Mona Lisa John Ines Bysshe Loquita

If You Don’t Go, You Can’t Be Missed

It’s right before we go we realize why we want to stay. Because the world outside this house is cold and strange and dark at night and we like knowing where bed is in case of emergencies where we need to be under the covers because we’re scared. And dog is here. And Mom.

My Family Knows What’s Up

 It’s better to be “blinded” by Love rather than dread things that are considered “inevitable”. There are so many different possibilities, opportunities, and circumstances that create, mold, shape, and influence the world that we live in today. We are surrounded by so many of these unknown variables; it seems silly to waste time worrying about our “inevitable” demise. If something is inevitable you cannot change it, so why waste any of our precious time obsessing over the proximity of our impending death. Enjoy today. Death is inevitable. It’s one of the few things that there is no escape from, we all die someday… Poof! Here today, gone tomorrow. 
We have established that death is one of the few inevitabilities in existence. There’s no buying, bargaining, bartering, or stealing more time: Death is unavoidable. 
I prefer being happy: rose colored glasses and half full glasses of milk are right up my alley! (Half full glasses of milk prevent osteoporosis better than half empty ones;) ) Be aware; bad things happen; even to good people! Be prepared; life isnt fair, it’s another one of those darn inevitabilities. That’s another part of life that we all need to collectively accept. 
How To Love. (Unconditionally): Re-Focus all of your negative energy and put it toward where it’s better spent: love. It doesn’t matter how little or how much love you are able to give, because it isn’t about the amount; it’s about the effort you make, the steps you take, and the people that you’ve chosen to express your love to! It’s hard to fail at being a loving person, the hardest part is deciding who to share your love with this time, and figuring out what you can do to surprise or inspire them! Get creative, my little sister still talks about a scavenger hunt that I took the time to create for her one morning before she woke up! It’s about having fun and making yourself and the people that you love and appreciate happy, as well as showing that you do think about others and try to do special things for just them Love is patient. No rush. A good example is when I taught my lil sister how to drive a car. I did it with love, for love, and also because of love. Not because she’s family, but because she’s an amazing woman and she asked me to help!! She asked because she loves me and she knows I’m a capable driver, and not too bad or bossy of a teacher. Due to the love we share as sisters, those memories we created are priceless. 
Love is kind. A few years later she taught me how to crochet, which involves a lot of time, energy, and an endless source of patience. It was very time consuming, but she still sat next to me on the back porch and encouraged me to keep trying, after she reenforced the fact that it will just take some practice. She humored me as well as my tangled messed up yarn, and gave me more confidence. She pointed out each individual stitch, explained the basic concept of crochet and how it works in detail, and then showed me patiently, for the fifth time, exactly which pieces I needed to thread the hook through. She gave me her time, which to a college sophomore is as valuable as gold. It was a priceless gift. It still took me a decent amount of time to catch on, and to understand as well as comprehend a skill she had taught to herself. That’s love. Two sisters 3000mi away from one another and i have never once doubted her love for me. A perfect example of unconditional love. Loving someone because of the little things they do proves that you matter to them. Solid conclusive evidence. Pure, Unconditional love at its finest; desiring nothing more than the other’s company. Retrospect is 20/20… So what happens 30 years from now if what was “inevitable” is now nonexistent, no longer in use, or just plain irrelevant? 
We are but mere mortals; there will always be perils, and the threat of immenient demise. Love’s Armageddon may or may not come to pass; but please don’t waste time dreading it, changing your life because of it, or pushing loved ones away, because you may come to find that the world is an extremely lonely place without any love. We ache to receive it and need it as much as all of the people we love do! Love’s value differs from one individual to the next, however we all continue to show love in our own ways.
Embrace love! Love is fearless; love is universal, it exists in every place you even where youve never thought to look. You’re lucky if you’re loved unconditionally. By one person or a million. Rare love like that is hard to find. Treasure them. If you ever feel you don’t have anyone that you love or that loves you, msg me. I have plenty of time, patience, understanding, and i enjoy searching for the little details to love. No matter whether they’re new or old friends, family (yes all of them) , coworkers, neighbors, strangers, whomever you run into while you’re out and about. Maybe you’ll find a hidden talent in the process. Take this opportunity to reexamine the people who are around you daily; to create new bonds of love. We are all flawed differently. No one is perfect; but with time, compassion, kindness, and patience; you can/will find so many reasons to love people, places, and things . When it comes to showing love it doesn’t matter if you are doing something small, large, hidden, or obvious; whether you had to conduct a search, or if it was in plain sight. As long as inside your heart your reasons are not selfish. Love’s never self serving or self justifying. Love is not cruel. Love knows no bounds: You don’t ever have to worry about running out of love or spreading love too thin. It multiplies, grows, shrinks, changes, etc but it will always persevere. Love inspires me: to wake up every day with a smile and a mission. To forgive myself and others for mistakes, accidents, grudges, and fiascos in search of new love(s). Love inspires me to share my most valuable asset (my time), and rewards me with irreplaceable memories that are priceless. It encourages me care about everyone, the people involved in my life already, and the ones i haven’t gotten to meet yet. Love opens doors, windows, and leads you to discover that there is always a reason to love. If you cant find any, look again closer, or go find others who feel they aren’t loved or don’t even know what love is, because they’ve never been gifted the experience of real love (unconditionally). Be the first to love them, without judgements though, nor expectations. Just Love. Love long, love hard, love deeply. It’s the best feeling no matter whether you’re giving or receiving it. Love is empathetic, supportive, and it blankets you in protection from the not so good things in the world. Having loved ones empowers you in many different ways, because love itself is practically indestructible. Be the first to offer to help. Give and get hugs, they’re simple, they aren’t overly time consuming, and they have a huge impact because they’re a person to person touch, it doesn’t get much more reassuring. Personal touches anywhere are confirmation that you do love that person. You have to remember to always smile, even and especially when you don’t want to. Smiles can travel and are contagious, help start an infection! And always remember to put yourself out there, and love. Love people for their flaws as well as their strong suits! Flaws can be more original and unique than conformity. Live life on life’s terms, yes, but choose to love, and love unconditionally. You may find Its infectious and very contagious! :) Any whoo I’ll never stop loving: Life, family, friends, stars, the ocean, singing, & dancing. Love is kind, not perfect. There are some negative consequences: tears, rejection, hurt feelings, etc. they’re all part of the risk. Love may have its costs, but the rewards and benefits far outweigh any and all downsides! Love’s a big part of life: we all need different amounts of affection, reassurance, confidence, to some extent to survive and live a healthy and happy life!

- Lauren