When I was a little girl, I remember that small sense of pride when a teacher liked one of my journals. I remember the excitement I got when we were assigned to write our own fairy tales in elementary school — that excitement turning into what you can call another re-telling of Cinderella with a Cajun Fairy God Mother who turned the shrimp in a seafood gumbo into horses pulling a carriage, as told through the mind of a young reader with an easy sense of humor.

I have a collection of binders on my closet shelves, holding half-written stories and finished writing assignments ranging from being stranded on deserted islands to poems about first crushes and friendships.

I hoard thoughts, ideas, words I enjoy the sounds of, quotes and stories I’ve read and written.

I took my television out of my room to replace its spot on my desk shelf with more books, arranged alphabetically by author.

You’re all probably thinking, what a nerd, because I know that’s what I’m thinking.

I’m telling you all my silliest, most geeky secrets because we all have something we love to do, something that keeps us going when things get tough, be it a small quirk or a huge part of our dreams.

No matter what it is — a hobby, a place you love to visit, a talent you have — it makes you who you are, sets you apart from others and most importantly, never fails to make you happier.

This is why I’m not ashamed of being the girl with a room full of books and a heart full of words, not to mention a mind full of cheesy phrases like that one.

If we don’t make time to do the things we love, then what are we doing with our lives? What’s the point in living if you can’t let yourself be happy every now and then?

I write because it relieves stress, it’s easier to write everything down rather than express my thoughts aloud and mostly, because I enjoy being able to use my own experiences in life to help others, no matter how small or insignificant.

You can have the worst job ever, dread every second of it, but go home afterward and do what you love to do, it’s bearable.

You can have the busiest, jam-packed schedule during the week between work and errands and appointments, but you can use your weekends to surround yourself with people you love and make time for your own hobbies.

A running theme in most of my blogs has been that eventually we need life to stop just so that we can live it.

It’s extremely important in this world to work and make money in order to survive. But it’s also important to make all of the difficult things worth it by making time for happiness.

If you like to read books, read them. Bring one with you to work, eat your lunch with one hand and hold your book in the other.

If you like to paint or draw, do these things and create beautiful works of art like no other. Wake up with the sunset, breathe it in and put it on a canvas.

If you love sports, switch off the latest game on television and go outside to throw a football in the backyard or put together a co-ed softball team at the ballpark down the road with your friends.

If you like to build things, go for it and build me a bigger bookshelf while you’re at it (pretty please).

What I’m saying is, God gives us gifts in our daily lives. He gives us moments we’re supposed to treasure forever, ones in which we’re exactly where we want to be, doing exactly what we want to do.

We’re here for a reason, and we should glorify Him with the gifts we’re given.

1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace.”

For me, writing is a way to communicate to you all what He has weighing on my heart. There is no greater feeling than knowing that the things I say can possibly open someone up to Him or simply turn someone’s day around with a Bible verse or personal experience that taught me something positive.

I write to create my own happiness in glorifying God, restoring faith, helping someone in need and learning from my own mistakes.

There is no greater joy than making time to do the things you love, all the while serving others.

I hope you all cherish the moments where the world around you stops for a little while. Exist in the moments it’s just you and a blank canvas, an open book, a 100-yard field surrounded by a crowd of people or the sight of an orange sunrise on a back porch swing, hot cup of coffee in your right hand and the day ahead of you in your left, ready to be conquered, embraced and remembered.