Hmmmm.... Just a Thought

What if you grew up with your favorite character as a best friend? Well what if you grew up with Scout living in your neighborhood. Would you be friends with her and join in with Jem and Dill. How would you react with the other kids in your neighborhood? How would they react to Scout? Well I don't really live in a neighbor hood but when I little I had two  best friends and we would image stories as superheros and act these out so I think I would be great friends with Scout. I also grew up with four siblings and we would constantly be imaging stories for us to act out both inside and out. I think me and my siblings would welcome Scout, Jem and Dill with open arms into our own imaginations. I was also a tomboy growing up on a farm and always wanting to be outside just like Scout, we were curious little kids and I think a lot of the things that happen in the actual story would be the same. We used to love sneaking around and "spying" on anyone, and we even had scary places to explore and image especially at our grandparents old barns. Ultimately Scout's story reminds me of my childhood so I think we would get along great. 

The How To: For Life

"Instructions for living a life. Pay Attention. Be astonished. Tell about it."
                                                        ~ Mary Oliver
When you are born you don't get an instruction manual. You are thrown into a world that's face-paced and scary where everyone wants to do everything fast and one wrong step can send you tumbling down a road to your worst fears. People get caught up in wanting success and material things that life ends up passing you by faster then you can blink and you end up hollow and sad. I think these "instructions" Mary Oliver provides are helpful in finding happiness. No one can tell you how to live your life, only you can bring about your own happiness through your passion. Pay Attention. Stop, slow down and let it all sink in. Don't go about your life so fast that you miss all the meaningful and wonderful things that come along with it. Pay attention to the tiny details and stop to smell the roses. Experience all that you can and don't become bored with life, pay attention to how you live and decide if it's really the way you want to live. Be Astonished by life and everything that comes with it. Allow the simplest things to make you smile. Don't go through life wanting everything to be big and incredible but soak in the simple things that if you open your heart can be astonishing. Finally tell about it. Share your story with everyone and anyone who stops to listen. Teach others about your successes and mistakes, tell them the lessons you learned, what made you happy and tell them that there is no simple meaning to life. That everyone has their own meaning and that they need to go out and live it.