My Happiness Project: September Ending

Dear you,

Now that September is over I have to talk about how my month of resolutions went!

Find job

I did this! I officially have a job. However it is a job that requires a bit of aggression and that's definitely not who I am so I might try and find a place that's looking for mild tempered people. If it doesn't make you happy, leave it behind :)

Inspire Someone

I don't think I've been able to do this. I definitely want to but I think I'm still stuck on how. I'm going to start performing my songs so maybe I'll find my dream in performance. 

Care Less About What Others Think

I think this will be a lifelong struggle but I have noticed a difference in my state of mind. When someone asks if I'm going to college (like they always do) I gladly tell them I chose to focus on songwriting. And I love it, I love it so very much. 

Make New Friends

I haven't successfully accomplished this, I work at a place that doesn't exactly allow people to talk. Hopefully next month, because what is life without hope?

Contact Old Friends

I have done this and it makes me very happy to hear how everyone's doing even if their life is quite different from mine. I love knowing how everyone's doing at college and life and hearing from them makes my day. 

Work on Social Media

I've been tweeting more!!! Has anyone seen? I consciously think, 'I haven't tweeted today, I need to do it', I'm getting better I swear and if you want to feel free to go click all my social media buttons in the upper right corner, they're so cute and nice :)

Especially my Youtube, which you can click, right there and here 

Overall, my month hasn't been perfect and I didn't accomplish all that I hoped I would but I did some things and that definitely matters. I have had a slight increase in happiness but I don't think I'm just there yet. 

How was your month? Leave me a comment below, I'd love to talk!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

September Favorites

Dear You,

I can't believe it's the end of the month already! I know I say that every month and I will continue to say it until time seems to slow down again. 

Red Album by Taylor Swift

Yes, I know this wonderful album came out 2 years ago however her new album is about to come out so I have been reminiscing over the end of a great era. My favorite songs would have to be All Too Well and the acoustic version of State of Grace.

Hozier's Album Preview

So it hasn't come out yet but even the 5 songs that have been released are so amazing and perfect I've listened to them far too many times. I actually discovered him through Taylor Swift and Lily Aldridge's tweets about him. The album comes out October 7th and I could not be more excited

Give Me Love (cover) by Demi Lovato

She covered this already amazing song last year on a radio show and I haven't stopped listening to it since I found it earlier this month. She transcribed it into a nice, higher key and added some runs in the end that broke my throat, yes, broke it.

Arrow TV Series

As per my usual, I watched an entire series this month but it was so good I couldn't stop! I love the way they modernized this DC comic series into a very interesting show. I would highly recommend it, it has a great mix of romance, heroism, danger, and "Lost on an island" flashbacks. I'm awaiting the day the next series appears on Netflix.

Rasinettes

I have a problem ok?! I've been working quite a bit and I just really like chocolate and fruit so I've got a slight addiction to this wonderful candy and everyone thinks I'm insane but they are amazing.

Panera Bread's Squash Ravioli

This came out with the rest of their fall foods and I'm pretty sure one of the cashiers has started to recognize me because I cannot stop going back for more. This with a half caesar salad is just the perfect dinner for me in every way :)

I actually found a Healthy Choice version of this as well, I may have (quietly) screamed in the middle of Ralph's... I'm so cool

Anyways, how was your month? Leave me a comment below

Have a Wonderful Day!
Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

Quote - Gender Equality

Dear You,

In light of Emma Watson's empowering speech at the UN a couple of days ago, I thought this quote would be good to post.

I think one of the main contributing factors to the misunderstanding of gender inequality has to be that it's not just men misunderstating the ability of women. But also the fact that all girls are taught from a very young age (probably near 7) that we really aren't supposed to be good enough, we need to make sure that we don't have too much confidence, even if we are great. 

I remember, in first grade there were different categories for the best boy reader and the best girl reader because boys needed to compete in sports and had different priorities in life but they still needed prizes for reading. Women really aren't supposed to be ambitious or too good at anything. I remember that feeling, not wanting to own my accomplishments like I should have because I couldn't have been that good at something. I was just a girl. 

But I'm not just a girl. I'm a hard-working writer and a pretty good runner and in first grade, I was a kick-butt reader, twice as good as any of the boys. And I know that's how my parents raised me, they raised me to take charge of my life and do awe-inspiring things, to reach for the clouds no matter what anyone told me. Not to limit myself because I'm not good enough, to be the best at whatever I wanted to be, no matter what.

If you are interested in Emma Watson's inspiring campaign for gender equality you can go here to learn more about it. 

Comment below with your thoughts! I'd love to chat :)

Have a Wonderful Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

Paper Towns Review and Thoughts

Dear You,

I got the book Paper Towns for my birthday, I had already read it but I love second reads and I loved that this time I had the ability to write and highlight all over this beautiful book.

I don't write in all of my books. In my copy of City of Bones you will not find a single mark or scratch because I like that I kept the integrity of the books so pristine. However my favorite thing about the author John Green is despite the plot of his books being realistic fiction involving teenagers and their various unique stories, there is always some hidden nuggets of wisdom. Little quotes that can change lives. If you don't know they're there it's easy to pass by them, but they are so brilliant. 

Some of my favorites are...

"life has become the future. Every moment of your life is lived for the future"

"When you say nasty things about people, you should never say the true ones, because you can't really fully and honestly take those back, you know?"

"leaving feels good and pure only when you leave something important, something that mattered to you. Pulling life out by the roots"

"Nothing ever happens like you imagine it will... But then again, if you don't imagine, nothing ever happens at all"

I could write entire posts about each of these quotes and maybe one day I will but for now I'll just leave them at that. But they are so beautiful and true and relatable to my own life.

There were these overwhelming intellectually stimulating concepts throughout the book as well. I admire John Green so very much for these...

The first is the title of the book: Paper Towns. The idea that everyone is so 2 dimensional and follow the rules and traditions set by society in the most simple way. That every town of people is just as boring and easily categorized as any other. It's a terrifying thought that we, as humans, really are that boring and simple. 

I think it's well explained by the quote "People love the idea of a paper girl". And that is completely and utterly true. When I tell people of my extraordinary dreams, I'm judged beyond belief because I'm not simple. I don't want to be a paper girl and live my days like everyone else. People want everyone to be normal, to be put into the same college-marriage-kids box. 

But the truth is while some wonderful people really want that, not everyone does. And it's so unfair to like one group of people and not the other because they chose two different and equally fulfilling paths. Whatever people want to do with their lives is their business. If people want a normal life that doesn't make them boring and if they don't want one that doesn't make them wrong. Which leads into the next concept...

This concept is one that I've thought about on multiple occasions, that it's "difficult to understand that other people are human beings in the same ways that we are". We imagine everyone else as 2 dimensions. We see the outside, seemingly perfect lives of all the humans around us but in actuality, most people have just as many problems as everyone else. It's just hard to imagine that everyone else has issues and struggles and feelings and thoughts like we do. 

"It is easy to forget how full the world is of people, full to bursting, and each of them imaginable and consistently misimagined". I constantly struggle with this idea and constantly remind myself of the fact that I don't know everyone else. One either has to put one's self in another's shoes or do what the main protagonist of the book, Quentin, figured out. "I must ask the wounded man where he is hurt, because I cannot become the wounded man" when speaking about Whitman's understanding of empathy and 3 dimensionality of another human being. 

I love these ideas so very much and hold them very close. Rereading the book gave me a new perspective on everything about it. When simply focusing on the plot, these concepts passed by my head faster than wind but now I see how the seemingly simple plot gives way to all of these complex concepts and beautiful epiphanies. And this book is getting a movie. This was a very thought-filled book so I'm excited to see how they manifest these into a movie but I'm sure it'll be great!

Anyways, this may be my longest post ever but I loved being able to explain my thoughts and the brilliant concepts in this book, I could talk about them forever. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Have a Wonderful Day!
Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

Frozen Review

Dear You,

In last week's library scour for something I haven't read yet, I came across a book called Frozen which I may have initially picked up because of the Disney movie but the summary sounded interesting enough on it's own accord. 

It's written by a husband and wife duo with a good amount of success in past books: Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston. I didn't expect this book to be that good because the past few I've taken a chance on in the library have turned out to be boring but this one was different. 

The book starts out with an event, a dystopian/sci-fi event that goes unexplained for a large part of the book. And it eventually gets cleared up but they definitely could have explained some more about that. 

The romance stories within the overall story are written nicely. They are all unique, things that you may have expected but not as obvious as several other books I could name. 

I loved the dystopian/sci-fi uniquevity of the plot, it was definitely different which seems incredibly difficult to me. There are so many different worlds and superpowers already created and imagined and loved, how can they possibly keep coming up with these new ones? But they do, fantasy author's creativity is inspiring. 

I do have some criticism for the book though. While the plot was well imagined there were parts with very poor execution. My biggest complaint being the ending. Several things happen in an extremely short amount of time with very little explanation. The action was focused on rather than the explanation. There is definitely a line in the "don't tell, show" way of writing but I think they avoided it too much. Or maybe I was just reading too fast, who knows? ;)

Either way, I thought the book was well imagined but had a lot of poor writing. Overall, it was better than any random books I've picked up thus far but not my favorite. 

What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

Alternative Song Discoveries

Dear You,

Shake It Off should definitely be #1 :)

I was going through the iTunes top 200 singles recently to find new music and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of good alternative music (surprise being the amount of alternative, not that it was good, lots of alt music is good). I now have a very full iTunes wish list again thanks to all of these good songs.

Carousel by Melanie Martinez

I love the strong beat in this song with the light, beautifully raspy voice and metaphorical lyrics it's a really nice song to work to, I've discovered. 

Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon

This one is far more happy and upbeat and walks the line between alternative and pop but sounds great. It's the perfect dance party song. 

Riptide by Vance Joy

I love how diverse Alternative songs can be. This one is very happy in the feel good sense. Almost an Ingrid Michaelson/Avalanche City sound to it, not saying they were copying or are so similar that it's not good to hear them all, there's just this wonderful sound that always makes me smile among these artists. 

Stolen Dance by Milky Chance

I think I've heard this one on the radio before but it's really great. If I had to describe it I would say it a soft pop sound with island influences and the slightest hip-hop sound. 

Cool Kids by Echosmith

This one has a strong beat but not overwhelmingly like Carousel, a rather simple song but a good one at that. Definitely one of the songs that's going to make me want to dance in the bathroom while getting ready ;)

Anyways, those are some of my recent discoveries, at least the alternative ones. What music have you been listening to recently? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

Quote Thoughts

Dear you,

I hope you had a great weekend. This quote seemed like a nice Monday post since writing is one of those things that make Mondays seem a little less horrible.

"Write to write. 

Write because you need to write. 

Write to settle the rage within you. 

Write with an internal purpose. 

Write about something or someone that means so much to you, that you don't care what others think" 

-Nick Miller

At some point in life, writing just became my therapy. It always sheds new light on situations that I'm lost on, like I don't really understand what I'm feeling until I can explain it to a piece of paper, usually in the form of a verse or sung in a chorus. 

Stop slacking off Binx! We need to write!

My favorite line in this quote is the 3rd: write to settle the rage within you

I think I love this one so much because it makes the act of writing seem so natural and freeing. Which is the way I've always looked at writing. When I had an idea so overwhelming swimming around in my head that I knew I wasn't going to be able to continue life until I found a laptop, a notebook, a napkin, anything to write it all down. 

I know that writing isn't everyone's thing but I think everyone needs one of these, something that helps you see things clearly. Writing, reading, talking, running, painting, there are so many forms of this that I find it absolutely astounding. But it is incredibly important that everyone has their thing.

Comment below what yours is!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

Quote

Dear You,

I've been trying to make the Friday posts simple but powerful because it's the end of the work week (well not mine) and I like it so far. I really like this quote and I hope that someone who needs it reads it and smiles. No matter how strong someone is I think we all need to be reminded of this sometimes.

Please Never Give Up

Have an Amazing Weekend!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

PS sorry about missing yesterday's post but it's a really long one that I wanted to proofread before posting and didn't have time too until late at night when I thought it useless considering I'm posting this morning :)

Artist Focus: Sky Ferreira

Dear You,

This week I learned about a new amazing artist. I had saved a song of hers I heard on the Vampire Diaries called "Obsession" which I loved. 

And has a funny music video...

So upon looking her music up on iTunes I found a gold mine. She has this beautifully intoxicating dance pop sound. You can definitely find a variety and uniqueness in her songs that she's been releasing since about 18 years old. 

When I listen to her songs I feel like I already know them, probably as background music in tv shows. I've definitely heard them somewhere. So looking through her songs for new ones to download was like visiting an old friend, I just remembered how much I loved them all. 

My other favorites (currently on my iTunes wish list) were...

Love in Stereo

Red Lips

Sad Dream

Lost In My Bedroom

You're Not the One

Some are fast, some are slow, there's nothing specific that I loved about them all. Just that I felt like I could connect to each one, like it describes a part of me perfectly, and isn't that what we all look for in our favorite songs?

Any thoughts on this wonderful artist? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video
Or like it or comment, I'd love you forever :)

Quote Thoughts

Dear You,

This little beauty popped up on my Tumblr dash the other day and I fell in love. Fitzgerald is a classic and has always been an outstanding source of interesting and life altering quotes. This one is no exception. 

I love the idea that we can start over whenever we want to. Sometimes it seems like we're stuck in a town or a situation or we can't change our character because of what other people think or do but realistically it's usually much more possible than it seems. 

I left a state that I no longer wanted to live in 2 years ago. I was ready to leave a situation that caused me a lot of heartache but eventually worked itself out, and while sometimes being able to unattach myself so easily is scary, it's also exhilarating. I know from catching up with old friends that they get astounded by the changes I've gone through as a person. And I'm so proud of the person I've become. 

I realize it's not as easy for everyone but very few things are impossible. If we want to change ourselves we are usually capable of doing so. Being nicer, losing weight, getting outside our comfort zone, whatever we need to do to "live a life you're proud of" is so possible it's insane. 

Your life is in your hands, live it the best way you can.

Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

If you wanted to be really awesome you could check out my New Youtube Video :)

I swear it's actually new, like I just made it, not the really old one I kept saying was new because I copied and pasted without checking 

My Happiness Project: September Half-Way Mark

Dear You,

It's already the middle of the month! Can you believe the passing of time? I always think I'm witnessing it, the boring days and wasted nights but somehow I'm always astounded by the amount of time that passes. 

This month I've been attempting to work on the social aspect of my life and improve it enough to make me happier. Here are some of my resolutions:

Find a job

I diiiiiiiiiidddddddd itttttt!!! I'm now an employed sales associate. If only I was a waitress, I could fit the stereotype of entertainment industry-hopeful but I get discounts so it's not bad :)

Inspire Someone

I've found this one harder. How do you know if you've inspired anyone? Does a light automatically go off in the world or a billboard sign "THIS PERSON MADE A REAL DIFFERENCE" I've yet to find a way to accomplish this one

Care Less About What Others Think

Now that I think about it, I really have. (Almost) everyone in my life knows what I want to do with my life despite their judgey eyes and I dress the way I want to dress and do the things that I want to do. It's great and feels really good even though it was hard. 

But the most wonderful part is, I wasn't forcing myself to do it. I would just come out with what I wanted to say without overthinking what everyone thought of it. It's become a state of mind that I am very happy to be in. 

Contact Old Friends

Yesterday, in fact, I was thinking about this resolution and decided to text a friend that I thought was mad at me from her silence. Turns out, she thought I was mad at her and we were both being silly (yes I used silly, I realize I am a grandma/5 year old). But now I have a great friend back in my life, it just took a little bit of courage.

Work On Social Media

I'm still posting on Tumblr plenty (http://miabrielle.tumblr.com seen above) and I have tweeted slightly more (http://twitter.com/miabrielle) but not as much as I meant to and I still haven't posted a Youtube video. I need to but I'm always second guessing myself like if I just practice a few more days I can make it better. This week, I will, promise :)

Yeah, so overall I'm getting there. I got pretty used to being the lonely writer but I think the rest of the month will be a time to change that. I have a random work schedule this week but I'm actually doing something like outside my home. Crazy, I know. Be proud ;)

Do you like being social? Leave any thoughts in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Quote

Dear You,

Another day, another quote

Just a friendly reminder to myself that being a good person is immensely more important than having people think I'm a good person. Because really, who cares what other people think? I just need to remember to be a good person for myself, not always easy to remember with things like peer pressure and social expectations but extremely important.

Leave me a comment with your thoughts below!

Have an Amazing Weekend!

Mia B

A Favorite Song

Dear You,

So I take singing lessons and recently I've been working on All Too Well by my personal favorite, Taylor Swift. It is probably one of the best songs she's ever written for so many beautiful reasons.

The song is set out into a long story where you get lyrically brilliant snapshots of a relationship that's ended because when something so important ends, we don't just forget them and everything we went through with them. We remember every second all too well. It's painful and it sticks there forever.

One of the most interesting thing about the song is the fact that almost no lines are repeated.  Even the chorus, while maintaining it's chords, changes lyrics every time around. 

I marvel at how well Taylor uses the "Don't tell, show" method in this song. Because (at least during the first half) she doesn't have to explain a single emotion. From her storytelling and vocal choices you can infer the emotions in the best sort of ways. 

One of her vocal choices in the bridge during the line:

"You call me up again just to break me like a promise, 

So casually cruel in the name of being honest"

Which is in itself, a lyrical masterpiece, is also sung with a rather high and powerful voice that most people didn't know Taylor could achieve (not because of her personal character, because most singers have trouble up there). She performed it at the 2014 Grammy's in the most fantastic way. You can hear the immense emotion behind these perfect lines.

This song isn't meant to be an entirely sad song. It's written about a good relationship that sadly ended but it's focusing on the happy moments. She's haunted by these beautifully joyful ghosts from a time that's sadly over. As she said in the introduction of this song at a concert 'the good ghosts can haunt you too'.

Anyways, there's one of my favorite songs, what are your thoughts? Leave them in the comments below!

Have an Amazing Day!
Mia B

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Review

Dear You,

So I was perusing the classic section at the library looking for something enticing and saw this beauty. I've been a fan of the Sherlock TV show since it started a couple years ago and have loved crime shows since I was a kid. Like Olivia Benson was my hero. So I checked this beauty out. 

To me, the book doesn't read like a book, it's read as individual stories. So I read each individual case at one time and stopped so I could think about each case. It made the reading so much more exciting in my opinion. 

When I read, I'm known to skim over parts or fast-read but with this one I wanted to read every word. To take in every fact and contemplate the cause and effect of every one in my own personal Sherlock like fashion. I tried to form opinions on the case before reading Sherlock's ending explanation and I'm proud to say that I got a few of them right!

However there was never a story where I caught every fact that Sherlock did, most of my opinions were just conjectures that I hypothesized but didn't catch every deduction that Sherlock did. Nevertheless it was still highly interesting even if I wasn't as good as Sherlock. 

I love the fact that before a case the title means nothing to the reader but after reading it, the title means everything. You read it in the header and instantly remember how interesting it was or laugh because the end result was so ridiculous that it was comical. Every one of Sherlock's stories became mine because I thought through it and put myself in Sherlock's shoes.

I envy Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's brilliance so much because he was good enough to create these insane cases and impossible yet seemingly obvious deductions that truly could have occurred yet probably never did. Also, Sherlock is such a three dimensional character that while I was reading, in my mind, he became real. I obviously know that he wasn't but Doyle makes him so revolutionary that I want him to be real badly enough to believe it. The sign of a truly great author. 

Overall, these stories were addicting, enticing, brilliant, and inspired. I would read them forever if I had the patience. I've even tried to start deducing my own inferences in the real world. While it's quite difficult, I've been able to do a few. I'm very glad I grabbed this book and decided to rematch the Sherlock TV series however the next series doesn't come on FOR OVER A YEAR. I cry.

Comment below your thoughts on the classically famous Sherlock Holmes, I'd love to talk!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B

Write a Good Story

Dear You, 

Yes, I love quotes and I refuse to apologize for the mass amount of them on this blog.

So I happened to reblog these both onto my tumblr (http://miabrielle.tumblr.com in case you were wondering) within a couple of days of each other and noticed just how important they are. 

I feel like sometimes we're waiting for someone or something to happen. We wait for other people to somehow change our lives with a job or a love or some big event. We wait around for our lives to somehow turn perfect so we can live happily ever after. But that's not what life is about.

First of all, no one is going to save you. In the end, our stories are up to us. We write them, we choose what to do with them, and we choose how much happiness we find in life. Yes, it really sucks sometimes. Horrible things happen every single day. But that doesn't mean we're allowed to say that life ruined us. We ruin us. 

In the end, we chose the actions that we took and we chose how to enjoy life. If we mark our life by terrible events, uneventfulness, and time passing then yes, it will always be terrible. But if we take charge of our own lives and do what makes us happy, even if it only lasts one second, then we will be the lucky ones. Some people go their whole lives without realizing that it is their life to choose. 

I'm not saying certain things can't depress people. Bad people, bad jobs, disorders, heartbreak, it's there and it hurts. But those moments, the ones where your grandpa texts you a picture of his dog or your friend got that promotion she's been waiting for or your kid drew you a picture. It's those moments that make every single thing completely and wonderfully worth it. 

If we just brood because you got that text while you were busy working or because you wanted that promotion over her than you'll be writing a very depressing tragedy. 

We choose to find happiness in the little moments and we choose to make those little moments. In the end, our attitude and actions are up to us.

Thoughts? Leave me a comment below!

Have an Amazing Day!

Mia B