Life Lessons

Things I Have Learned Recently:
-The guitar (not super well)
-Patience (kind of but not super well either)
-How to be more open than is comfortable (still working on that, too)
-How weak I am
-How strong I can be
-All about different cords and cables for audio/visual equipment
-Hard work is worth it sometimes
-David O. McKay was an awesome husband
-So was Harold B. Lee
-Hope is possible without seeing how things will happen, if they ever even do
-Sleep is not overrated, but hard to get sometimes
-I like capitalism
-I'm pretty smart and capable and stuff (more of a needed reminder)
-It's not fun to learn the same lessons over and over
-Finding patterns is kind of really fun.  For me.
-Emotions are good if you accept them
-Emotions sometimes still are the worst even then
-Stability and routine are things I actually really crave
-Knowing that I need/don't need something and actually feeling like I need/don't need something are very, very different things
-Perspective can be really hard to find
-It's really easy to spend money without thinking about it
-Being stable and having a good, solid network of friends for support is worth a lot more than any words can describe
-Music is really good for catharsis
-Movies used to do that for me really well, but now are overwhelming a lot of the time
-I am really funny (not that I didn't know this before)
-I like talking to strangers about things like beeswax, CSAs, history, trivial matters
-I miss some of my old hobbies a lot
-Touching hot pans is bad for my skin
-Being outside is a really good form of therapy
-Writing in my journal is another really good form of therapy
-Talking to friends/family is another really good (better, even) form of therapy
-Being optimistic is sometimes hard but it's always worth it
-Taking risks is also really hard, but it can lead to very rewarding experiences and lessons I couldn't have learned otherwise
-I don't like school enough to go on and get a PhD, but sometimes I wish I did because I do actually really love school enough to keep going on.  Just not enough for the work and life-sucking quality of graduate degrees.
-I should stop being as shy as I am, but I don't really want to talk to other people a lot of the time.  Not enough to actually do it
-I'm really stubborn and moody and prideful
-Laughter is one of the only ways to break the above
-It's really easy for me to be distracted at inappropriate times
-I can carry a joke on until it becomes something very serious, like how comic book characters are all based on scriptural characters.  That joke may have lasted like 24 hours, actively naming comic book characters and the scriptural characters that correspond.
-I have no clue what I want to do even three months from now, or where I want to be.  Like, literally.
-Life is good, even when it's hard
-Even when things can't get much worse, there's a silver lining in that it can (and often will) always get better
-It takes work to feel comfort and hope sometimes, but that work is always well worth it
-Just going through the motions sucks, so trying to be optimistic and actually like my life is really important
-Time helps perspective, so do prayer and scripture study.

Listening to NPR music, mostly

Songs I Listen to a Lot Lately:

-Two against One, starring Jack White (from Rome by Daniele Luppi and Danger Mouse)

-Stone Rollin' (from Stone Rollin' by Raphael Saadiq)

-Heart Attack (from Stone Rollin' by Raphael Saadiq)

-All Cried Out Redux feat. Doug E. Fresh (from The Light of the Sun by Jill Scott)

-Le BOOM (from The Light of the Sun by Jill Scott)

-Rolling in the Deep (from 21 by Adele)

-A la faveur de l'automne (from A la faveur de l'automne by Tété)

-99 problems (from The Grey Album by Danger Mouse)

-Justify my Thug (from The Grey Album by Danger Mouse)

-Detroit (from Rush by Black Gold)

-Plans & Reveries (from Rush by Black Gold)

-Le Premier bonheur du jour (by Françoise Hardy)

-Sleep With One Eye Open (from a Tiny Desk Concert with Chris Thile and Michael Daves)

-Bury Me Beneath the Willow (from a Tiny Desk Concert with Chris Thile and Michael Daves)

-Red Devil (from a Tiny Desk Concert with The Kopecky Family Band)