I believe...

That God has a plan for each of us.

That dating is overrated.

That there should be a law stating people in the left lane HAVE to drive faster than those in the right lane.

In smiling at strangers.

                That, sometimes, words speak louder than actions.

That travelling, living, making decisions without anyone else’s input, and going to movies all by yourself can help you learn a great deal about who you are.

In using proper grammar no matter who you are talking to.

That homemade gifts are the best gifts.

That dressing for your body and looking clean-cut improves your posture, confidence, and rapport.

That communication, honesty, and having a sense of humor are essential in any relationship.

In demanding respect, and settling for nothing less.

Endings and Beginnings

With the end of the 2011 year less than a week away, I thought it would be apropos to discuss the concept of endings and new beginnings.  Cheesy as it may sound, I have no doubt that this concept runs through your mind at least once this time of year.  

Whether it be pondering the past years’ events or contemplating New Year’s resolutions, I think it’s important to think about these things.  Sitting down and reflecting on all that has happened in the past 12 months (the good, the bad, and the ugly), allows you to recognize and learn more about your person.  How did you handle situations?  How did others perceive you?  Did you grow and become stronger as an individual, or did your experiences set you back in some way or another?  

Even if you did not have the greatest 2011, taking the time to mull over past events is, in my opinion, a way to end the year on a positive note.  Contemplating the good and bad may bring about feelings of solace and a peace of mind that will hopefully allow you to start off fresh in 2012.  

And with the New Year comes all of those great resolutions we talk about and try to stick to until….oh, maybe mid-February.  I just wish some of our resolutions were made with deeper intentions.  I’ve totally made the typical “I want to lose 5 pounds, run a 10k, and adopt a vegetarian diet” type of resolution, so I can’t really talk.  But I think, for me anyway, this year it would be a nice change to come up with a resolution that would positively affect others and make me a better person at the end of the day.  

Maybe I should challenge myself to give at least one person a compliment every day, or call more family and friends that I haven’t talked to in awhile.  In any case, I hope that whatever resolution YOU decide to make allows you to gain perspective and grow as an individual.  After all, isn’t that what this journey we call life is all about?

Procrastination at its Finest

What has been going on with me lately?!  I don’t know about you, but over the past few weeks I’ve been finding anything and everything to do other than what needs to be done.  For those of you that know me, I typically get my to-do lists checked off weeks before any sort of anxiety should set in.  But seriously, I’ve been averting everything school or future related.  I’ve substituted studying and finishing applications with grabbing drinks with friends, stumbleuponing, crafting, drinking wine, taking random pictures of nothing in particular, looking up new recipes, participating in roommate Scrabble tournaments….while drinking more wine.  I guess I can now add blogging to this list as well.

I have no idea why I have resorted to acting this way.  People say it’s “Senioritis”, although I can’t really blame it on that. My schooling does not stop after I walk across that stage and receive my diploma, as I have internships and whatnot to get ready for.  I thoroughly understand that my days of burying my nose in books has not come to an end, so it can’t be Senioritis. But still, I have yet to find my motivation. It sometimes wanders off and goes missing for a day or two, but never for 2 months at a time. I wonder if it ran away for good and found a new owner that is more appreciative.         

I’m trying to be optimistic about this situation.  Is it that I am simply in need of a break?  Maybe a nice weekend getaway or vacation? I hope I’m not the only one constantly struggling with this, especially for such long stretches of time :/

Who knows.  Perhaps there is nothing I can do except wait for someone else’s lost motivation to come crashing into me, since mine has clearly headed south for the winter.

The Ideal Work Place

I want to jump right in and try to explain a thought process I had earlier today. 

Let me provide you with some background first.  I attend classes and work in facilities with a variety of people.  Some are engaged in their activities, others are not.  I’ve become really good at, after 5 ½ years of college, picking out those who are dedicated to their job or task at hand and those who give a rats’ ass.  I’m sure you could, too.

But I don’t get it.  I don’t understand why people choose to come to college to earn a degree when they really don’t care about what or how much they learn. They don’t care about what kind of impact they’ll have on society or who they’ll eventually affect.  But now the reason people say they have to go to college is because of money and our current economy.  I know that one must have a college degree in order to find a decent paying job that will provide them with a means of living a comfortable life.  But at the same time I think that by “forcing” everyone go to college we are dumbing down and lowering our standards for people.  It used to be so hard to get into a college, and now it’s almost a given.  This is very apparent when working on group projects or conversing with people.   I often think to myself, “HOW did you get into this university?  Do you really care about anything other than yourself?”

So here is my thought process.

There’s this “ideal” world, and in that ideal world there would be a special holiday.  “Sorting Day,” I like to call it. During this once-a-year occasion people would be separated into two different categories.  The “I-am-trying-to-make-a-difference-and-care-about-the-interests-of-mankind” group would be for people who strive to do just that, and the “I-am-narcissistic-and-only-want-what’s-best-for-me-and-will-work-only-as-hard-as-I-have-to-so-I-can-buy-an-Ipad-4-for-myself” group for people who are vain and conceited.  The latter group would be taken and placed in a special area away from other members of society, free to do whatever they wish in their own little space.  The “trying to change the world” group would then continue to go about their way of life.  Boom.  Problems associated with egotism gone. 

Ok, so I know that is obviously a bit harsh and insensitive of me.  I just feel that if people devoted as much time to helping others as they do to themselves, than our world would be in a much better place.  The time we spend in college, training sessions, or anything else career related may not always be entertaining, fun, or even interesting.   But the things you learn will be useful in some way in your future, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time. 

Be thankful that you have a job.  Go to school/ work every day as if your life depended on it (…wait, kind of does!).   Try your hardest.  Strive to do more.  Never stop learning.  Help make others’ jobs easier.  And don’t forget to smile.

Holiday Moments

About a week ago I was sitting at the kitchen table looking out at my residents sitting comfortably in the nearby living room.  That evening was really no different than any other, except for the addition of Christmas music and snow falling gently outside (along with the absence of Wheel of Fortune).

I don’t know what it was about that night, but as we all listened to Amy Grant’s “Grown Up Christmas List”, I remember feeling so calm and content.  That feeling hits me once in a blue moon, but for a few minutes I was able to really cherish the moment.  It makes me sound cheesy and sentimental, but for the entirety of that song I actually worried about nothing.  Internships, relationships, Christmas shopping and the plethora of other things that had been on my mind seemed to vanish.

Maybe it was the lyrics in the song that helped me realize my problems were miniscule; that there are millions of people out there suffering through unthinkable misfortunes and would give anything to be in my shoes.

Or, maybe it was the thought of how far I’ve come in just the past few years.  The people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve gained. Six months ago I would have never thought that 14 elderly residents could have impacted me the way that they have.  I look at situations, aging, and relationships in a new light because of the stories they have shared. Working and living there has changed my outlook on life so much that my gratitude carries over to the relationships I have with my family, coworkers, and friends.  And to think, all of those feelings hit me during that one song.  Crazy how music does that to us.

I wish I could have hung to that feeling for longer than 3 minutes that night.  

But I’ll take what I can get.

Candyland

There are not many days where I feel like crawling under a rock and hiding, but today was definitely one of those days.  I don’t think days ever really start off that way, they just get progressively worse and worse from the moment you wake up :/ 

As college students (rather, everybody), I think we hit these days more often than we’d like to admit.  We just have so much on our minds- constantly thinking about to-do lists, pleasing people, our futures, money.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought that the outcome of all of our hard work and dedication towards those things is supposed to lead to happiness on some level.  Tell me then, what happens when you hit the days where everything seems to be falling to pieces, and you have no idea where you are going or what it is that will make you happy?

 I sometimes don’t like these tricky games that God plays on us.  Sure, the games teach you lessons (and don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful for all of them), but how many times do we have to learn the exact same lesson over and over again?

 I like games where you have at least some control over your chance of winning.  Poker or Farkle, for instance.  Unlike Candyland, where your results rely on random cards that you have no control over, you get to choose your strategy.  I feel like even when we try to choose and strategize this game we call “life”, it ends up becoming a game of Candyland instead.  You’re on that colorfully square life path, chasing after something that you thought was going to make you extremely happy.  But then, all of a sudden…..BAM!  You’re sent back to Plumpy or that creepy peppermint stick clown.  When you draw those cards you know there’s no chance of making it to that ice cream castle before anyone else.   You have a 7% chance of meeting King Kandy, so all you can do is hope that the sugarplum queen will save you.  At that point in the game I usually kick the board about a foot and start cursing under my breath, giving nasty looks to anyone peering my way.  Everyone gets mad (or extremely sarcastic because they know I am going to lose), leaving me with a feeling of defeat, and the cleanup of ugly plastic men and stacks of rectangular cards.  It is then that I secretly crease the corners of all the bad cards so I know which ones to avoid for future games ;)

I wish I could bend and crease all of my life’s cards so I know when the terribleness hits. I could avoid all of those disappointments and frustrations and jump on that easy path to ice cream happiness.  Then again, I wonder how much I would hate a game of such simplicity.  No decisions to make whatsoever.  Playing the game of Candyland wouldn’t ever be fair because of the cards you draw, but you would have the opportunity to control your attitude on how you dealt with each turn.  That, and I think not knowing what lies beneath each card helps one better understand the idea of hope.  More importantly, what it is like to embody that feeling of hope.  

Maybe I’ll stick with Candyland for now. 

Who wants to join me for a game?