Showing posts with label American Idol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American Idol. Show all posts

3.05.2010

Positivity

I've written about my mom before, and how her life wasn't always easy. She was born in Lubbock, Texas and lived there as a young child. Her life was simple, filled with challenges, and her family didn't have much. But she never looked back at her childhood negatively. As a young teenager, her family moved to Temple, Texas. Things were a little bit better for awhile. Her mom worked as a waitress and her dad drove and oil truck. But, like many things in life, stuff happens. Her dad committed suicide when my mom was fifteen and her mom died of breast cancer a few years later. My mom ended up moving to CA and marrying my dad. My life growing up was pretty simple. My dad worked for Edison, my mom worked part time for awhile when my sister and I were teenagers. But the one thing I always, always remember about my mom was that she was such a positive person! Living through everything she did, including the Depression, she was a positive person. As a child she would sing all the time, stupid little songs. She always sang the song, "High Hopes", think Frank Sintra recorded it. Never did a day go by while growing up that she wasn't singing happy, positive little songs. My mom stayed positive her entire life, even right up to the time she died. Never complaining about her pain, she just accepted life. Her love of music was passed on to me, and I try to pass that on to Riley & Morgan as well. Music and those that perform and write it is the very best dose of positivity I could ever ask for. I'm a big fan of American Idol. There, I admitted it. I like it obviously because of the music. But also love to watch it because it is about young people working as positively as they can to make their dreams come true! As I watched last night, I was really thrilled to see Danny Gokey come back and perform his new song. For us "Idol" fans, I think you remember how Danny had lost his wife at a young age. But instead of choosing to let life pass him by, he turned it all around. Here are the words to my new favorite song, "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me"!

Blowing out the candles
on another birthday cake
Old enough to look back and laugh at my mistakes
Young enough to look at the future and like what I see
My best days are ahead of me

Life hasn't always been a party
but mostly it's been good
There's only one or two things that I'd change if I could
I don't get lost in the past or get stuck in some sad memory yah
My best days are ahead of me

Age is nothing but a number
Sometimes I have to wonder
What does it really mean
But heeeey im still putting it together
I keep getting better
if I keep getting better
I can be whatever I want to be
My best days are ahead of me

Age is nothing but a number
Sometimes I have to wonder
What does it really mean
But heeeey im still putting it together
I keep getting better
if I keep getting better
I can be whatever I want to be
My best days are ahead of me

I've got sunsets to witness
dreams to dance with
beaches to walk on
and lovers to kiss
there's a whole lot of world out there
that I can't wait to see
My best days are ahead of me
My best days are ahead of me


To me, this was such a message of positive thinking! Life for so many of us right now is just a day at a time. But I promise you, if you add just a tiny bit of positivity into each of your days, every little thing will be a whole lot better!

5.21.2009

Respecting Differences

Almost every morning, if I have time, I like to start my day by reading blogs. One of my favorite blogs is one written by Jenny Doh. Her post this morning really got my brain in high gear and made me start thinking about two words she used, "respecting differences". If you really think about it, that is something that is very hard to do in certain areas of life. When I look at the picture above, I see a dad, giving his daughter a hug while her sister watches. Then I'm reminded that this dad is different because he is our President. But sadly, there are those that see the color of his skin, and because of skin color "choose" not to support him. I have a very hard time when it comes to "respecting difference" when it comes to being prejudiced. I am a dorky American Idol fan. I've always loved music of all kinds, and I just really get into this show! As those of you that are like me, last night was the big night, the winner of Idol was announced. It seemed that Adam had this locked down, but it turned out that Kris won, the dark horse. I always felt in the back of my mind that he may be the one to win it all, although Adam was so good. I was excited, and then I got an email from my friend Malisa. She felt that Adam may have lost because he is gay. For me, I was kind of blown away because I had never thought about that. And then sadly, I realized she may have been right! Adam is a really talented singer, and as he said in an interview this morning he thought it was nice for Idol to have someone in the top two that was a "non cookie cutter type". How do I learn to start "respecting differences" when people don't like someone because of their sexual preference? Above is Riley, with her friends, and my little baby's; Ari,Josalyn, and Azul. They are all buddies, they all play together. It doesn't matter what color their skin is, they are just little buddies, that simple. I pray that they never have to struggle with what I am struggling with now. How do I ever find a way, a means to "respecting differences" when it comes to being prejudiced?