"Why does the one thing we don’t have affect all the things that we do have?" -Sex in the City

We always want what we don't have, and what we don't have affects everything we do have. Just look at your high school crush. everything revolved around him or her. From the outfits you pick out in the morning to the doodles in you're notebook... everything was associated with their name. Its the mentality of American's. we always want what we can't have, an once we have it... we want something else. If this continues, the word will be a really sad place without any satisfaction. Even when you're truly happy with your life there will always be someone with bigger and better things, true talent lies in not caring about it.

"Tell me you'll never forget me, because if I thought you would, I would never leave." -Winnie the Pooh

Would you ever walk away from someone knowing you wouldn't survive in their memories? Its hard to think about being forgotten, especially when you cared about the person you expect to remember. You want people think think of you when your gone, and you want those thoughts to be positive. (Although, if they're bad... at least your being thought of.) As you age, you naturally forget some people... the girl who sat next to you in Biology, the uninspiring teacher from 7th grade math, or even the friend who secretly had a crush on your big brother. These people will come and go, and you will forget... but a few people will stay strong in your memery. You have to make yourself one of hose people who remain in memory instead of fading away with the time. You can do this through skill, kindness, honestly, bravery... simply being a great person. Those are the people you remember, because its the kind of person we all want to be.

"You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." - Ray Bradbury

Reading novels can be an escape from reality, but they can also destroy the path back to it. They show you a world where true love conquers all and where the character's life is never dull or uneventful. These stories are often your hopes and dreams put into writing. You engulf your mind in the realities of fictional characters as you constantly hope and pray that some part of their lives will magically become your own. When you close the cover all the sudden your world has a slightly more gray and oblique feeling, even though it didn't seem that way before. So what do you do? You read some more. And when you finish it? You read it again. Over and over. Hoping at some point your life could be as beautiful as the story, accompanied by perfectly chosen vocabulary and page corners so you can save your favorite moments. Life seems better from these pages, its not so big, not so complicated, and so much more enjoyable.

"Screws just fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place." -The Breakfast Club

Nothing is perfect, no matter how bad you want it to be so. Plans fall apart, people make mistakes, objects break... nothing can or ever will be absolutely perfect. When you start expecting everything to be, your world turns into complete chaos (which is exactly the opposite of your goal). Maybe thats the problem with today's society. People dream too much, and want their lives to be what they see in a magazine or movie. What magazines or movies don't let us know are all the imperfections they featured people face. When we can't seem to achieve that perfect house or body, we feel like failures. What people need to understand is that imperfections make life worth while because it makes life unexpected and enjoyable.

"If you're gonna get wet, might as well go swimming" -Matchstick men

you're only young once, you might as well do it right. don't live life afraid of being put in time out or holding your nose when you jump in a pool. if you're going to have fun with your teenage years, make them the most amazing years you could ever possibly imagine. there is no point in living living on a tightrope if the fall could be the most endearing part of the whole experience. when you know there is a net ready to catch you, go ahead and jump feet first into the unknown. you could find the view to be far better than you expected.

"Maybe our girlfriends are our soul mates and guys are just people to have fun with" -sex and the city

every girl wants a guy who is her best friend... but what if her best friend is really her soulmate? we always have our friends, and our friends always have us while men come and go out of our lives. maybe instead of holding your man on a pedestal, it should be your girlfriends. they are unbelievable people who can make you laugh, tell you the truth, are reliable, and already have been through think and thin with you. Try is, make a list of your perfect boyfriend. your list will probably include honestly, good sense of humor, kind, fun, etc. go ahead and make a list to describe your girlfriend. notice any similarities. Guys do hold an important point in our lives, and you can't live without them... but could you live without your girlfriends either? nope, not me.

"You can't change who people are without destroying who they were." -The Butterfly Effect

You cam make the decision to change yourself, but no person has the right to change another person. When the idea that someone should be different pops into your mind, your automatically judging that person against someone else and standards that may not apply to them. Just like your fingerprint, every person's personality if different and just because it may not comply to your particular taste doesn't mean that change is necessary. Change is like shaving a person's head. It change what they look like on the outside, but no matter how the short you cut their hair, they will always be the same on the inside. It mainly damages a person's self esteem to suggest change along with inhibiting anything the would have freely contributed to the world. Take some time to accept rather then alter, and if you dislike someone enough to need them to change, why bother?

"Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us. " -Charles Spurgeon

Although it may sound cliche, we are truly our worst enemies. Most of life is a mind game and the person to control it is no one but yourself. You make the choice of being a pessimist or and optimist, and with that decision you see the world in different ways. It could be a lovely place filled with hope and dream fulfillment, or it could be a shit hole filled with nothing but disappointment. It's all about your view, really. The next time you set your mind to something, make sure there are good thoughts to go with it. No matter how hard it is to do, when you take the time to think positively, life will take the time to give positive results.

"Let's be honest. Sometimes there is nothing harder in life than being happy for somebody else." -Sex & The City

Todays world is a very selfish place. Although it may seem harmless, we always feel that our own happiness are greater then the ones of our neighbors. Sometimes the best way to make yourself happy is to see someone else happy, even if it has no personal benefits. Its easy to say but really hard to do. In todays world its very easy to put on blinders and forget the world around you, especially when you don't want to to see it. but when you take them off and see someone else being happier, it hits you where it hurts. Everyone wants to be happiest, have the most fun, have the most friends, or even have the most money. When you don't win jealousy does. The world would a better place if jealousy wasn't the green giant lurking behind every corner, because he gets the best of us.

"The question, how does a girl who jumps into a rabbit hole plummeting into chaos come out unchanged.. the answer- she doesn't." -Little Black Book

No matter what the situation is, no matter how big or small, consequential or inconsequential, you can't help but be changed by it. Every second of the day you become a different person. A memory may be forgotten or made in less then a moment, and that moment is the beginning of a new you... which ends in a millisecond. Every experience in your life alters the outcome of who you will be. It makes you stronger and changes the views you hold of the world. When something dramatic happens, you aren't affected in the time immediately followed, but carry the baggage until kingdom comes. How you choose to deal with the experience and change afterward is of you own decision but its something you have to accomplish.

"its never easy to understand why memories hold our hand, but people let go"

Memories are always kinder than reality. They serve to remind you of better times when the moments you're living don't seem to par up to the past. There are times when all you want to do it close your eyes re-play certain days or times as if they were a movie. But when you open your eyes, nothing is the same. The truth is that people move on, while memories remain. Memories serve to haunt you until you are strong enough to not need them anymore. All in all, memories are kind, when people are not. They show you the best of what you had, and tend to hide the worst. Someday people will find a way to resist that walk on memory lane, but until then we will take our sweet time taking that stroll.

"To ease another's heartache is to forget one's own." -Abraham Lincoln

Everyone has his or her pity stories. Stories specifically designed to make your lives sound just as miserable and pathetic as the person next to you. At the completion of the tales of woe, the usually reaction is "awe, i'm so sorry" or "how did you ever survive?" while you add a sniffle or sob to add to the drama factor. Try this for a change. Instead of matching the pain, try and remove it... not only from their lives, but yours as well. A listening ear goes a long way, and words of wisdom go farther. Put someone else's needs in front of your own, and help ease someone else's heartache instead of basking in the glory of yours. You may just learn to appreciate the true value of your experiences, and perhaps... when the time comes... someone will help you ease your heartache too.

"Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." -Henry Ford

The Little Engine That Could has been on the right track for years. He made his way up mountains and across miles of land saying "I think I can, I think I can". Low and behold... he could! If he had switched his chant a little and said "I think I can't, I think I can't" he most likely wouldn't have been so successful. Success is for the majority all a mental game. You set yourself up to win or lose primarily by your mind set. Granted, just thinking positive thoughts don't guarantee you a winning lotto ticket or an A on your report card, but think about this... could it hurt? The answer is no. When in doubt believe in yourself, because if you don't you may be cheating yourself out of happiness.

"Never have a wishbone where your backbone ought to be" -Unknown

Every child knows the trick. Wish on a shooting star, wait for 11:11 to roll around, pray to whatever god you believe in, or even "hands up, feet up, make a wish" as you drive over a railroad track in order make all of your dreams come true. All of these tricks, as clever as they may be, trick you out of a future. If you want something to happen, make it happen. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing your dreams come true... and knowing that you were the person to make it happen. Sometimes fate has a way of making everything okay, but sometimes a person's own free will can have the same effect.