What's the Hype About Halloween?

Is it just me or does Halloween get more hype than it should? Sure, it is fun to dress up in a costume and get lots of candy. But is it worth the spot as the second biggest holiday in the country??

I think that for many people, Halloween is an excuse to put on a fun costume and pretend to be somebody else for the night. As a matter of fact, I overheard a father the other day telling his son that he should get excited about Halloween because “It’s the only day of the year you get to be not you.”

This got me thinking…while it can be fun for a few hours on Halloween night, I don’t see why we would want to be anything other than ourselves. Putting on a costume should not make you turn into some other person. You are who you are, and you should be proud of that.

The coolest part is that there is only one you, and YOU get to be it! So I say embrace who you are to the fullest. Don’t try to hide who you are, or waste your days wishing that you could be someone else. You will be you for the rest of your life, so you might as well make the best of it! Be confident, be happy, and refrain from comparing yourself to others, because you will never be them (and they will never be you!). You were specially made as a unique individual with a purpose that only YOU were meant to carry out. How awesome is that?!

So have fun this Halloween; dress up and eat candy, but don’t forget who you are. What is your favorite thing about yourself? Something that makes you, YOU? Let me know in the comments!

It's the Little Things

Is it just me or do you ever seem to go through your days sometimes without anything really remarkable happening? Nothing truly huge has changed in your life, nothing worth writing home about has happened during your week, and you just live day to day in a kind of ordinary manner.

While it can sometimes be a good thing that nothing crazy is going on in your life, it is so important to remember that your life is anything but ordinary. You don’t need something “remarkable” to happen every day in order to be happy and grateful with the life that you have.

Sometime last year, I downloaded this app on my phone called Gratitude 365. The app is nothing special, really—it's basically a calendar where, each day, you can write down some things that you were grateful for that day. You can add a picture to make it look pretty, but that is basically the gist of the app. Now, I went through a period of a couple months where I didn’t touch the app at all. But recently, I began trying to use it every day, and I have been getting so much out of it.

The purpose of the app is not to brag about all of the amazing things that happen to you each day. For me, it has become a way to realize and appreciate all the little things that make my days special. I will give you a few examples of the types of things that I write down in my app:

• I got a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts today and it was delicious.
• I put in a request to have some of the lights fixed in my classroom, and this morning when I walked into the room, it was noticeably brighter in there!
• I started reading a new book that I absolutely love.

 As you can see, none of those things are out of the ordinary. But without those little reminders that my life is good each day, I have a feeling that I could be quite miserable. As a former teacher of mine used to say constantly, "It's the little things."

So, I challenge you to at least think about three good things in your day, every day, and see how much of a difference it makes in your life. I think you might find that you are quicker to smile, quicker to laugh, and quicker to appreciate the little things.

What are some of the "little things" in your life that you are grateful for each day?

Fill Your Days With LIFE!

Is it just me or do you ever wish that life would slow down sometimes? Between work, school, sports practices, music lessons, football games, etc., it sometimes feels like we have no time to actually enjoy life. 

I don't know about you, but I long for those days where I have absolutely nothing to do so I can just relax and enjoy life as I know it. And there is nothing wrong with having those days. But if that is what we live for, we are doing it wrong.

Life is not what happens outside of work, school, sports...Life is in the work, school, sports, etc. Those things that consume your days are all a part of life, and I think they should be treated as such. We shouldn't "just get through" our days--we should try and fill our days with as much LIFE as possible! 

Instead of living for the weekend, try living for each day as it passes, and enjoying it along the way! 

How will you enjoy life today?