“Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” –Walt Disney

One of my all time favorite movies is Disney's Meet the Robinsons. It always inspires me, no matter is going on in my life, that while the road made be tough, and the way dark and long, all we have to do is just keep moving forward and if we do with a steadfast and unmovable faith, life has a way of working out for the best. Lately I have been struggling. It seemed I lost control of my life and I was trying to reconcile myself to the fact that I as an individual am not in control, that things happen and that it's my reaction to those events that makes the difference. I was trying to take the advice of some very dear friends and let go of my need for control. And it was, to say the least, a very frustrating and difficult process. Until I realized something this morning and then it seemed the sun was finally ready to rise.

I do have control. That is the way I have always lived my life. Whatever I wanted to do, I did. If I wanted to raise a garden it happened. If I wanted to raise bunnies, I did. If I wanted to do a sport, get a job, you name it, if I wanted it, I went out and made it happen. I became so good at this process, that when I decided to run for student body president, everyone was so sure that I would get it that not one person in my high school dared to run against me. If Mary Vanderholm said she wanted something, it happened, because she was going to make it happen. And that is just the way I have always looked at life. It is not a matter of pride or power, it is just the outlook that I was given. That there was nothing in this world that I couldn't have if I was willing to work hard and go get it. It's not that I had much opportunity growing up, my family is not wealthy, we lived on a small farm in a dumpy community where my Dad worked as a teacher. But my parents never let that be an excuse for me not succeeding. That has always been my mindset, that anything can be achieved with enough effort.

So today when I woke up I decided I would stop reconciling myself to the fact that I have no control. Because I do. I have power over what happens. I don't just need to react to events as they unfold. I would much rather put all my effort into making events unfold in a manner that I want them to. I'm not crazy, I don't think I have the power  to change the weather or anything. But I can be a great influence for good in this world. So I think it's time the world got a taste of the old Mary, Regina George meet Molly Mormon. Get ready for change people cause I'm moving forward.