I recently did a segment on The Matt Townsend Show about helping teenagers. My specific section was about what I wish I had known when I was 15.

–Don’t try to be perfect. You won’t get there. So be the best you in the world, and that’s perfect enough.

–Get a short memory. It doesn’t matter what happened last week, what matters is today! Do your best today!

–The media is mostly wrong. That’s not real life. Look for real people to look up to…it’ll make you happier in the long run.

–It’s about quality, not quantity when it comes to friends. You don’t need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends you can be certain of. I’m still figuring this one out.

–Be happy. People aren’t going to always like you. In fact, you could be perfect and people won’t like you. So stop trying to be someone else. Just be YOU and be happy with YOU.

If you are a teenager or you know one…share this info. She probably won’t listen…but there’s a chance she might. And that’s worth it.

Also, happy Friday everyone! My Memorial Day weekend has officially begun!!!

WHOA I have been MIA lately. I’m sorry dearest friends. Give me about a month and I’ll be a lot less busy.

So Mother’s Day happened while I was so distant and bad at blogging.

It was great:)

My angel mom is the best person that I know and I feel very lucky to be her daughter.

In Church on Sunday we talked about a concept I want to share with you.

Our teacher shared a story about a woman who felt guilty for not making heart cookies on Valentine’s Day and not hand crafting all the kids Valentines, for not throwing a party and having a pink and red dinner. Later that night, she and her kids had a dance party. It was then she realized that she wasn’t crafty mom or chef mom…she was crazy dance party mom. And that was what her kids needed.

This idea struck me. Your kids need YOU as their mom. They don’t need anybody else or the things that anybody else does. They need your best effort and that is IT.

Kids want their moms to be happy. We appreciate your sacrifices more than we can possibly explain, but we also want you to have fun sometimes. We want to help you put yourself first sometimes. So let us, and help us know what you need from us. We hate feeling like a burden on you…we hate thinking that you can’t do or be something because you have to be our mom. Live your life and let us be a part of it. Let us help you just like you’ve helped us for our whole lives.

I love you mom! I’m the luckiest daughter alive because I got intelligent-funny-beautiful-creative-witty-sarcastic-selfless-tender-spiritual-andamillionotherthings mom.

Lastly…a small rant from me. All around me I see people who are pretending. Pretending to be something they aren’t. The best decision I ever made was to stop caring what other people think. To love being alone with myself…and to let more of my real self show. To be authentic. To go with my first instinct. To be Maddy…no apologies, no shame, no regret. I make mistakes, it’s true. And some people still don’t like me. But I am so happy that I like myself. People aren’t always going to like you…no matter what you act like or who you try to be. So why not be yourself, and like that person?

Basically what I’m trying to say, is that it’s easy to be self-absorbed…to only care about ourselves and the image we give off. I’m trying to be less selfish…and being myself has helped me do that. I don’t have to worry about acting like this or that…I am just me. And that gives me a lot of time  to focus on other people. It might be worth trying for you too.

Because this was an extra long wordy and ranting post…I’d like to give you all a little treat to end it:)

Dear friends:

I feel like I gripe about how busy I am all the time…but I am BUSY! Life is great though:)

I’m a bit jealous of all my friends around the world on their study abroads and such, but I’m having a blast reporting for 11 News and working for BYU Radio. It’s fun to meet all kinds of people and learn new things every single day!

I also enjoy baseball games with Cosmo and my friends.

Well dear friends, my junior year of college is officially done!

Even though it’s only my second year of college, I came in with some credits, and that plus some crazy schedules have led me to the end of my junior year! It’s crazy to think I only have one year left of college. This year has been a crazy one and it flew by! Here are some of the things I’ve learned this year:

1. Things don’t usually go the way you think they will, and that’s ok.
2. Working hard is worth it in the end.
3. Doing what you love will make you so much happier, no matter what the pay is!
4. Finding the right best friends takes time, but is so important.
5. Budgeting is crucial.
6. Alone time can be the best part of your day.
7. Reading is always a good idea.
8. Talking about your issues is a lot easier than not saying anything and being angry.
9. Sometimes people won’t understand what you’re doing, that doesn’t make it wrong.
10. People lash out when they don’t understand, don’t let them get the better of you.
11. Be nice to everyone, you never know when you’re going to run into them and need a favor.
12. Don’t be the messy roommate.
13. Disneyland is always a good idea.
14. Put others first, but take time for you too.
15. Be aware, watch the news.
16. Go to class and do your homework, and your life will be easier.
17. Working hard gets your promotions.
18. Pray, pray, pray, pray, and then pray some more.
19. You need to do what’s best for you, regardless of what anyone may say.
20. Have fun, you’re only a junior in college once!