"So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good.” -Helen Keller


Hi, I'm Mariah and this blog is an account of memories as I journey through life. Time passes us quicker than we realize. Now is the time to make memories because while tomorrow is gone, memories last forever. when all is said and done, I want to rememger mine. the big ones and the small ones, the happy ones and the ones that taught me valuable lessons, and most of all the ones with all the amazing people I have been blessed with in my life. Thanks for journeying along with me in my memory making process. Keep smiling!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Never Grow Up

"Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, dreams are forever." -Walt Disney

Graduation was nearly nearly a month ago, my days as a Holbrook High School-er have come and gone, and in about an hour I will drive out of the drive way of my life long home and start the next chapter in my life. In honor of this whole "moving on in my life" stage, I wanted to share my graduation speech that we were asked to write for Mrs. Caffey's class for the last week of school. So here it is. . .


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Never Land, second star to the right and straight on till morning. This is my favorite place. This is where I have lived the majority of my life for the past eighteen years. When I was three I would go to Never Land in my best dress up clothes to have tea parties with princes and princesses. I took my cousins a lot too. We would go on adventures and explore. Sometimes we would have to explore jumping from rock to rock because the ground beneath us was lava. Later I even took some of my friends with me. We would take our swing set horses there during recess and journey on for miles. 

Now, I'm sure your wondering, what is Never Land? You may be thinking that my Never Land is a lot different the the mermaid lagoon, and pirate's cove in Peter Pan's Never Land. I believe Never Land is different for all of us. As described in Steven Spielberg's movie, Hook, "Never Land is the place between sleep and awake, the place where you can still remember dreaming," Never Land is the child with in us.

I still love to go to Never Land. I go to Never Land almost every weekend with my little sister when we snuggle on the couch and giggle at our favorite Disney Channel shows. I went to Never Land about a month ago when i lied on a grassy hill holding hands with my two best friends, Cierra and Kylie, and laughed about absolutely nothing. I went again last week with my entire choir family when we decided, without speaking a word, to forget about our school work, our responsibilities, and even the show we were about to perform, to play in the Park Elementary School cafeteria. We played basket ball, jump roped, and hula hooped like five-year-old's without a care in the world. But as my days slip into years, i hear more and more about "growing up". It is not acceptable any more to just simply forget about school work and responsibilities. I have to worry about more than just the imaginary boiling hot lava beneath my feet. My worries are now about paying for college and deciding on an education that will ultimately decide my future. These big responsibilities make me question if I will ever be allowed to return to Never Land.

Growing up is expected. We are expected to graduate this Friday, expected to go on to college. Expected to start a career. Most of us are expected to eventually get married and star a family of our own. It is expected for us to take on all of these responsibilities. And it should be! Growing up is a part of life, and it does have value. I have learned so much throughout my years, and if I were to trade my age for youth, I would loose far too much valuable knowledge. But just because we have to grow up, does not mean Never Land has to cease to exist. In the wise words of Walt Disney, "Adults are just grown up kids anyway!" Never Land lives in all of our hearts. Yes, on Friday we will march to the field in our caps and gowns and we will graduate from high school. We will each be expected to take on huge responsibilities. But I hope that as you continue on your journey, you can sometimes forget about that deadline and remember to help someone in need. Forget about being on time and remember to fall in love. Forget about finances and remember to spend time with your family. Just every once in a while, forget about reality and fly to Never Land. Class of 2013, I invite you to "come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned, think of happy things and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land." 

Graduation 2013


Graduation party- my best friend Cierra (:


"party on the roof top, top of the world"
Last night in town <3