Being Happy

I'd highly recommend it.

- Mike

Happy - Never Shout Never

Hap Ha Birt Da

Halfy Birthday to me!




Six months ago, I turned 21 and in six months I will be 22. (Yes, I know, my math skills are impeccable) Half birthdays are always interesting because they're like half the birthday with 0% of the fun. Really, it's more for me to have something to tell people about all day. Also good for having a reason to post on the blog in mid-November.

Here are some of the things I've done with the 6 months I've had of being 21:

- Become an uncle! (See earlier posts)
- Finished my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Started back to college
- Bought a ukulele
- Got my appendix removed
- Grew a beard
- Read the whole New Testament
- Got a smartphone
- Saw Death Cab for Cutie
- Wrote a new song
- Rode a train
- Threw a snowball
- Been at the beach for approx. a tenth of the time
- Opened a bank account
- Subscribed to Inc. and Spin magazines
- Grew out my hair
- Joined another band
- Bummed around Charlotte for a few days
- Got all A's in college (so far...)
- Bought three new pairs of shoes
- Made new friends
- Threw up
- Played in a chess tournament
- Completed my first online class
- Grew a handlebar mustache

I'm sure there are some things I missed, but you get the point. I actually didn't realize how many things I'd done in the past sixth months. Making this list was kind of cool. I'd highly encourage you to do the same if you ever feel like life is boring. It's not as lame as you'd think.


- Mike


Zebra - Beach House

New Music - Recommends From Friends

Aretha Would Agree

Being around friends is such a wonderful thing. The past week especially has been really great because I've been able to spend some good quality time with some good quality people.

I think the reason it's so great to be around people who are close friends is that you don't feel like you'll be judged for what you do or say (even if you say something stupid.) In a conversation with one of these friends, she and I discussed what makes a person eligible for a good relationship, whether a friendship or more. We determined that it comes down to two main things: trust and respect. These two characteristics combined more or less equal love. Think about it; when you love someone and they do something that seems to be bad, because you trust and respect them, you'll defend them - even to other people.

The part where relationships collapse is when one of the people does something bad enough to exceed the level of trust or respect that the other person had for them. The relationship also can be strained when one person doesn't show or have the same amount of trust and respect the other has for them.

In the ideal situations, one would make a concious effort to keep the trust and respect of the other person in the relationship. Things start falling apart when one person stops caring, puts less into the relationship and knowingly violates the trust and respect of their friend or significant other.

The point is this: love is caring more about someone else than yourself. Of course this doesn't mean denying yourself of the necessities of life in order to make someone else happy, but it does mean that mutual trust and respect causes each person to seek and be concerned for the others' well-being.

We all have friends who care about us and whom we care much about. Those are the people who I've been lucky enough to spend time with this past week.

I think we just need to start thinking about and serving others more; therein lies happiness. The scriptures tell us that "when [we] are in the service of our fellow beings, [we] are only in the service of [our] God." Let's love our God by loving our neighbor.

Who knows, maybe you'll even make a few friends along the way.

- Mike

Basic Tiny Fragments - Action Action