Day ?:
Sorry for not posting for a while! This past week and I have I was on a road trip with two of my good friends. We traveled from the Northeast to the Midwest and back. You can read all about our trip on our team blog here: What Now Wanderers
During the trip, the three of us marveled at how long it felt like we were on the road and now that the trip is over, I am having a hard time accepting that all the planning, driving, and fun is behind us! We traveled on a grant given to us through PBS' Roadtrip Nation and the goal of our trip was to interview people about their different paths in life. We were able to sit down with a number of people who interested, inspired, and taught us and to ask them questions, on camera, about their stories. Our interviews range from talking to street performers in Nashville, TN to Chris Johns, the Editor in Chief of National Geographic. It was an amazing trip. I will never forget the experience and what it has taught me.
I was able to make a dream a reality with this road trip. Last February I had a desire to travel and interview "experts" in certain fields, but did not have the funding to do so. I was led (by something bigger than myself, I believe) to the Roadtrip Nation website where I applied for a grant and now here I sit on the other side of everything complete and utterly amazed by the experiences before and during this trip. I am still processing everything that I have learned on the road from my fellow road-trippers, from the people that we were able to interview, and from our time on the road. For whatever reason, the world just seems clearer while driving on roads that lead to endless miles of corn fields.
I was able to investigate some interests that I have while on the trip, such as the greeting card industry and the world of video production by spending time interviewing writers at Hallmark Cards and two internet comedians via iChat. I may still not know exactly what my passion is, but I do know that I love the feeling of freedom I had while on the road. I loved meeting the people who we interviewed and hearing their stories. I loved seeing what life was like in new places. I loved being able to document my entire experience on video. I want to chase after how I felt while on the road. I will find a way to live my life at the level of excitement that this trip has given me.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
That Still, Small Voice
Day 10:
Within my heart of hearts lies a voice of sorts. I'm not crazy or hearing anything, but there is something in me that urges me on in certain directions. I've been hearing it a lot more lately, maybe because I'm trying to pay more attention to it, and sometimes it can get pretty loud. Today I watched one of those True Hollywood Stories about Oprah. I'm not a regular viewer of her show, but I do admire what she has chosen to do with her life. The show talked about Oprah's philanthropic work, the way that she gives back to so many people, as well as her global influence. While watching the show, this still, small voice inside me was saying things like, "I want to do this" and, "I'm going to stand for that".
I've been thinking a lot about service lately and how I think that whatever I do needs to give me the chance to give back. I spoke with a very knowledgeable co-worker of mine while at my internship and he asked me a series of questions about, of all things, cars. I'm definitely not a car buff (I'm content with a car as long as it provides me with transportation and music), but the questions he asked were revealing. He asked me what type of car I currently drive, what my dream car is, and what I am doing now to make a difference in the world. From my answers, he was able to tell me that I would be the most happy doing something that I found rewarding where I could give back to the world in some way. Dead on! I didn't realize it before speaking to him, but this most likely explains the reason why I didn't feel fulfilled at my internship. Though I loved the people and the work was fun, I didn't see any greater purpose in it.
Over and over I think and pray about what it is that I want to and should do with my life. In church today the pastor answered the question, "What is the purpose of my life?". Heavy, right? But he was able to simplify it into four pieces:
4.) Work
3.) Recreation
2.) Relationships
1.) Relationship with/Loving God
Everyone may not agree with these four pieces, but it makes sense to me. I remember feeling lost before starting a relationship with God and I have seen, since getting to know Him and working on my relationship with Him, that all of the rest of the pieces fit in more easily when piece #1 is in place. Anyway, I am telling you all this because I am going to try to focus on piece #1 more in an effort to work on the rest of the four pieces. I will continue to listen to that still, small voice and pray about what I hear from it. I'll update you along the way!
Within my heart of hearts lies a voice of sorts. I'm not crazy or hearing anything, but there is something in me that urges me on in certain directions. I've been hearing it a lot more lately, maybe because I'm trying to pay more attention to it, and sometimes it can get pretty loud. Today I watched one of those True Hollywood Stories about Oprah. I'm not a regular viewer of her show, but I do admire what she has chosen to do with her life. The show talked about Oprah's philanthropic work, the way that she gives back to so many people, as well as her global influence. While watching the show, this still, small voice inside me was saying things like, "I want to do this" and, "I'm going to stand for that".
I've been thinking a lot about service lately and how I think that whatever I do needs to give me the chance to give back. I spoke with a very knowledgeable co-worker of mine while at my internship and he asked me a series of questions about, of all things, cars. I'm definitely not a car buff (I'm content with a car as long as it provides me with transportation and music), but the questions he asked were revealing. He asked me what type of car I currently drive, what my dream car is, and what I am doing now to make a difference in the world. From my answers, he was able to tell me that I would be the most happy doing something that I found rewarding where I could give back to the world in some way. Dead on! I didn't realize it before speaking to him, but this most likely explains the reason why I didn't feel fulfilled at my internship. Though I loved the people and the work was fun, I didn't see any greater purpose in it.
Over and over I think and pray about what it is that I want to and should do with my life. In church today the pastor answered the question, "What is the purpose of my life?". Heavy, right? But he was able to simplify it into four pieces:
4.) Work
3.) Recreation
2.) Relationships
1.) Relationship with/Loving God
Everyone may not agree with these four pieces, but it makes sense to me. I remember feeling lost before starting a relationship with God and I have seen, since getting to know Him and working on my relationship with Him, that all of the rest of the pieces fit in more easily when piece #1 is in place. Anyway, I am telling you all this because I am going to try to focus on piece #1 more in an effort to work on the rest of the four pieces. I will continue to listen to that still, small voice and pray about what I hear from it. I'll update you along the way!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
List, Lady, List!
Day 9:
I am a fan of lists. I've written a great number of lists in my life. Some are goal oriented, others not so much. There was a time in college when I would write a list every day of the things that I had to do before sunset. I would give each list tremendous attention (more attention was given to them during boring classes) and make a plan to check off each activity from the list that I had completed. Sadly, I did not pay as much attention to the actual checking-off of listed items... let alone doing the items I had listed as I had to creating the list.
Now that college is over and I have no boring classes to create lists in, I miss the process. The other day I was feeling nostalgic and decided to create a list... actually two of them. The first is a list of things that I really love to do. The second is a list of things that give me a rush"... meaning get me excited about life, not turned on, thank you..
Check them out! I'm hoping that honing in on these sorts of things will help to identify some of the things that I am passionate about and bring me one step closer to my life's passion.
I am a fan of lists. I've written a great number of lists in my life. Some are goal oriented, others not so much. There was a time in college when I would write a list every day of the things that I had to do before sunset. I would give each list tremendous attention (more attention was given to them during boring classes) and make a plan to check off each activity from the list that I had completed. Sadly, I did not pay as much attention to the actual checking-off of listed items... let alone doing the items I had listed as I had to creating the list.
Now that college is over and I have no boring classes to create lists in, I miss the process. The other day I was feeling nostalgic and decided to create a list... actually two of them. The first is a list of things that I really love to do. The second is a list of things that give me a rush"... meaning get me excited about life, not turned on, thank you..
Check them out! I'm hoping that honing in on these sorts of things will help to identify some of the things that I am passionate about and bring me one step closer to my life's passion.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Sit Down! Okay. Take a load off! Sure.
Day 8:
I have to admit... I have not really blogged this past week, so this post will serve as a compilation of a weeks worth of saying "yes".
This past week marked the end of my summer-long internship and the beginning of new adventures. Last Friday was my last day of work. I was fortunate enough to begin my internship on a high note with it beginning on the second day of our company's olympics! I spent theweeks following olympics working Monday-Thursday with Fridays as half days. We would work until 3:30 PM on Friday and then spend the rest of the work day playing Wii as an extension of company olympics. For any professionals out there reading this, tournaments once a week are a definite necessity if you are looking for a more cheerful and productive work environment. It's true... All work and no play DOES make Jack (or any working professional) a dull boy (or girl...) I also ended my internship on a high note by conveniently scheduling my last day for the same day that Lee's Denim Day was. The day was jam-packed with a bake off, tons of sweets, people wearing denim, and a record long game of Palace Asshole (an original game made by my co-workers and I and probably the best card game out there!)
The end of my last day of work was marked by a showering of gifts and hugs from my co-workers. It's so amazing to leave a place knowing that you were appreciated and will be missed. I will definitely miss everyone there! I was able to go out with some of my work friends at the end of the day. It's always fun to see the other, non-working side of people and Friday night allowed me to do just that! The rest of the weekend felt like any other weekend, but was mingled with the usual amount of craziness that I enjoy on my days off. I spent one of the days helping my friend Sarah move into her new swanky apartment along with my friend Lauren. Saying "yes" to helping out a friend is always a rewarding experience... especially when it gets mixed with a trip to Stew Leonard's, the world's largest dairy store. They always have the best samples. I enjoyed my fair share of sweet potatoe chips and a double serving of fresh mozzerella cheese (not together, don't worry!)
Some lady told Sarah and I that this cauliflower would taste like cheddar cheese. I might have believed her for a second... might have meaning that I totally did.
Monday marked the beginning of my saying "Yes!" to taking time to relax and enjoy being home as a college graduate. I did have a few weeks before I started my summer internship this past June, but I haven't been home during the fall for a long period time since my senior year of high school. Seeing the leaves change back home and witnessing my family's first fireplace lighting of the season is definitely worth the week off from a paid career. Besides, who knows when I'll have time like this that is flexible and free and open-ended again?
This past week has been included a lot of my saying "yes" to a lot of little things. Friday night I said yes to hanging out with my friends from work outside of work, something that I hadn't had the chance to do previously. Yesterday I said "yes" to exercise... something that I, sadly, have not done in quite a while. I went for a wonderful walk at the beach by my house and flexed my artistic muscle by taking pictures of anything and everything that inspired me along the way. Today is just unfolding. So far I have said "yes" to taking the first step towards writing my ever-looming children's book. Writing a children's book has been something that has been on my mind since the seventh grade when I wrote one for my English class. I wrote another in eigth grade and a third in high school. (You can see the cover art for it here.) Since high school I have had a growing number of ideas for children's books dancing around my mind. Now is the perfect time to seize one of them, nail it down, and make it the best that it can be. I've started reading a few of those "Dummy's Guide for Idiot's On Writing Children's Literature If You're Stupid" books. I'm enjoying them so far and take no offense to their blatant jabs at my intelligence. Hey, I really am pretty unknowledgable when it comes to the subject, so why not admit it by reading a book with a title that says just that?!
Right now I'm at the library preparing to study up on some of the more successful children's books that are currently out there. I'll let you know how it goes in my next (not a week later) blog post.
I have to admit... I have not really blogged this past week, so this post will serve as a compilation of a weeks worth of saying "yes".
This past week marked the end of my summer-long internship and the beginning of new adventures. Last Friday was my last day of work. I was fortunate enough to begin my internship on a high note with it beginning on the second day of our company's olympics! I spent theweeks following olympics working Monday-Thursday with Fridays as half days. We would work until 3:30 PM on Friday and then spend the rest of the work day playing Wii as an extension of company olympics. For any professionals out there reading this, tournaments once a week are a definite necessity if you are looking for a more cheerful and productive work environment. It's true... All work and no play DOES make Jack (or any working professional) a dull boy (or girl...) I also ended my internship on a high note by conveniently scheduling my last day for the same day that Lee's Denim Day was. The day was jam-packed with a bake off, tons of sweets, people wearing denim, and a record long game of Palace Asshole (an original game made by my co-workers and I and probably the best card game out there!)
The end of my last day of work was marked by a showering of gifts and hugs from my co-workers. It's so amazing to leave a place knowing that you were appreciated and will be missed. I will definitely miss everyone there! I was able to go out with some of my work friends at the end of the day. It's always fun to see the other, non-working side of people and Friday night allowed me to do just that! The rest of the weekend felt like any other weekend, but was mingled with the usual amount of craziness that I enjoy on my days off. I spent one of the days helping my friend Sarah move into her new swanky apartment along with my friend Lauren. Saying "yes" to helping out a friend is always a rewarding experience... especially when it gets mixed with a trip to Stew Leonard's, the world's largest dairy store. They always have the best samples. I enjoyed my fair share of sweet potatoe chips and a double serving of fresh mozzerella cheese (not together, don't worry!)
Sarah and Lauren moving stuff into Sarah's new pad:
Some lady told Sarah and I that this cauliflower would taste like cheddar cheese. I might have believed her for a second... might have meaning that I totally did.
Making the Chiquita Banana lady dance is really the top reason why I come to Stew Leonard's.
Monday marked the beginning of my saying "Yes!" to taking time to relax and enjoy being home as a college graduate. I did have a few weeks before I started my summer internship this past June, but I haven't been home during the fall for a long period time since my senior year of high school. Seeing the leaves change back home and witnessing my family's first fireplace lighting of the season is definitely worth the week off from a paid career. Besides, who knows when I'll have time like this that is flexible and free and open-ended again?
This past week has been included a lot of my saying "yes" to a lot of little things. Friday night I said yes to hanging out with my friends from work outside of work, something that I hadn't had the chance to do previously. Yesterday I said "yes" to exercise... something that I, sadly, have not done in quite a while. I went for a wonderful walk at the beach by my house and flexed my artistic muscle by taking pictures of anything and everything that inspired me along the way. Today is just unfolding. So far I have said "yes" to taking the first step towards writing my ever-looming children's book. Writing a children's book has been something that has been on my mind since the seventh grade when I wrote one for my English class. I wrote another in eigth grade and a third in high school. (You can see the cover art for it here.) Since high school I have had a growing number of ideas for children's books dancing around my mind. Now is the perfect time to seize one of them, nail it down, and make it the best that it can be. I've started reading a few of those "Dummy's Guide for Idiot's On Writing Children's Literature If You're Stupid" books. I'm enjoying them so far and take no offense to their blatant jabs at my intelligence. Hey, I really am pretty unknowledgable when it comes to the subject, so why not admit it by reading a book with a title that says just that?!
Here are some of the photos I took on my beach walk:
Right now I'm at the library preparing to study up on some of the more successful children's books that are currently out there. I'll let you know how it goes in my next (not a week later) blog post.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
New Ventures
Day 7:
Day 7 marked the beginning of the last week of my internship. The internship was originally supposed to run from early June to early August, but my boss was kind enough to ask me to stay on longer and I gladly obliged. Though I love the people that I work with and enjoy what I get to do each day, I feel like it's time to move on (which worked out well for timing because they asked me to stay on until early October and I will be leaving on the What Now Wanderers road trip in just two weeks!)
I decided to say "Yes" to originally taking this internship. I was a little nervous at first (as would be expected in a new situation), but I decided to go ahead and take this position. I am so glad that I did. It was the perfect first post-college job because, as an intern, I felt like I was there to learn, but had many of the responsibilities of a full-time employee. I'm excited to see where God leads me as I move on from my internship.
Day 7 marked the beginning of the last week of my internship. The internship was originally supposed to run from early June to early August, but my boss was kind enough to ask me to stay on longer and I gladly obliged. Though I love the people that I work with and enjoy what I get to do each day, I feel like it's time to move on (which worked out well for timing because they asked me to stay on until early October and I will be leaving on the What Now Wanderers road trip in just two weeks!)
I decided to say "Yes" to originally taking this internship. I was a little nervous at first (as would be expected in a new situation), but I decided to go ahead and take this position. I am so glad that I did. It was the perfect first post-college job because, as an intern, I felt like I was there to learn, but had many of the responsibilities of a full-time employee. I'm excited to see where God leads me as I move on from my internship.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Let's Get Cooking
Day 6:
Today I decided to say "Yes" to something that I have been dabbling in for a while, but resisting none-the-less: cooking. I decided to make dinner for my parents and myself... "decided" being out of lack-of-frozen-pizza necessity. I remembered a great recipe that I saw on The Food Network a few months back and was able to track it down online. Here's a picture of some of the festively colored ingredients.
The final result! The recipe is a great one that I would recommend to any person new to cooking!
Today I decided to say "Yes" to something that I have been dabbling in for a while, but resisting none-the-less: cooking. I decided to make dinner for my parents and myself... "decided" being out of lack-of-frozen-pizza necessity. I remembered a great recipe that I saw on The Food Network a few months back and was able to track it down online. Here's a picture of some of the festively colored ingredients.
The final result! The recipe is a great one that I would recommend to any person new to cooking!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Satiating Adventure!
Day 5:
Today I said "Yes!" to adventure by embarking on a journey upstate to go apple picking.
Oh well... even if we didn't find what we were looking for, we had a lot of fun and now we have a good story to tell if geocaching ever comes up in conversation (take that as a hint to bring it up if you're ever talking to me...)
Today I said "Yes!" to adventure by embarking on a journey upstate to go apple picking.
My friend Sarah and I went apple picking on Saturday... it was a delicious adventure!
After apple picking we decided to go geocaching. That's when you take your GPS out into the middle of nowhere (or the end of somewhere...depending on what kind of challenge you want) and track down a designated longitude and latitude where a "treasure" of sorts can be found. Here's Sarah with her GPS.
I made a mix CD to put in the "treasure" chest (a.k.a. a Tupperware full of trinkets for trading), which we sadly never found. Turns out that there are difficulty levels given for specific geocahing locations and that the one we were looking for was something like a four out of five.
Oh well... even if we didn't find what we were looking for, we had a lot of fun and now we have a good story to tell if geocaching ever comes up in conversation (take that as a hint to bring it up if you're ever talking to me...)
Boldly Going...
Day 4:
Today I decided to issue myself a challenge. Some might think it small, but it was one that was both necessary and slightly unnerving. I challenged myself to be myself. I know I'm going to sound like a second grader, but sometimes when it comes to being on my own I can get a little intimidated and, as a result, can become quiet and withdrawn. I usually do a good job of getting over my fears or whatever it is that gets me hung up and scarred, but I have noticed that lately I have been afraid to be myself at work more and more. It's silly and I'm sure that no one has really noticed, but I feel the difference in myself and so I decided to do something on Friday to help myself get over whatever it is that is keeping me from being myself. I decided to sit with my co-workers at lunch (as I normally do) and to speak when I felt the urge to speak rather than throwing my comments, questions, and input to the wind and remaining quiet. I felt quite pleased with the results and am looking forward to challenging myself again on Monday!
Today I decided to issue myself a challenge. Some might think it small, but it was one that was both necessary and slightly unnerving. I challenged myself to be myself. I know I'm going to sound like a second grader, but sometimes when it comes to being on my own I can get a little intimidated and, as a result, can become quiet and withdrawn. I usually do a good job of getting over my fears or whatever it is that gets me hung up and scarred, but I have noticed that lately I have been afraid to be myself at work more and more. It's silly and I'm sure that no one has really noticed, but I feel the difference in myself and so I decided to do something on Friday to help myself get over whatever it is that is keeping me from being myself. I decided to sit with my co-workers at lunch (as I normally do) and to speak when I felt the urge to speak rather than throwing my comments, questions, and input to the wind and remaining quiet. I felt quite pleased with the results and am looking forward to challenging myself again on Monday!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Studio Audience, Yes!
Day 3:
I took a day off from my internship to travel into New York to be a part of the studio audience for The Tyra Banks Show. The experience was exciting and fun to share with my three friends who came along with me. I have been a part of studio audiences before and I have been to The Tyra Banks Show once before, but I have to admit that I still get star struck when in the presence of a celebrity. Day 3 was great because I chose to say "Yes" to taking a day off from work to do something that I wanted to do.
I have been asking myself for a while now what it is that I want to do with my life. It's such a grand question and one that is equal parts vast and limiting. I often times find myself standing in awe at potential that my life holds and other times freeze because I feel so uncertain about what it is that I want to do! I enjoy my internship. Really, I do. The people are wonderful and I get to use my creativity every day, but for whatever reason I am anxious to leave. I think that although I don't know what it is that I want to do with my life, I do express subtle hints that can help me understand that more. It's like I subconsciously know what I want to do, but that consciously I am unable to know, but I can pay attention to what gets me excited or what interests me.
One such hint was how excited I was to go to The Tyra Banks Show and to share that experience with my three friends. I'm looking at this excitement on a deeper than just being excited about taking a day off from work, because I really think that there was more to it. I have taken time off from work before and not been as excited as I was this past Thursday. I am going to keep listening to these hints or cues as I do, I will hopefully be able to piece them together to help find my life's passion!
I took a day off from my internship to travel into New York to be a part of the studio audience for The Tyra Banks Show. The experience was exciting and fun to share with my three friends who came along with me. I have been a part of studio audiences before and I have been to The Tyra Banks Show once before, but I have to admit that I still get star struck when in the presence of a celebrity. Day 3 was great because I chose to say "Yes" to taking a day off from work to do something that I wanted to do.
I have been asking myself for a while now what it is that I want to do with my life. It's such a grand question and one that is equal parts vast and limiting. I often times find myself standing in awe at potential that my life holds and other times freeze because I feel so uncertain about what it is that I want to do! I enjoy my internship. Really, I do. The people are wonderful and I get to use my creativity every day, but for whatever reason I am anxious to leave. I think that although I don't know what it is that I want to do with my life, I do express subtle hints that can help me understand that more. It's like I subconsciously know what I want to do, but that consciously I am unable to know, but I can pay attention to what gets me excited or what interests me.
One such hint was how excited I was to go to The Tyra Banks Show and to share that experience with my three friends. I'm looking at this excitement on a deeper than just being excited about taking a day off from work, because I really think that there was more to it. I have taken time off from work before and not been as excited as I was this past Thursday. I am going to keep listening to these hints or cues as I do, I will hopefully be able to piece them together to help find my life's passion!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Ordinary People
Picture by Exploding DogToday was pretty "ordinary". I got up, went to work, worked for a while, went home, watched TV, and got ready for bed. I say "ordinary" in quotations and not ordinary because I believe that "ordinary" is relative term. The best part of my day today was having a friend visit me at work for lunch. There were also some funny things mingled into the "ordinary-ness" of the day, but I will leave them out and spare you the details.
So, though my day was "ordinary", I say so only relatively because for some people "ordinary" means investigating crimes all day. For others, "ordinary" means getting up at sunrise to feed the animals and then working all day on the farm. For me, it changes. For most of my life "ordinary" meant going to school day after day, year after year. Now, "ordinary" is quite different. In fact, "ordinary" was once foreign to me as I was first starting out at my internship.
The problem with "ordinary" for me is that I usually associate it with words like "blah" and "eh". The upside of "ordinary" is that it can be comfortable and non-threatening. The paradox of the two is that you can't have one without the other. In order for something to be "ordinary" it has to not be foreign and for something to be foreign it can't be "ordinary".
Why am I telling you all this? Because tomorrow I am doing something foreign to my "ordinary" schedule. I am taking a day off of work and going to a live taping of a television show. I have been looking forward to tomorrow all week and counting down the moments until I would be able to leave. How sad! Living life only for the future, the way that I have for tomorrow, is just not right in my eyes. Each day is a gift, so why not live it in an extraordinary way?
I am on this journey to find my life's passion and I believe that part of this journey has been and will be trying things and learning that they are not for me. I don't want to feel "ordinary" ever. I always want to feel extraordinary and like I am chasing after my life's passion full force.
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