True Living.

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You call yourself a free spirit

"You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing," and you’re terrified somebody’s gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you’re already in that cage. You built it yourself."

— Edgar Allan Poe, Complete Writings

“I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind.”

Psychology and Friendships

The following psychological terms can be used to describe what happens in friendships.

1. Triangles – This is where 2 people strengthen the bond between them, or lessen insecurity and anxiety, by sharing complaints about a friend.

2. Emotional contagion - This is where we pick up the mood of those we are hanging out with. Thus, if they are feeling angry and negative, then we start to feel the same way, too.

3. The exposure effect - This is where people who spend time together find they start to like the same sorts of things (music, food, movies, clothes etc). They also rate each other more highly in terms of how nice or attractive the other person is.

4. The fundamental attribution error - This is where we overestimate the role of character traits and personality factors when someone we know does something wrong or stupid … But we overestimate the role of circumstances when it is us who has done something wrong or stupid!

5. Situation evocation - This refers to the fact that if we act is certain ways, people will respond or react in the same way, which then sets a cycle of “more of the same” in motion. For example, if I joke around, others will start being funny too, and then I’ll reply with something else light hearted and fun … and so on.

i have a hard time figuring out

i have a hard time figuring out if someone is willing to work with me from body to mind to heart and to the soul as i am for them. 

It’s not that everything will be easy or exactly as you had expected, but you must just choose to be grateful for all that you have, and happy that you got a chance to live this life, no matter how it turns out.

"Life will never be perfect, no matter how hard you try. Even if you pour your heart and soul into it, you will never have that perfection you seek. There will always be broken hearts, there will always be days where nothing goes right. But you must accept and learn that even the most imperfect things will always be made better with love and laughter. "
…don’t forget to smile okay :)

— Michelle K., Lessons Learned

“Perhaps the fact
that I chased a boy
who ripped me to shreds
says a lot more
about me
than it did about him.”

— Tilopa

“Have a mind that is open to everything, 

and attached to nothing.”

“Nothing in the world smells as good as the person you love.”

“What can you do to prepare yourself during your college years for the tests and trials of your life?

1. You must learn to work hard toward your goals, to pray for strength and guidance in your daily decisions, always acknowledging “Thy will be done.”

2. Study the scriptures, history, biographical literature, and psychology to give you an insight into how others have met life’s challenges and, with a testimony, endured to the end.

3. Select friends and an eternal companion from whom you can seek counsel and who will lift you and make it easier to live the commandments by just being together.

4. Learn to be of service and of help to others in their tests no matter how busy you are or how much you are hurting from your own tests and trials of faith.

5. Learn that even in a perfect life the tests and trials will come, but remember that you can bring affliction upon yourself and those near you through your own actions. Be willing to accept the consequences that come and don’t blame them on God.

6. Learn that when you have made a mistake, regrets are not enough. Feeling sorry is not enough unless your sorrow brings about a remorse of conscience and a change of heart resulting in true repentance.

7. Learn that true education is not only test scores and grade point averages, but also gaining wisdom through life’s experiences, listening to sound counsel, gaining an understanding in your heart, and caring for others less fortunate. Then, no amount of temptation, testing, trials, or coercion can make you depart from the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life.

8. Learn that in mortal probation you are here for tests and trials even though you live a perfect life.

9. Learn to know yourself while you are at the university. You are in a laboratory that simulates the world with individual competition and the inner stress of learning. There will never be a better time in your life to have the contemplation and introspection needed to know yourself. Take time to ponder who you are and act accordingly. General education requirements are given not only to give you a well-rounded education, but also to give you an opportunity to assess your intellectual and spiritual strengths and weaknesses. What are your God-given gifts and talents? (see D&C 46)”
— Robert D. Hales