Enjoy the buffering

I was sitting there watching an episode of Heartland the other day, and for those of you who don't know about Heartland it's the most wonderful, fantastic, sappy, Canadian, country, cowboy, CBC, TV show ever, it's my latest guilty pleasure. Anyways, as I was saying, I was sitting there watching an episode of Heartland when suddenly the unexpected happened...

...Buffering...

I know. Buffering. It's the inevitable, yet for some reason we never expect it. It's like we expect our WiFi treat us better, and we feel betrayed when it makes is wait. Buffering always comes at the most intense moments of the movie or TV show, it always lasts longer than we would like it too, and it always comes more frequently when we don't want it to.

Something I've learned about buffering is that the more you sit and stare at the little spinning circle, the more you want it to go away. The more you want it to move on.

So after a solid 4 minutes of buffering I decided to quit and go sit outside.

While sitting outside on my porch I realized something. I realized that my life is in a current state of buffering. With my senior year of high school just around the corner, the fact that I'll be 18 in a little under two months, and a mission and college to start thinking about, and the fact that I am flying to Palmyra New York in two days has left me in a state of buffer.

I am anxious to move on to these new and exciting things, and I forgot to stop and enjoy the ride. 

I think life often does that to us. It shows us new and exciting things, and then promises them to us. Then it makes us wait. 

Like I said before, I've learned something about buffering, which I now realize I've also learned about life. Sometimes we have to wait for things. It's inevitable. The trial of our patience comes at the most intense moments. The moments when it's like we can almost smell what's coming next, but we just can't get close enough to taste it. The requirement of our patience always lasts longer than we'd like it too, but I guess that's what makes it a challenge. And I've realized that the more we stare at the little spinning circle promising things for the future, the more we want to dive into the future.

But I also learned something else. Sometimes when we are staring at the spinning circle waiting for the show to start again, we miss amazing things that are going on around us.

Like I mentioned before, when my TV show was buffering I went to go sit outside. And by "sit outside" I mean I went and "sat outside." No phone. No TV show. Nothing to read. No Twitter. No Facebook. No blog. No distractions. I just sat by myself and thought. And I realized that it's been a very long time since I've done that.

I remembered going on long road trips as a little kid, and the only form of entertainment I had was the people sitting around me, and the trees outside the window flying by. And it was something I wanted to have in my life again. 

At that moment I decided that I would stop anxiously worrying about the future, and live in the moment. 

Because I'm really enjoying this moment.

I will enjoy the buffering.

feel my sunlight

p.s. Seriously though, Heartland is the greatest. Any fellow Heartlanders out there?

p.s.s. If you caught the Jonas LA quote in there I want you to high five your screen. I also highfived mine so it's almost like I highfived you... only not... because you just highfived a computer. And if anyone is in the room they are probably looking at you funny because they think you are odd. But I respect your oddness, because you caught the Jonas LA quote and that is awesome. Sorry if your friends think you are weird now.

p.s.s.s. NEW YORK IN TWO DAYS AND AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

we are a meeting attending people

Never in my life have I ever walked out of a meeting that was better than the one we had today. Never in my life have I left a meeting in such a good mood.
Never in my life have I completely fallen in love with a group of people in a meeting.
Never in my life have I ever thought "man that was fun" after a meeting.
Never in my life have I enjoyed meetings.

Living as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, we are often faced with meeting upon meeting for our various organizations; Young Womens meetings (girls 12-18), BYC ("Bishop Youth Council" who are presidents over youth organizations ages 12-18), YCL Girls Camp meetings (5th and 6th year girls who are "youth camp leaders" and in charge of camp), Family History Consultant Meetings (family history consultants help people learn about family history work), and Seminary Council Meetings (a group of youth who help plan seminary activities and invite people to take seminary.)

And those are only the meetings that I personally have participated in.

And I'm only 17 years old.

So we are a meeting attending people. Yet, nobody enjoys meetings. So why do we keep having them?

Because in a church with 15,082,028 members, things need to be discussed, things need to be planned, and meetings need to be held.

I have the opportunity to hold a calling to participate and serve on a seminary council.

As a council we help plan activities, invite others to participate, and ultimately strive to help bring others to Christ.

I've been in a lot of meetings, but for some reason the seminary council meetings are some of the best and most fun meetings I have ever been in. As I left our meeting this morning I began to ponder what sets these meetings apart from other meetings I've been in, and what can I myself help do to make other meetings more enjoyable to sit through.

So here is what I have come up with.

#1 Everyone wants to be there.
Attitude is everything. If you decide that it is going to be boring before hand than it will be, but if you decide that it is the place to be than it will be. Keep a positive attitude no matter what and you will find that you will have a better time.

#2 Participate
Nothing can happen until you open your mouth. Don't be afraid to work your ideas into the conversation. Your opinions matter and things are much more fun to plan when you are helping with the planning.

#3 Share testimony
So far in seminary council I have been able to hear the testimonies of every single person on the council because everyone has been given a chance to give a spiritual thought or lesson. Sharing your testimonies and sharing spiritual thoughts helps bring people together as friends. By sharing testimonies you can bring the people in the meeting closer as a group, and a close knit group is much more likely to get things done.

#4 Listen and qualify
Let everyone have an opportunity to talk. And if you hear something you like then let everyone know. There is no better feeling than sharing your idea with the group and having someone respond by saying "I love that you just said that...." By qualifying and lifting up other people you make it easier for people to share.

#5 Don't forget to laugh
Keep the spiritual moments reverent, but when it comes to discussing activities and whatnot don't forget that a little laugh here and there can make all the difference. Marjorie Pay Hinckley once said that “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.” Well I think this same quote can apply to meetings. "The only way to get through a meeting is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."


 
So there you have it. Ways to make your meetings more exciting. Let me know how your meetings go!



feel my sunlight



p.s.On a totally unrelated note: have I mentioned that I New York for EFY on SATURDAY?!?!?! I'm more than excited and I can not even handle it. It took a lot of work, and I had to give up my chance to compete at National Championships, but let me just say that I cannot handle my excitement for it.

p.s.s. Enjoy this video of a cute old man dancing. This is the kind of mood I am in right now.

let us run with patience

When I was a brand new 16 year old I was asked to team teach the combined young women's lesson to the girls ages 12-18 with one of my best friends.

The subject? Dating.

Neither of us had ever been on a date and we hadn't the slightest clue about dating in the first place. We still don't. But we just read from the For The Strength Of Youth pamphlet and quoted a prophet and called it good.

What I didn't realize as a brand new 16 year old was that the class I taught on dating wouldn't apply to me much, at least not for a long time. It wouldn't apply to me because I wouldn't get any opportunity to apply that lesson on dating.

Starting when I was somewhere around the age of goo-goo and gah-gah I was introduced, as all little girls are, into a world were every girl is a "princess" and every girl is supposed to be swept off her feet by a knight in shining armor. I grew up dreaming of a Troy and Gabriella relationship only to find out that I'm more of a Kelsie when it comes to guys.

I found that I wasn't invited to the "balls" at the school and soon made friends with a guy named Netflix who kept me company on dance nights. I made a mental note not to check Facebook the night after a dance because it would quickly be flooded with pictures of happy couples in fancy attire before the head out on their dates.

So here's the confessions of a girl two months shy of 18.

I've only ever been on one date. I asked on that date.

I wondered sometimes if there was something wrong with me. If there was some kind of secret I was missing or some kind of potion I needed to drink to make a prince fall in love with me.

What I didn't realize was my divine worth.

What I didn't realize was that I am the daughter of a king regardless of the fact that my prince still hasn't shown up yet.

What I didn't realize was what Heaven saw in me.




Amongst painful teenager dateless-days I realized that the worth of a teenager has nothing to do with dates. I realized that what really mattered was what the King thought of me. I realized that if I wanted to find my prince someday that I'd better make sure I'm worthy of him. I'd better make sure that when the time comes I'm ready to enter into the castle.

So I want to write a message to the small girl in the little white dress. You might not go on a hundred dates in high school. You might not stay up late every night with a buzzing phone with messages from adoring men. You might go until after your 18th birthday to get asked on a date. You might have to wait longer. You might have sit on stand by as your friends go to proms and homecomings. You might be forced to live every Taylor Swift song ever written.

You are still a princess.

The worth of your soul is not dependent on the number of dates you have, but the amount of good you do.

The worth of your soul is not dependent on your prom dress, but your three white dresses.

You are beautiful and your prince awaits.

Now as a little girl you may think that happily ever after ever after starts as you ride away in a horse drawn carriage, but the truth is that your happily ever after begins now.

Run towards God and the right man will follow.

As for me, I'm still running.

"Let us run with patience the race that is set before us." -Hebrews 12




Feel my sunlight


p.s. This is a shout out to all you guys out there. Ask a girl on a date. It doesn't have to be me. Heck it might be better if it wasn't. Just tale a girl on a date.

I'll keep writing

Hi I'm Whitney.

I didn't pass my AP test.

I know that this seems like something I wouldn't want to tell the world about. And something I defiantly wouldn't want to post on the internet.

So why am I doing it?

Because I know there is somebody else out there who also didn't pass their AP test. Somebody who isn't very good at the instrument they play. Somebody out there who didn't qualify for State Championships in their sport. Somebody who has disappointed their parents. Somebody who wants to be a cheerleader, but can't do the necessary back handsprings. Somebody who doesn't feel they are good enough. Somebody out there who doesn't have as many friends as they would like. Somebody who has been fired from their job. Somebody who loves music, but is tone deaf. Somebody who dreams of a college degree, but didn't get a scholarship. Somebody who has worked years to compete at national championships, and when they finally get there they find themselves in last place. Somebody who wants to open a restaurant, but can't get the financing. Somebody who dreams of playing at the symphony, but has to wait tables. Somebody who dreams of dancing with the school dance team, but doesn't see their name on the list of those who made it. Somebody who doesn't get the job the want. Somebody who feels they failed.

So sometimes in life we fail.

It's life.

Now, I'd like to share with you a list of people who failed.

Al {Fox} Carraway, My all time favorite speaker/blogger said in one of her talks that the only class she ever failed in college was public speaking. Did I mention she is my favorite speaker?

Henry Ford failed several times at his automobile inventions and his failures left him broke several times. Henry Ford later introduced the assembly line to automobile production and founded the very successful Ford Motor Company.

Walt Disney was fired from his newspaper job because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Today when I coach we often pretend to swim to stretch our arms when we are stretching. When I ask them where they want to swim to they all respond with an enthusiastic "DISNEYLAND!"

Fred Astaire received the response from an executive in one of his first screen tests saying: "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little." According to Wikipedia, "
"His stage and subsequent film and television careers spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films, several award winning television specials, and issued numerous recordings. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute. Gene Kelly, another major innovator in filmed dance, said that "the history of dance on film begins with Astaire".

U2 received this rejection letter.

  

J.K. Rowling was a single mom living off welfare when she began writing the first "Harry Potter" novel, and then Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was rejected 12 times and she was told "not to quit her day job." She later went on to become the richest woman in the world because of her persistence.


If I were to remove the captions that go with each name you might think this was a section from the list of most successful people.

I'd like to add my name to the list.

Whitney Reid didn't pass her AP English test. Although she isn't seen as a good writer by those who grade the AP test, she is seen by a good writer by many others. She has been told countless times by people who read her blog that "they needed that at that very moment" and that "they love her blog." She was recently asked to guest post on a blog called This Little Light of Mine and was introduced by the author as "Whitney from the amazing blog, Feel my Sunlight! She is such an amazing blogger and her blog is so inspiring! She has an awesome style of writing and design. Just see for yourself! Go check out her blog- you won't be disappointed!!"

I don't add my name to the list because I want to show you that I am successful, but because I want to show you that you can be successful. Your name is waiting to be added to this list. We all accept failure and defeat, but those who get up and keep moving after are those who find success.

So here's to the people who fail at first attempt. There is no learning without failure. Success doesn't come overnight and it defiantly doesn't come easily. "It ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

I failed my AP test, but I'm going to keep writing.

And because I am a power tumbler (gymnast) I spend much of my time scrolling through motivational gymnastics videos. This is one of my favorites. And if you're failure doesn't apply to gymnastics I want you to watch the video and simply listen to the words because they apply to you.

"Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion"

                                                    -Michael Jordan

What are you going to do?





feel my sunlight





p.s. Have you checked out Shelby's blog This Little Light of Mine yet? You should! She is amazing and I was a guest post for her a few days ago. Check it out!!!

p.s.s. Have you ever experienced a failure which later led to success? Comment and let me know!!

Guest Post!

Hey Friends!

I had the opportunity to guest post on the blog This Little Light of Mine written by Shelby from Kentucky!

Check it out HERE!





feel my sunlight

spiral notebooks

I have spent my days rendering different ways to understand the universe only to realize that it's impossible to understand the universe. I have run around collecting words and phrases only to realize that words and phrases don't fit in my pockets. So I looked at those letters on the pages and I tried to figure out a new way to understand the stars. And as soon as I thought I finally had those little sparkles figured out, I looked outside to realize that there were no stars to be seen, that they had been hidden by something else. Something that appeared as cotton ready to wipe drops of blood from a wound. It was at that moment that I realized the fluffy white cotton candy in the sky that we used to see pictures of starfish and seahorses was beginning to pour down ocean water onto my front porch. I began to realize that even though my windshield wipers were going as fast as they possibly could, I still couldn't see in front of me because the heat of our breath mixed with the cold air from outside had created a foggy film that coated the windshield. I reached forward to wipe a portal of vision so that I might be able to understand the markings on the open road, but instead of wiping away the fog, I painted a picture. I painted a picture with the words and phrases that I use to explain the world. And even though I still don't understand those words and phrases, I keep painting in hopes that someday I will. I keep painting in hopes that someday my words and phrases will find their way to your words and phrases and that someday we will realize that we were both missing half the letters needed to create the story. Someday I will realize that my capital letter at the beginning of my sentence is missing the period at the end of yours. I keep painting in hopes that when I find you I will finally be able to understand my own writing. That someday I will realize that it's not impossible to understand the universe. But until then I will keep painting, because if I'm not covered head to toe with the leftover paint from my unfinished project, then you won't be able to know whose project you are supposed to finish. Because even though I don't know who you are, the color of your eyes, or the things your hands have been through, I know that I need your hands to finish my project. I need you to fill in the words in the empty spaces that I didn't know what to do with. Without you I can only understand half of the universe, which really isn't understanding at all. To receive half credit on a school exam is to receive a giant F. I need you to help me receive the A I've been looking for, because without you I will only be the small quiet girl in the back of the class room waiting for you to turn around and notice me. I don't notice you because I'm busy scribbling words onto lined pages in a spiral notebook. Words and phrases that are meant to explain the universe. What I don't realize is that you sit two seats away with a similar notebook in hand that contains half the words I need. Someday the seating chart will change and we will be moved together so that we can peak over at each other’s writings and discover the universe, but until then, I'll keep writing.

feel my sunlight



p.s. This is my attempt at spoken word poetry on a blog with no "spoken word". It's basically an amateur attempt at poetry. I'm unfamiliar with this kind of writing but it just kinda happened. And since words need a place to be read I figured that there was no better place to plaster my ranting thoughts than the place that I always plaster my ranting thoughts. So even though both you and I are unfamiliar with what ever the heck that was I'm going to post it anyways. So here's to me expanding my horizons as a writer, and here's to you expanding your horizons as a reader.

Spilled Milk: a lesson on Murphy's Law

Hiya friends!

Want to know something awesome?!

I locked my phone and my keys in my car...

What? That's not awesome you say?

I guess your right.

So if any of you lovely people try to text or call me and I don't respond don't be offended. I promise I don't hate you and I'm not ignoring you.

This last week I was able to go hang out with my family on the Oregon Coast. It was buckets of fun and thanks to Murphy's Law none of my pictures from my fancy pants camera will upload. And also thanks to Murphy's Law, my phone with the rest of my pictures is locked in the car.

It's kind of a Murphy's Law day.

Murphy's Law states that 

"Everything that can go wrong will go wrong." 

(Look teacher! I do pay attention in school!)

So I guess you'll have to survive with only the pictures that I've already uploaded to Instagram.

I was on this rode, therefor, there were more Whits on this Whitmore Road.

We found a tiny door at Burger King. #shortpeopleequality

Dad is livin' so big he hit his head on the midget door. Way to live big dad. We're proud of you. #LiveBig2014

Finally found a door my size!

lots of fast food

Portland Temple!

Beach Sistas

Required handstand picture.

Life is best when it looks like this.

So in the spirit of "everything that can go wrong will" lets talk about Murphy's Law. Murphy's Law means that all the bad things that can possibly happen to you will. HowStuffWorks.com states that "it may just be right. This isn't because of some mysterious power the law possesses. In reality, it's us who give Murphy's Law relevance. When life goes well, little is made of it. After all, we expect that things should work out in our favor. But when things go badly, we look for reasons."

What? It's my fault everything seems to have gone wrong this morning? No, but its my fault if I decide to dwell on it.

As we go through life we focus on all the bad things. The keys locked in car, the photos that won't upload, the frustrations with work, the million responsibilities we are trying to juggle, all the people texting you wanting your time that you don't have, the car accidents, the failed attempts, the tight money, the medical problems, the spilled milk.

These things happen to everybody.

But while we are focusing on the spilled milk we sometimes forget the milk that's still in the glass.

Murphy's Law is only relevant if we let it be.

Look down at your hands for a second and think about all the wonderful things they have done since you woke up this morning. They have probably done at least a few of these; made you food, brushed your teeth, combed your hair, drove your car, shook hands with someone, gave someone a highfive, picked something up, set something down, typed something awesome, scrolled through the internet, hit like on some social media site, played a musical instrument, pushed play on a movie, done pushups, done pullups, honked your horn, cleaned your house, opened a door, clicked on my blog, or maybe turned on some music.

Now, That's only a few seconds of thinking about the awesome things your hands can do. And this list is limited to one body part. Now think of all the awesome things in your feet, your mouth, and your brain. Think of all the things outside your body that are awesome. The list would never end. These things your hands did this morning are all remarkable amazing features that you have been blessed with the ability to do. But when you did any of these this morning did you think "Oh, it's so awesome that I can do that?"

Probably not.

As humans we expect only good things to happen to us, and we therefor, only notice when bad things happen. While what we should be doing is focusing on all the good things.

Hiliary Weeks, an astounding LDS singer and speaker, once talked and sang at a concert I went to. She talked about an experiment she conducted that resulted in the creation of her site billionclicks.org.

She had heard that on average the human things around 300 negative thoughts a day. She wanted to know if this was true so she decided to test it. She got one of these clickers and clicked it every time she thought a negative thought through the day.

Pretty soon she noticed that she was focusing on, and looking for all the bad things. She started to become depressed and was having a hard time focusing on the good things in life.

This is exactly what Murphy's Law is. Focusing on bad things until they are the only thing you can see.

She wondered if this same experiment would work the other way. If focusing on bad made her sad, would focusing on good make her happy?

She also tested this and it worked! By focusing on only good thoughts she soon had a new attitude about life. Things suddenly became better and all she did was change her thoughts.

When I heard this I decided I wanted to try it myself. I bout a clicker and I tested this experiment and am proud to say that it works! Now, this morning I wasn't thinking about this and was trying to figure out why everything was going wrong. When I realized that in reality, everything was going right. As soon as I changed my outlook on my day things got a whole lot better.

Since Murphy's law makes us sad, let's make up a new law that will make us happy. Let's call it Happy's Law.

There are so many good things in our lives right in front of our noses. We just have to open our eyes to see them.

So here's to the person who locked her keys in the car. Don't focus on the spilled milk, but the milk that's still in the glass.






feel my sunlight




p.s.  Thanks to too much spam comments I had to change my settings so that I have to approve comments that are posted. So if your comment doesn't show up right away don't fret! It will! Keep the comments coming! I love them!

p.s.s.I only have a year left of High School. I only have a year left of tumbling, and only a year left until I go on a mission. That's a crazy thought!