My Happiness Project

Dear You,

Awhile back I read the wonderful book that is The Happiness Project and did a review on it which you can find here. I was inexplicably inspired by the entire story and decided to do one of my own. 

I started by brainstorming all of the different things I find joy in which ranged from coffee and cats to dreaming improbable dreams. Then went through every fault I found in myself, like my forgetfulness and impatience. 

From these I pulled several goals I wanted to accomplish which quickly showed themes within themselves. I ended up with 6 overall themes which is nice because we are coming up on July and with 6 themes I can do a nice half project ending in December and then start again with my New Years Resolutions.

These are the 6 themes:
July- Productivity
August- Aspirations
September- Social
October- Identity
November- Creativity
December- Kindness

On the first day of each month I'll come on here to reflect on the last month and write my plans and intentions for the next theme. Each month was carefully planned out around my life like Kindness is during Christmas and Productivity is July because I'm moving August 1st. I surprisingly had a lot of fun writing out my project and it was helpful and humbling to contemplate and write out all of my interests and faults. 

Then I remembered all of the things that I tend to do that would ruin such an amazing project and wrote my...

12 commandments:
Be me
Stop waiting for the right time
Enjoy the journey
Pay attention to little things
Remember everyone's story
Be Dauntless
Do something everyday
Find reasons to dress up
The days are long but the years are short
You could always be doing something
You're on your own
Speak up then talk less

These all have explanations behind them but that could be a post in itself and maybe one day I'll write it all out but that's all for today.

I somewhat already started on my plans for July halfway through June but I'll write a post about that tomorrow. I'm really excited for this project. Leave me a comment with your thoughts below!

Have an Amazing Day!
Mia B

Quote Thoughts: Regret

Dear You,

I have spent every moment of my free time today devouring the very enticing book The City of Glass by Cassandra Clare and came across this interesting quote by an even more interesting character:

"Regret is such a pointless emotion, don't you agree?"

-Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn

It was highlighted by thousands of other people who read the e-book (one interesting feature of Kindle books, though it's never quite the same) so others must have agreed with it as well. And I think I agree with it but I'm not quite sure.

Does regret accomplish anything? Sometimes I think it teaches me to do things differently in the future, a lesson to hold deeply in my heart. However other times I think that it changes nothing, just wasted thoughts and sadness that people often project onto others, warning them against the chances they were too afraid to take. 

Or maybe it depends on the person, like all great things do. Some people want others to learn from their mistakes and do better while others only seek to spread their regret and make others feel the same forlorn emptiness that follows regretful occurrences. Hopefully it's something I remember in the future when I inevitably encounter such a circumstance. I want to always continue the path of the first person and help others do better than me, even if I am the most successful person on the planet, I hope to inspire others to do even better.

What are your thoughts on regret? Tell me in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B 

Musical Inspiration

Dear You,

I am a musician at heart and I have so many dreams and aspirations it's insane. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by them and other times I feel like I'm not doing enough and when I do think like this I always fall back to thinking of one of my favorite musical artists: Hunter Hayes

I've been watching his weekly Youtube uploads: For the Love of Music for years (and even named all of my blogs after it because I think it's genius). In these episodes you see how committed Hunter is to his passion of music and his love for it, how hard he works on his musical dreams and I'm so inspired by him to be better and work harder for all of my dreams. I even have the above picture set as my phone background to remind me to do so and because he's completely adorable. 

He plays over 30 instruments, writes beautiful songs, and works so hard for his well earned career. I only hope that I can work as hard as him and someday find my way as well as he has in this crazy world.

Any thoughts on Hunter or working hard? Leave them in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

City of Ashes Review

Dear You,

Last week I finished City of Ashes, the second book in the City of Bones series. I put off reading it because I had this preconceived notion that I wouldn't like the book but I have no idea why because I really enjoyed it just like I did the first. 

It's a Young Adult fantasy book (per my usual book tendencies) that plunges into a world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders. It's full of the werewolves and vampires we were afraid of as kids but in this series, they're human enough to be likable. The Shadowhunters are a special race of humans, genetically differing enough to be capable of hunting down demons or other bothersome Downworlders and protect the Earth and normal humans from them. I love this interesting world that Cassandra Clare has invented.

There was a romance story within the fantasy aspect of the novel (per usual), a love triangle actually with an interesting, unique twist which I appreciated but at the same time I wanted to bang either the book or my head against the wall, couldn't decide which. I appreciated this book quite a bit because while it kept to the same Young Adult Fantasy themes that I love, it also had it's own extremely unique world and characters. If you have read the book and said you weren't in love with one of the guys in it, you're lying. 

The previous book had a movie which I loved but overall had mixed reviews and there is planning of making this sequel however it was delayed as explained by the book's author here. I do hope they eventually make this into a movie, maybe because I love the book and maybe because Jamie Campbell Bower makes an excellent Jace Wayland. 

First movie's poster

Overall, I would definitely recommend the book as it is a very well written, interesting, and unique book if you enjoy Young Adult Fantasy as I do. Hope you enjoyed and if you read the book or plan to do so, leave me your thoughts down in the comments!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Thinking About a Quote...

Dear You, 

Yesterday this quote showed up on my Tumblr dash:

and it bothered me quite a bit because I strongly disagree, which is nothing against the anonymous author because everyone is entitled to their own opinion and should think differently and do differently. A world of conformity would be a world of great boredom.

I wanted to address it for no specific reason, I just like writing and this seemed like an interesting topic. 

So I care about a lot of things, music, writing, my cats, the future of humanity, and while at times these things can cause me great stress and anxiety, at the end of the day they are some of the only things in the world that can cause me any happiness at all. If one doesn't care about things, there is no passion, no spark, and this may just be me but that spark is what keeps me going. The feeling of writing a good song or finishing a short story or giving back to the world in which we habitate. To really do something is to do something with passion and if you aren't doing something with passion what's the point of doing it in the first place?

If there is no care, no passion in the world I think our living conditions would all be severely hindered and our lives very boring. Our essential technology today like cell phones and laptops may never have been created if someone didn't care a lot about making them. Art is nothing without passion but some lines on a paper and different combinations of 26 letters on a page. 

Passion is feeling and living, I can't imagine ever being happy or content without a life full of passion and joy and anguish and pain because while the joyful times are amazing they wouldn't be anything without the pain. We need one to appreciate the other. And I've found that often the happiest times only come after the hardest rains.

I think that passion is a worthy cause because while a lack of pain and an attitude of carelessness may lead to contentment for some, I need to care, to feel, to experience, to live for something.

I'm trying this new talking about quote kind of post and I'm not sure what anyone will think but I really like quotes and I like questioning whether they fit into my morals/beliefs and mentally challenging them if they don't. Let me know what you thought about the quote and this type of post in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Sleep Playlist

Dear You,

Recently, I've had some trouble falling asleep so I've been listening to music to try and do so and today I thought I'd share some of what I've been listening to in case you are, in fact, having the same problem or just want a few really relaxing songs. The only sad one is Between the Bars but the rest are all slow and happy and calming which can be helpful at many other times in the day. Enjoy!

Tee Shirt by Birdy

Rocket by Tori Kelly

One by Ed Sheeran

Between the Bars by Elliot Smith

Tangerine Dreams by Charlie Puth

All of Our Stars by Ed Sheeran

So, I hope you enjoyed my playlist. Leave me a comment with your thoughts on any of the songs or any songs you find particularly helpful whilst going to sleep!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Notable Artist - Charlie Puth

Dear You,

I know my last post was a notable artist but I love finding new, unknown artists and obsessing over them so today I bring you Charlie Puth, an amazing Youtube based singer-songwriter and recent graduate of Berklee College of Music (I'm quite jealous) with an inspiring amount of creativity. His music has a solid pop base with bits of random genre influence like gospel or dance.

Even his covers blow my mind with his outstanding voice, something that can be particularly well heard in his new cover of Chandelier by Sia. I didn't even know guys could hit those notes. 

There are many other songs on his Youtube channel that are worth listening to (youtube.com/charlieputh). And his free album comes out within the next two months I believe, I'm quite excited.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed and if you went to listen to his music leave me your thoughts down in the comments!

Have an Amazing Day!

 Mia B

Legitimacy

Dear You,

At one point in Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project she discusses her choice to become a writer and the doubts she faced in doing so. One of the largest doubts of doing so was the struggle for legitimacy, the feeling of being right or real.

I found this really interesting because it's something that I've struggled with my entire life, I always wanted to be that kid with straight A's so that I felt like I was worth something. I rarely even tell people of my absolute love for writing because of that sad look they give me, like they already think I'm going to fail because my passion has a smaller success rate than something they probably hate doing, calling my love in life a waste of time because it's not something they view as legitimate. 

However I don't think the pursuit of a passion is an unworthy one because in the end it is the pursuit of happiness and that's the entire point of life, right? The things that make you happy aren't a waste of time, they are your calling. I know, the world wouldn't work if everyone pursued their dreams but someone has to try. Writers, artists, musicians, they all change lives through their respective arts and everyone appreciates that so why do we shame those who aspire to inspire us?

Artists should be celebrated and aspiring ones should be given the legitimacy they deserve. Aspiring lawyers aren't given this much grief so why are artists?

Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Comment below with your thoughts!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Musical Obsessions

Dear you,

Recently I've been obsessed with a few specific albums and singing them a lot so I thought today I'd just share my current musical loves, enjoy!

Frozen Soundtrack

I'm not afraid to say that I love cheesy Disney movies and I loved Frozen. I also really love the songs, no matter how silly they are, they're cheerful happy and they make me happy so I will continue to listen to them and sing them incessently :)

Storyline by Hunter Hayes

In my eyes Hunter is one of the most amazing songwriters, his songs are quite amazing and I admire his commitment and ambition greatly, who else learns 30 different instruments? His drive presents itself in his well written songs and success on tour. 

Meet the Vamps

I'm quite peeved at the Vamps because the full 18 track album was released in the UK over a month ago and the US is getting an EP in August with 3 originals and 2 covers. So now I'll just be searching Amazon for this amazing, catchy, dance worthy album.

X by Ed Sheeran

Over the past few days Ed has been releasing one new song off his new album x and they are all amazing. I'm ridiculously excited for the album to come out next Monday, June 23rd! My favorites so far are Don't and One, both amazing in every way.

Anyways, that's most of what I'm listening to lately, I hope you enjoyed and I'll talk to you tomorrow...

What's on your playlists right now? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Book Wishlist

Dear You,

Usually I read by renting ebooks from my old library (I mean technically I don't live there anymore but no one has to know that because their ebook library is better than my new city's physical one) which isn't ideal as I absolutely love the feeling of a physical book in my hands but I deal with it. Buying books is usually a bit expensive but lately I've found a few really amazing books that I'd really like to actually own and highlight and mark up because they were so amazing and inspiration that I'd like to add them to my limited personal collection. So here are the books I've been looking at lately...

The Fault in Our Stars 

by John Green

I know this is a very popular book and I read it a year ago and loved it. However after watching the movie and falling in love with the story and John Green's inspirational writing all over again I've been wanting to buy my own hard copy. To reread it and highlight the 50 outstanding quotes that lie within it's pages. If you haven't read it, it really is an amazing story, not just about love but about the idea of life and pain and purpose that young and old constantly enjoy.

Leaves of Grass

by Walt Whitman

Whitman is my favorite poet ever and I quite like poetry, it's one of the most beautiful forms of writing and art and his work is about topics that are interesting to me. There are a million poets who write about social issues present in their time: slavery, racism, suffrage, and their work is amazing and so strong. However I'm far more interested in topics like purpose and morals, some deeper thoughts that you definitely find present in Whitman's writing with quotes that I constantly remind myself of throughout life, just trying to 'contribute my verse'.

14,000 Things to be Happy About

by Barbara Ann Kipfer

Everyone has their low moments and I have really been wanting this book for those moments, just something to open up and remind myself to smile. Especially now after reading the Happiness Project and being inspired by the wonderful writing of Gretchen Rubin, I've been thinking about my happiness and ways to be happy so I think this would be a really nice way to stay in a nice mood. 

The only similarity between these books is that I found them all really inspiring and applicable to my life so I guess I'm just looking for inspiration lately and I'm genuinely excited to go through them and mark up all of my favorite passages for once, which is really weird because I never mark my books, like not even dog earring them. But I will for these because they're amazing :)

Anyways, hope you enjoyed my short but inspirational-based wish list.

Comment below what books you're interested in right now :)

Have an Amazing Day!!!

Mia B

What is Love?

Dear you,

I've always wondered what love is exactly. I've loved my family, friends, cat ;) but I've never fallen in love with someone and I've always wondered what it is exactly. You see it in the movies, in the way an old married couple looks at each other, in the unadulterated happiness of a newly engaged couple but what is it? How do people know they're in love?

There is a biological aspect of love, a mix of different chemicals psychiatrists use to describe this overwhelming feeling. And while researching I found several amazing quotes describing the varying symptoms and feelings of love but I'm struggling to find an underlying definition. A meaning to it all. Some grand poetic gesture that describes the seemingly undefinable emotion that so many people spend their lives chasing after.

Deep Affection

The synonyms of affection include infatuation and attraction so saying deep affection doesn't really make sense. Infatuation and attraction themselves are very superficial words, they do not go deeper, they are the superficial feelings when first looking at someone. The feeling before you start to talk to them and realize their favorite color is red and their brother is a magician and that you would do anything to keep talking to them for just a few more hours. Affection is just a word, a thought but I feel like love is so much more. 

Taking a Bullet

I used to believe this but there are selfless people who would take a bullet for almost anyone so does selflessness mean you love everyone? I don't think it does, selfless people have little concern for themselves leading to a heightened concern for others. It's not that they necessarily deeply care about and love every single other person in the world, but if given the choice they usually put themselves in danger to save others. 

Putting Their Happiness First

This is one of the most prevalent and it is very similar to the previous one but I think it's more poetic and defined. This theme was even in the movie Frozen (don't judge, it's amazing) and I think it's definitely an apparent effect in every love but I don't think this singularly defines it. There are several reasons to put someone else's happiness before your own, most adults do it for most kids, regardless if they personally know them or not, it's just a societal and evolutionary action (protect the young). 

Unconditional acceptance

This sounds more like humanistic psychology to me and there are people in the world who hold no prejudices or bias but that doesn't mean they love everyone, they just don't judge, something I want to work more on in my own life. I don't want to work on judging less because I love everyone but because I know it will make me kinder and I think it's a good attribution to have and I know that bettering myself will make me happier. So in the end it's a completely selfish action and has absolutely nothing to do with how much one likes the other person (for me, at least).

In the end, I don't think any of the theories or quotes I found correctly defined love for me. Maybe love is just one of those feelings that are so rooted in the basis of the human experience that it only has synonyms and lacks a true definition and we all just know love when we see it as plainly as happiness or sadness. There is no real definition of sad, but we all know when we see it. Maybe one day I'll find it but for now I think I'll just live in blissful ignorance.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this post and journey through the infinite possibilities of love and even if you completely disagree with me that you were at least thinking because that's all I really hope to do with writing. 

What do you think love is? Tell me in the comments below, I'd love to read!

Have a lovely day!

Mia B <3

The Happiness Project

Dear You,

A few weeks ago I read the first chapter of the book The Happiness Project and fell in love, I bought it for my mom as a mother's day gift and ended up borrowing an ebook copy of my own from the library. I've been pouring over this book for the last week reading and rereading to make sure I got everything, highlighting a million different things, and learning all the different ideas about happiness and life that the brilliant author, Gretchen Rubin, offers throughout the book.

The highlights on the left are about 1/15 of my notes, I had so much fun with this book

It is about the author's journey to find more happiness throughout an already generally happy life. It's intelligently organized into 12 chapters for 12 months each with a certain theme (ex: energy, work, passion) and several specific resolutions to check off each day (remember birthdays, sing in the morning). 

Some of the things I most appreciated about this book were:

1) The Truthfulness - It's always a question for writers and people in general: How much of myself should I reveal? Which parts of my life am I willing to talk about? I can't know how much Rubin actually held back in her book however there were some painful truths throughout the book especially having to admit one's own faults and insecurities (one of the most difficult and disheartening actions in writing). After reading, I noticed I did several similar actions that I've now started noticing and I appreciate that she was willing to expose so much for the book, helping me in the process.

2) The Evidence - I have an entire section in my notes (yes I have about 5 full typed pages of organized notes) devoted to studies that I found interesting throughout the chapters and quotes from notable authors and philosophers with deep, interesting thoughts. This project was very well researched and articulated, providing evidence that the author didn't always necessarily agree with but evidence that was always relevant to the topic. 

3) The Blog Posts - Not every person who reads the book is going to be a successful author, living in the most populated city in the US, or married with two kids. She expressed the possibility of reader's inability to relate early in the book and I think she conquered this obstacle brilliantly by including some interesting comments from her blog titled The Happiness Project by other readers, in different circumstances, with different ideas on how they dealt with life and found happiness. While I found pages upon pages of wisdom from Rubin, I found several nuggets of wisdom that I could relate to or jot down to remember to incorporate into my life later on. 

The amazing author, Gretchen Rubin

I didn't completely agree with every thought Rubin had throughout the book, there were parts of the book that I couldn't relate to or apply to my life in any single way however that's what makes being human so interesting, right? That we're all unique and take away certain thoughts and morals from every person we meet, every show we watch, every song we sing at the top of our lungs. If I ever completely agree with any single person I would feel the need to change just to stay unique. And while I didn't agree with every thought, the ones I didn't agree with made me think twice as hard about what I did believe about the idea and I appreciate the books capacity to challenge my morals and ideals. 

Overall it is now one of my favorite books and has inspired me to start my own happiness project and start reading more literature on happiness I'm thinking of starting with the book "14,000 Things to be Happy About" which I've heard nice things about. Rubin updates her blog often so I highly recommend her book and blog and keep a look out for a post on the start of my own personal Happiness Project :)

Have an Amazing Day!!!

Mia B

Reintroduction

Dear you,

I started this blog while I was working on a beauty blog because I realized that while beauty blogging may be a wonderful and popular thing that I love to read, I don't enjoy writing it as much as I would like to. I love writing and I love music and I started this blog (FTLoM) to blog strictly about music because I thought that writing all about that would make me more happy. However I've now come to the realization that I shouldn't be forced into a genre (the word that first popped into my musical mind) or any specific category. If I want to write about books or music or my life in general then I will because this is my blog and while some people appreciate consistency, I believe in doing whatever one feels like doing so that's what this blog will now be. 

I know that it's weird that I'm doing this, I feel weird writing it but I think I'll be much more motivated to do the things I love (like writing) if I allow myself to do so in the ways I find most pleasurable. In the past, I think I've tried too hard to do what everyone else told me I should be doing but recently I've come to the realization that what was good for everyone else doesn't make me happy and I'm miserable trying so hard to live up to expectations that I don't give a rat about. 

So hi there, my name's Mia. 

That's me! With my really long, currently ombre hair

I listen to Taylor Swift and think she's an outstanding writer (usually some of her best are some of the most ignored), I love cats like a lot, I'm scared I might end up a crazy cat lady but continue to call myself so in complete laughs anyway, I worry about my weight incessantly, think all the time, play 5 instruments, and hate being bored. I love to write and I would love to talk to anyone and everyone about anything and everything, I check the comments often and hope that I write somewhat interesting things and I really, really hope you enjoy my newly free blog! :)

Love, Mia B

Comment below some of your own random facts, I'd love to read! Xx