Snow!

Winter came down to our home one night

Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow, 

And we, we were children once again. ~ Bill Morgan, Jr.

Secrets

Sometimes I am amazed at how easy it is to tell the world your secrets rather than the intended person. Why is that we can openly speak about our deepest thoughts of our hearts on a blog (thinking that no one is reading it), but when it actually comes time to tell that respected person  we freeze up and hold everything back? This question came to my mind recently, and as much as I wish I knew how to make sense of it, I know that it is something that needs gentle encouragement. A wise lady once said "It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else". I really like this because of its frankness and simplicity. Our secrets are sacred to us and to let someone in on them, well it does take quite a lot of encouragement to share them, especially with someone who means the world to you. However, if I were to write my secrets here it wouldn't be given a second thought. Go figure. 

 Hey, but acknowledging that I have thought about this counts right? I suppose so, but what about action? Truth is if it is meant to be said then wait for the right moment, and if it isn't then wait. Moreover, if it isn't meant to be said then it is yours to keep. I imagine this is such a struggle for mankind because we are sometimes hard to understand when it comes to showing how we feel. One the one hand, we show too much and ruin the moment at hand. On the other hand, we give too little and risk losing something that means a great deal. Complicated much? It doesn't have to be this way, but it is. Since I have put some thought into this, I am trying to take a look at it from another perspective - the other person at hand. I know how frustrating and hard it is for them to want to know. I have been there myself. However, I also know what it is like to be afraid. It's like losing a piece of yourself, but I try to think of it as sharing a piece of yourself instead. Sometimes it's the little things that mean so much, and no matter how much you might want to hold on to those secrets... sometimes the best thing is to let them go. 

Cometh Thee Readers.. Pick up Thy Pen and Write

You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you.  And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.  ~Arthur Polotnik

It's usually around this time of year when I write thank you notes to my family and friends for all the wonderful Christmas gifts. I've been doing it since I was a little girl, and being one who loves to write it's stuck with me through the years. I remember my brother and I would write them carefully in pencil, hand them to my mother to be proofread, fix the mistakes until they were perfect, and then send them off to be mailed to their respective recipients. I loved getting notes and letters as a child. I still do, but what saddens me is the endangered species that writing has become. Perhaps it may be so close as to extinction. Who knew what used to be such a vital part of human life and communication would be picked up and turned upside down. Letters? What are those? The are simply a beautiful way of talking to someone in absence and a way of keeping something to be looked at over and over.

Last year as part of a research project for one of my university classes, our professor asked us to write a research proposal on a question or problem we would like to address. I chose mine on why cursive writing has declined. After reading a bazillion articles and papers on the subject, however, it came to my attention that it wasn't just cursive that had declined in schools, it was grammar, spelling and mechanics. Largely writing itself, the very meat and bones of education, had become a subject that just wasn't as important as the rest. I began to question the reasons why it was declining in schools, and thus my research proposal was born. I enjoyed reading into the subject and as a result my relationship with writing increased more so than ever before. I had always loved writing, but knowing that it was in danger of becoming a lost art made me want to put it back into society. Amid all the technological advances writing has certainly taken a backseat; however, my understanding is that it shouldn't have to be set aside for something that is 'easier'. Writing and reading are how we understand technology. Moreover, it is writing that helps us understand and communicate in day to day activities. Of course we may use technology to communicate, but don't we first need the knowledge of how to read and write? After the semester was over I kept my research proposal. All eighteen pages of it. Perhaps I someday propose to use it to bring writing back into schools and to enlighten society on its meaning and purpose. After all it is one of my first loves. I humbly ask when you write an email, a grocery list, an address, or even a birthday card that you think for a second on the importance, even if it be small. Above all I ask that you keep writing. I know I will. :)

The Merry Year is Born..

 This being only a few days into the new year, I've begun to think about what the past year has brought and how the new year will follow. 2010 was a good year for me. I became closer in finalizing my degree and am now one step closer to finishing it in its entirety. I became closer to one of my best friends and saw our friendship grow and flourish before my eyes. Now as it says in Proverbs I "smile at the future" because it brings me hope and happiness that it may be closer and truer to my dreams. Perhaps above all 2010 gave me ways and means to look forward to what 2011 will bring. I am ecstatic that this year I will graduate and finally achieve what it seems has taken ages to obtain - my college degree. What greater happiness than to know that all that I have worked for will be rewarded. One step closer to something wonderful in my life and the hope that what I tried so hard to get will provide me with new and exciting things. I am truly blessed to have gotten this far. I am also pleased that I will be able to finally go back to England, the place that in 2008 I had traveled to for study abroad. It was something that changed me and brought me closer to the understanding and knowledge that what I had been given was truly remarkable and that God knows and sees our hearts and gives mercy and love to all. I have been given much and for it all I am truly grateful. I look forward to being able to go back to a place that gave me so much happiness and hopes of returning to those that mean so much to me.

I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known.  ~Author Unknown

I look forward to what is yet to come, for half of the excitement is seeing where God takes you. I hope this new year brings you the understanding and happiness of Him, the Creator of all things, and our Father who loves us wholeheartedly and without fail. May your hearts be filled with His love and all that He gives. Happy New Year, friends.