I’m thankful for…
An old-fashioned heart
A sense of humor that keeps me laughing often
A love for all things cute and fluffy
The mountains
Water: lakes, rivers, oceans, you name it.
Good books
Good books about relationships
Good books about adventure
Good books about love
Good books about romance
Ah hell, I’ll just say it. I’m thankful for romance novels.
Broadway musicals and the people who love them
The sky from dusk til sunrise
Fiber optic Christmas Trees
Garden gnomes named Oscar
Junk food
Diet Mt. Dew
Sprite…a whole lot of it
Rain, but only when I’m listening to it while falling asleep
The rest of the time, sunshine
Or snow. Snow.
Singing while driving
Sutton Foster
Thrilling new pizza toppings
My secret prayer before I go to sleep each night
Sunday afternoons at Nana’s
Paula Deen
Harry Potter
Entertainers who never back down
Charleston, SC
New York City, NY
London, England
Walt Disney
Anything and everything Titanic
Cartoons
Used book stores
Wavy hair
Playing dress up at the age of 21
Home-made detective capes
Panda Pillow Pets
“That’s what she said” jokes
Inside jokes
Always being the last one to get the joke
Celebrity impressions…Daniel Day Lewis in particular
Manta rays
Yellow car
Men that prove that chivalry isn’t dead
Men that can tell a girl she is beautiful using only his eyes
Men with the balls to say it anyway
Pretending that my life has a soundtrack
Never settling for anything less than childhood dreams
Being obsessive-compulsive about neatness
Milligan College
Elizabethton, TN
The Well
Alt Nation, Live on Broadway, 70s on 7, 90s on 9, and Classic Vinyl
Driving alone
Sucking at sports
Funny voices
Euchre
Jason Segel
Dane Cook
My roommate’s Twitter account
The front porch of Hart Hall on Monday & Wednesday afternoons
Having whole conversations in movie quotes
Discovering that you aren’t the only one
Sleeping in
Sleeping in general
Friends with cameras
Intelligent conversations
Hilariously obnoxious conversations
Emotional outbursts
Genuine characters
Genuine people
Real people
A family that extends beyond a tree
Tomorrow’s promise
Psalm 107:1 “Give THANKS to the LORD for He is good. His LOVE endures forever.”
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
In the Great Wide Somewhere
Jo: Well, of course Aunt March prefers Amy over me. Why shouldn't she? I'm ugly and awkward and I always say the wrong things. I fly around throwing away perfectly good marriage proposals. I love our home, but I'm just so fitful and I can't stand being here! I'm sorry, I'm sorry Marmee. There's just something really wrong with me. I want to change, but I - I can't. And I just know I'll never fit in anywhere.
A good talk with a beautiful friend of mine today reminded me how important this subject really is and how desperately I've been meaning to bring it up. Like Jo March and most every other woman of my young age, I find myself at a cross roads as of late. I think about these amazing women...actually no, simply amazing people...people who have gone out, stepped out of their bubble, their comfort zones, and found not only themselves but adventure and life. I crave that so much sometimes, I can't stand it. And lately I've started thinking, I need to stop thinking and just freakin' DO something about it!
We weren't meant to just sit around and wait forever. Of course, like I've stressed to myself all semester, patience is an incredibly important thing...but having a good life to wait for is equally important. Your life is in God's hands. He's the potter; you're the clay. But I don't want to be sitting on the spinning wheel as this nasty, unkept, dirty, hardening piece of clay. That's gross. No, I want to be fresh, clean, and most importantly moldable. And in order to do that, I need to start making some decisions.
The people around me...good friends of mine...their lives are changing and for the better. Some are going to travel to far off lands or across the country. Some are planning their weddings. Some are busy planting seeds that will surely be helping them out in the near future. One of my friends just released a legit music album. And all these endeavors of my friends, it makes me jump for joy. I'm so excited for all of them! It sincerely warms my heart to see so many people that I care so deeply about succeed. I want to be the kind of friend that is always going to show support and encouragement. But I can't help but ask myself the selfish question...
What about my own adventure?
I've grown up in East Tennessee. I'm an only child. My parents are incredibly supportive of me. My friends are the siblings I never had. I'm surrounded by love. I've gotten a great education. I've experienced culture and art in different cities. I've worked my way up the totem pole. I am 100% confident when I say that whatever journey God has planned for me, where I am right now is exactly where I'm supposed to be.
But graduation quickly approaches. What happens then? I'm not really scared or freaking out when I write this. I'm surprisingly (and uncharacteristically) calm. I'm just simply...curious. In a way, it's sort of thrilling to know that my life is going to change in just a few short months. Where will I be? Who will I meet? What will I be doing? I could do anything with the foundation I have, praise God.
I guess my biggest fear is that...
Nothing will change.
Everything will stay the same.
I'll move back home.
I won't take the leap.
Vanilla.
I can't do that. For heaven's sake! I can't do that! I won't let myself. I don't want to look back on my 22 year old self (that's how old I'll be come graduation) and think, "Man, I should have done this..." That would be a fate worse than death. I want my adventure. So bad. And the closer to May 7th I get, the stronger that desire grows.
That same friend that I mentioned earlier who just had am album released, well she's also extremely brilliant and she gave me a great piece of advice a while back.
"Mel, when I think about the things I regret the most in my life, it's not the things I did. It's the things I didn't do."
I know things will happen. I have faith. God will mold me and put me where I'm supposed to be. Theatre degree in my hand and all. But until then, I guess I can just pray and dream of the ideal.
I bought a travel guide book for Charleston the other day. $5.
I also bought a London calendar.
All I know is that somewhere through a clearing
There's a shimmering of sunlight on a river, long and wide
And I have such a river inside
A good talk with a beautiful friend of mine today reminded me how important this subject really is and how desperately I've been meaning to bring it up. Like Jo March and most every other woman of my young age, I find myself at a cross roads as of late. I think about these amazing women...actually no, simply amazing people...people who have gone out, stepped out of their bubble, their comfort zones, and found not only themselves but adventure and life. I crave that so much sometimes, I can't stand it. And lately I've started thinking, I need to stop thinking and just freakin' DO something about it!
We weren't meant to just sit around and wait forever. Of course, like I've stressed to myself all semester, patience is an incredibly important thing...but having a good life to wait for is equally important. Your life is in God's hands. He's the potter; you're the clay. But I don't want to be sitting on the spinning wheel as this nasty, unkept, dirty, hardening piece of clay. That's gross. No, I want to be fresh, clean, and most importantly moldable. And in order to do that, I need to start making some decisions.
The people around me...good friends of mine...their lives are changing and for the better. Some are going to travel to far off lands or across the country. Some are planning their weddings. Some are busy planting seeds that will surely be helping them out in the near future. One of my friends just released a legit music album. And all these endeavors of my friends, it makes me jump for joy. I'm so excited for all of them! It sincerely warms my heart to see so many people that I care so deeply about succeed. I want to be the kind of friend that is always going to show support and encouragement. But I can't help but ask myself the selfish question...
What about my own adventure?
I've grown up in East Tennessee. I'm an only child. My parents are incredibly supportive of me. My friends are the siblings I never had. I'm surrounded by love. I've gotten a great education. I've experienced culture and art in different cities. I've worked my way up the totem pole. I am 100% confident when I say that whatever journey God has planned for me, where I am right now is exactly where I'm supposed to be.
But graduation quickly approaches. What happens then? I'm not really scared or freaking out when I write this. I'm surprisingly (and uncharacteristically) calm. I'm just simply...curious. In a way, it's sort of thrilling to know that my life is going to change in just a few short months. Where will I be? Who will I meet? What will I be doing? I could do anything with the foundation I have, praise God.
I guess my biggest fear is that...
Nothing will change.
Everything will stay the same.
I'll move back home.
I won't take the leap.
Vanilla.
I can't do that. For heaven's sake! I can't do that! I won't let myself. I don't want to look back on my 22 year old self (that's how old I'll be come graduation) and think, "Man, I should have done this..." That would be a fate worse than death. I want my adventure. So bad. And the closer to May 7th I get, the stronger that desire grows.
That same friend that I mentioned earlier who just had am album released, well she's also extremely brilliant and she gave me a great piece of advice a while back.
"Mel, when I think about the things I regret the most in my life, it's not the things I did. It's the things I didn't do."
I know things will happen. I have faith. God will mold me and put me where I'm supposed to be. Theatre degree in my hand and all. But until then, I guess I can just pray and dream of the ideal.
I bought a travel guide book for Charleston the other day. $5.
I also bought a London calendar.
All I know is that somewhere through a clearing
There's a shimmering of sunlight on a river, long and wide
And I have such a river inside
Saturday, November 13, 2010
She will be loved.
I probably shouldn't be writing at the moment. It could be dangerous. But I haven't written anything in a while. Part of the reason is because school has bogged me down somethin' awful and I just flat out haven't had time. Another (and probably the more prevalent reason) is because I just haven't had the patience to organize all my thoughts as of late. You know you're overloaded when...
But for now...I'll try. I feel like lately, that's all I'm doing: trying. I mean, why not, right? We have one life to live. We might as well keep trying everyday to make it the best possible life we can. And I can say with all honesty that this semester has been one of the best semesters of school I've ever had. I've done many things I've never done before. I've done things I'd never thought I'd have the opportunity to do. I've found myself introduced and reintroduced to people who have truly shaped me for the better. And I am so thankful that I serve such a loving God who takes such good care of me.
Especially considering that I don't deserve a shred of it.
When you have so much, all you can be is humble. I've tried to cocky thing. More than once. And I won't lie, sometimes being cocky feels really good. But only for a moment. One thing that has really come into focus for me over the past few weeks is that life is simply this moment. Right now. The past is gone. The future doesn't exist. Life is simply now. So when you look around at all the blessings you have in the "now," you have to be humble. Because sitting around thinking about how much you deserve it all will not get you very far.
But it's not always rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along
Find those that shape you, those that challenge you, those who surprise you, those who impress you, those who intrigue you, those who make you laugh, those who love you. Those who love you. Those who love you. And hold on to these people. Fight for these people. Understand that they are just that...people. They're not angels. They're not demons. Just people. But people who are, nevertheless, very important to you. Have faith in people. It hurts sometimes. And sometimes you might want to throw in the towel.
But God never forgets any of His sheep. So why on Earth should we?
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay a while
But for now...I'll try. I feel like lately, that's all I'm doing: trying. I mean, why not, right? We have one life to live. We might as well keep trying everyday to make it the best possible life we can. And I can say with all honesty that this semester has been one of the best semesters of school I've ever had. I've done many things I've never done before. I've done things I'd never thought I'd have the opportunity to do. I've found myself introduced and reintroduced to people who have truly shaped me for the better. And I am so thankful that I serve such a loving God who takes such good care of me.
Especially considering that I don't deserve a shred of it.
When you have so much, all you can be is humble. I've tried to cocky thing. More than once. And I won't lie, sometimes being cocky feels really good. But only for a moment. One thing that has really come into focus for me over the past few weeks is that life is simply this moment. Right now. The past is gone. The future doesn't exist. Life is simply now. So when you look around at all the blessings you have in the "now," you have to be humble. Because sitting around thinking about how much you deserve it all will not get you very far.
But it's not always rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along
Find those that shape you, those that challenge you, those who surprise you, those who impress you, those who intrigue you, those who make you laugh, those who love you. Those who love you. Those who love you. And hold on to these people. Fight for these people. Understand that they are just that...people. They're not angels. They're not demons. Just people. But people who are, nevertheless, very important to you. Have faith in people. It hurts sometimes. And sometimes you might want to throw in the towel.
But God never forgets any of His sheep. So why on Earth should we?
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay a while
Thursday, November 4, 2010
"Flight"
Listen to this and tell me you don't get chills. Simply gorgeous.
I don't know
But maybe I'm just a fool
I should keep to the ground
I should stay where I'm at
Maybe everyone has hunger like this
And the hunger will pass
But I can't think like that
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