Every Love Story is beautiful, but ours is My Favorite!

No relationship is perfect, including ours. Meet Justin, my boyfriend/best friend/soulmate! We have been dating for nearly three years and our journey began during the Winter of 2011 when we met through mutual friends. We have a healthy relationship and continue to grow each and every day together. Last May we bought our first home and have lived with each other and have learned more about each-other the past 9 months then we have the previous 2 years of our relationship. I can't wait to see what our lives have in store for each of us as individuals and as a couple. 

I am only 23 years young and not an expert on relationships but I know that being in a healthy loving relationship can be the best thing to experience on a daily basis. Justin and I understand each-other better then anyone else. 

Here is a chart that represents some factors of healthy relationships:

Here is my best advice to others in regards to relationships:

1. Listen to one another

2. Agree to disagree

3. Express your emotions and feelings

4. Be true to one another but also to yourself

5. Respect one another 

6. Laugh together

7. Love together

8. Grow together

9. Never go to bed angry at one another

I found an interesting article that expresses some tips in order to live a healthy relationship! Check it out here for building a healthy relationship from the start.

I am happy to say that I think that this suites Justin and I perfectly! 

Love is a beautiful gift when you find the right one!

Attitude is a Little Thing, That Makes a Big Difference

Have you ever had those days where you wake up and just KNOW that it's going to be "one of them days?". I have and more times then I would like to admit. Recently I have started to realize that carrying a bad attitude about something can really make things in life unenjoyable.

There are some things in life that we literally have no control over such as other peoples actions, but there is something that we do have control of and that is our own attitudes and actions. I feel like all of us have at least that one person in our life that is constantly negative, full of bad energy, or just a bad attitude the majority of the time. It's sometimes hard to express to the people we care about that their negative attitude and behavior effects us too.

When my boyfriend and I were buying out home last May I was out shopping (as usual) for household decorations and things. I came across one of those canvas art decorations that gets hung up on the wall, the quote on it was "A bad attitude is like a flat tire. If you don't change it, you'll never go anywhere".  I knew right away that I wanted it because it really hit home to me and stuck with me. We are in control of our attitude and whatever it may be that we need to do to change it, sometimes it just needs to be done.

I found an interesting article that discusses how attitudes form, change, and shape our behavior.

This week I plan to start changing the way I act about things I have no control of. I want to slowly start  changing my attitude to be more positive. With high levels of stress from work and school it is hard for me to sometimes stay positive, but this adorable video reminds me that my attitude really is EVERYTHING, and that it can change the way others view you as well!!!

The following 5 steps will be important for me to remember when creating a more positive attitude in my life!

1. Believe happiness is a choice

2. Rid your life of negativity

3. Look for the positive in life

4. Reinforce positivity in yourself 

5. Share happiness with others

Changing our attitudes can help to change others attitudes into more positive ones as well!!