The little tear off calendar that rocked my world

Today is Thursday December 30^th, and it’s my first day off in WEEKS. I am so excited to have this day to do whatever my little girl heart desires. It’s raining outside, on this beautiful winter day, and I am in love with the way the fog is settled all around this house. I am in love with the drips and drops that I can hear on my window. I am in love with grooveshark too, because it’s sending Paul Wright, Adam Merrin and Wild Sweet Orange into my ears. I woke up feeling refreshed and as always so thankful to be waking up here in Duluth, MN.

Yesterday was a crazy day at work and the shannanagans kept coming up: from people being evacuated from a chairlift after two hours of being stuck, to beginners getting wiped out by chairs on non-beginner lifts, to me walking ALL over the mountain trying to figure out where I’m supposed to be, to loosing power on half of the hill including the Chalet. Needless to say when I got off work, I was ready to kick back and relax. I came home and went upstairs to say a, ‘hey, what’s up?’ to my roomies. We ended up kickin’ it for a bit, and it was exactly what I needed. I even started to learn a little bit about their World of Warcraft (but if anyone EVER mentions this in real life, I’ll deny it ;)

However, I have been missing my other roomie who kind of shares the bottom floor with me. He went back home to the cities for the past week, and will still be gone for this next week. He is the one that normally keeps me sane after crazy days at both of my jobs, and he always seems to know the right thing to say or do (like the time I needed a laugh, and walked in to find him using my hairdryer with the diffuser attachment to seal up a drafty window).

Anyway, I feel like I’m always going on and on about experiences in life, and how mine alone are not enough to see the world as it is. I’ve never really been able to put this view into words that others can understand. But my MIA roommate has this calendar that sits in our bathroom. It’s one of those small one’s with the tear away pages (I like these ones because it’s like opening a small gift every morning haha you never know what’s up next!). This calendars topic is based off of the book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (which I should really invest in). It has been sharing little tidbits of the book (or maybe not, I’ve never actually read it) with me everyday for the past couple months, and almost every single day I feel inspired enough to write a blog about each one. Today’s tidbit, however, deserves a blog for sure.

It read, “The person who is truly effective has the humility and the reverence to recognize his own perceptual limitations and to appreciate the rich resources available through interaction with the hearts and minds of other human beings. That person values the differences because those differences add to his knowledge, to his understanding of reality. When we’re left to our own experiences, we constantly suffer from a shortage of data.”

I couldn’t have been able to put this into better words, as I have been trying to for years. Even my last blog about my parents touched on this subject when I talked about my Dad teaching me that questioning is OK, as long as it’s to gain knowledge or experiences that you yourself haven’t yet had. Reading this made me smile, and realize how thankful I am to have a roommate who has no idea of the positive effects he has on me by just simply being in my life. I could tell him, but it might come off as creepy, haha.

Well tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and I hope that ya’ll will be spending it with those that you love! I won’t be making it home to do the same, but a couple friends (don’t get me wrong I love them too) from the cities are making their way up to me for the night :)  So carry on, and play safe, this is C’est la vie, signing out!

So Much Beauty

12/16/2010 8:31 A.M. On a beautiful winter morning in Duluth Minnesota... I'm currently sitting at the top of a "mountain" (which is more like a HUGE hill, but still AWESOME) sipping my wonderful good morning coffee, listening to The Shins, and thinking about my life. Honestly, I have SO much to be thankful for on this day... so much to be thankful for everyday, really. It's hard to believe that after five years of distress and confusion about my future and in general about who I really am, I can finally say that for now - I'm extremely content. In the words of a great song... "who knew that simply being content is a dream come true." As of this perfect moment in time, I can say that I feel so ALIVE. Cliche as it may sound, it's the only way to describe the way I've been feeling as of lately. I'm finally out in the great big world, on my own, and making good decisions for myself (like NOT buying 5 dollar coffee's at Starbucks everyday :) When it all boils down to it, I've got two amazing people who have stood behind me through thick and thin, helping me become the person I am today. That's right folks, I've got my parents to thank for helping me get here, and ultimately supporting my ideas, whims and sometimes crazy dreams. Without them, I know I could potentially be a much lesser Person.

I've got my Dad to thank for teaching me how to think so creatively and teaching me that its okay to question things as long as the intent is to better myself and learn from others knowledge and experiences. He always seems to question where my creativity came from, and little does he know, but he put in my blueprint right from the start. With the good also comes the bad, but without bad good could not exist, RIGHT!? :) From growing up with him, I've also learned that everyone makes mistakes some bigger then others, but what matters in the end is the ability to admit to your mistakes or wrongdoings and taking the appropriate actions to change for the better.

While my Dad taught more on the intelligence spectrum, my mom taught from the other equally important end. She taught me how to dream, how to feel for myself and others and most importantly to have faith in even the darkest of times. It still amazes me to this day how she can tell things about people with an intuitive sense that is beyond me. From the very beginning of time, I always remember her telling me to "always follow your heart". This plays in my head at the most important decision making times in life. If not for her, I'd probably still be majoring in environmental science, ignoring my hearts desire to write about things unseen by most and ultimately do something much more substantial with my life/skills.

My direction in life may still be unclear, but with parents like them, (and don't even get me started on my amazing friends)... :) How could I go wrong!?