Month: November 2017

Crazy Enough to Change

It’s nearly one a.m.

I’m tired, I have a stress headache and I should be taking advantage of the extra zzz’s I could catch, due to it finally being the weekend.

But I just can’t sleep.

I figure I’m not the only writer who does this, but when I come across a quote or a saying that I really like, I tend to make note of it. I typically either keep it for myself to reflect on, later, or I attempt to construct something meaningful.

Obviously, this time around, I am attempting to piece together all of the jumbled up words in my muddled brain, to, hopefully, inspire others to feel the same feeling I am currently feeling.

Change.

It’s a scary, yet exciting, concept, isn’t it?

You see, there are three types of people in this world:

1. People who are content with the way that our world is
2. People who desire a change
3. People who work their butts off to make that change happen.

This change begins in us, though, don’t you know?

As Henry David Thoreau once said,

“Things do not change. We change.”

This quote is pretty straightforward. Our environment and the things it contains does not change, but we do. Think of it in terms of time and society. 50 years ago, our entire society was different; the houses, the cars, the choice of careers and so on.

Houses changed because people wanted to reside in something more modern and convenient, cars changed because our society needed efficiency and eco-friendly and careers changed because as society develops, we have new needs and new desires. I think you get the point.

A key thought to have in mind, however, is how we got to the point of change. No doubt the people who actually took initiative to make the changes received hate and negativity for trying to change something in society, simply because we, as humans, do not like change.

But, as Rob Siltanen said,

“…the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

In the midst of all of the hatred from their peers, they were crazy enough to believe that they could build, innovate and perfect; so they did.

Look where we are now; we’re at the same point as those in our past who made changes in our world. Take technology, for example. There are so many people working to further our electronic capabilities and they receive mixed feedback, every day. It doesn’t stop them, though. They’re crazy enough to believe that they can change technology, someway, somehow.

I once told a friend of mine that I wanted to change the world, somehow, as a nurse. You know what she said to me? She told me that I was crazy to think that I could make a difference in our world, because of the way it is. I mean, she’s right. I am crazy enough to think that I can somehow manage to change my world. I know that I am capable of making a difference in my environment or someone’s life. Everyone is.

The question is though:

Are you crazy enough to change?
Are you crazy enough to step outside of your comfort zone to change something that you believe in? Are you desperate enough that you won’t care about the feedback you receive, but, rather, the cause you’re fighting for?

Change takes dedication. It absolutely does. Even the smallest things, like drinking more water or vowing to watch less tv, take dedication. It’s something that you have to be constant with and you can’t give in to the negativity.

It’s called crazy for a reason, ain’t it?

So, how about it? Are you crazy enough to believe you can change something in your life, your environment or even your world?

Always desire to inspire.

Haylee Dean

Liebster Award!

Oh my goodness! Nominated for an award TWICE, in one week! I’m utterly speechless.

Of course all of my appreciation goes to Julia and Nicole over at hyperchildchillmom!

I discovered their blog a few weeks ago through a mutual blog of ours and I haven’t regretted my choice to follow, whatsoever! The characteristic that I love the most about this blog is how real it is. There’s truth and authenticity in each and every one of their posts and I never have to feel like I’m reaching to relate to either of them. Their posts range from prompts, to stories about their week, to AMAZING photographs and more; it’s always a surprise, in regards to what they’ll post next (haha)!

Most importantly, however, they support other bloggers. This is something I noticed right off the bat and I couldn’t be more proud to follow such a wonderful blog. You should definitely check them out, if you’re ever in seek of a blog that isn’t afraid to get real!

Questions From hyperchildchillmom:

1. Who inspires you?

My mom! My mom has always been there for me, no matter the circumstances and I’m so appreciative of her. She’s extremely strong, resilient and simply wonderful. I love her to death.

2. Favorite animal and why?

If we’re talking pets, it’s a cat. If we’re talking animals in general, it’s a monkey. I love cats because they’re just so cute and cuddly, despite what all cat haters say, and I love monkies because a friend of mine was obsessed with them and ended up getting me into them (I say it like it’s a hobby, lol).

3. Favorite musical group or song and why?

Ohhhh, this is a tough one. I have too many favorite songs and groups to just choose one. So, I’m gonna have to opt-out of this one.

4. What goals do you have for your blog?

I’m not going to lie and say that it wouldn’t be nice to have a decent amount of people who actively follow and respond to my posts, but my overall goal for my blog is to reach people in a way that I know how. I try my best to inspire people and remind them about the things that are easy to forget, while going through this crazy life. I also discussed why I started my blog here.

5. What motivates you on a daily basis?

Simply knowing of the things that I am capable of, in regards to my future. I used to wake up, every morning, feeling like I was incapable of doing simple things, let alone bigger things that would take place in my future. Once I got to that place where I truly understood my self-worth and the things that I could do, if I put my mind to it (which took a tonnnn of work, honestly), I felt unstoppable. Now, I aim for the best and no less.

6. Christmas is right around the corner, what was your favorite present for Christmas, giving or receiving?

I, personally, am a sucker for meaningful gifts. I really don’t need the latest and greatest, for my birthday OR Christmas; I simply want to feel like I matter and that I was thought about. It’s the best feeling, really.

7. What is your most despised chore?

Oh, gosh. It’s obviously the laundry! When you have so much clothes, you can get by without doing the laundry for weeks (I am ashamed). Needless to say, when the moment that you’re missing a few necessary items comes around, you’re doomed. THEN, you have to fold them and hang them up?? I’m getting anxious just thinking about it.

8. What is your favorite smell? Why?

I love peppermint or lemon, depending on the season! Peppermint is extremely comforting to me, for whatever reason. It makes my room smell good and winter-y, if that makes sense? Also, lemon is so refreshing! It just smells clean, if clean can even be a smell (haha). Love, love, love.

9. What is the last book you read? Did you enjoy it?

Oh, boy. Reading, to me, comes in phases. I’m either reading a book a day or I don’t read for several months, at a time; there is no in-between. So, I’ll admit: it’s been a minute. Butttt, the last book that I read was a Christian book called Get Lost by Dannah Gresh. If you or your daughter, maybe, is struggling with the desire of wanting to be loved, but you’re/they’re pursuing the wrong kind of love, this book is for you! Dannah essentially shows you how to get so lost in God’s love that a guy has no choice but to seek God, first, before he can even try to seek out you. It’s an amazing book and I definitely recommend!

10 Random Facts About Me:

The more I’m asked this, the more I start to regret writing 70 Random Facts About Me (slight facepalm), but, I never really regret writing, in the end. So, let’s try to write 10 MORE facts about me:

1. My birthday is November 2nd, which is actually today! I’m currently waiting on my *requested* steak dinner to be made 😉 Overall, I’ve had a wonderful day and I feel so blessed to have the friends and the family that I do!!!

For fun, here’s a few pictures from my day:

2. I have a dog and his name is Sammy; he’s the result of a yorkie and a poodle being bred. Most people refer to this breed as a yorkiepoo, buttt my family thinks it’s funny to tell people that he’s a pookie. It just sounds better, ok!

3. I broke the first iPhone I ever had and I cried over it. I believe that I was just walking around my house, carelessly carrying my phone (with no case..ugh), and I just kinda threw it across the room. Unintentionally, of course!!! After I realized what I had done, I cried. I was only 12, so don’t judge.

4. Another reason that I like following hyperchildchillmom is because I actually have two brothers, who are also twins, that have ADHD and ADD. I meant it when I said that I related to a lot of their blog 😛

5. My favorite color is a toss-up between teal and burnt orange; only because if I said black, a lot of people would give me hate because, “black is not a color.” Rachel knows that struggle all too well, am I right? 😉

6. I adoooore tea. Hot or cold, it doesn’t matter! I almost always have one of my kitchen cabinets stocked with various teas.

7. I’ve had a basement bedroom in two of the houses that I’ve lived in. I honestly used to be so against basement bedrooms, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to enjoy the space and privacy that they can have (if you fix em’ up). My current room took weeks to renovate from scratch, but I’m so happy with the outcome!

8. I am an avid chocolate lover. Well, I love sweets in general, but chocolate is my favorite! I could eat it all the time, in almost any form, honestly. No shame.

9. I have more clothes than I can keep track of. My closet is decently sized and it’s pretty much filled to the brim, plus some….Oops? My only excuse is that I enjoy dressing nicely and having a variety of outfits.

10. Tagging on to number 9, I have a tonnn of clothes…but I wear the same outfits a lot. It’s a really bad habit of mine, ok. It makes my mom mad, but in my defense, she doesn’t buy my clothes or have to see them! I live happily with all of my unnecessary purchases and lack of space to place them 🙂

Nominees:

As always, it took me a minute to figure out who I was going to nominate, so the blogs that I decided to nominate are blogs belonging to people that are always supportive and encouraging– two traits that I feel are so very important and needed, in the blogging community. So, thank you and I appreciate you!

waltswritingsonlife.wordpress.com

bakkbakkingjayshree.wordpress.com

midlifemaniacalme.me

reclaiminghope.blog

malcommarshauthor.com

I hope that you’ll give each one of these blogs a much deserved look-see!

Questions For The Blogs That I Nominate:

  1. What is the most extreme thing that you have ever done?
  2. Out of all of the places that you have visited, which did you like the most?
  3. What is one of your favorite memories?
  4. Why did you decide to start your blog?
  5. What is your favorite book or book series?
  6. Do you have a post (one of your own) that you favor over others?
  7. If you could go anywhere in the world and take one person, who would it be and why?
  8. If you were given $500 today, what would you do with it and why?
  9. What inspires you to write?
  10. What is your opinion on the advancement of technology?

Rules for Nominees:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you, and put a link to their blog on your blog. Try to include a little promotion for the person who nominated you. They will thank you for it and those who you nominate will also help you out as well.
  1. Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.) At the bottom of this post, I’ve included a whole lot of images you can use for your 2017 Liebster Award.
  1. For the 2017 Liebster Award, I will be shaking things up! Write a 150-300 word post about your favourite blog that is not your own. Explain why you like the blog, provide links.
  1. Provide 10 random facts about yourself. (This year I’m making this optional. If you wish to engage with your readers it’s a great idea to include random facts about you.)
  1. Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 200 followers. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information!)
  1. List these rules in your post (You can copy and paste from here or simply link to this post.) Once you have written and published it, you then have to:
  1. Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post or mine if you don’t have all the information so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!) (info)

Once again, thank you, Julia and Nicole!!! You guys are amazing and I hope your week continues to be in your favor 🙂

Always desire to inspire.

Haylee Dean

Gratitude

Google defines gratitude as, “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.”

I didn’t truly understand the importance or quality of gratitude until nearly 2 years ago when I lost a very close family friend.

Growing up, I was always taught to be thankful for what I was given, but what’s a, “thank you,” if you don’t actually mean it? Was I always ready to show appreciation in return, or was I simply saying enough to get me by? Was I truly thankful, or was I a wolf in sheep’s clothing?

Yes, it is possible to fake gratitude.

Although faking gratitude isn’t necessarily something you’d “get in trouble for” with another person, per se, it can, however, tear down your character from the inside to the outermost layer of your body. Having an ungrateful heart shows in your thinking process, your actions and your words.

Gratitude is a big deal, in my opinion.

When I lost my family friend, all that went through my mind was the reminder that I hadn’t appreciated her enough. Each time I’d leave her presence, I’d automatically have the mindset that I’d see her the next time I visited. I never told her how much she actually meant to me and how much she taught me, since the day she walked into my life.

She was that person. She had a way of making you feel loved and appreciated through her actions. She was able soothe and comfort you with the mere sound of her voice because you just knew that she only had good intentions in mind. I swear her smile was so bright, she could rid all  traces of a thunderstorm. She was a light and many, many people were drawn to her.

She was always ready to show her appreciation and gratitude for another person and that’s what made her so special.

During her showing, she had bouquets lined up around the church sanctuary that the showing took place in; it was the most inspiring visual I have ever had the privilege of viewing and I can honestly say that it changed me, no matter how cliche it may sound.

Ember’s passing taught me to love and appreciate others and my life like it’s my last day of life.

I realized, then, something my parents had been trying to get through my thick skull for years: we aren’t promised tomorrow.

Having an ungrateful heart can lead to bitterness and selfishness; it’s what causes entitlement and arrogance and, overall, our self-centered society. Being filled with all of these negative traits is often what prohibits us from being selfless and showing gratitude.

For that reason, I choose to be thankful and grateful. I choose to strive after the characteristics that Ember portrayed.

If I were to die today, or even tomorrow, I wouldn’t want the people in my life to feel as if I was unappreciative and selfish. I’d want them to know how much I truly appreciate them and I’d want my actions and words to prove that.

What about you? Selfish or selfless? Bitterness or contentedness? Appreciative or ungratefulness?

Think on it and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

Always desire to inspire.

Haylee Dean