8 Reasons Adventuring Is Good For Your Soul

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If you know anything about me, it's that I love myself a good adventure. Here are 8 reasons why adventuring is good for your soul:

1. it's entertaining. When you're a teenager who's looking for something to do, there is nothing better than getting out of the house and driving around with your friends until you find a perfect adventure spot. (They are everywhere––keep your eyes open!) It kills a lot of time and can be so much fun!
2. the world is awfully beautiful. My favorite type of adventures are the ones that are outside, exploring the world that God has given to us. There is a place in the town I live in called Flat Rock, and I never wanted to go because it was such a popular hang out for the kids at school. This summer, we finally went down there to explore, and it is magnificent. I could spend hours upon hours there, just soaking in the beauty of the world. 
3. it allows you create memories. My favorite memories are the times that I've spent with my best friends adventuring. Especially when the adventures weren't too planned out.
4. the world is a book and those who do not travel only read one page. -St. Augustine.
5. there's nothing better than a good road trip playlist. Whether you're going somewhere that's five minutes away or five days away, a good road trip playlist can always lift my spirits. 
6. it creates fearlessness. When you adventure, it forces you to try new things. I have a love for being fearless; for trying new things even when they scare me. Adventuring is the perfect way to create that character in yourself. 
7. they make you look at things differently. I always see the world a little bit differently after I experience something new, after I take in a new little pocket of the world. It makes everything seem clearer in my head.
8. it encourages happiness. As some of you probably know, I have been struggling with depression for the past couple of years. One of the ways that I've learned to cope with that, is to go out and make adventures for myself. They seem to help put me in a little bubble of happiness.

Grace Upon Grace | What 2014 Taught Me

Yesterday, I wrote about all of the things I want to accomplish in this new year. So today, I thought I would write about what I learned in 2014 (in more detail, of course.) 

2014 was a year of trials and overcoming and learning to be free. It was a year of mistakes and regrets and crying myself to sleep some nights. It was a year when I learned that depression is real and mental illnesses need to be taken seriously and the world is so very broken. 

It was a year of realizing that I'm going to change as I age and that it's okay. 

2014 taught me that all I need is to love better. Love boldly and fearlessly and with the love of Jesus. I need to love everyone that God puts in my life, no matter what they're going through. 

2014 taught me that everyone is a little bit broken and a little bit in need of a friend.

2014 taught me that once high school ends, you realize that some of your friends were only your friends because you saw them five days a week. 

2014 taught me that not everyone is meant to stay in your life forever. That's okay.

2014 taught me to never judge someone by their appearance. Looks can be deceiving. 

2014 taught me that college is really freaking awesome. 

2014 taught me that stepping out of my comfort zone is good. (Talking in front of my 400+ student class at orientation was a bit terrifying, but it was something that I learned from.)

2014 taught me that it's okay not to be okay some days.

2014 taught me that dancing your heart out at concerts is more fun than you could ever imagine. Who cares if people stare?

2014 taught me that taking chances can be a wonderful, wonderful thing.

2014 taught me that I'm not perfect, and I can't please everyone all the time. That's okay, too.

2014 taught me that no matter what, God will still love me and forgive me and let me run back into his arms. It taught me that my God is an awesome, loving, graceful God. And I'm so thankful.

2014 taught me that I'm learning to be free.

Blessings,

Shi.

"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." -1 Peter 5:10

Hello, 2015!

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Well, some how the year has come and gone; we're moving on to bigger and better (hopefully). 

So much happened in 2014, and overall, it was an okay year for me. I know that a lot of people had a pretty bad year. I think that what a lot of people are failing to acknowledge is that there will always be bad days, and we have to choose not to let them all blend together to make a whole year "bad." The way I see it, we have to learn from those moments. The good, the bad, the ugly. 

2014 was a year of change for me. I graduated high-school. I got my drivers license. I started college. I've started to grow up and figure out who I am, and who I want to be. I'm learning that not everything I do is okay, and I have to be willing to change and work on myself. I've learned that not everything that the people you love say and do is okay, either, and it's alright to have different opinions. What's starting to matter to me the most is that I do what God wants me to do, not what people want me to do. 

I thought that today I would share with you some of my 2015 goals. They aren't really "resolutions" and this isn't one of those "New year, New me" posts, because, really, that stuff never works for me. These are the things that I want to focus on working on in myself this year, because it's important to take care of yourself. I'm a work in progress; I always will be. And that's okay. 

This year I want to:

• be less stressed. I want to take time for myself; I want to understand that just because I get a bad grade, the world won't end; I want to always remind myself that my happiness doesn't depend on how well I do on one assignment. It's okay to be okay with less than perfect.
• cry less and laugh more. I want to say "I don't have to let my depression win" and save the tears for the moments when I'm laughing so hard I cry; I want to save the tears for the moments that I'm so in awe of God and his grace that I can't help but sob. I don't want to waste my tears because an illness I have is telling me it's a "bad day." I want to wake up, and look at the sky, and fall so in love with being alive that there is no way the day can be "bad." 
• work on making my body healthy––physically and mentally. I want to remember to drink water and stay hydrated and go to the gym. I also want to remember that mental health is just as important as all of that. I want to remember to read my Bible and listen to music that makes me want to dance and write out every feeling that I can possibly feel. 
• truly learn who I am and who I want and need to be. I want to see myself the way that God sees me. I want to figure out what it means to be Shiloh in every way that I can. I want to learn about my desires and my hopes and my talents. I want to learn to be comfortable in my skin and my mind. 
• take new risks. I want to make new friends and try new things and go on new adventures. I want to spend countless hours at concerts and in the woods and basking in the sun. I want to go to karaoke nights with my friends and I want to join new clubs at school. I want to experience everything that the world has to offer me right now.
• read more. I want to read anything and everything. I want to read more than just crappy fan fictions. I want to read and reread classics, and poetry, and new genres, and old genres, and everything.
• thrive. 

Here's to 2015.

Blessings,

Shi. 

A Letter To My Sixteen Year Old Self | HelloShiloh

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Dear sixteen-year-old me,

The first thing that I want to say is this: thank you. You taught me so much about life and I honestly am so, so grateful for that. You were a fighter and I am glad that you taught me how to fight. Because it is necessary to do so sometimes. 

But that's not really why I'm writing this. Sure, I am beyond thankful for how much you've helped me grow, but I just...if I could give you some advice, this is what it would be:

Boys aren't worth losing your best friend over. Three years from now, you'll be sitting in your room, thinking about that boy and the best friend you lost because of him and wondering why the hell you didn't just say "screw you" to him and walk away. It's okay to do that, because he won't be the only guy (sure, he will be for a while, but someday you're going to meet someone worth way more than he ever was--just wait for him). Best friends are rare; much rarer than boys. It's so hard to find someone else who can replace six years of friendship. It doesn't happen. No one else will every know you the same way that she did; no one else will have stayed up with you until four in the morning talking about stupid bands and eating stupid food and laughing at stupid jokes; no one else is going to know about that time that you fell for that one boy who didn't even know your name; no one else is going to know about how much it hurt when you got bullied your freshman year. She was it. Don't give that up for a stupid boy.

Also, don't be afraid to just be loud sometimes. If someone (especially the stupid boy mentioned above) tells you to be quiet, just ignore him. It doesn't matter what he thinks. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Let yourself be loud and don't let anyone silence you. You were silent for far too much of your life to let people dictate your noise when you're finally less afraid. Don't stop being fearless. Laugh like no one else is there; get excited. The stupid boy isn't going to be in your life for more than a year anyways. Don't let him dictate who you're going to be. 

It's okay to be sad for a little while. It's okay to be caught up in the heartbreak of that first boy who seemed interested and then walked away. But don't let it consume you for too long. Eat a big bowl of ice cream, listen to some sad songs (maybe write a love hate song or two), and then let it go. Delete him off of Facebook before he can delete you; don't go back again a few months later because nothing will have changed. You weren't his world, even if he was yours and that's o k a y. 

Ride that roller coaster. Live your life fearlessly. And never, ever, ever be afraid to be who you are. Loud, quirky, quiet, sad, scared, brave, whatever. It doesn't matter. Whatever you want to be, be it. If it's for an hour--great. If it's for a day--fantastic. If it's who you are for the rest of your life--go for it. You've only got one life to live, and it's too short to be spent wasting your time trying to please people. Don't do that. Let go of the fear of other people and what they think. Three years from now you're going to realize that none of them matter. Keep your family close, but don't give a crap what anyone else says. 

Dress the way you want to. 

Listen to the music you want to (seriously. boy bands are fantastic, don't wait too long to figure that out). 

Your mom means well, she really does. And she understands even though you think she doesn't. Trust her; find comfort in her. Let her help you heal. 

Cry when you're upset and never let anyone tell you how you really feel or that it's just a phase or whatever other kind of crap they're trying to put on you. It's your brain and your heart and only you know how you really feel. So feel it. And then let it go. Feel it and then feel something else. 

Be sure to not let it make you bitter that your sister doesn't understand. One day she's going to go through the same thing and will need you to be there for her, even if she wasn't there for you. 

Love boldly. 

Smile at strangers (because I know it's scary at first, but it gets easier).

Live passionately. 

Don't be afraid to come up with your own ideas and opinions on the world. It's okay not to agree with everything everyone says. 

And most importantly: don't forget that Jesus will always be there for you. Even when you get angry and say "hell," even when you don't feel like he's going to want you because you've messed up. It's okay. He does. He loves you always and forever and will forgive you. You're never too far away from him. 

Most sincerely,

Shiloh.

[dear readers: okay. so i know this was written for myself when i was sixteen, but don't think that it can't apply to you as well. these are the things that i wish i had known when i was sixteen and going through that first heart break. it sucks and it hurts but there are things that are so much more important than a stupid boy. remember that. and remember that it will always always be okay to be be yourself. and remember that if you ever need someone to talk to, i'm here for you. xx]