my weekend in a nutshell.

Hello hello, and a happy Sunday to you!
I love the weekends, I think everyone does :) Here's some simple things that brought me happiness this weekend:

BUT FIRST, here's my theme song for this weekend ;) just because summer's coming, and I'm excited... again, isn't everyone?

ONE. Spontaneous things.

I found myself with two of my favorite people at a random friend's house, lighting a fire in the backyard. I'm not one to plan anything, I like to play it by ear, and this is a perfect example of doing something exciting because of this. 

TWO. Video games.

Surprise, I play video games. Whether its watching video games that are interesting to watch (Mario Smash Bros) or playing COD, video games have started to become a small part of my life this year. What's better than knowing how to play is playing against someone who's insanely good in unfair circumstances and coming insanely close to beating them. That's exhilarating, and that's also when things get nasty. Too bad I didn't win, I think it's probably for the best though, self esteem is important ;) hahaha.

THREE. Bonfires and fireworks.

Or fireworks in the bonfire? Singing Taylor Swift at the top of our lungs? Playing boardgames? Hot tubs? Either way, nights with my friends celebrating Anti Prom brings me happiness.  And a side note, blue cups are for the win :) 

FOUR. Productivity.

Actually getting to work on something that's important and feeling like you're going to accomplish something is one of the little things that bring me happiness. 

FIVE. Rain on days where I like rain.

Some days I find I'm just in the mood for rain. Saturday was one of these days. Bring on the track pants, knit socks and hoodies.

SIX. When things work out how they're supposed to.

I'm a firm believer that things will always work out. Which sounds lame, I know, but it's true. I'm happy when this is proved, and when people still have a good time, regardless of the stressing and anger. I'm especially happy when my presence helps the situation - I like to feel useful I guess.

SEVEN. Bacon.

It's just so tasty.

EIGHT. Looking forward to things.
Like tonight, I'm looking forward to spending my Sunday night with some of my favorite people watching one of my favorite shows. I'm looking forward to seeing my best friend again tomorrow, I missed her. I'm looking forward to going to a Coffeehouse on Wednesday.

Life is good.

Emily :)

i'll try my best

one thing that i’ve never understood is why it’s so difficult for some people to do the right thing. and i’m not talking about typical ‘good things’, like picking something up when a person drops it, or saying excuse me when moving through a crowd; i like to hope these things are common sense. i’m talking about the less obvious things, the things people choose to do, or choose to avoid for various reasons.

if someone’s hurting, you ask them if they’re okay. you comfort them, you make time for them, you make them feel like someone cares about them. if someone just wants someone to talk to, why not be the listener, the person who’s there for them. if someone does something nice for you, you return the favor. if someone needs help and you know you can help them, step up and help them. 

i’m a firm believer in the ‘little things’; i honestly do believe that it’s the little things that make all the difference. so basically, what i’m trying to say is that if you can be that person for someone, be that person. it might be a simple little thing to you, but in turn it might mean the world to them.

emiLy :)

ps - my apologies for the lack of capitals, sometimes i just feel like they're overrated haha :)

poetry writing music? oooh yah.

well newsflash, i can see through that.
but if doesn't kill me it makes me tougher, & that's a message that i pass on to my brother,
you never really gonna make a difference til you suffer but we past that,
now it's time to smash that - thunder.

welcome to my box

So for this week's entry, I decided to do something a little different! I thought it would be cool to show my bedroom.
I like space, as I'm sure a lot of people do. I remember it was a big deal when my family moved into our current house nine years ago. I was in grade four, and I was allowed to pick my room. I chose one of the rooms at the back of the house - thinking about it now I have no idea why I picked the room I did - and that space has been mine ever since.
My room is small. It's 100 square feet, 10 ft by 10 ft; it's a little box, hence the name. I used to care a lot about the size, even dream about ripping out walls and putting on an extension (true story). now that I'm older, I've come to appreciate the space I have, because it's my space.

Everything in my room reflects my personality. I've covered the walls with things that I like, things that inspire me, giant Es and picture frames. Everything is bright and happy and screams Emily. Take a look :)

I have a make shift headboard - a combination of inspirational things, my artwork, some pictures, and friendly reminders. Ikea is my favourite store in the whole entire universe, just saying :)

The wall behind my door. A nice little spot for my lists, a birthday balloon from a special someone, another friendly reminder, coats for all weather and a picture frame waiting to be filled.

I like open storage, even if that means clutter. At least it's organized clutter! Movies, old birthday cards, clothes, Jones Soda, Transformers, Toy Story 3, best cereal ever & two identical cameras, neither of them are mine :)

My workspace. Computer, homework, Crayola lava lamp, Roller Coaster Tycoon disc. The usuals.

So that's basically it. Hope you enjoyed this episode of Cribs.. just kidding. Welcome to my box.

Emily :)

smile bright.

you've got dreams, & therefore i believe in you.

So lately I've been thinking a lot about the future and dreams - not only what I want to do, but what other people want to do. I'm just starting to realize that one of the things that I get totally excited about is when people are crazy passionate about something - it's such a natural high to me.

There are a lot of things I love and would consider myself passionate about. Whether it's my art, my photography, my Photoshop stuff, my blog (thelifeof-), these are things I dedicate a lot of time doing, 1) because they bring me happiness, and 2) because they're my creative outlets - ways I express myself.

I think one of the best things in the world is when people believe in what you're going to do. Likewise, one of the absolute worse things in the world is when people don't believe in your abilities. I've had countless times in my life where I get super excited, super inspired, and tell someone all about something I want to do, and they show a lot less enthusiasm about it. I don't know if people realize they do this, I don't even know if other people notice, but I definitely notice this sort of thing.

For the longest time I always felt like if people told me I couldn't do something, then obviously I wouldn't be able to. I guess it's fair to say that I've outgrown this mindset. I've stopped listening to the people who tell me that things aren't possible, and that I'm not good enough.

One thing I try my very hardest (and I know I don't always succeed, but I do try) is to be supportive of people. I'm a creative mind, and I know what it's like to think you've got no one behind you, no one believing in you. I think being passionate about something is one of the greatest things, and it's the passionate people who get stuff done. It's believing in yourself, so as a part of the support network, it makes sense for me to be there for them, to fuel their fire so to speak.

I could pull out so many examples about this, but one of my favorite memories was back in October. A bunch of my guy friends were planning to triumphantly participate in Movember, partially as a contest and partially just because it was something they really wanted to do. When asked whether or not I minded, I obviously said no, that I didn't care at all. Was a part of me not exactly one hundred percent for the idea? Of course. I remember distinctly asking if this was something they felt passionate about (which it was), which was why I said it was a great idea, and going to be fun to watch.

I have a friend who was interested in becoming a paramedic. In order to do this, she needed to stay an extra year just to take Biology and Chemistry, and then she could go on and pursue this dream of hers. She'll admit herself that she's not the strongest student in the field of science, but I was totally supportive of this. The passion, the fire to help people and save lives was crazy, I remember wishing that I could be that crazy passionate like her. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but if it was something she really wanted to do, then there was absolutely nothing stopping her. Although this dream was a bit unrealistic, nothing said she couldn't do it. She's the only person who would say she couldn't do it, and I was not about to get in the way.

I realize that there's a point where you need to consider how realistic something is. Like for my above friend, maybe it wasn't the most realistic career choice for her - that's a lot of classes to endure through. But there is no time that I feel it's my place to step in and tell someone that; that's something they need to figure out on their own. In all honesty, how am I supposed to know what people can and can't do? It all depends on their drive, how bad they really want to achieve that goal. In the end it all comes down to passion.

I've been told lots of times by many people that the career choice I'm choosing will be too competitive, that it will eat me alive, that I won't be able to find a job. I've been told I can't make a video because I'm just an amateur. I've been told that I will crumble under the pressure. These are the kinds of comments I've learnt to ignore, I don't even hear them now. No one knows what you're capable of except yourself, and when people say things like this it gives me twice as much motivation to prove them wrong.

So, two rules of thumb for all of you: 1) Never listen to the people who tell you that you can't, because they don't know you and they sure don't know what you're capable of. 2) Support other people's dreams; the best feeling in the world is knowing you've got people rooting for you.

One of the best things I've ever been told was this: "You'll do fine, you're Emily Munro." Nothing is better than having support from people. It makes things seem a lot closer, a lot more obtainable, that's for sure.
Just a little something to think about :)

& a little song to listen to!
This is the song I listen to before anything big - SAC campaign day, G1 test, University interviews & portfolio viewings, big tests, you name it - it's just a nice little reminder in song form. Enjoy!

EMILY :)

true.