What's Your View?

View from the Eiffel Tower - Paris France (National Geographic)

I love this picture. I love it because the colors blend together, the view is unique, the shapes of the people are visually appealing... oh, and I am going to Paris in a few months to celebrate my freedom of being a college graduate. This picture got me thinking though, what is my view on things currently?

My last semester as an undergraduate started about a month ago, and despite being incredibly happy to be closer to reaching that final day, I feel really burnt out and ready to fast forward. Really, do I have to study some more, or write up that last presentation? All I want to do is find that dream job and travel a bit. However, I know things aren't that easy, and even more so that those things have to be worked for. I know that the wait is well worth it, and that the things to come will only mean more and be truly rewarding. I just have to strive to get to that point.

It all sounds rather negative, yes? Not entirely. I look back two years ago when I came back from study abroad and began the process of looking at transferring schools and trying to find a job. It make me humble to think of how far I've come since then and how much I've achieved. I have now have two jobs, and am a mere three months away from gaining a Bachelor's degree. I think I deserve some credit at working to achieve something and with such vigor. This means a lot to me. Moreover, what I choose to do after means a lot to me as well as the people I choose to influence and build up my life. The past year gave me encouragement for the day I would walk to obtain my degree, and above all to have gotten one at all. That is something worth celebrating, singing for joy, and smiling until my face hurts---and yes, I will be doing all of those. I am extremely excited for what awaits me this year. Last year was pretty great, but this year will mark new beginnings and special adventures that I can only have dreamed up years ago.

I also am extremely grateful for my friendships that have enriched my life in the past few years. I have prayed that some of these would continue to blossom, and God has only blessed me with more love and happiness than I deserve. I was thinking today of how much He is a part of me, and that if I ever tried to explain that to someone I hope they would see Him in me. The greatest love I have ever known has come from Him, and to share that with others is something I hope to fulfill. This trip to Europe will bring me closer to seeing some of those friends whom I love so dearly. My heart is full at the thought of seeing them again.

My life has a beautiful view thus far. So readers, I ask you what's your view?

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.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.  ~A.W. Tozer

Today of all days in the year is considered a day when we reflect on how much we have to be thankful for; however, I strongly believe that everyday should be a reflection of how lucky we are to be alive in this world. As I sit here in my childhood room, amid my peacefully sleeping cats and enjoying the warmth of my abode, I can't help but know how good I have it. Now more than ever I am made aware of what it is to be loved and how that feeling comes about. Such a strange and wonderful event that happens in your life. I commend you to take notice when it comes into your life - I promise it will forever change you. This isn't just in the people we know and admire, friends and family, or people we chance to meet that left an imprint on our hearts. No, love and thankfulness are much more than that. I would be nothing and would be void of all happiness if I were without a wonderful Father, who continually shows me how much He loves me. Because of this unending and beautiful love I am able to take this and give it to those that mean the most to me.That old song says,"How Great the Father's Love for us/How vast beyond all measure". How true this is for those of us who have experienced this love and who try to give others this same love and happiness. We love because He first loved us, and beyond that we should be forever grateful.

Happy Happy Thanksgiving, and may His blessings and love surround you today and everyday.

"...But still, amid all her happiness, one face came oftenest to her heart, and with it tender memories and sweet thoughts." Chap. XV