aforementioned outdoor location on a red air day. (yes, this is happening).

• Driving to said rally in your V8 Suburban. (you'd better hope you park a couple blocks away).

• Bringing your own four year old child to this rally. (sigh).

• Standing outside, in the bitter, winter cold, and not changing anything.

How about an alternative situation?

• Getting upset about the poor air quality in Logan, Ut.

• Recognizing that some of your own personal habits don't line up with what you would like to see other people do.

• Changing these habits, preferably one at a time. (let's not get too crazy).

• Setting the example for friends and neighbors.

• Sitting inside, eating a bagel, thinking about how if nothing else, you've at least changed yourself.

And that is my semi-political, mildly heated rant for the year. Let's not be dumb.

Skipping Bagels

Yesterday, I woke up to a beautiful morning. Let me rephrase. Yesterday, I woke up to yet another beautiful, Logan, Utah morning. And it felt like the start to a really good day. 

So I put on a skirt. Because, you know, looking good can never hurt (actually, that's a lie, looking good usually hurts, but it was worth it because I had a cute, new jacket that matched the skirt). 

And I put on a frilly shirt. 

And I curled my hair. 

And I put on an "adorkable" little hat that I've been saving for a special occasion.

I zipped up my bright orange jacket.

And then, because I was feeling extra bold, I borrowed my roommate Charlotte's red lipstick.

And looked like a Julie Andrews wannabe. 

I had made no plans for the day other than to go feed the ducks at First Dam. So, that's what we did! And we looked classy. That could have been because the only other people there were two dock fishers, lines in the water and camo pants rolled to their calves, but I like to think positive.

See, there's one behind Hayley and Chaia. 

And the other behind Chaia and I.

We had a HUGE bag of bread. It was a collection of stale rolls from Golden Corral, some lemon pound cake that I made to give to my visiting teachees on Valentine's Day (yeah, that didn't happen), some cheap, about-to-go-bad rolls Charlotte bought at Smith's, and, some rock solid Asiago Cheese Bagels.

Hayley decided it would be funny to throw an entire roll into the water to see what would happen.

Guess what happened.

It hit land. And I laughed.

Those poor things were so confused. Someone had just thrown a golden rock at the snow, so I understand why it took them a few moments of pondering before they tried to bite it. 

Once they'd established that the rock was edible, they tried various ways to gobble that thing up. One of them finally smartened up, pushed it into the water, waited for it to get soggy and then ate it.

In the meantime, Chaia threw bread at Hayley while Hayley pretended to eat bread.

When we'd finished eating/throwing/feeding wild birds with the bread, we did other weird stuff. 

Like stabbing each other in the back with icicles,

 taking silly pictures,

posing,

acting like rockstars,

sword fighting (again, with icicles)

and take pictures like Jack and Rose from Titanic.

Even though I got to feed ducks, 

and be with the greatest friends,

the best part of this outing was how excited Chaia got when she skipped a rock solid asiago cheese bagel across the water when she threw it like a frisbee.

"DID YOU SEE THAT, GUYS! I SKIPPED A BAGEL! I JUST SKIPPED A BAGEL ACROSS THE WATER!"

I'm glad to be surrounded by people who make their own fun and choose to include me in it!

 I live a blessed life.