Cake and Candles

There's something you should know about me —  I'm not a big believer in birthdays.  In fact, if I had my way, we wouldn't celebrate them.  I just think people take them out of proportion.

Yes, it's cool, it was the day that you were born, but no one really did anything to deserve the massive celebration that takes place, they were just simply born.  If anyone should be celebrating, it's your mom, because she went through a lot more on that day than you did.

To me, birthdays just seem like an excuse for people to think the world revolves around them.

Now I'm not saying everyone does this.  That's definitely not the case.  All I'm saying is that certain people seem to get this overwhelming sense of superiority when the time of their birth comes around.

They think they deserve everything.  They think that on this day, or week even, that they should be treated like royalty.

From Pixabay

And for what?  They did nothing to deserve this celebration.  It's not like it's the anniversary of some amazing feat they performed, it's simply the anniversary of the day that the circle of life came around and they were born.

Yes, I think on your birthday you should eat a piece of cake and and wear your favorite shirt, but besides that, the celebrations that company every birthday across the world seems ridiculous.  You don't need to have a party, or receive presents from all of your friends.

But of course, that's what happens, because that's what people want.  You buy presents for your friend on their birthday in hopes you'll get one in return, right?

The thing is, it's not that I don't believe in birthdays, it's that I don't believe in the narcissistic mind sets everyones in when its their birthday.

My opinion on birthdays doesn't really affect my life though.  I still buy presents, and people still buy me presents, but I do wish that things would change.  I wish that birthdays meant more to society than getting older and taking a day off your diet.

But birthdays mean a lot more than that, don't they?  When you turn sixteen, you can drive.  When you turn eighteen, you're an adult.  When you turn twenty-one you can drink.  There's a lot of birthdays that determine things in your life and are more meaningful than just a simple day.

So I guess thats it.  My mixed opinions on birthdays and everything that comes with them.

But don't take my word for it.  It's your birthday —  do with it what you want.

Elise :)

I Almost Died...But Not Really

This past Friday night, Siena and I went out and got dinner.

I would tell you about all the things that happened that night, but really they're not relevant to this story, because the most memorable thing that happened on Friday night was that I almost died.

I guess that's being a little dramatic.  It wasn't truly a near death experience, but in theory it could have been.

The thing is I'm allergic to peanuts.  It's one of those allergies that they're not really sure what would happen to me if I ate them.  I could be completely fine or my throat could swell up and I could stop breathing.

I have an epi-pen incase the latter does happen, but luckily I've never had to use it before.

Of course though, I didn't have my epi-pen, or any Benadryl (the allergy medicine I take when I eat peanuts but I'm not quite at the point of anaphylactic shock) with me, because I thought I would be fine.

Except I wasn't.  I went to have a bite of Siena's ice cream and when I put the spoon in my mouth, I tasted the peanuts.  Then literally right after I ate it, the person who gave us the ice cream (who ironically happened to be in Siena's PE class) told us it had Butterfinger in it.

Siena and I both kind of just looked at each other with panicked looks on our faces.  I didn't know what to do.  I drank some water and called my mom.  She told me to run over to Smith's and buy some Benadryl.

So we did.  And all I can say is that I've never felt as alive as I did when I was sprinting through the Smith's parking lot with at nine o'clock on a Friday night, not sure if I was going to stop breathing or not.

Our bathroom selfie because we just think we're the coolest.

Everything ended up working out ok.  We bought Benadryl, I took one, and I didn't even break out or anything.  All in all, it was a pretty good night too.  We met some new people and had a lot of fun.

So I guess that's it.  Here's just another story of a time when my life took a sharp turn for the worst, but in the end everything worked out ok.

Be careful out there.
Elise :)

Live While We're Young

A whole lot of Thursdays ago, I went to my first away high school swim meet.

I was way excited for it — I mean, I had been waiting for years for this moment and it was finally happening.

Truth is, it didn't go that great.  I mean, I swam fine, but I had definitely done better in the past and I was kind of disappointed.

But not for a second was I sad.  No, I didn't even have the chance to be sad because I was having so much fun.

That whole night, I didn't stop laughing.  During the bus ride, at the pool, in the locker room, I was having fun from the minute I left school to the minute the bus pulled up to the high school.

That Thursday, I went to my first away high school swim meet, and it made me realize something — there are things a lot more important than what we seem to think is important.

For the longest time, I thought only two things mattered in my life: school and swimming, and that those were the only two things I had time for.

When I wouldn't do well at a swim meet, or on a test, I would get sad about it.  I would think it was the end of the world.  But as it turns out, getting an A- in second quarter of sixth grade choir isn't the worst thing that could happen.

I think people being extremely dedicated to school is a great thing.  Never doing anything else because you're always studying isn't such a good thing.

Applying yourself fiercely to something like school or a sport is an amazing thing, but it's not worth forgetting every other aspect of your life that's just as amazing.

Friends, family, and making memories is what I think really matters.  Sure, having a 4.0 in high school is a phenomenal accomplishment, but if it stopped you from going to a concert with your best friend that would have been the funnest night of your life, is it really that important?

I know it's been said before but it's true: life is short.  I'm pretty young still, but already I can't believe how much of my life has gone, flying before my eyes, and this is my fault.  Every Monday I wait for the weekend, every first day of school I wait for Summer, nearly every aspect of my life I'm just waiting for something seemingly "better" to come along.

When we're young, we have our whole lives ahead of us, and we can dream about it all we want.  I'm a freshman in high school now, and its starting to hit me that the rest of my life is starting now.  I've been waiting my whole life to be in high school, and now that I'm in it, I'm really not that impressed.  Turns out, high school isn't all that it's made out to be.

When we're young we have no idea what's coming.  We can daydream about the rest of our lives all we want, and have a five year plan, but we can't account for what's actually going to happen.  Unexpected things happen everyday, so it's we're being unfair to ourselves to try to plan for what's going to happen.

I mean look at these kids:

Photo Credits

They're just chilling out on some rock pillows, dreaming about dreams without a care in the world.  I think we (by we I mean anyone anywhere that has any stress) should try to live a little more like that. After all, you only get one chance at life, and I know, at least for me, when I'm eighty and on my death bed, I don't want to have any regrets.

When the time comes, I don't want anything that I wish I had done.  I don't want to have left a stone unturned, a sight unseen, a long way home untaken.

I guess the root of what I'm trying to say is that there are a lot of things that are important.  I mean, I guess I believe that every aspect of your life is important to some extent.

So I guess this is me trying to tel you to make the most of your life.  Life is just too short to not be enjoying yourself every minute that you possibly can.

Elise :)