2010 Rewind.

How about an update? Who knew it has been nearly 8 months since I updated this little gem. I'm no blogging professional, in fact, I have no idea how people get those fancy backgrounds or cool fonts, but I sure do have a lot of random thoughts and just wish I had more time to throw them to you via cyberspace, but alas an occasional post and an entirely random update will have to suffice for now. Thank you grad school.

January: I learned how important it is to follow specific instructions.



February: It snowed and snowed and snowed! And school was cancelled! How glorious!


March: I got a new friend from Ethiopia and made a quick trip to Utah to attend to some bridesmaid duties in a dress I ordered from China that I had never tried on until the day of (luckily, those chinese seamstresses were right on with their measurements...phew!)



(oh, and you should also note that I caught the bouquet).

April: My best friend's wedding.




and I studied for some finals.



May: I took some finals, partied with some out-of-towners, turned garbage night trash into treasures, planted a garden, made an appearance on the food network, had a campfire or two, and spent an exciting weekend at Duck Beach in a swanky beach house.











June: I worked A LOT and spent a little more time camping.

Mediocrity.

I have a fear, a big one. I am terrified of mediocrity. Not in a crazy-perfectionist-I-have-to-be-the-best sort of way (because I've realized there is no use trying to be "the best" because there will always be someone "better"), but in a wow-I'm-grateful-for-all-the-opportunities-I-have-been-blessed-with-and-I-hope-I-don't-mess-them-up sort of way. And even after that largely over-hyphenated thought, I still don't think the feeling I was going for was generated entirely. Let me explain... You see it's about progress. It's about growth. It's about not going through the motions in life. It's about reaching and learning from the details. It's about having no regrets. It's about movement and effort. The more experiences I have, the more places I live, and the more undeserved blessings I receive all make me keenly aware of an innate responsibility to succeed.

And I guess what it all boils down to is...What am I doing with the time I've been given to learn and what patterns am I setting so that progress in imminent?

have a NORMAL day...

I love a fantastic day. You know, the kind where nothing can wrong? The kind where you wonder what you did right to have the stars align so perfectly to create such a great day. Yeah, I love those days. Its hard NOT to smile on days like that. I look forward to those kind of days, but I'm realizing life isn't defined by the great days. Its defined by the "normal" ones, the routine, and the mundane. Sure its easy to show up and be happy when things work out according to your expectations and when good fortune seems to flow your way. But that just isn't life. Now, don't think I'm saying life should be dull, mundane, and "normal" because if you know me at all you know I don't subscribe to the "dull" or "mundane" mentality. Life is too short to be boring. But I think there is a lot we can learn about ourselves as we glance introspectively and look at how we respond to a generic day. This isn't a post about choosing to be happy where ever you are (although I whole-heartedly agree with that philosophy). This is a post about realizing life isn't about the extremes, the great days or the horrible ones. It is a post about setting realistic expectations (while still dreaming big). It's about realizing that most often people are just people. Life is just life. School is just school and days are just days. I've realized lately an interesting fact about myself...I love living in extremes (which could describe why I am a slightly dramatic person and excellent story teller). But I'm starting to realize the wisdom in balance. The purpose of steadiness and the need for "normal."

So everyone, I hope you have a "normal" day.