To My BestFriends On Valentines Day

Warning: This letter is about to get extremely cheesy. I am talking three cheese mac and cheese cheesy. But no one deserves a love letter more than you, because you are my ultimate valentine.

 You encounter thousands, maybe even millions of different people throughout your life. Some come in your life for a few minutes or just a few years, and very few are there through it all. All my love this Valentine’s Day goes out to my bestfriends. My amigas, my rocks, my backbone. If I were to write out every single reason as to why you mean the world to me this would go on forever. So I'll keep it simple: thank you, I love you.

People come and go in and out of my life, but you, you have always been a constant. You are an inspiration for what friendship means and a role model for how people should treat the ones they love. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for loving me even when I did not love myself. Thank you for making me laugh when all I could seem to do was cry. Thank you for accepting me even with all my faults. Thankyou for making my dream come true of finding people to laugh at my jokes. And thankyou for getting me through highschool in one piece. Each one of you completes me in a different way. I can't even begin to explain how much love I got for the squad.





 Although sometimes we may go periods of time without seeing each other, I want you to never forget that I am always there for you just like you are for me. If you need someone to talk to at 2am, holla atcha girl.

More than anything, I want you to know I love you. You are the family I get to choose. You played a giant part of molding me into who I am today. And without each one of you, I wouldn't be me. So again, I thankyou with all the love in my heart on this Valentines Day for being the best Valentines a girl could ask for.

With muchas love,

Your over-sensitive, hyper-organized, emotional, and high maintenance best friend.

Xo~ Mandy

A Little Letter To My Little Sis

Disclaimer; we are not actually sisters but everyone always has that one person that is years older or younger than them, that isn't actually their sister, but is their sister if you're catching my drift.

Tayla, 
        I feel like I never actually tell you face to face how important you are to me. Probably because even thought we aren't sisters by blood, you still annoy me as if we were. So this is my way of doing it.

You are by far the sassiest person I've ever met. Sometimes I truly believe you are the human version of a headache. You're loud, and you're crazy and did I mention annoying. Oh, and you hog pillows and blankets AND push me off the air mattress when you're sleeping. But at the end of the day I wouldn't wanna have you any other way. (And you can thank me for the rhyme because I didn't even realize it until I typed it so your're welcome.) 

   Despite everything else, I am so unbelievably proud of the young woman you have become. You have been doing so well in school, even better than I did! High school is definitely tough, but you will survive. Life gets so much better after high school, you have to believe that. Never believe that things won't get better because they always will. I can't even compare your dancing from what it was when I met you to what it is now. I remember being so proud of you when you finally did back hand spring, then your side Ariel, and even your first solo. And I don't even want to talk about the fact that you're taking drivers ed. I might not tell you as much as I should, but I promise that I really am proud of you. I didn't think I could be any more proud, but here I am seeing you now, prouder than ever. You have such a great head on your shoulders.

I want you to enjoy all of the best parts of your age. Like, driving around with your friends in your first car, getting accepted to your dream schools, screaming at the top of your lungs in the stands at the last home football game when you are a Senior. You have so many things to look forward to. 



A few things I want you to remember. Take everything in and take nothing for granted. Nothing lasts forever so inhale everything you possibly can and keep it with you for as long as you can. Appreciate the people around you. Don't sweat the small stuff. And most importantly, know how much I'm rooting for you.

You have so many things ahead of you Tay, the world is waiting for you.


Xo~ Mandy

From The Girl Who Is Always Happy, To The Girl Who Is Scared To Be Happy

"Amanda, you're always smiling"

"Amanda, I wish I was always as happy as you"

"Amanda your happy, optimistic personality shines"

"How can you not be happy while being around Amanda?"

"Amanda, you're always so blissful"

"Is that why your social media name is blissfulmandy???"

Comments like that are something I normally hear on a daily basis. And to be honest, I never thought about it as me being "happy", I thought about it as me being "me."

How is it that females strong as bulls and courageous as a lion are terrified of things human beings craves the most? Why is it that the human brain can imagine such beautiful and wonderful things, but on the other hand be scared of the most beautiful and wonderful feeling? How is it possible that the most loving, compassionate genuine and gentle women are the same ones who are mortified of getting the same love they put out in return? When did the most joyful, enthusiastic creatures in the universe decide they were scared of "happy"?

Happy, to some people, is a word that makes them smile on the outside, but silently cringe on the inside. The word makes them cringe so much from within, you swear you can almost see their eyes shake in their skulls. To some, being afraid of happy sounds silly.

It's the painful reality. I mean, being happy means a situation is going good or getting better. Meaning that even thought it is going very good, it can also go very wrong. It can cause pain. Heartbreak. Disappointment. Failure.

Sure it's a bit morbid to think about it that way. But some people have faced so much pain, heartbreak, and agony it's the only logical way to think about the whole situation; a brilliant, yet cruel defense mechanism

As brilliant as the defense mechanism sounds, it doesn't have to be that way. We are supposed to guard ourselves, but not to the degree where we get in the way of our own happiness

You have to stop getting in the way of your own happiness. It's definitely easier said (and even easier typed) than done. It's definitely preaching to the choir. It's definitely also a matter of "practice what you preach". But from one girl who used to be afraid of being happy to another, it's a step we have to take, because everyone deserves to be happy.

"Amanda, how are you so happy all the time?"

I know everyone expects me to whip out this 4 page essay written in MLA format, dated, with my sources cited explaining just how I'm so dang happy all the time. But the real, and only truthful answer I can say is "I'm not." Not even close.

I noticed that if I constantly reminded myself of how sucky certain situations were on a daily basis, or even if I thought about it a lot, it was like having a 200lb brick attached to the bottom of my feet dragging me down 24/7. Instead, I decided that I just want to live each day one minute at a time and simply try to enjoy every moment. Everyone knows that in life you sometimes have to do things you didn't think you'd ever have to do. For example, I once had to scrub the ceiling of the Burger King freezer for 2 hours. If I had spent every minute of those two hours complaining about how much I hated the experience and the fact that I had to be there, I would have made myself miserable. Instead, I turned on some music and danced like no one was watching (to keep up my body heat so I wouldn't freeze of course, and because you can't not dance while listening to jams) Was I happy about having to clean the ceiling of the freezers? No. Not even a little bit. But I decided to make the most of my experience 

So my advice to someone who "wants to be as happy as Blissfulmanders," is to just live. Take lots of pictures to remember moments, and spend a lot of time smiling at things that other people might not smile about. Do amazing things, and spend time learning about things that really interest you. And always remember that just like you, everyone has something that is weighing them down. View each person in the world as someone important, and the happiness will come more naturally to you than you ever thought possible.

Xo~ Mandy

20 Things I've Learned By Age 20

As I sit here and type this post, there are so many thoughts rushing through my head. I have "Check On It" by Beyoncé stuck in my head, ALL my bills are sadly due on the same day, and I'm at work which is coinciding with my SVU marathon. Now I don't know if this is just a "me" thing, or if everyone my age is like this, but everything, and when I say "everything" I mean EVERYTHING is the end of the world. Adulating is just hard man, and this is only the beginning. BUT me being me, I try to look at the bright side of every situation. "Check On It" is a fabulous song and Beyoncé ROCKS. Because all my bills are due on the same day, I wont have to pay bills again for at least 2 weeks. The money I'm making at work right now will pay for my bills in 2 weeks (that is if I don't spend it all on chicken nuggets) and luckily for me I'm recording the SVU marathon as I type. My life is constantly changing. My life changes quicker than I can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Knowing what I know now, my life could have probably gone a lot smoother. But for every change life has thrown me, I'm thankful for every lesson learned. Here are 20 of those lessons.

1. CHILLLLLL
Don't take life so seriously right now. You'll have plenty of time to be serious when you're in your 40's, so for now just be Chillin' out maxin' relaxin' all cool and all shooting some b-ball outside of the school. And watch The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air :)

2. Not everyone is going to like you
And you're not going to like everyone. Its inevitable and it's okay. 

3. Go to the party
We are only in this stage of our lives for a few years, so even if the "party scene" isn't exactly you're scene, make the most of it. You only live once.

4. Skip the party
Your liver will thank you later.

5. The gossip doesn't stop
You'd be surprised how petty some middle aged men and women can be. Some people feed off gossip and drama as if they need it to survive. Get used to it, and don't feed into it.

6. Everyone grows at their own rate
Not everyone was raised the same way you were. You cant force someone to have the same mindset as you, people develop on their own.

7. The number of friends you have doesn't matter
Quality over quantity boo.

8. Don't strive to make your presence noticed, make your absence felt
Being the center of attention isn't always whats important. Don't announce your presence to make people notice you. Make them know what it feels like to be in your absence.

9. You are not your numbers
This includes your weight, your IQ level, your GPA, the number of people you have slept with, your age, your height, your salary, or the number of likes you have on Instagram. These things do not define you.

10. Become at peace with yourself
Once you do that, nothing can touch you

11. Water and Oil do not mix
...and they never will. Remember that the next time you try to force something.

12. Karma is real
It may take days, or it may take years, but I am a firm believer that karma always has its day. If you want good energy, live a good life

13. Smile at strangers
You have no idea the impact a simple smile can make on someones day

14. You don't know everything
And you never will. 

15. LEGGINGS ARE PANTS
There is no debate

16. Unfortunetly, no amount of cardio will burn a bad diet
This hurts to even type

17. Don't be afraid to ask for help
The strongest people admit when they need help, the weakest people believe they can do it all on their own

18. Stop waiting for the perfect moment, make the moment perfect
There is no time like the present to make a change

19. It's okay to not have you life together
None of us have our life fully together yet, you're doing okay.

20. Don't rush to grow up
When I was little I had this overwhelming desire to skip my younger years and just be an adult. And I wish I hadn't done that because I look back on the moments that are now just memories and wish I could experience them all over again.

Xo~ Mandy