The Essentials of an Eternal Companion: Attractive

This spring term I'm taking a class on marriage and family. Its been great to learn and reflect on things that are becoming more and more important in my life. For our class we have to write an "Essentials Paper": a rather informal paper that describes the qualities we feel are essential in our eternal companion.

Here's a start I'm working on:
    “One of the most beautiful, comforting doctrines of the Lord—one that brings immense peace, happiness, and unbounded joy—is that principle called eternal marriage.” The thing about eternal marriage is that it doesn’t just last for this lifetime - none of this “till death do us part” business; Eternal marriage lasts forever. With the consequences being eternal, who you marry for eternity is kind of a big deal. Given the severity of this decision and its impact on your eternal destiny, how do you go about selecting a mate? What is important? What should you look for? Growing up I thought common interests were important; I wanted them to like traveling, languages, ice cream, and swing dancing. I’ve come to realize, in finding my future spouse in the past few months, that the only necessary quality is that he is attractive. He can hate ballroom dancing and rather spend all of his time attached to a harness climbing a rock but as long as he’s attractive, its okay. He can have never been to Asia and rather be found strapped to a snowboard on the slopes of Utah, but as long as he’s attractive, its okay.
    Now, before you call me shallow and materialistic, before you tell me beauty fades and that other things are much more important, understand what I mean by attractive. While physical attraction is essential to healthy marriages, ““There is more to a foundation of eternal marriage than a pretty face or an attractive figure.” You must be attracted to your spouse much more than just physically. You must be attracted to him spiritually; His devotion to God, and his understanding of the pure love of Christ must draw you to him. He must be attractive intellectually; He should understand the importance of education and his goals in that area should entice you to get to know him better.. He must be attractive emotionally; He should be caring, considerate, communicative, inspiring, and loving.  You must want him for what he is and what he is trying to become.

Epitome of Attractive :P

Camping and Climbing: Memorial Day Weekend

flashing his v5

Do despite the iffy weather forecasts we decided to go rugged for memorial day weekend. We headed down to Joe's Valley for a few days of camping and climbing with our favorite married couple, Sarahjane and Dave.

Friday: We set up camp and of course Ben wanted to get some climbing in. We only had to walk a few minutes from where our site was to the fingerhut boulder where Ben and Dave got on a few problems. 

Highlight of the night: Ben flashed his first v5 outside. (for an explanation of climbing ratings click here). After climbing we headed back for some smores and campfire talk before heading to bed for a full day of climbing ahead.

Saturday: We woke up not all that rested because it was SO WINDY! Seriously I though we were going to wake up in another state - I woke up in the middle of the night thinking we were in the middle of a tornado. 

tiny holds - my v2

Highlight of the afternoon: I climbed my first v2 outside! (previously I'd climbed one v1 inside - we spend most of our time doing routes at the gym instead because I like being high :)This boulder turned out to be plenty high for me though and I thought I was going to die a few times. Finally by the time I got to the mantle I just flopped over ( we termed it the "walrus") and rested until I could "mermaid" the rest of the way up :P

cooking dinner

That night Ben and I were in charge of dinner and we were STARVING by the time we got back to camp. We browned meat over the fire and then melted cheese on to toasted wheat buns and had meat and cheese burger things followed by IBC Black Cherry Soda (my absolute favorite). It was so windy outside that we all gathered in the tent to tell scary stories and drink our soda :) 

Sunday: We got up at 8 or so to find out where church was and let me tell you, I have never go to church in a less hygenic state in my life (having no access to running water I hadn't showered since Friday morning - gross, I know). After church we came back and relaxed, napped, read the scriptures, went for a walk, and napped some more (its the day of rest after all right? :) That night we decided to move campsites due to the wind and so we went through an interesting process of establishing a new campsite in a supposedly "less windy" location (it turned out to be much better eventually). We enjoyed a very yummy dinner of homemade soup that Sarahjane had brought and sat up talking around the fire again.

the cute couple :)

I love just being in the wilderness. It reminded me of the annual camping trip my family would take to southern utah while we lived in Japan. it also reminded me of being in the Hill Cumorah Pageant where my family camped outside for almost 3 weeks. Its great to go to sleep when its dark and wake up with the sun. Its refreshing to have no phone service and really escape the world for a weekend. There's something freeing about not having a toilet or a shower and going au natural for a few days. It was also wonderful to spend time with good friends and to just be with Ben all the time - I think the fact that after 3.5 days straight we weren't sick of each other is a good sign :) 

after climbing my v2: hot, tired, and happy :)

Ben's project = v7. Monday Morning = domination

shielding us from the wind

Ben climbing.... insane.

playing by the river on Saturday

Monday consisted of snow, climbing, a little sun, more climbing, a long drive home, more snow, milkshakes...and now trying to get my hair to not smell like smoke :)

The group at the end of the trip :)

Caleb got his Mission call!

 

Caleb Scott Earnshaw has been called to labor in the Washington D.C. South mission and will be teaching the gospel of the Lord in the Spanish language! I am so proud of my little brother and my best friend! He leaves August 24 which also means that he'll be able to be there for my wedding. I love you, Caleb! Happy day :) 

We recreate this pose every chance we get :P

Sarahjane and Dave are coming to NH!!

Their gorgeous engagement picture.

Yesterday Sarahjane and Dave got their tickets to be in NH for our August wedding! 

They are wonderful and we're so excited! Dave will be Ben's best man and it will be so great to have them there not only for our special day, but for the whole week before hand! Ben and Dave have been best friends since they served as mission companions a few years ago. Dave married Sarahjane in December (where Ben was his best man). The day I met them in January was the same day Ben and I started dating so its been fun having them be there for all of it.  I remember as we drove down to meet them for Dave's birthday that evening in January as Ben told me how their opinion of someone he dates matters almost as much as his parents (talk about no pressure!). They're awesome and its been so nice to have someone who's my same age, who just got married and who knows Ben really well to talk to about all of this (thank you Sarahjane!) 

We're counting down till August - mandatory itinerary items:

• rock climbing in New England (goal = have Ben fall in love with the East Coast)
• Boston sites - and dinner int he north end
• Kennebunk

69 days till SJ and Dave land on the east coast ...and 73 days till the wedding :) 

100 things I love....

I love the way our hands always find each others.
I love how you come up behind me and put your arms around my waist when I’m cooking.
I love when you put your arms around me to put the chalk around my waist.
I love listening to you be excited about things.
I love staring into your eyes.
I love when we laugh.
I love grocery shopping with you.
I love that you love poetry, and that you write it for me
and more than anything I love reading poetry you’ve written about me.
I love listening to you talk about the gospel.
I love seeing you interact with your parents.
I love when we dance in the kitchen.
I love it when you say ‘I love you.’
I love when you introduce me to people and they go “oh I’ve heard all about you.”
I love telling people about you.
I love how much you like pad thai.
I love browsing through the mall with you.
I love talking to you inches away from your face.
I love the way you hold my hands as we pray.
I love sitting next to you at church.
I love when you speak Spanish (and significantly more when I understand it).
I love when  you held my hand the whole car ride back from California.
I love when you randomly tell me how pretty you think I am.
I love it when you bring me flowers.
I love snuggling up close to you on the couch.
I love playing with your hair.
I love how sexy and smart you look in glasses.
I love listening to you play piano - I remember thinking in, as I woke up to it in California, that I could get used to that :)
I love how you never want to leave.
I love how you get along with my roommates.
I love how considerate you are.
I love when I come home and you’re already at my house.
I love jumping on the trampoline with you :)
I also love snuggling under lots of blankets on the trampoline with you.
I love how much you like eating my bread :)
I love how you put your arm around me and have me look up at a problem as you teach me how to work out the holds when we’re rock climbing.
I love it when we’re really goofy.
I love how you make me feel beautiful in sweatpants.
I love listening to you bear your testimony.
I love how generous you are with your friends.
I love watching you sleep.
I love how you twitch while you’re sleeping.
I love how motivated you are.
I love your work ethic.
I love falling asleep in your arms on the couch.
I love listening to you sing.
I love building forts with you.
I love how important family is to you.
I love it when you use my hands to drum :)
I love “when my phone goes off and its a txt from you :)”
I love waking up to texts from you.
I love telling people all about you.
I love studying in the library with you (and taking study breaks :)
I love that you love me for me - and don’t want me to be anything else.
I love kissing you.
I love the way you treat me.
I love how often you tell me you care about me.
I love how you wear sunday clothes all day :)
I love how you make me feel safe.
I love how much you loved and love serving the Lord.
I love the way you put my hand on your face.
I love it when you kiss me and I”m not expecting it.
I love when you tell me you miss me.
I love your smile.
I love the way you make me smile, all the time.
I love how when you hug me, I’m home.
I love your sense of integrity.
“I love how all I want to do when he’s here is be with him - and when he’s not here all I want is for him to be here. And when he’s here I never want him to leave. And when he leaves I just want him to come back.” (Feb 7)
I love how you need to be close to me - and I love it when you act on that need. (Feb 21)
I love how when you say “I love you” it makes everything okay.
I love how you always try and do the right thing.
I love just laying on the couch and talking to you. (Feb 27).
I love it when I say goodbye to you knowing that I”ll see you later that same day.
I love being in public with Ben - and holding hands and having our arms around eachother. (March 17)
I love when my friends tell me how much the;y like you.
I love when my dad talked about talking to you.
I love when I can guess what you’re thinking.
I love how sometimes I can read your mind.
I love when I ask you what you’re thinking and you have a sincere answer that catches me off guard.
I love when you play with my hair.
I love your generosity and how much you love to give.
I love watching you when you don’t think that I am.
I love it when you call.
I love knowing that you’re always going to be there.
I love talking about the future with you.
I love getting to know you better all the time.
I love it when you notice little things.
I love the person you make me want to be.
I love our dance parties.
I love writing your last name in cursive.
I love saying things and then realizing they were a completely you thing to say.
I love doing dishes with you.
I love hearing your mom talk about you.
I love when you just hold me.
I love finding myself smiling just because I’m thinking about you.
I love the person you are becoming.
I love you.

for 100 days I wrote this for ben ...  and everyday gives me more and more things to add

My Bridal Party

"A Friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway." 

I've finally picked my bridal party and I'm so excited! My wedding will be the greatest day of my life so far and I wanted some of my most cherished friends to go through this journey with me. I'll talk more about each of them later but they're all wonderful and they've all been someone I've turned to throughout the past twenty years. 

Clockwise from top left: 

Lauren - best friends since she was born (my wonderful cousin from TX)

Jen - best friends since volleyball senior year (and my first friend from NH to meet ben :)

Yuki - my best friend since I was 5 in Tokyo (i'm SO excited to have her flying out for the wedding) 

Heather - best friends since high school :) 

Catherine - best friends since Mr. Miller's sophomore biology class :) 

Olivia - best friends since freshman year of high school :) 

Liv - best friends since forever (my fantastic cousin from ME) 

Nicole - I loved her before I knew her ... my favorite youngest sister :) 

Madison - my maid of honor and my best friend

BEN BOOKED HIS TICKET TO BOSTON! 

 

75 Day Countdown till the happiest day of our life.

It's Always Better When We're Together

4 months ago today Ben and I decided we didn't "have any desire to date anyone else." -Not that either of us had been doing that for sometime - I joked that even if I wanted to date anyone else I wouldn't have time because he took up every second. Its crazy how time just kind of seems to disappear when I'm with him. These past couple months have been the best and the prospect of marrying my best friend in just a few more is even better.


Today Ben showed up at my door with roses (he tends to do that a lot ... 4 times now? - getting flowers is one of my very very favorite things). He then took me to Noodles & Company which is my absolute favorite. Maybe its because it reminds me of my moms pasta but I seriously could eat there every day and never get sick of their Penne Rosa. After lunch we finished registering at Macys - its really fun to go on a shopping spree and not actually spend money and try and guess which of the fun things we'll actually have in our new apartment :) After Macy's and milkshakes we went climbing and I FLASHED A 5.10B! (Ben says I've done it before but I'm pretty sure he's wrong). I'm getting a lot stronger which is really fun and am holding on to a lot more things. We only climbed a few runs each because we're going up to Big Cottonwood Canyon tomorrow to climb with our favorite married couple, Dave and Sarahjane. They got married in December and we love them!

Wedding plan updates: My mom told me today we're also probably having a reception in Utah which is great because then we'll still be able to celebrate with all our friends who can't come all the way to New England.

Dear Ben. Thanks for being so wonderful. Love, me

I'll tell you one thing, its always better when we're together

Drowning in Brown

To Do: Groom and Groomsmen Apparel 

I love wedding planning - although it seriously could be a part time job. Something on top of my to do list right now is apparel for the wedding attendants. While normally you would think black tuxes paired with red boutineers for a classic combo, Ben is set on a brown tux - and now that I've looked at some, I've quite taken to the idea. I also like what it allows us to do with the rest of the reception decor. I think red with neutrals and gold has a much richer feel than stark black and red (think twilight vampires). Caleb keeps pestering me about what he's going to be wearing and I'd love to have outfits picked out so I can really start visualizing what its all going to look like. The only thing is if we do tuxes we won't have them for the pre-wedding photo shoot we're doing at the beach the day before .... but that's okay. The plan is to take the wedding party up to Kennebunkport for the day and give everyone a taste of New England. In the morning we'll have a photo shoot on the beach (I've been in love with the image of my bridesmaids with their feet in the sand and the groomsmen with their pant legs rolled up laughing on the beach since before I can remember), a lobster cookout at my Aunts beach house in the afternoon and then head back for the evening activities! I am so excited for August to be here but I really am loving all of these steps in between!

Coming soon: The Bridal Party, Bridesmaid dresses 

And the wedding planning begins

Its a good thing I love party planning and have this thing for details because there is so much more to weddings than I would have guessed! 

A taste of what's going on - 

Wine, Brown, and Antique Gold:  ThePerfectPalette

colors: deep red with accents in cream, brown, and gold (think the hills of tuscany or something like that :)  It took a long time to come up with that. My favorite tool to help along the way was this really neat blog called The Perfect Palette. It has every color combination possible with dream boards to help you picture your big day.

date: august 6th ...81 days - but who's counting?

engagement pictures: I have this amazing roommate Andie who is very talented - I had planned on going professional for our engagements until Andie captured the proposal on camera and I realized I'd rather have her take them. I love pictures so I'm really looking forward to this part :) 

bridal party:  I asked my little sister Madison to be my maid of honor and it was one of my favorite conversations I've had with her - she's great! I'm still finalizing the rest of it- its hard getting married on the east coast when you've lived in utah for two years ...but I have wonderful best friends from home who are already being so supportive! (thanks catherine jen and liv :) 

announcements: They'll go out the middle of June - so before I'm home from school. I finally figured out the r.s.v.p. dilemma and created a wedding website where people can just r.s.v.p. instead of having to mail back cards! Check it out! - Ben and Elisabeth's Wedding. I still have lots of work to do on it but its coming along. There's a place you can request music for the reception and it gives us a way to list our registry without including it in the invitations which I didn't want to do. 

registry: Ben and I started registering tonight! First stop: Macy's :) Its so fun imagining being in our own apartment as we went through and picked out dishes and pans and sheets and towels and everything else!Currently the very top of my list involves finding a place for us to live in the fall because at the moment we're homeless :) 

I love weddings and I love my fiance - they're the best :)

“True education does not consist merely in the acquiring of a few facts of science, history, literature or art, but in the development of character. True education awakens a desire to conserve health by keeping the body clean and undefiled. True education trains in self denial and self mastery. True education regulates the temper, subdues passion and makes obedience to social laws and moral order a guiding principle of life. It develops reason and inculcates faith in the living God as the Eternal Father of all” ( Conference Report, April 1928, 102). . . .

I love BYU

Does God Exist?

 The university professor challenged his students with this question.

"Did God create everything that exists?" A student bravely replied, "Yes, He did!"
"God created everything?" The professor asked.
"Yes sir", the student replied.
The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are then God is evil".
The student became quiet before such an answer. The professor was quite pleased with him self and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?"
"Of course", replied the professor.
The student stood up and asked, "Professor does cold exist?"
"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"
The students snickered at the young man's question. The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"
The professor responded, "Of course it does."
The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into colors to study the various wavelengths of each color. You can not measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"
Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light." The professor sat down.

The young man's name: Albert Einstein

Girls Night @ Hampstead 2

• chinese takeout
• limited clothing
• unsolicited trips to the courtyard
• leonardo dicaprio
• cinnamon swirl bread with cream cheese frosting
• singing at the top of our lungs
• all 3 hours of the titanic (lots of drooling and a few tears involved)
• interpretive dance

Somtimes life gets in the way:

Sometimes I think life gets in the way - in the way of things I want or happiness I almost have ...but maybe its something else, something more important - maybe I should embrace it, grow from it, and move on:

“God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons we could not learn in any other way. The way we learn those lessons is not to deny the feelings but to find the meanings underlying them.”

 Stanley Lindquis 

wishing I could make everyone happy, wishing I didn't have a calculus test, wishing understanding wasn't such a hard thing to have or to give, wishing I could fix everything, wishing thinking something made it so, wishing home wasn't so far away, wishing I was more loving

This has gotta be the good life: Day 1 of being engaged

I've been a fiance for over 24 hours. How crazy is that? Being engaged is the best - actually I'm sure that being married is better but so far, being engaged is great :) Some fun things from my first 24 hours of being engaged:

 Celebrating: Right after the proposal and our little picnic we were off to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Tyler's birthday(he and his wonderful wife Jordan just spent the week in Hawaii). They even brought the engaged couple a special drink :)

Climbing: We love climbing -  and by we love I really mean Ben lives for climbing and I really enjoy it :) Ben bought me shoes and my harness and they got here this week so this was my first time climbing outside with my new gear!

climbing outside in rock canyon

my wonderful teacher

<3

The Beginning of Forever

Yesterday was one of the happiest days of my life so far - you know when you're smiling so much for so long that your mouth starts hurting and you don't even care? Yupp - it was like that :) 

The Proposal: 

The past few days in Provo have been gorgeous: sunny and warm and beautiful. Ben said something last week about going on picnics when it was nice and we were supposed to go Thursday but he wasn't feeling well so I didn't think much of it when he wanted to go on Friday - although he did say we should "play dress up and go on a picnic" - a little suspicious. He picked me up after classes to go rock climbing just like every Friday (its fun to look back now and analyze how he was acting :). He had ordered me my own shoes and harness that just got in so it was my very first time climbing with them (they're awesome!). He kept checking the time while we were climbing but I figured he wanted to get his sun time in at the park or something.

After climbing he dropped me off so I could shower and such and said he'd be back in an hour. An hour and a half later he calls asking what we should eat on this picnic (at this point any thought I had of getting engaged went out the window - but I guess he knows me well enough to throw me off). Finally he gets to my house (I'm starving at his point). He's in khakis and his burberry tie - and can I just say, I have the most attractive fiance in the whole world. We gather food around the kitchen and head off to our little picnic.

We drive to a beautiful park and walk up this path into the hills. Once we get to the end of it he stops and says he left something in the car and almost has us go back - but then he says he found his phone and we keep walking. We get to this pond with a little dock and he says he wants to play the song he wrote before we eat (he told me a few days before he'd started writing a song for me). He has me stand on the dock while he starts playing on his mandolin (yes, he may or may not play piano, violin,mandolin, guitar, and drums). He started to forget the words and so had to go get them from the picnic stuff . Until now I had been suspecting but had decided he was stringing me along so that if he proposed in a few weeks I wouldn't be suspicious of dress up and picnics and songs. But, Ben doesn't ever get nervous, and watching him sit there, singing about me, I realized this was it. This was the moment ever girl dreams about. The song ended with "I'm down on one knee...." and then he asked me the greatest four letter question I've ever been asked. 

And I said yes. 

We hugged and kissed and then I saw Andie, creeping from across the pond with her camera. We took a few more pictures and then she went off to let us enjoy our picnic. A few things:

1. I have the greatest fiance in the world ...and he's going to be mine forever.

2. I have never been happier.

3. I can't stop looking at this thing thats on my finger - maybe because I have never seen anything as beautiful.

putting the ring on my finger :)

our first hug engaged

the happiest

I love this boy. A lot.

diamonds

We're getting married this August in New England and couldn't be happier (although I keep saying that about me with Ben and somehow I still get happier and happier - I guess thats what love is :)

Happy Easter

Easter Sunday

The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world.  Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice.  But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice.  ~Henry Knox Sherrill

a goal: 

"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well."
Gandhi

"If you always do what you've always done
then you'll always be what you've always been
and you will never be what you could have been."

 another inspiration from my weekend

Mothers

I've spent the last two days at an American Mother's convention in Salt Lake City with my mom. American Mother's is an interfaith, nonpolitical, organization that recognizes families as the essential building blocks of society and promotes motherhood.  My mom's been a part of the organization since we moved back from Japan in 2001 and last year represented New Hampshire as the "Mother of the Year." I have a blog with my little sisters - and instead of writing something brief about the convention - I'll just share what I wrote there: 

my mother :)

We have an incredible mother. I'm glad you guys let me steal her away for the week. She came at a time when I needed her most. I've always known Mom was wonderful - but as I get older I realize what an understatement that is. Not only has she done a wonderful job in our home, but she fights to make homes better across this country. This weekend was so great - her memorial breakfast she hosted on Saturday morning was flawless and everyone was talking about what an eloquent speaker she is :) After an afternoon of workshops we got to put on floor length gowns for the gala (I sat by aunt Melanie because Mom was sitting at the head table with the other national board members). Sometime we'll all have to go together. :)

Families are so important - they are they key to society while on this earth, and the building blocks of eternity in the hereafter. I marvel that God could organize this world in any way to bring about the salvation of His children and that perfect being decided on families. In a workshop on strengthening relationships we learned that the goal of relationships is to have 

1 + 1 = 4

and yes Maddie, that math doesn't work :) But, the beautiful thing is that in relationships it can. And it isn't because one person becomes a lot better or because the other person does something miraculous ..because regardless 1 is always going to just be 1 and the other person is always going to just be 1. So where do you get the 4? The difference is what is between the people. In relationships it is always what is going on between the people. For example, you exist, God exists, but if there is nothing on on between the two of you what does it matter? Its what between that makes the difference in marriages, in the relationships between parents and children, in friendships, between siblings....

I feel so lucky to be a part of our family - and after this weekend I am so excited to have my own family. There is nothing more important we can do than to build strong families. Sherri Dew told a story about a woman who was asked by a prominent business at a political dinner what she did - she confessed she felt rather embarrassed when she told him I take care of our four children - Sister Dew suggested the next time that comes up she respond "I am nurturing four children along the path of salvation - what about you?"I am grateful for an education - and I am grateful for all the opportunities I have in life to do so many different things, but I wonder why, even for a moment, I thought any of them would compare in joy, or be more important, than starting, raising, and strengthening a family. 

A poem shared at the conference written by Mother Theresa that I love:

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

I hope you guys are having a great spring break - and that as we continue to grow up we can remember what its all really about anyway. 

Love you lots,

Lizzie