just read this article in the NYT, nice message: "Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts."
i am constantly reminded lately of how fortunate i am to have found something to love. i am just shy of 25 years old and have already found a passion in life -- really, an umbrella passion with lots of associated "mini" passions beneath -- something many people search for in vain for years or maybe even never commit to finding (for fear of failure). i have a reason to wake up every morning that is not hinged to a single person, i have a set of end goals that make all the work in the meantime worth every single second (even during deadline season), and as a result i have a sense of self and of purpose that life's little quibbles can never completely upset. how lucky i am, and so much of it i discovered by accident, or what my tiny mind perceives as accident. i have never been filled with a more constant sense of gratitude than in the last few months of my life, not only for the people i love but also for the opportunities i've been afforded and the immense possibilities for the future if i commit to working hard enough for them.
i am certain that part of this outpouring of gratitude from the depths of my 24-year-old soul is also due to the time i've spent outdoors, enjoying the tremendous beauty we too often overlook. there are few occasions i feel more myself, and more comfortable with that self, than when i'm soaking up some bit of green or sun or water outside. i have been reminded of how very important it is to remember your priorities, to remember to make time for the experiences that confer this sense of well-being, and i'm grateful for that too.
on a related note, i am taking a vacation in a couple of weeks. i have seen some of the "far reaches" of the world, but have explored little in my own country. i'm always planning stateside trips in my daydreams, especially after conversations with my grandpa, who has seen "everything worth seeing in this country," sometimes several times over, and can still recount most of those journeys in great detail to his inquiring granddaughter. so on june 13th, i fly out of indianapolis and land hours later in marquette, michigan. i'll be spending some quality course prep time not in oxford's coffee shops, but on the beach along lake superior. i'll also be going camping with my friend (and upper peninsula native) at pictured rocks, a beautiful place by his telling and also according to the images google has produced for me. for example:
i am constantly reminded lately of how fortunate i am to have found something to love. i am just shy of 25 years old and have already found a passion in life -- really, an umbrella passion with lots of associated "mini" passions beneath -- something many people search for in vain for years or maybe even never commit to finding (for fear of failure). i have a reason to wake up every morning that is not hinged to a single person, i have a set of end goals that make all the work in the meantime worth every single second (even during deadline season), and as a result i have a sense of self and of purpose that life's little quibbles can never completely upset. how lucky i am, and so much of it i discovered by accident, or what my tiny mind perceives as accident. i have never been filled with a more constant sense of gratitude than in the last few months of my life, not only for the people i love but also for the opportunities i've been afforded and the immense possibilities for the future if i commit to working hard enough for them.
i am certain that part of this outpouring of gratitude from the depths of my 24-year-old soul is also due to the time i've spent outdoors, enjoying the tremendous beauty we too often overlook. there are few occasions i feel more myself, and more comfortable with that self, than when i'm soaking up some bit of green or sun or water outside. i have been reminded of how very important it is to remember your priorities, to remember to make time for the experiences that confer this sense of well-being, and i'm grateful for that too.
on a related note, i am taking a vacation in a couple of weeks. i have seen some of the "far reaches" of the world, but have explored little in my own country. i'm always planning stateside trips in my daydreams, especially after conversations with my grandpa, who has seen "everything worth seeing in this country," sometimes several times over, and can still recount most of those journeys in great detail to his inquiring granddaughter. so on june 13th, i fly out of indianapolis and land hours later in marquette, michigan. i'll be spending some quality course prep time not in oxford's coffee shops, but on the beach along lake superior. i'll also be going camping with my friend (and upper peninsula native) at pictured rocks, a beautiful place by his telling and also according to the images google has produced for me. for example:
i've mapped out my work schedule for the next two weeks hour-by-hour so i can accomplish enough before the trip to enjoy the scenery, not just the pages of the textbooks i'll be using to teach 102. i've never been a countdown person, largely because i think it distracts from enjoying the time leading up to whatever the countdown is counting down to... but in this case, let the countdown begin! i'm really looking forward to the trip, to just a little solitude and a lot of outdoor adventuring.
currently listening to: my entire foreigner collection. turns out foreigner makes a good companion for afternoon textbook-perusing.
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