You Raise Me Up... To More Than I Can Be!

Friends. I owe my life and my world to my friends. And while I could easily write a novel about the impact every single one of them have had on my life, I'm not going to talk about anyone in particular. I want to talk, or rather write, about the idea of support.

Support is the single most important part of our lives. I believe that to be a fact. I can confidently say that the times in my life when I am most happy are the times I have my friends by my side. Nothing is easy (at least nothing worth doing is) and often you will fall down, but I promise it is worth it to get back up again. And I guarantee there is someone there to lend you a hand.

Many have heard me say this before, but I'll say it again. I am most thankful for those moments in my life where things were most difficult and when I was at my lowest. Because it is in those moments that I have turned to my friends for help to pick myself up and truly learn something about life. 


It's amazing how much we allow what others say to us affect us. Why do the thoughts of someone who plays no role in our lives torment us the most? In the past, it was the words of others, and the manifestations in my head that came of them, that led me to my most dark and deep places.

I am no stranger to letting what others say get to me. In fact, I spent the better half of my life letting that define me. And no matter what kind and loving words my friends threw in my direction, I refused to accept them as true. I could never expect them to prove to me that their loving words were true without first opening myself to love. Friends, it is too easy for us to think no one loves us, and to think that we are alone in this world. But I say to you: you are more deeply and truly loved than you will ever know. All of you are reading this: I know of at least one person who would go to moon and back for you. Look around... I promise you will find the face of love - the face of God - in your friends and family. Even those who have hurt you, or who you have hurt... reach out to them! Words fade, but relationships last for eternity. You have the ability to reach out, to trust, to LIVE - but you can't do it alone.

It's not possible to be yourself without someone to be yourself with. How can you portray yourself if you have no one to show it to?

I am telling you - take this time to let your friends know that you love them, you need them, and, most importantly, that you are there for them. Life isn't worth living if you don't have people to share it with. I would rather spend all my bad days alone if I knew that I could share my best days with those that I love!

You Wanna Be... A Loser Like Me!

"I'm proud to be different. It's the best thing about me." -- Kurt Hummel

"The only life worth living is one that you're really passionate about." -- Emma Pillsbury

"There's not much of a difference between a stadium full of cheering fans and an angry crowd screaming abuse at you. They're both just making a lot of noise. How you take it is up to you. Convince yourself they're cheering for you. You do that, and some day they will." -- Sue Sylvester

...And With Your Spirit?

Tonight was my first Advent Mass and I really enjoyed it. The words were different, but the core felt the same. I learned a lot today listening... it was as if I was experiencing the message of the mass for the first time again. In the reading and the homily, three key ideas of Christianity were discussed: faith, charity, and hope.

It became clear to me that these are three links that create relationships for us. We use faith to create a relationship with God, charity to create a relationship with others, and hope to create a relationship with our selves. It was amazing to look closer at all of the things that connect us - we are all actually children of God. When God sent His only son down to save us, we all became sons and daughters of the Lord. God's love for us knows no bounds, no matter when we accept the invitation to be one of his children. Just as a parent will love both their biological and adopted children equally, God will love us all the same.

The most interesting point of these three forms of relationship is that no one can exist with out the other. To have faith in God, we must have hope in our selves and in our vocation. To be charitable to others, we must have faith that God made us all in His image and we must respect each other. Finally, to have hope in our selves, we must trust in the love and charity others offer our way.

I beleive faith is something that we can invite each other to - but one needs to make the conscious decision to join in themselves. There is nothing else in the world like it. Can you name a single place that accepts you no matter what you've done, or who you are? I can think of only one, and it is the church!

But if That Light Is Under a Bushel... It's Lost Something Kind of Crucial

My story is a simple one. Like most kids who aren't built like the typical jock, I experienced hardship growing up. I wasn't "normal", and because of this, I was “bullied”. I use this word sparingly, because what I went through was typical "nothing", similar to what happens in today's world. It was never in large ways. Kids called me "fat" and made fun of my voice... nothing you haven’t heard before. While there is no doubt that their words hurt, what hurt worse was the self-image I was creating for myself. I believed everything they said and held it against myself for years.

There are two reasons why I have such strong feelings on this topic: the first being that the pressure people put on me to be "normal" led me to experience the things I now love, and the second being that once I gained that confidence, I used it as a tool to suppress the act of bullying anywhere else in my life. By the time I had reached my junior year in high school, I was sure of myself. I had insecurities, but I wasn't going to let anyone attack me because they couldn't handle their own insecurities. Seeing others and myself in this way allowed me to begin to look at myself in a way I never had before. I realized that I have a gift to offer the world. No matter who judges me or what they judge me for, as long as I stay true to myself, nothing can stop me.

 I am writing this now because I want to spread this message across the world. I want people to know that faith in yourself can offset all harm others send your way. I want to share this so I can inspire other young kids to begin to love themselves. It’s crucial that we teach the new generation that whoever they are is who they are meant to be. We need to teach kids that even though media glorifies beauty and talent... personality, courage and dedication can change the world!

Why does society glorify beauty and talent? While it’s true that both of those things are gifts in and of themselves, they are not what we should use to define the people we hold in high regard. If personality, courage, and dedication are what will change the world, then we need to begin to emphasize that when we evaluate others. We need to teach the world that each and every person has the potential to start something great.

There's a Spark in You...

It's not uncommon for someone to sell themself short. That's a fact of life. And yet, too often are the blessings in our lives overlooked. Have you ever taken a moment to reflect on the feeling that consumes you when you witness something amazing? Just the other day, I saw a video where a child, after being injured in a major accident that left him unable to use his legs, learned to walk again for the first time. I felt warmth overtake my body. The boy in that video expressed the most genuine form of joy after being able to walk again, and I still find time to complain that I've had a cough for a week. Why is it that, as a society, we fail to see the absurdity in that?

If you never see anything in life as a guarantee, I promise it'll be much easier to be thankful for the gifts in your life. It's simple, but I believe the key to happiness is awareness - even in the darkest of times, something in your life is still a light.

A Start of Something

I've made the decision to start a blog. I don't really like the word "blog" as I feel like it has a bad connotation... but hey, what are you going to do? Really the point of this "blog" is for me to express my opinions about life and how one should go about the craziness that it entails. As I said, these are only opinions. I have no place to assume anything that I say has more value than anyone else. That being said, I also hope that whoever reads this really takes into consideration the topics that are to be discussed. The things I say won't be flawless... even as I write, I am teaching myself new things. I simply want to encourage people to reflect on the way they take in each and every moment of this grand journey we call life.

You've been called by name by God to incite a change in the world. My only hope is that you truly plan to do so.