http://galadarling.com/article/how-to-live-a-beautiful-life
And it really made me think. Basically, she says to STOP LIVING VICARIOUSLY THROUGH OTHERS!!! I myself take inspiration from things like pictures on tumblr and reading other people's blogs, but it's good to remember not to just pine for those things. Make them happen! It was amazing because I read this blog post after I was done making my regular rounds on the internet, and (as anyone who knows me has seen) I have been rather depressed for the past week and a half. I realized that this is exactly what I've been doing: I've been declining all of the awesome stuff people have invited me to do in order to mope in my room, watching Netflix and wishing I could live the lives of other people who seem like they're having way more fun than I am. I could have gone to Brewvies, I could have gone to Piper Down for a birthday party, I could have gone up to the canyons to look at the stars, I could have gone dancing. But instead I watched Roseanne and cried.
BUT NOW IS THE TIME TO STOP.
Yeah, I always say this. Yeah, I always have these ridiculous "pep myself up" talks where I resolve to be more positive, etc. But this isn't just about that. It's about what I'm going to DO to make this happen. I started today by closing my laptop after I read this blog post, picking up my guitar (which I haven't played in months), and retreating outside into the sun with it to relearn how to play. First I learned (via youtube...hey, I didn't say not to use the internet EVER) how to tune my guitar without the convenience of an electronic tuner (I have no clue where mine is), which I always thought was an absolute impossibility when I was a sophomore in high school and I first started playing. Then I went outside, sat down in the grass with my dusty binder full of sheet music for The Beatles, Jack Johnson, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkle, Iron and Wine, Coldplay, and The Shins, and started to reacquaint myself with chords and finger picking. It took a few minutes to make my brain fit the patterns of strumming with the notes of the song and my singing, but soon I was playing like I used to. I spent two hours out in the backyard with the dogs laying around me in the shade while I played songs and serenaded them. It was amazing and now my fingers hurt like a bitch
Later we spent the day with family, where we went swimming. The last swimming of the season, as the pool closes after labor day. It's always my last ode to summer. We all played "dump the people on the floating swim mattress" game where everyone beat the crap out of each other (I kicked some people in the face, pulled some hair, got bit, got pinched, also got kicked in the face, etc.) and dove, somersaulted, and splashed until the sun started to set and the crickets came out. I love evening and night swimming.
Now it's time to make a list of everything I want to do now that fall is on its way. I have only had this blog since spring, so the people out there who may or may not read this new blog probably have no idea that I ADORE AUTUMN. I love everything about fall. The best part about fall though, is HALLOWEEN. It's still too early to be pining for October and to be so excited about it, but it is my favorite month with my FAVORITE FUCKING HOLIDAY IN THE WORLD, and everyone is starting to bring out their Halloween merchandise and decorations so it's got me excited. Here are some things I plan on doing/am going to do in the next few months (non-Halloween/October edition).
-Start swimming for exercise, because when I did that I was the healthiest I've ever been. I want to feel good about myself, so I need to start exercising and eating better. I think now is the perfect time to start working on me and making myself feel awesome.
-Go camping! I'm planning on going camping this weekend at Timpanogos, hopefully it's cool enough up there that the colors have started to turn. If not, I just need to go camping again! I failed at camping in any capacity during the summer (except for Arizona, which was still in the spring as far as I'm concerned), so fall camping is going to be the bomb. Campfires, drinking (legal) beers, telling ghost stories, watching the stars, going on hikes, playing in streams...I'm so excited! Maybe I'll even bring my guitar and force people to have a singalong.
I want to reenact this picture
-Go hiking. Spend more time outside. I want to force myself to do stuff in the great outdoors, considering I spent a lot of the summer inside watching X-Files. TIME WELL SPENT, but I still want to spend more time in the mountains since they're right there. Right there. And I take them for granted so often. No more!
-Learn more on my guitar, get better, rebuild my calluses and finger strength so I can play the opening bridge to Stairway to Heaven again.
-Make crafts, paint with watercolors, take pictures with my polaroid and digital camera, make more charms and put them up on Etsy again, write short stories based on pictures, BE AN ARTSY FARTSY PERSON.
Kitty and I see eye to eye on a lot of things.
This is my list for now. I'm going to stop living vicariously through other people and instead make my own experiences again. This is fairly dramatic, seeing as I've only been depressed for the past couple of days and only super lame this weekend, but it's true. I'm especially excited for camping this weekend. I'm going to try and go as often as possible until it snows.
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