Living Free (and most importantly, happy)

      So I actually have a real reason for posting today I promise, but I do want to take a little time to explain a few new additions to the blog first, mainly because I'm so incredibly excited that it's all sort of coming along now. Like you guys don't even understand, I was so pumped up when I started thinking of new ideas that I actually spilled an entire glass of water on my bed. I had to sleep on the opposite side that night. But anyway, these are just a couple of changes out of the many that are still to come. I have so many different ideas that have yet to be fully developed, but once they are, you can certainly expect to see them on here. Here are some of the new additions:

           1. I have started a seasonal reading list, which will include a handful of books that may or may not be applicable to the time of year, but either way are great reads. You can find these books under the "Fall Reading List!" tab (I thought if i added the exclamation point it would sound more exciting since, as I understand it, not everyone accepts reading as the pleasant pastime that I view it as-I'd like to think it served its purpose). And, as the term "seasonal" suggests, I will be updating this list at the beginning of every fall, winter, spring, and summer. I've attempted to choose books that I think even the person fostering the deepest, most hated feelings toward literature will grow to appreciate.

           2. Every time I make a new post I will feature a different musical artist or band that has caught my attention. Music plays such an important role in not only my life, but the lives of many others, and I think there is a plethora of artists out there that deserve to be spotlighted. The chosen artist for the post will be displayed on the right side of the blog, along with some of their videos from YouTube that you can watch/listen to from the blog page, or open in a new window. I would also love to hear from you guys if you have any artists you want the world to know about! While the artist will change every time I write something new, I am going to keep a record of all the past ones I post under the "Featured Artists" tab. I will also include some information about the musician or group, a list of some of their key songs (in my opinion, of course), and the blog post date it was featured in. There are currently two artists there now- Ben Rector, and this post's artist, Kodaline. So check it out!


      Alright, now down to business. I'm always searching the web for unique articles or websites that catch my eye and seem to offer some different type of story, and this week I didn't have to look very far to find something. Yahoo! recently posted a story on it's homepage about a woman who left her job to travel the world-something that seems pretty insane to do. But, as the woman explains in the article, her travels taught her invaluable life lessons-9 to be in fact-and it taught me to make my dream of seeing the world more of a reality.
      The author of the article and the woman who experienced it all, Paula Froelich, uses a slideshow of pictures from her visits to various regions to illustrate the changes she went through. The slideshow includes wonderful pictures like this:

And this:

      And other great ones as well. But the real wonder in this article lies in the content. Froelich discusses learning such lessons as "Silence and stillness are your friends", "What matters is what I think of me..", and "Anger, verbal outbursts, war, and violence should be avoided at all costs". She explains how, by learning these values, leaving her job and traveling the world turned out to be the best decision she ever made.
      I can't tell you how much this inspired me, and not only because I've always had an interest in visiting as many places in the world as I can. This article, this amazing person, proved to the world that sometimes doing what makes you happy is so incredibly more important than whatever status you hold in society. And it definitely did inspire me to work harder on saving up and planning for future travel plans. Most people, myself included, feel like some of their dreams and goals are just too far out of reach, because the rest of the world seems to think those goals aren't the right thing to go after. But honestly, all that is going to matter at the end of your life is how happy you were. And by happy I don't mean content, I mean genuinely, undeniably happy with basically everything about your life, from accepting and being happy with yourself, to being happy with your surroundings and the people in them. Stop making excuses on why things won't work out, stop overthinking everything, and for heavens' sake, PLEASE stop worrying so dang much about what other people think. You become someone so much more beautiful and inspiring and amazing when you choose to take control of your life and live it the way you want to.
     So, if anyone out there who chooses to read Paula Froelich's article (which you totally should because of obvious reasons) takes just one thing away from it all, let it be this: that no matter where you find yourself in life, take the time to stop and really think about whether you're happy or not. And if you find yourself answering no, don't be afraid to do everything humanly possible to change that. Peace, love, and Nutella to all.


You can read the full article here:

9 Life Lessons I Learned by Ditching My Career and Traveling the World