It’s 11:16PM and I want to get this entry written before midnight when it’s technically Tuesday because I don’t want to go more than a day without blogging.
I had been thinking all day about what I wanted to write about. Instead of coming up with new material, I’m going to re-publish something that I wrote in my journal a while back. This may sound lazy, but at least give me partial credit because I was originally going to publish it as a page instead of a post.
Back Story: I have this light purple journal which says “Journal” on it (Yes I know, I am not discrete at all) I bought this journal from Barnes & Noble during the Summer of 2011 when I decided that I needed to start writing again (to record personal thoughts, experiences, etc.)
This journal entry was written at 12:22AM on August 22nd, 2011. I don’t know what motivated me to write this, but I must have either been in a really great mood or I had some sort of grand realization about my life. Anyways, this was what I wrote:
“Lessons Learned:
#1 Whenever things seem really bad, know that it will always get better
#2 Never let one big fight end a friendship
#3 Put your pride down and ask people to hang out instead of waiting for them to ask you
#4 Before you open your mouth, think about whether it will make the situation better or worse
#5 Always be nice to people, no matter how awful they seem to be – you never know if they’ll be important to you some day
#6 Give everyone a chance – don’t judge on petty observations
#7 Try to see the bright side to every negative experience – there is a lesson in it
#8 God really doesn’t give you situations you can’t handle
#9 Be thankful for your family
#10 Be thankful for your friends
#11 No matter how someone exited your life, good or bad, they have made some sort of impact on your life – so appreciate them
#12 Alone time can be a good thing. Learn to be with yourself
#13 Make use of every minute of every day
#14 Do things that make you happy
#15 When you feel sadness or anger, take it in and then let it go
#16 Smile as much as you can
#17 Do not eat until you are stuffed to the point where it’s hard to get up, eat only until you are satisfied. It’s okay to not finish your food at a restaurant
#18 If you don’t feel up to it, don’t work out. Stretch instead
#19 Don’t stare at people too much, they will eventually notice
#20 Stay out of gossip about other people. Saying negative things about other people is just a negative reflection of yourself
#21 Know when to stand up for yourself or when to just let it go
#22 Always say “please”, “thank you”, and “you’re welcome”
#23 Never let anyone make you feel inferior or incompetent
#24 Know your limits – to everything. Drinking. Eating. Exercising. There’s nothing wrong with testing yourself, but you’re only human
#25 Enjoy beautiful scenery and environments. The world can be a very beautiful place
#26 Don’t get embarrassed
#27 Stay creative in as many ways as possible
#28 Work towards your goals and then meet them. After that, make new goals
#29 Get enough sleep
#30 Always pee before you leave the house and always pee when you have to pee
#31 If you have no one to tell something to, write it down
#32 MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING
#33 Don’t over-work yourself
#34 Beware of stress- it really does quite a number on your body
#35 Balance is key
#36 Relaxation is important. If you feel overwhelmed, drop everything and BREATHE
#37 Don’t feel sorry for yourself – you are wonderful
#38 Stop saying sorry for things that are NOT your fault
#39 Don’t make yourself the victim – bad things happen to people every day. Just move on
#40 Be happy with what you have
#41 Stop going on Facebook so much
#42 Not everyone is going to like you, but that’s okay. They just didn’t take the chance to get to know you which is their own loss
#43 Be enthusiastic about everything”
Now I know that was a lot to take in, but for me, I’m glad that I wrote those things down and am now re-writing them in this blog.
Looking back on it, I now remember why I wrote this.
I wrote this right after I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, the Summer before my Senior year of College. It was a really difficult time for me and I had a lot that I was dealing with at the time. I wrote this list almost two years ago and it’s amazing to see how many of these lessons I have actually remembered and applied to my life. I’ve grown a lot since I wrote these, but I’ve also neglected a lot of these things. It takes time to change, but little by little, change will happen.
Hopefully this helps some of you out in your daily struggles, as they have helped me.
Lindsey Lazarte 