And Sometimes Your Life is Like a Beatles' Song...

" I get by with a little help from my friends."

Heard that.

Sometimes when I'm with my friends, it could appear from an outside perspective that we are hitting some pretty heavy narcotics. Truly, we get real weird and pretty loud and make strange body gestures. 

*Side story: This is real life, I promise. During my senior year of high school , I participated on the basketball team. I choose the word "participated" because I literally had no idea what I was ever doing. I just ran around a lot and jumped and stuff. Anyway, I was probably on the team for more of a social aspect. Ok, ok to the story… In the locker room I decided it would be completely brilliant to attack two of my greatest friends (shout out to Becca and Haley), while they were already laughing. Long story short, after a few blows to the stomach and continuing to be absolutely ridiculous, I succeeded in making them both urinate their pants with their uniforms already on. It's safe to say that the next day, each of us were called into the coach's office to be questioned about the use of drugs. I promise, this is so true, it's insane. So hilarious. I digress, but that story is too funny not share. 

But despite that, I assure you, I have not and will not ever "get high with a little help from my friends". Regardless of this popular line from the famous Beatles' song, I do find truth with a majority of the rest of George, Ringo, Paul and John's transcendent words. 

Last week, I enjoyed wallowing in my own self pity. I admit that life got the better of me. It's as simple as that. I was full of exhaustion, stressed with 14 billion pages of studying for physiology (yay, dietetics), suffering from the winter blues, blah blah blah… Upon all of this, I thought it would be super cool to just deal with everything by my self-righteous (more like naive), independent self (again, naive), you know, because that's what I do. My genius game plan: keep everything in my head and walk around like a creepy depressed zombie. Not the best idea, that's for sure. Well, using some type of weird telepathic powers, Jenna and Maria sensed my selfish, baby-like sadness all the way from Indy. 

So last Sunday, as I sat in Panera sipping my fourth gallon of coffee, I was blown away by the best surprise of my entire life (except for the time, at the age of 17, my dad told me that I was going to have a sister, Brooklyn. Oh, and then again, two years later, when he told me that I was going to have a baby brother, Beckett. Woah, babies. Everywhere.) Whatever, back to the point, IT WAS THE GREATEST SITE OF MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE. Although at first I was completely overwhelmed with a sense of immense confusion and more confusion on top of that, I finally realized that standing before me were my two best friends. The other 2/3's of HJM (aka Maria and Jenna for those of you who can't put together context clues). Instead of crying or screaming, I think I kind of blacked out. Not really, I seriously just can't remember what my initial reaction was, but I'm sure it was just enough to disrupt a once innocent place of dining. Yeah, you could say that I was pretty freakin' excited. 

This video is actually a decently realistic representation of how I usually act in surprise situations. Let's just say that they're my favorite and that I can maybe, sometimes resemble the horrifying qualities of a good Kristen Wiig impression, except I'm likely to be worse dressed, obvi. DAT SWEATER.



Jenna just doing what ever it is
that she does.

Basically, for the next three hours, I ditched the books and had some much needed time with my favorite people. Although we were in a crowded restaurant, it was like time stood abnormally still for a while. Just enough of a break for me, myself and I to catch a breath from the stressful week before. I cried, they listened. I laughed, they laughed along with me. Let's be honest, there was so much obnoxious laughing. I vented, they supported. I sweated (which I tend to do, a lot), they stared in disgust. I was broken, and they mended my defected heart slowly back together. People, friendship is a beautiful thing. It is the force that picks us up when we have fallen and the push to keep us moving right along down the path we call life.

Looking back at the events that occurred last Sunday, it's hard to define the emotions that streamed through my scatter-brained skull. I honestly believe that I do not have the emotional capacity, nor the in-depth vocabulary, for that matter, to describe exactly what it was that I felt. Simply no words to justify my intense feeling of overwhelmingness, my great appreciation, the wonderful blessings in the form of friends, or the outpour of love. It was (insert every best adjective here).

All I can really say is that my life is good and my friends are the best. I am forever so very grateful, not to mentioned blessed beyond measure. Hardships and stress will come and go, but the relationships that I form along the way are solid. Hard as rock, forever, indefinitely, completely solid.  I am constantly, CONSTANTLY reminded that life is not some independent test and it's not supposed to be taken on alone. So thanks for that reminder, Jenna motha Henna and Young Mar Mar, you guys are the bestie mcbest.

Last Sunday, I was so unbelievably amazed by the personification of friendship portrayed so bluntly in front of me. I was humbled to an incredible extent.  I'm not too cool, too strong, or too capable to reach out to my support team, my friends, my family. Maybe someday I'll decide to take my own advice and learn. But until then, I figure that I will continue to be consistently reminded. Ladies and gentleman, God does not put such unique and special people in your life to be overlooked, but to be valued and pursued in times of brokeness. So, yes, last week was tough. But guess what? I survived. And I'm still here today, writing this testimony. How? Perhaps the Beatles' had it right, you do "get by with a little help from your friends." 

So, what do I want you to take away from my experience, other than the best story about locker room urination ever? The next time you're feeling a little down, in a slump, or a attempting to overcome one of the crazy obstacles that life throws at you, seek. Seek your friends, seek your family, seek your spirituality, SEEK HOPE. You will make it through, I promise. It's all about the perseverance, my friends. Just keep on keepin' on.

--Haley 

Probably the most normal picture you will
likely ever see of us. So, enjoy that.

Anyways, here's what happened last Sunday. All 3 of us were actually in the same place. At the same time. And it was literally the best day ever. 

The Surprise.
So we (aka Jenna and Maria) decided to surprise Haley. But here's the thing... We literally had no plan. Haley is usually the one who plans and organizes these excursions, so this was a really difficult task for us to take on. We contacted Haley's roommate, Lindsay (she's the cutest, best person), to try and organize the whole thing and she helped us determine where Haley would be when we arrived in West Lafayette... That was as far as we got. So we're driving to Purdue last Sunday with no plan and no idea how we were going to surprise her, but we knew that it was going to be epic because Haley has the best/weirdest reactions to things, especially surprises. 

Haley was at a Panera studying when we arrived in West Lafayette, so we parked the car and began walking up to the door. This was when we realized we had absolutely no idea what we were doing. During our road trip we kept discussing "So how should we surprise her?", but we never got further than "I don't know". But it was a good thing that we didn't plan anything, because as soon as we walked in the door Haley and Maria made eye contact. It was extremely awkward because she was just staring at Maria like she was the most horrifying human being she had ever seen. Then, in typical Haley-fashion, Haley yells (seriously she yelled) "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE?" and began power walking towards us. The look on her face was a mixture of confusion, nausea, and joy. Then we hugged and she was still really confused so we stood in the middle of Panera awkwardly for a few minutes. And the rest is history. Like true history because we recorded it. On this very blog.

The Highlights.
We feel like the only possible way for you, the reader, to understand the exact chaos and ridiculousness that each encounter involving the three of us entails, is through a fews pictures. Prepare yourself.


                                                                                             

You could say we're pretty weird...but that would be the understatement of the century. So now we're going to leave  you with our favorite quote from our reunion last Sunday. This quote happens to come from our very own, the one, the only, the supremely lovely, Jenna Payne. "Guys, you know how my New Years Resolution was to workout more? Well, I've been trying to run more frequently, and I haven't really ran consistent distances since high school cross country. When I run, my legs rub together and it's really painful ("chafing", we've all been there) Like so painful. And it has been bleeding. Every time I run the skin that has gotten scabbed over starts bleeding again. I don't know what to do." Eruption of laughter. Upon more and more laughter until the point of tears. So horrifyingly hilarious. Thus the day Jenna learned about chafing and the ability to prevent it by wearing running tights. Success. 

Until next time folks, HJM

Does Each Day Have the Potential to be the Best Day of My Life?

Haley here. It all started two weeks ago as my sister, Claire, and I were driving back to good ole Purdue after Christmas break. Now to be honest, this drive really kind of sucks. We usually have a weird adrenaline rush the first 40 minutes of the journey to campus as the excitement of new beginnings and possibilities of the start of a new semester set in, followed by approximately an hour of each of us trying our very hardest to sing each song on the radio until we develop bronchitis (literally, we think we're really good singers to the point that it’s kind of ridiculously annoying), and ultimately the last portion of the 3 hour drive is full of the realism of starting new classes that have the potential to be stupidly hard and having to be on a schedule again (also, the last 40 minutes usually contains diet soda or teas of our choosing and then complaining about having to pee, but having nowhere to stop).

But on this particular drive, I heard an obnoxious radio host describe a philosophy that I found to be strikingly intriguing. "Today could be the best day of your entire life." My thoughts spiraled as my mind consumed this radical idea. Side-note: I'm literally one of the most dramatic people I have ever witnessed, so when I heard this relatively simple line for the first time in my 20 years of semi-superb existence, I thought I was having some sort of strange Native-American like epiphany. Although up until this point during the day, my life had consisted of glumly saying goodbye to my family, packing 6,000 pounds of my belongings into the back of Claire's car, belting Miley, and looking forward to an Arnold Palmer. I had become enveloped and curious about the possibility of something miraculous happening. I mean for my day to suddenly become the best day of my life, something huge and crazy and wonderful has to occur, right? Like some monumental pinnacle? Although, true story: Recently I was driving and received a phone call that my best friend had found her wedding dress, causing me to stop at a gas station to jump around like a complete freak-spaz in the parking lot for about 7 minutes. After this exhausting celebration, I went inside and purchased a super refreshing Diet Dr. Pepper and as I drove away into the night, Lenny Kravitz’s "Fly Away" came on the radio. I immediately started tearing up and convinced myself that of all the good days in my life, this was the best. It might have been the mixture of gas fumes, artificial sweeteners and my psychotic mannerisms, but it was just supreme. Ok, after putting that down into words, I realize that I'm truly the saddest person of life. Oh well.

Alright, back to the point. After having two weeks to ponder the thought of this overwhelming potential, I have a few thoughts. I feel like in my life I have always yearned so desperately for the nonexistent feeling of being at my prime, of living the best days, of having everything and having the opportunity to do anything. What I have realized is that I'm probably never going to have the best day ever. Honestly, that is not at all me being a pessimist or believing that I cannot attain a moment of pure bliss. It just means that when I look back at my life, I want to be able to admit that I lived, not waiting around, with some days being better than others, and that I pursued things that I was passionate about with no regrets. I want the good days to outweigh the bad and I want to know that I affected people around me with pure, genuine love.

At this moment in time, in my 20 year old wisdom-filled heart (scratch the wisdom, I'm kind of sporadic and spontaneous, maybe not wise. Also I have a hole in my heart, so maybe "defected" would be a better adjective to describe my heart) I can, with confidence, say that:

1. I have the best family. Truly, however dysfunctional and crazy we may be, I could not imagine being surrounded by and raised by any other people. The best, the best, the best. Seriously.

2. My friends… again, the greatest. I literally been so wonderfully blessed in my life when it comes to friends. Whenever people ask me who my best friend is, I list off like 14 people. I choose to surround myself with beautiful people who are weird and strange and total comedic geniuses and I love it, more than anything else.

3. I serve a gracious, merciful God. I really don't think that this needs an explanation. Words are hard to find when it comes to describe my faith and my God. He is too good, too awesome (AWESOME defined: causing feelings of wonder: causing awe), so overwhelmingly full of grace. He has blessed me with everything.

Whoohoo, God is good, family is good, friends are good, food is good. Life…IS GOOD.

So, let's reflect. Reflect on our lives and the people in it. Reflect on the opportunities that lay before us and the mistakes we have made in the past. Let's rejoice in our God and the unbelievable blessings we have been given. Seriously, if each day we wake up and we think of everything that we have to be grateful for, how could we not be living the best day ever, the best days every day? Sounds pretty crazy. And maybe it isn't possible, but at least give each day a chance.

After reading this, I hope that I'm not portrayed as some "hippy freak love child", actually yes, do think of me as that because that's hilarious. Just kidding, but seriously. I am the queen of negativity, especially in the morning. I literally once had a streak going, for at least like 14 months straight, where I would wake up and curse the day. Seriously, like curse. As in use profanities. Like literally wake up and say, "This day is stupid", but replace "stupid" and come up with something slightly more creative. I've changed my ways, somewhat. I use effort, each day. Like sometimes physical effort. I strive to be optimistic when I wake up and continue to stay optimistic when I'm crossing the streets on Purdue's campus and almost get nailed by 4 different vehicles, optimism through my multiple 2.5 hour labs, optimistic when I'm tired and hangry (yes, "hangry", meaning angry because I'm hungry, which is almost 24/7).

These last two weeks have been good. Regardless, getting back into the swing of things at school has been difficult. Persevering through this weeks past tragedy has been difficult. Sometimes days will be difficult. But whenever life gets complex, in the back of my mind I have stored, "Each day has the potential to be the best day of my life. Yes, times might be hard in this exact moment, at this exact time in my life, but it'll all be good, wonderful, legit, the best. Just make it through." And for the days where it's hard to take your own advice, it's not so bad to lean on a friend or a family member, or the homeless man across the street. Coming from Miss Independent herself, without my supporters, who the heck knows where'd I'd be? It's not showing weakness, it's being strong and being able to admit that life is hard.

So here's to making each day the best day of your life. And if not your own, contribute to someone else's. This world can be dark, so let's make it our goal to be the light. To show love, to relish in comedy, to show real emotion and spontaneity. Challenge yourself. Challenge others. YOU CAN DO IT…and if you can't, below is a ridiculous list of tips/steps/advice/funny things to improve your day composed by yours truly, HJM.

1. Laugh at yourself at least once a day. We all do stupid things, and if you’re like any of us, you probably find them either extremely embarrassing or ridiculously funny. You’re allowed to think that you’re funny. So laugh at yourself.

2. Call your mom or dad or sibling or someone who loves to compliment you. Seriously, nothing makes your day better than receiving compliments. And whoever you call or talk to, give them a compliment back. Spread the joy.

3. Take this quiz: http://www.buzzfeed.com/joannaborns/quiz-what-food-matches-your-personality It’s hilarious and it’s about food, so honestly, what could be better?

4. Watch this vine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3oParxDyyY . It’s literally one of the funniest things we’ve ever seen and we laugh SO hard every time we see it. You won’t be disappointed.

5. Draw a mustache on your index finger and hold it up to your face throughout the day. Mustaches make the world go ‘round.  

6. Pump up the jam. Find some good space, blare the best song and go crazy. If your moves can be described as a mixture of smooth and epileptic then you know you are doing something right.

7. Crack open a good book. Harry Potter, Soul Pancake, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (and other concerns) just to suggest a few that will allow you to fall into a good story and stimulate that brain. And if reading isn’t your thing, do it anyway. We find that reading a good book is a great trigger to initiate an even better nap.

8. Watch a video from Kid President. He is literally the cutest, wisest, most funny child ever. His spazzy ways will encourage you and give you a good laugh. After viewing, you might even have a few new killer dance moves.

9. Eat ice cream. One time Haley and Maria ate an entire container of mint chocolate chip frozen yogurt in less than 24 hours. It was disgusting, but also so delicious that it didn’t even matter. Sometimes you just need to reward yourself for being awesome.

10. Watch the Office. Seriously, you will not regret it. It is everything you need in life. Not only is it full of the most comical quotes, the greatest love story of our generation, and John Krasinski (seriously try not to fall in love, we dare you), but it teaches us valuable lessons on friendship and life...and how to deal with a ridiculous boss. 

What are your tips for making each day the best day of YOUR life? Comment below… We want to hear your opinions!

And with that, HJM out.