Just Another week

Some exciting things from the past week or so:
1. I got to talk to a bunch of the teens I worked with in Romania last week. It was good to hear their voices and realize that I still have a presence in their lives 2.5 years later.
2. My new computer came with photo software :-)
3. On a trip home last weekend I ran into my old swim coach / teacher / mentor / all around amazing person who I wanted to grow up to be just like. I don't think I'm quite there but who said I was grown up yet?!
4. I have a HUGE family and last weekend that was made clear when I got to see tons of different cousins totally unplanned!
5. My grandma cooked biscuits and gravy Saturday. It's all made from scratch and absolutely delicious.
6. Thanks to my mom, I officially own a Christmas tree and can not wait to put it up in my own place.
7. To go along with the Christmas tree I purchased my first gift and listened to my favorite Christmas song already
8. I've gotten a few new CD's and am totally addicted to the new Jason Mraz, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, and the Juliana Theory. I love music and the new stuff is definitely a good addition to my music library.
9. Last week I finished the book Long Way Gone...A phenomenal story about a boy who lost his entire family to war in Sierra Leone, Africa and ended up becoming a child soldier capable of killing TONS of people. The book is his story; memories of his childhood, documentation of how war first took his family and then how he took the families of others, and a testament to his recovery and eventual forgiveness of himself when he is given a second chance at a normal life. If you're up for the heartwrenching read, it comes highly recommended :-)
10. Also, thanks to my mom, I have a new shirt with a GREAT quote on it that I'd like to share with you here:

"Love this life... is about celebrating the moment
and that we're not guaranteed or owed another day
and how cool it is that what we hide can actually be
the fuel towards our glory
and that it's not so bad to be proven wrong

LovethisLife...is about welcoming the blind turn
and the possibility that there's no such thing as coincidence
and that empathy is incredibly sexy
and that it's never too late to pick up a guitar or paintbrush
or to make an amend
or to make a new friend

LovethisLife...could be about rekindling a past flame
or igniting a new one
or shapeshifting from a dreamer into a doer
or savoring the caress of a love long gone

LovethisLife...means whatever it is you want it to mean because

LovethisLife...is a celebration of you and your path

LovethisLife'cuz it could go at any second

you rock."

I think it is one of my new favorites actually. It's filled with great truths and a challenge to get out and live. That is something I aspire to; something I search after with all that is in me. I want to be a doer and a thinker and a feeler. I want to do all that I can, experience all that is out there, be challenged to grow and to change, while getting the chance to feel all of the happiness that this world has to offer. Yep, its a great quote!

And now, 3 cool pictures from my weekend in New Boston:

Sporting my Dad's Crown Royal hatBathtime with Gavin
Gavin loves his Grandpa!

a better version of your old self

An old friend got in touch with me this week. One of my very best friends in High School and Middle School. Somewhere over the past few years we sort of lost track of each other. It has been over a year since I have even seen her. In her message she was asking me what I was up to and where I was these days and all of that good stuff. I quickly responded"not much is new" but then I realized EVERYTHING was new! In the past year since I have seen her I have graduated college, moved to my own place in Ohio, and started my first real job. I have travelled to new places, embraced new challenges, and have made new friends. I have run a half marathon, become and aunt, and started working on a graduate degree. And that is probably just the big things. It is amazing how quickly things change even when it seems like they haven't at all yet it only takes a quick "hello" from an old friend to remind you how much has changed and how much hasn't.

Change isn't so bad. It isn't always easy, but in changing anything you learn more about yourself and who you want to be while staring in the mirror at exactly who you are. When you look past the exterior and into your heart of hearts you begin seeing pieces of yourself; pieces that you don't like and pieces that you do. Some of those pieces you may not want anymore. They may be old, they may be bad, or they may be pieces that are far from the person you have become. Those pieces you slowly throw out and replace with something new and better. A new accomplishment, a new experience, or facing a new challenge. At the same time, you see all of the things that you like, the things that are at the core of your being, and the things you hope you never lose. You tuck those pieces away for safe keeping as the world spins on around you and the changes continue. We are never complete, really, and instead, are always staring back into that mirror re-evaluating where we are, who we are, and who we want to become.

It was nice to hear from my friend this week. It's always tough to lose track of someone you care about, but when your paths cross again it is a nice refresher on friendship and change; a subtle reminder of all the ways you have grown to be a newer, better version of your old self.