E-G of What Disney Taught Me!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're having a wonderful week so far! I haven't been blogging for a few days and I've been missing it! So I thought I'd do the next post in the "What Disney Taught Me" series that I started! Enjoy!

E is for:



THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE: This movie is definitely one of my favorites. No matter how many times that I've seen it, Kuzco's sassiness still cracks me up! Plus, you gotta love Kronk, right? But on a more serious note, this movie teaches us that we need to treat others well and the importance of friendship. When Kuzco treated everyone terribly, nobody wanted to be his friend or have anything to do with him. Pacha was the only person who was willing to give him the time of day and help him through his crisis and it ended up resulting in a wonderful friendship and teaching Kuzco that the world wasn't all about him, which he ended up being perfectly fine with. Basically, we're all in this world together and being a good person not only makes you happy but also makes everyone else around you happy.

F is for:



FREAKY FRIDAY: I was actually wondering if I should do Finding Nemo but I felt like doing Freaky Friday for some reason. I actually love this movie more than I care to admit, mostly because when I was younger, I really loved Lindsay Lohan. But that's for a different blog. As far as the movie goes, it speaks a lot to me because even though I'm close with my mother now, we went through a rough patch during my teenage years. I was moody and pushed people away when I was 13 and I somewhat related to the relationship between Anna and Tess. Of course everyone knows the story: they switch bodies, learn about each other's perspective and then have a wonderful relationship. And of course the moral of the story is to always try to understand other peoples' perspectives before making judgments and always communicate. I completely agree with that sentiment and think that this movie is extremely underrated.

G is for: 



A GOOFY MOVIE: This movie is one of my sister's favorites and I simply adore it. Who doesn't love Goofy, right? I mean, he's adorable. But his son, Max, doesn't think so. In fact, he's embarrassed by his father's personality and doesn't want to spend any time with him. But over the course of their road trip together, they learn to accept the other person's quirks and love each other for who they are. It's a really cute story about a teenager learning that his father isn't as big of a dork as he thought. It's a feel-good family film about acceptance and unconditional love, mixed with a little humor. It's one of the best stories that Disney has ever done, in my opinion and it's morals ring true. People are who they are and learning to love them that way is such a beautiful thing. It's a lesson that I'll always need to remember but will never forget.

That's all for this segment! I'll be posting more soon!

Feel free to leave a comment below if you learned any other lessons from these movies! Happy Wednesday!

-Chelsea

Followers = Validation?

I recently read an article that said that social media is a positive thing because it helps boosts peoples' egos. And I thought to myself, "Say what?" But as I read the entire article, it all started to make sense.

Let me give you an example. I am subscribed to maybe 15 or so popular YouTubers. And whenever they post a new video, they post a picture on Instagram or Twitter with a caption like, "New video is up guys! Can I get 20,000 'likes' in 20 minutes?" Basically, they are begging for "likes", which to me, is off-putting. But thinking about this article in relation to those captions made me understand the article's point. Does it matter if we spend a week shooting a YouTube video, spend 40 hours editing and are really proud of the final product? Or does it only matter if it gets thousands of "likes"? Are we really only searching for the approval of others? Are our own opinions of what we do and how we live just simply not enough anymore?

The same principle can be tied into other social media sites, like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Why do we post pictures of everything we eat? (Actually, I don't do that. I hate when other people do that. I don't care about your food.) Why do we tweet our every thought and question? Why do we post witty statuses?

The answer is simple: for validation. We want people to "like" what we're eating, what we're thinking, etc. I know so many people that are constantly glued to their phones, waiting to see how many "likes" the picture of their Taco Bell quesadilla can get. And why? Because they are somehow seeking the approval of Facebook friends on their eating habits? Pretty much.

This brings me to my next observation. At the end of pretty much every video done by a YouTuber that I subscribe to, they say something like, "Make sure to follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook. Links are in the description." And my first thoughts are always, "Why should I? I subscribe to you on YouTube, isn't that enough? You're just going to constantly be making the same posts but on different websites." I think that it's because when someone has 400,000 Twitter followers, it makes them feel special because people "want" to know about their lives. But do they really? I follow tons of people on Instagram, for example, and I only really look at photos that I care about, which are few and far between.

Plus, it doesn't seem to matter that most of those people following them on Twitter are the same 400,000 people following them on Instagram. But does that matter? No because to them, it's 400,000 people that care about what they ate for lunch that day. Somehow, every time we get a "like" or a follower, it makes us feel better, like we're important or like we're validated for what we do, etc., which shouldn't be the case.

No matter what you post on social media, these people are pretty much all strangers and will probably never meet you. So why are you seeking their attention, love, "likes" and even validation? Just be you. No, scratch that. Just be the best you that you can be and all of that other stuff will follow.

Happy Friday!

-Chelsea

A-D of What Disney Taught Me!

People often ask me why I can watch movies like The Little Mermaid and Tangled over and over because they are "kids movies." This is completely untrue! Walt Disney claimed that he made movies for everyone, not just children. Although I am a child at heart, these movies do not only entertain us with very well-written stories, songs and characters, they teach us lessons. In my opinion, if adults watched more Disney movies, they'd learn a lot about how to treat people and how to be a good person. 

So in the spirit of trying to spread some more pure Disney magic, I thought that I'd talk about Disney movies that I love and tell you about why I love them and what I learned from them. I carry these lessons with me in everyday life and they have helped shape me into the person that I am today, not only a Disnerd but a person who lives life every day trying to make it better than it was the day before. 

With that said, here we go! 

A is for: 



ALADDIN: Aladdin was my favorite movie growing up and still is my favorite Disney movie to this day, sharing its coveted spot with Peter Pan; but that's for another blog. Aladdin truly shows you that changing who you are to impress someone else or get them to like you, doesn't work. Jasmine loved Aladdin even though he was a street rat and hated who he was when he pretended to be a prince. Basically, this movie taught me to stay true to myself. 

When you talk about Aladdin, you cannot forget Robin Williams' unforgettable character, Genie. Aladdin made a promise to set Genie free with his third and final wish. However, when he didn't keep his word, Jafar ended up being Genie's new master and taking over Agrabah. Aladdin learned his lesson, of course and set Genie free in the final moments of the movie. Here, Aladdin shows us that keeping our promises is important and that doing so helps us define our character. 

B is for: 



BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: This movie is regarded as one of Disney's most treasured films, as it should be. Although I was afraid of the beast for a while during my younger years, I still loved Belle. I always felt a really big connection to her. Belle was so much like me: brunette, hazel-eyed and a bookworm that felt like she didn't belong in her home town. Despite how different she was from everyone else and how they treated her because of it, she never changed for anyone. She taught me that no matter what, loving myself is more important than being just like everyone else.

It also taught the important message to look beyond appearances and not be judgmental. Nobody could blame Belle for being afraid of the beast when she first met him because he portrayed himself as the monster he was cursed to be. However, she was able to look past everything and get to know him for who he truly was, thus allowing him to fall in love with her. They both accepted each other and they both understood each other in a way that nobody else did. In the end, of course, true love conquered all and the beast turned back into Prince Adam. (Yes, he does have a name.)

C is for: 



CINDERELLA: Ah, Cinderella, Disney's classic film. I had this movie on repeat when I was a kid, although I would fast-forward past the part where the step-sisters ripped her dress; I just couldn't stand to see Cinderella cry like that. I always used to wonder why Cinderella didn't just leave or tell her step-family to stop bossing her around but I realized that she had nowhere else to go. And staying there didn't make her weak; it made her strong for being able to put up with everything that she did and still remain kind towards the world. No matter what, she never stopped believing that things would get better and she never stopped being kind. To me, that says a lot about her character and just how special she was. Cinderella also taught me that karma is powerful because in the end, she did win and she did get the happily ever after that she always dreamed of, while her step-family ended up miserable and longing for the life that she now had. 

Cinderella also taught me the power of friendship. Her animal friends were always there to help her. They made her dress for the ball, they pulled her carriage and they helped get her out of the locked attic at the end of the movie. She didn't even have to ask for them to do that, they just did it out of loyalty to her and their strong, everlasting friendship. Friendship is truly an underrepresented part in this film. Everyone talks about the ball, her slipper and her fancy dress while I think the most beautiful part of the film was Cinderella's relationships with the other characters. 

D is for: 



DUMBO: The beginning of Dumbo always breaks my heart. The scenes with his mother just bring tears to my eyes! But when everyone thinks of Dumbo, they don't think about his mom, they think about his ears, of course. Dumbo is teased about his ears because they're "weird" and "abnormal" and "make him look funny", to paraphrase. Simply because the other characters have never seen anything like them before, they find it comical to pick on poor, little Dumbo. Later in the movie he finds out that with the help of his ears, he can fly! Basically, the moral of the story is to be happy with what you have because sometimes something that you don't really like about yourself can be a blessing in disguise. 

Also, going back to the mother for a minute, this story is also about the importance of family. Dumbo's mother is taken away and locked up in a cage for quite some time during the movie. Dumbo is very young and needs his mother to look after him and help him. Sadly, that's not an option but they do find time to be with each other, however little it may be. They appreciate the time that they have together and find comfort in each other. Nothing else matters during those moments. I cannot imagine being away from my mother, so these scenes hit me very hard and choke me up. So in short, Dumbo taught me to appreciate my mother and never take her for granted because there are people in the world who don't have access to their mothers every day like I do. And I take that lesson very seriously.

So that's all for today! I hope that you enjoyed me showing you a little bit more of my nerdy side! If there's anything that you'd like to share about what you learned from these movies, feel free to leave a comment below! 

Happy Wednesday!

Chelsea  

I'm Lucky

I'm going to admit that I've always had a very blessed life. But just like everyone else, I hit rough patches. I'm really trying to live my life in a positive way, so I try not to dwell on the inevitable negativity that is found in day-to-day life. So in order to remind myself just how lucky I am, I thought I'd share it on my blog, so that I'll never forget it!

Happy Monday!

Reasons That I'm Lucky:

1. I have my health. I have had to come a long way in my journey to health and every day that I wake up healthy again, is a good day. I never take my health for granted anymore.


2. I have an extremely loving and supporting family. They've been there with me through the good and the bad times in my life and they have always supported my hopes and dreams. I don't know where I'd be without them.

3. I have an amazing husband! Even though military life is hard and I haven't seen him for weeks, he still manages to make me feel like the prettiest and luckiest girl in the world. Every phone call, text message and letter from him means the world to me and when we're finally together again, it will definitely all be worth it!

4. I am able fulfill my writing passion through blogging and writing my own novels. Using the internet and websites such as Blogger.com, has enabled me to open new doors that provide new and wonderful opportunities for my future. I am so excited to find out where this writing journey takes me and I'm also excited to find out who I'll become in the process.



5. I have had wonderful educational opportunities. I went to one of the top high schools in the nation and I am now pursuing a Multimedia Arts Degree. I know that so many people don't have this same opportunity, so I never take it for granted either. Education has done wonderful things for me and I love to spread that message around. Hopefully it will inspire others to achieve their dreams as well.



I don't want this post to get too long, but you get the gist. Basically, when times are tough for me, I just simply remember how lucky I truly am. It really helps put things into perspective because no matter how bad things are, they could always get worse. Just remember that the sun will come up tomorrow and as Dolly Parton once said, "If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

Have a great week everyone! Thanks for reading!

I Believe

Have you ever logged onto Facebook or Twitter and been bombarded with tons of people spewing their negative opinions over an issue, whether it's big or small? You know what I mean, something like, "If you're for gun control then you and I can't be friends." It baffles me that people think that their opinions are gospel or that they think that someone having a different opinion than them constitutes losing a friendship. And speaking for myself, seeing someone write something like that doesn't make me want to change my opinion or fight to keep their friendship anyway. In my opinion, that's not classy.

The thing is, I think that people take that, "What's on your mind?" question that Facebook asks you every time that you log on and they forget to use their own mental filter. The purpose of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter is not to air your dirty laundry or start drama based on controversial opinions. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for expressing your opinion, if it's in a classy way. For example, let's refer back to the gun control issue, if you MUST express your opinion on it via tweet or status, then say it nicely, like, "Our country's issues with gun control upset me." It isn't as angry, you still look classy, your opinion gets shared and, for what it's worth, you keep my respect.

Now I was always told never to talk about religion or politics because everyone's opinions are private and they shouldn't feel the pressure to talk to me about anything controversial. I completely agree with that. I like to keep my thoughts on those subjects personal as well.  Plus, I'm not looking for a fight. So even though I used gun control as an example (because my Facebook wall was CONSTANTLY filled with people complaining about it) I will not be sharing my opinions or beliefs on the matter or any other political and/or religious views.

But in an effort to lighten up this post, I'm going to tell you about some POSITIVE things that I do believe in! Enjoy and thank you all for reading!

1. I believe that everyone has a purpose.


2. I believe that people come into your life for a reason.


3. I believe in karma.


4. I believe in true love.


5. I believe in chasing your dreams.


6. I believe in hard work and dedication.


7. I believe in the power of your imagination.

Don't Break the Chain

Yesterday, my mother accidentally woke me up really early and I just couldn't fall back to sleep. So, instead of doing what I normally do, slowly sipping coffee while perusing Pinterest, I decided that I was going to workout.

Now, if you know me in real life or you've read my previous blog posts on Sounds Like Chelsea's Life, then you'd know that I have terrible shoulder issues. So I can't play all of the sports that I used to and it makes working out really painful. Unfortunately, that means that I normally just end up putting it off, which I hate doing because I love athletics. So yesterday, I was determined not to let anything stop me from going through with it.

I was really proud of myself for doing this on a Friday because most people that I know wait until Monday to make any sort of lifestyle change because they want to be able to do it through the weekend. I told myself that it wasn't a good enough excuse and decided to go down to the pool and do my laps anyway.

I live in a gated community, so the pool isn't private, unfortunately. Imagine my pleasure when I saw that, because it was early, nobody was there! I was able to get through my laps and felt so proud of myself for actually not talking myself out of it this time. Then I decided to stay there to tan, relax, read and start "Don't Break the Chain."

For those of you who have never heard of "Don't Break the Chain", I got the idea from one of my favorite YouTubers, Alex Day. Basically, the idea is that you work on a project or do something productive every single day for 30 minutes and eventually, you'll get something really great out of it. For him, he used it to write songs and I've decide to use it for writing my novels.

I usually only write when I'm inspired because I felt like I got more out of it and it was less forced but I loved focusing all of my energy on writing yesterday and it went by extremely fast! I am definitely going to continue doing this if it warrants such great results!

I ended up feeling really productive for the rest of the day and did household chores, homework, my online quizzes and ended up going out on a Friday night, which isn't something that I do often. It felt so great to be tired at the end of my day and know that I got a lot done! So because I know how great it feels to have this feeling, I'm going to "not break the chain" and work really hard every day to be productive! Happy weekend everybody!

Laying out by the pool isn't complete without my Mickey Mouse bag full of stuff and my Minnie Mouse cup full of my favorite thing, iced tea! :)

Pre-Swim

Post-Swim! I felt so accomplished!

Math homework. :(

Feeling nostalgic, so I had on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody while I was doing my chores. :)

Went out to the docks with Mom before dinner! 

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas

On a recent trip to the library, I was looking for a short, easy read. I found a book that was just over 200 pages which was called, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson. My husband is a huge James Patterson fan and I had only read one of his books before, so I checked it out, only to be thoroughly disappointed.

Now don't get me wrong, the book did serve it's purpose. It gave me something to read when I was bored but for me, that was all that it was. I had very high expectations for it because of the author's reputation. This is not to say that the book is bad or that you shouldn't read it, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Basically the story is that a woman, Katie, is in love with a man named Matt and he suddenly breaks up with her. As a way of explanation, he mysteriously sends her his wife's diary that she wrote for her son. Katie is obviously confused by this but is intrigued, so she ends up reading it and understanding why Matt broke up with her. It's a sweet idea but in my opinion, it wasn't executed very well. I didn't find myself connecting with the characters emotionally and I let the book sit there for days without touching it. I'm normally the type of person that can't put a book down, so that explains a lot about how I really felt about it.

From a grammatical standpoint, I found that the dialogue didn't flow as well as it should have and it felt forced. Also, I thought that the ending was very rushed and predictable. So if you're looking for a novel to make your heart pound and keep you up at night waiting for more, I don't recommend it. But if you're looking for something light to read on a plane, a long car ride or something else of the sort, it's probably perfect.

Before I read it last week, I didn't even know that there was a movie. Now that I know that, I might actually check it out and see if I like the movie better. We'll see!

Don't let my opinion influence you if you have not read it yet! Check it out if you're interested and form your own opinion! If you have read the book, tell me your opinion about it in the comments or you could tell me about some books that you recommend!

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

Chelsea