under the influence.

being a positive role model is one of the most important jobs a person can have. reminiscing on my life these past few years, it really starts to become apparent how much i really have depended on positive influences to shape my life.
i'm head strong. i'm stubborn. i'm independent.
but i'm also human. i'm so lucky to have the men and women in my life be ones with positive effects on me.

what got me thinking about this subject in particular though, was a blog post. i'm obsessed with this one girls blog (well actually i'm obsessed with her, even though i don't know her. i just think she is quite possibly the most beautiful person i've ever seen). in this blog post she confessed to a couple things about her that she probably considers mildly shameful, or things that dim her perfect reputation. but it did the opposite! i love her (from afar) even more now. why? because i like people that are real. people that are able to be candid without fear of retribution. because that's the mark of a truly great role model. someone who you can look up to even when the perfect life facade is down.

what people need to realize is that life isn't about being perfect. it's about turning crappy situations in to good ones, or at least that's what the people i have looked up to have taught me. make lemonade out of those stupid lemons.


oh. and i really want a puppy. just because i've been really wanting a child lately... and i think a puppy is an excellent way to fill the void without being shunned by the BYU community.

that's all. xoxoxxx

he's just not that into you.

this book changes lives.
don't believe me? you must not have read it.

it is a right of passage in a young female adult's life to be stuck on some boy who couldn't care less about her. yes i speak from personal experience. yes this a sore subject.

but i put my big girl undies on, picked up the book, and read every single word from cover to cover. and all i have to say are two little words: LIFE. CHANGING.
these are supposed to be the most fun and exciting years of our lives, yet so many of us are wasting them dwelling on some stupid and usually not that attractive guy. if i had to take one piece of advice from the book it would be to not waste the pretty.
don't waste your pretty on someone who doesn't waste even a half of a second thought on you. because if a guy liked you, you would know. it would be so apparent that even helen keller could see it.
such a refreshing take on a depressing subject. i highly recommend it.

supercalifragalipstick.

there is very little in life a make over can't fix.
a new hair cut, new wardrobe, or even a new blog layout has the ability to make anything feel like a fresh start.

honestly, that's what i feel like i've been in need of lately. a fresh start. like spring cleaning.. except it's the fall and i'm talking about myself not a house. life has a funny way of throwing curve balls when you least expect them... and there is no better time to show your true colors than when things aren't going your way.
i've always been a firm believer in karma. if i'm doing what i'm supposed to, making the right decisions, and treating people kindly, i will be out of harms way. but i've recently discovered that sometimes, as unfair as it may seem, bad things happen to good people. but when these bad things happen, truly good people learn from these unfortunate events and turn them into valuable life lessons, further progressing their lives and not letting set backs actually set them back. so that's what i need to do. make lemonade out of lemons.
also; i need to focus on myself. make something out of myself. reach my potential. stop procrastinating. start doing. i hate thinking of myself as a lazy human being, but that's exactly what i've turned into! yuck. so diet, gym, and library here i come. it's time to get the old dani back.

roller coaster.

change is life's only constant.
i've always considered myself pretty receptive to change, and i am quite proud of my ability to "roll with the punches"
but you can only get hit so many times before you can't get back up.

recently, i have had the rug of life ripped out from beneath my feet so fast that i was on my butt before i even realized what happened. yes i'm fine, and no i don't want to talk about it. but the funny thing is... i really am fine, and i really don't want to talk about it.

i have officially closed a chapter in my book of life and i'm pulling out my pencil to start the new one. whats the goal? to not need to use an eraser quite so often. i have my whole life ahead of me and this time everything is going to be different. it's time to start defining and refining myself, because it's time to grow up. i'm ready to start working hard, playing harder, and start deserving some of the incredible opportunities i've been given. i've never been more anxious for a fresh start and i'm so ready to make my own happily ever after.

happy bearthday.

get it? it's a good pun. it's earth day.... haha. my mom once told me it isn't a funny joke if i have to spend 5 minutes afterwards explaining why it's funny. i now understand the point of that lesson. anywho, the earth is a pretty good planet. (i forgot a comma... it's is supposed to read as if i was saying "the earth is a pretty and good planet") well that about sums it up. stay classy, planet earth.

irony, dollface.

the second definition of irony, according to dictionary.com is:

a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually stated.

well i'll tell you what is truly ironic.... cancer awareness ribbon stickers at a tanning salon.

okay for one, what is the point of the stickers in the first place? every single teenage girl that goes through my salon spends a good 15 seconds in front of the different piles of stickers searching for just the perfect dolphin to be placed strategically on her hip. i know this shouldn't bug me as much as it does... but i mean really? the point of going tanning is to make yourself look better. looking better doesn't count if everyone that sees the tan line left from a peace sign shaped sticker on your stomach, because then it's so obvious the tan isn't real. every correctly done cosmetic process (tanning, highlights, teeth whitening, etc.) is supposed to be done to enhance natural beauty and give the image that the subject is, well, naturally beautiful. so why take your newly bronzed bod, and make it look cheap? okay, i get the argument that there needs to be a way to measure how much your tan increased in that session, but i have a quick fix for that: look in a mirror. keep going tanning until you feel like you are confident in your skin. stop tanning.

anyways, that was a tangent. back to the point. cancer awareness stickers. DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT EXPOSURE TO UVA/UVB RAYS IS THE CAUSE OF SKIN CANCER? thats like a wearing a leather and fur coat with the PETA logo stamped on the back. dumb.

someone just took a star sticker. the LAST star sticker. do you want to know what that means? i get to spend the next 10 minutes of my ripping star stickers off the roll for the rest of the star-on-the-hip-to-show-everyone-how-fake-my-tan-is lovers that come in today. hows that for irony.

Confu(sed)cius.

i hate not getting what i want, especially when what i want is something i've already had and i did appreciate it enough to hold onto it.

Daynskiis said something very interesting tonight in which i hope isn't true but it kind of is.
here is the scenario:
hot black guy in store that i was chatting it up with. we leave the store. i say i'd tap that. dayna says of course i would. then the profound statement.

"black+athlete=your type. or you could replace either with money, and you'd have the same result."
ouch. this isn't true. in fact the very person i was discussing above is none of those things. bloooop.

i'm just ready for something new and exciiiiiiitng to happen in my life.