"Posting" It Forward!

Happy Pay It Forward Day!!

I found out about this lovely "holiday" approximately 3 minutes ago, but I'm bubbling over with excitement! What an awesome day. I only wish I would have known earlier.

Although I began placing Post-its before I knew about this day, they seem to go perfectly hand-in-hand.

I will direct you to the site so you can see it for yourself:

http://payitforwardday.com/

Go ahead! Take a few minutes and at least glance over it. There are all sorts of inspiring, wonderful links on this site. I definitely recommend watching a few of the videos if you have time. They give me hope for the world!

Pretty cool, huh? The movie that this day is based on (Pay It Forward) came out when I was younger and I do remember watching it on the couch with my mom. I couldn't have been older than 9, though, so my comprehension level was still being molded into the masterpiece that it is now! ;-) I think I need to rent that one again soon...

So awesome. I'm still glowing with happiness. It's like finding someone who has the same birthday as you... It just parallels the Post-it Effect so well.

Anyhoo, Thursday's Post-it went in the girls bathroom. (There are multiple bathrooms in our high school, so I promise I haven't totally littered just one with notes. Although, that'd be a very motivating bathroom...) It read, "Don't settle for less than your worth. (And that's a lot!)" I knew almost instantly that I wanted it to go in the girls bathroom, because settling for less seems to be all too prevalent in high school, especially for girls. Maybe that will encourage one girl to reevaluate a current situation or help prevent one in the future.

Well, I'm off to get a few productive things done for the night... Sleep being high on the list.

Have a great night and... Pay It Forward :-)

Meagan

A New Kind of Post-it

Hello, hello!

Oh gosh, it looks like I've made a habit out of posting later and later... Better than never, right? Just got a phone call from a good friend and found a very fun recipe to make, if that justifies my sluggish blogging...

Today's Post-it was... Different, to say the least. I may need to give you a little background before you completely understand my rash decision, but I'm confident that it was good.

Before I start explaining, I suppose I should let you know what the Post-it said, huh? :-) On a green sticky note, I wrote (Yes, MY handwriting!) a quote that has been on the mind the last few weeks.

"Live for today, but hold your hands open for tomorrow. There is a seed of God's love in every unpleasant situation in which you might find yourself."
- Barbara Johnson

To summarize as much as possible, I left the note on the desk of a teacher. It was very nonchalant and I actually dropped it right as I returned a pen to her jar at the bell. She was up walking around the classroom and (hopefully!) never actually saw me leave it.

Why her? Well, she's a temporary substitute while our original teacher is out for a new baby. I don't know very much about her, other than that she loves teaching and cares and awful lot. Being that she won't be in the classroom forever, I've noticed that kids seem to be pretty casual when it comes to being rude and disrespectful to her. Honestly, I don't even think you'd know that she might be upset by it. She's always smiling, encouraging, and helping.

I won't say she's perfect (Nobody is... Other than me, of course. Baha! Not.) But she's has put more into her sub position than she had to and is receiving less than desirable feedback.

As I said, this was a very quick choice, so using my own penmanship was a must. I'm not really worried about it. Even if she was able to pick out my handwriting, the thought of her breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing it makes it very worth it.

So, anyway, given the circumstances, I wasn't able to snap a picture, either... If you want, you can envision me frantically rounding up a sticky note, matching a colored marker to the Post-it, and copying the quote in my (Probably less than legible) handwriting. :-)

When I think about it, this is what the Post-it project is all about. And that makes me happy.

Good night to you!

Meagan

A Musical Message

Unfortunately, as a result of a very busy day/evening, I only have a few minutes to throw this up here! But... I'd never leave you hanging. You? Well, maybe I'm just talking about me... (And maybe Brittany.) Bahaha!

Really, though, just wanted to at least throw up a picture and let it be some sort of an encouragement. Although I sort of pulled this saying out the air, I later realized it was actually a song lyric I knew: There's Hope - India Arie

I would definitely suggest you check it out on YouTube or something, although I'll post the lyrics here so you can get an idea of the context of which I pulled today's Post-it message... Good stuff!

"There's Hope"

Back when I had a little
I thought that I needed a lot
A little was overrated,
but a lot was a little too complicated
You see, zero didn't satisfy me
A million didn't make me happy
That's when I learned a lesson
That it's all about your perception

Hey-are you a pauper or a superstar?
So you act, so you feel, so you are
It ain't about the size of your car
It's about the size of the faith in your heart

[Chorus:]
There's hope
It doesn't cost a thing to smile
You don't have to pay to laugh
You better thank God for that

There's hope

Off in the back country of Brazil
A met a young brother that made me feel
That I could accomplish anything.
You see just like me he wanted to sing
He had no windows and no doors
He lived a simple life and was extremely poor
On top of all of that he had no eye sight,
but that didn't keep him from seein' the light
He said, what's it like in the USA?,
and all I did was complain
He said livin' here is paradise
He taught me paradise is in your mind

Every time I turn on the T.V. (There's Hope)
Somebody's acting crazy (There's Hope)
If you let it, it will drive you crazy (There's Hope)
but I'm takin' back my power today (There's Hope)
Gas prices they just keep on rising (There's Hope)
The government they keep on lying
but we gotta keep on surviving
Keep living our truth and do the best we can do

Stand up for your rights
Keep shining your light
And show the world your smile

I heard this song while shopping in a Plato's Closet one weekend... Normally, I cannot stand loud, obnoxious store music (Plato's Closet always seems to be especially irritating) But I ended up looking up this song when I got home. Guess you gotta weed through the bad songs to find the good ones.

Alright, I'm off to do some homework as well as take my first breath of the afternoon. (Okay, just kidding, but it sort of feels that way!)

Have an awesome Wednesday!

Meagan

The best medicine

As you can see (Or maybe not... Had to use the camera on my phone due to battery failure in my real one!), Monday's Post-it said, "You are so beautiful. Feel better soon!"

Random? Definitely would have been if I hadn't put it in a hospital... But I did. In the bathroom, to be exact. I had an appointment for some irritating back pain and decided a hospital was the perfect place for a Post-it or two.

You know what I've come to realize? At the beginning, I was always looking for new sayings and new inspirations to put on the notes... But when I really think about it, new people are finding them all the time. So repeating a saying (God forbid I could say the same nice thing twice! So silly.) really isn't a bad thing... In fact, if those words are really that engraved into my heart, it's probably a really good thing.

I'd also like to add the Post-it was the best part about going the doctor this afternoon... Those little sticky notes seem to be the right remedy for everything.

G'night!

Meagan

Weekend Update

Hello lovely Reader!

This weekend was probably one of those where I should have split up my Saturday and Sunday posts—so, as a fair warning, if this becomes unbearably long, feel free to take a break. Hopefully I'll be able to keep the suspense alive... Or at least your interest.

Saturday was the dictionary definition of boring. For real. If you so happened to want to look up the word, you might find a picture of me in a printed pair of pajama pants sitting on the couch watching Grey's Anatomy re-runs. (I only watched one, though, I promise!) I do love the rain, but was a little upset that I couldn't spend anytime outside. So what does a girl do when she's beyond bored? Change her hair, of course! I made an appointment for 10:15 and slowly managed to throw myself together enough to be seen in public. (Although, I'm pretty comfortable with my hair-dresser.)

"What are we going to do today, Miss Meagan?"
"Hmm... Just a healthy trim and a few more layers, perhaps?"

(7 minutes and 4 conversations later...)

"You know what—I think I want to go a little shorter."
"Okay! I already took a little over an inch off. One more?"
"Let's go... three."

And there you have it—chopped. I'm sure those who notice will assure me that it really wasn't very much. But just like you always think your butt is bigger than it actually is, your hair always seems shorter to you than anyone else. I haven't decided if I like it yet, but it provided something for this girl to do!

Okay, okay, back to the Post-it... I drug my little sister to the salon with me and she decided to trim her mane while we were there, as well. Sometime during her cut, I decided to "go to the bathroom," when in reality, I remembered I was so fortunate enough to have a Post-it to place! I put in in the bathroom next to the mirror.

Sunday was a bit more enjoyable. Like last Sunday, I wanted to leave my Post-it somewhere at the church. Bathroom? I could be more original. Pew? A little too public for my conservative church. I went with a hymnal—personal, yet still open for possible discussion in the case of sharing the songbook with someone else. Might as well be a bulls-eye ;-) Bahaha.

And then, after writing and placing my purple Post-it, I looked to my right to see my younger sister (8-years-old, to be precise) start to draw on my pad of sticky notes that was previously stuck in my purse. Okay, I thought, she can doodle on a few, especially if she behaves that much longer.

When I looked back, she had written, "You are pretty." on the Post-it. My heart was doing a combination of a victory dance and wiping its tears of joy! I hadn't even engaged in any conversation with her about my Post-it project over the last two weeks, although I knew she had seen me write out several notes. Little did I know she had me all figured out... Rats :-)

I truly had fun placing Post-its this weekend. What a nice alternative to watching Grey's in the pj's (Not that I really get sick of Dr. McDreamy...) More productive, to say the least!

Well, I'm pooped. Just got home from grocery shopping a little bit ago... I've come to the conclusion that trying to really shop healthy is WAY harder than it should be. Now I'm off to go watch a high school theatre production and then hitting the hay early tonight! After a Grey's episode, of course... :-)

Meagan

Who, me?

Another week has come and gone...

Isn't is weird how some things seem to drag on and on, yet simultaneously fly by? Boggles my mind! Anyway, this week was sort of like that on this end, with some days lasting an eternity, yet still feeling like yesterday was Monday. Am I nuts? Don't answer that.

Today happened to be another photoless Post-it day. I stuck a note saying, "Have a little faith" on a random desk early on in the day... Never really heard anything more from it, but I suppose sometimes actions speak volumes.

However, I did have quite the run-in with some of my Post-it finders!

Today, at the lunch table, a friend walked over with a sticky note in her hand. Yes, it was one that had been placed (Who would have done that!?) in the girls bathroom earlier in the week. She said, "Meagan, did you do this?" And... Before we go any father... Any lies associated with this Post-it project don't really count, okay? Bahaha! I know that sounds silly, but it would lose all it's meaning if there was a face attached. So... I said, "No way! Where'd that come from?"

Before too long, there were several girls commenting on Post-its they had seen. One friend added, "Meagan, how have you NOT seen one? They're everywhere!"

As a disclaimer, I would have never thought that the Post-its were "everywhere!" In fact, I've only placed 10, one not even being in the school.

Regardless, I couldn't help smiling inside (I had to keep my clueless demeanor on the outside, of course.) They were noticing. And talking. And sharing what they had found.

I decided keeping my mouth shut, for the most part, was the best idea. I'm not the best of liars and would probably do more harm by trying to really play along with it.

Kinda cool, though, huh? If several of the girls, just sitting around the same table as me during lunch, have noticed the mysterious Post-its... Imagine the other people who have. So worth it.

We'll see how ambitious I'm feeling this weekend. Of course, I'll be placing two Post-its, but I'm not sure whether or not I'll just combine them on Sunday. We'll see...

Have a GREAT weekend!

Meagan

Trash = Gift... No, I'm not crazy!

Happy Earth Day!

Is it weird that this is definitely in my top 5 favorite holidays? I just like what it stands for, you know? Although, I suppose everyday should be Earth Day.

Subconsciously, today's Post-it was green—how appropriate! Anyway, it said, "Find your passion," and let me tell you, it took WAY longer than I thought it would to dot (color-coded rainbow, by the way!) the frame around it. It made for lots of extra Post-it bonding time.

I didn't really have any cool stories about the Post-it. I taped it to the mirror in the bathroom 7th hour and it was there at the end of the day, just begging for a picture!

I think the meaning hit me harder after I got home.

Because I have such an exciting, super-cool life for a high school girl, I decided to spend some time picking up trash along the highway I live on. It actually worked out perfect because, due to an annoying back injury, I've had to lay off the running the last few days (crushing, I know...), but walking was something I definitely could handle.

Anyway, 3 ticks, 4 dead animal carcases, zillions of flies, and 3 FULL garbage bags later... (And yes, there was still more out there. Ridiculous!)

I came to the conclusion that that is my passion. Or as much as I know about it right now... I guess I may still be growing in to it.

Have you found yours? Are you still looking? I believe that's one of the most important things to obtain in life—a passion—something you want to put your whole heart into. It's not an obligation, a chore, or a stressor... It's a gift every single day.

Sound like Gandhi much? Aristotle? Well, they were pretty smart guys... ;-)

Sleep tight, don't let the "side-of-the-road" bugs bite! Bahaha.

Meagan