The Butterfly Effect

"The idea that one butterfly could eventually have a far-reaching ripple effect on subsequent historic events" - Wikipedia.

That pretty much sums up my theory on life, but let me explain...

I grew up thinking that my life was going to end up a certain way. No matter what I did to try to make things different, things weren't going to change for me. This is just how life is. But deep down I knew there had to be a different way, a better way. I just had no clue as to what it was.

Then, I had an awakening of sorts. I was in college taking sociology, western civilization, and speech in one semester, and the combination was perfect! My western civ and sociology classes were unveiling myths about American culture (I'll go into more detail about them another time, trust me!) that I had never thought about before, and my speech class forced me (a very shy and quiet young girl) to form opinions, back them up, and tell them to a room full of people. And I began forming strong opinions about the American culture and the way we the American people just blindly followed along. Only now I had some facts and research to back them up. It was liberating to finally start being the person I wanted to be. I began studying art more intensively. I became a vegetarian. I dyed my hair black (I was always a blonde and from a family of blondes). I pierced my nose. As silly as all that may sound, I finally felt free!

However, my life was turned upside-down. I met a guy, fell "in love", and got married and pregnant way too young. I won't go into any details, but I definitely lost the person I discovered I was, and my new found freedom slowly slipped away. I stopped going to church. I felt completely void of all the passion for life I once had.

So here I am now five years, two kids, one divorce, and plenty of life lessons and experience later and I am finding more joy in life than ever! I have definitely learned through my experiences that no matter what happens in life, you have to find joy in what you have and make the absolute most out of it! I know that if you do not like the way your life is going, you can definitely change it! In the beginning, it was hard though. Here I was a 25 year old single mother of two with no degree. I could never obtain the "American Dream". According to society, I had screwed up my life. I would just have to go on struggling, working three jobs, going to school, and letting someone else raise my kids. Then, maybe someday I'd meet a nice man that would take care of us...I don't think so! I knew I could make my life awesome by doing what I felt was right:

• simple, natural living
• loving my children and investing in them as individuals
• taking care of this amazing planet that God put us on
• taking care of the bodies He created for us
• loving everyone, no matter what they look like or what race, religion, or social class they might be

I think the world as we know it now is so sad. People working away their entire lives for stuff, (for more on this please watch The Story of Stuff) all the while losing the most important substance and joy in their lives.

I want to make the world a better place, and I really feel that it can be done if we all can come together, working towards something better. I know no matter how little the changes I make for myself and my family might be, it is creating a butterfly effect. These small changes, in time, may revolutionize things. At least I know it has for me.