Eat. Sleep. School. Skate. Study. Repeat.

When you stop chasing the wrong things, you give the right things a chance to catch you.

So starting today…

1. Give up trying to be perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.
2. Give up comparing yourself to others. – The only person you are competing against is yourself.
3. Give up dwelling on the past or worrying too much about the future. – Right now is the only moment guaranteed to you.  Right now is life.  Don’t miss it.
4. Give up complaining. – Do something about it.
5. Give up holding grudges. – Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness.
6. Give up waiting. – What we don’t start today won’t be finished by tomorrow.  Knowledge and intelligence are both useless without action.
7. Give up lying. – In the long-run the truth always reveals itself.  Either you own up to your actions or your actions will ultimately own you.
8. Give up trying to avoid mistakes. – The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake.
9. Give up saying, “I can’t.” – As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
10. Give up trying to be everything to everyone. – Making one person smile can change the world.  Maybe not the whole world, but their world.  Start small.  Start now.
11. Give up thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises.  Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
12. Give up setting small goals for yourself. – Many people set small goals because they’re afraid to fail.  Ironically, setting these small goals is what makes them fail.
13. Give up trying to do everything by yourself. – You are the sum of the people you spend the most time with.  If you work together, you will be far more capable and powerful than you ever could have been alone.
14. Give up buying things you don’t need. – Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you.  Do not spend to impress others.  Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects.
15. Give up blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can live your dream life depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
16. Give up making mountains out of molehills. – One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?  Three years?  Five years?  If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
17. Give up trying to live up to the expectations of others. – Work on it for real and exceed your own expectations.  Everything else will fall into place.
18. Give up the ‘easy street’ mentality. – There is too much emphasis on finding a ‘quick fix’ in today’s society.  For example taking diet pills to lose weight instead of exercising and eating well.  No amount of magic fairy dust replaces diligent, focused, hard work.
19. Give up making promises you can’t keep. – Don’t over-promise.  Over-deliver on everything you do.
20. Give up letting your thoughts and feelings bottle up inside. – People are not mind readers.  They will never know how you feel unless you tell them.
21. Give up beating around the bush. – Say what you mean and mean what you say.  Communicate effectively.
22. Give up avoiding change. – However good or bad a situation is now, it will change.  That’s the one thing you can count on.  So embrace change and realize that change happens for a reason.  It won’t always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.
23. Give up your sense of entitlement. – Nobody is entitled to anything in this world.  We are all equal.  We breathe the same air.  We get what we give.  We get what we earn.
24. Give up waiting until the last minute. – Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
25. Give up being dramatic. – Stay out of other people’s drama and don’t needlessly create your own.
26. Give up being anti-athletic. – Get your body moving!  Simply take a long, relaxing walk or commit 30 minutes to an at-home exercise program.
27. Give up junk food. – You are what you eat.
28. Give up eating as a means of entertainment. – Don’t eat when you’re bored.  Eat when you’re hungry.
29. Give up foolish habits that you know are foolish. – Don’t text and drive.  Don’t drink and drive.  Don’t smoke.  Etc.
30. Give up relationships with people who bring you down. – Saying “no” to right people gives you the time and resources required to say “yes” to right opportunities.  Spend time with nice people who are smart, driven and likeminded.
31. Give up being shy. – Network with people.  Meet new people.  Ask questions.  Introduce yourself.
32. Give up worrying about what others think of you. – Unless you’re trying to make a great first impression (job interview, first date, etc.), don’t let the opinions of others stand in your way.  What they think and say about you isn’t important.  What is important is how you feel about yourself.
33. Give up trying to control everything. – Life is an unpredictable phenomenon.  No matter how good or bad things seem right now, we can never be 100% certain what will happen next.  So do you best with what’s in front of you and leave the rest to the powers above you.
34. Give up doing the same thing over and over again. – In order to grow, you must expand your horizons and break free of your comfort zone.  If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
35. Give up following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.  Don’t find the easy way out.  Do something extraordinary.
36. Give up persistent multi-tasking. – Do one thing at a time and do it right.
37. Give up thinking others are luckier than you. – The harder you work, the luckier you will become.
38. Give up filling every waking moment with commitments and activities. – It’s okay to be alone.  It’s okay to do nothing sometimes.  Think.  Relax. Breathe.  Be.
39. Give up making emotional decisions. – Don’t let your emotions trump your intelligence.  Slow down and think things through before you make any life-changing decisions.
40. Give up doing the wrong things just because you can get away with it. – Just because you can get away with something doesn’t mean you should do it.  Think bigger.  Keep the end in mind.  Do what you know in your heart is right.
41. Give up focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen.  Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story.  If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
42. Give up taking yourself so seriously. – Few others do anyway.  So enjoy yourself and have a little fun while you can.
43. Give up spending your life working in a career field you’re notpassionate about. – Life is too short for such nonsense.  The right career choice is based on one key point: Finding hard work you love doing.  So if you catch yourself working hard and loving every minute of it, don’t stop.  You’re on to something big.  Because hard work ain’t hard when you concentrate on your passions.
44. Give up thinking about the things you don’t have. – Appreciate everything you do have.  Many people aren’t so lucky.
45. Give up doubting others. – People who are determined do remarkable things.  Remember, the one who says it can’t be done should never interrupt the one doing it.
46. Give up fussing with every beauty product on the market. – Good looks attracts the eyes.  Personality attracts the heart.  Be proud to be you.  That’s when you’re beautiful.
47. Give up trying to fit in. – Don’t mold yourself into someone you’re not.  Be yourself.  Oftentimes, the only reason they want you to fit in is that once you do they can ignore you and go about their business.
48. Give up trying to be different for the sake of being different. – Nonconformity for the sake of nonconformity is conformity.  When people try too hard to be different, they usually end up being just like everyone else who is trying to be different.  Once again, be yourself.
49. Give up trying to avoid risk. – There’s no such thing as ‘risk free.’  Everything you do or don’t do has an inherent risk.
50. Give up putting your own needs on the back burner. – Yes, help others, but help yourself too.  If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.

And remember, mistakes make us human, failures help us grow, hope keeps us going and love is the reason we’re alive.  So keep learning, loving and living.  Never give up on yourself.

Source: Marcandangel

I’m sitting here, finishing up digitizing the last of about 35 tapes worth of old videos going back to 2006 since we started using the 8mm Sony camcorder and all I can say is wow! First, thank you Lisa for letting me borrow your camcorder since our old one pooped out! Secondly, thank you dad for your endless patience in recording hours of skating practice and tests and shows that I never thought I would really look back on and appreciate - but I SO do! Not only that but recording old class presentations, holidays, trips (yosemite silliness, Denice?), graduations (I was about to cry all over again at Vianey’s speech), beach day birthdays … so many fun memories that I can’t help but laugh at! How we all have changed, but still stayed the same in many ways. 

Dad, I am glad that you have instilled in me the same enthusiasm you always have in recording these specials events. People might think I’m crazy for scootin’ my little camcorder around with me everywhere, but these memories and moments are precious and hopefully my friends will thank me years from now, no matter how embarrassing the videos are :)

On a more somber note, school started today. I only had one class today but WOW, this is the first quarter of not having ANY ANY ANY 8AM classes! It would be so much more exciting if I lived near campus … then I wouldn’t have to deal with the hour and a half commute - I swear, when I get my own place I am going to live within biking distance of at least 75% of the places I need to be **sigh** 

This quarter I’m taking Physci 111a, EngComp 131b, and Woman Studies10 … I’m really REALLY REALLY hoping that those last 2 give me a bit of a GPA boost, PLEASE?? I was going to take chem 14cl but my physci midterms conflicted with the lab time I was enrolled in and it’s super full so I can’t switch so I’m pretty sure that I’m going to drop it .. but I’ll know for sure tomorrow after I go to the engcomp class. 

Now, my next task is to digitize the VHS family tapes - those are going to be SOMETHING ELSE! I can’t wait! I also need to start editing the things I already digitized and start burning them onto DVD yay :D 

This is a story from yesterday: I was driving from school to this place to pick up my business cards (they look really cool) that was in Van Nuys. Then from there I drove to Burbank, to Fry’s Electronics and my GPS told me to take the streets, so I did. The valley is definitely a much more interesting place on the streets than the freeway! There are so many little stores on every street - it really amazes me how all of these places stay in business. Anyways, I was driving and this car speeds by with a hub cap that looks EXTREMELY loose. Of course after it passes about 50 feet in front of me, it goes flying off BUT it didn’t hit my car, luckily! I made it to Fry’s alive! 

Then I bought my tripod, it’s first job - hold my camera up to film “The Cosby Sweaters” at their first gig! Yup, I’m the lucky camera lady :) Who are The Cosby Sweaters, you ask? They are only the “most fantastic saxophone players ever to wear tacky Christmas sweaters” and they are really good!!  So that was a lot of fun! (videos to come soon, I PROMISE!)  

And skating has been awesome except I fell really hard on a double axel and my hip definitely didn’t like that! It’ll be okay though! I’m super excited for Lucy … just got to get that double axel to work in the program, no big deal. lol

homeworkhomeworkhomework studystudystudy … as if it actually does me any good!

Today as I was driving (and studying) and moving at a whopping 10 miles per hour, I saw something really cool. It was a car that had it’s license plate as CPN JACK (or something close to that) and I thought hmm it must be from Pirates OTC and then I saw the license plate frame and it said something like “Yo Ho! Yo Ho! a pirate’s life for me!” and I thought okay that’s cool! THEN I realized the decal covering the back window was Jack Sparrow’s sparrow tattoo and I thought, wow, that’s love - or a little bit obsessive. I began to wonder if maybe that was Johnny Depp driving but I doubt it haha. I was trying to get a picture but I didn’t get a good one boo. 

UGHH I WANT SCHOOL TO GO AWAY. 

except for the skating club, that’s awesomeness <3 

My sister, Treaves, went to Georgia State University. Out of curiosity, I googled “Georgia State University Physical Therapy” … lo and behold, they do have a physical therapy program. Wouldn’t it be crazy if I ended up going there? Still at least a few years away, must make it out of UCLA alive. Then show skating, YAY!

Oh the possibilities ;) yeehaw!

now I’m off to continue memorizing where the muscles of the upper body originate, insert, and what actions they have. good stuff. 

Today, while working on my Lucy dress, I totally stuck a pin about an inch into my leg (NOT ON PURPOSE!) because I had some fabric pinned together and I was fumbling around with my sewing machine and made a really quick motion, and in it went. But the funny part is now I understand acupuncture because I absolutely did not feel it when it went in, I only saw it and realized how deep in it was as I pulled it out! My leg feels weird, but it’s probably all in my head :)



Ahh so glad there’s no school tomorrow! After two whole days of not skating, I binge-skated today for 2.5 hours - LOVE! My Lucy program is very awesome and my shrunken Halo program is pretty too! I’m trying to work really hard on the “prettiness” of my skating because I guess I’m just shy that I look silly when I try, but I’ve got to sell it!



oh yeah, I’m going to post up videos as I make my Lucy dress because videos are fun :)

Today, I was going to Pickwick from school and as I got off of the freeway I saw one of those yellow signs the movie people post up to point in the direction of where they’re filming a show or movie. So the one I saw said “Middle” and the first thing that pops into my head is ‘I wonder if it’s the The Middle hmmm, I wish I could follow that sign”. Then I keep driving and I see another sign, ‘Whoa, I wonder where they’re filming’. Drive drive drive ‘aww no more signs’. Drive. ‘YELLOW SIGN!’ **points into driveway of Pickwick** YAY! And then I went around telling everybody I saw how much I love the show and how excited I was that they’re actually filming a show I watch! I can’t wait to see the episode - now THAT would be tons of fun to skate in as an extra! 

Today, the wonderful ladies of the UCLA Figure Skating Club started choreographing our routines for the Christmas show - Santa Baby! It’s going to be so great, it already looks awesome! 

Okay, I should really get back to “studying” …

I’m re-re-re uploading my Senior FS Test video: the first one had a typo, the second one had a deleted title by accident … third time’s the charm? 33% done… I like uploading it in HD :)

I’ve decided not to beat myself up anymore about doing badly on my midterm. I’m still super frustrated about my studying not shining through, but what’s the use in dwelling on that? I’m just going to move forward and continue studying and hopefully I can do really well on the next midterm and final. I have to stay positive … it’s not like PT school looks at my LS4 grade specifically, right? But even if they do, it will be fine because I’m determined to do well in it in the end. Just keep chugging. 

I’m so glad I have skating to keep my spirits up, there’s nothing like a brisk session to pound out my frustrations and land some awesome double axels. 

Okay, back to the books - hopefully this pays off on my anatomy practical tomorrow.