…if you can do that I will make you instant coffee and burnt toast for breakfast, fair? Fair.
I’ve heard that song about a million times this week and its sweet simple melody and lyrics make me happy. Hopefully it’ll put a smile on your face today – it IS FRIDAY after all, you should be SMILING! I don’t think people smile enough. Why can’t it be contagious like yawning?
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Love Always
Vanessa Xo
P.S. I wrote a little post for Roots Canada this week that should be going up on their blog. I’ll let you know when that happens XO
A huge problem with people (myself) today is that we’re all so DRAMATIC. I mean we never sit down for two seconds to reflect on what’s going on – we simply react.
I don’t know how to control my emotions or thoughts, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. I’m all for a bit of passion, energy, and spontaneity, but you can cause serious strain on a friendship or relationship if you allow yourself to simply react to every situation. If you react and then reflect, the damage is already done BUT if you take the time to THINK about the situation and be fully aware of your surroundings, you could save yourself from the embarrassment and guilt that comes with hurting others.
I truly believe that if you think before you speak or reflect before you act you can save yourself from a lot of unnecessary anxiety.
On a completely different note, I’m going to leave you with one of my brother’s favourite songs (@JoeGrillone2) because he’s in Myrtle Beach at a Band Competition and I miss him. Also, I have always loved this song – makes me feel like I can do anything.
So, this blog post is going to be all about music. I tend to post my favourite songs every once in a while, especially if it really fits with the message of the post, otherwise I don’t usually mention it. But music plays a huge role in my life – it’s a great source of inspiration. A certain song can turn my bad mood into a good one, it can make me work out harder, it can help me focus, it can help me sleep better. Music can bring back memories but it also helps create new ones. I <3 music.
Here are a few songs that I listen to when I really need a pick-me-up. I hope you enjoy them
It’s the little moments in life that really make it worth living. I know exactly when I’m having one of those moments and I do my best to appreciate them… to engulf them.
Ever had one of THOSE moments? I hope you have... <3 The Boy with Bread.
Probably my favourite Beatles song ever.
I don’t really care much for The Wanted but I really love this song.
“ALL THAT COUNTS IS HERE AND NOW (Live in the moment!)”
Hope you enjoyed these songs! Probably won’t be blogging again until after my sister’s stagette this weekend – but hey, who knows!
Did any of you watch yesterday’s Winter Finale of Glee? Well I did and I must say that it was incredibly sad and very moving. I don’t want to give it all away in case you haven’t watched it yet but I will say this – it got me thinking about what I’m looking forward to in my life. It got me thinking about what I would be sad to miss if I had ever decided to take my own life.
Granted the first entry in my book My Pen, My Voice talks about wanting to get away. It talks about being afraid of everything, it talks about how uncomfortable I was with myself and everyone else, but I never once thought about ending my life. I know this is a sore subject for people but I think that it is one that should be talked about.
So, what do I want to be around to see? What don’t I want to miss? Given my chronic OCD I’ll put it in a nice little list for you.
My sister’s wedding
Seeing what my brother grows up to be – his successes.
Meeting my nieces and nephews – and maybe having a child of my own.
My writing career – wherever it takes me and whatever books I will write.
Seeing my parents retire.
Seeing my sister get her first tattoo
Walking down the aisle at my own wedding.
Crossing destinations and goals off of my Bucket List – traveling the world alone, with family, and with the bf
Buying my own house or condo – let’s be serious I don’t plant things or cut grass or shovel snow and neither does the bf
That list could literally go on and on. There are so many things in life to look forward to, so many things that you can see and do. There are so many things in this world to LOVE and to be thankful for. I know life gets rough sometimes and I know that as soon as things start going right, something bad usually happens to spoil it. BUT I also know that things will get better again eventually.
Things always get better and you become stronger because of it.
P.s How cute is Kelly Clarkson?
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Remember to stay strong because LOVE will always get you through it.
Over the weekend I heard the saying “you are the company you keep” and if that’s true, then I’m lucky enough to surround myself with amazing, talented, and creative people. Take these two for example;
Alanna is a singer/actress and an all around wonderful person! Her voice makes me melt. Christina wrote this entire song from the lyrics to the arrangement – she also plays the guitar, drums, and piano. Pure talent! That’s the first video they’ve posted on YouTube and I have a feeling there are a lot more where that came from. Check them out and spread the word!
I’m proud to know both of these women and I wanted to spread the love the best way I know how…
Earlier this year a friend of mine, Casandra DeBartolo was kind enough to review my book. Now she’s been even more fantastic by letting me place it here, on My Pen, My Voice.;*. Here it is:
My Pen, My Voice
Author: Vanessa Grillone
Reviewed by: Casandra DeBartolo
Starting out with a 12-year-old girl who felt like running away author Vanessa Grillone has had almost 10 years of experiences to fulfill her dreams as a writer, as she publishes her very first book, My Pen, My Voice that was released just earlier this year.
Though poetry and prose this book encompasses all the struggles, obstacles and emotions of a teenaged girl. Using personal experience as her inspiration to grasp onto the ideas of what young girls today have to deal with, Vanessa bursts open the most confusing and difficult aspects of a very fragile stage.
My Pen, My Voice compiles a series of poems and diary-like entries that were written over the various stages of Vanessa’s teenaged years. The emotion that is drawn out on every page is so real, so raw and so deep, not because it was written years later looking back on these times, but because they were written as these moments were happening. “…you try to fathom the fact that IT DOES HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE and NOT a million years ago but RIGHT NOW.”
What is so unique about this book is that there is something for just about everything and everyone. Every page is different from the one before, or the one that follows. There is a page for the confused 13-year-old, a page for the emotional 16-year-old, a page for the frustrated 19-year-old, and a page for the determined 21-year-old. Touching base with the complications, frustrations and excitement of school, family, work, friends and boys. But even through all of the downfall she comes across in the book, there are moments where the reality of life sets in, and Vanessa shows us that the life of a teenaged girl, although far from easy, is as simple as “Put the past in the past and keep it there. Look forward to your future. Live for the now. Take chances. Make mistakes. Learn. Repeat.”
By overcoming the many bumps she shares with us in her book, Vanessa shows us that everything that happens, happens for a reason. To make you stronger as a woman, allowing you to realize that failure is not an option and to never settle for anything less than what you want and what you deserve. “Comfort is okay, but I cannot let comfort take me away from what I desire most. I will not give up, no matter how long it takes and that’s a promise.”
Thanks so much Cass for actually reading my book and for enjoying it! You can follow her on Twitter (click on her name above). You can click here to find out more about my book.
I’d like to leave you with a music video. I heard the song yesterday at my brother’s Christmas concert… how cute it he anyways?
He plays the trumpet!
The video is for Beyoncé’s I Was Here. It’s the new song I’ve been play on repeat. I hope you get something out of it too!
