The Tumblr World

It is official!  I have joined the Tumblr world once and for all!

 http://isabelsfab.tumblr.com  I absolutely love it so far!  I am now all over social media!  

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/isabelfabela/ where I have well over 5,000 pins and around 3,000 likes!  I will admit that it is a bit of an obsession for me but I have no shame!  It's easy to get lost in the Pinterest world after a long and busy week or just a tiring, stressful day. 

 I'm also on Instagram! http://instagram.com/isabel_fab  I love it so because I have a passion for photography.  It's just so intriguing so definitely check that out as well!

I definitely consider the three links above to be the most "artsy."  I hope you all take the time to check them out and let me know what you think!  I'm brainstorming a few super interesting ideas for the next couple blog topics!  I'm not sure how busy everything will get with homework, projects, and of course, THE SUPER BOWL (go Broncos!).  I promise the next posts will be amazing!  Until next time xxx.

Life is a Dash

I completely thought of this topic in a matter of minutes, so I apologize it if makes no sense.  Usually I like to think out what I'm going to write in advance, but I just had to get this down.

Now, I'm not sure where I heard this.  It may have been a movie, book, or just a random quote.  Yet I really love it and I hope you love it just as much.

So everyone has seen a cemetery.  If not, you know what a headstone looks like.  Let's pretend I was born in the year 1800 and I died in the year 1875.  On the headstone it would read 1800-1875.  If you can see, there is the slightest dash between the 1800 and the 1875.  It is so small.  Just a minuscule line that is supposed to account for your entire life.  This is your life: -

Just a dash.  If you genuinely think about your life, right now is not even a percentage of that dash.  The past five years make up the smallest part of your own dash.

So how are you living your life?  Are the things you doing even affecting the length of your dash?  I mean, what is even in a dash?  Look at all of time.  Billions and billions of years.  One person's life is literally nothing to all that time.

Not that your life is nothing.  Your life is something.  But it is only significant if you make it great.  Build your dash.  Live out your dreams.  Watch the sunrise and fall asleep on a beach.  Travel, read lots of books, and eat bizarre foods.  Drink tea and talk to interesting people.  Expand your horizons and live on the edge.  Stay at a tiny motel in the middle of no where.  Go star gazing.  Build a snowman.  Dance.  Sing.  Write.

More important than all of that is standing up for what you believe in.  Be different.  Change someone's life.  Be kind to those who are not kind to you.  Be confident and spread grace wherever you go.  Stay positive and do fun things.  Build your dash.  Make it important.  Be memorable and be so generous that others will always remember you.  Do everything for the right reasons.  Always have a pure heart and genuine intentions.  That way, when someone sees your dash, they know you really had one.  Until next time xxx.

Life's Test

I'm sitting in front of the keyboard crying because I don't know what to say.  I know what I want to say, but I'm not sure how to word it.  Sometimes it's hard to describe feelings.  They aren't tangible.  They are just there inside you and sometimes there is no proper way to express them.  I can try my best.  Occasionally, writing encourages me to get my emotions out.  It's like sitting at a computer and bleeding all your feelings out into words.

Life is a test.  It isn't the sort of test you can study and prepare yourself for.  It's practically thrown at you.  There are good and bad parts of life.  There are the parts that no one understands.  When something negative is thrown at you, all you can do is ponder why something like that would happen to someone like you.  

You may not be a perfect person, no one is, but you certainly didn't deserve this.  The people you love don't deserve to be in this situation either.  It seems so senseless.  Why?  Why do these things happen to us?  They shouldn't be happening to anyone.  

You're just left standing there forgetting how to breathe.  It's like the world has momentarily frozen and everything that ever made sense is wiped away.

Bad things have happened before.  Sometimes, bad occurrences bring about positive changes.  I know this from personal experience.  It's difficult to understand that horrible events really can lead to an improved outcome.  But they can.  You simply must believe that everything happens the way it's supposed to.

Life isn't only a test you can pass, but it's a journey you create.  Sure, life is going to knock you down.  Heck, it may even take a few punches at you and throw you down a hill.  You may get some bruises and wounds.  Yet, if you stand up taller and stronger than before, you'll always win.

Yes, it can be challenging to pull yourself together and face your challenges.  Personal growth and achievement takes time.  I continue to struggle with the "why" in life.  Why has this happened?  Why?  Why did this happen to people I care about?  The list goes on.

After life beats you up, it's not always easy to pull yourself up.  What I'm working on is staying positive.  If you're able to smile when you feel like crying, you're already a strong person.

Sometimes when life closes a door, ten more open.  Opportunities flourish and hope hangs in the air like perfume.  Don't get down.  Stand right back up.  Create opportunities.  Build the life you want.  Keep your chin up.  With love, any obstacle can be overcome.  And goodness do I love my family more than anything else.  Until next time xxx.

California (and Colorado).

Oh my home state.  How sweet it sounds.  Oh California.

I miss California terribly.  Even though I've been in Colorado for a long five years, returning to California always pieces my heart back together.  Everything is still so familiar.  It all looks, sounds, and even smells just right.  The Bay Bridge leading into San Francisco is permanently burned into my mind.  Even smaller things, like the shopping center we'd always go to, or the plaza are crystal clear in my memory.
It' s not like I miss the traffic, excessive amount of irritable people, and high cost of living.  No, that was all awful.  I won't lie and say I loved it.  But I'm still so used to it.  How can it possibly bother me?
After living in this bubble of priviledged people in Colorado, I miss the normality of California even more.  Where I live is a very beautiful place.  The Rocky Mountains can be seen from the windows in our home.  The houses are beautiful, as are all the town centers.  The people are friendlier.  Heck, even our football team is going to the Super Bowl!  GO BRONCOS!
I don't mind it.  I mean, it becomes annoying when some of your friends complain about not getting the newest iPhone, or when they are rewarded with a B&W or Range Rover just for passing their driver's test.
Sure, it's a little pompous and hard to believe.  Going back home is just comforting.  All my family is there after all.  I know my grandparent's house better then I know my own it seems.  It's so nice to connect with my old friends and distant family members.  It's like a taste of childhood, and who doesn't want that?  I feel like I lived completely in my head as a child.  I thought everything was perfect.
As I look back, I see that my school wasn't all that good, and my parents were really struggling.  In retrospect, I feel so blessed now.  We live in a beautiful home (with a beautiful view) and despite the fact that I dislike school, I'm lucky to go to a good one.
I still miss spending weekends with my grandparents, and going to school with kids I knew since practically birth.  It's odd comparing my "two" lives.  Really, it's almost like I have two separate lives.  I have this one here in Colorado that I'm currently living.  Yet, I also have my life in California that will never leave.  I always have it to return to, and that makes my heart so warm.
It's so hard to grasp that while everything and everyone changes, it all stays exactly the same. 
Of course, I know deep down that I'd miss Colorado if I were to leave.  I would miss the life I built here.  I'd miss my weird neighbors and best friend and my bedroom.  I'd miss the now somewhat familiar streets.  I would miss looking out the window and gazing at the Rockies.  I would miss the people I've bonded with here.
It's difficult.  Choosing which you'd miss more, I mean.  California will always be my home, but maybe, just maybe, I would miss them equally.  Until next time xxx.

The Magic of Photography

Yesterday, I, along with Ainsley and Mackenzie were stuck babysitting our little siblings.  It was a windy day, but all the kids were playing outside.  We decided to be busy instead of just standing there watching them.

So we became very artsy in our photography.

Sibling love.  I can't stop laughing.

*laugh* *laugh*

Oh, a red door.  Perfect.

Hunters AND a red door.

Mack being "shocked." 

Happiness. (feat. a jumping child in the back).

Professional creep.

Peace.

She stole my brother lol.

Anyways, we rather enjoy being semi-artsy.  Especially when we are bored babysitting.  I am desperately waiting for it to snow so we can take pictures as the snow falls.

I think photography is so magical because it freezes all these moments in time and you're able to go back and smile at them.  I especially love it while on vacation, because you capture times from far away places and I find it to be very magical indeed.  Until next time xxx.

The Dream Life

I have a lot of dream lives to live.  I suppose that's just what comes with a colorful imagination.  Honestly I confuse myself sometimes with my own dreams.  They range from all over the scale and it's hard to pick which ones I want to live out.

For one, I've always wanted to be a princess.  Of course, you can't just become a princess.  That's something I have realized with age.  But, I've always wanted to be famous, and I guess that is something that is in your hands.  It's all about putting yourself out there.  It would be so fun to be a famous actress, but who knows if that's a dream I really want to pursue (I do, but for now I'm just going to finish high school in Colorado).

Another dream I have is to become an acclaimed author.  I love writing with all my heart and soul (obviously, or else this blog would have never been born).  I just think it would be so fun to write and write and make a living out of it!

Traveling is my biggest dream, thus far.  It is honestly just so enriching and leaves it's mark on your memory.  Goodness, do I love traveling.  My dream is to travel all over the whole dang world.  It would be such an everlasting adventure.

Smaller dreams include having a nice house that I can call my own, and developing my style even more as I grow older.  I hope to have a stellar education and fantastic family bond.


But what's my overall dream?  Wow.  It's sort of like a book I'd say.  Perfect and imperfect in all the right ways.

I'd live in a bustling city like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, or Los Angeles (preferably one of those four).  I'd work for a fashion magazine, or maybe pay the bills my working in a cute coffee shop.  I'd already be done with college, and live in a comfy little flat.

Once I saved up a sufficient amount of money, I would just travel.  Most likely with close friends, and probably some with my family.  I'd take breaks between traveling, of course, returning home to my job and regular life.  But every so often I would embark on a brand new adventure, on a whole new continent.  

While traveling I would see breathtaking sites and meet a ton of incredible people.  Maybe some would be similar to me, but I hope others will be vastly different.  Not only do I want to explore all the major cities of almost every country, but I want to visit the poverty stricken areas.  I think it teaches such a valuable lesson, and is also incredibly humbling.

When I'm home, I'll stay in touch with a close group of friends, while continuing to meet a bunch of new, fascinating people.

Then, after all my dreams have been checked off the list, I'll get married or something like that.  Who knows when I'll find "the guy" but I rather get all my fun traveling out of the way first.  Life would become much more permanent and things would be more stable.  It will be odd, but it will be life.



Such a weird dream life, huh?  What's your dream?  I'm fairly positive it's something we all ponder.  Live the life you have while you have it.  Until next time xxx.

Word of the Year- Grace

My "word" of 2014 is decidedly grace.  Stephanie challenged me to pick one word to live by this year.  At first I really struggled on choosing one.  The dictionary is so large after all!  I love a strong vocabulary because it makes everyone who speaks it seem so intelligent.  So I was really questioning what word I would pick.
Would I go with a word that no one knew the meaning of yet was really insightful?  Would I pick one like "happy," or "peace?"

I knew there were so many words to go through, so I just now decided on what that seems fit: grace.

I believe that grace is an important word to live by.  Not only does it mean (to me, anyways) to spread peace and love wherever you go, but I also think that it means to have the proper amount of humility and forgiveness.  If you live your life with grace, you'll live a life to be remembered.  

I'm going to try with all my might to live with grace this year.  In my opinion, 2013 was a year of stress and haste, with only a few cherished moments.

If 2014 is lived through with grace, then I believe that it will be an absolutely lovely year, no matter what my struggles are.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall profess, within the vail,
A life of joy and peace.

-Amazing Grace

Until next time xxx.