Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving: the time of year where we have an excuse to sit around with good family and friends all day while stuff our little bellies full of delicious food! But this Thanksgiving, take some time to think about what Thanksgiving really means to you. It's not just about the food. It's about all of the amazing things you have in your life, even if sometimes they don't seem that amazing. Take some time to think about why you love your life, family, friends, and yourself. Happy Thanksgiving everyone <3

The Time of Your Life!

Ah, time. There is something so beautiful and mysterious about the way it works. While I am sitting here enjoying this beautiful day by writing this, listening to some feel good music on my iTunes, time is still going on. So, why not make the most of it? In reality, we have very little time in life. We live our lives by thinking that tomorrow is another day. I, on the other hand, prefer thinking of it as, "Although tomorrow may be another day, today is today! Go live it up!"

Time management is the key to making the most of your time here on this earth. I, for one, used to be the worst person in the world when it came to managing my time. Not only was I a huge procrastinator, but I used to live by the above saying "Tomorrow is another day." I have come to realize, though, that you will get nothing done if you choose to live by this philosophy. The next time you find yourself complaining or even thinking that you are bored, stop and fix it. If you're anything like me, you probably have a million things you need to do anywhere from homework to writing a 15 page paper to practicing your saxophone (hehe) to accomplishing something on your bucket list. If you really have absolutely nothing to do, then go find something to do! Life is too short to just be sitting around on Facebook for six hours a day. In my opinion, children are the ones who know how to make the most of their time. And at that age, they don't even know it! Studies show that children learn through play, so why can't pre-teens, or teenagers, or adults, or even seniors? So, lets use our imaginations and go live our lives TODAY!

Lists!

So, in my opinion, the best way to go about beginning your process of finding out who you really are is to make some lists! Lists are a GREAT way to get yourself organized. I used to joke on my mom because she makes lists for everything (now, when I say everything, I mean absolutely everything). But now that I'm "older and wiser," I realize that making lists really does help you. There are all sorts of lists that you can make (grocery lists, to do lists, lists of things you like and dislike, etc.). To really find out more about yourself, though, start by making some top five lists of your favorite things. For example, list your top five favorite activities, top five things you love, top five best qualities a person can have, etc. But don't forget to make top five lists of your least favorite things, too. For example, list your top five least favorite musicians, top five least favorite foods, etc. Not only will these lists help you to start to discover who you really are, but, believe it or not, this can be a really fun, interesting, and rewarding activity for you to do with your friends. You may find out some things that you've never known about your friends before! It will also help you to discover what similarities and differences you and your friends have. It is very important to have a healthy balance of being both similar and different from your friends. But, we'll discuss the topic of friends at a later date.
Okay, so now that you're sitting there with a pile of lists in front of you asking yourself, "What next?" it's time for the hard part: keeping a life long bucket list. I know, this sounds totally cliché, and I'm sure that as you're reading this, you're saying "There's no way I could possibly keep a life long list!" But, dont' give up on the idea so soon! I recommend putting this list on your computer (if you can). It will make it much easier for you to manage and it will be easy for you to remember to add something to it everyday. If your list starts getting kind of long, don't be discouraged! Put the things that you really, really, really want to do at the top of the list. This way, you will be more encouraged to get them done. To give you an example, here are a few things that I have on my own bucket list (in no particular order):
Amelia's Bucket List:
1. Play at Carnegie Hall (I'm a saxophonist, by the way...I've been playing since 3rd grade!).
2. Get married.
3. Help someone every day, even if it's in the smallest way possible.
4. Go bungee jumping.
5. Ride the tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world.
6. Scream at the top of my lungs for as long as I possibly can.
7. Travel the world.
Now, some of these have already been crossed off my list (numbers 1, 3-ongoing, of course, and 6). Of course, the hardest part of all is actually accomplishing all of the things on the list. But, like I said previously, if you put things that you really, really, really want to do on this list, then you WILL get them done. I hope that this helps you take that first step to discovering who you are deep down. Please feel free to share some items on your bucket list. I would absolutely LOVE to see what kinds of things you guys want to accomplish in your lifetime!

Happy list making! :)

The Discovery of You!

My name is Amelia Keller and my life is beautiful (even when bad things happen...they help shape who we are, too!). I wish to share all of my secrets with you. When I say secrets, I don't only mean my personal life, although, I'm sure we'll get to that at some point. I want to share the secrets of happiness, success, love, overcoming pain, and everything else that life is made up of. But more importantly, I want to hear your feedback! Sharing experiences, opinions, secrets, etc. can help lead you to a more open, fulfilling, and fun life! Most of all, I am hoping that at least one person out there will take something away from what I am sharing with the world. In the words of E.E. Cummings, "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." These days, everyone is trying to "be different." But doesn't that make us all the same? I don't want to be the same as everyone else, I don't want to be different from everyone else, and I definitely don't want to be the same as everyone else by trying to be different. I just wan to be...me. It may sound like it's a simple task, but you'd be surprised. I'm not saying that you should go out there and scream all of your inner most secrets to the world. In fact, a few well kept secrets are good for the soul. However, everyone has an outer shell that they show to the world. Imagine what the world would be like if we cracked that shell (even just a little bit) and we showed everyone who we really were. We should be living our lives based on our own personal experiences in life, not hiding behind a shell constructed of what we see on television everyday, imitations of others, and what opinions others have of us. With that said, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to show the world who I really am. I hope that there will be at least one person out there who will join me. Together we can learn how to laugh, love, and, most importantly, live. Together we can start a revolution. Let's do what we should already know how to do flawlessly. Let's be ourselves.