Making an Effort :)

This week (Like Julia) was Spring Break! It was amazing.

I had this amazing plan to get so much school done....buuuuut.....that didn't happen like I thought it would, because you know what? Sometimes you just need a break.

I actually did get a lot done, even though I was still partying. :D

I really tried to make an effort to spend time with family and friends. It was amazing. I went shopping with my Aunts and stopped by the temple, and airport. That. That was really amazing.

I went to one of my best friends house and hung out. We wrote notes to some of our friends, and it was so great!

Okay, so there were other things, but mostly I just tried to reach out to my friends and family and spend more time with them.

It felt SO good. These relationships are so important to me, but I don't think I always do my best to make them really strong, sadly.

Life is SO good guys. And it's even better when you spend time, and make and effort to reach out to those who are close to you or maybe just friends.

Relationships are so important and I think that it's really important to strengthen them and let these people in our lives know how grateful we are for them.

This week was defiantly meaningful. Who cares if I have school, I am going to MAKE and effort to do these things and not just leave them for special occasions.

Thanks for reading my ramblings, but I love life and I'm so grateful for everyone in my life! I love you all!

Embrace life, Be happy, Smile, Be you! :)

<3 Wesleigh

Smelling Like Compost and Feeling Alive

Hello, dear ones.

This week was my spring break, and wow, it was something. Can I tell you about it?

Last weekend my uncle Danny brought his two little boys to my house to visit (they live three hours away and we don't get to see them very much). Their stay was wonderful--I love being with my family.

On Friday morning, Mom and I casually sat in the bathroom while she put her makeup on, and we talked about Summertime by the way, this is much cheaper than therapy but equally effective. We discussed potential adventure opportunities for 2013 and how they would work, and it made me so hopeful. But despite my hope, I let out a sigh and said, "I have zero dollars and no job. What can I do to make it happen?"

"Pack your bags, drive back home with Danny tomorrow and work for Grandpa this week. That's a start."

And that, my friends, is how I ended up spending my spring break shoveling mushroom/manure compost. And I wouldn't change a thing about it.

It was LIBERATING. I had time to be alone with my work and ponder my life, and there was also time for my cousin Lilly to sit with me and we would laugh together. Laughter really is the best medicine, people. It reminds us that we're human and that life does have its perfect little moments. Every job I did required muscle work and focus, making the days somewhat meditative and very rewarding. I was in the outdoors, breathing the fresh air (er, as fresh as it could be with the lingering smell of compost, but I got used to it), and at night, I could look up and see the infinite; the stars were not afraid to shine there.

Turns out, working for adventure ended up being, well, a little adventure. Because fortunately and unfortunately most of the work I do looks like this:

But this week was different and I'm so grateful for it.

Now I'm home, sunburned, sore, exhausted, and a little sick. But you know what? It's the best feeling ever. Because I helped my family, I helped myself, and I feel alive and rewarded for it. I hope we can take the time to get more hands-on in our lives; it really is, well, awesome. In the truest meaning of the word.

Love,
Julia

Switching Places

My meaningful moment this week was quite an eye-opener. One afternoon my younger sister and I randomly decided to “switch places“--we called each other our own name and tried to act as the other would. It was a fun little experiment, really. We weren‘t doing this to tease each other or poke fun. Being someone other than yourself for a while can actually be pretty fun, but also quite the challenge.

And that‘s exactly what made it meaningful--I had to put myself in my sister‘s shoes (quite literally) and consider how and why she does what she does. It struck me how much influence an older sibling can have. Once or twice that afternoon I tried to tell her something, but she brushed me off in the sake of being too busy. Oh my pickles. I did not realize how often I do that. How many opportunities for stronger relationships am I missing? Since that simple little game of ours, I‘ve paid more attention to how what I do can affect others. Putting myself in another‘s shoes can be a real paradigm-shifter.

Dreaming Big

Dreams. 

I'm not talking about the random shows your brain puts on for you during the night. I'm talking about that little voice inside of you that urges you to become the best person you can be. That sense of purpose that gives each day a sense of adventure. That personal calling in life which compels people to do great things. 

A lot of my friends have been talking about dreams and sharing what they want in life this week. It really is a profound thought to realize that we all have something that we were born to do. 

One of my friends challenged me to think about what our biggest dream is and write it out in detail. This really caught me off guard. Suddenly I realized that I don't spend the much time finding out who I want to. My meaningful moment on the path to awesome this week has been allowing myself to think about all the things I'll do one day. As I've devoted time to this challenge and thought about what I want in life more than anything I've learned so much more about my potential and the potential that lies in every human being. 

It's my personal belief that anybody who has made a lasting difference in this world has followed their own dream. They knew what they wanted and worked to get it. I am firmly convinced that anybody can decide to make a difference today and act on it. 

So what is my dream? I don't know all of it yet, but I'm learning. In a nutshell, I want to help spread truth across the world. I want to help people everywhere see that each of us has an enormous potential and the ability to reach for it. 

Now I ask you: What is your dream? Consider taking some time today to ponder that question and revisit what means most to you. And while you do that, here's a short video which illustrates another reason to live our dreams. Enjoy!

One Step at a Time.

When I think of all the things I need to do.....it goes something like this.....

School, Family, Fitness, Hobbies, Play, Work.....*overwhelmed*

*facepalm*

*hide in a hole and disappear*   

 

I think my problem is that I'm trying to take one leaping jump and get it all done at once, and not have to worry about it. I just want to get everything done and be able to live, okay? But honestly, I can't get ALL I need and want to get done at once. I'm no superhero. I need to take it one step at a time. 

I have to take life one step at a time. Rather than trying to take it all in one leaping jump. I need to take time to smell the roses along the path, take time to embrace and love life for what it is and stop rushing through life because, YOLO. 

 So I've made plans, set goal, done some thinking and I am now taking life one step at a time. :) 

I invite everyone to do this with me. :) Embrace life and take it one step at a time. Smile. Be happy. Be you! Have a great week everyone!! :)  

<3 Wesleigh 

A Life of Performance

Here are some more amazing stories of people living a meaningful life. Enjoy! 

Nathan Owens said, 

Two weeks ago I finished a run of a play, Much Ado About Nothing.  It was amazing and fantastic and I enjoyed myself a lot! 

Acting is what I love to do, it's part of me and I've done it since before I can remember. This year is my last year in high school, after this I will move on, go to college, go on a proselyting mission for my church, and whatnot. 

Anyhow, this will be my last year to be in a play for at least three years.  This year there is a large musical being put on and I was DYING to try out. The problem was that I had just been in a play (Much ado) and had been in one last semester and I was (And still am) very very behind in school..

  So I had to make a decision, I had to give up something so that I could catch up in school. So rather than give up acting, which I loved, I decided that I would have to give up the funness of the internet.  So as of right now I have decided a few things: I'm only aloud to use YouTube during classes or via class Modules, I'm not aloud on Facebook except for on Sundays. I can't listen to podcasts on my computer (Though, If I'm exercising and it;s on a mp3 player it's fine) and I can't play any games on my computer.  All of these are in hopes that I'd be able to catch up WHILE being in a play. 

It was interesting because I had to actually go through and decide, what is most important to me. I had to look at what my dream in life is. As Dallin Ward said over in the Williamsburg community,          

"Everyone needs a dream. That is how all great things have been done." (If you have time go read his entire thing, it's good, and then go to Wesleigh Smith's post and read all of those responses, they're beautiful.)  So I looked at my life and decided where I wanted to go.  I found that that path didn't involve wasting days on end on the internet, however fun that may seem to me at the time. MY path to awesome involved me being committed to getting work done and to being free of the distracting influence of the internet. 

This is now the second week I've been doing this and it's fantastic how much has changed.  I've been able to focus on school work and I have started to catch up, it's been great. 

It hasn't been easy.  For instance, there are some days when I don't get very much done because I am simply spending the time fighting the part of me that wants to just quit and go to YouTube and waste away the afternoon. I'm used to being able to just distract myself and I'm used to just having fun.  I believe that the carefree, "Do nothing" mindset is just as much of an addiction as anything else is, and I obviously must have got myself hooked to it. It's just weird, some days I will literally have to argue part of myself that wants to go play, I have to literally convince it that what I'm working on is more important. It's basically my Red/Yellow personality if you're at all familiar with the color code.  I used to be really red, I was focused and I was very leadership oriented and stuff, but then over the years on the internet my yellow personality has taken over and I'm can be very uncommitted and lazy and just like having fun. So basically I'm trying to exercise that redness that I know I have. I'm trying to get back the determination and drive that I used to have.  It's crazy, but it's awesome that I am finally able to sit down and work and get things done. 

So, look at your priorities see what you WANT and then organize you time well.  You will never have more time than you have now, something will always be taking up your time, whether it be school work, other school, children, you will never have more time, you will just have to prioritize. 

So find that path and follow it to the end. The path is straight and narrow, the path is hard and filled with brambles, but in the end, it will be worth it. 

Abigail Allen said, 
My little sister Rebekah was born 8 days ago, and I was really excited! Sadly, I got way behind on schoolwork because I was always volunteering to feed her or change her diaper, and it was taking all my time. Then, I realized that if I didn't daydream a lot(I LOVE daydreaming), I would be able to do it all! Now, even though I miss daydreaming, I am ahead in my schoolwork and really pleased with my progress. I can take care of my sister AND stay caught up in school!

You guys should realize that in order to take care of all your responsibilities, we need to take away the distracting 'berries' on our PATH 2 AWESOMENESS. WE CAN ALL BE AWESOME!

Remember to send you story to us at path2awesome@googlegroups.com and we post them every Friday. Just keep in mind that your story can be anything meaninful, small or big. :)

Guest Post: Catherine

Ever since I can remember, I've been making up stories. I used to use them for playing pretend. I would act out stories with myself, my toys, my friends. These stories were sometimes so real it would take a lot to snap myself out of them.

I got a little older I began writing them down, and thus began a lifelong love affair with stories. I began to soak up as much information about them as I possibly could, and made some interesting discoveries.

Every story needs a hero. A hero must have certain qualities, like...
He answers the call. A hero agrees to or simply decides for himself that he will live up to his potential. This is the first qualification for being a hero: you must accept responsibility for bringing about your mission.

He leaves the comfort zone. Adventure doesn't happen in the comfort zone; if it did, it wouldn't be an adventure. In order to have an adventure and, therefore, become a hero, he needs to step outside his area of familiarity.

He experiences hardship. How boring would it be if the hero had no hardship to overcome?! That would be like a description of heaven: beautiful, but not really a good story. "[G]reat stories are told in conflict..." (Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years). A story is not a story without a conflict.

He overcomes setbacks and hardships. This is where most people with potential to become a hero fail: they fall prey to one of the setbacks that besets him. A real hero sticks it out through all of this. Why? Well...

He sacrifices himself for a greater cause. A hero is not in it for himself; he is in it for something bigger than himself. This is why he answers the call; this is why he leaves his comfort zone; this is why he endures hardship and setbacks. His cause is what keeps him going. As long as he remains dedicated to that cause, whatever it is, he cannot fail in his story.

He must change and develop. If the hero does not change, the story has been entertaining, but essentially a waste.

Every life is a story, and God is the Master Storyteller. We are co-authors. In order to live a good story, we individually must answer the call, leave the comfort zone, experience hardship, overcome setbacks, and sacrifice for something bigger than ourselves. This is the only way we can undergo necessary development.

One final thing I learned was this: every scene must have a purpose. This isn't like real life,  I was told;  you can't make your characters get up to answer the phone only to find out it's a sales person and hang up; you can't make your characters get up to mundanely feed the cat, or mention that the characters brushed their teeth. Every scene, every word, must contribute to the plot or character development.


Ladies and gentlemen, I submit that even in real life, every scene, every word, every experience we have, contributes to the ultimate plot or character development. The good things and the bad things. Even the things that seem pointless. Even the things that are excruciatingly hard to bear. And in order to stick it out through the bad, pointless, hard things, we need a purpose. And we need to allow ourselves to be changed.

Become the hero in your own story. Agree to live up to your potential; be willing to leave your comfort zone; overcome setbacks and hardships; and dedicate yourself to a cause bigger than you. Know that no experience you have is pointless; and allow yourself and your story to be shaped and made beautiful under the pen of the loving Master Storyteller. 


***

Bio blurb:
Catherine is fairly certain that she was born with a pen in her hand (although her mom denies it). Writing is one of her favorite things to do, and she does it as much as possible. (To read more of her writing, you can visit her blog here!) She also enjoys studying, being quirky, and being in the company of her friends, among other things. She currently resides in a lovely corner of Pennsylvania with her amazing parents and awesome little brothers. Finally, she is super honored to have had this chance to write to the people on the Path2Awesome, and hopes that what she said made a difference. (:

Note to our readers: each week we invite people who are taking the path to awesome to write a little on what that means to them. This is our first guest post, so look forward to more inspiration! If you're interested in being a guest poster, please e-mail us at path2awesome@googlegroups.com and we'll reply as soon as we can. 

Fellow Adventurers

More inspiring stories!

Davin Parish said,
"I have found that I have been very snappy lately. Snappy and just..... okay you get the picture. But not just feeling glum in one area of my life I was glum in spiritual, physical and emotional. A little bit of a pattern was that I wasn't eating. If I ate it wasn't on time. I was also staying up later than I should've been. So I started fixing it. I have started drinking at least 8 cups of water a day, eating well balanced and on schedule meals, and going to bed early. It is amazing the difference. I am more effective when doing schoolwork and more kind when dealing with others. Not only did it help me physically but mentally and spiritually as well. One of my parents told me how sometimes elite athletes will get a little depressed when their performance level goes down. When they went to counseling the counselor would notice that in most cases, this drop in physical performance was caused by a lack of use and involvement with other areas of their life, like mental and spiritual. I think it's this way because living a well-balanced life, a life where you focus pretty evenly on all these areas, can keep you from burning out. Sometimes we can go and go and go without noticing that we are getting burned out. The quality of energy that goes into the time we spend goes down. Another little story, the army had to groups of soldiers and they did a test to see which group could hit the most targets with their big artillery in three days. The first group was told to fire as many rounds as they could, to keep firing and firing. To the second group, they said; take break and small naps in between firing. On the first day group one was in the lead but on day two their accuracy was going down badly and group two caught the lead. Their accuracy didn't go down as much. 

Have you ever noticed how sometimes you'll be in a fight with someone and it will seem super important and when it's over you'll realize how useless and strange the argument was. Then you wonder why you spent so much time arguing. I've done it before. It's a little like staring intently at the ground while walking. If you don't look up every once in a while it's hard to keep walking in a straight line. If you don't look up for a long time you'll find yourself heading the complete wrong direction. It's better to look up sooner than later. When I get super intent and overly focused on an argument or a single area of my life "looking up" or working on another area can get you to see that you’re heading in the wrong direction. Taking breaks to focus on other areas of life really serves as a wake-up call for me it helps me to look up earlier rather than later."

Missy Nelson said,
"I had a really cool experience last night with my young woman's group. I had them help me with my Final Leadership Project, (The Smile Movement) We made notes that said stuff about smiling on them and then went to Walmart and handed them out to random people. It was so amazing to see how something so simple can change someones attitude so fast. But there was one particular person that I handed a note too that had a lasting effect on me. I had one note left, I was walking toward the entrance with one of the little Beehives, who also had one more note. We wanted to give our last notes to someone we thought really looked like they needed it. A man who looked really sad and lonely was walking towards us as we headed for the entrance. His face was black and looked like it had been severely burned. The other young woman I was with says "eww" and walks by as fast as she could. I smiled, stopped and handed my note to him with a big smile on my face. I will never forget the look on his blackened face. That is what I call the light of Christ. If only more people would stop and smile at everyone, our world would be a better place."

Fearlesslystaystrong said,
"Today, I took the time to help my little brother write two words, even though I was in the middle of an online class. It only took a few minutes.

I also have tried to use my time better today. It's been a struggle at times, but I've done a lot better so far!"

You all are living such great stories! The world won't know what to do with all this awesomeness :) Keep it up! 

So a few of you have asked what exactly we mean by Stories. I'm here to break up that confusion! 

A story can be really anything meaningful in your life. Something great along your path. It doesn't have to be anything big either. It can be anything from the feeling you got when you shared a smile with someone who seemed down, doing what you're asked happily, running around with a smile, making everyday count by being happy, serving someone in need, having an amazingly epic adventure that just made your life, a big service project, anything meaningful to you that made you day/week/year/life.

Just keep in mind, that it doesn't have to be big, anything meaningful along your path to awesome!

So send in your stories! We seriously love to hear them! It puts a great big smile on our faces to hear about the great things you're all doing! 

Sad Things and Good Things

Hey y'all! I hope you all had a good week! Here's a little story, from me to you. :)

Some weeks are great; awesome things just happen, smiling becomes constant, and spirits are joyous. Other weeks are not.

This was a tough week.

It was Monday night. I excitedly approached my Dad to talk to him all about the amazing book I had finished that morning (Anthem by Ayn Rand. I suggest it to all), but he did not return the excitement. His face was grim. Cold as stone. In almost a whisper he told me that Amulek Stone, a bright, seventeen-year-old boy and good friend of mine, was gone. Overwhelmed by the burdens he had to carry, he decided he had had enough, and he took his own life.
          It knocked me down. All I could think to do was sit with my hands cupped over my mouth and cry. Questions poured into my mind, flooding it, like a raging, unforgiving river. When I thought about my love for his family and the unimaginable grief they were experiencing, I felt like I was drowning. It took me the longest time to get a grip.
          When I pulled it together is when the magic happened. I thought hard and long about all the people I love and what makes them beautiful, and then proceeded to write emails and letters, and send chats even though it was super late at night telling those people that I love them. In that moment, I knew, more deeply than I've ever known, that life is so precious. Time seemed to stop and I was able to evaluate my life with profound clarity. Friends, I was aware of every breath entering my lungs, and I was reminded how sweet the air tastes.

And ever since that moment it has felt so great to be alive. The loss has hurt, I miss my friend, but the opportunities to celebrate life and connect with the people around me have been abundant and wonderful. I am changed, and I love each one of you whether I know you or not.

Amulek's funeral was absolutely beautiful, and it got me thinking about this project of ours. About 950 people attended. He impacted 950 people's lives in positive ways. He was outgoing, loving, and ALWAYS, ALWAYS had a smile on his face. His eulogy talked about that smile, and how energetic and friendly he was, and what a bright spot he was in all of our lives.

He left footprints in the sands of time and over 950 people love him for it. The question I've pondered from the experience is this: What will my funeral look like, what will be said, and how many people will I have reached out to?

I hope you ponder that along with me as we go about the next week.

I know this was kind of intense and perhaps saddening to you, but I decided to tell you all because hey--life is hard sometimes. It's reality. But that doesn't mean the good can't shine through even on the toughest days. :)

BONUS: A random act of hilarity - Can I just say I have the best friends ever? Check out this picture exchange between our one-and-only Sanneke, and I. It totally lifted my spirits on a rough day.

With all my love,

Julia

The Simple Things

Life has been crazy so I am going to be posting my story from last week as well as this weeks, so you'll get double the awesomeness :)

It was a weekend and me and some friends went to go see a movie. We were so excited. But when we got there....the told us the movie had started earlier than we had been told, so we wouldn't be able to see it. So lame. We had really wanted to see it. We were already out so instead of going home we went to the store and bought some paper and flowers and then went o get hot chocolate while we wrote encouraging notes on the paper. This was all at like 10-11:00 pm.

(pardon the bad cell phone pics) 

We then went to a local grocery store and then wrapped the notes around the flowers we had bought and taped them with athletic tape (this gives you and idea for how random and unplanned it was) When were at the store, it was like 11:30 and the parking lot was nearly empty. The only people shopping at this time were those who were frantically trying to get their shopping done before Sunday and/or had had a long day and family had a moment to go shopping. We were having the time of our lives as we discretely ran around the nearly empty dark parking lot putting flowers on peoples cars. 

We sat in our car and watched as the people came out of the store and saw the notes. Some people loaded their groceries, got in their car and then saw the flowers, and would then sit in their car and read the note and some would just drive away without reading it. Others would see the note while the were loading their groceries and put it in their car. But there was one man whose reaction really touched us. He was unloading his groceries into his car when he saw the note. He stopped what he was doing, put his gallon of milk on top of his car, and with the gallon of milk still on top of his car, he stood there and read it. 

I can't remember what we said on those notes, or which one he got (we wrote a lot). But the fact that he took the time to read our note meant a lot to us. 

Who knows how it touched their lives, or what it meant to them or if it didn't mean anything at all. But to me and my friends, it meant a lot. It was totally unplanned and random, but we will always remember it and cherish that night. The best things in life are the simple things. :) 

This week, I had family preparing to "hop the pond" or in other words, they were preparing to go on a big trip overseas. (and I was extremely jealous but happy for them) I just tried to help them in any way that they needed it. I helped my aunt make 600 hygiene kits to take to the slums of Brazil. I helped my sister shop for her things. I know it's nothing that big. But just smiling at them and telling them everything was going to be alright was something. 

Sometimes the simplest things mean the most in our lives. :)

Sorry for the longness. Have a great week everyone! 

Corn dogs, Cupcakes and Smiles

I've got a lot of long-distance friendships. And as much as I'd like to say that I'm perfect at keeping in touch with every last one of them, I'm not. Life happens, people get busy and before you know it months have gone by without a single conversation.

After watching a cute video from Kid President on Youtube (see it here) a little lightbulb turned on inside my brain. What better way to make a friend smile than corn dogs and cupcakes?

I mean really, who can resist cookie monster? Within a few minutes I found these pictures and typed up messages to each of my old friends letting them know I was grateful for our friendship and still thought of them often. 

Pretty soon I had conversations going with awesome people I hadn't spoken to in ages. One even said, "Thank you for making me laugh with the email. It came at the best moment on a bad day  (=" 

Who knew corn dogs and cupcakes could start something so meaningful?

It's All Worth It

Hey Everyone! How's life along the path to awesome? Hope it's going good! We love hearing your amazing stories, so keep up the good work! 

Just some inspiration for y'all........

Life is like a path. A path to somewhere great. It's definitely not an easy one. Sometimes it's flat and smooth and everything seems to be going swimmingly. But sometimes there are bumps in the path, you fall down and things are not going so great. But guess what? Without all those hard times, those "bumps in the path" life wouldn't be life. It just wouldn't. At the end of your journey along the path, you realize that every bump in the road, every time you fell down, were all worth it. 

I love this picture. It illustrates my thoughts perfectly. Without the ups and downs in life, life wouldn't be life. 

 Life's not perfect. But it is great. If you're having those hard times, or you fall down, don't worry. Someone will always be there to pick you up when you fall! If you are having a hard time, we are all here for you! Just put on a smile, get dancing and keep up the good work! :)

So here's this week's challenge: How have you conquered those bumps in the path? Share a story with your inspiration and experiences!

Send us your story!

Hey Everyone! Just a reminder, our email is up and working, so send us an email at path2awesome@googlegroups.com.

We LOVE hearing your stories!! Thanks for sharing! You are all awesome. :)

"For you a thousand times over"

This week a memorable moment came rather unexpectedly. In a literature class I'm taking (in case you're wondering, it's this course) we just finished Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This book was extremely emotionally touching and had me in tears by the end. The story is about a young man who betrays his only real, true friend and lives with that mistake for many years. Finally he realizes that there's a way to be good again and fights to make up for the things he did. By the end he starts his journey of forgiveness, repentance, peace and true healing.

Our discussion in class was so meaningful. We talked about all the things we learned--from forgiveness to finding peace--but in the end what stood out to me the most was the feelings we had as friends in this class. The most meaningful phrase for me in this book is "For you a thousand times over" which is how the young man's friend expressed his loyalty. I'm pretty sure most of us were crying by the end of the class as we affirmed our loyalty for each other. There's a real amazing bond that comes from friendship, and that means so much to me. Friendship really does make life worth living.

So to all my friends who are reading this, for you a thousand times over. Thanks for making my meaningful moment better than I expected. :)

Fellow Adventurers

Hey Everyone! Thank you so much for all the support and response to our blog. We love hearing your stories about your memorable moments. It really means a lot to all of us. 

Here are the amazing stories you shared this week!

Roxy Layla 11 said,
"My brother really wanted to play my Wii so I taught him how to bowl on Wii sports! It was tough! He is only 4. When I wasn't patient and yelled at him, he didn't do well. But when I was patient and encouraged him he did better! Now I know when serving others, being a leader, or teaching others, you must be patient!"

Amen! Patience makes all the difference. That's so great that you helped your brother and realized that. Way to go! Keep on going along your path to awesome! :)

Will said,
"Well, I guess a memorable moment would be the first time my brother and I went to a ski resort for the first time. I was sore the next day as was my brother but is was worth it. I improved quickly on the snowboard and did okay even though we were only on the bunny run."

No pain no gain and hey! The small things sometimes matter the most. Way to go! That's awesome! 

Rebecca Lyn said, 

"So lately I have been feeling kind of, blah. There really is no other way to describe it. I have just been lazy, I haven’t wanted to do much of anything and I didn’t know how to fix it. So the other day I was reading through your blog and just checking it out, and it really inspired me. I realized that, I need to make the most out of my life and that if I make myself doing things like being more involved with my family or something simple like that it could help me a lot. So yesterday (Thursday) my little sister was having a really hard time with her math. She was just not getting it. And she started to get really frustrated and upset. She didn’t want to continue. So I sat her on the couch next to me and I helped her work it out, and just seeing how much that helped her and seeing the light in her eyes when she finally understood it, it was all worth the time that I took out of my own day to just stop and help her. Through this little act of service and kindness I was able to help my sister be happier and understand and also, it made me happier. So I have made a goal for myself that I am going to stop and help at least one person every day who is struggling. Just to show them that I care for and love them."

That is so great! Way to go and keep going! It's hard sometimes, but we can do this together! :) 

Chelsey says, 
"I like to make others smile. For instance, yesterday when I was at Costco with my mom and couple of friends, we started dancing to the music coming from the loud speakers by the TV's. A man came up to us and said that that was the best thing he had seen all day. He said we made his day."

What an awesome way to make somebody's day! This just goes to show that you don't need to do something big to bring a smile to someone's face. 


We'll be posting stories from YOU, our fellow adventurers, every week. Feel free to send us your memorable moments at path2awesome@googlegroups.com! Together we can inspire everyone to take the path to awesome. 

How will you live a better story this week?