"Whatever you give to life, it gives back. Do not hate anybody, the hatred that comes out from you will someday come back to you. Love others and love will come back to you"- Unknown 

Today started out as a beautiful day, I was up at 430 am with my production team filming for an upcoming film festival, we had to get the sun rising just right for the shot and we absolutely succeeded and it brought true smiles to all of our faces because the early mornings and the late nights are nothing compared to the feeling we get when we can convey our message and story through film. 

The beauty of life is creating, I live to create.

I live to tell a story through my lens.

When my day turns for the worst and I'm fighting back tears, my camera is my escape. 

That's what you need to do, you need to find an escape from the problems in your life, an escape from the people bringing you down. You must find an escape that washes all the worries away, even for a moment. Because honestly the worries may come back but that little escape that you can get gives you strength.. 

And I need all the strength I can get 

"What made her strong was despite the million things that hurt her, she spoke of nothing.. nothing but happiness" - j.a

I'm going through a lot these day.. but it's nothing compared to what majority of the world is going through. I cry about life and sometimes I complain to much and it needs to stop. Half the world is starving while the other half is on a diet.. Is this what 21 years of my life has come to?

I use the term "what is life" more than enough times a day.. mainly when things go wrong; which seems to happen a lot. 

But instead of asking "what is life" I should be asking what I can do to make life better.

Complaining gets you nowhere.

Times are tough, more tough then they have ever been in my life, but like I've said before "If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's.. we'd grab ours back". 

I'm just trying to better myself, I've never been selfish before.. and as much as I need to think about Danielle and think about my future, sometimes I feel like I'm in the wrong for wanting to focus on me.

All I know is, no one on this earth knows what the future holds, and no one knows if tomorrow will even come. I'm conquering each day that I get blessed with and I plan to change the world; one word at a time. Hardships make you stronger, at my weakest moments I need to learn how to wipe my tears, keep my chin up and continue to move forward. I will perservere on my pursuit to the ultimate goal; happiness. 

<3

"I didn't always know what I wanted to do, but I knew the kind of woman I wanted to be" -BuddhaBlog

My word of the day is Eleutheromania; because I truly have an intense and irresistible desire for freedom. 

Freedom from my mind

Freedom from all the pain

Freedom from the negative

Freedom from this place..

I am a wanderer; I could pick up and find a new place to call it home each year if I had the money to do it.. and honestly one day I will.

I have all this passion and drive and inspiration built up inside me and I wish I could set it free all at once, but it takes time. Everything takes time and like Buddha says "The trouble is, you think you have time". 

I could sit here on my uncomfortable dorm bed all day and write.. Sometimes my voice doesn't speak up when I need it most and that can be a problem, but sometimes I feel like I write because I don't know what i'm really thinking until I read what I say. I hope that makes sense, but to put it in a broader definition.. writing is my voice.

Finding yourself isn't easy; it's actually one of the hardest things you'll go through in life. But that moment when you do find who you are.. I bet it's so beautiful.

Not knowing is scary, but once you finally know... that's when you realize that you have so much ahead of you

"Always keep your chin up and your eyes looking forward. The rearview mirror is for the past and you should always be looking ahead" -BuddhaBlog

<3

"You must conquer yourself before you can conquer anything else. You must know yourself before you can properly know anyone else. You must love yourself before you love anyone else".
-BuddhaBlog

I am a women with ambition and drive, I am always doing something that is going to make me better and successful. I've been this way for a few years now and I've realized recently that I need to take time to appreciate myself. Yes, I said myself. Some would call that selfish, but if you know me at all and if you've read previous posts you would know that i'm a selfless person. My main focus is on everyone else and the world around me because seeing happiness from others is so beautiful to me.

Mother Theresa once said "spread love everywhere you go, let no one ever come to you without leaving happier". I live by this.. I live by this quote because my heart feels for each and everyone one of you. I would give the shirt off my back for someone who needed it more.

But lately I've realized that at least some points of my life should be about me.. In order for me to conquer the production world I must conquer myself and who I truly want to be. In order for me to get to know anyone I need to know myself, I need to know who Danielle is. And in order for me to love properly I need to love myself.

Confidence is key, yet so rare within myself. I'm to busy focusing on making others happy that I've realized that I haven't been happy... So I've decided to work on myself. It's honestly different and weird and difficult and it hurts a little, but in order for me to better the world I need to better myself.

I'll always be selfless, but if it takes a lot in me just to be selfish for once.. then I guess I must be doing something right. I've made a few big changes and I'm scared, I'll admit that. But there's something in me that's keeping me strong and I hope you all can stay strong throughout any hardship in your life because you are all strong; even if you don't know it yet. 

Trust me, this is hard. But in the end it'll all be okay and worth it. Have faith in yourself

You wanna know what hurts the most? Not knowing..

Not knowing if someone is okay
Not knowing if the one you love, loves you back
Not knowing what you got on a test
Not knowing where you stand in someones life
Not knowing what to do..

I used to have life figured out, every single aspect of it. I'm a planner, I love to plan things out and invite people everywhere and detail everything so the day/night all goes well. This is also a flaw of mine because when the plan doesn't go right; which it never does, I panic. I have a tendency to put EVERYONE first and i'll always be that way, that's something I won't ever change, but I need to learn how to add myself in there sometimes so I don't always end up hurt.

And honestly right now I'm hurting.
And I don't know what to do.

I have answers to everything, and when I don't have the answers I find them because I don't ever give up. Right now I may be having a weak moment, but I'll be strong and get through it. But with what's going on in my life right now, I don't just want to get through it, I want to overcome it.

Some people say once the spark goes out there's no getting it back.. I say once the spark goes out you light another match. Life works in mysterious ways and sometimes not knowing is painful, but it can also be thrilling. I just want to live in the now, I want to wake up one day and not plan a damn thing so I can actually enjoy a day without something going wrong. But even if something goes wrong I keep the smile on my face...

Some call that being fake, they say that if you just smile and brush things off that's fake, they say smiling even in front of people you may not like is fake; I say it's life. I'm going to enjoy myself and smile and be nice to others because I want to, not because I have to. This life is so limited and I say that all the time because it's true. Smiling even when you're having a bad day isn't fake, it's you knowing that no one can alter who you truly are..

Make sure you don't start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who don't value you. Know your worth even if they don't. No one can alter your views, opinions and life but yourself. You choose to be who you want to be. The only influence you should grasp is from within you.

I may be hurting, but I'll never stop smiling and neither should you.

If I could just pick up and move anywhere right now I would do it in a second and never look back. A change of scenery would be nice. A good breath of fresh air and a drink with an umbrella straw and I'm set.

Wise words from my father

"To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him." -Buddha

I'll be honest, lately I have been unable to control my mind. The positivity that I preach to all of you has been disintegrating and at first I didn't know what to do...

But then I went to my family for help.

I feel like I always overwhelm myself when there is no need for that. I put unnecessary thoughts in my mind and I end up thinking the glass is half empty. I hate when I become this way because that isn't who i am. I am a positive person who wants to enlighten people around me; so when I become the antonym of who I truly am, it hurts me.

The other day I went home and I talked to my parents; they are my best friends and when I need help most I confide in them. They raised me to be the woman I am today, so their advice means the world to me. I let out everything that was on my mind and I cried in their arms. My mom cried also because when I hurt so does she and my dad does what he always does; he laughs at me and my mom for crying and then gives the best damn advice on the planet...

He told me this exactly "Danielle, whatever isn't making you happy; change it, whatever is making you worry; fix it, whatever is bringing you down; drop it and do what you can to "make it happen". 

I then dried my tears and my mind went from a worrying mess to figuring out just what I could do to stop being overwhelmed and just be happy. Some say that it isn't that simple, some say it takes more than that but honestly if you want to be happy you must simply "make it happen".

The mind is a scary place, trust me I know. But the only thing you can truly control in this life is your mind. Happy thoughts generate happy feelings and you become happy. Don't let things in life bring you down and get rid of the people in your life that are holding you back. Set a goal and reach it; don't stop until you are where you want to be in life.

"Don't worry, just MAKE IT HAPPEN" -BuddhaBlog 

"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth... not going all the way, and not starting"              -Buddha

I believe that some people don't start a goal because society makes it seem unrealistic, I also believe that some people don't go all the way to accomplish that goal because society puts doubts into our minds.

This needs to be put to a stop.

Fear is fatal, we develop fears based on our surroundings. If you are surrounded by people who base their lives on fear then their traits will becomes contagious. We must stray away from this in order to reach our goal. 

I have been writing this blog since August 27, 2013. Clearly that is barely 2 months of writing to people that may or may not be reading these posts and becoming inspired. My goal when I began was to reach out to anyone and everyone who needed motivation and along the way i believe i have found my voice and my own motivation.

                               But recently I actually reached out to someone I don't even know

It brought tears to my eyes to know that my words got to someone and I inspired them. It only starts with one. 

You can do absolutely anything and everything that you set your mind to I promise! It starts with getting up and making it happen, it starts with having the mindset that you can achieve whatever you want. Society will not tell us how to be and how to think. Society will not tell us who we are. Only you can define yourself. 

"There's no room for doubt, only room for courage. I believe in you" -BuddhaBlog 

Aspire to Inspire

"Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for the people that hear them. They should be influenced by them for good" - Buddha


Lately I feel like I haven't been able to motivate others. I live to motivate and to inspire everyone around me whether i know them or not...

As you know from my about me post, I play softball for St. Thomas University in Miami, FL.

Ever since i was a little girl i enjoyed playing sports; I had 4 brothers and a dad who was in love with football so sports were instilled in me since i was born. I tried ballet along with every other girl when they were younger i'm sure, but that just wasn't for me.

I developed a love for softball in middle school. I made the Varsity team as a 12 year old 6th grader but i stayed on JV for my friends who didn't make the team. That's what i tended to always do, I never thought about myself, only about everyone else, even if it brought me down. I realized my freshman year of college that i didn't love softball anymore. I didn't have that desire for it that i used to have and i wasn't sure why. I live every day to better myself and to better the ones around me and for me to have worked so hard for years gaining a knowledge for the sport and for me to work so hard to develop a skill for the sport and for all the love to just disinigrate into thin air right before my eyes... it hurt.  

After a few weeks of confusion I realized that my love for the sport may have been gone, but my love for a team worth fighting for would be imprinted in my heart forever. I questioned whether or not i should continue playing, but when i realized that the love was still there and that it was for the team and the motivation; I knew that quitting wasn't an option; quitting is never an option. 

From then on I wasn't playing because I eat, sleep and breath softball; i was playing because I eat, sleep and breath inspiration. 

I will never stop working hard and lately I have realized that i am more of a coach than i am a player. "Those who cannot do, teach". I know softball inside and out, but am i the best? No. I have the mindset to be the best athlete I can be, but I've realized that i wasn't meant to be a star athlete, I was meant to help others catch their dreams and become the best that they can be. I can help my team do 90 things on the field, but i cannot do them myself. Like i said, "those who cannot do, teach". I am a motivator, I am an inspiration. A lot of people would have quit a sport that they fell out of love with, but working hard and overcoming obstacles with a team that becomes family is better than anything. 

Lately I feel like I haven't been able to motivate others. I live to motivate and to inspire everyone around me whether i know them or not... and I hate the fact that i feel like i haven't been able to reach out to the girls on my team now. We may not be a tight close team, but i would bend over backwards for any of them, even though they might not do the same for me. Some people tell me to just stop, to just stop motivating them and i feel like that was the worst advice i could have ever gotten. My voice is the most powerful tool I have, and whether or not it is heard it will never be shut. I may not be able to get through to majority of the team, but it only starts with one. I refuse to stop, I refuse to give up, I will not settle. 

I'm a senior in college and i have a list of A-Z of what i want to accomplish. I will not stop, I will not give up, I will not settle. This life is so limited and we need to realize that we are entitled to nothing, we are privileged and we need to be thankful. I woke up healthy and blessed with a roof over my head. If that doesn't motivate you to do something with your life, then nothing will. Today is the last October 8th, 2013 of your life... What are you going to do to make it count? 

"Family comes first, second, and third... your team should be considered family" -BuddhaBlog

I will not stop

I will not give up

I will not settle

And neither should you 

Relationships by BuddhaBlog

There is someone out there for everyone, when you finally find that someone, never take them for granted and always spread love everywhere you go

"If you have a problem that can be fixed, then there is no use in worrying. If you have a problem that cannot be fixed, then there is no use in worrying." -Buddha

Moral of that quote.. There is no use in worrying whether you have an unfixable problem or not

When i was on this boat and i saw a storm coming, of course my first thought was that this was going to be a problem, but after looking at it and seeing the beauty in the sky changing right before my eyes, i decided that instead of worrying that i should embrace it and take a picture worth remembering. It began to pour heavily on my family and me, and we actually all started laughing at the fact that this would happen to us on a Sunday that had sun shining all around. No one was upset, no one was frustrated at the fact that our stuff was getting wet, it was just a family day that later turned into a rainy movie day. I keep saying this in my posts because its true "this life is beautiful and instead of being effected by problems that head your way, we need to stay positive and not have a worry in the world". 

Regina Brett once said "If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's.. we'd grab ours back". 

When i read that quote i was actually having a rough stay and i was stressed with some thing and i thought about every problem i was facing that day; homework due, having to wake up early, conditioning practice, and not eating breakfast. I then became really upset with myself, how am i having a bad day when millions of people woke up today without a home, no food to even share with their family and i'm here worrying about irrelevant things compared to them. Some people can't see the beauty of a sunset, some cant hear a beautiful melody and i get upset when my phone dies while i'm listening to a good song. I was so mad at myself after thinking about all these things and i began to change. 

I am blessed to have even woken up today, i called my Mom and told her i love her and i decided to stop worrying all the time because that's exactly what i usually do.

Look at the beauty of this picture, it's a sunset painted on the sky with a storm forming. It's two beautiful elements of the world in one. While watching this happen i knew that worrying was going to be the last thing i do, worrying creates negativity, worrying creates anger, worrying is a contagious disease that will be thrown out of my mind and i believe it should be thrown out of yours as well.

Take a minute to close your eyes and picture something beautiful in your mind, something you saw when you were a kid, something you saw this morning, anything that puts a smile on your face...

After you capture this image in your mind, i want you to close your eyes and picture it every time you feel like your worrying. I want you to picture it when your mad, sad, frustrated or upset. I want you to be able to picture it in times where you need a little smile the most, because in a world where some can't even smile, just know how rare and precious a beautiful image can be. 

"Never underestimate the life you live, take time out of your day to embrace the beauty of it and know that worrying will get you know where and positivity overcomes it all". -Buddhablog

A man said to Lord Buddha "I want happiness", Lord Buddha said first remove "I" that's ego. Then remove "want" that's desire. See now you are left with only Happiness. 

Happiness is such a beautiful thing, some people strive for so many things in this life and we forget to realize that happiness is the ultimate goal. 

Music is happiness, holding hands is happiness, it's seeing the smile on someones face after you make their day. Happiness makes the world a better place. If you were walking in a random hallway and someone gave you a mean look i'm sure some of you would brush it off, but others would take it to heart and i happen to be one of them. I like to radiate love and happiness everywhere i go because if I'm walking through a hallways and i smile at someone, their smile makes my day that much better.

Of course everyone has their bad days where they don't want to be happy every minute, and some people want to punch that person smiling all the time, but you can't let bad days get the best of you, you can't get bitter you need to get better. You need to better your life. I'm a genuinely happy person.. ALL the time, and i feel like it's contagious and i love that because even if i just make one person smile, i know it only starts with one. I leave my roommates cute notes with quotes that will inspire them and make them happy because everyone needs a little boost to get their day going, or if they see it in the afternoon or before bed they still get to smile. I hid some also so whenever they find it it'll be meant to be for them because i believe it'll be on a bad day, they'll find the note and be able to be happy even if its just for a moment. 

Little things in this life are so beautiful because they go so unnoticed. And with something so simple as a smile to the person next to you, you have no idea how much it could impact them.

If you're having a bad day, do the things that make you happy! Listen to music, write, read, play video games, call your mom, workout, do anything that will turn your day around. When i'm feeling down i like to write and call my mom because she always knows just what to say, even if i just hear her voice and know she's okay. We need to remember that family is forever. 

Wake up, read a quote, look in the mirror, smile and start your day positive so that you continue to radiate that positivity through the people around you. Comment with something that happened in your day that made you smile and i'll feature you in my next post. Just know that some people out there are going through more than we'll ever know and a smile can even save a life.

"Happiness is contagious, and so is negativity, surround yourself with people that change your life for the better, a little smile goes a long way"

-BuddhaBlog

"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, 
joy follows like a shadow that never leaves" -Buddha 

 Start you're day by looking in the mirror and telling yourself that you will be 
successful, tell yourself that you're beautiful, strong, smart and most of all, 
believe it. It sounds silly right, talking to yourself through a mirror but you 
have to be willing to get uncomfortable to make a change in your life. Once you 
start believing what you say to yourself that's when it'll truly come out.

I used to look in the mirror somedays and call myself ugly, I didn't like how 
lazy I was and I was disgusted at who I was becoming. But that changed, that's 
the old me and I'll never regret who I was because you learn from everything you 
do in this life, good or bad. Buddha said it correctly "we are shaped by our 
thoughts..." If you want to be successful in this life it takes action but it 
also takes a mental toughness that no one realizes. You must be strong 
physically, emotionally and mentally. You're mind is a tool that can make or 
break you, you must keep it positive and strong and you'll become unstoppable. 
Happy thoughts generate a happy life.

My coach used to make us listen to a man named Jon Gordon speak online before 
practices and games. He's a motivational speaker and a writer and his words 
inspire me to be the best I can be while helping others be the best they can be. 
I woke up this morning and I read a quote by him saying "the only person who can 
limit your possibilities, is you". It doesn't get more real than that quote. 
This world is full of possibilities waiting for you to go get them. It isn't 
about waiting for good things to come into your life, it's about creating the 
great things. Jon Gordon inspires me, and I hope I can inspire all of you as 
well. This life is limitless, you just have to be willing to wake up, look in 
the mirror, tell yourself that anything is possible then go out there and make 
it possible. Never give up. 
 

On Tuesday when i released my first post Stevie Rodriguez commented and said a quote

that inspired him was by Henry Ward Beecher and he said "Men's best successes comes 

after their disappointments". 

Start reading quotes each morning and continue to follow me and we can inspire 
each other. Comment with a quote you started you're day with that made a 
difference and a story about how it motivated you and I'll feature you in a 
post

"Tomorrow doesn't happen for everyone, if you're lucky enough to open your eyes 
and see the sunlight for another day, get up, get motivated and never stop 
working hard for what you want in this life" 
-buddhablog