Pretty little things:

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She laughs, and the sound of it crinkles in my chest like a candy wrapper in a quiet room. I want more.

Elissa Janine Hoole

"Please know there are much better things in life than being lonely or liked or bitter or mean or self-conscious. We are all full of shit. Go love someone just because; I know your heart may be badly bruised, or even the victim of numerous knifings, but it will always heal, even if you don’t want it to; it keeps going. There are the most fantastic, beautiful things and people out there, I promise. It is up to you to find them."

Chuck Palahniuk

You will hear thunder and remember me,

And think: she wanted storms. The rim

Of the sky will be the colour of hard crimson,

And your heart, as it was then, will be on fire.

That day in Moscow, it will all come true,

when, for the last time, I take my leave,

And hasten to the heights that I have longed for,

Leaving my shadow still to be with you. 

Anna Akhmatova

Instagram.

Instagram is a weird place. It's a massive hub for pictures of meals, dogs, cats, sunsets, sunrises, railroad tracks, mirror self-portraits, and tattoos. You can learn what a person's daily activities are and maybe what they do for a living. You can sometimes tell what a person is passionate about or what kind of humor they have. It's a place where Kim Kardashian's nail polish gets more attention than National Geographic's pictures of AIDS victims. Instagram is weird.

Meeting someone because of Instagram is weirder. 

Lardvoldemort and SarahThigpen, everyone. 

Social networks, you're doing it right.

But...do be careful. Don't get Catfished.

"Leaving is not enough. You must stay gone. Train your heart like a dog. Change the locks even on the house he’s never visited. You lucky, lucky girl. You have an apartment just your size. A bathtub full of tea. A heart the size of Arizona, but not nearly so arid. Don’t wish away your cracked past, your crooked toes, your problems are papier mache puppets you made or bought because the vendor at the market was so compelling you just had to have them. You had to have him. And you did. And now you pull down the bridge between your houses, you make him call before he visits, you take a lover for granted, you take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic. Make the first bottle you consume in this place a relic. Place it on whatever altar you fashion… Don’t lose too much weight. Stupid girls are always trying to disappear as revenge. And you are not stupid. You loved a man with more hands than a parade of beggars, and here you stand. Heart like a four-poster bed. Heart like a canvas. Heart leaking something so strong they can smell it in the street."

Oh, Frida Kahlo. We would be great friends.

Forever 21

 Growing old won't be so bad. I'll get to buy that shampoo that makes silver hair shinier. I'll wear those super comfy-looking tennis shoes that come in crazy colors like bronze and gold. I'll have clocks that tick loudly and I'll smell like flowers and love. I'll make brownies for my grandchildren and I'll tell them stories about my rockin' life. I'll make subtly crude jokes and I'll scare them with my dentures (God, please don't make me need dentures).

But... I wouldn't mind staying 21 forever.

These are things that I want to remember.

Chapter 21

linda vachon

The Desiderata

Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,

 even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

 it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. 

Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Spring Break 2013---Part Two

A much needed trip to Lowe's garden section, lonely Florence roads at 4 a.m., finding my first four-leaf clover, dying eggs, and unorthodox 21st birthday parties with family. 

Spring break is over and it's time to get back into the swing of things.

Sister winter, you were perfect. Spring, welcome.