All Can Be Influenced

I don't really have time to write a post right now, but I just had to share this!!
About an hour ago I was walking out of an orchestra rehearsal, and a girl came up to me. We've spoken a few times, but never extensively. She is older than me and we never really hang out in the same circles. But she said, "Whitney, I just wanted to tell you that I think you are soooo pretty! Sorry, this is probably kinda an awkward time to say this. But seriously, every time I see you, I just think of how pretty you are, and I wanted to tell you that!" I thanked her and assured her that I didn't find it awkward.
What this girl didn't know was that the past few days I wasn't feeling like I was beautiful. The way girls do, sometimes. I immediately marveled that Heavenly Father sent someone who hardly knew me, who felt super awkward about it, to tell me I'm beautiful. I could tell she felt really strongly that she needed to tell me this because she quite obviously a bit uncomfortable, yet she did it anyway. This experience showed me that even people who don't have the gift of the Holy Ghost can still recieve impressions and act on them. It also reminded me of the infinite love and mindfulness our Heavenly Father has for us.

As You Really Are

Hey everybody! I know that I haven't posted in a super long time, and I apologize for that. I'm still trying to figure out how to juggle everything and balance my schedule with the new school year.

I found a video recently that really impacted me and brought a huge smile to my face.

I really loved hearing what young men actually think of us young women. (Sorry guys, this post is more for the Young Women, but you are welcome to still finish reading to the end since you've read this far already. :D) Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to look cute and seem perfect to them, but I think that they for the most part don't see all of the imperfections that we see in ourselves. Young Men see the beauty in us, and they see our potential for good. You are more than you know. :D

The Outward Appearance

We've all heard the saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover." But we're all guilty of doing that sometimes, well at least if you're like me. I'm nowhere near perfect at that. But, I try not to, of course.

This video really made me think twice about judging people by how they look. Appearance isn't everything.A lot of times our appearance reflects hardships we've faced or are currently facing. For me, that would be my back brace, amidst others. I know I wouldn't want anyone to think badly of me just because I have a brace. Or because the can't see the actual brace (It's under my clothes.) think that I look funny. Other people have scars from traumatic accidents, surgeries, illnesses, etc. But that doesn't reflect the person inside.

Here is a video of just that. The judges and everyone in the audience judged this boy before he had even said anything, unfortunately myself included.  But then, we were all in for a big surprise.

(If you have trouble viewing it from here, click right here.)

There is more to every person than you can see just by looking at them. Everyone has a story. Everyone is fighting a hard battle, but you can't see that from the outside. And everyone has inner beauty and awesomeness! But most importantly, God can see the strength and royalty in everyone. He doesn't judge people based on the way they look. 

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord ^aseeth not as ^bman seeth; for man looketh on the outward ^cappearance, but the ^dLord looketh on the ^eheart."

 

Everyone has inner awesomeness. And I've decided today that I'm going to strive harder to find it in everyone.

Kindness.

A lot of people underestimate the value of kindness.  In fact, nowadays, many children don't have good homes in which to learn this essential social skill. Sometimes, kindness can seem like a pretty vague term.  So what does it really mean?
Dictionary.com states:

kind

1.of a good or benevolent nature or disposition, as a person: a kind and loving person.

2.having, showing, or proceeding from benevolence: kind words.

Synonyms
1.  mild, benign, benignant, gentle, tender, compassionate. Kind, gracious, kindhearted, kindly  imply a sympathetic attitude toward others, and a willingness to do good or give pleasure. Kind  implies a deep-seated characteristic shown either habitually or on occasion by considerate behavior: a kind father. Gracious  often refers to kindness from a superior or older person to a subordinate, an inferior, a child, etc.: a gracious monarch. Kindhearted  implies an emotionally sympathetic nature, sometimes easily imposed upon: a kindhearted old woman. Kindly,  a mild word, refers usually to general disposition, appearance, manner, etc.: a kindly face.

Antonyms
1.  cruel.

There's a lot to think about. According to this source, kindness is an attitude a person might have.

Why is kindness important?

Everyday I walk down the hallways of my school listening to the profanity, harsh words, rumors, threats, risque comments and jokes. This is not kindness. Not to me, not to the recipients of these words, and not to the speaker. Most of the time nobody knows exactly how hard their words will affect someone. And it's not only verbal words. Facebook posts, tweets, emails, and texts can be just as or more harmful as spoken words.  People who are rude and unkind usually feel insecure about themselves.  People with true self confidence don't need to insult or berate to feel good.  In fact, it probably wouldn't even cross their mind to do so.
The thing that bothers me the most out of anything in  the whole entire world is when people aren't kind to one another. It takes away the Holy Ghost, and stops our progression of becoming like our Father in Heaven.Just think. If everyone were truly kind to each other, most of the world's problems would be eliminated.

"Jesus, our Savior, was the epitome of kindness and compassion. He healed the sick. He spent much of His time ministering to the one or many. He spoke compassionately to the Samaritan woman who was looked down upon by many. He instructed His disciples to allow the little children to come unto Him. He was kind to all who had sinned, condemning only the sin, not the sinner. He kindly allowed thousands of Nephites to come forward and feel the nail prints in His hands and feet. Yet His greatest act of kindness was found in His atoning sacrifice, thus freeing all from the effects of death, and all from the effects of sin, on conditions of repentance."
-Joseph B. Worthlin, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I encourage everyone to rethink their actions.  A good rule of thumb is before you say something or post something ask yourself if you will regret saying it in 10 minutes.

I know that kindness is essential to our wellbeing. We are happier with it, and everything in our life is better.