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.

RANDOM THOUGHT.

Do you ever find that the stupidest little things help you remember the big important things?
I sure do!
FOR EXAMPLE: For Biology I was trying to remember the various cycles involved with Cellular Respiration. I was studying late at night, and what does my little brain come up with? A rhyme about pie.
Did I remember Glycolysis on my test? You better believe it.

"graphic designers

use stripes when they don't know what else to do."

CHECK THIS SITE OUT :) http://homemadepolaroid.com/

i just hope i'm happy when i'm you.

hey hollywood.

One thing that I've always wanted to do with my life is become a YouTube star... and no, I don't mean the next Justin Bieber or anything like that. I want to be able to sit infront of a camera and talk about my life, things I'm passionate about, things that I think are cool, and I want people to watch my videos and think they're funny too.
Did you know YouTube exceeds 2 billion views a day? I sure didn't. I knew a lot of people watched videos, but I never thought to put a number to it. The number of videos uploaded is more astounding; 24 hours of video is uploaded every minute. That's a lot of content, a lot of people working hard to produce things for people to watch.
I have a respect for the people who make YouTube videos, that's a lot of dedication and time. Plus you need to have a tough skin, not let the people's nasty comments phase you. There's a passion that goes a long with it, and these are the people I've always admired - people who are on fire, and love what they do.
There's a freedom of speech that goes along with making YouTube videos, you're allowed to say what you want (and by this I mean your opinions on the world and things you think are cool).

^ This is LiveLavaLive. He's one of my favourite YouTube stars. One, he's funny. Two, he's cute. Three, he makes a lot of different types of videos - promotions, lip syncs, acting (scripts he wrote), and the list goes on. The video I've included is one of my favourites, :) 

He also promotes things that he thinks are cool - like Tom shoes for instance - in this New Years video. 

This video actually gave Kristi and I some inspiration for a stop motion video; I like his style and way of going about putting together videos. 

Another of my favourite YouTube stars is Strawburry17. She also has a lot of different videos, and hosts a bunch of Music Video contests. I like her videos because they're super professionally made; videos are always better when they're made well.

And she does both filming aaand animation, which I think is pretty cool.

Finally, we've got one of my most recent finds, Jennxpenn. She made a super good lip sync video for Strawburry's contest, that's how I found her.

I actually have no idea how old she is, but I think it's awesome that she can be reasonably young and still make videos that are made and edited well. I wish I had the computer skills she has, that's for sure. 

In this next video, I know she's annoying, but this video made me laugh when I saw it. It's not the person, it's the idea that I like about this video. 

So those people up here? Yeah, they're just a small portion of my inspiration. I think it's cool to be able to express yourself on film. I'm not saying that I want to be like aaany of these people here, and by like them I mean personality, or types of video even. I think the problem with YouTube is that people tend to act fake for the camera, so obviously if this is something I choose to pursue I'd avoid that. I like the idea of filming YouTube videos and so this is just one little thing that I've always wanted to try :)

DEAR MCL, thanks for being sick. LOVE, thelifeof-

EMILY IN A SECRET HANDSHAKE WORLD :) ftw.

I'm GOOD, you're GOOD, we're all GOOD.

Apparently my default setting is 'GOOD'. I catch myself more and more often describing absolutely everything as being good - my mood, how my day was, how my evening was, how that last test I wrote was, how that last muffin I ate was, apparently it's all good.

So these kinds of questions I consider 'small talk' questions. Although your really good friend might ask you how your test was and really mean it, they're just kind of small questions to provoke conversation. When I'm asked these kinds of questions, I go into default mode and answer them quickly, without a lot of thought. It's either good, okay, bad or really bad. Never excellent, or fantastic, just simple, little mediocre good.

According to my response, I think life and everything in it is nothing other than GOOD, and I hate that I do that - generalize. Everyone's always saying that we need to make the most out of life, so why do we make everything seem so ordinary when we talk about it? Wonderful amazing fantastic things that happen deserve more credit than what we give them, pretty much.

emiLy♥

I HEART

DATA.
YAHOOOO.

2DEE3DEE

"A stranger. From the outside." "Ooooooooh."

This is

my everything jam - my writing jam, my morning jam. Have a listen :) ps. On this CD he has all his songs in a Night Version and a Day Version. This is the Day Version; I prefer the Night Version though, so if you're interested, have a look for it online or something :)

I used to think my life revolved around caaaaash, used to believe I only needed money. But now I'm feeling something changing, deep inside of me, alright. Most people want their jobs to go from nine to five, in their lives they never feel so sunny, but what you need to do, is just enjoy the view. I said STOP, HERE, AND TURN AROUND, all this worryings got you sinking out yourself underground, yeah baby, yeah hunny, just live your life.

:)

glamour

just sit back & relax, just chit chat & hold hands, and hold hands, and hold hands.

It’s not a matter of what, it’s a matter of who.

For the last little while I’ve seen statuses on Facebook and various posts on technology complaining about Valentine’s Day & how sad everyone is that they’re single. To all those single people out there - don’t worry, you’ve got people to confide in. There are always people who feel just the same way as you do… what I’m trying to get at is that you’re not alone. You’re never alone. There are over six billion people in the world, after all. You can’t hide from that kind of exposure, those kinds of people, it’s just not possible. 

My Valentine’s Day past has been nothing but special, and a few hundred miles away from romantic, that’s for sure. I’ve been single for, well, pretty much sixteen Valentine’s Days, except this one. And I’m one of those people who think positively, (and that’s a lot different than most people, I realize) but I’ve never looked at Valentine’s Day in a negative light. Why? There’s this four letter word that comes with said day, and it’s L-O-V-E.

Did you know there are three different types of love? There’s the romantic kind of love, friendship kind of love and a love for things like… chocolate, kapeesh? I would go all crazy and look up the Greek words for these types of love, but frankly I’m on a roll and I don’t care enough to.

Such a simple four letter word can mean sooo many different things! Everything from loving your dog, to loving your best friend, to loving your signifigant other. And pretty sure last time I checked Valentine’s Day was not about just loving your boyfriend or girlfriend, it’s about love in general. So I understand people can feel a bit lonely on this day because they don’t have a signifigant other, and that’s because this holiday bloooows the whole relationships idea waaay out of proportion, with consumerism in mind, of course; proving you love someone by buying them fancy things on one day of the year will do wonders for your relationship, I’m sure.

Instead of focusing on exactly what this holiday wants us to focus on, think about all the people in your life who you love, and who mean something to you. Your best friends you can laugh with, get reassurance from; your parents who are your safety net, your support network; your reality tv shows; anything & everyone that makes you happy. That’s what this day should be about, that’s what every day of the year should be about, being thankful for everything you have.

It’s not a matter of what, it’s a matter of who - I have a bunch of friends who all went out to dinner together tonight. Why? Because they mean something to each other and because they love spending time together. That’s golden, having amazing friends you can rely on when you’re feeling down. As for me, dinner and a movie, simple. That’s the way it’s supposed to be - the way I look at it, it is an excuse to hang out with people who you love.

Smile, for a number of reasons. Remember that you are loved.
Thank all (and I really do mean all) the people in your life who you love.

:) Cheer up, sunshine.
♥emiLy

life just got cooler.

yaaay photoshop, thanks sista :)

i write lists like it's my day job.

For as long as I can remember I've always had an obsession with lists. Apparently there's something magical about writing things down in no particular order, and then crossing them off when they're done.

Now you might be thinking, "Yes, I write lists. That's no big deal." I can guarantee that probably 85% of the people who will read this don't take the act of writing lists quite as seriously as I do - I literally make lists for everything. I make 'To Do' lists for home, school and SAC. I have lists of things I love, lists of favorite quotes, even a special list I call my 'Must Love' list (a list I made about half a year ago of all the things I think a boyfriend should love). I make a list each week laying out exactly what I will wear each day and the things I need to remember to bring to school in the mornings. I have a list of what I plan to do with my life, all the things I want to do and in a broad time frame. If that's not enough, I have a list titled 'The List', for all the random things I want to do but I have no idea when I will do them. By far the most random, this list contains things like 'have a toga party', 'try yogurt and sprinkles' and 'build an epic tent in a room'. On top of that, for 'To Do' lists, I tend to time everything out; how long certain tasks will take me and when I plan to get each one completed by. I plan days at a time and I flip things over to the next day if they don't get completed, desperately finding a way to jam them in.

This may sound a little ridiculous, and yes, I agree with you, it is ridiculous. It's also confusing, might I add, to be flipping back and forth between lists to look off of. So why do I write so many lists? For exactly that reason, to write. I'm always thinking about a million different things at once; my mind is everywhere. This means that if I think of something and don't write it down, it's gone, and I mean whooooshgone. By writing things down I remember, so that's what I do. If this means that I have papers everywhere and I'm reading lines of words until my brain melts, then that's perfectly okay with me.

For your enjoyment I'm including some of the things off my 'Life List', and my 'Must Love' list is posted under my Followers on the right side over there. Oh, and just a side note, my lists tend to get ridiculous, so feel free to laugh or comment about various things, that's totally cool.

LIFE LIST includes: renovate my room (new floors, chalk board wall, photo wall), buy a Canon T2i., Macbook, begin to write a novel, Mission Trip across the world, work in a hip coffee shop or totally rad bookstore, become a YouTube star, photograph my life (everything & everyone), learn to play guitar, take cooking lessons, take cake decorating lessons, lose my fear of the subway and city, paint a mural on a wall, get married, go on a Disney cruise, own an Ikea closet ... or a house, that's cool too.

I think it might be pointless to add I'm usually a pretty organized person?
I'm going to go with yes.
emiLy♥

dear mr. indie music.

When we read your blog in class, I thought of this.

fresh-h-h-h

oh hi, rad individual.

angles

holla in the fridga

imma dinosaur.

hello world, meet emiLy

Have you ever actually looked up the definition of a blog? Dictionary.com tells me that a blog, pronounced 'blawg', (personally, I think the word should be spelled this way, it's ten times more rad) is a website containing the writer's own experiences, observations, opinions etc, and often has images and links to other websites. A snippet of Urban Dictionary tells me that people use blogs as online diaries. In a nutshell, a blog can be whatever you want it to be: a way of expressing yourself and your thoughts, a place to display cool stuff for other people to see, a place where you can have opinions without worrying what other people will think or say about you. Essentially, my blog will be my brain with a name attached to it. I plan to write mostly about my thoughts on life, and things going on in my life. I'll post some of my photography, and some cool pictures I find. As a little introduction to me (I know not everyone knows a lot about me), here's my very technical list of loves.
EMILY LOVES winter, happy people, roller coasters, slushies, music, quotes about life, Dr. Seuss, stickers, street signs, stargazing, extra creamy kraft dinner, koolaid jammers, iced coffee (with an extra shot of vanilla base), fall leaves, rings, capital Ls, sunsets on the beach, collecting rocks, blasting music while driving, fish... in a tank, inside jokes with friends, urgent text messages, crayola crayons, v necks, American Apparel hoodies, fair trade cocoa beans, blogging, creative and impressive photography, fortunes under Jones Soda lids, self checkouts, lists, topfives!, exclamation marks, backwards smiley faces (bracket first, eyes after), Big Macs, McChickens, wearing yellow on gloomy days, screaming at the top of your lungs, trying to sing although you can't, trying to dance although you can't, yellow highlighters, blue jeans, comfy sweaters, cute good morning texts, poetry, Christmas lights, gingerbread men.

This is real, this is me.

Three cheers for being yourself and loving it.

♥emiLy