glitter

Every Sunday in my ward we do this thing called Nice Notes. 

They're little notes we send to each other. And they're nice.

Anyway. One of my really good friends sent me the best nice note I have ever gotten. Part of it said, "You also share glitter with the world (on the outside and the inside) all the time and that's really cool."

This really touched me and made me happy. First off, I love glitter. I'm pretty sure I bleed glitter. Sorry. TMI. Second, I love that I am able to share this thing that I love with everyone else. I often try to, but I don't know if I actually succeed cause lots of time I'm kinda a quiet person before you get to know me. 

Glitter for me is more than just the stuff that sparkles and gets everywhere. (warning: this is going to probably be really cheesy, but hey- it's what I think) Glitter is just like magic. 

Sitting on my small college bed it seems like lifetimes ago that my mom read me fairy tales. She would always read the best kind- with a princess and some sort of opposition that was always overcome, usually by a heroic and handsome prince and they lived happily ever after. The stories were wonderful. It was a time of poofy tutu’s and pigtails. Most little girls grow out of this stage, where the scary dragons went away the second we crawled into our then gigantic beds. Magic and fairy dust were actually real. 

Now as a college student, a "grown up" (let's be realistic here- am I really a grown up?) I encounter pessimists and optimists, people whose eyes aren’t as bright as they used to be because the magic is dulled from years of reality and life. “There isn’t any magic in the world anymore, at least not today,” they say. 

Yes, I know magic isn’t a “real” and tangible thing and the fairy tales in the books rarely happen, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop believing. I believe in Santa and the Tooth Fairy because believing is half of the magic. And the other half, well it’s that the magic can come alive through belief. Sometimes we need to create our own magic.

I feel like I am on a campus full of princesses and princes that don’t realize that they are living a fairy tale. We live fantastic lives surrounded by wonderful friends and have the opportunity to get an education. I believe every story is a fairy tale, even if it doesn’t have a happy ending right now, that just means the story isn’t over yet. And maybe the story won’t end in this life. Fairy tales don’t have to be some huge romantic story; they can be the littlest things or a story that isn’t even about love at all. But I believe there is some form of love in everything- love of family, friends, etc. A fairy tale is a story that teaches that dragons are real, but that they can be defeated. (insert appropriate Harry Potter quote about how we live because we love/ evil can only be overcome by love here)

Magic is everywhere in this sleeping world, don’t you forget that, one only has to see it. But the best kind of magic in the world isn’t magic at all. I try and see the magic in everything, because I know it’s always there no matter how tiny it may be. And lots of times it's really hard to find. Finding the magic in the world has made me happier and more grateful. I can walk around with sparkling eyes that are no longer dulled from heartache or stress or sadness even though I feel it sometimes. Looking for the magic in the world has brought even more magic into my world. I hope that I can help others see the magic, too. Look for the magic. Sometimes it glitters, but sometimes it's dull, and believe in the magic because those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.

so there's my little opinion in case you were wondering.

Oh one more thing- watch General Conference! It's amazing!