Quotations I live by...

I write quotations I come across every day in a journal I own... Whether said by my friends, family, famous people or those which I have thought of myself.

1) Do you know every day is the first of the rest of your life.
2) Difficulties in the present are short-lived, the outcome is your life.
3) Each step is inadequate, until you reach the next.
4) Be a choice, a reason, a priority, but never an option.
5) Don't let your today be stolen by the unchangeable past or the indefinite future. Today is a new day.
6) What people think of you is none of your business.
7) Nobody gets to live life backwards. So, look ahead, that's where the future lies.
8) There's always someone. Even when there's no one.
9) You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
10) Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.
11) Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.
12) Nothing will work unless you do.
13) I don't believe you have to be better than anyone else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be.
14) All the motivation in the world means nothing when you don't believe in yourself.
15) Quitting is not giving up, it can be choosing to focus your attention on something more important.
16) The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
17) It's very important to choose for yourself what you think you could imagine for your life... No-one else works in your shoes.

I love quotations as they relate to every individual and all mean something despite who we are and where we come from and even what we believe.

Words to live by…

I found this said by a woman named Regina Brett aged 90 years old. It has inspired me as they’re certainly words to live by.

Life isn’t far, but it’s still good.
Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick; your friends and parents will: stay in touch.
You don’t have to win every argument; agree to disagree.
Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
Don’t compare your life to others; you have no idea what their journey is about.
Over prepare, and then go with the flow.
Be eccentric now; don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this even matter?”
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Your children only get one childhood.
If we threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Situations

Situations occur in every ones life, however these situations bring different emotions and feelings to people depending on the circumstances they're in. Situations may be wanted or unwanted, some hoped for and some unfortunate, some happy and some sad, but all situations have a significance to our lives, whether we believe it or not.

Situations arise for a reason, they do not just appear out of nowhere - there's always a reason, however unclear this reason may be. Situations we don't want to be in occur to perhaps challenge us or even test our perseverance. We have to let these situations unfold and wait for the outcome, as the sayings go "every cloud as a silver lining" and "there is always light at the end of the tunnel". It is important to wriggle out of them to prevent upset or disturbance, and to learn how to overcome issues in our lives, as unfortunately life is not always easygoing. If you do not know the reason behind the situation you find yourself in, do not explore and elaborate on it, as the chances are you will find yourself in a worser place than you were originally in. Don't dig deep for an answer which is upsetting, just try your best to remove yourself from what has happened. Step back and see yourself from another perspective, as often you are too involved and thinking too deep into the way things are to see the resolution to your problematic circumstance.

Situations don't have to be upsetting or discomforting for you, they shouldn't have to be, at the end of the day we are in situations every single day of our lives... We have to experience a bad situation one day, but this shouldn't have to be every day.

Living in the moment...

People have said to me, and I have heard it said to others: "Live in the moment and treasure every second"... However, can this really be done?

We all have moments in our lives whether at events, with friends or family or even by ourselves, which we wish we could treasure - live in the moment forever. This unfortunately cannot be done, despite how hard we may try. We live in a temporal sequence which is unstoppable. Time passes similar to how our memories pass and over time may fade. We can however still conjure images, voices and emotions in our mind, but the truth is we can't fully re-live the exact moment, or live in the moment. Every time we experience something we experience it at that exact time, we enjoy it for a split second at that exact time, we feel emotions for it at that exact time, that experience lasted for that exact time. Similar to how things are 'done and dusted', they cannot be changed or re-lived quite as they were, but can only be remodelled using figments of our imagination and guesses to how we felt in the past.

Time is constantly moving, this is inevitable and this is something which we have to face.

A positive outlook on life... You're off to great places.

In life it is inevitable that choices will have to be made. Pathways will occur leading to different outcomes, and unfortunately we won't experience all of these; but the choice we decide to make will lead to other pathways determining our lives.

Recently, I brought a book for someone who made the decision to take up an opportunity, as I feel this book is inspiring and uplifting despite it perhaps being a children's book. This book is 'Oh, the places you'll go' by Dr Seuss. The words inside conjure up feelings of positivity and motivation to do well in life and to look forward to things which are to come.

'Oh, the places you'll go' illustrates a boy (referred to as 'you') who is on a journey to find his place in the world... Through tribulations he succeeds and through congratulations he continues to rise. His situation is identifiable as I read the book, as I feel we are all on a journey starting from the first day of our lives, and even more so as we grow older. We are constantly attempting to fit in and find a place which we feel comfortable in: working and working until we are satisfied with where we are.

I highly recommend you read it, here's the link to the words:
http://homepages.ius.edu/harrisla/places.htm

I adore this book, as not only does it give hope to those stepping into 'new paths' or 'journeys' in their life, but it gives a sense of the endless opportunities which are awaiting us. Despite it being hopeful, it also shows that some decisions can be daunting due to it being the wrong choice, but you will rise above this and try something different until you reach happiness. The journey overcoming your bad experiences will be an uphill steep as you may meet people who hurt you, who are superior and those which step on you whilst they're on their excursion. However, you won't let these people get the best of you: "On and on you will hike and I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are."

This book has shown me that anything is achievable if we put our mind to it, as we can steer ourselves in any direction we choose. The world is our oyster, even though we may be on our own, we still know what to do, and we are the only ones who can determine our futures. It may be hard, as is everything in life, but we can do it. The line "Will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed (98.3/4% guaranteed)" reinforces to me that success is attainable no matter what the challenge.

All aim high and achieve... Determine your journey carefully, and choose the path you'll lead.
  

'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak

After being recommended 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak from the Librarian, some English teachers and two of my friends, I first of all felt sceptical as they all gave me high expectations of it. When people highly recommend a book, I am often let down, as was the case with 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini. However, in the case of 'The Book Thief', I was totally mesmerised and glued to it from the prologue onwards with the starting of: "First the colours. Then the humans. That's usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try." Due to this, I read 'The Book Thief' in three days... As the cover states: "When Death tells a story, you really have to listen"

I found this book unique and interesting as it is narrated by Death, which gives the book a rather eerie yet apt feeling as I read. This book captures my emotions and inner feelings, causing me to express sympathy towards the time in which it was set: Nazi Germany. The characters seemed so real and accurate for the time period through their tribulations and their rare happy moments: their actions, their thoughts and feelings. Death seems to be a living, breathing creature who is fed up of the constant picking up of souls and witnessing of deaths. (He) chooses therefore to concentrate on one female in particular called Liesel due to her interesting character and hobby of thieving books. Death narrates the growing up of Liesel, whose rebuilt life falls into turmoil as her country (Germany) goes to war and her family try to conform to Nazi society (while at one point hiding a Jewish fistfighter in their basement).

Death’s narrative has a juddering structure which kept me infatuated by it. Through out the book there are small announcements, which are usually wild understatements, ironic and sarcastic, Death’s summaries are short, harsh and straightforward, making him an interesting character to listen to. I as the reader felt intrigued to know the true character behind Death, the short yet rather revealing annoucements gave little insight into his character, surrounding his character with mystery. The final line of the book is ambiguous towards his character: "I am haunted by humans."

I truly recommend this book to all those who love books based on historical fact, those which create emotions and books which are heartfelt and cleverly wrote. Markus Zusak to me has created a masterpiece. 'The Book Thief' for me is the most poignant book I have ever read, and perhaps the only one I will read causing me to cry at the end. Perhaps this is due to the fact the events could have happened down to the nature of Nazi Germany... The reality of this book is harsh yet realistic and inevitable.