Between The Lines Of Life

By Claire Enos Life has a way of tearing you down until you don't think you can take any more, lifting you back up, and then bringing you down farther than before just to bring you up higher than you've ever been. Lately, my life has been a roller coaster ride. This whole year has been one long ride of ups and downs. Despite everything, I try to stay as positive as possible. I've been at my absolute worst and had people come up to me and say I make them smile because I always seem to be so happy. So, how do I do it? Well, sometimes I don't even know how. But, I'll try to share some of my favorite remedies for a happy and positive outlook: Music - Music is one of the best remedies of all time. All it takes is one good uplifting song and suddenly I can't be upset anymore. I just have to keep moving forward and put on a smile. Strange how that works. Amazing Friends - I have an amazing group of friends! Some, I talk to about anything and they always seem to ...

By Claire Enos A year ago, I never would have imagined that I would be where I am today. Sitting here, blogging, making plans for my future, based on other events that happened to me within the last year which I definitely would not have imagined as well. In fact, I could write a whole post about everything that happened and I still wouldn't be able to cover the whole year. But, this isn't about reminiscing. It's about saying goodbye to my past. Shutting the lid on the 2013 box, and shoving it into the closet. Maybe I'll look back on it one day and laugh, or at the very least smile, remembering all that happened. But for now, it's over and it's time for me to move on. My friend JG and me a little over a year ago, before he left on his mission. I'm going to open a new box. I already have a few things to put into this new box, so I better make it a big one because I plan to put a lot more into that box. I'm going to write 2014 on it, and it's ...

For an amazingly epic summer! Ever since last November, when I realized my best (and only) friend in Las Vegas would not be home for most of the summer, I have been dreading a boring summer. I mean, if you have no friends, what are you supposed to do? Sit around the house watching shows on netflix, reading, writing, singing (badly) to music, and texting and emailing friends who are there to hang out with you in person? That's exactly what I saw myself doing. It's what I did most of last summer, despite my best friend being in town, but at least we got out once a month and did something fun, like hit the mall and window shop or eat out, maybe even catch a movie in the theater! Since I won't be having that kind of fun this summer (unless I make new friends, as unlikely as that is) I decided to do something with my summer. No, that does not mean I went and got a job, though that does sound like a good idea. It means I made a list of things to do this summer to keep myself ...

This year, I'm doing things a little differently. I'm not going to measure myself on how well I do each individual thing on my list, I'll measure myself based on how much improvement I'm making. Mom talked me through making my resolutions more effective, so here goes: Healthier Lifestyle Physical Exercise Go to at least one dance (Swing or Latin) each week Try a yoga class Healthy Eating Plan meals ahead of time Cut out most of my sugar and soda Better Spirituality Study my scriptures for at least 5 minutes a day Pray morning and night Pray over meals Pray and Fast about a mission Attend all church meetings unless I can't get out of bed, and spend more time magnifying my calling Focus on Me Self-Esteem Don't worry about what others think Grades No C's or D's Grades are important, focus on school work and get it all done Grades come first, the rest comes after Writing Get a full manuscript written down Spend half...