a vegan's paradise

so, i'm sure most of you are not vegans. but who knows, maybe some of you vegans out there will see this and find the BEST vegan product out there.

i've become obsessed with So Delicious non-dairy, vegan friendly products. they've got ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, yogurt. and it's all made with coconut milk. seriously, i think these are even better than regular yogurts and ice creams. and they're vegan friendly! yay!

visit the So Delicious website HERE, and i promise you will not be disappointed!

fragile territory

tonight i'm going to address a subject i wouldn't normally publicly address.

as some of you may know, since the day i was born, my body hasn't worked correctly. a natural, everyday function that your body does without even hesitating, mine just cannot do. that's just how i've always been, and it's how i'll always be.

i came to really accept this reality about a year ago. i came to accept the fact that this is my body, this is what it always has been and always will be. however, this does not define me. or at least, i shouldn't let it do so. i am not a disease. i am not a disability. i accepted that, i really, truly did.

but accepting these things doesn't make people's critical, ignorant words any easier to swallow... i felt some of these words sting my always-healing wound today. at the time, i blew it off like it was nothing; but the moment i was alone in my car, i thought about it. such a fragile subject treated with such aggressiveness: it was no longer easy to hear those words echoing throughout my mind.

interesting how people are so quick to shoot their words just as easy as firing guns in a war, when they don't even know the fight. i know that people don't mean these things to be hurtful, and i should never take offense when offense isn't intended. but isn't it only human nature to want to feel normal; to feel just like everybody else?

this got me thinking.

isn't it fascinating... humanity? i sound like a 70 year old, retired professor analyzing everything. but it truly amazes me. every single human being on this earth, knows how it feels to hurt. whether it's physically, emotionally, or both. everyone has felt pain and discomfort in some way. and for some reason, we are so quick to talk about people and their situations, as if their lives are easy. and no one's is, i can assure you that. hard times come, and they go. but no matter what things may look like, life isn't easy for anybody. it is so easy these days to look at the amount of someone's instagram likes or their blog posts and say that they are living on a cloud, that nothing can tear them down. but that assumption is nothing but the root of ignorance surfacing.

as i was driving home, shaking and sobbing like a little baby, i felt like a zero. like i didn't exist. i thought about how awful the feeling was, and how i hope i never make anyone feel like that. EVER.

as hard as it was to hear what were, to me, harsh words, i did learn from them. it is 100% truth that anyone can mask what they are feeling, what is going on in their lives, what their struggles are, without anyone even thinking about it.

the girl in my sixth period who wears black lipstick and has scars on her wrists: maybe she isn't just angry at the world for no reason, maybe she needs some love and affection. that "fat" kid: maybe he's got problems at home and finds an escape in food. maybe the girl with 2,000 instagram followers has a low self esteem, and relies on other's opinions for her to feel satisfied with herself. i could go on and on; we HAVE to start thinking of the effect of our words on others before we say them. there are so many things that people struggle with and i hope that i will never jump to the conclusion that looks to be what is true on the surface.

so there it is... probably the millionth lesson i've learned the hard way. but nobody's perfect. we all live, we all learn, we're all better people today than we were yesterday...

isn't humanity BEAUTIFUL?

find indica

my heart breaks thinking that anyone even has to write posts like these- especially those who I went to school and shared the same neighborhood grocer with for so many years.

four days ago, on August 16, 2013, indica huddleston left her parents a note explaining that she did not want to go back to lone peak high school. she also mentioned that she was being "taken care of" and that she will be safe. she has not been seen since.

indica's parents first issued this as a runaway situation, but after evaluating indica's cell phone and facebook, they quickly found that she could very well be in danger. there were some signs of indica talking to some older males who may or may not know that she is underage. some people are just bad people, and any of these men could be one among those bad people. but we can all only pray that indic a is only being an irresponsible teenager and return home safely and unharmed.

my facebook timeline has been blowing up with requests for prayers for the huddleston's and that indica will be found soon. it is truly humbling how many good people are in the world and who want to help mankind. this generation gets a very bad reputation for being "out of control". people say that as the years go by, the human race becomes worse and worse, greedier and nastier. which i definitely could see being a valid point, but in situations like these, you really do get to see all of the kind, tenderhearted people who are willing to do so much to help people. i am sure that the huddleston's are feeling and appreciating that love which they need so much in a time like this.

however, this situation also proves that all it takes is one rotten person to almost outnumber the many, many good people. this should be a lesson to us all that we should absolutely see the good in people, but also not to have complete blind optimism and trust in those whom we don't personally know are good people.

again, the pit in my stomach is leaving me in a very somber mood this evening. the fact that people even have to type these words... i cannot imagine the absolutely crazy emotions running around inside indica's family members and close friends.

PLEASE keep your eyes open for indica. she is most likely in utah, seattle, los angeles, las vegas, or somewhere traveling in between. you may not be the one to physically see and find her, but prayers are so powerful and no situation can receive too many of them. so please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers; we have hope that indica will come home soon.

indica huddleston 16 years old
from alpine, utah
missing since friday 8/16
5'3" long brown hair, hazel eyes

like the 'find indica' Facebook page made by her sister, Sierra, by clicking HERE

#FindIndica