Complement

“That's the best outfit I've seen all night” at least that’s what I think he said.

“What?” I asked turning around.

This was a little over a year ago. I was leaving Walmart. I was tired, hungry, I just wanted to go home, I had had a bad day. I didn’t believe what I had heard. Was that really a complement? Do people still do that?

“That’s the best I’ve seen all night” the older gentleman repeated with a French accent, gesturing to my outfit.

“Thank you” I said with a smile, but it didn't stop there as he continued to explain.

He compared my style to what he had seen in France. He said that the people there dressed like I was, that they are so stylish there and say "madam and misère" so polite. I thanked him again a smile on my face.

I didn’t exactly see what he did. I was wearing knee high socks, a skirt, a sweater, and probably a hat. It was a completely normal outfit for me. I had gotten the occasional complements on my interesting outfits before, but how he saw a French sense of style in an outfit like that, I do not know. But he noticed. And he liked it. And he bothered to say something. I was happy the rest of the day after that. I made his night, and he made mine.

It made me realize that a simple complement, a stranger getting the courage to tell a stranger that they like something they are wearing or doing, can change that persons day. It can brighten their mood. Now, I’m not saying you should care whether or not someone complements you on your outfit. I personally don’t care what people think of my sometimes crazy sense of style. Whether people like what I’m wearing or not I’m still going to wear it. What I am saying, however, is that you shouldn’t be afraid to tell someone you like their hat, like their knee high socks, tell them their smile brightened your day. It’s a crazy world we live in. A world where people are afraid to complement each other, afraid of how they will take it. I have felt this way many times. However, being on the receiving end of a complement as well, I also know that it can mean a lot to someone.

So, I encourage you to stop being afraid. If you like something, say so. If someone’s outfit reminds you of home like mine did for this French gentleman, why not tell them so? Just why not? Complement someone, it could change their whole day for the better. It might change yours too.

Live Up To Your Hat

A year or so ago I came up with a new motto. It was "you must live up to your hat. Whether figuratively or literally, you should live up to the hat you are wearing, make your hat proud to be sitting on your head!” At first this probably seems really strange, maybe even a little Mad Hatterish, but let me explain.

This motto came about while I was watching a talent show. This guy comes on stage in an amazing hat and I got all excited, thinking his act is going to be great. It was horrible. I can’t remember what he did now, but he did not live up to his hat. Then, the next guy to come on stage had a humble beat up top hat. His act was amazing. The first guy did not live up to his hat, but the second definitely made that hat proud to be on his head. I know, it still probably sounds a bit odd. But bear with me as I clarify.

Let’s begin with figuratively. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, titled “Many Hats” if you haven’t read it yet, everyone has many different hats they wear. Many different rolls they play and jobs they do. But what does this have to do with living up to your hat? Every job you do or roll you play is important. It is part of what makes you you. So why not do it as well as you possibly can? If you do your job as well as you are able to then you can know that you made that hat proud.

Now what about literally? If you are literally wearing a hat then there is automatically an expectation that needs to be met. For example, if you are wearing a hat supporting a specific sports team, then shouldn’t you actually be a fan of that team? Or, if you are wearing an extravagant top hat, shouldn’t you try to live up to that expectation? Carry yourself like you deserve to have that hat on your head? I am not going to wear a pirate hat and then not act like a pirate am I? That wouldn’t make any sense. So why did I put on the hat? From a baseball hat to a top hat you should live up to the expectation that comes with putting that hat on your head.

Hats deserve a certain level of respect. They can define what job you have, turn you into any character you want to be, even turn into a form of entertainment. Be proud of the hat’s you wear, and make your hats proud to be on your head. I know, it all still sounds a bit Mad Hatterish, but hey, who knows hats better than a Mad Hatter?

 

The Art of Writing in a Journal

Being a writer, I have always found myself writing in a journal of one kind or another. I find it to be incredibly therapeutic. Last year for Christmas I gave a journal to nearly everyone I know. Some of those people were incredibly grateful, some even saying they literally just used up the journal they had been writing in. And some I find, one year later, still haven’t written a thing in theirs. I realize where writing just comes naturally to me, for some people they just don’t know how to start. So, since I find writing in a journal to be really important, here are my thoughts on the subject in hopes of maybe encouraging you to write in a journal of your own.

There are many different things you can write in a journal, some basic things are what you did today, what you hope to do tomorrow. But I like to go deeper than that, how what you did today made you think of something else. Not necessarily only what you hope to do tomorrow, but what you hope to do with your future. Your thoughts, your feelings, your hopes, your dreams, your deepest fears, your highest accomplishments. Just go for it. You can write about anything that comes to mind.

Once you decide what you are going to write about, or at least have a general idea, you must realize who you are talking to. It is an imaginary person. You are talking to your journal. Your journal is a wonderful cover filled with pages that will someday hold some of the most important thoughts of your life. But it is a journal. It will not talk back or tell you you're crazy, even if you are. It will only listen intently as you write. It will not spill your secrets. Unless, of course, someone reads it. In which case one thing it does not have is a security system. Unless you install one or buy a special journal with a lock.

A journal is a very helpful tool. It helps you unravel the mess in your head and forces you to organize it into words, sentences, paragraphs, endless pages. It doesn't mind if you ramble, sometimes that's all we need, someone to ramble to to figure out our own problems. And a journal is certainly a good listener. And if a journal doesn't solve the problem, it can certainly help put your thoughts in an order so that you can tell someone else who can help solve the problem.

So, the art of writing in a journal. It takes no talent, just a journal and a pen. It doesn't take an exciting day to find something to write about, just an idea, and that can come from anywhere on any day, even the boring ones. It is a way to think about what you're thinking about. Someone you can tell your deepest secrets to. A record to look back on your life. A place to keep your hopes and dreams. Writing in a journal can be a wonderful thing. It is an art, but one that does not require you to be a writer, only a person. So find yourself a journal and just write.

Do you write in a journal? How has it helped you?

New Year

And here we are again. New Year’s Eve. Another year is nearly gone and the next is literally only a few hours away. It is time again to make those New Year’s resolutions and to look back on what happened over the past 365 days. For me those two things go hand in hand. And this is how that New Year’s Resolution began…

“Today is the first day of the rest of my life. But it is also the first day of 2015. Which also happens to come very close to the close of an old chapter and the opening of a new one in my life. A chapter that held many great adventures. New places, some that will become a very big part of my life. New people. Some could stay for a very long time, some may just be passing through. This new chapter in my story, this chapter that begins with the opening of a new year, promises to be filled with adventures, both fantastic and terrifying. Challenges, some will be easy, some extremely difficult. And many changes, some minor, and some will change everything. Even though this New Year promises to hold many scary things, I know that there will be good things too.

In the beginning of a new year the idea of a new year’s resolution comes to mind. So, as most people’s New Year’s resolutions are things like eating healthier, exercising more, or to stop smoking, mine is a little different. My goal is to write one page a day. And by the end of the year I will have a story of my life in this New Year. I will be able to look back and see how much has changed. Because a lot can happen in a year. So, this is page one. Page one of a three hundred and sixty-five page book. A book that promises to be quite the adventure story.”

And so it began… I was going to write one page a day for the entire year. Every night, before I went to bed, I would write a page about what I did that day. It was kind of like a journal or a diary, but it was more like keeping a record of what happened over the past year. I would try to think of something good that happened each day. Sometimes I succeeded and sometimes I completely failed. Some entries did not make it to a full page and some expanded to over 4 pages long. But something I did not fail was keeping this New Year’s resolution. With the exception of maybe one or two entries that I ended up writing the day after they were supposed to, I did write about every single day.

Looking back at my year through these Page a Day entries I’ve realized that I have had a very… interesting year... It was a year of preparation. It was a year where much of what I did was in preparation for the adventures that would come in this coming year. Beginning with this blog. I started this blog a month or so before the New Year, but over this past year I have learned a lot by having a blog. I am learning to share my writing, I feel like I’m making a difference, and it just brings me so much joy to write! In January I got my braces on. I am unfortunately going to have them on a bit longer than I hoped, but I am almost done. I also bought a car this year!

Over the year I have lost a few people I thought would be in my life forever. People I never thought I would lose. But I have also gained quite a few people who will be in my life for a long time to come.

This year did hold some adventures, just not the ones I was expecting. I went camping by myself, I spent a week in Virginia Beach, and I went on many mini adventures to other random places. I did not end up back in Roatan. I can’t remember if I’ve ever mentioned that on this blog or not, if not, it is definitely a story for another time.

This year has been complicated and difficult for me, and I’m sure the same is true for many more. It definitely had its bad points, but we all must remember that there were good points too. Even though much of the year may have been difficult, we can look back and know, good or bad, everything that happened this year will prepare us for the year to come.

Writing my page a day has certainly helped me get a new perspective on life. It forced me to think back through what happened that day, it helped me to learn from my mistakes, gave me a place to write down my dreams, and even gave me inspiration for a few blog posts as I sorted out my thoughts. I will not continue my page a day, but I will continue to write in a journal this coming year. And I encourage you to do the same if you don’t already.

My New Year’s Resolution this year may or may not take less effort than last years. I will write one good thing that happens each day on a card. Then I will put that card in a jar. Then, at the end of the year, I will open that jar and see 365 good things that happened this year. Or, if I am having a bad day, I could open the jar and look at one. It will remind me that not every day is a bad one. I encourage you to do something similar if you can. We could all use a little motivation to find something good in every day. I look forward to seeing what good things I see at the end of the year. I don’t know about you, but for me, this upcoming year promises to be quite exciting.

What was your New Year’s Resolution? Did you succeed? How about this year’s resolution? Let me know in the comments!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!