Do your thing

Today's topic is to list some of my regrets and give my thoughts on them. To be honest this topic seems pretty depressing so I'm twisting it just a little bit. I personally think that living a life with regret is the first way to be unhappy with yourself. Guilt and regret are things that hold you down and keep you from improving, and if anything, those things I've regretted doing have fueled me to become a better person and have taught me the most valuable lessons. As of right now I don't have any huge regrets in my life, but I have learned so many things from my past mistakes so I'm just gonna talk about a few of those life lessons. This might seem super cliché, but I hope this post might help or apply to some of you.

1. Do not force things! If it is meant to be, it will happen. 

This lesson has been drilled into my brain since day one; my dad has always told me these exact words. I definitely have forgotten to live by them sometimes, and those were times where I was the most stressed and unhappy. Whether it had to do with a boy I liked, trying to find a job, or having problems with a friend, reciting these words in my head have always brought me so much comfort and ease. I choose to put my trust in a higher power, which really helps me believe that in the end everything will be okay as long as I am working hard and giving my best effort in everything I do. So props to my dad for teaching me my #1 rule in the game of life. And since I'm such a daddy's girl, here's a picture of us:

2. Don't let other people control your mind and feelings.

I had always heard this and just kind of brushed it off. We might all feel a little guilty of blaming others for how we feel or behave, I know I used to have a tendency to think that people were against me and there was no way to control what I was feeling. Just this past semester I took a religion class and my professor was absolutely amazing. He always stressed the idea that it is so important to have control over your own life despite the way you are treated. It is so easy to let someone anger you, and it is so easy to just treat them how they treat you. He would always say, "Act, do not be acted upon." To me this means that no matter how someone treats you, if you are kind and loving toward that person; only you have control. Reacting out of anger gives someone else control and makes it harder and harder to live your life according to your conditions.

3. The more you give the more you get.

Super cliché right?! But really, it is so true! Karma, you reap what you sow, what goes around comes around, whatever helps you understand it better. I have noticed that the better I treat someone or the harder I work, the more I acknowledge when someone treats me well or is working hard. Being the best version of yourself and giving back has always helped me appreciate when people do the same for me. You never know how much happiness you can bring someone just by striking up a random conversation, asking someone about their day or helping with your groceries. (So cheesy I know, forgive me!)

4. You don't always need to explain yourself!

Being a young person in college, even though I go to a religious school, there are always people being critical and trying to influence me to do things I don't want to. It doesn't even have to be anything major, but it is important to feel comfortable with who you are the decisions you make. You should never feel ashamed or embarrassed to do what makes you happy. If you don't want to do something for the sake of just not wanting to, if someone needs you to justify yourself, odds are they don't even deserve your explanation. 

Where is the love?!

My topic today is to blog about something that "fires me up" and I have chosen something that I am very passionate about, immigration. I'm not going to bash on people who have different beliefs than me because I'm trying my best to be understanding of their views. Instead of making it about politics and social issues, I'm just going to focus on a couple basic ideas.

I feel so privileged that I was lucky enough to be born into the United States of America. Sometimes I think I take it for granted and don't deserve all of the things I've been given. Growing up I got to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning at school, and my favorite part is the very end: 

"One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

The reason I believe this country is so great and amazing is because it was created "under God." I consider myself pretty religious, and the first two commandments of Christianity, simply stated, are to love God, and to love our neighbor (emphasis on the word "neighbor"). So I guess what I'm actually going to talk about is love. I strongly believe that if a person has love in their heart and are basing their opinions and behavior on the love they have for others, they cannot be wrong.

Are we, as Americans, viewing others with love, respect, and understanding? 

Are we aware of the hardships these people face that force them to come to our country? 

Are we aware of the many sacrifices these people made in their lives in order to come to the United States? 

Are we aware that these people do not mean any harm, and that many just need help and are willing to work? 

Are we aware that these people are leaving the people they love to find a better life and to provide for their families? 

Are we aware that families are being broken apart? If your children were hungry or in danger, would you cross a border (even if it was illegal) to try to create a better life and more opportunities for them? 

I know I would.

If anything, I have a huge amount of respect and love for those people who left their lives behind, came to the land of opportunity, and worked their tails off to improve their lives; because I don't know if I would ever be strong enough to do the same thing. I'm lucky to know some of these people, and they are the most humble and hardworking people I have encountered; they will always inspire me to work toward a better life.

If we have love in our hearts, we will push for a more effective process for those who aren't privileged enough to have been born into this country to be able to come here. If we have pride in our hearts, we are not willing to open our minds and hearts to the perspective and struggles of others.

So, there is my opinion on the matter. My opinion is that whatever the heck your opinion is, make sure it is rooted in love and respect. 

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"

Let's get serious.

Disclaimer: This might get awkward, so if you don't feel comfortable reading about this topic, I suggest you just don't read this post. It's just a little rant with my opinion, nothing too bad! But lately I've been seeing a lot of hype about this new campaign that is fighting to end pornography. I'm going to give my opinion on the topic in the least awkward way that I can, if you want to read more about the facts and how to get involved, just click HERE.
I am really happy to see something like this because before hearing about this campaign, I never really thought about how big this problem is and how it is ruining people's lives! Mostly in high school I'd occasionally hear guys talk about porn, women's bodies, and their unrealistic expectations for relationships. As a woman, it is hurtful to hear your peers in a conversation like this that totally objectifies women, but our society, through the media, is slowly but surely making this behavior seem totally acceptable and harmless. However, women are put in a very difficult place because they feel the need to fulfill these unrealistic and quite outrageous expectations. Obviously porn doesn't only target men, but I personally haven't been surrounded by girls who talk about this, so this is just my take on it. Even on social media it isn't rare to see men post extremely revealing pictures of women's bodies. It is something that really upsets and disgusts me. It harms people's brains because they literally get addicted to it like a drug and depend on it for satisfaction. It gives people a false definition of love and it is  MOST DEFINITELY a form of prostitution; not only are the people watching it being harmed, but the people who are in these videos suffer and are being harmed by this corrupt industry as well. Porn makes a person more critical of potential partners, and makes sex into something more casual and less meaningful. It is harmful to society because since porn portrays women as mere objects, the viewers start to believe that that is just what women are; objects. Long story short, pornography doesn't only harm its viewers; it harms their families, it harms society, it harms marriages, and it kills LOVE. So here's my short rant, I mainly blogged about this because I think more people should get involved and try to put an end to this terrible industry and addiction. If you missed the link and want to help support and fight the new drug, please click HERE. So now that that awkwardness is out of the way, feel free to comment or ask questions below! Until next time.

Like what you do

I hope you guys are able to read this and that you enjoyed it! Agree? Disagree? Questions? Feel free to leave me a comment below :)

Challenge Accepted

So one of my Sunday activities is scrolling on Pinterest and looking at totally random stuff. I came across this Blog Challenge that seemed interesting so I think I'm going to give it a try. Even though I most likely won't keep up with posting every single day, I'll try my best to keep you guys updated often! I can't say I have the biggest audience on here, but I hope these topics on the challenge keep you guys entertained. I was going to go in the same order as the blog challenge, but that seemed a little too boring for me. The topic I decided to do this time was "10 Facts About Me." Making long lists about myself isn't exactly one of my strong suits, but I thought it would be good to introduce myself a little more to any first time readers that might wind up on here.

1. I'm really terrible at naming pets.
My first pet was my dog who I named "Princess" when I was about 4 years old. I named my rabbit "Baby", and I also named my baby chick "Baby." I like to get creative with names as you can probably tell. My sister and I had a horse for a while whose name was Pal, but we wanted to spice his name up a bit. So we began to call him C.J. Pal, which stands for "cool jumper." So if you never need help naming a pet, don't ask me!

2. Most people refer to me as Ally.
Pretty much everyone calls me Ally, but my personal favorite is when people call me "Al." There's just something about it that I love. A lot of my good friends will randomly call me "Mcdub" which is a really random nickname but I still love it. Every once in a while my mom will call me Mcdub and it's awesome haha.

3. I've read about 5 books in the last month or so. They're all children's books because it's a part of my class reading list, but I'm enjoying them so much! So far I've read Oliver Twist, The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, A Little Princess, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

4. I'm likely to avoid conflict rather then engaging with it head-on. When I was younger, I could easily confront someone if I didn't like or agree with what they were doing, but now I just like to avoid conflict until it's absolutely necessary to confront it.

5. The most recent compliment I received that I remember well was on Friday when I was walking home from school. It was extremely hot outside and there was this old man walking and wearing a sweater vest and slacks. As I walked by (I was talking on the phone with a friend) he exclaimed, "Ooooooh girl, you are lookin' good today!" The way he said it was so hilarious and it made my Friday so much better.

6. A couple weird things I like to do when I'm alone is dance or watch the Cosby Show. I really love the Latin styles of dancing and am pretty familiar with them because of my background, but I was always jealous of my aunts and cousins who could dance better than me. Hopefully at the next family gathering I can surprise everyone by voluntarily getting up to dance rather than being dragged. And stay away from the Cosby show... It's highly addictive.

7. The last movie I watched was Life is Beautiful. It's about a jewish man, his non-jewish wife and their son who all end up at a concentration camp. The father (Guido) turns the Holocaust into a big game for his son, and the grand prize for the winner is a tank. I cried the whole time.

8. I can watch any sport and be amused. Even if I know nothing about it, I can be perfectly entertained while watching golf, baseball, or gymnastics. It's all interesting to me.

9. I had to wear braces for about three years. I don't know if my teeth were actually that crooked or if my orthodontist was just messing with me, but having braces was definitely an interesting experience.

10. Just because people ask me what I do in Hawaii. I actually live a pretty normal life, especially during school, but I do have the privilege on going some neat adventures and beach trips every now and then.

If you have any more questions about me or something you want me to blog about, leave a comment or contact me! Thanks for reading.