13 Witches: Lauren Watson - Themis

13 Witches: Lauren Watson - Themis: Lauren Watson was born on the 6th of August in Adelaide, South Australia and moved to Tasmania, Australia at a young age. In June 2010 ...

Stay Positive

Sometimes we have good days and sometimes we have bad days.

You must remember to Stay Positive.

I know it's hard, especially when your world can seem like it's crashing down around you.

But God doesn't give us more than we can handle.

He also has blessings waiting for us on the other side of our trials.

Stay Positive.

You will be a stronger person once you have battled through.

Love and prayers to everyone having a bad day out there.

Lolly xxx

Create

I'm a Creator.

Creativity is why I get up every day.

Looking back on my blogs from years ago, it's funny to see how some things have changed and how some things are exactly the same.

I am a big believer in doing things that make YOU happy, in your own time, on no one's schedule but your own.

That is one thing that has never changed!

But now, I am living that.

Every day, my life consists of creativity.

It is endless!!!

And I have so many outlets for my creativity that I LOVE.

I started out on my creative path with music.

Music started everything for me.

I took piano lessons from age 5 until I was 14 years old.

I took music in school. I played in the school band. I played the clarinet from grades 5-8. I played in senior concert band when I was a junior. I played percussion in senior band. I played the flute, I played the saxophone in Jazz band, I played the xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone and marimba. I took marimba lessons with the head of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra when I was in grade 7. I played in concerts. I played percussion in the Hobart Wind Symphony at National Band Championships 2009 and we won. Nationals.

In music class, I created songs with my friends. Composing for as long as we could, playing, creating, enjoying.

I learned how to record. I learned how to use computer generated music programs to lay beats, tracks, instruments and voice. I created techno songs.

At home I would tape songs off the radio on to my cassettes, I would dub them onto the second cassette and speed them up to sound like chipmunks or slow them down to sound really low and it was funny.

I would record my brothers and I laughing and singing, then dub that and speed it up and slow it down.

One of my brothers is a self taught guitarist. Another one of my brothers is a drummer. They are very talented.

Sometimes I would go in to my brothers room and play his guitars. I tried to pick up bass guitar. But my fingers seemed to be too small to play the guitar properly so I gave up on that. In 2010 I bought a beautiful acoustic guitar for my house. It never got played and is now at my parents house in a corner somewhere...

One day my brother and I wrote a song called Lies. We recorded it on cassette. He played the guitar and I sang. Hahaha. It was so much fun.

Music was my childhood.

And I loved every second.

I then discovered Photography.

I love photography. I think the concept is absolutely, utterly incredible. That once upon a time, someone had this crazy idea that you could create a machine that all you had to do is click a button and you capture a moment in time.

One click of a button and you capture a moment in time!

To print off and hold in your hands, display on your walls, store in an album, send to your loved ones...

Is that not incredible?!

Photography is one of my creative outlets.

I started out buying disposable film cameras. The kind that could take 24 pictures and then you took them to get developed and the cases got thrown away. You got your prints back a few days later and had to go through all the good, bad and ugly!

My friends and I started buying a disposable camera each, using the whole roll to photograph each other.

It was so fun to go through the process of photography. To find a nice background, set up a shot without having any control of settings, click, wind it back up, repeat until the roll of film runs out, take it to get developed, waiting impatiently to get them back to see what you had created, then seeing the final products. Laughing, cringing, showing your friends. That was life.

My parents had a film camera. Not a disposable one, a proper one. I loved to take photos with that anytime I was allowed.

I bought my first digital camera in 2005. I bought it when I was living in New York. It was a Sony Cybershot. I loved it. The idea that you could pick and choose which photos you wanted developed was amazing to me. I documented my year abroad with my photos and found a way to display them that was called Scrapbooking.

My scrapbook was so thick, the bindings could barely hold the book together. Scrapbooking was one of my favourite things to do while I lived in America. The stickers, the coloured card, the way I was able to position the photos, stickers, little crafty bits and pieces to arrange them in such a way that was captivating to the viewer, was so much fun.

When I moved back to Australia, it was an incredible, colourful, creative way for me to share the experiences I had in America and it was a lot more fun to look at than a plain photo album.

My friends and I, being thrust into the Myspace/Facebook era, started posing. We all wanted photos of us that made us look our best. So people could see us online and like what they saw. We would have photo shoots in our bathrooms, in our bedrooms, have birthday dinners and take every opportunity to have our photos taken, then taken again, until we were happy with the way we looked in the photos.

I thought about that concept. And I became quite obsessive about how I wanted to look in a photograph. If it wasn't the right angle, lighting or if my hair, clothes, body or facial expressions weren't how I wanted it, I would keep shooting until I was happy.

I dabbled in modelling to gain experience in front of a professional lens and met a photographer who was affiliated with the modelling agency. I struck up a friendship with him and we would talk about photography, modelling, poses, setting up a shot and cameras.

I told him I wanted to try to shoot professionally. He offered me his equipment and studio and told me to find a model. So I found a friend and got her to come to the studio. I did her make up and we had a fun photoshoot. My photographer friend gave me priceless tips all the way through. It was fantastic.

I bought my first DSLR in 2008. It was a Canon 40D. It cost me $2200. I wanted a good camera for when I went back to America for acting school.

I didn't really know how to use the camera, so I just started shooting things, anything. I came back to Australia and didn't really use the camera. I was more interested in Film Making.

Acting and Film Making took priority and Photography went on the back-burner.

Until, I was on a film set one day and a man was taking stills for the film. He was shooting with a Canon. I started talking to him about cameras and told him I had a 40D. He said "Bring it tomorrow". So I did, I took some photos on set and he gave me the best piece of advice.

"That is a good camera. Don't waste it."

So I started again on the path of Photography. I posted on my Facebook asking for anyone who wanted to have a free photoshoot. I got lots and lots of interest. Sometimes I would have 2 sessions in a day.

I loved to meet with my friends, some who I hadn't seen in years, and have fun being creative with them. I loved exploring lighting, angles and the interesting dynamics of the relationships between photographer and camera, photographer and model, model and camera.

The camera is a loved one and an enemy at the same time.

Everyone wants to look their best in photos.

This was something I knew a lot about.

As a photographer, your relationship with the camera is all love. The camera is the creative tool you have to express what you feel, what you see and what you envision. When you take your vision and add a camera, your photos are the product of your creativity.

A lot of my models would say to me "Don't show anyone my bad photos".

The relationship between model and camera is unsteady. The model is weary of the camera. Almost like the camera is going to "break up" with them. They want the camera to love them, treat them right and make them feel good about themselves. Just like they would want in a real relationship. They don't want the camera to make them look bad.

It is very interesting to watch these dynamics.

The relationship between the photographer and model, especially the first time working together, usually starts off hesitant. One of my jobs as a photographer is to make the model feel comfortable.

I am not going to post, show or print any photo of someone that looks bad.

1. Because I don't want to be known as a bad photographer

and

2. I know how I want to look in a photo. I am so specific and picky about photographs of myself, I know how to take a photo of someone that makes them look their best.

Once I start shooting, the models ease up and start having fun. It might take a little time, but by the end, I'm pretty sure, most of my models can say they had a fun shoot with me.

I love photography and part of the photography process is editing.

I love editing.

Personally, I HAVE to edit my photos as soon as physically possible after taking them. While I am in the zone of the shoot and also because I am so excited about seeing the finished product.

I love being able to take an already great photograph and tweak it, to make it look even better.

I started out editing my photos in Microsoft Paint!

I also feel like I am showing my age a little bit in this blog... haha :)

I edited in Paint for a long time. Then I bought an iMac. Apple changed my creative life!

I started editing in iPhoto. Well! All the possibilities that gave me! I was in creative heaven!

I had such a fun time figuring out iPhoto, changing the contrasts, hues, saturation, noise control, shadows, everything!! I loved it!

I moved to Canada. I bought a Canon 7D which has HD Video capability. Again - creative heaven!

I started to learn how to use Photoshop. Creative. Heaven. Endless possibilities.

My photography has come a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG way since the disposable camera days and I shoot with a model every single week of my life now. I love being creative with a camera. I love the possibilities. They really are endless.

Film Making was somewhere in the middle of all this!

I bought a small JVC Everio video camera that had a 20GB harddrive installed. All I had to do was shoot, plug it in to my computer and upload!

If you hadn't realised, I fell in love with technology and the incredible capabilities it holds!

I filmed my friends, I would just film, everything. Capturing life. My brothers and I made a short film called Domestic Violence. It was supposed to be a current affairs, guerrilla style documentary. It turned out more of a comedy. Filming and editing in Windows Movie Maker was so much fun.

I loved editing, piecing together the scenes, making the transitions, opening credits and closing credits.

I started creating photo DVD's. I would put a series of photos in a sequence, input transitions and add music to create the exact feeling I wanted for the particular setting.

I have created wedding, engagement and funeral photo DVD's. All very different feels, all very effective ways to portray the variety of life's events.

I filmed a promotional video for a personal training website. I loved it. I also think it turned out pretty good.

On the production side of film, I worked as a Production Assistant on a TV Pilot and on a commercial for Dr. Pepper. It was the start gaining a really good insight of that side of the industry. I worked as a Casting Assistant and a Wardrobe Assistant on 2 other productions.

While I love the production side, being in front of the camera is what I truly love the most.

Acting.

I started acting, as most people do, in Drama class at High School. I liked it, didn't love it. I was in a few plays, had the lead in Cinderella but it never really jumped out at me as something I wanted to do.

As lots of teenagers do, I worked and would spend most of my pay by going to the Cinemas.

I loved going to the Cinemas! Movies became a big deal in my life and I found that I loved to watch comedies and horrors.

A significantly large amount of people in the world, at one stage or another (at least to my knowledge) have the desire to be a Movie Star.

My desire to be a Movie Star was probably invested in me as soon as I saw my first film. But it didn't show itself to me until I lived abroad.

I made a friend who is a Comedian. He said to me "Lolly, you have to be an Actress. You have the right attitude, the right look and the right comedic timing. This is your destiny. You have to do it."

So, I thought about that. Considering the career path I wanted to choose, I knew it wasn't going down the Math, Science, Chemistry, English route I had studied at school.

I hated school, I knew it was a waste of time for me.

I learn by doing things.

I can not learn by being held captive in a classroom.

I am a creator.

My friend told me to write a list of everything I wanted to be. Not what anyone else wanted me to be, what I wanted to be.

My list looked like this:

Dancer

Actress

Film Maker

Musician

Photographer

Life Coach

Motivational Speaker

He then told me to put that list in order of what I would enjoy most.

My list looked like this:

Actress

Photographer

Film Maker

Dancer

Musician

Life Coach

Motivational Speaker

He then said "So you want to be an Actress?"

"Yes", I replied.

I will never forget his words. I repeat these words often to my friends now to try and help them as much as he helped me.

He said "Then you have to go for it. With everything that you have. You need to give acting everything you've got and if you don't succeed, at least you know you gave it everything. Then you can move on to the next item on your list without regret."

From that moment, acting was my goal.

I enrolled in acting school in Hobart. I took class there for a while. It was based on Theatre.

I found an acting school in Los Angeles, CA that I wanted to go to. So I worked, I saved, I enrolled, I went.

I went back to Australia and found a small casting agency. I did a few commercials and was a featured extra on a documentary telling of when the Irish women were banished to Tasmania.

I thought it was the best thing. I loved acting in Film.

That was the same production that I took my Canon 40D and was told "not to waste" my camera. It was a stepping stone and an eye opener for what I truly wanted for my career. Film.

I had written blogs about wanting to be a Movie Star. People I grew up with laughed at me when I told them that's what I wanted to do. I remember the people who supported me though. I know who my real friends are.

So then came the long, informative, interesting road to acting in Film.

I relocated to Canada. The 3rd biggest Film and TV industry in the world.

I've worked hard.

Within 4 months, I got a background agent, a principal agent and my very first Film Credit.

I am still here, working on my dream and everyday I have the incredible blessing of being able to wake up in a country that has so much promise and opportunity for creative people like myself.

I booked the lead in a short student film. The director and I became good friends. She is young, but has an incredibly mature head on her shoulders. She is also as passionate as I am about her creativity.

We talked about writing. I said that I had a lot of ideas but didn't know how to write a script. She said "Just write. Your draft copy will always suck. Don't be afraid to fail."

What a profound statement!

So one day, between auditions, I sat down and wrote a script. The formatting was horrendous and I didn't really know what I was doing, but I got the basic idea down.

I took it to her and she loved it. She said "Let's write it up and work on it"

So she taught me how to use Final Draft, a script writing program. She taught me how to format a script, how to write character descriptions, how to tell my story.

It felt like she had just handed me a camera and shown me how to take a photo!!!

I had discovered another creative outlet!

I have written 2 short films, co-written 1 and yesterday I wrote 35 pages of my first independent film script.

I have a few friends who want to get productions going, a friend who is very talented in video production and wants to start filming things.

We have planned to shoot next weekend.

This is my life.

I have endless creativity.

I made this my life. I chose it. I make appropriate changes every day to make it a reality.

My mind is always racing, thinking about what to create next, how to create, interesting, different ways to create and capture all the ideas I have.

I am so blessed to have all the opportunities I have.

Don't just follow your dream. Turn it into a reality!

YOU have the power to do that.

I chose the path I am on now. And because I am doing what I love every day, I find it so easy to be passionate, driven, focused, motivated and excited about life.

God gave us the Earth. God gave us life. God gave us talents. We need to use them to benefit the lives of others. Do you think He wants us to fail? Absolutely not.

Change your life.

Do what makes you happy.

Live the life you want and don't let anything or anyone stop you.

You are in control.

CREATE.

Lolly XxXxXx

Blog: February 28th 2006

My life

Current mood:calm

Grew up in a small town
And when the rain would fall down
I'd just stare out my window
Dreaming of what could be
And if I'd end up happy
I would pray

Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Wanted to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I'd pray
I could break away

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget all the ones that I love.
I'll take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away

Wanna feel the warm breeze
Sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the ocean
Get onboard a fast train
Travel on a jetplane
Far away
And break away

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget all the ones that I love.
I'll take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away

Buildings with a hundred floors
Swinging with revolving doors
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me
Gotta keep movin on movin on
Fly away
Break away

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye
Take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget the place I come from
I gotta take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away
Breakaway
Break away

Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

Blog: October 27th 2006

I don't understand...

Current mood: Confused

I would do anything for my friends.
I talk to them if they're bored, upset, happy, mad, excited, lonely or worried.
I make them food if they're hungry.
I drive to the middle of nowhere at 3am to pick them up if they're stuck.
I give them a place to stay if they need one.
I would do anything for my friends.
So how come I can't rely on my friends to do the same?
There are 2 people that I can think of that would do the same for me. 2.
Why do I make plans and everyone I include says "Yeah I'm in!" and then one day before the event "Something came up and I can't make it"
Why do I get treated like shit?

The worst part is, after not being able to count on my friends and being treated like shit, I will still do anything for them...

Lolly xxx

Blog: January 25th 2007

Who are you to judge?

Current mood:curious

So I'm just sitting here reading a few quizzes that people have written and the answers to some of the questions just puzzle me.

Which got me thinking about this topic in general.

For example:

"Britney Spears is a skank, agree or disagree? More a slut."

I'm sorry but does anyone who answers that question actually KNOW Britney Spears?

Do you KNOW that she has sexual intercourse with a lot of guys?

Or do you just believe what people say??
And do the people who say that she does actually know her?

Who are you to talk about her in that way anyway?

In fact, who is anyone to talk about anyone that way?

Everyone is so bitchy! Why can't people just get along with one another?

Why is it so hard so be nice to each other?

Why does everyone hold grudges?

It's bad for your health!!!
Do you really want someone who you're holding a grudge against to cause damage to your health?? Of course you don't!

Let it go! Have fun! Be happy! Be nice! BE POSITIVE!

Life is so much better when everyone is happy! I promise you that!

I'm not saying, go be best friends with your worst enemy, just get over it and get on with your life.

If you see someone you don't particularly like one day, just ignore them. Don't even give them the time of day!

Because when you cause a scene, then they know that you mean something to them. Good or bad, whatever it may be, it's obvious they mean something to you, because you bring it up.

And that makes them feel like they're important to you. Which they're not right? Or are they?

Think about that.

Everyone is important to someone, write that down.

Why does everyone judge everyone in a negative way first?

Is it because it's natural?

Is it because they're jealous?

Is it because they want to make themselves feel better?

I don't know. But no one has any right to pass judgement on Britney Spears or anyone else in life.

Everyone is just living their own lives the best they can. Which isn't necessarily what you personally view as the best way but that's not your business and you have no right to say that to them or anyone else.

People need to learn to accept others as they are.

If you don't like someone, don't associate yourself with them and get over it.

I want you to think about anyone you don't like, anyone who you mouth about to others and ask yourself "What is the point of this?"

I'm sure you won't be able to justify your answer. Unless it's out of jealousy or to make yourself feel better.

Which in the long run, doesn't really make you feel better at all.

So let me know your thoughts on this because I'd love to get everyone's point of view because I'm interested.

You may not agree with everything I've said and that's fine because you are your own person and are very much entitled to your opinion.

I just can't see why people pick others apart, hate, bitch, try to bring others down.

What is the point?

Tell me. Please. Because I'd love to know!

Lolly xxx

Blog: December 31st 2007

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Current mood:grateful

Hey Everyone Who Reads This

So I figured it's been a fair while since I wrote a deep and meaningful blog.

Being the last day of 2007, I want to enter 2008 with a fresh mind and new outlook on life.

I'm writing once again as an outlet for my thoughts and hope that you may get something out of it, as I have.

Recent events around me have made me become a lot more inquisitive about life and life after death (if there was such a thing). I'm going to attempt to explain what thoughts, opinions and questions I have come up with.

The other day a random guy appeared in my life.

He just introduced himself and we got to talking.

A few days later, he asked me what I was doing on that day. It was a Sunday. I said I was going to church in the morning.

He mentioned that he's just been through a rough time and someone had given him a Bible and it has helped him out during his hard time.

Me, being me, asked him if he'd like to share his experience with me and how the Bible had helped him.

Then I went on to ask him what he want to do with his life? What is his ultimate goal?

He wrote me a massive list of everything he wants to do and said that he's indecisive, he worries too much, reads into things, doesn't have a lot of confidence, is unsure of himself and is scared of failing.

I told him that those worries and insecurities are all crap.

Because he CAN do everything on his list.

I said I hate how humans set rules for themselves and others.

For example, I hate how my mum says "Buy the expensive skincare while you can afford it" as though one day I won't be able to.

I hate how we schedule ourselves on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months a year timeline.

8 hours work, 8 hours rest, 8 hours play.

You have to study. You have to go to school for half your life to get a good, respectable, well paid job.

You have to do this. You have to do that.

It's bullshit.

You do what you want.

For those of you who don't know me very well, you're about to learn about a very big, almost secret chunk of my life that I never really talk about.

I'm a Mormon. I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The LDS family.

Once upon a time, in Lollywood, I didn't want to know about the church.

I was born into a family who were already members of the LDS church so I had no choice whether or not I wanted to go. I HAD to go to church.

I decided I didn't want to go. I didn't want to know about the church, I didn't want to know the stories or the teachings, I didn't like the people, I didn't want to go to church every single Sunday for 3 whole hours!

Still, I was made to go to church.

So I would sneak the spare keys in my bag and I would sneak out to the car and sit there. For 3 hours.

That worked until my parents caught on, which didn't take long.

So they made sure I didn't have access to spare keys.

I would go down into the bottom of the gardens at church and sit there instead.

My parents realised that I still wasn't going to go in, especially to any of the classes, so I got the keys back. On the condition that I read my scriptures while I was in the car. I agreed to that alright! I got the keys back and as if I would read the scriptures!

A few months of this and people started to realise that I was having my own church in the car and they would come out to invite me inside.

I always declined.

This went on for maybe a year.

Then one of my Young Women (YW) leaders decided that she would bring the class to the car. (YW is a program the church runs for girls aged 12-17. Boys have Young Men (YM) and same age groups apply).

We had the lesson in the car. She said that she would have class in the car every week until I wanted to have class inside.

After maybe 3 weeks of car classes I reluctantly went inside for class.

I kept going inside, only for that class, only if she was teaching.

Then she moved away.

I stopped going again. I made some horrible decisions in my everyday life, resulting in rumours at school and church with my peers. I vowed never to go again. My everyday life kept spiralling although I wasn't aware while it was happening.

This time a guy from church decided to make an effort with me.

He would come and hang out with me outside of church. Never once even mentioned church to me. I was expecting him to preach to me to get me to come back but he never talked about it.

We hung out for a few months before he invited me to the first part of church. That is called The Sacrament Meeting.

I said as long as we sit in the back and I can leave straight after Sacrament meeting is finished. He agreed.

I went to church like that for a while. He stuck up for me when anyone said anything to me about the stories they'd heard about my past mistakes.

I started going to the second class. That is called Sunday School. On the condition that I didn't have to read scriptures, didn't have to answer questions and definitely didn't have to say any prayers. He agreed and made that possible for me.

I moved to America a few months later.

I went to church and left because I couldn't stop crying. I had no one to support me. I was alone in a foreign country. I didn't go back.

I moved houses in America. I decided to try church again. I met some awesome people and one girl who is one of my best friends to this day.

I didn't go very much but hung out with the girls I'd met.

When I came back to Australia, I went to church.

The guy who put so much effort into getting me back to church had stopped going.

I took a step back and lay low on the church scene for a while.

Then one day, one of his sisters took a shine to me.

We became really good friends and I started going back to church again.

We decided to go to Young Single Adult (YSA) Camp. YSA is a program the church runs for males and females ages 18 - 30.

I met a lot of new people, saw some old friends and we had a great time.

I started to go to church regularly and for once it was because I wanted to. Because I enjoyed it. Because I was happy when I was there.

This led only to awesome things happening in my life. I was called to serve with the Young Women as a leader, a teacher. I was absolutely so privileged to work with the YW of this Ward and hoped I could support the girls the way my YW teacher had supported me. (A Ward is made up of people who live in a certain area. Depending on where you live, determines which Ward you will attend).

Those girls are awesome and I love every single one of them.

During this period of time, I met a certain guy. We started hanging out. He was a lot more into church than I was. Which was intimidating at first. I now realise it was absolutely one of the biggest blessings of my life.

We started "dating" and very soon after, he got called to serve a mission.

This meant that he would leave for 2 years to do nothing but immerse himself in the teachings of the gospel. Spiritually, physically, and emotionally, to serve as full-time missionary to share the teachings with other people so they may know about this church.

Before he left, he really taught me how to go to church for me. That although having people to support you and be friends with at church is important, the reason we go is to learn about the gospel so that we can gain the knowledge and have the best experiences this life can provide us and that I was the only person who could help myself.

His undoubted, concrete faith and belief in these things which he is dedicating 2 years of his life to, is an amazing example to me and to anyone who knows him.

I was released from my calling in YW, then called to Primary. I now teach 4 incredible little children aging from 3-4 years old. They teach me more each week than I could ever teach them in the classroom.

I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have those people who have picked me up time and time again when I was falling away from the church.

I've realised that sure, church has physical restrictions, and sometimes it just simply seems like too much effort, but ultimately it's the only true thing that can set you free.

We're made to feel like we have to do and be what other people dictate we should do or be.

Which brings me back to the point that we believe we have to schedule ourselves on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months a year timeline.

8 hours work, 8 hours rest, 8 hours play.

You have to study. You have to go to school for half your life to get a good, respectable, well paid job.

You have to do this. You have to do that.

It is bullshit!!!

A lot of people have lost touch of what life is really about... which is living! Enjoying the moment, to be happy and content, to love and be loved, not many people take notice of the little things anymore. A cool summer's breeze, getting caught in the rain, a beautiful sunrise, the gentle fall of snowflakes, a star filled night sky, a walk on the beach!

When we're old and on our death beds, do you think we will say "Ohhh damn I wish I'd studied for longer!!! Or I wish I'd worked more and made more money."??

Hell NO!

We will say "I wish I'd had the courage to do what I wanted. I wish I'd spent more time with my family and friends. I wish I'd laughed more. I wish I'd taken the time to just sit and appreciate the beauty of nature, I wish I could've had one last kiss from my true love!"

And hopefully we won't have to wish any of that because we will always appreciate what life is really about.

But my point is, it doesn't even end at death!

It breaks my heart to know the teachings of the gospel and want to share it with others and they don't want to know, they don't care, they don't believe.

It breaks my heart to think that some people believe that if someone dies, you lose them forever. They're gone for good. They're not!!! I could not imagine living in this world believing that once we die, it's over. What a sad, scary way to live your life.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is so true, the stories are true, the principles are true, Joseph Smith and his stories and his work is true and everything about it is true. I wish everyone could know this now!

These amazing experiences we can have on Earth are small compared to what is after this lifetime.

My life would be nowhere near as fulfilling as it is without this gospel and I wish nothing more than for everyone to know of it.

It is the backbone of me. It is where all my beliefs and opinions form. It's awesome!

Even though it has taken me my whole life of making bad choices and mistakes, I am so grateful to be a part of the church and to finally know that it's true.

There is sooooooooooo much more to the church that I haven't touched on here but it can only help you in your life.

This church will in no way, ever, bring bad things to your life!

If anyone is interested in learning more about this gospel, please let me know.

Check out www.lds.org for more information.

I promise you that living this gospel, learning about the stories and teachings of this church and applying these principles to your life will only bring amazing experiences!

Prove me wrong.

Lolly xxx

P.S. Happy New Year