When it comes to love, do you follow your heart or your mind?

Picture you are the "Bachelor" or "Bachelorette" and you have a BIG decision to make.

**For those of you who don't watch reality television, the Bachelor/Bachelorette are reality shows where a person has to select their future wife/husband out of group of twenty five people.

Let's say the Bachelorette has narrowed down her choice of guy to pursue a relationship with to two very different people.

WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST FEAR? WHAT'S YOUR BIGGEST DREAM?

The following are two questions that the non-profit organization To Write Love On Her Arms have been asking recently.   You can also join in on the discussion at: http://www.fearsvsdreams.com.

It got me thinking as to what my biggest fears are and what is my biggest dream.

I would like to share them with you as I think it is important to be aware of your fears so you cant try to get over them and not let them control your life

“Why do you want to study bullying prevention?”

I have been asked this question often, since I began researching this topic a few years ago.

My answer is always the same: I have seen its negative effects and want to stop it from hurting others’ lives.

Until now, I haven’t confessed to many people that: back in middle school, I WAS BULLIED.

I have always been an athlete. My passion for sports, the sport environment, competition, and the empowering feeling I get after a long workout are what keep me involved.  I strongly believe that participating in sports teaches skills and lessons that you cannot learn in a classroom.  The sport environments which I have been a part of foster passionate and driven people who treat others with respect.I thought sports were supposed to be fun – so what’s with the stories about the “chilly climate”? When I think of chilly climates, I think of the frigid temperatures in Ottawa, Ontario (the coldest capital in the world) where I grew up.  Winter lasted almost six months.  The snow, ice, and freezing-cold temperatures could make anyone want to hibernate until spring.  However, despite the chilly climate, we would all embrace the climate by going outside and having fun.  There were plenty of ways to be active outside during these months: skating, skiing, tobaganning, building snow forts, etc.

I read this quote recently and realized it is true.  However, I believe in this battle against yourself we have two opponents: the outside world and ourselves.  I personally believe the latter is the harder fight.

For example, I was at the beach this past weekend with two good girl friends. We have different body shapes and sizes, yet we are fighting the same battles.

The first is our struggle with a society that constantly has images of how individuals should ideally look. The media puts out the message that we should change ourselves and our imperfections to a standardized “ideal” image in order to be happy and accepted.

Thank you is such a small yet powerful statement.   It should be said more often.

I will never forget the time I went out to lunch with a couple of friends, and one of my friends treated us all.  After the meal, she remarked to me that some people weren't thankful for her treat because they didn't say "thanks" to her.   This situation sticks in my head to remind me to always say "thank you" whenever someone does something nice for me or helps me out in some way.

Do the following sound familiar to you?  These were all statements that I said before or during my first day at a fitness Bootcamp yesterday. It didn’t hit me until after that I use too many excuses.

“I am going a bit slower today BECAUSE I didn’t sleep well last night” – said as I was hiking

“I am taking my time down the hill BECAUSE I sprained my ankle” – on the way down

“I’m nervous to start this program BECAUSE I’ll look like a beginner” – in the car before Bootcamp

Or maybe some of these sound familiar to you....

In order to learn, you need to reach out and ask questions.   I sent a message to a well-established blogger the other day,Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen, and this is how she responded. Read the post here. Thanks Laurie!

This made me think where I was taught this important life lesson.

I learned the importance of asking questions from my high school Algebra and Geometry Teacher.

Our school wasn't semestered, so all of our classes were full-year courses.  I loved math and science, which was great because I had planned on becoming a medical doctor.  

I saw the "I am not afraid ... I was born to do this" necklace that Tina Steinberg designed, and it made me think of a message that has been on my heart and mind for quite a while. I started thinking about this topic when I first wrote about it in one of my earliest posts, "Am I Really Free to Be Me? " For me, when I see this necklace, I think: " I am not afraid ... I was born to be me."

Music is a great way to convey a message and to connect people. My sisters always find these amazing songs that I have never heard of before.  My middle sister sent me this one tonight by Griffin House "The Guy That Says Goodbye To You Is Out Of His Mind" and I had to share it as it has such a positive message.  Most of the time if someone breaks your heart, you think it is your fault or that there is something wrong with you. That is not the case at all.  There are other people out there that would love to date you.

"Go where ur celebrated, not tolerated.. Where ur Adored & not ignored!"  was what Rev Run tweeted earlier today.  When I read that on my twitter this afternoon, it made me think of a few situations where this applied.

There have been a few times in my life, where I left or have wanted to leave environments where I didn't feel supported.  Why would you put effort into something if you are not appreciated and are generally ignored?

For example, there was one time someone went to this small group at a church three times before any one came up to them and the people they went up to did not really show an interest in them.  I mean it is hard enough showing up to a new group, but if the group is not friendly or inviting why would you want to be a part of it?  There are other small groups out there that are excited to welcome new people.

Have you ever gotten a text message from someone and have no idea what they mean? Or have you ever had to show your phone to a friend to help you understand what the text means?

Keeping in touch with people is becoming easier through the use of technology, but I believe it is getting harder for people to understand what others are trying to communicate.  Research says that communication is 90% non-verbal and 10% verbal; therefore when we text we are missing much of the message being conveyed.  I would argue it may be getting easier to communicate with others, but it is getting harder to understand what they are trying to say.   I think text messaging is good for sending quick messages that are easier to understand, but even then they can be misunderstood (i.e.  check out the video below for a great example).