I am the master of my fate

"Self-mastery is the ultimate test of our character." -President James E. Faust

Mind is the master power that molds and makes,
And we are Mind, and evermore we take
The tool of thought, and shaping what we will,
Bring forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills,
We think in secret, and it comes to pass -
Our world is but our looking glass.
-- James Allen

I LOVE this poem. I really do believe that our minds have great potential and that we can shape ourselves and our attitudes by mastering our mind. By mastering our minds we are controlling our thoughts, by controlling our thoughts we are focusing our attention to the things that are most important to us, and by focusing on those things we are that much closer to becoming the people we want to become. Like Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do." I could expand on this poem in so many directions... obviously one lesson to learn is how thinking positive and having a good attitude makes all the difference in life. The greatest lesson I learn from this poem is that of self-mastery... mastering our thoughts, desires, and actions.

I control my thoughts, I control my habits, I control how I react to situations, I control my moods, I control myself. One of my pet peeves is people blaming bad habits or a bad attitude on outside sources and not accepting responsibility for themselves.

For example: I'm in a bad mood because of the weather, I pick my nose because of my dad, I can think dirty thoughts because I'm a guy, I'm addicted to shopping because I'm a girl, and worst of all: I get [angry] because "that's just how I am," ... those are random and made up examples, but I think you get the point. Believe me, I haven't got this self-mastery thing down, but I'm at least willing to take responsibility for my choices and attitude. Nobody can make me be mad, angry, happy, sad, annoyed, or overjoyed. People may help influence me in a certain direction, but in the end it's my choice. Click HERE if you would like to read good talk on self-mastery. 

Sorry for that rant. Those thoughts lead me to this wonderful poem...

 "Invictus"

William Ernest Henley 

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud:
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed. . . .

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

With all of that being said... the pressure is on. The Lord and I are at the driving wheel of my life and because of that I will act and not be acted upon. I have no excuses for not being happy and loving life. Don't get me wrong, right now life is great and I am very happy! But once school starts up again this post may come in handy for me. School is about the only think I can think of that I blame things on. For example: I can hear myself say, "School is making me go crazy! School is stressing me out. This class is irritating me." This will be a hard one to fix, but I'll try... because "I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." 

Diamondbacks Baseball Game

-Rees & I-

Rees and I had the opportunity to go cheer on the D-backs last week and had a great time! Rees has been deprived his whole life because this was his FIRST time at a professional sporting event! Isn't that CRAZY?! I suppose that's what happens when you are from Yuma! lol, jk! Thanks to us, the diamond backs actually won! They should start paying us to attend their games from now on! haha, If that were the case I guess I should actually learn more about baseball so I can follow the game better! BUT just because I don't exactly know what's going on all of the time, doesn't mean I am not a proud supporter! :)

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My Lover

-The Motorola Droid-

Jenn and the droid were united on 6/5/10 and have been lovers ever since. The start of their journey together has been a great one thus far and they plan on living a happy life together... at least for the next year or two, hopefully. <3

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Recent NEW things in my life:

• New phone
• New job
• New hair color
• 3 new fish

I am the most excited about my new job! I am now working at a place called A Special Connection, where we work with kids with developmental disabilities! I just finished training this past week and I officially start this Monday! I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy working there. 

Overall life is going really well and I am truly blessed with all my friends, family, my job, and the opportunities I have in life. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers. 

We Be Jammin'

"In My Head"

Singer: Jason Derulo

**Dancers: Gabriella, Nick, and Jenn**

                        

With much hard work and dedication... we proudly present our wonderful music video! 
(Before playing the video... be sure to pause my music playlist, which is located at the bottom of the page)


Enjoy!

  -                                         

red head?!

Thanks to the lady who messed up my hair... I am now basically a Red Head! 

[AKA: Carrot top, Annie, copper head, trusty rusty, flame brain, big/ little red, Ronald McDonald, and I'm sure there are many more where that came from.]

I don't get why people pick on red heads so much! It could be so easy to make fun of any other color, but I've never been called poop head or dirty haired girl. Well actually, I take that back... my 5 year old sister has called me poop head, but not because of my normal hair color. At her age that's one of the best insults she can come up with! haha

Don't get me wrong, I love redheads and some of my favorite people are red headed... BUT when you are a dark, brunette your whole life this can be a big change! Some days I feel like the die has seeped into my brain and is making me go crazy! haha. Ok, maybe I'm over exaggerating a little bit.

The simple and innocent carmel highlights I asked for got messed up and the new red do I have has turned me into (what looks like) a wild child! Change is good though, right? I'm slowly getting used to it... the top of my head is way more red/ orange than the rest of my hair and it is way noticeable in the sun and other brightly lighted settings. Oh well, who cares if "it will cost [me] a few dates," my sister, Lexi, said "jokingly". LOL!

Well here are some pictures...

Straightened hair                         Curly hair

And yes, that is the same person! lol. You don't get to see the straightened hair very often because it is such a pain to straighten and then to keep up. Weird enough, but the curly locks are much easier to maintain than the straight ones.


I've always wanted to be more like my redheaded.. I mean "strawberry blonde" sister, Alex, and so this is one small step towards that goal! :) 
I love you Alexandria Claire Jones!
Now you just need to add some brown to your hair and we can be twins!