Be Kind, Always

Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.

I recently read a blog post written by a former classmate and “Facebook friend” that was incredibly raw and personal about something that happened to her seven years ago.  I won’t go into details regarding the event or even share her name, but what I will share is that it helped me realize that I need to change how I perceive people.

I’ve always heard (and have been told) that you should be kind to someone because you never know what type of battle they’re fighting.  I don’t think that has ever really hit home for me until now.  When I read the blog, I realized this former classmate of mine, who was (and still is) one of the most popular girls I know, went through a troubling experience and continued to go on day by day like nothing happened.  I had no idea that anything like that happened to her until she posted the blog.  We were never friends, and I’m not sure she even knew I existed while we went to high school together, so it’s not like she would’ve told me about it anyway, but I was shocked nonetheless that it did happen.  And then I felt guilty.

Guilty because I was being so judgmental about someone I knew nothing about.  Guilty because I used to mock her “perfect” life, when obviously it was anything but that.  Guilty because I was so unnecessarily jealous of her because of her popularity, her looks, and her life.

Taking a step back has helped me realize that everything you see is not necessarily a reality.  Anything we post on social media is purposely uploaded to create a specific persona of our lives and not necessarily how our lives really are.  We rarely post the bad things (with the exception of unfortunate events, such as death, that we want to make friends/family aware of), and instead focus on the good, the positive, the happy.  Referring back to my “Facebook friend” as an example, she posted pictures with friends from college at football games wearing infectious smiles, competitions that she participated in (and some where she won), and pictures displaying her life as a photographer.  She never once spoke out about this event in her life until several years later, and never even gave a hint that it had happened to her.  This just goes to show that even the people who look the happiest are sometimes the ones who are struggling the most inside.

Remember what you have, what you’re going through, and what your concerns and worries are in your life and remember that others are going through the same, some worse than others.  I encourage you (and myself) to no longer be judgmental, to no longer criticize, to no longer mock, and to no longer be jealous of others but instead to be kind, always.

Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.  -Mark Twain

Monday Lit Circle: Heaven Has No Regrets

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great Monday, despite it being a Monday.  Anyway, today is lit circle day!  So now I’m going to talk about a book I actually just finished reading late last week which is the inspiration to my reconnection with writing/blogging.  The book is called Heaven Has No Regrets and it’s written by the amazing Tessa Shaffer!

It isn’t a well known novel…yet. Once she gets more publicity, I have no doubt in my mind that people across the country will be reading it.  It tells the coinciding stories of two best friends and cousins who are both battling diseases.  It’s a story about love, living life to its fullest and having no regrets.  It definitely has some religious aspects to it due to Tessa’s religious background.  The book is based on a heartbreaking but magnificent true story, one that I feel many people can relate to in some way.  If this sounds like something you would like to read (you definitely should!!), check out the website for the book, the amazon link where you can buy it and the book’s facebook, twitter, and instagram so you can stay up to date with Tessa and her book!

In case you can’t tell from what I said above, I actually know Tessa personally.  Even still, I stay true to my word about always being honest on what I actually think about a book.  Heaven Has No Regrets was incredibly hard to read because of some of the content (if you read it you’ll know what I mean).  But that doesn’t make it a terrible book; that just makes it much more honest.  Life isn’t easy, and it certainly wasn’t for the characters Makenzie and Faith.  Not only could I relate to the characters in one way or another but I could basically feel their pain pouring through the open pages.  It discussed real issues that many people are affected by all around the world.

It was one of those books that you don’t know what to do with yourself once you’ve finished reading it.  I figured out what I should do after reading the acknowledgements, and that was to start writing.

In the acknowledgements at the ending, Tessa lists many people she knows personally who helped her not only write her book but also those who helped her get through one of the roughest parts of her life.  But in those acknowledgements she also says to “just write” no matter what it’s about or who it’s for or however long it is.  And that is exactly why I’m sitting in front of my computer right now at 10:22 PM on a Monday evening writing this.  I already told her personally, but thank you again, Tessa, (I know you’ll eventually read this…once I give you the link to my blog :P) for inspiring me to start writing again, since it’s the thing I love doing the most in this world.  And thank you again for sharing your story.  Your courage inspires me, and I hope to one day be as courageous as you.

Anyway, any of the few people out there who happen to somehow come across this and take the time to read it and are also bookworms, please go check out all of Tessa’s social media and please consider buying her book!

Until tomorrow!