Sometimes, "no" seems so final and definite. Other times "no" is wrapped with a lot of love. While the saying may be true: when one door closes, another opens, Helen Keller put it in the best way, "when one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."
The most special things are the people and places around us. While observing a high school photography class, I love the advice the teacher gave to his students: People are always going to the zoo and other fun places to photograph. However, the best subjects are those around you, because you're the expert of your stories. Here are two of mine:
My friend, Eleanor, would have been the same age as me today. She was a physician assistant. She could have been a doctor, but she chose to to an assistant. That way, she could spend more time with her family and serve her church. Over ten years ago, she passed away due to an aneurysm in the brain. I always admired that in the short time she was here, she spent it with the people that were most important to her.
No matter how old, we always know when we are in the wrong. When I was little, my cousin and I often had slumber parties. One time, she came to my house. In the middle of the night, we decided to wake up and play. I started to play with the unicorn toy that I got recently. She started eating candies. I was so absorbed in playing that, suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mom standing there! I didn't know how long she had been standing there, but I knew we were both in big trouble.
I shared this story with kids and the response was, "this story is so funny, can you tell it again?"
