JSL

Find someone who makes your cheeks hurt. Someone who will not allow you to frown. That is the kind of person you should want to be around. 

This blog is titled Just Start Laughing (Because You Can) for a reason. When k first titles this blog, the only reason I named it Just Start Laughing is because it fit with the initials of my name. After I started blogging, and found that I really enjoyed it, it took on a new meaning. 

Laughing is something that I believe everyone should do more than they think is necessary, and even more than what is appropriate at some times. Because laughter is something pure. It is the best antidote for turning your days around. If someone makes you laugh while you are sitting there sobbing, you instantly stop crying and revert to sniffling, which is not quite as bad. 

However, when those bad days occur, the hardest part is allowing yourself to laugh. When people are in bad moods we tend to become very stubborn. We do not allow ourselves to be happy for some reason. Things happen and the tunnel you are walking through seems to be getting darker rather than lighter, and sometimes seems as though it is never-ending, but there are some people who can change that for you. These people are the lights along the path, who give you hope that the end is near. Finding someone who can one, put up with you while you slug your way through the tunnel, and two want to go out of their way to make you smile are the best kind of people. You are going to doubt yourself. There are many out there who claim to want the best for you but quickly show you their actual intentions. I am telling you that good people are out there, I promise. These people are extremely hard to find though, so when you find someone who can make you just start laughing, hold on to them. These people are the ones who make high school worth it. 

JSL

The End Of Teenagers.

 The end is near. I can see it approaching quickly. Some day soon there will be no lessons that have been learned in our "rebellious teenage years". We will never get to experience the thrill of making mistakes because of this terrible phenomenon that is occurring. Teenagers will take the place of gossip magazines and policemen and people in politics. Do you not see it? The precious time as teenagers is being lost due to this, this, THING, that is engulfing us. It magnifies every, single, mistake someone makes. Your private conversations, pictures, thoughts, ideas, are no longer things you can keep to yourself. We cannot help it. We are just drawn to it and it is just spreading like a virus.

With no vaccine.

When it has taken over all of the teenagers left in the world, the world will look like a very different place. Only a select few will make mistakes, and they will be shunned and become outsiders of our society. Everyone else will become vultures. Watching, waiting, ready to swoop in on the next headline of someone's mistake. And they have no choice but to become vultures, because if they do not, they too will be singled out for not doing what everyone else has deemed "right". 

My parents never tell me about all the mistakes they made when they were my age. My aunts and uncles, on the other hand, that is another story. Part of me wants to think that they want me to learn from my own mistakes, but I can not shake the feeling that that is not the case. What if this, THING, is working on the parent's side. They never cease to stop complaining about how it is taking over, but what if it is helping them? They no longer have to worry about their children sneaking around or doing things they are not supposed to because this, THING, is attached to their hip. Parents know that their children care about what other people think of them, whether they admit to it or not, and are forced into doing the right thing because any mistake they make will be broadcasted to everyone they know, and many more whine with which they have never met. 

Social media is the disease and our smart phones are the carriers. 

Everything we do, everyone can see.

Friends.

Family.

Teachers.

Followers that you've never met.

Younger kids looking up to you.

Coaches.

Colleges.

Future employers.

Are people okay with that? They continue to post things like they do not consider it a disease, but how long will it take before start to care again? Will it be too late, and we will all have no choice but to turn into vultures? Will this whole generation be shunned by the next to come?

But even if all this is happening, what do we do?

JSL

TTYL.

One of the hardest things to do in life is to say goodbye. Even when we see individuals every single day of the week, it is still difficult to say goodbye. Even though we are all connected by apps on our phones that can connect us in an instant. We are given the chance to call our grandparents everyday but yet sometimes it is still hard to say goodbye. This is not something that is new. When I was I little girl, most kids would cry when they had to leave their parents I would cry when I had to leave my grandparents. Do not get me wrong, I love my parents very much but I would always have so much fun on the farm. I loved it there and I never wanted to leave. It was always so hard to say goodbye.

Just like it was hard then it is still hard now, whenever my friend comes back from college, it makes me so sad to watch her leave. Or when I get to see my friend who now lives in Florida, the fantastic weekend comes to a bitter end when I have to let them go back. I could call whenever I wanted too, check in whenever I had the chance, but for some reason life usually gets in the way. We cherish the moments we have with the people we love, and the reason it is so hard to say goodbye is because we do not know then we will get the chance to see them again, to be able to spend quality time with them again. Our lives prevent us from spending time with the things we hold dear. I do not believe that saying goodbye is ever going to get any easier. Maybe for one person in our lives it will, because we will decide to never have to say goodbye to them and they will put a circle around one of your fingers. And one day you will joke around to your kids that you wish you could some days, but until we make that one exception, goodbyes will always have a sour taste, Maybe as our generations continue to get smarter and smarter, they will find something to make them a little better, bittersweet perhaps. Until then, make time to spend time and talk to those who matter to you. 

JSL

Just Call.

I have this skill that many people that my age have, I can text without looking. I have obtained this skill by walking in the hallways and not wanting to run into people, I have to keep eye contact with someone to be polite in a conversation, make the teacher think that there is nothing in my lap, yet while I still have to do these things I am able to answer someone in a text. My mother is someone who is fantastic at typing very quickly, as are many people of her generation. I believe every generation has a skill that develops with the technology of their day and age. My grandparents could probably read newspapers really fast or were the stealthiest when passing notes in class.
Back to my wonderful talent. I believe that the reason I have developed this skill is because people are used to getting information quickly. Whenever we are in an area of low service connection or no wifi, you would think the world was coming to and end. That reaction is something that I am guilty of as well, a long with many of my peers. Our greatest talents may be viewed as one of our greatest weaknesses if you think about it. However, there are some days where the dizziness of the rapid information flooding my brain forces me to take a step back from it all. There have been many instances where I would rather sit and talk on the phone all day long with one person, or have a close friend over to actually speak to one another then be constantly connected to everyone at once. Actually talking to some is so important and so valuable that I fear that with every passing day it is slipping away with the society I see around me. Although I see people becoming more and more engulfed in their phones every day, I do believe that I am not the only one out there that sees the importance in talking. The call app in our phones is not something that everyone has forgotten about.

JSL

Up On the Housetop.

Santa Claus is coming to town alright. His jolly face can be seen on top of rooftops and in advertisements in the mall listing dates of his appearances. Even before the turkey has left the table the thought of Christmas has already flooded the minds of all parents and gift givers everywhere. 

I hate to break the news that Santa was run out of work by the growing desire of parents to get things for their kids. For some reason they think that they would know their kids and what they want better than Santa and his elves would. There is no arguing that Christmas season is growing larger and larger every year. People do not wait until Black Friday to do all their shopping. But when Black Friday comes around, people can be scary. There is a website that tracks the number of deaths and injuries in the United States just for that day. People are crazy about the sales. They shop until they drop with their bags full of, things. Things? Is that really what all the fuss is about? Stuff? The Christmas industry is booming because individuals are obsessed with materialistic things. Not that that is a bad thing, it stimulates the economy. And it will continue until we stop innovating, because there will always be something new that people want. As long as our generations keep getting smarter and smarter there will continue to be new generations of smarter and smarter versions of Iphones.

But think about this question, why do we ask for things that will only satisfy us until the next new thing comes around? Rather than asking our parents for yet another expensive thing that will only last so long, why should we not ask for things that mean more from our family and work for the things we want in life. Hand written letters filled with stories of our parents childhoods, your grandma's recipes, a list of things that your friends love about you. When we count our blessings, we do not count how many electronics we have, how many flat screens or how great our car is, we count the things that matter most to us. So why do we not change what Christmas means in today's society? Oh yea, that darn economy. 

JSL