Jolly Good

Well folks, a beautiful brunette named Kate just married a prince. 

My only question is, how could this NOT be the greatest day?

Rumi

The minute I heard my first love story,

I started looking for you, not knowing

how blind that was.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,

they're in each other all along.






(photosource)

Junior Year Reflections

Breathe. Just two weeks left. Less than that really. I'm at the stage where I realize how all the things in my peripheral vision that I wanted to do this semester are now impossible. Ah well. 

Finals week reminds me of steaming milk. (Yes I know, I frequent coffee shops a bit more than what is healthy) You begin the semester with fun and games-with big bubbles. Then the milk really begins to froth, but everything is under control. And then gradually, but faster and faster, the thing gets hot. And right when it's too hot to touch and you can't hold on; it's over.

Done. Semester completed. Latte ready on the counter.

But in all of this, in all of the lattes, art projects, coffee dates, non-gender neutral dorm supplies (thanks a lot, Target), missed classes, school events that I usually avoid, nose piercings, semesters spent abroad...I've learned a few things.  

1. Don’t be selfish with your time.
2. Think twice before you steal a mug. You might want to make it a habit.
3. Double filter what you say. 
4. Go on great walks, with or without people. Find fields of flowers to think in.
5. Make friends with the librarians.
6. Eat salad.
7. Own sturdy slippers. (I've worn out three pairs already)
8. Keep your secrets. Leave some things to the imagination.
9. Take your vitamins.
10. Pray. A lot. Every day.

And there you have it. The wisdom of a 21 year old. Go.

Realizing 

how little 

I know 

&

 finally 

admitting it 

has never made me feel 

so 

free

Daily

Several things have happened in the space of a couple days. I swam in a triathalon, my first. And maybe not my last. But I'll definitely train for the next one. 
I miss racing, though I am not overly competitive. 
I just love to be around other people that love to swim.
My sister's dance group put on a fundraiser/awareness program for social justice. 
It was beautiful. She was beautiful. Dance is such a powerful tool. [that's her below]
The program gave me inspiration for a body of work. 
This summer may see the birth of something. 
Something beautiful, and gutsy. 
And heartbreaking. 
Fingers crossed.
Finals are in the forecast. Stress waters are rising. I repeat this verse to myself daily:

Be anxious for nothing

but in everything through prayer and supplication

let your requests be made known to God.

Cloudy Day Pick-Me-Ups.

What are those little things that you turn to when the view from where you sit turns gray? You know the ones, the days when you're so introverted you don't even notice that you haven't spoken to a single person. Except to order the latte.
Here are some of my pick-me-ups:

Grimm's Fairy Tales. Bon Iver. Lord Byron. Iced Breve Latte. Red Nail Polish. Fun Scarves. Facial Masks. Pride and Prejudice (BBC version). Late Night Baths.

Best of This Sunday's Secrets

I Thank You God For Most This Amazing

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

-e.e. cummings

A friend recommended this poem to me, and I've read it several times in the days preceding this one. Today is my birthday, I am 21. I don't feel any older or wiser, and I'm beginning to finally understand that I probably never will. Life is still confusing, people still are selfish. Hurt people will hurt people- compassion should be (but still isn't) our priority and strength. 

This may sound depressingly pessimistic for a birthday post, but for me it isn't. Understanding human nature and that life is hard only puts a stronger contrast to how beautiful the good things in life really are. When I realize how little I deserve, I am so much more thankful and optimistic about my situation. 

So, I thank you God for this most amazing day. I am 21, healthy, happy, blessed, and life hasn't finished with me yet.

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

.Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Old Banners. Old Friends.

Astronaut and firefighter dreams are put away as we mature. But some people still grow up to do amazing stuff. There's this band called Old Banners, and I know two of the members from childhood. Drew and Daniel, I fought and played with them often. I think I even had a crush on Drew sometime in elementary school. It's an interesting thing to lose touch with someone and then to find them living in your car's CD player.  It brings back so many good memories.

listen to their stuff! [Old Banner's Facebook Page]

I Have This New Job

And I don't have much time. But I'm enjoying it all the same.