I read parts of my journal today. I like it. I don't have to think about anyting before I write it. It's just my brain on paper. It helps me take a thought and turn it into something concrete. Make words out of feelings.

I wrote this in January:

A lot is on my mind. Mostly right now I am grateful for... a lot of things.
The biggest of which at this point is that my parents taught me to
look at a person't character and not their outward appearance or race. I was at
institute tonight and we started talking about racism and judgement. Equality.
The teacher was stressing how important equality is. The idea that we should
not judge people before we know them. You can learn to love anyone. I sat
in class thinking, This is nothing new to me. I've known this my whole life. Why
is he teaching this like it's a new concept? It frustrates me to realize that
not everyone gets it. Not everyone gets that everyone should be treated with
equal amounts of respect.

I think I get shy when things really start to matter. Maybe I don't express
my opinion enough. I fear hurting or disappointing others. Speaking ill of
another without the intent of gossip or catty words. So I just keep my mouth
shut. Maybe I should still speak up more often. I'll make that a goal. Oh wait,
it already was.

I've got this wonderful guy in my life. He's delightful. Adorable. Treats
me so well. After such a short time, he already knows me pretty well. Not only
my likes/dislikes, my personality, but he knows how to cheer me up. The other
day I was feeling down. He noticed. He felt my pain. He plugged his iPod into
the car stereo, put on some upbeat music and danced and sang with me. I think it
was Kelly Clarkson.

I wanted to post this mostly for the first paragraph. It was so frustrating to me that the man teaching the class had to learn about equality as an adult with a slap in the face. Through experience. Had to break though his old habits of thinking, "He/She is black" and learn that IT DOESN'T MATTER. Had to learn that every person in this world is just that. A PERSON. It doesn't matter what they look like. It matters who they are and what they do with their life. I'm so glad I didn't have to learn that lesson by a slap in the face. It has been taught to me since before I can remember. Equality is as second nature to me as walking or singing. So, thanks. I hope I can do as great a job of teaching my own kids about equality.

Title song. "You're a miracle to me."

I got tagged forever ago. Twice. Here's both.

Eight Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. This lacrosse season. I'm coaching. It starts this week and I can already tell that this will be THE season. So excited!
   


2. Escaping to warm weather! (I'll tell you later.)
   


3. Brother wedding.
   


4. Sister wedding.
   


5. Finishing this post.
   


6. Finishing all seven books I'm in the process of reading.
   


7. Sunshine.
   


8. Learning.

Eight Things on My Wish List:

1. A hair appointment.
   


2. A trip to the used book store. Those are my favorite kinds of books.
   


3. Higher quality CTR ring.
   


4. A bag that doesn't make me angry.
   


5. A nose that isn't stuffy.
   


6. A whistle for lacrosse.
   


7. More time.
   


8. To play with my nephews.
   

Eight TV Shows I Like to Watch:

1. The Office.
   


2. American Idol.

Eight Things that Happened Yesterday:

1. Went to work.
   


2. Went to lacrosse.
   


3. Planned my little escape to warmer weather.
   


4. Ate a lot of Swedesh Fish with Caley.
   


5. Ate ice cream with Kendall.
   


6. Cleaned my room.
   


7. Went to sleep.
   

Eight People Who Now Have to Do This Silly Tag:

1. You.
   

Tag number two:

Answer each question with only one word.

Where is your cell phone? Counter

Your significant other? Happy

Your hair color? Gross

Your mother? Two

Your father? Silly

Your favorite thing? Smiles

Your dream last night? Wedding (NOT MINE.)

Your favorite drink? Juice

Your dream/goal? Simplicity

What room are you in? Store

Your fear? Failure

Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy

Where were you last night? Everywhere

Something that you aren't? Boring

Muffins? Yes

Wish list item? Hair

Where you grew up? Here

Last thing you did? Breathe

What are you wearing? Hoodie

Something you're not wearing? Make-up

Your TV? Black?

Your pets? Fat

Your friends? Laugh

Your computer? Slow

Your life? Adventure

Your mood? Childlike

Missing someone? Maybe

Your car? Outside

Favorite store? Old

Your summer? Perfect

Your favorite color? Yellow

When is the last time you laughed? Now

Last time you cried? Wednesday

A place you go over and over? Works

Emails you regularly? Facebook?

Favorite place to eat? All

A place you would rather be right now? Any

Plans for the weekend? Boy?

Who will respond to this? Dunno

Title Song.

Today was supposed to be a good day. It was for a while. Then I started thinking.

When I graduated high school I had plans. Go to college, move out, see the world.

I dropped out of college. I didn't move out. I'm not seeing the world.

All these things I have been fine with so far. I actually enjoy telling people I'm a college dropout. I usually get a high-five.

Everything I've tried to accomplish since high school graduation has pretty much blown up in my face.

It was all beyond my control. But I still feel like a failure.

Can't help it.

On a brighter side, there's this guy who likes me even though I can't seem to do anything right. Makes me really happy. Also, SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF ME.

Song

I feel better now.

I feel the want to post something here. Just don't know what to say. Maybe I'll throw some pictures in. Life is good. Wonderful and spectacular. Any questions? Anything you wish I would write about? I'm drawing a blank. Open for ideas.

I want to start the word of the day again. I miss that. And I want to start taking more pictures. So I'm going to post a picture at least every week. Whatever I feel like. Also, I hereby decree that every post from here on out will be a line from a song. Probably one that's stuck in my head or that I'm currently listening to. If I start slacking with any of these, I give you full permission to hassle me about my laziness.

Now I'm going to go eat some cheese.


P.S. His name is Kendall.
























What do you think?

I feel like the last post was way too pessimistic. That's not me at all. And it's not how I wanted it to sound. I'm very happy with my life and where I am right now. Sure, I'm very disappointed about my plans that didn't work out, but I'm enjoying every minute of life.

A while ago, one of my friends said something that stuck with me. I can't remember exactly what it was but the basic message was Life is hard and there are so many ups and downs. Enjoy every single moment. Some moments will be overwhelmingly joyful, cherish them. Other moments will be horribly depressing and heart-breaking. Cherish those moments too. It's all part of the ride. It's all part of life. Carpe Diem.

I try to live by that. I think the other night when I wrote that last post was a moment of sadness. I cherished it.

It's time now to follow a different dream. I realize that. My problem is figuring out what my other dreams are. I've been focused on two big ones (seeing the world and teaching kids) for so long, I've forgotten other dreams.

What are they?

There's music and lacrosse. Lacrosse is a dream I'm following. I'll be assistant coach of my high school team this spring. Music is a scary one for me. I put a lot of emotion into music. When I play a piece on the piano, I put my soul into it. Expressive. Performing is always so stressful. I'm putting myself out there for anyone listening to judge. Creating music along with performing what I created is very scary to me.

This is all just scrambled thoughts in my head. I guess now I get to figure out what my other dreams are. Things I want to do.

I want to master a foreign language and use it often. I want to learn how to longboard. I want to learn a new instrument. I want to learn about photography and take pictures that speak louder than words. I want to create something worthy of being called art. I want to go on a spur-of-the-moment adventure to a city I've never been to. I want to read more books and poetry. I want to learn what it's like to live away from home. I want to learn how to cook and bake bread. I want to learn a skill or ability that I enjoy and will enable me to have a career that will support financially.

The list goes on. A common theme to my wants is learn. Okay, so I want to learn. Now where do I start?

I think the word "heal" really means to do absolutely nothing and watch while everyone else follows their dreams.

Since I decided to stay home from China, I have been doing better than I expected. Pretty great actually. My family is so supportive and patient through all this. My friends are fantastic. And this guy who randomly popped into my life has done wonders for my mood. Haze all you want, he's becoming my best friend.

Today it hit me. I'm not going to China in February. I'm not going to school either. I'm just here. I work about twice a week. And the rest of the time I'm contemplating what I'm going to do with my life. And not just for the spring semester. What am I going to do with my LIFE? If I do decide to go back to school, what on earth am I going to study? Because school seems really pointless if I don't have a goal. An end result as motivation. A class that I actually enjoy.

I'm not only completely in the dark about my future; I'm pissed.

Because I was going to teach children in China. I can't express how badly I wanted to do that. I was going to teach them and fall in love with them. I was going to miss home, yes, but I was going to follow my dreams.

I was going to cry when I left to come back home because of all the wonderful discoveries, friends, and memories I had made. I was going to cherish my semester in China for the rest of my life. I was going to tell everyone about the people I met and the things I learned about the world and myself.

I was going to tell my children about it. And maybe I would have sparked a sense of adventure in them as well. And they would think, "Wow. I can't believe Mom really did all of that. She's so cool. I want to be like her someday. I want to travel the world too. I bet she'd even come with me if I asked her." Future children, I would. I so would! In a heartbeat, I would be on a plane with you wherever you wanted to go. You would lead the way and we would discover this beautiful world together. On your terms. In your own way.

I was going to go to China. I was going to submerge myself in a new everything. I was going to teach those kids. And play with them. Laugh with them. Sing songs with them. Learn from them.

I was going to stand on The Great Wall of China. I was going to stand there, stretch my arms out, close my eyes, and remember that moment when I was 9 and I learned about The Great Wall in school and I thought to myself, "I want to go there. I want to go there so badly." I was going to remember that moment when China felt so out of reach. That moment when I was small and the world was big and there was no way I could find a way to get there. Not in a million years. I would remember that moment and think, "The world is big. I am small. But I can do big things anyways."

I was going to check something off my life list.

I was going to be the girl who actually followed her dreams. The girl who didn't just talk about traveling the world and learning new things everyday, but actually did it.

I was going to do all those things and more. And now (pardon the pessimism) I'm living at home in Happy Valley with crushed dreams and nothing to do while watching all my friends go to school to follow their own dreams. Why? Because I'm healing. From mono and TMJ. Seriously? Mono and TMJ? That stopped me? It really ticks me off that this is what's stopping me from following my dreams. It hardly sounds like something that would stop someone who has dreams this big.

The funny part? Even after laying out all my unattainable dreams in the open, I don't regret dreaming big. Not even a little bit. Not even at all. Not even for a moment.

Ask me why. Go on, ask.

Because I still believe that dreams come true. I'm still going to follow mine. I believe that this setback, this challenge of great interest, is going to make living my dream that much sweeter. I believe there is a reason for everything. A reason for all of this.

I despise the facebook.