Happy Birthday, Abe

Let's be honest, Abraham Lincoln is probably the greatest president ever. (There is a pun in that sentence ;)).

In 1863, he made the greatest change in American history, the Emancipation Proclamation.

And you can always trust a man with a well-groomed beard.

What's not to love?

He is cooler than icebergs.

So let's celebrate the man who made freedom available to all people.

And that's pretty rad.

 

I drew this in honor of my boy Abe

 

 

Also, happy birthday Charles Darwin. Thanks for the survival of the fittest theory. I bet those finches were pretty interesting to study.

 

 

Peace.





Letter to Me

Dear 15-year-old me,

Me at 15.

Nothing is going to ever be perfect. You'll win some and lose some, but how you react to both will define your future.

You may want to get out of Texas now, but you'll miss it every day when you leave.

And one other thing, it will get better after high school.

College will be the best thing that ever happened to you.

You're gonna get your heart broken to pieces by boys, but you are going to break so many more hearts, and it will kill you every time you do. Eventually you just won't care about relationships because you'll realize there are more important things. Like being yourself.

This is still you at 15...what are you doing?

You've already started to try to change the world, and in some ways you'll be successful and in some ways you won't, but you'll never stop trying. You're going to get tired and frustrated because people will only see a young person trying to make a difference, not the difference that everyone should be fighting for.

Your faith in people and testimonies will bounce back and forth, until the only things you are sure of are books, baseball, family and God.

You will try and control every situation before "everything happens for a reason" becomes your life motto.

Your sarcasm will become more potent, but your heart will get softer allowing every type of person into your life. Your parents will call it "picking up strays."

You won't be a college volleyball player because you will dislocate your shoulder, forcing you to reevaluate what you want most in life.

You will only cry when you are angry or stressed. The sadness you have cried for already happened in your life, and you will never want to experience it again.

But there will be one time, second semester freshman year, when your world will fall apart.

And you'll find a way to glue the pieces together. Somehow.

You'll join a sorority. Laugh now, but they will be the greatest people you will ever meet, and they will have the power to make everything clearer.

You will wreck your car...more than once. One will involve looking at a puppy on a sidewalk. The other will be because you looked down when you spilled a slurpee. ALWAYS keep your eyes on the road.

You'll fight with your family.

You'll disappoint Mom and Dad because they expect the best out of you as any parent should.

But more importantly you will make them proud every day of your life.

You will always hate Math, and I promise you will never be good at it.

You will never grow out of your love for superheroes, lotr, Harry Potter or Gilmore Girls.

You will learn that the best nights are on Saturdays curled up with a book. And sometimes being an introvert isn't a bad thing.

You'll make mistakes. And you should. That's how you learn.

You'll make so many more good choices that they will outweigh the wrong ones.

You'll dance and sing and hardly ever get embarrassed.

You'll laugh at yourself, because that's how you move on.

And you'll be happy 10 times out of 10.

There are so many things I want to tell you, but the most important thing is....you'll be ok.

Love,
Me.

Baseball is life

Last night was the Super Bowl. This marks the end of the football season, but more importantly....

THE BEGINNING OF BASEBALL SEASON.

I am a huge Texas Rangers fan. I finally received my first Rangers jersey for Christmas after years of asking. It is my pride&joy. Granted, very few people understand in Nebraska, but I know the entire state of Texas is backing me up, and that is all that matters.

I am such a die-hard Rangers fan that when they didn't make it to the World Series last year....I cried.

My friends drove me to get ice cream because I was so depressed.

That, my friends, is dedication.

My brother is seven years older than I am, so he was always the babysitter, driver and shaper of my interests. Being forced to watch ESPN 24/7 in the summer, when baseball was prevalent, required me to fall in love with America's pastime.

Some of my favorite things about baseball:
1. The history
2. The legends
3. The art
4. The class
5. The baseball pants (I mean I am a girl after all...)
6. The technique
7. The ability to come from so far behind and win the game. This is America's game.
8. The awesome baseball movies
9. It is an equalizer for people of different backgrounds, faiths and beliefs (everyone likes baseball)

I was 4-years-old when I went to my first baseball game.

The crack of the bat to ball. The 'thwip' the catcher's glove makes when the ball is caught. The smell of hot dogs and and grass. The beads of sweat from the blistering sun. The art of base stealing and picking pitches. The uniting of random strangers to stay behind the team through thick and thin.

The game is magic. It's the greatest thing come January.

I cannot wait for opening day. It's like second Christmas.

Or birthdays.

The best relationship

I am a young woman, who like many other young women is trying to find her place in this world. That can be demanding, stressful and at times very lonely.

We are strong independent human beings, though, and we can withstand any trial.

However, I worry about some of my friends. A few of them have been in relationships since pre-teen days. That isn't surprising because they are beautiful, amazing people, but when they break-up with one of their boys, they are lost. They don't know how to recover, even if they think they are fine.

And my advice is always the same... don't fall in love with another guy; fall in love with yourself.

The best relationship you can ever have is with you. I'm not saying become self-involved; I'm saying love who you are, and be proud of what you have to offer. When you are in love with your life, other people cannot help but fall in love with you as well.

So when people are worried about being by themselves, I just want to remind them that they have never been alone. Yes, it is great to share in adventures with someone who you want to spend your life with, but you have your WHOLE LIFE to do that.

Perhaps it is a tradition to find someone right out of college, and for some people that works. However, for the people who don't find their soul mates as soon as others, just enjoy pursuing your dreams and leaving light wherever you go.

My parents found each other, when they were 19. They fell in love and were engaged after 6 weeks. However, they grew up in a different time and with childhoods that forced them to be independent very young. So when they found their soul mate, they finally had the opportunity to have someone to lean on.

All I'm saying is don't focus on getting married and settling down at 19 and 20-years-old.

Focus on nights you will never forget and the world that is waiting to be found.

 

<3