Friends, Family, and Everything in Between

     Being in a long distance relationship I feel as if people don't really see it as a legitimate relationship. My boyfriend and I actually saw each other this Summer for an entire month. It had been 10 whole months since we had gotten to see each other so it was really great. I'm not saying i'm a fan of the long distance by any means but it sure as hell makes me appreciate him being with me when he's here. I look at other couples fighting about the stupidest of things and I just wonder why. I know that things are always different than they seem and in today's society everything is 'complicated' but in all reality I think that people just need to love the ones's they're with. I'm not trying to preach but if you have the ability to fall asleep next to the person you love more than anything else in the world every night and wake up next to them every morning, consider yourself pretty damn lucky. When it really truly comes down to it people fight over the dumb things, the small things, the things that don't matter. But i'm telling you, if you have the person that makes you smile when you're sad, kisses you when you're mad, accepts you as you are (quirks and all) and still loves you more than anything at the end of the day, you're one lucky person. I've always kind of felt like the people that mean the most to us are the ones that get the majority of the bad moods and asshole comments from us. The funny thing is 95% of the time it's not because we're mad at them, it's because they're the people that we know we can count on. The people that although the world is turning shittier day by day we can still turn to. The people that no matter how many rude, under-handed, completely uncalled for comments we make and fits we throw in their company, they will still be there for us. Willing and able to hug us when we feel like crap and to put us back on the right track when we've wandered. The ones that we expect to be running in the oppostite direction when we treat them as we do but instead are there to help us pick ourselves back up and help us fix things.At the end of the day, knowing you have that is one of the best feelings in the world. Almost like no matter what happens or what crazy things you encounter in life it's okay because you have someone who's got your back, someone who will be there for you when you enter crisis mode, and who will carry you through. When you find this person never take them for granted because people like these are far and few these days. So when you find them, hold them close and don't ever let go.

   

Gratitude Turns What We Have Into Enough

Lately there has been one quote that has really kept me going. It's one of those quotes that really makes you think; really appreciate. 

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best of what they have."

This is something that has so much meaning and is able to convey it all in a matter of one sentence. I think that everybody needs to know and understand this quote. It's truly about how you deal with what you're given rather than having the best of everything. Often, not having everything that we want allows us to be much better people. Although, I do my fair share of wanting the latest, newest, most popular things on the market, I realize that what I have is more than enough. What I have will always suffice. One of the biggest problems in today's society is that very few people realize this. More often than not it's those that have less than what they need. I'm as guilty as the next person, most will never truly realize how blessed they are, whether it be that they have a roof over their heads, that they have water and food, or even that they have loved ones who care about them. What I truly think is that when we realize that gratitude is the key then so many things will become better in our eyes. We will then be able to appreciate the little things in life. What really needs to happen is for everybody to be reminded that gratitude truly does turn what we have into enough.

Grading Gripers

     You know what I absolutely hate? People who blame their grades on everybody but themselves.
Especially the whole "Oh, Mrs/ Mr. So and So just hates my guts, that's why I got the grade I did."
Very VERY rarely are teachers that completely biased. 99.9% of the time it's on you!
     I realize that there is always going to be those lovely teachers who decide that they're not going to teach the class or they put their personal beliefs among everything that they teach. It has always been told to me that teachers are meant to teach not preach and I fully agree. But when people refuse to accept that them going to parties, drinking, or watching TV rather than studying and looking over their material is the reason that they got the grades that they did it pisses me off.
    I know that some people learn and retain information better than others and i'm not talking about the people who put forth their honest to goodness best effort. I'm talking about those that think that the world revolves around them and that everybody should just fall all over them because yes they are in fact breathing. It does not fly with me.
Here's some advice if you're reading this and thinking "hey that sounds a little like me!":
1. THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU.
2. Get off your butt and work if you want something.
3. Stop believing that you're better than everybody else. Thinking like that instantly puts you below everybody.
4. Studying = higher chance of passing.

Not everybody is going to let you slide by in life the sooner you realize that you need to be responsible for yourself and recognize that you aren't in fact perfect the better your life will be.

Sorry, for those of you still reading my little rant is over.

Being a Military Brat

     So many people these days are joining the military and it's easy to see why; the military is a stable career choice. Being a military brat I know the mechanics of the armed forces, mainly the Air Force. I really didn't realize how well I have it. I mean with everything there will always be pros and cons but being a military brat I feel as though the pros far outweigh the cons. 

     Countless times people ask me what it's like to have a parent in the military and I always tell them the same thing, it's pain sometimes but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Being a military child there are so many things that you go through at a young age, your parent deploys, you have to move, make new friends, start new schools, and create a new life. You always have to be on your best behavior because if you're anything less, not only do your parents get in trouble with their bosses but then you get into trouble with your parents. You don't get to goof off as a regular child would because for every stupid public thing you do, your dad has the potential to lose is career. In the military it's all cause and effect, everybody has to stick together because without your neighbors you would go insane. I think one of my favorite things about it is how close you become with everybody around you because you're all in the same boat.

     Moving with the military is inevitable there's the saying "home is where the military sends us" and it is one of the truest things I've ever heard. You learn to make everything home. It's not the best having to start over ever couple of years but honestly I can say that it's another one of my favorite things. I hate seeing my friends go and I hate to be the one to go but I have done, seen, and been more places at the age I am now that many people do in there lifetime. Paris was my birthday present at 11. Switzerland and Austria were day trips. Belgium, and Trier were fieldtrips. I was able to go to Italy for 5 days with my friends. I've been to the black forest, more castles to count, spoke more languages then I would like to admit and all because my dad chose to serve his country.

      My dad is up for his next deployment early next year, it'll be his third. He's only been back 9 months, it's rough on my mom, my brothers, and me. At the same time, you get used to it. You learn how to be independent. You know acronyms for everything. You know all the weird military rules. You know the difference of all the military branches, uniforms included. You gather so much respect for everyone and everything around you. Since you are always the one having to start over you become so much more accepting to those who are struggling to fit in because at some point in your life you've been that kid. You realize the correct way to talk to adults. You can tell a C-5 from a B-10 in the blink of an eye. Some days I wake up wondering if the planes are going to land in my yard rather than on the runway. You grow up in a structured environment with so many people that care about you. In all aspects I believe that the pros will always outweigh the cons. There are a lot of bad things that go along with it don't get me wrong but I am so very privileged to be where I am today with the people around me. 

Long Distance Relationships Haters

      Alright, if you're one of those people who for some odd reason are completely against long distance relationships, then just exit this page because honestly i'm sick of all of the people like that.
     Let me just start off by saying that yes, I am in a long distance relationship at the moment, yes I have met him, and yes it is for real. I don't know why but until I was actually in a long distance relationship I didn't realize how many people actually take that route. I didn't realize how many people were so in love with their significant other, even though they had never met before. I didn't realize how tough it really is, how truly in love two people have to be in love in order to sacrifice that much for their other half. And I sure as hell didn't realize how many people were so ignorant toward people in these relationships.
    Is it your relationship? No. Although there are many other reasons why it's none of your business I feel as though that's the only one you need. Unless you guys have some odd, threesome partnership going on, hop off. I'm so sick and tired of people giving me crap for my decision regarding my relationship. If I wanted your opinion I would ask for it. You may think that there is no possible way for two people to be in love when they are hundreds or thousands of miles away from each other, well think again. If anything they are more in love. I honestly don't think that people like that realize how hard it is to be away from the one person that means more to you than anything really is.
 
 There's a saying that goes: 
"Distance is not for the fearful it's for the bold, for those willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little with the one they love. It's for those who know a good thing when they see it, even if they don't see it nearly enough."

     This is true is so many ways. I honestly can say that I love my boyfriends even though he is thousands of miles away. Instead of having sex (a lot of you are thinking no sex? alright then)  you have to connect a  different level. You truly have to know a person. Time differences make it so difficult for you to fit time into your schedule, it gets done though. You can't see that person, so you have to be completely honest with how you're feeling, in a long distance relationship there is no such thing as the silent treatment. You have to take the initiative to want to be with that person, it's a hell of a lot harder then when they are physically beside you. Not only do you have to give up all the going on dates, going dancing, kissing for hours on end, having them hold you when you've had a shitty day, just laying together in bed, those long silences where nothing is said, but at the same time you feel so close; you also have to put up with all the bullshit that people give you.
     If I have any advice for people in LDR's it would to not give up. Don't let other people's opinions get to you. All that matters in a LDR is if you are crazy about the other person, and if you can picture spending the rest of your life with them.
     If I could say anything to those people who are dishing the bullshit it would be to just stop. I can tell you that even though I can't see my boyfriend's face everyday, I love him more and more each day. Even though we aren't talking 24/7 we make the time we have count. Even though he won't get to visit for 8 more months i'm already planning it. Even though we are still young, i'm already planning the rest of our lives together. Yes, it's rough and yes we've had our disagreements but we always come back to the same thing; we are in love with each other, and that's something that no matter what you say, you have no ability to change.

Rant Topic: People being downright rude.

     What gives anybody the right to believe that they are better than the next person? I don't care where you were born. Who you like, guys, girls, both. What you do for a living (unless you're like a killer or something, that'd be slightly awkward). Where you went/go to school. What your aspirations are. Your religion. What you do in your free time. How many "likes" your pictures get on Facebook. How many followers you have on Tumblr or Twitter. How many people you've dated. Your ethnicity.What your grades are. What kind of car you drive. What brand of clothing you wear. How much money you make. Where you live. What music you listen to. What sports team you like, or even if you like sports. You get the point?

     What I do care about is how you treat other people, no matter what they've done to you. How you talk to other people, different or not. How often you reach out to the ones who truly need it. Whether or not you choose to help those less fortunate. How accepting you are to the unknown.

     Pretty much the only thing I give a rats ass about is your choice of character. You may not be able to choose what you wear or what you look like, and you may think that people will view you differently because of it. I'm not going to lie, a lot of people might, but those people don't matter, the ones who truly matter are those who see you for how you act towards yourself (yes yourself) and how you act towards others. Focus on those people because anymore, they're one in a million
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     Never forget we're all human, we aren't all the same, and yes that's perfectly alright. The sooner people get this through their heads the sooner people will all be more accepting.

Happiness, take it or leave it.

     Happiness. It's something everybody wants, but something very few people actually are. Why is this? Is it because we all believe know believe that we incapable of it? Well personally, I disagree. I think that everybody has their own situations, more times than not they are extremely different than one another, but I firmly believe if you have a positive outlook on everything you do, and everything that results in what you do, there is no reason to live life being unhappy.

     Yes I realize this isn't the easiest thing in most cases but just be happy, happy for anything you possibly can. Rain. Hot chocolate. The crunch of snow. Magazines. Freckles. How beautiful the moon is. Wearing a new pair of jeans. Singing loudly. Laughing with your friends. Movies. Blueberry pancakes. Iceskating. Music. Cute buttons.Slippers. The feeling of your bed after you've been away for awhile. Iced tea. Candles. Bubble baths. Really great books. Getting letters. The smell of the pool. Naps. Cookies. Bubble wrap. Stupid moments that result in really great things. Pictures. Handwritten notes. Shopping. Cute blankets. The rush of air you get when you walk into the store. Meeting new people. Candy. Everything.

     You don't even need anything material to make you happy. Although it's the little things that you can't control that have the ability to make you have the crappiest of days but it's also the little things that have the same ability to make something that could possibly be a crappy day into a day that you never want to end.

    Make yourself the promise to smile at least 5 times a day and to really try and see the positive in the worst of situations. It truly helps. Trust me.