The way I see it, something I read on a friend's blog recently made me think of something: if a guy shook my hand upon meeting me, I would melt. But hey, that's just the way I see it.

I've been dealing with these school girl crushes for years. Why shouldn't I get something out of it?

The way I see it, I. AM. A. MASSIVE. GLEEK. But hey, that's just the way I see it.

If you want to be happy, be.

The way I see it, this blog wasn't appropriate for my newest project I decided I'd start. I realized on Thanksgiving, actually, that there is so much to be thankful for. One of my teachers has a book on her desk that I see the cover of everyday: 400 Reasons to Be Happy. I realized that there's so many things to be happy about, and if you take notice of them, you can't help but let them make you happy. So I'm doing just that. I'm keeping track of all the little things in life that make me smile. All the reasons I have to be happy. If you'd like to join me for the ride:

http://happinessaccordingtogabrielle.TUMBLR.com (I originally put blogspot by mistake. It's not blogspot, it's tumblr.)

But hey, that's just the way I see it.

Dreams are important. Someday, when you're not even looking, they find you.

The way I see it, my head is a much more vibrant place than I make it out to be. I am a dreamer. In my mind, I paint myself a life I love. And I wonder, if that life were to come true, would I ever be satisfied? Or would the dreamer in me refuse to cancel itself out? It would want to keep dreaming, keep wanting more. And if I always want more out of life, how will I ever really be truly happy? Changing directions a little bit, I'm not sure if it's part of my personality, irreversable, or if circumstances pushed me into becoming such a dreamer. I mean, maybe it's because at some point, I got sick of never getting what I wanted. Because that's my life, it's part of who I am. And I'm okay with it. I'm not complaining. I've just never been the girl with everything. I don't win, and that's alright. But for as long as I can remember, I've escaped the monotonies of my life and opened the door into the lives I live in my head. Don't get me wrong: I don't hate my real life; I'm a cheerful person. And I'm not some sort of psyschotic freak or like a schitztrophenic who thinks she has two lives... I'm just a dreamer. That's all I am. But maybe it wasn't the circumstances that made me so. Maybe it's just who I am, imprinted in my DNA. A piece of me that is probably closely intertwined: I'm like the definition of hopeless romantic. I'm so taken with fairy tales and chivalry and old fashioned love. Carriage rides and red roses, things that seem corny to everyone else...they still make me melt. I'll always be an idealist. I look at what never has been, and ask why not. I guess you could say that sometimes I live with rose colored glasses on. It's not the belief that everything is just how it should be. But it is the belief that someday it could be. I've been bruised. I've fallen down a good amount of times. Some of those times, I spent a good amount of time on ground, wondering how long until I feel okay again. I've had doors slammed in my face for no good reason. And I still have hope. Is that so wrong? But hey, that's just the way I see it.

I dive in and I sink in and I find new colors to think in.

The way I see it, I may as well smile.

Things that make me happy:
Christmas music
Big cities
Symphonies and ballets
Good hair days
Fluffy snow in early winter
High heels clicking on a hard floor
Old jazz music
Deep conversations late at night
Looking through old pictures
Old fashioned architecture
Hearing a song you used to love for the first time in a long time
Finding money you forgot you had
When people call me by name randomly in conversation
Naps on airplanes
Rereading a great book and remembering why you loved it so much in the first place
Reaching out to someone you used to be close to and remembering why you loved them so much in the first place
When something confusing makes sense all of the sudden
Intending to buy a ton of much-needed clothes, and coming home having only bought candles, lotions, and perfumes. And being completely satisfied with my purchases
When people say something nice to me, not to make me feel better or not because they have to but because they want to and they can
Hearing a song that describes exactly how you feel
Gaining someone's respect
Acing tests I studied really hard for
Acing tests I didn't study at all for
That feeling in the air when you're in a room full of people you love who love you
Realizing someone cares about you more than you ever thought they did

Life's not perfect, and I could frown. Still, I may as well smile. But hey, that's just the way I see it.

If I were to throw a party where all we did was play Monopoly, would you guys come?

The way I see it, I love losers and will be a loser forever.

Merriam Webster: Loser- 1 : a person or thing that loses especially consistently
2 : a person who is incompetent or unable to succeed; also : something doomed to fail or disappoint

Urban dictionary: Loser- A person who is extremely cool and happy with themselves, yet looked down upon for being different. Just because someone is a loser doesn't mean they are not cool. The cool part about being a loser is getting to admit you are one. E.g. Losers are cool.

A loser isn't someone who wears short sleeved nerd jerseys with pocket protectors and parted hair covered in shiny gel. It's not some hermit kid whose social calendar is bursting at the seams with interaction with their mother and no one else. It's not someone who cannot successfully converse with anyone on a topic unrelated to science. Deep down, most of us are losers. It's when it's Saturday night and half your peers are plastered beyond belief and/or transferring body fluids with one another and you'd rather stay at home by yourself and watch old movies. It's when you'd love to approach a group of new people, but you're just a teeny bit haunted with self doubt. And when you do strike up conversation, your gum falls out of your mouth or you say something remarkably stupid. It's when you sit on your bed, daydreaming of all the pretty lives you could live and all the people you could know, see, become. But instead of being out there living your aspirations, the loser in you keeps you nailed to the floor. "Until then I'll hide in my bedroom, staying up all night just to write a love song for no one."

Really, losers are the only people for me. I'm just not one for pierced ears and the Ed Hardy backpacks and the hair that lost a fight to a blender. I like people who use big words in casual conversation and actually know what they're saying. I like boys who dress like Vampire Weekend and care about their grades more than they care about getting drunk and womanizing. I like people who kind of sometimes feel like they were born in the wrong decade. I like people who can't quite get a hang of becoming the person they wish they were and can never say anything just right. That's my cup of tea. That's right, the only ones for me are the losers.

"The cool part about being a loser is getting to admit you are one."

I love losers and will be a loser forever. But hey, that's just the way I see it.

Work is like a rubber ball- if you drop it, it'll bounce back. But your spirit is a ball made of glass. It will shatter.

The way I see it, I've been wasting all of my worries. It just came to me that I'm always stressing out about school, letting it sink my entire ship that I don't understand the VSEPR theory one bit. All of my friends are naturally gifted students. I'm not stupid, but I work hard for my grades. I spent my entire teenagehood running on a very small amount of sleep, feeling like I do nothing but homework because, well frankly, I'm a perfectionist. And I wanted to be perfect. I wanted a 4.0 and I wanted my teachers to think highly of me and I wanted to impress New York University. And now that I have my straight A's and my teachers like me and I have something to brag about on college applications...all I want is to be happy. But if I put my own stability higher on my to-do list and than studying for my Algebra 2 test, then I'm digging my own grave. I still want my success and my goals, but how much of myself do I have to give up to do it? And as I write this, guess what I'm doing? Freaking out about a class. School isn't all I think about, but I can't go an hour without worrying about it. And I can't handle that anymore. Not with emotional stability, that is. But hey, that's just the way I see it.

I hate when things are over when so much is left undone.

The way I see it, nothing is ever going to change if I don't make it change. And I can't do that. It's times like these when I wish I could turn off my brain. I'm thinking so much, but I don't really even know what I'm thinking. But hey, that's just the way I see it.

Honesty isn't enough for me. It becomes boring. If you can convince people what you're doing is real & it's bigger than life...that's exciting.

The way I see it, everyone needs an outlet. Something with which we can channel our anger, our frustration, our apologies, our insecurities, and our worries. But the second you do, they all disappear. It's like a river where you pour in everything that keeps you up at night, and those emotions are what keeps the river moving, but at they time, it washes it all away. I could not get through the day without acting in my life somewhere. It's like...I know it will sound like you just opened the door of a stuffed closet and piles of corniness just came tumbling down when I say this, but when I get on the stage, with people in the audience, and the lights and everything, it really is like magic. And it's the best feeling in the world. I'm such a nervous person in all other aspects, but I never ever get honestly scared-nervous before I perform. I get excited-nervous. I know this is probably a really dull post, but I've just been thinking about how much I love what I do. There's just somethinga about the stage that is so absolutely intoxicating to me. It's where I belong. And I love the color of it all. But hey, that's just the way I see it.

Maybe you have to lose control before you can find what you're missing.

The way I see it, we all hide behind the fears of what comes next. Why is it so hard to just be upfront about who we are and what we feel? I mean, I do it too. I have so many thoughts that some people really deserve to know about, but they never leave my head. And they probably never will. I'm a total control freak, I'll admit it. And I always want to be in control of my situation. I like to know exactly where I'm going and how I'll get there and what I have to do along the way and what will happen and who will be involved. And when I don't know, I freak out. And when I do think I know...funny how that's never the way things really turn out. I guess I always feel like I need that sense of security. I like always knowing the answer. I think I really need to accept that there are some things I just don't know. And it's so much more fun that way. But because I don't know what's going to happen, I get scared and I never do anything about it. So I never end up leaving square one. I can't ever know what will result from my actions, but if I do nothing, there will be no result. I guess I just need a little more nerve. Funny because I have so much nerve in all other situations. Such an excessive amount that leads me to say a little too much at times. But that's all gone now, standing where I am. Standing in front of something that scares me beyond all comprehension. Because even if this is the furthest from the truth, I feel like I have the world to lose. But hey, that's just the way I see it.

Life is cool.

HEY I HAVE FRIENDS AND THEY ROCK

"You're like the coolest person I've ever met and you don't even try." "I try really hard actually..."

The way I see it, why would anyone fall for a smooth talking guy? I don't know, maybe it's because I see myself as so flawed, but I like flawed guys. I like guys who say all the wrong things. The kinds of guys whose voices crack when they get around a girl and they can't ever bring up the nerve to say what they want to say. The kinds of guys who don't have lines they use on every pretty girl they see...the kinds of guys who can't even come up with one line for one girl. So go ahead. Stutter, let your voice crack, say something stupid and I'll fall in love with you. "Is it wrong that I find insecurity to be a massive turn on?" "Yeah, Gabbi, here's the thing. You have a twisted perception of what is cute." Confidence is so last season. Buy hey, that's just the way I see it.