Remember when it was a "thing" when you were little to have a pen pal? I miss that! It's just so much fun to get mail, I love mail. Not junk mail and bills... heavens no. I mean a letter from a friend.
It's more personal and thoughtful to send or receive a note in the mail and because it came in the mail it is usually longer than a easily quick email sent.
Letters are something you usually save because it meant something and going back to read it again years later usually makes you smile, laugh, think or it gives you a push to keep going on a bad day because someone believed in you at one time. I have two shoe boxes full of letters I have saved from people over the years. Some actually are from friends and pen pals back when I was in Elementary school. Every once in awhile I go through them to get rid of ones that probably aren't as meaningful but I usually only toss out a few.
Any ways, I miss the days of Pen Pals from childhood all the way through High school and College... I need to start up my "pen pal" ways again.
5.27.2013
5.19.2013
Things In Your 20s
A "friend" of mine on Facebook posted two entires from Thought Catalog about "things" in your twenties. 1. Things you're too old for in your twenties and 2. Lessons Everyone learns in their 20s. Check them out! Both of them made me laugh but both had a few things that were kind of a harsh but a good reality (things that I knew but not sure if I wanted to admit).
Things You're Too Old For in Your Twenties.
These 9 things all just made me chuckle and I found entertaining. Maybe staying true to the advise of #9 is why I duck into an isle at the grocery store when I see someone from high school in order to avoid the awkward chit-chat life-update. (Though sometimes I do that and then feel terrible because I would have actually liked to have said hello to that person.)
Lessons Everyone Learns in Their 20s
1. Ha!
2. SO TRUE! Just looking at my Murray girl friends we are all in different stages. Some married with kids, some traveling the world, others career focused, some still trying to figure out their path in life, etc.
It's hard sometimes when you see what others around you are doing: I travel a lot but sometimes my life feels "empty" without a companion to share it with. While some of my married friends have said they are jealous of the single friends random adventures. Just a good reminder to be happy with whatever stage you are at and enjoying what you have.
8. Word. Ok... I know this is referring to drinking and I don't drink but I'm looking at this one as staying up late and/or going to big parties. It's funny, I love to be around lots of people but I now also love my alone time. Sometimes it's hard to balance the fulfillment of the need for both. My senior year of college I started to get to the point that I was ok going to bed between 10pm and midnight. If I can manage to stay up until 2am then I usually get a second wind and burst of energy but it doesn't mean I recover from it like I did at 19 years old. No way! I pay for it. I also "love" going on dates these days with guys still in college and when I say I have work in the morning and need to get home or that I can't just text or call at anytime during the work day they seem so confused by the concept.
9. This is one I really need to work on. People love to give you their opinions, even when you don't ask for it AND I am SUCH a people pleaser. Sometimes when people in my life give my adamant advice I don't think they realize how much of an effect it has one me. "I want to do this thing but So-and-so said I shouldn't and now I'm questioning myself and my judgement." It drives me crazy... I literally talk myself out of things because of other people and I really shouldn't let them do that to me.
10. This past year, #10 has been a true awakening for me. I miss the college scene (and even high school) where you could get 30 people together to go do a fun/crazy/random activity but I no longer seem to know how to get that big of a group together anymore. #10 makes perfect sense: I can still be friendly with everyone and still invite new people to join a group activity once in awhile but it's time to have just a small group of friends. It's time to live my favorite TV show, FRIENDS, haha.
I was actually talking to a guy friend about #10 and he made the point that in big groups you know everyone's name and how they are in the large setting but in smaller groups you don't miss the intimate opportunity to really get to know someone and become a true friend, not just a Friday night friend.
Things You're Too Old For in Your Twenties.
These 9 things all just made me chuckle and I found entertaining. Maybe staying true to the advise of #9 is why I duck into an isle at the grocery store when I see someone from high school in order to avoid the awkward chit-chat life-update. (Though sometimes I do that and then feel terrible because I would have actually liked to have said hello to that person.)
Lessons Everyone Learns in Their 20s
1. Ha!
2. SO TRUE! Just looking at my Murray girl friends we are all in different stages. Some married with kids, some traveling the world, others career focused, some still trying to figure out their path in life, etc.
It's hard sometimes when you see what others around you are doing: I travel a lot but sometimes my life feels "empty" without a companion to share it with. While some of my married friends have said they are jealous of the single friends random adventures. Just a good reminder to be happy with whatever stage you are at and enjoying what you have.
8. Word. Ok... I know this is referring to drinking and I don't drink but I'm looking at this one as staying up late and/or going to big parties. It's funny, I love to be around lots of people but I now also love my alone time. Sometimes it's hard to balance the fulfillment of the need for both. My senior year of college I started to get to the point that I was ok going to bed between 10pm and midnight. If I can manage to stay up until 2am then I usually get a second wind and burst of energy but it doesn't mean I recover from it like I did at 19 years old. No way! I pay for it. I also "love" going on dates these days with guys still in college and when I say I have work in the morning and need to get home or that I can't just text or call at anytime during the work day they seem so confused by the concept.
9. This is one I really need to work on. People love to give you their opinions, even when you don't ask for it AND I am SUCH a people pleaser. Sometimes when people in my life give my adamant advice I don't think they realize how much of an effect it has one me. "I want to do this thing but So-and-so said I shouldn't and now I'm questioning myself and my judgement." It drives me crazy... I literally talk myself out of things because of other people and I really shouldn't let them do that to me.
10. This past year, #10 has been a true awakening for me. I miss the college scene (and even high school) where you could get 30 people together to go do a fun/crazy/random activity but I no longer seem to know how to get that big of a group together anymore. #10 makes perfect sense: I can still be friendly with everyone and still invite new people to join a group activity once in awhile but it's time to have just a small group of friends. It's time to live my favorite TV show, FRIENDS, haha.
I was actually talking to a guy friend about #10 and he made the point that in big groups you know everyone's name and how they are in the large setting but in smaller groups you don't miss the intimate opportunity to really get to know someone and become a true friend, not just a Friday night friend.
5.06.2013
Book Reviews
So I am working on my reading list for 2013. I'm not doing so hot but I'm at least reading more than usual. I keep trying to read Count of Monte Cristo and I keep getting lost or my mind wanders off to other things... I'm thinking I'm not smart enough for the book... which is said because I'm pretty sure the 9th grade honors english class at my Jr. High had to read that book.... and they're 15-years-old.
Here's a review on what I have read so far:
The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
Oh my goodness! I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It's a great simple read and it has SO many great ideas and suggestions on how to better budget your money, how to be a millionaire in your retirement, how to make it easier so save money now, perspective on how you're spending your money and suggestions on better spending habits. The book even gives suggested companies and bank accounts to help with the process of bettering your financial circumstances. The main idea behind the whole book is making everything "automatic." Set it up so that your pay checks are automatic being split and transferred into spending, savings, retirement, investment, etc. acocunts. Once you do all the work ONE TIME, to set up all of these accounts and the automatic transfers, you don't have to think about it anymore.
Crossed and then Reached by: Ally Condie
These were the second and third books to the book Matched I read last year. As I said in my review of Matched; basically this was a trilogy that I would say was a mixture of The Giver and The Hunger Games but more geared towards girls. Again, I read Matched in one weekend. It was interesting and a light read but intriguing enough that I couldn't put it down. Crossed was hard to get through and I even considered just forgetting the whole thing but I got through it. Crossed was hard for me because it was more about the "love" story and the girl was so whinny and it was getting old. Overall I would say you will still need to read Crossed because it has information that you need in order to understand things in Reached, the third book. Now Reached was awesome and I'm so glad I didn't give up. The book was more like the first book where it was interesting and intriguing but a little more intense. Not too intense that it was almost stressful to read but more of an intense that made you want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. Again this trilogy reminded me a lot of The Hunger games but I will tell you this... the ending was better and had a much more satisfying resolution and ending.
I would recommend this trilogy to read. It was a fun, easy, page turner set of books.
Adding to my reading list (as if I'm going to finish all the other books but) with good reason.
1. The Mediation & Atonement of Jesus Christ by John Taylor
Usually I'm not one for religious books. I read my scriptures and conference talks for religion and anything else is for my imagination to soar off into adventure or another world or silly girly giddiness or curiosity, etc. BUT Elder Scott came to my YSA Stake Conference back in September and he said that we should read this book and I figured, if an apostle of the church is telling me I should read a book... I probably should read it.
2. I Sit All Amazed by Stephen Mikita
Another church book (haha I must be growing up or something). I went to a fireside that he spoke at and it was amazing and the spirit was so strong. He was born with a muscle disease and is a parapalegic. He was so humble and grateful for all his blessing and it really put things into perspective for me of how much I truly have. I mean, I know I have been blessed in so many ways but to see this man, who has been given so many trials, be so positive and grateful was a huge reminder that I should be grateful for all that I have... big and little. Anyways... made me want to read his book.
3. Austenland by Shannon Hale
This was recommended to me by a friend of mine who doesn't enjoy reading and she has read this book three times. As she told me about this book she got so excited about it that she said she would read it again with me.
Here's a review on what I have read so far:
The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
Oh my goodness! I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It's a great simple read and it has SO many great ideas and suggestions on how to better budget your money, how to be a millionaire in your retirement, how to make it easier so save money now, perspective on how you're spending your money and suggestions on better spending habits. The book even gives suggested companies and bank accounts to help with the process of bettering your financial circumstances. The main idea behind the whole book is making everything "automatic." Set it up so that your pay checks are automatic being split and transferred into spending, savings, retirement, investment, etc. acocunts. Once you do all the work ONE TIME, to set up all of these accounts and the automatic transfers, you don't have to think about it anymore.
Crossed and then Reached by: Ally Condie
These were the second and third books to the book Matched I read last year. As I said in my review of Matched; basically this was a trilogy that I would say was a mixture of The Giver and The Hunger Games but more geared towards girls. Again, I read Matched in one weekend. It was interesting and a light read but intriguing enough that I couldn't put it down. Crossed was hard to get through and I even considered just forgetting the whole thing but I got through it. Crossed was hard for me because it was more about the "love" story and the girl was so whinny and it was getting old. Overall I would say you will still need to read Crossed because it has information that you need in order to understand things in Reached, the third book. Now Reached was awesome and I'm so glad I didn't give up. The book was more like the first book where it was interesting and intriguing but a little more intense. Not too intense that it was almost stressful to read but more of an intense that made you want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. Again this trilogy reminded me a lot of The Hunger games but I will tell you this... the ending was better and had a much more satisfying resolution and ending.
I would recommend this trilogy to read. It was a fun, easy, page turner set of books.
Adding to my reading list (as if I'm going to finish all the other books but) with good reason.
1. The Mediation & Atonement of Jesus Christ by John Taylor
Usually I'm not one for religious books. I read my scriptures and conference talks for religion and anything else is for my imagination to soar off into adventure or another world or silly girly giddiness or curiosity, etc. BUT Elder Scott came to my YSA Stake Conference back in September and he said that we should read this book and I figured, if an apostle of the church is telling me I should read a book... I probably should read it.
2. I Sit All Amazed by Stephen Mikita
Another church book (haha I must be growing up or something). I went to a fireside that he spoke at and it was amazing and the spirit was so strong. He was born with a muscle disease and is a parapalegic. He was so humble and grateful for all his blessing and it really put things into perspective for me of how much I truly have. I mean, I know I have been blessed in so many ways but to see this man, who has been given so many trials, be so positive and grateful was a huge reminder that I should be grateful for all that I have... big and little. Anyways... made me want to read his book.
3. Austenland by Shannon Hale
This was recommended to me by a friend of mine who doesn't enjoy reading and she has read this book three times. As she told me about this book she got so excited about it that she said she would read it again with me.
4.30.2013
Spiritual Gifts
So, I teach one of the gospel doctrine sunday school classes in my singles ward. This calling terrifies me for many reasons: What if I say something stupid? (I usually do), What if I say something that offends someone?, What if I say something blasphemous and don't realize it?! (EEK!) What if someone asks a question that I don't know the answer to? (Usually I just turn the question back to the class). I still have these fears as I teach but on the bright side it has been a lot of fun to learn so many new things while preparing my lessons and to make myself understand concepts and principals. And luckily it's not too hard for me to get up in front of people... if I feel prepared. (To quite what nerves I may have, I always teach without my shoes on. This may gross some people out, but whatever, that's just going to have to be their problem.)
Lately my lessons have been really intense subjects or at least serious and I was having a hard time enjoying teaching but yesterday my lesson was on Spiritual Gifts and it was such a fun lesson to teach. I think I was so excited to teach it that I may have been a little over the top optimistic and ecstatic during my lesson. (Hopefully I didn't scare away any cute boys)
Anyways, I just wanted to share why I was so excited about this lesson...
I think spiritual gifts are so cool! We each have spiritual gifts and they are there to bless us but even more importantly to bless those around us. D&C Section 46 talks about some specific spiritual gifts but then Elder Marvin J. Ashton said, "some “less-conspicuous gifts” include “the gift of asking; the gift of listening; the gift of hearing and using a still, small voice; … the gift of avoiding contention; the gift of being agreeable; … the gift of seeking that which is righteous; the gift of not passing judgment; the gift of looking to God for guidance; the gift of being a disciple; the gift of caring for others; the gift of being able to ponder; the gift of offering prayer; the gift of bearing a mighty testimony; and the gift of receiving the Holy Ghost”
After reading this quote I had the class tell me all the spiritual gifts and talents they could think of... we FILLED the chalk board before I stopped them and I'm sure they could have kept going. These were some of the chunk... The gift of: Kindness, Happiness, The Ability to Recognize Other's Needs, Including Others, Laughter, Smiling, Service, Organization, Hard work, Ponder, Obedience, The Use of Time Wisely, Showing and Expressing Gratitude, Forgiveness, Repentance, Humility, Listening, Teaching, Recognizing Other's Talents, Generosity, Acting on Promptings, etc.
It was so nice to see this huge list on the board to recognize how many spiritual gifts there are. I had one girl even say that there were things on there that she always knew she had the habit of doing but she never realized it would be considered a spiritual gift and she said it was nice to be able to recognize that it was of s. gift of hers.
So think about the people in your life that you love and admire, and think about their spiritual gifts and how they use them.
I have one friend that has the gift of laughter. She has the ability to laugh things off, laugh at the perfect time when a story is being told to her, etc. and her laugh is extremely uplifting and contacious. All she needs to do when I'm around her is laugh and my mood brightens... even if I was already in a good mood, it just somehow makes you feel warmer inside.
I have another friend who has the gift of avoiding contention. It's amazing, she is not a passive person by any means but she has this incredible ability to take away contention in a room. Her feathers are never ruffled, she constantly finds joy in any circumstance and she's able to radiate this to those around her.
These are such simple gifts but at the same time they are incredibly important. By using these gifts these people are uplifting those around them. And what is so cool is that we can seek out and develop additional talents and gifts and Heavenly Father will help us obtain them if we use them to lift and strengthen others.
What is sad is Satan is going to try to deceive us and discourage us to think we don’t have gifts or that our gifts aren’t of value when compared to those of others. But we can't let him do that. My big push in this lesson was continually saying that all of these gifts are important and we should be excited that we have these gifts because their importance makes each of us important. (Did I say important too many times?) I mean, it's just awesome!
Again, think about those people in your life and their spiritual gifts... tell them that you admire their spiritual gift and how they use it! Help them recognize their gifts/talents and their value.
Another quote I really liked in the lesson was by President George Q. Cannon and he taught: “If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I am full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections. If I am an angry man, it is my duty to pray for charity, which suffereth long and is kind. Am I an envious man? It is my duty to seek for charity, which envieth not. So with all the gifts of the Gospel. They are intended for this purpose. No man ought to say, ‘Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.’ He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them” (Millennial Star, 23 Apr. 1894, 260).
I liked that he said that, if we are "angry" we need to pray for "charity." I liked this because he's not instructing us to pray to be "less angry" but to pray for a solution that will help cancel out "anger."
In my class we also talked about how we can seek and develop spiritual gifts. First of all, put the gifts you do have to use. Others will come through life experiences. We can pray to develop some. We can study our patriarchal blessings. One guy even brought up the point that we sometimes have to take ourselves out of our comfort zones to develop gifts... it may be hard but we have to at times.
Anyways! Sorry this was such a preaching post; it was just such a fun lesson and I wanted to share it with you!
Lately my lessons have been really intense subjects or at least serious and I was having a hard time enjoying teaching but yesterday my lesson was on Spiritual Gifts and it was such a fun lesson to teach. I think I was so excited to teach it that I may have been a little over the top optimistic and ecstatic during my lesson. (Hopefully I didn't scare away any cute boys)
Anyways, I just wanted to share why I was so excited about this lesson...
I think spiritual gifts are so cool! We each have spiritual gifts and they are there to bless us but even more importantly to bless those around us. D&C Section 46 talks about some specific spiritual gifts but then Elder Marvin J. Ashton said, "some “less-conspicuous gifts” include “the gift of asking; the gift of listening; the gift of hearing and using a still, small voice; … the gift of avoiding contention; the gift of being agreeable; … the gift of seeking that which is righteous; the gift of not passing judgment; the gift of looking to God for guidance; the gift of being a disciple; the gift of caring for others; the gift of being able to ponder; the gift of offering prayer; the gift of bearing a mighty testimony; and the gift of receiving the Holy Ghost”
After reading this quote I had the class tell me all the spiritual gifts and talents they could think of... we FILLED the chalk board before I stopped them and I'm sure they could have kept going. These were some of the chunk... The gift of: Kindness, Happiness, The Ability to Recognize Other's Needs, Including Others, Laughter, Smiling, Service, Organization, Hard work, Ponder, Obedience, The Use of Time Wisely, Showing and Expressing Gratitude, Forgiveness, Repentance, Humility, Listening, Teaching, Recognizing Other's Talents, Generosity, Acting on Promptings, etc.
It was so nice to see this huge list on the board to recognize how many spiritual gifts there are. I had one girl even say that there were things on there that she always knew she had the habit of doing but she never realized it would be considered a spiritual gift and she said it was nice to be able to recognize that it was of s. gift of hers.
So think about the people in your life that you love and admire, and think about their spiritual gifts and how they use them.
I have one friend that has the gift of laughter. She has the ability to laugh things off, laugh at the perfect time when a story is being told to her, etc. and her laugh is extremely uplifting and contacious. All she needs to do when I'm around her is laugh and my mood brightens... even if I was already in a good mood, it just somehow makes you feel warmer inside.
I have another friend who has the gift of avoiding contention. It's amazing, she is not a passive person by any means but she has this incredible ability to take away contention in a room. Her feathers are never ruffled, she constantly finds joy in any circumstance and she's able to radiate this to those around her.
These are such simple gifts but at the same time they are incredibly important. By using these gifts these people are uplifting those around them. And what is so cool is that we can seek out and develop additional talents and gifts and Heavenly Father will help us obtain them if we use them to lift and strengthen others.
What is sad is Satan is going to try to deceive us and discourage us to think we don’t have gifts or that our gifts aren’t of value when compared to those of others. But we can't let him do that. My big push in this lesson was continually saying that all of these gifts are important and we should be excited that we have these gifts because their importance makes each of us important. (Did I say important too many times?) I mean, it's just awesome!
Again, think about those people in your life and their spiritual gifts... tell them that you admire their spiritual gift and how they use it! Help them recognize their gifts/talents and their value.
Another quote I really liked in the lesson was by President George Q. Cannon and he taught: “If any of us are imperfect, it is our duty to pray for the gift that will make us perfect. Have I imperfections? I am full of them. What is my duty? To pray to God to give me the gifts that will correct these imperfections. If I am an angry man, it is my duty to pray for charity, which suffereth long and is kind. Am I an envious man? It is my duty to seek for charity, which envieth not. So with all the gifts of the Gospel. They are intended for this purpose. No man ought to say, ‘Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.’ He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them” (Millennial Star, 23 Apr. 1894, 260).
I liked that he said that, if we are "angry" we need to pray for "charity." I liked this because he's not instructing us to pray to be "less angry" but to pray for a solution that will help cancel out "anger."
In my class we also talked about how we can seek and develop spiritual gifts. First of all, put the gifts you do have to use. Others will come through life experiences. We can pray to develop some. We can study our patriarchal blessings. One guy even brought up the point that we sometimes have to take ourselves out of our comfort zones to develop gifts... it may be hard but we have to at times.
Anyways! Sorry this was such a preaching post; it was just such a fun lesson and I wanted to share it with you!
“Neglect not
the gift that is in thee” 1 Timothy 4:14
4.22.2013
Things I Hate
Yeah, that's right... things I hate... haha. Are you shocked that I would write about such a thing.
Last year I went to Maine to visit a friend going to school there. As we were road-tripping around the state we had a lot of fun days of themed conversations: Boys, Education and Teachers who we feel made a difference in our lives, Things we Love, Life, etc., but it all started with "Things We Hate."
We were driving in the car and Melinda offered me some gum. Well very few people know this about me but I hate gum. For some reason it disgusts me and makes me gag. I can't stand when people make bubbles or pull strings of it out of their mouth or chew it like a cow. I especially hate when you step in it! Usually I just turn people down and say, "thank you anyways" (Though sometimes I wonder if my breath stinks and if I need to pop in a mint) and then move on and nobody seems to notice.
Well, Melinda noticed this time and asked, "Do you even like gum?"I then shyly admitted to Melinda (who I've known since 3rd grade) that I hated gum and I had since I was about 5. Surprisingly, Melinda replied and said, "You know! I think it is good to hate some things." And thus started a day of talking about things we hated. Not in a negative kind of way just kind of like things that we disliked that people didn't know about us. The next day we talked about all the things we loved and then every day from that we had a theme to our conversations.
So... here are a few things I hate:
Last year I went to Maine to visit a friend going to school there. As we were road-tripping around the state we had a lot of fun days of themed conversations: Boys, Education and Teachers who we feel made a difference in our lives, Things we Love, Life, etc., but it all started with "Things We Hate."
We were driving in the car and Melinda offered me some gum. Well very few people know this about me but I hate gum. For some reason it disgusts me and makes me gag. I can't stand when people make bubbles or pull strings of it out of their mouth or chew it like a cow. I especially hate when you step in it! Usually I just turn people down and say, "thank you anyways" (Though sometimes I wonder if my breath stinks and if I need to pop in a mint) and then move on and nobody seems to notice.
Well, Melinda noticed this time and asked, "Do you even like gum?"I then shyly admitted to Melinda (who I've known since 3rd grade) that I hated gum and I had since I was about 5. Surprisingly, Melinda replied and said, "You know! I think it is good to hate some things." And thus started a day of talking about things we hated. Not in a negative kind of way just kind of like things that we disliked that people didn't know about us. The next day we talked about all the things we loved and then every day from that we had a theme to our conversations.
So... here are a few things I hate:
- Gum... as discussed above.
- People who say, "That's so gay"
- Wow, that is a GREAT way to strike a nerve with me. All it tells me about you is that you have no consideration for another's feelings and you don't really understand what you are saying. I mean common, let's be a little more intelligent with your language.
- People who treat me like I am innocent and naive.
- Being cold! (Though I do love a white winter/Christmas snow, snowboarding and wrapping up in a really good blanket with a book on a cold raining day)
- Throwing up! Especially when it comes out of your nose (Ugh, that's an image)
- People at the airport who wait in their car at the pick-up curb instead of using the park and wait. "Hello Looser! You're the reason the system doesn't work and there's always some type of traffic jam in the pick-up lanes. Yeah! You! Go back to the park and wait and use this magical thing called a cell phone to find out when your traveler is actually coming out to the curb" I've actually never said that aloud; though I'm very "mature" when this happens and have no shame as I stare angrily at these dumb drivers. Beware of the Amy glare.
4.15.2013
2013: The Year of Mistakes
I have a friend from college who has decided that 2013 should be about life mistakes. We were talking about how we are still young and hate that we're starting "careers" and getting stuck in a lifestyle pattern that we will be doing until our late 60s and that we are missing the time where we can take random fun jobs and internships and have other experiences that can happen when we are young and single. And the entire discussion started because she wants 2013 to be about life mistakes.
Now when she says life mistakes, it is probably not what you are thinking of; she is thinking more on the lines of taking jobs you've always thought would be fun, not practical and you've talked yourself out of. For example working on a cruise ship or taking a Disney internship or working for an airline or hotel chain for the benefits. I have one friend who has always secretly wanted to be a forest ranger... 2013 is the year to do it! So maybe they're not mistakes... maybe they're experiences.
Goodness knows I've already made my first "life mistake" this year; I quit a perfectly great job. (refer to my post on 3/4/12, "Unemployment") But hey, from that I'm going to spend time with family, travel (well more than I already do), maybe take a fun internship somewhere or just move to Boston because I've always wanted to and find a job there for a few months.
This concept is completely out of my comfort zone. I'm a planner, I like having a plan. So maybe it will be good for me to fly by the seat of my pants (is it seat or seed or neither?). Maybe this is like getting a mid-life crisis out of my system before I have more serious responsibilities in my life.
anyways... Here's to 2013, the year of life mistakes! and really... maybe we should all take "mistakes" every once in awhile... even if they are small.
Now when she says life mistakes, it is probably not what you are thinking of; she is thinking more on the lines of taking jobs you've always thought would be fun, not practical and you've talked yourself out of. For example working on a cruise ship or taking a Disney internship or working for an airline or hotel chain for the benefits. I have one friend who has always secretly wanted to be a forest ranger... 2013 is the year to do it! So maybe they're not mistakes... maybe they're experiences.
Goodness knows I've already made my first "life mistake" this year; I quit a perfectly great job. (refer to my post on 3/4/12, "Unemployment") But hey, from that I'm going to spend time with family, travel (well more than I already do), maybe take a fun internship somewhere or just move to Boston because I've always wanted to and find a job there for a few months.
This concept is completely out of my comfort zone. I'm a planner, I like having a plan. So maybe it will be good for me to fly by the seat of my pants (is it seat or seed or neither?). Maybe this is like getting a mid-life crisis out of my system before I have more serious responsibilities in my life.
anyways... Here's to 2013, the year of life mistakes! and really... maybe we should all take "mistakes" every once in awhile... even if they are small.
4.08.2013
Making The Best of Things
For the last month of my job I took TRAX to work to save money on gas. TRAX is... well... an experience. There are people from all walks of life on TRAX. Usually I rode on TRAX with the business population and I would just get on, put my headphones in (without music playing) and read my book; nobody would bother me.
One day I had to take a later train into work because of a dentist appointment I had had that morning. TRAX was spacious that morning and filled mostly with college students, moms with little kids, high schoolers sluffing school (those shenanigans), and homeless people. As I picked a seat on an empty bench I noticed a homeless woman across the isle, who was texting on her phone, that only had her thumb and index finger on both hands. I thought to myself, "How sad, but don't stare" and then just sat down and started to read my book.
At a later stop a mom and her son (about 5 or 6 years old) got on the train and sat in a row in front of me. When the train started again the son looking around noticed the homeless woman. He immediately turned to his mom and said, "Mom! What's wrong with that lady's fingers?" The mom just ignored her son, maybe hopping he'd get distracted by something else.... but he didn't. He continued to ask over and over again, and not quietly at all, but the mom continued to ignore him.
Usually it would be natural for me to want to judge the mom for not saying anything to her son but this time I immediately put myself in the homeless woman's shoes and thought to myself, "What would I do in this situation?" and I decided that I would make the best of it and have a lot of fun. I would probably say something like, "My other fingers shriveled up because I didn't eat my vegetables" or "My fingers fell off every time I was disobedient."
It's easy to say that 's what I would do, when it's not really something I have to deal with but it was kind of an eye opener to me to make the best of the things that I have. Not in a settling type of fashion, just be grateful for what I have and continue to make life fun and enjoyable.
One day I had to take a later train into work because of a dentist appointment I had had that morning. TRAX was spacious that morning and filled mostly with college students, moms with little kids, high schoolers sluffing school (those shenanigans), and homeless people. As I picked a seat on an empty bench I noticed a homeless woman across the isle, who was texting on her phone, that only had her thumb and index finger on both hands. I thought to myself, "How sad, but don't stare" and then just sat down and started to read my book.
At a later stop a mom and her son (about 5 or 6 years old) got on the train and sat in a row in front of me. When the train started again the son looking around noticed the homeless woman. He immediately turned to his mom and said, "Mom! What's wrong with that lady's fingers?" The mom just ignored her son, maybe hopping he'd get distracted by something else.... but he didn't. He continued to ask over and over again, and not quietly at all, but the mom continued to ignore him.
Usually it would be natural for me to want to judge the mom for not saying anything to her son but this time I immediately put myself in the homeless woman's shoes and thought to myself, "What would I do in this situation?" and I decided that I would make the best of it and have a lot of fun. I would probably say something like, "My other fingers shriveled up because I didn't eat my vegetables" or "My fingers fell off every time I was disobedient."
It's easy to say that 's what I would do, when it's not really something I have to deal with but it was kind of an eye opener to me to make the best of the things that I have. Not in a settling type of fashion, just be grateful for what I have and continue to make life fun and enjoyable.
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