Thoughtful Thursday | Comparison

Through most of my teenage years, I found myself constantly wishing.

I wish I was pretty like her. I wish I had a nice car like him. I wish I could drop a few pounds to look more like her. I wish I was rich like that celebrity. I wish my hair could look like that model's in the magazine. I wish, I wish, I wish...

I was never happy because I was too often wishing to be someone that I'm not. It wasn't until fairly recently that I realized just how grateful I should be, because I am me. If we spend our lives comparing ourselves to others, there will be no time to appreciate what we do have, and we will never be happy. So stop comparing! I know, it's hard - I still have trouble with it. Try this:

Right now, name five things in your life that you are grateful for. C'mon, just do it!

Good. Now list five qualities that you like about yourself. I know, this one can be hard at first, but it get's easier as you learn to love who you are!

Whenever you find yourself wishing, just think about five things. It will help, I guarantee it!

#11 - Messy Twister

Last week, we all gathered at a local elementary school. The paint was packed, the twister board was brought, and our clothes were far too clean for comfort. Once the classic Seattle rain died down, we set up the game and poured the paint.

"Right hand yellow."

Slap. Dezi was clearly excited to get messy, and paint splattered up into all of our faces. Let the games begin.

Mollie and I after game #1

If you don't know what messy twister is, let me explain. All you need is a twister board, a spinner, and a few bottles of paint that match the colors of the circles on the board. Pour the paint onto the corresponding circles, and have at it! You can even change up the commands to make the game interesting. Here are a few that we had to follow:

• Left ear yellow
• Forehead green
• Left butt blue
• Right forearm green

By the end of the game, we were plenty messy and decided to turn the board into a painted slip 'n slide. But to all my readers, learn from our mistake and make sure you have somewhere nearby to clean off! We couldn't get back in the car and had to walk all the way home, then hosed off in the front yard. The looks we got from passing cars were priceless. I think it's safe to say I've played enough messy twister to last me a lifetime!

View the rest of my bucket list here!

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#6 - Backpacking Trip

I love hiking, and there are so many beautiful destinations in the Pacific Northwest! Two of my friends had never been overnight backpacking before, so I took them on an easy 3-mile round trip hike last summer. It took a bit of preparation and planning, but we had a blast. This year, we decided to continue the tradition!

Pratt lake is located in the central Cascades, slightly west of Eastern Washington. It has an elevation gain of 1530 feet and is a whopping 11 miles round trip. There are tons of streams and bridges to cross over on the way to the lake, and a few amazing views. Once we got about eight miles in, the trail started a steep decline into switchbacks. The entire time down the mountain, I was thinking, "Crap, I'm going to have to climb back up this tomorrow..." Luckily, it soon evened out as we started walking along a huge rocky mountainside. By this time, we could see the lake, but it was only a teaser seeing as we still had another couple miles to go.

Finally, we reached the lake, and it was beautiful! We set up camp, explored the area, and then started making dinner. Little did we know, our box of noodles needed milk and butter, but water made a decent substitute. And let's face it, I would've ate anything after six miles of hiking! After devouring some s'mores and hanging all our food up in a tree, my warm sleeping bag was like heaven on earth.

Although the hike back up those switchbacks was grueling, it's worth it for the sense of accomplishment you feel when you reach the trail head once more. Time to start planning for next year!

Video coming soon! It's all edited, but I'm just hashing out some technical difficulties in the exporting process. Stay tuned!

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#14 - Go Geocaching

This past Wednesday, Shannon and I decided to go geocaching, as it was on both of our summer bucket lists. Compared to skydiving, we assumed that this should be easy enough! To the contrary, it proved to be quite the feat considering neither of us had smart phones or a GPS. We were able to narrow down the area enough by looking at a map, but it still wasn't sufficient. We ended up on a nice paved hiking trail in town that contained two caches. Each time we went poking around in the bushes, the passerby's reactions were a bit concerned. Unfortunately, we weren't able to locate any hidden treasures, but we did stumble upon a nice little lake and a family of ducklings that we couldn't help but share our lunch with!

At this point, I wasn't sure if I was allowed to cross this item off my bucket list seeing as we didn't find anything. This confusion quickly resolved last night when Shannon and I were at a friends house in Seattle. She remembered stumbling upon a nearby cache by accident, so we quickly sought it out and snapped a picture with it. Inside the bottle was a plastic lizard, as well as a small notebook and a pen. We mimicked those before us and recorded our names and the date in the notebook, and returned the bottle to it's hiding spot. Finally, I felt accomplished enough to cross this one off my list!

 

To view the rest of my summer bucket list, click here!

 

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#12 - Get My License

I don't know how it works where you come from, but where I'm from, everyone takes drivers ed, gets their license at 16, and is driving themselves to school by their sophomore or junior year of high school. So it's pretty pathetic that I'm getting my license at 19, but that's how it works in my family. We don't have the money to put everyone through drivers ed, so you have to wait until you're at least 18 to get your license. And since I wouldn't have a car in college, I just didn't bother getting it last summer. But I was tired of asking people for rides, and being known as that one friend without her license, so I wanted to get it before I left for Florida.

I had my permit for four years before getting my license, so the driving test was not too difficult for me. Not to mention the fact that I totally aced parallel parking, and in a car that I had only driven twice before! But it is so handy to be able to drive myself places, as I have a lot to get done before I leave next week. Jeez, I can't believe it's August already. And to think, in a mere ten days, I'll be in Orlando getting ready to check into my hotel for the night. Wow!

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