Even before this summer, I absolutely loved this quote from J.K. Rowling/Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:
But now I love it even more.
This is because of Cassidy Stay, who I was privileged to meet two months ago (I'm on the left, Cassidy is in the middle, my twin sister is on the right).
As most people know, Cassidy's family was tragically murdered and she emerged as "the Girl Who Lived," also saving many of her relatives' lives with her heroic actions.
Even though we only got to spend a few hours together, I will always remember her and her example to me (and to the world). Cassidy is an amazing person and nothing I can say can do her justice. Her faith and strength are truly a miracle. Stay strong, Cassidy!
For another insight into Cassidy's story and how it/she changed the world:
My seminary teacher showed us a really good Mormon Message in honor of the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2011. Today is the thirteenth "anniversary" of the tragedy. I was only two when 9/11 happened, but this day every year is still an important reminder to me that the things that matter most should always be our first priority.
Today in seminary (a class given to high-school students who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; for more information, visit http://www.mormon.org/values/learning or https://seminary.lds.org/about?lang=eng) we studied Doctrine and Covenants 18:10: "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." This has always been one of my favorite scriptures. It is truly a miracle that God cares so much each and every one of us, no matter what.
I saw this video in my Facebook newsfeed today and I was touched by it. It even included D&C 18:10. It seemed to bring across exactly what I had learned in seminary- in the words of President Monson, "God's love is simply always there."
In a recent study, people were asked to look in the mirror and describe what they saw. Strangers were on the other side of the mirror, also describing what they saw. The results are really inspiring. You can watch a video, "What Do Strangers Think of You?", at
This study is so powerful to me because it shows that we are harder on ourselves than we are on other people. We need to take a step back and realize that we are all beautiful or handsome or whatever we want to be. I, like many of you I'm sure, often worry about what other people think of me. But what this shows is that we should be worrying about what we think about ourselves, as it's worse than what anyone else thinks. It truly is a miracle how nice people think of you, even when they don't know you. :)
I was listening to this amazing song by Colbie Calliat today. It is called "Try" and I love the message. Unfortunately, it is somewhat a miracle that there is a song sending us the message that it is okay not to try to so hard to look good, because the world we live in sends us the exact opposite message. I think this is a great song that every girl should listen to. Here are the lyrics:
Oooh
Oooh
Put your make up on
Get your nails done
Curl your hair
Run the extra mile
Keep it slim so they like you, do they like you?
Get your sexy on
Don't be shy, girl
Take it off
This is what you want, to belong, so they like you
Do you like you?
You don't have to try so hard
You don't have to give it all away
You just have to get up, get up, get up, get up
You don't have to change a single thing
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try, try, try, try
You don't have to try
Yooou don't have to try
Oooh
Oooh
Get your shopping on, at the mall, max your credit cards
You don't have to choose, buy it all, so they like you
Do they like you?
Wait a second,
Why should you care, what they think of you
When you're all alone, by yourself, do you like you?
