abandoned? i think not.

Holy dang. Where have I been these past two months? Not on blogger, apparently. That much is clear for sure. So, if I haven't been on blogger, where have I been? ...

EVERYWHERE.

Not even kidding. Life as a teenager, while some say is lax, chill, spontaneous, etc, is very NOT those things when you're a teenager with the job of making sure a good yearbook is printed for the entire student body of your school in May. Yeah... when you have pages, the cover, and fundraising to take charge of, you don't really have much time to be 'lax' or 'chill'. Let alone spontaneous! But, rest assured my fellow bloggers. I have not died! Just thought I'd let you know I'm alive and well. :D And as for the yearbook, we're making some serious progress! Our cover design, (which I'm still in the process of planning and executing) is due next Friday. Oh joy. And then, there's the 50-some people I'm in charge of... If they don't get their pages done on time, I get the crap for it. I swear, if I have high blood pressure, it's definitely due to the stress of yearbook. Alas, I cannot complain. I'm loving every second of it. And all that stress? It's just part of the job(:

I'm worried. Concerned, alarmed, shaken... You name it. I live in a good, wholesome community. That much I know. But even in the best of communities, you always have that one slew of friends... The ones who are into drugs and other things waaay beyond their years. The ones I'd personally never EVER want to associate myself with. Because I, simply, am just not like that one bit. And I have good friends. Who are ALSO not like that. If they were, I would not be their friend. However, one of my absolute best friends in the world has been showing signs that they're starting to experiment with drugs. It makes me extremely sad that she's even having thoughts about doing drugs, let alone physically doing them. I'm worried. We've talked openly about her struggles and what's been leading her to experiment, but I know she's still doing them. I just want my friend back.

It's getting colder... Even here, down south. I have to say, I miss summer already. I cannot wait for the days when the harsh winter chill leaves our lives for another year, and glimpses of summer are noticeable. Yes. Those are the days!

half joking always turns into something great

That's what happened a few months ago. I should preface this post by saying that my mom is literally my best friend. She's the only one I can go to with anything and I know that not only will all my secrets be safe with her, but that she will never judge me because of anything I say or do. I love that she's so bluntly honest. If I say something that shocks her, confuses her, makes her angry, or disappoints her, she says so. And I so very much appreciate that, because it makes me a better person. And on the other hand, whenever she's happy for me, proud of me, or pleasantly shocked, she says so :) My mom is the best person I know. I love my mom :)

So, anyways, a few months ago, I was asking my mom about some things... Our conversation went something like this...

Me: Mom, can we travel?

Mom: What do you mean?

Me: Like... To someplace exotic... Someplace far, far away? Ooo like Thailand. Or Ireland! Or *contented sigh* Greece.

Mom: *laughs* Someday we will!

Me: I really want to travel. Really bad!

Mom: I know you do.

*silence* (I was thinking about Ireland and all the other places I wanted to visit.)
Mom: I know what you should do!

Me: What?

Mom: When you grow up... You should write for a travel magazine and travel around the world and take pictures and write articles about all the places you visit!

*my eyes lit up to the size of Texas and I ran around the room in little circles, screaming and thinking about all the fun that would be*

Me: You're brilliant!

So, I had my heart set on doing just that. I did research. I made a list. I picked out (in order, I might add) the countries I wanted to visit and what I wanted to do in each one, and compiled a report. (Yes... I know... When I get into something, I get really into it.) Unfortunately, no plans that I know of are in the works to go to any of these places any time soon, but I will always have my faith :)

Here's my re-re-re-re-re-vised list....

1) Galway, Ireland
2) Phuket, Thailand
3) Santorini, Greece (Yes, where the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was filmed :])
4. Venice, Italy
5. London, England (I hear it's a photographer's DREAM!)
6. L.A., California
7. Cannon Beach, Oregon
8. Paris, France
9. Maui, Hawaii
10. Slovenia
11. Milan, Italy
12. Buenos Aires, Argentina

My goal is to visit all of these places one day... And so so many more!

Hello! And May I Say... Welcome :)

Hello :)

Welcome to Naturally Youthful! This is my first official blog post, and ohmigoodness, I am extremely excited to be beginning the blogging process. I've always wanted to become a blogger. I would like to thank you for embarking on this journey with me! Your support means wonders to me. More than you'll ever know. So, thank you.

Well, the purpose of my blog is to celebrate being young and full of life. No matter how old we are, we are ALWAYS full of life. In my opinion, however, sometimes as we get older, we forget we're so full of life. That truly is a shame. I recently saw a movie with three of my best friends called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, based on the best-selling book series by Ann Brashares. Goodness, that woman has some serious talent. Her books changed my life! They made me realize what is truly important in this world. While watching the movie with three of my best friends, Bailie, the character from the story who has leukemia said something that really had an impact on me... She says "I don't know, Tibby. Being happy doesn't mean having everything in your life be perfect. It's about stringing together all the little things. Making those count for more than the bad stuff." She hit the nail on the head! I couldn't have said it any better even if I tried. So, as I conclude my first official blog post, I'd like to leave you with this... Start stringing together all of your "little things". It just might change your life :)