ALTERNA EYEWEAR SUNGLASSES

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of now.. wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You are NOT as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

---- Mary Schmich

this makes me feel lame and cool at the same time.
if you can't tell, I decided I like the whole photos by ky thing.

and i've also learned to LOVE flash. (: used to hate it.

today was so great. one of the best days in a very long time. especially tonight. this morning I got up and ate breakfast and then cleaned the kitchen. that made me feel productive for the first time in a while. then, we all scrambled around because we were going to the Denny's house. (our friends that used to be our neighbors but moved.) they have a pool, and it was quite hot outside today. so yes. but i ended up not even swimming. although my swimsuit is really cute, I must say.

so when I say scrambled I mean, we all got ready and then sat around for an hour and a half waiting for Ryland to finish her math. She was dragging it out, bigtime. and let's just say mom was not a happy camper. we were 2 hours late to our friends house, after running all the unexpected errands on the way there. Bank. Wal-mart. Get gas. Bedford. (pick up prints that I needed for tonight.) but alas, we did get there, safely, and happy after we talked it all out in the car. I brought over a ton of ingredients to make my small group leader, (who's birthday was last Sunday) a cake because we were celebrating her birthday tonight. that was also what the photo prints were for. we all (my small group) pitched in for a frame and I was in charge of the picture and getting it printed. and I homemade the cake. only not in my home. at the Denny's home. ;)

after the pan's I brought began leaking, I added too much vanilla, and got completely full licking spoons and empty bowls of icing and batter, a beautiful cake was born. and I later found out how delicious it was. definitely worth the work. I like baking anyway. so it's cool. :)

My mom drove me, from the Denny's, to Panera to meet Hannah. (smiles.) when I got there, I realized I was still not hungry, and didn't want to eat there. So we went across the street and got snow cones. We had a great conversation just catching up on life and drinking our snowcones which melted rather quickly.

I love her, very much.

After that we went to church. for youth. I know I always say this, but youth was SO GOOD. better than usual. it was mainly worship, but Blake did get up there and talk about just, a bunch of things. I'll probably blog on it soon. so many good verses. And worship was so good. and God definitely showed up.

"to die is gain."

everyone was at youth. Moriah, Mal, Hannah, Lauren, Caleb, Gordon, Hope...all my favorite people. it was good to see them all at once. in small group we celebrated Mrs. Pam's birthday. (she's the one who's making it possible for me to go on the beach trip this summer. she's INCREDIBLE. you have no idea.) we gave her the picture in the frame, she loved it. the cake was great. we all signed the card. it was good.

after youth I visited with everyone a little bit, and then I ended up going home with Lauren. and by home I mean to McDonalds to talk. Caleb (her brother) came too. I love them. I'll miss them, tons. along with lots of other people. the crying stage of moving has definitely arrived. but, it's here along with the 'take advantage of every moment' stage, and I like that one. ;)