Choices, Mistakes, and Humanity

Oh what a topic.. haha I feel that choices are underrated so I'm giving them some long deserved publicity.
The truth is.. we make hundreds (probably thousands) of choices every single day, and most of the time we don't even think twice about them. We decide when to get up, what to wear, how to do our hair, what to eat (or not to eat).. and those are just some obvious ones. But I think that there are more important decisions than those.. and they're the ones we try to avoid, or think about less.. brush them off as unimportant or non-issues. There's a song by a band called Storyside:B and there's a line in it that really caught my attention one day. it says,
"We all are human we make mistakes but
We were given a choice to make"
It hit me because it's so true.. we use our humanity as an excuse for making mistakes, when really.. how CAN we use that as an excuse? If Hitler used that as an excuse for the choices he made, would that make it ok? And how many people, upon hearing that, would sit back and say, "ya.. I understand.. we all make mistakes." Some things just aren't mistakes no matter how you look at them. They're choices. Conscious choices that we make every day.
And that being said.. you never know how your choices are going to effect someone else negatively.. but also positively. For every decision we have to make, there's at least 2 options.. and at least one of them is going to have a positive outcome.. and it's not always clear, but it's the truth. So focus on the present.. your time is now. your choices are now. make the right ones.
And as for past mistakes.. they've been made.. they're done. Don't dwell on them. learn from them.
That's it.. I have nothing else to say. (weird...)
Peace (and Love)
-E

The Truth About Friends (According to Emily)

Recently I received (for the 20 billionth time) an e-mail trying to tell me who my friends are.. trying to convince me that my true friends are the ones who are there to bail me out of jail or something about them being in jail with me.. and a bunch of other crap that's really complete irony.. so first of all I want to say, if I'm ever in jail, please don't bail me out. I'm sure I deserve to be there and I think that paying the consequences for our actions is part of how we learn.. just saying..
But this inspired me to think about friends.. and what are true friends really? And since it seems people's ideas are a bit messed up.. I thought I'd share my own thoughts on the subject.. so, as Oscar Wilde once said, "True friends stab you in the front".. and I totally believe that.

Friends aren't afraid to face you and tell you when you're doing something they know you'll regret.. or when you're screwing yourself over.. I think that friends do more than just stand beside you. I think that friends are willing to jump in front of a train to save your life, but they know that you'd never let them. As Proverbs 17:17 says, "A Friend Loves at All Times" and John 15:13 says "Greater Love Has No Man Than This, that He Lay Down His Life For His Friends."

Friends help friends.. it's the truth. I feel fortunate to have so many friends who I can count on for anything at any time.. and I hope that I'm there for them when they need me. Friendship works both ways. and for that reason, I don't think friends should ever owe each other anything. What's mine is yours.. And truth be told, it's enough to know that your friends would do anything for you.. I don't think they necessarily have to do it.

I also think that with true friends there's no such thing as awkward silence.. not that there's never silence.. it's just not awkward. I think that once you can sit in total silence with someone and feel comfortable, you have nothing to worry about.
And as much as I could go on and on about friends.. I don't have time, nor do you really want to hear it. haha so on that note, feel free to add on to my list. :)