Hey guys! (for those of you still tuning in...) I know it's been a while, but I've FINALLY returned with another peak into the twisty-turny mind that is yours truly. I have lots of ideas of stuff I want to talk about it's just putting those ideas into the right words, you know? I'm sure you writers out there understand. Haha. So. I hope you guys have been well and had a safe Labor Day last week. Oh! Also school started for me! I've started my major classes and am taking classes like 2-D Design and Drawing 1. And Art History. And classes like that. This school's art department is incredible and has some amazing talent in it, not including myself. My stuff is okay, but everyone else's work is just stellar.
So last week for Labor Day, my family and I visited Orlando, Florida to exercise our season passes to Universal Studios. Besides being completely drenched in the mandatory daily 15-minute torrential downpour Florida seems to NEED, then being forced to sit in an air-conditioned Bubba Gump restaurant for over an hour, it was a completely wonderful experience! I finally got to see the new addition to the Harry Potter universe: Diagon Alley and folks. It was absolutely incredible. So. Much. Detail. Into EVERYTHING. I didn't get to ride the new Gringotts ride but... NEXT TIME.
Being in Orlando also meant plenty of time to sit in traffic. (In fact Ms. Cindy Davis and I traveled about 12 miles in the course of 50 MINUTES trying to get to Downtown Disney.) Coming to a really large city, such as Orlando and going to theme parks really makes me realize just how many people there are in the world. And I know that's a fairly gross understatement. 'Duh, Hailey. There's 7 billion people in the world.' Yeah I know, but 7 billion is the kind of number that doesn't really seem real until you see what just 100,000 people looks like. (Spoiler: it's a LOT of people.) I come from a really small town where I know just about everybody and I go to school in a fairly small town. College was a bit of an eye opener to me because I found that everyday, I never saw the same face twice. And to others I am that same passing face that they see walking around on campus. They know nothing about me: my upbringing, my family, my circumstances, and I don't know anything about them. But coming to a huge city such as Orlando where there are hundreds of thousands of people - FAMILIES sometimes of 15 to 20 people - are visiting places like Disney World and Universal Studios. Then there are the people that actually live this HUGE city. There's always a line for everything in this town: traffic, restaurants, rides, even the BATHROOM. I'm not complaining; with this many people crammed into one city, there are bound to be lines. Here I am sitting in bumper to bumper traffic with my family of four visiting Orlando for Labor Day. My parents are happily married, my sister is a sophomore in high school and I'm a sophomore in college. That's our story. What about these other thousands of cars and the people inside them? Is this their first time to Orlando? Are they from a different country? Are they rich or poor? How long did they have to save up to come to the bustling city of Orlando, Florida? Is their home situation a good one? Do they actually live here? Everyone here has their own life, story, family and circumstances just like me. A part of me wishes I could know these peoples' stories. I think about it all the time on interstates and highways too. I pass a car and wonder what their story is. Do they have crazy grandparents like me? Are they late to meet their parents? Or significant other? With over 7 BILLION people on this Earth, of course I won't know everyone's stories. But Heavenly Father does. He knows everything about everyone: our interests, our fears, the desires of our hearts, our past, present and future. And it completely boggles my mind. He knows me, my family, my friends and their families, these foreign families we walk past at theme parks with the screaming children, the locals, and all those people I pass on the interstate. Our Heavenly Father knows and loves every single one of us on this Earth. Everyone how has come, the 7 billion+ on this earth right now, and all those who will come. Not only does he know all of this about us, but he LOVES us ALL. Unconditionally. I marvel to know that I am loved by an all-knowing, all-loving, just God. And so are you. As for me, even though I sit here among hundreds of thousands of people and I can't know their stories, I'll still love them just the same. I'll treat them like the human beings they are.
Sorry again about the space between entries. I've been bouncing around ideas for weeks about what to post next. Thank you Cindy Davis for encouraging me to make this my next entry. Friendlies, know that you are important. No, you can't know everyone on this planet, but there are people in your life who do know and love and care for you. So know, love and care back. Take care of yourselves. And be good to yourselves, okay? You're the only you you've got. I'm off to go ponder some more.
See you next time guys!
Hailey
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
"Be proud of your place in the cosmos. It is small and yet... it IS."
Hello again! I'm not sure if anyone has actually found my blog yet. I don't know how this whole thing works. I just write. Haha. Anyway. I'm back again to talk about something that has been on my mind lately and has given me a lot of trouble at times, and comfort at others. This is really important to me, and probably a topic that everyone wonders at some point in their lives: our existence and our place in the world/universe.
This past May and June I had the opportunity to take an Astronomy class in order to satisfy my last science requirement for school. I was always interested in space, so I was immediately drawn to the class. However, upon my experience in the class, despite the incredible knowledge of the universe I gained, I couldn't help but continuously marvel at the incredible vastness and enormity of the universe. No joke. I can't really put it into words, but a photo called "Our Cosmic Address" gives you an idea of just how large everything is:
Our planet, the Earth is contained in a solar system of 8 planets (sorry, Pluto). Four terrestrial planets, four gas giants. We are the 4th SMALLEST planet in our solar system alone. Our system is placed among other systems in the galaxy. Our galaxy is placed among groups of galaxies, and these groups are placed among superclusters of galaxies! The vastness is never-ending. Scientists have discovered that there are 100 BILLION stars in our galaxy alone. And that there are roughly that many galaxies that exist outside of our own "small galaxy". If there are about 100 billion stars in each galaxy, that gives us a total of 10^22 stars in the observable universe. That doesn't begin to describe the planets (large and small), moons, asteroids, comets, etc. Then their's us. A mere 7 billion individuals on the one planet in our solar system that supports life the way it does. I sat in my astronomy class feeling utterly insignificant. And do you blame me? I am one person in a huge (but not so huge) world. Then there are things outside of this world billions of billions times larger than me.
After the class was over, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why everything was so big. Why am I so small? Why are there so many people? There are over 7 billion people on this earth and just one small human living in a small town in a small(ish) state. How do I feel important in my everyday life with these huge numbers floating above my head. And I found there are two ways you can look at the vastness of the universe: marvel and exist. The universe is an amazing, breath taking place and action ever moving forward and backward. It is a fountain of constant knowledge flowing for those who are eager and willing to learn it.
In the teachings of the LDS Church, there is a precept we believe that holds the answers to questions that come from our feelings of insignificance. "Why am I here?" "Where did I come from?" "If there is a God, why would he care about me?" This precept is called the Plan of Happiness. Before the huge universe I've described above was created, EVERYONE, every spirit to ever come on the earth (past, present, and future) lived with our Heavenly Father as spirit children. He created a plan for us to determine who was worthy to live among him and who was not, and the plan was the Plan of Happiness. Basically, we would come to Earth to be tested: to go through trials, learn lessons, etc. and when it was time for Final Judgement, Heavenly Father would judge us based on our decisions.
My point in bringing this up is to focus on the part where we are on this earth. We are here to be tested. To go through good times and bad times. Life will be hard. And ugly and unfortunate at times. But believe me when I say that this life is a beautiful place as well. The test is why we are all here. There is a reason all of us are here. Out of all the spirits that was chosen to come to Earth at this time, YOU are here and YOU are living. The universe is great and all, but it is down here where we live that matters right here and now. Everything is so big and beautiful, including your existence. Heavenly Father loves you and knows you as one of his children. You are an actual child of God. One of my favorite pastimes at the moment is listening to a peculiar podcast by the name of Welcome to Night Vale. It's a kind of quirky, darkly humorous radio show for the fictional desert town of Night Vale; and despite the fact that it's considered comedic horror, it is quite the insightful show. It touches on things like existence, time, space, self, etc. and one thing that stood out to me in the most recent episode, Old Oak Doors Part B, is when Cecil (the narrator) states:
"Be proud of your place in the cosmos. It is small and yet, it is. How unlikely! How fantastic! And stupid. And excellent."
That statement really hit home with me and is the title of this entry because I believe it so strongly. Our place here among the stars, planets, people, clouds, time, and space is small. But be proud that you are here. Because it is both unlikely and fantastic that you are here. Make the most of your time here. You are important and significant. We all lead different lives and are important and significant to someone in them. Remember that when you look around and you feel small and insignificant. It's okay to feel small, but remember when it's Christmas time and all the really, really awesome presents come in the small packages? Or the small, little things we do for one another to show we care? It's the small things that make a big difference. If you feel small it's okay because YOU make a big difference. YOU count. YOU matter. I really hope I got across what I was trying to say. Thanks again for reading guys! See you next time.
Remember to be proud that you exist.
Hailey
This past May and June I had the opportunity to take an Astronomy class in order to satisfy my last science requirement for school. I was always interested in space, so I was immediately drawn to the class. However, upon my experience in the class, despite the incredible knowledge of the universe I gained, I couldn't help but continuously marvel at the incredible vastness and enormity of the universe. No joke. I can't really put it into words, but a photo called "Our Cosmic Address" gives you an idea of just how large everything is:
After the class was over, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why everything was so big. Why am I so small? Why are there so many people? There are over 7 billion people on this earth and just one small human living in a small town in a small(ish) state. How do I feel important in my everyday life with these huge numbers floating above my head. And I found there are two ways you can look at the vastness of the universe: marvel and exist. The universe is an amazing, breath taking place and action ever moving forward and backward. It is a fountain of constant knowledge flowing for those who are eager and willing to learn it.
In the teachings of the LDS Church, there is a precept we believe that holds the answers to questions that come from our feelings of insignificance. "Why am I here?" "Where did I come from?" "If there is a God, why would he care about me?" This precept is called the Plan of Happiness. Before the huge universe I've described above was created, EVERYONE, every spirit to ever come on the earth (past, present, and future) lived with our Heavenly Father as spirit children. He created a plan for us to determine who was worthy to live among him and who was not, and the plan was the Plan of Happiness. Basically, we would come to Earth to be tested: to go through trials, learn lessons, etc. and when it was time for Final Judgement, Heavenly Father would judge us based on our decisions.
My point in bringing this up is to focus on the part where we are on this earth. We are here to be tested. To go through good times and bad times. Life will be hard. And ugly and unfortunate at times. But believe me when I say that this life is a beautiful place as well. The test is why we are all here. There is a reason all of us are here. Out of all the spirits that was chosen to come to Earth at this time, YOU are here and YOU are living. The universe is great and all, but it is down here where we live that matters right here and now. Everything is so big and beautiful, including your existence. Heavenly Father loves you and knows you as one of his children. You are an actual child of God. One of my favorite pastimes at the moment is listening to a peculiar podcast by the name of Welcome to Night Vale. It's a kind of quirky, darkly humorous radio show for the fictional desert town of Night Vale; and despite the fact that it's considered comedic horror, it is quite the insightful show. It touches on things like existence, time, space, self, etc. and one thing that stood out to me in the most recent episode, Old Oak Doors Part B, is when Cecil (the narrator) states:
"Be proud of your place in the cosmos. It is small and yet, it is. How unlikely! How fantastic! And stupid. And excellent."
That statement really hit home with me and is the title of this entry because I believe it so strongly. Our place here among the stars, planets, people, clouds, time, and space is small. But be proud that you are here. Because it is both unlikely and fantastic that you are here. Make the most of your time here. You are important and significant. We all lead different lives and are important and significant to someone in them. Remember that when you look around and you feel small and insignificant. It's okay to feel small, but remember when it's Christmas time and all the really, really awesome presents come in the small packages? Or the small, little things we do for one another to show we care? It's the small things that make a big difference. If you feel small it's okay because YOU make a big difference. YOU count. YOU matter. I really hope I got across what I was trying to say. Thanks again for reading guys! See you next time.
Remember to be proud that you exist.
Hailey
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
this universe is incredible and i'm just starting to figure out why
I'd like to start out by saying never in my life have I ever had a blog. I've had a tumblr for about 3-4 years I guess but yeah. Nothing like this. So I'm terrified really excited to make an appearance on this wonderful site for the first time. So here goes:
My name is Hailey, to all of those who didn't know who I was. I live pretty much in the middle of nowhere in South Georgia (it's really not important, it's just really tiny), but I attend anot so little university a bit north of my hometown called Georgia Southern University. For the first about 8 months of my first year of the "college experience" I was an undeclared student. Unmarked, and seemingly unimportant in both the university's and the world's eyes. I have a hard time making really big life decisions. It wasn't until this past April I decided to join a few of my friends like my girl Cindy Davis in the Graphic Design program. My entire story of how I chose my school AND my major are both topics for another day, but yes. Officially, I am a graphic design major, theater minor. Credit hours wise I'm about half way through my sophomore year because I'm an overachiever and APs and summer classes, but in actuality... I'm beginning my second year away from home in August. I absolutely love college. It's a wonderful experience where I've learned so much in and out of the classroom. Tales of my adventures will follow soon.
Being deeply interested in a plethora of subjects all over the spectrum comes with the territory of being indecisive and just having a thirst for knowledge. AN EXTREME THIRST. Among my many interests, subjects that come to the forefront of my mind are things like: art, self-expression, music, happiness, philosophy, psychology, religion, health and wellness, design of every kind, writing, inspiration, food, etc.
(Admittedly, I am almost stealing Cindy's format of her first post because I don't want to be all over the place. Cindy has a quality blog.) An important part of who I am is my religion. I was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or for those of you unfamiliar with that name, the Mormon religion. I love everything about my church and am still learning things about it to this day. A big purpose for me writing this blog is to give inspired writing to all of those who would like to read it and absolutely YES religion will be among them. If anybody has any questions or comments they want to give to me, they are welcome to ask. I'm not shy whatsoever. I love my religion. It's not a persona you put on just on Sunday. It is in everything you do. It is how you treat others and treat yourself. The Gospel (religion is a way of life that brings absolute joy to a person's life, and I've seen that joy in others and in my own life. I know this.
Since I've been away from home, away from my roots, I've gotten to meet new people, do new things, make new choices and be exposed to things I never imagined existed or would make an appearance in my life. Perhaps more than ever, I am at a loss of words for the number of thoughts I have bouncing around in my head about my adventures and the lessons learned from them. And even the thoughts I have just pondering in my brain sometimes. (You'll find that around 80% of the problems I rant about are either internal or self-inflicted. Oh well.) So this blog is to channel what words I can muster and present them as food for thought for all of you! Or to just me. (Maybe I'm all alone out here...hello...?) My goal is to enlighten/inspire/provoke some kind of positive emotion in your incredible lives.
Then there's the title of my blog: this universe is incredible and i'm just starting to figure out why. I mentioned the number of ideas I have on my mind for this blog, and they are all tied to the universe. Our existence. Love. Nature. Space. Time. People. Life. Death. Everything is tied to the universe and its design is absolutely amazing. The complex coils and inter-mechanisms are made of these and more, and this blog is just a way of me putting into mere words how, why, and what makes this universe so vast. so amazing. So incredible. I'm really looking forward to writing on this blog! Take care of yourselves guys!
Go explore something.
Till next time,
Hailey.
My name is Hailey, to all of those who didn't know who I was. I live pretty much in the middle of nowhere in South Georgia (it's really not important, it's just really tiny), but I attend a
Being deeply interested in a plethora of subjects all over the spectrum comes with the territory of being indecisive and just having a thirst for knowledge. AN EXTREME THIRST. Among my many interests, subjects that come to the forefront of my mind are things like: art, self-expression, music, happiness, philosophy, psychology, religion, health and wellness, design of every kind, writing, inspiration, food, etc.
(Admittedly, I am almost stealing Cindy's format of her first post because I don't want to be all over the place. Cindy has a quality blog.) An important part of who I am is my religion. I was born into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or for those of you unfamiliar with that name, the Mormon religion. I love everything about my church and am still learning things about it to this day. A big purpose for me writing this blog is to give inspired writing to all of those who would like to read it and absolutely YES religion will be among them. If anybody has any questions or comments they want to give to me, they are welcome to ask. I'm not shy whatsoever. I love my religion. It's not a persona you put on just on Sunday. It is in everything you do. It is how you treat others and treat yourself. The Gospel (religion is a way of life that brings absolute joy to a person's life, and I've seen that joy in others and in my own life. I know this.
Since I've been away from home, away from my roots, I've gotten to meet new people, do new things, make new choices and be exposed to things I never imagined existed or would make an appearance in my life. Perhaps more than ever, I am at a loss of words for the number of thoughts I have bouncing around in my head about my adventures and the lessons learned from them. And even the thoughts I have just pondering in my brain sometimes. (You'll find that around 80% of the problems I rant about are either internal or self-inflicted. Oh well.) So this blog is to channel what words I can muster and present them as food for thought for all of you! Or to just me.
Then there's the title of my blog: this universe is incredible and i'm just starting to figure out why. I mentioned the number of ideas I have on my mind for this blog, and they are all tied to the universe. Our existence. Love. Nature. Space. Time. People. Life. Death. Everything is tied to the universe and its design is absolutely amazing. The complex coils and inter-mechanisms are made of these and more, and this blog is just a way of me putting into mere words how, why, and what makes this universe so vast. so amazing. So incredible. I'm really looking forward to writing on this blog! Take care of yourselves guys!
Go explore something.
Till next time,
Hailey.
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