Alas...

...our success could not last. My sister and I once again attempted to get my mom to watch a movie with us, but she fell asleep less than five minutes in. But in other news, I found Brave to be quite a lovely film.

I have a challenge for you today, based on how my good friend and I spent our afternoon. Go to a bookstore. Proceed to the children's section. Pick out a book (or ten), sit on the floor, and commence reading. We can all do with a small taste of childhood every now and again.

Plus, you're not going to find an Avengers movie picture book in the adult fiction section, are you now?

A Momentous Occasion

Well, momentous for my family. My sister and I got my mom to stay awake for an entire movie! I have only seen that happen two other times in the last five years: when I got her to watch Slumdog Millionare...and The Hangover. The movie in question was The Hunger Games, which my mom seemed to enjoy quite a bit--even if she did ask a lot of questions.

Anyway, here's a nice shot of sunrise at the shore to cheer up anyone who has been suffering from the cold winter weather. You know, both sand and snow are beautiful, but they are certainly frustrating in large quantities. For example:

This is snow.

This is sand.

This is snow.

This is sand.

Thank you Google images. And with that, goodnight!

A Very Productive Day

Today, I purged my room. No, not "cleaned." Purged. I am an abominable pack-rat, so I forced myself to toss out many things that had been sitting, dusty and unused, in my room for years.

I feel so much better now.

I also rearranged and redecorated, which really freshened up the space. I think that I can finally use my room as a workspace. It sounds a bit paradoxical, but cleaning really relieves stress.

So, for any of you out there reading this, I have two movie suggestions. I am sure that you have seen them advertised dozens of times on the television, but The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables are certainly worth your time and money. I happen to be a big fan of the source material for both films, so I may be a little biased in my reviews of the movies. I'll try to keep these brief.

First, The Hobbit. It was released on December 14th, but as I had a final that day and the next, I saw it on Sunday the 16th with my father and siblings. A bit of back-story here: my dad took me to see The Fellowship of the Ring when it came out in 2001. I was nine at the time, and I felt like the coolest kid in the world because my dad took me to a PG-13 movie (the only stipulation was that I had to read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy beforehand, which is a tad difficult in the fourth grade). My dad got me a large Hi-C--the best drink for a "grownup" kid--which resulted in both of us having to run to the bathroom in the middle of the Mines of Moria. We were better prepared for the next two, longer movies in the trilogy.

Anyway, back to The Hobbit. I will not attempt to hash out the plot for you or anything like that. According to my father, I did not stop smiling for the entire movie. Could it be that I was watching my favorite book of all time playing out on the big screen? Could it be that the casting was spot on? Or that the detailed work of Weta Workshop never ceases to amaze me? The music, the sets, the panoramic views of New Zealand...it was a fest for the ears and eyes. Of course, not everything was perfect. Parts of the plot were altered or omitted. But that is just how it has to be with film adaptations of books, and I would rather see a lovingly-crafted, if a bit imperfect, movie than nothing at all.

Les Miserables. No written words can express the deep connection that I have to this musical. I have seen it five times on the stage, and my mother raised me on the soundtrack and the 10th Anniversary Performance VHS tape. The music, plot, and characters have somehow twisted with my DNA and become a part of me. My entire family saw the film last night as part of our Christmas celebrations. My brother shifted uncomfortably in his seat the whole time (he's not a musical fan), and my mom was very stoic, but my sister and dad and I shed tears during the whole three hours. If you do not like musicals at all, then you should probably avoid this movie. But if you are a fan, or if you are open to trying something new, please please please see this movie. Once again, it is imperfect, with changed lyrics and plot points and a few awkward camera shots, but it carried the feel of the musical perfectly.

And if Anne Hathaway singing "I Dreamed a Dream" does not shake you to your emotional core, then you are probably not human. Like my brother.

I will leave you with two beautiful quotes from two beautiful movies.

"Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love."

"And remember the truth that once was spoken: to love another person is to see the face of God."

Merry Christmas!

I hope that you all have had a beautiful Christmas.

Christmas Eve is come again...

I hope that you all are having a wonderful Christmas Eve. For those of us living in the Northeast, let's keep our fingers crossed for a white Christmas morning tomorrow.

My message tonight is simple: within the next day or two, watch It's a Wonderful Life. I'm serious. You will not regret it. (And if you cry...well, that's normal.)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I apologize for not posting yesterday: I had to bake cookies, work, and attend a rather long (but fun!) Christmas party. So instead of just giving you one picture to make you smile today, I'll give you two.

This is my roommate's Christmas tree this year - and her mother, according to my friend, is now regretting her decision to let her daughter decorate.

                                             Second: smile for grumpy Santa Claws :]

See what I did there? I made a pun...

...alright, I'm going to bed. Have beautiful dreams, everyone.

In Memoriam

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/26-random-acts-of-kindness

I am just going to leave this right here, as I cannot find the correct words with which to discuss this tragedy. Have a beautiful non-apocalypse.

Starting out on the wrong foot...

I apologize: I had a long day, being bounced back and forth between various relatives and events. I did have the pleasure of attending the Christmas concert at my brother's high school, though, and their finale reminded me of a video that might make you smile. Please enjoy, and have a beautiful night.

Day Two - A Short Little Story

Well, I am glad that I did not forget to do this today, and that the post will be published before midnight. I know that "short" and "little" may sound a little redundant, but nevertheless, here is a short little story I heard on the radio this evening:

I was driving to a Christmas concert with my mom, listening to the radio, when a young woman called into Delilah's show. When Delilah asked the girl who she was thinking of this Christmas, the girl said "myself." She went on to say that her life has been in a bit of turmoil lately. Her car "blew up," and had to go to the shop, and when it got out and she went to fill it up with gas, both her credit card and debit card were denied. She began to get frantic, not knowing how to pay for her gas, when the man behind her handed the cashier his card and told him to charge it for the girl's gasoline. The girl called Delilah because, while she did not know the name of her "guardian angel," she wanted to send out a thank you to all people who engage in random acts of kindness. 

I'll briefly reiterate what Delilah said in response. It is very important to engage in random acts of kindness - and if you happen to be the recipient, pay it forward. You'll never know how you may affect somebody's life. 

Have a beautiful evening! 

I almost forgot!

So, silly me, I promised to start posting on this blog daily, and I forgot already. Anyway, for today, I would like to present to you my favorite Christmas song as performed by one of the most talented singers around. Have a beautiful night!

Shall we try this again?

Salutations! So, I did a bad thing. I promised myself that I would keep up with this blog during the summer...and then I forgot. Well, perhaps "forgot" is not the most accurate term. It would be better to say that I was distracted. You see, I had just barely gotten home from school when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, which sent my family on a quite a wild ride.

Six months later, my mother is doing fine, thanks to love, support, and the blessing of early detection. Our lives and outlooks have changed, to be sure. It is important to use events such as these to strengthen, rather than weaken, ourselves. But enough of this for the moment. I would like to make another promise, to whoever out there may be reading this. I promise that I will post, for at least every day that I am home for Christmas break, something to help you have a beautiful day.

Home for the Summer

The school year is over, which means that I will finally be able to dedicate time to this blog. I am sad to be halfway done with college, but at the same time, I feel so blessed to be attending such a wonderful school with such fantastic people. Every day I spent there brought something joyful, insightful, moving, or simply hilarious to my life. I have so many stories, I don't even know where I would be able to begin to tell them.

I had the pleasure of staying on campus for an extra week so that I would be able to sing at the Commencement Mass as part of the liturgical choir. With the school missing about three thousand members of its population, the campus felt quite empty - but, as I found out, solitude can be lovely. That is, until all of those hours spend reading in the sunlight transform into sunburn.

I should be getting to a point in this post by now, I suppose. On this past Friday morning, I had an adventure. My friend needed me to drive with him to the impound to pick up his car, which had been towed, and I was happy to oblige. On the way back to campus, however, I got lost. I am a terribly nervous driver in general, and the moment we got on the highway (which, at 8:30 in the morning was more like a parking lot than anything), I knew that I was in trouble. I accidentally got off on an exit that promised to take me to Cape Cod, and so, my short voyage through Providence began. I made it back to campus quite safely within twenty minutes, but along the way, I had to follow a very important rule: Don't Panic. For any of you who have read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams, you might recognize this phrase. I started panicking the moment I got onto the highway, which proved to be a problem - but as soon as I realized my mistake, and the fact that I would have to get back to school without a map or GPS, I knew that panicking would get me nowhere (literally).

The reason I relate this anecdote is this: in life, I feel that we spend too much time in states of panic, anxiety, and general nervousness. We doubt our abilities, our gifts, our communication skills - be it driving on the highway, performing on the piano, or going in for an interview. Our nerves seem to be very likely to gang up on us, gag-and-bind us, and render us, in some cases, completely useless. Have confidence in yourself and in your ability to handle situations, and have hope in the knowledge that everything will turn out alright. Nearly all things in life that lead us to panic are passing things; of course there will be things truly worth worrying  about, but it is especially important in those cases to channel feelings of anxiety into more constructive emotions. I will probably explore this topic more at another time, but for now, I will leave this where it is.

After my driving escapade, and a trip to the bakery with my friends, I got back to campus only to encounter a newswoman and her cameraman. They wanted to ask us our opinions on the job market - and so, I made my first appearance on local television. Unfortunately, I do not think that I my opinions were exactly what the reporter wanted to hear. When the woman asked her questions, I answered as something that you will very rarely see on television any more: as an optimist.

I understand that our economy is in a bad place, and that jobs seem very difficult to come by. People normally scoff or look at me incredulously when I tell them that I am an English Creative Writing major - "Do you want a job?" is a question that I get a lot. I understand where they are coming from, I really do, but it seems much more constructive for me to live full of hope rather than the depressing, imprisoning certainty that I will never be employed. Because, in my understanding of life, confidence and a can-do attitude are two of the key ingredients in landing a job. The media thrives off of misery and despondency, and so they continue to feed the American public a diet of negativity and hopelessness. It's a vicious cycle.

Here's the truth: the economy will improve. You will get a job, provided that you work for it. You might not start out with your dream job, but in reality, few people do. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't stop trying! Stephen King worked in an industrial laundromat for years before he finally published his first novel. He labored by day and wrote by night, and no matter how many rejection notes he received, he refused to give up. (I'm sure that there are many other great examples; I just happen to be on a Stephen King kick right now...)

I'm sorry if this post seems a little all over the place. I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon enough. Until next time, have a beautiful day!

Welcome!

Hello all! My name is Alanna, and I'm here to bring you a special message. A few months ago, I was faced with a very important decision - to continue living a life smothered by depression, or to accept and trust the loving hands that were reaching down to pull me out of the darkness. I chose the latter, and that is why I am here now, writing this blog post. I have realized how lucky I am to be alive, to have so many gifts and such a strong network of family and friends.


I have also realized, however, how many people there are in this world that do not - or cannot - recognize the beauty and goodness around them. I know what it is like to live in a metaphorical abyss where one is completely unaware that there is so much more to life. I have not climbed completely out of the pit yet - such a goal can take weeks or years. I invite anyone who wishes to follow me on my journey - through art, community, faith, travel, writing, and love - to discover something intrinsic to our existence: that life is beautiful.