It happens to all of us -- you meet with a setback or fail at something, and you're tempted to give up.  Here's a surefire way to help you through it: it's all in how you look at it.  To give an example, what would you think about the following person:

    He failed in business at age 31, was defeated for the legislature at 32, failed again in business at 34.

    His sweetheart died when he was 35, and he had a nervous breakdown at age 36.

    He was defeated in election at age 38, and then was defeated for Congress at 43 and again at 46 and 48.

    He was defeated for the Senate at age 55 and for Vice President at 56, and for the Senate again at 58.

    He was elected President of the United States at age 60.

    Who was this man?  It was Abraham Lincoln – who was certainly a success, not a failure.  Put into perspective, failing in something is just another opportunity for learning and growth, for finding out what works and what doesn't.  Looked at positively, everybody, you'd never learn if you didn't fail.  Or to put it even more strongly, you can't succeed unless you have failed before.  As Thomas Edison said of his many attempts to invent the electric light, "I have not failed.  I've found 10,000 ways that won't work."

    Probably nobody knows this better than sports celebrities.  Their abilities and reputations are put on the line in every game they play.  Basketball great Michael Jordan has said, "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games.  26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.  I've failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed."

    So, everybody, that is why it's so important to never be afraid to fail.  It's a necessary step to success – and a blessing in disguise.

Did you ever stop to think about how special you are?  As Gautama Buddha has said, "You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

    Now, loving yourself doesn't mean being selfish or conceited.  Self-love means recognizing your uniqueness.  You are able to see your good points and not continually focus on what you see as "faults."  You're more open to change any negatives into positives, because you don't "blame" yourself or feel unworthy.  It means you can see your own potential clearly.  And after all, you can't give and receive love from others if you don't love yourself.  When you can love and accept yourself as you are, nothing can stop you from achieving whatever you desire.

some horoscope stuff...

looking back at my childhood, i can't believe that i forgot some of the most caring people in my life...

a while back.. maybe last year.. i met this lady that my mom was telling me about... my mom said that she loved me so much and cared a lot about me... that lady was supposed to be one of my aunts... i can't believe i already forgot her name... yeah.. how could i forget someone that was so caring to me...my mom also told me some stories also about my childhood with my aunt.... my mom told me that when i was really small, i would always chase my aunt out into the field near our house... i always wanted to be with her... my mom told me that i wanted to be called by my aunt's name and my aunt to be called by my name.. hehe.... yeah.. i'm such a weird child... whenever my mom would scold me, i would always run to my aunt and she always made me feel better... but as time passed by.. my aunt moved away and my memories of her faded away also...

when i first saw my aunt..i didn't even know who she was... and my impression of her was not a good impression... but then when my aunt came up to me asking me if i was the pankou from long time ago.... i said yeah.... then my aunt just started talking about how much i've grown and how much she misses me...and then she asks me if i remember her.. and i said no.... then she kept talking about all the stories when she was with me at my old, old, old, old house... hehe... i looked at her hoping that memories of her would come back... but those memories wouldn't come back... i sadly looked at my aunt straight in the eyes and then saw big tears about to drop... and then i started to cry as well.... i was so emotional because i can't believe it that i forgot this amazing person in my life... she kept giving me advice and told me to be a good girl and help my family... i just nodded trying not to go crazy with the crying...

when she left to go back to her home in wisconsin... i felt so special... ^__^.. yep.. special... yep...

another story....

i went over to my cousins' house today to help them out with some stuff... we were talking, laughing, and telling each other funny stories..

this was also a while back....

my cousins and my parents went to L.A. to go shopping... when they were walking on the streets looking at shops, one of my cousins told my mom to let my dad carry her purse because it is better for someone to take my mom's purse from my dad than from my mom.. hehe... my mom agreed and gave my dad her purse... then later... my mom said that if someone was to take her purse, she would let the robber have everything except her green card and the pictures of her family... yes.. my mom cares about us kids very much...i feel so guilty because i never know how to repay that love that she gives us kids...

i'm not a very good communicator... i don't like confrontations with other people and i hate that feeling that i had let someone down....when i try to give advice or help someone... my mind goes blank and i get the person more confused (myself included).. comforting someone was never one of my best characteristics... i try though... i read once in this palmistry book and it said that your pinky shows how well you communicate with others... the straighter the pinky, the better you are at communicating.. the more crooked the pinky is, the worse you are at communicating....if you didn't know already.. both my pinkies are crooked.. very crooked... hmmmm... is this supposed to suggest that i'm bad at communicating with other people? maybe.. but so far it is true...

today was an okay day.... it was fun at my cousins' house, but when i got home... it was back to homework and the stress that goes along with it.. sorry.. i complain a lot.. ^^... good luck everybody with the rest of your day... i wrote so much... ^^ i love you... friends, family, and ... *cough* *cough*

and especially my boyfriend.... hehe...i especially love you... hehe...

woke up this morning to go to piano class..... darn... piano is really hard to play...i know it's going to take a lot of time away...

also....... this is my third time dreaming of spiders..... thank goodness this time the spider wasn't as huge, disgusting, and terrifying! all the dreams were slightly different, but the plot of the dream was still the same... : i'm running away from a spider that keeps chasing after me... i remember fammy telling me that she read something about that if you dream about a spider chasing you and you're running away from that spider, it means that you are running away from a guy that is chasing you....could it be true?

hmmmmm... the first spider i dreamt about was 2 years ago.. maybe? iono.. but that spider was HUGE! crappppp... i was hecka scared when i woke up....lol..

the second dream about a spider chasing me was not all that bad but i still got chills.... anything black, big, fuzzy, and moves like crazy scares me...

the third dream i had was a few nights ago..... the spider was much smaller and it was a beige color instead of black.... i was tempted to run away... but i just went cautiously closer to the spider not knowing if i was going to squash it or not....

have i stopped running away and tried to open up to a guy? maybe so, but it's just a dream....

i need to ask fammy for her tarot cards... it kinda freaked me out the first time i played with them, but they were sooo true!

after a few hours of apush and apbio, i took a nap and listened to music. It was so loud, but i need it to be loud so i could calm myself down after all the stress i've been feeling lately... good news is that part of that stress was lifted today.... thank you mr. laird postponed the due date for those essays... thank you mr. mapplebeck for you were kind enough to make chapter study guides.... thank you jen for helping me with studying apbio... thank you becky is helping me out with precal and french...thank you linda for helping me out apbio and advice.... cal is something that i'm sure i'm taking now... i have faith in myself... thank you sarn for your old precal notes and being so cool... you'll never win because it is just the beginning of our paper war...LOL....thank you ken for being so patient... my mom is scary but we'll get over it together...

cookies and a big bottle of soda right now would be great.... but i don't need to eat more because i already eat too much because of stress... lol...my belly can't hold it all...

we all think about our place in this world... I would love to know what my place in this world is.... as mrs. mammola says, "Life is hard and then you die." very harsh and too simplistic when i first heard her say that.... she makes me think about a lot of stuff... all i can do now is study harder, listen better, and have hope and faith in what the future holds for me and everyone else....

i wish i could say or at least write down my heart-felt feelings and deep thoughts more.... it gives me some relief because it seems as though i'm always trying to hide something...

oh wells.... hope that everything is good for everyone out there...