Who You Are=Accepted

Acceptance. The dictionary defines the word as the action of process of being received as adequate or suitable, typically to be admitted into a group. As humans we tend to strive for acceptance. We don't like the idea of someone, or many someones not liking us, not accepting us for who we are. So we change who we are to fit the definition of what teenagers in this day and age are more likely to accept. We change our appearances, how we look, what we wear. We change our personalities, everything about us that makes us unique as human beings. We transform into someone that society will like. And we often don't care what has to be done to achieve that. Pretty is better. Popular is likable. Perfect is approachable. Acceptable. Which is too bad. Acceptance is not as important as we make it seem. We don't have to change anything about who we are in order to feel accepted. Because at the end of the day who we really are, on the inside and the outside, is all you need to be accepted by the people who will come into your life and really matter. Our personalities, our kindness and compassion. Our ability to be there for our friends. Empathy. Courage. Strength. Love. These simple things, character traits, are far more interesting than popular and perfect will ever be. So I encourage you to be yourself, no matter what anybody thinks. Be kind, be strong, be crazy, be different..Be exactly who you are. Don't let anybody make you think that you need to be anything other than what you are in order to be accepted. God made us all different and unique, He made us in His image, and I promise you that one day, someone is gonna walk into your life, and love you for everything that you are, no matter what. And that my friends is true acceptance.
Until Next Time,
Alayna

To Make A Difference

Let me ask you something. Have you ever bullied someone? Have you ever been the victim of bullying? Odds are the answer is yes to one and no to the other. A friend approached me today and gave me a bracelet. She said that her friend had committed suicide so she was starting an anti-bullying movement. Starting with a bracelet. A little thing you wear around your wrist, to remind you that bullying is not okay. What I would call a small step in the right direction. I've already come to the conclusion never to take this bracelet off. If there's one thing I hate, it's a bully. But being the shy, introverted person that I am, I don't always take a stand when I see someone being bullied, a lot of you probably do too. But we really should, stand up when we see someone being picked on for whatever reason. Because if you aren't a bully, chances are you've been on the receiving end of what a bully is capable of. The fact that a person, or group of people can be so mean, as to drive a person to taken their life makes me sick to my stomach, to say the least. So I have decided not to just walk by, pretending like I didn't see anything anymore. It isn't okay to make someone feel like they're less than they are, and it isn't okay to just let people do it either. My prayers go out to all of those being bullied. To all of those who have taken their life because of a bully. And to all of the bullies out there, making people feel below them, like nothing, like less than the beautiful, wonderful people that they are...
To all of you reading this, who have ever been bullied by anybody, wether that be currently or in the past, I just want to let you know that God created you with a purpose in this life, and God loves you with all His heart. You are all beautiful, and amazing. No matter what anybody says. Don't let another persons words define who you are. Don't let a bully define who you are or who you hope to be. You can be anything you wanna be and do anything you wanna do; don't let anybody tell you otherwise. If you have a dream, make it reality. You're goals are important, you are important. You are appreciated. You are loved. You are extraordinary. And you are not alone.
To the bullies reading this. You're loved too. You're important too. You're amazing and extraordinary. You just got a little lost on your way to something great. That doesn't mean it's too late to do something good. To help someone, instead of hurt them. Try being the reason someone smiles instead of cries. I think you'll find that it's much more satisfying.
And finally to anybody else who may possibly have made it through my rambling on about what I think, more specifically, the friend of someone who is being bullied. I want you to know that I speak from experience, as both the elementary school mainstream, minor, bully, who knew how to throw around a bad insult now and then, as well as the girl who has been bullied. Who has known what it feels like to let a persons words and actions define you. I shouldn't have been so easily defined by another person, who thought they were so much better than me. But at the end of the day, it was the friends and family that stuck by me, who showed me what my real worth was, and that anyone who made me feel worthless, was wrong, and had no place being in my life. So do me a favor, and your friend a favor, and take a stand against the horrible insults and words that can so easily hurt a person, take a stand against bullies. Help your friend when they need you the most. Or even help a stranger who's being bullied, when they just need a friend. You might find that you could have saved a life, or just a persons self esteem. Either way, you've made a difference.

Until Next Time,
Alayna

What The Future Has In Store

  I often wonder lately what the future has in store for me. I'll be the first to admit that I don't have my life mapped out, and I don't intend to anytime soon. I don't know where I wanna go or what I wanna do. I don't have a plan. The good news is that God has a plan for each and every one of us. Some people go through life knowing where they wanna go and what they wanna do. The thing is, Gods plan doesn't always align with their plan. Because He has bigger plans than you could ever imagine for yourself. And for people like me, who don't have a plan, we take comfort in the fact that God has a plan for us. However, I think it's hard for most everyone to accept that fact. It can be scary walking into your future without any clue as to what's gonna happen. It can be equally scary walking into your future with a plan, but also the worry that not everything is always gonna happen the way you want it to. My point is that no matter who you are, the future is a scary thing. But it becomes significantly less terrifying when we accept the fact that God knows everything that's gonna happen before it happens, and that God's plan for all of our lives is what's best for us, and ultimately better than any plan we could ever make for ourselves. All we need to do, is trust God, and His perfect plan.

Thrive vs. Survive

I've been thinking about the concept of pain a lot in the last couple days. Physical and emotional. And I got to wondering if it's ever really supposed to stop. I mean with every scratch comes a scar, with every sickness comes a side effect, with every serious injury comes an after effect, and with every heartbreak comes a million memories following close behind. Sometimes pain just doesn't stop. I injured my ankle a year and a half ago and it has yet to heal. And it doesn't really ever feel good, I just sort of get used to the pain. And when I run through it, even though it hurts like heck, somehow it doesn't feel so much like a burden. My heart broke a month and a half ago, and that has yet to get any less painful. It also has yet to get any easier whatsoever. So here's what I'm thinking, when it comes to pain, is it supposed to stop? Or simply get easier to cope with? So far I don't have an answer to this. But what I do know is that some wounds just don't heal. What I also know is that some do. Which is where I get confused. Some things hurt more than other things. Some things are easier to bounce back from. And some are a lot harder. But what are you supposed to do with pain so great that you can barely even fathom it? Does it get better? Does it heal? Or does it just get different? And does it make you different along with it? It's not always easy to wait for an answer to these questions. So we cope. We get by. But living isn't getting by day by day. That's surviving. And I don't know about you, but I don't wanna live to survive. I wanna live to thrive, That's what living organisms are supposed to do, we're supposed to thrive. And it's hard to thrive when you're simply getting by day after day.

Pick Yourself Up

As someone who has dealt with a fair amount of loss recently I'm coming to realize that missing someone is probably one of the worst feelings that I have ever experienced. Especially when the person you're missing can't come back. It's like a part of you suddenly goes missing until you get it back. Sometimes you do get it back, but sometimes you can't. What do you do then? Do you just fall down and cry, admitting defeat and never accepting this loss that has effected you so much? Or do you fall down and then pick yourself up, and move forward? Well I personally lean towards the latter. Missing someone hurts for a while, but that's no excuse to give up on anything. This wonderful life of ours is not something that will always be easy, and we're gonna miss someone everyday of our lives, sometimes even without realizing it. And while when knowing that we won't have to miss someone forever makes the feeling easier, that doesn't mean that it's not gonna be hard. I have come to find recently that when I lose someone I'm close to it's much easier to cope with when you have the Lord in your heart, patching up the hole that the loss of someone left in you, until you see them again one day. I find a certain peace in knowing that God is the one thing I'll never have to miss, because He's always with me, no matter who leaves me, or what I'm going through, or how I'm choosing to cope with what I'm going through, or even when I do something wrong. God's not going anywhere. And sometimes that makes personal loss easier somehow. It doesn't mean I'll stop missing the people I have lost one way or another. It just means that I can pick myself up, and move forward, despite how difficult it may be to do so.

SuperHuman

A few months ago I entered a Young Authors writing competition for my online school. I contemplated wether or not I really wanted to do it for a while. And after a lot of contemplation and procrastination I wrote a last minute non-fictional paper about heroism and submitted it through the mail four days before it was due. On Thursday of last week I received and much to my excitement and surprise I actually won in the non-fiction category, and my submission is headed to the state competition. I honestly didn't think it was good enough to win and even if it was I certainly didn't think it would get there in time. But what can I say, God is good. I shared this on Google+ when I first wrote it to see what people thought, but I'll post it on here too. Of everything I've written this is probably my best and personal favorite. It's a little over 1200 words so it's a bit lengthy, but I hope you enjoy it.

Superhuman

The dictionary tells us that a hero is a person, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. A few commonly known heroes who may fit the definition of a hero are Captain America, Iron Man, Superman, Batman, and many others. But I feel like too often, these superheroes are taken as an example of what heroes should be. But in reality that’s hardly the case. You don’t need superpowers, a nickname, or a fancy outfit to be a hero. You just need a general knowledge of right and wrong. Growing up we all had heroes, people we looked up too, someone that we wanted to be like when we got older. For some of us that may have been a dad, or a big brother, or even a fictional superhero. For others it may have been a best friend, or a teacher, or a coach. And we looked up to those people for specific reasons, maybe it was the way that they stood up for what was right, even if it wasn’t easy. Or perhaps it was the way that they stood up to the bully at school. Or the way they showed kindness to someone who may not have deserved it. They had noble qualities, which basically just means good genuine character. The defining characteristics of the superheroes that we read about in comic books, or watch on the big screen can be found in everyday people, just like you and me. An ordinary person can be just as courageous and brave as a superhero can be. We may not have the whole world watching us on TV, and sometimes no one will see us at all, but a friend once told me that we do what is right because it is the right thing to do. And that includes the times when it may not be easy, or seen.

The thing you might also notice about the superheroes in movies, is that they all have a personal battle that they struggle with aside from saving millions of people. Well believe it or not everybody struggles with something, all the time. And sometimes all we need is someone to show us kindness and give us a helping hand when we need it most. If you do that for someone, that makes you a hero. You may not have saved a city, or even a life, but you don’t always need to save someone’s life to qualify for the title of “hero”. Sometimes all it takes is giving someone hope when they have none, or making a small effort to make a bad day a good one, or just making a difference in their life. Every good hero started with a role model of their own, that person who turned their bad day into a not so bad day, and stuck around, and that’s all it took to make someone a hero in the eyes of at least one person. And before to long the influence tends to rub off, and that kid who needed a role model becomes a role model. But heroes have bad days too, and it’s days like that when a hero might need saving too.
That brings me to the heroes that have gone down in history. People like Martin Luther King and Jackie Robinson. They both fought for the same thing, and I’m sure you know what that is. They just fought for it differently. Now these men and many other historical figures like George Washington, were all remembered for doing something remarkable. George Washington was the very first president of the United States, it was a big responsibility. He was in charge of running and protecting an entire nation, he had the rest of the government but I’m sure it was pretty terrifying at first. I mean, it was the first time anybody was in charge of the entire U.S. But he made an impact, he was a historical hero. But if nobody had remembered him, do you think he’d still be a hero? He most definitely would be. Just because nobody remembers it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. It doesn’t mean that you’re any less of a hero. A hero doesn’t do something for glory or fame, they do it because it’s right. I’m sure Jackie Robinson didn’t know that he was gonna make such a big difference, he was just doing what he loved to do. Yet he made a difference anyway, and so many kids and people in general have looked up to him. But even if he hadn’t have been remembered, he still would’ve made a difference, and he still would’ve been a hero. You can be a hero in many respects and sometimes in the most little, but important ways. And that isn’t always gonna be remembered, and sometimes that makes it seem like our efforts aren’t important, or worth it. But it doesn’t change the fact that you did the right thing. Doing the right thing when no one’s watching isn’t always easy, but you walk away feeling better about yourself and if you ask me, that makes it worth it.
When I think about heroes though I often times like to turn to the Bible. And the two things that come to mind first are Jesus, and David (as in David And Goliath). David took a small stone and a slingshot and killed a giant, and not only does that take a lot of guts and bravery, it takes a lot of faith too. But while his bravery was rewarded, he didn’t expect them to be. He didn’t expect anything, he just did the right thing because it was the right thing to do. And Jesus lived on earth as a human and was hung on a cross and punished for absolutely nothing. He didn’t do anything wrong yet he took the punishment anyway, for everybody in the world. He suffered hatred and a cruel punishment for the benefit of all of us. He was the greatest hero of all, and He didn’t have any superpowers, He just had faith and love, and it was enough. People hated Jesus, but His whole life on earth He did what He knew was right in spite of what it led to. And in my mind He’s the greatest role model and hero that we have. The heroism that we see in the Bible is some of the best examples that could’ve been set for us, because when the right thing is done, it’s done with courage and kindness, and without the expectation of reward, and sometimes without even being seen.
Heroes are everywhere. They’re sitting next to a friend in need, or helping an old lady across an icy street, defeating a giant with a stone and his trusty slingshot, or maybe even on the big screen shooting webs and swinging across New York City. A hero can be literally anyone, all it takes is good character and a good knowledge of right and wrong. Then the right thing gets done the right way, and sometimes the hard way. We all have the potential to be someone’s hero, or role model, even those of you who are reading this. There’s a certain comfort in someone being your hero, whether it be a childhood role model or just a role model in general, because one thing you can always count on a hero for is being there when you need them most.


Until Next time,
Alayna

The Existence of Fear

Fear. "An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat." is how the dictionary defines fear. Now if you were to ask me how many times i have been accused of being fearless I would tell you that I have lost count. Which is true. It happens more often than you think. But that's just because the last thing I want is people thinking that I'm afraid of anything. But the select few people in the world that really know me, know as well as I do that I'm not fearless. No one is fearless. Fear is in all of us and while some of us may hide our fears with strength or courage that doesn't mean it isn't there. We're all afraid of something, whether that be failure, judgment, or the dark. We also all react to it differently, some of us try hiding, others try running, and at some point we all eventually learn to stop running, and stop hiding, and actually face our fears. Because if we can't face our fears than they'll never be anything other than that. They'll never go away. But we can't just be fearless by facing our fears. Some of us will always have the same fear, and some of us might even develop new ones after facing old ones. But my point is, that no matter the fear, it's always a hard thing to face for one reason or another. Most everyone has reasons for being afraid of what they're afraid of. A friend of mine helped me realize today that I am afraid of opening up. Now, here's what I'm thinking, for 17 years opening up and talking to people has not come easy, there have been a select few people in my life who I can actually have a conversation with, and the idea of me being afraid of it never drifted into my mind until my friend mentioned that maybe it was fear that was causing me to lock up. And that got me thinking, maybe he was right. After more contemplation on the matter, I came to realize that I don't open up because I'm afraid that I'm burdening people with my issues, and that's the last thing I wanna do. And I'm also afraid of the reaction that I might get. Not exactly judgment, but more like what they'll say if I open up. What if I open up and they say something mean, or even worse, they don't say anything at all? What happens then? Then it would just go more towards me feeling as though I was only burdening them. It is a problem, one that I do need to work on. That's kinda how fear works though, it prevents us from doing something often times. I don't know about you, but I'm not the type to admit what I fear. But it takes a lot of work to make people think you're fearless. So what do you do? Be open about your fears or make it easy for people to think you're fearless? I'm working on finding a happy medium. And until then, fear is something that lives in all of us. Something that we all eventually face. Not easily, but there comes a time in everyones life when what they fear stares them in the face, and you have the option to do one of three things. Run. Hide. Or do something about it.