Looking back on 2014…

I love New Years Eve. It’s my favorite time of year because it means fresh beginnings and a clean slate. It’s a good time to reflect on the blessings we have in life and to set new goals for moving forward.

2014 was a big year for me. Here’s a few reasons why:

• Moved into my first official apartment… after conducting a housing search from 400+ miles away. This was a totally stressful experience but I’m glad I lived through it.
• Turned down grad school… again. I chose to develop my professional interests and get more experience in the fields I’m interested in, and I’m so glad I did. Going to grad school has been on my resolutions list for a few years now, but as badly as I want a masters, I want to make sure it is in something that I am genuinely interested in and that will further my career. So although I’m neglecting this resolution, I’m glad I have the foresight to wait until I have more experience.
• Ran a 5k and a 7.1mi race, and signed up for a half marathon!
• Gained a new family member. I’m so grateful for my new cousin

Most importantly, I stepped way out of my comfort zone and have started finding ways to challenge myself more regularly. In doing so, I’ve learned more about what it means to be a true friend and how to maintain relationships, both professionally and personally.

Happy New Years Eve, everyone 🙂

“Pray for those who have needs tonight”

My needs are met and I could not be happier. My experiences this past year have really opened my eyes to this. My sincere wish is that your needs are met, too.

May you express gratitude for your met needs, work hard for your wants, and have a very Merry Christmas!

SiTea

For anyone that doesn’t follow me on Instagram, I recently found this great tea place near the metro! I walked in at first just to check it out but was so impressed by the customer service and general concept of the business that I treated myself to the chai of the day. It was amazing.

Apparently SiTea started in New York and will be opening another location near DC, so keep an eye out!

Take a hike!

Just wanted to share some images from a hike I took recently. The view was amazing and I’m grateful to have had the experience 🙂

Look how cool this is!

You might say that I’m tickled.

A few weeks ago, I decided to make more of my delicious pumpkin cornbread muffins. I had a couple potlucks to go to and I wanted to do something nice for someone.

And in the process… I got to live out my lifelong dream of cooking a pumpkin! It was everything I dreamed it would be. In addition, I made applesauce from scratch to use in the recipe instead of buying it in the store. It’s exactly what our ancestors would have done had they had crockpots.

Anyway, I wanted to share this wonderful experience with you. Look at the pumpkin! Look at it! Now look away. Now look at it again! I cooked it!

“It’s amazing what the human body can do… And that mine can do it!”

I work with the coolest people.

Two of the women on our board of directors are avid runners. I just signed up for my first half marathon, so I look up to them and have started asking them for advice (read: fangirling).

One of the women runs her own nonprofit, has two kids, and has been recognized for being heavily involved in her community – in addition to our board, she sits on many others and is always volunteering her time and energy.

She’s also a real, live, Dean Karnazes! While the rest of us were stuffing our faces with Thanksgiving leftovers, she was running 65+ miles over two days as a fundraiser.

As she told us about her experience, she talked about the high points and low points of the run, and talked about how at some point your body gives up an your mind is the only thing that keeps you going.

She said the above quote when she described the end of her run. She said once she finished, she just smiled and felt proud.

That’s exactly how I want to feel when I finish my run!!! The human body is an amazing thing. I truly believe that the body wants to move and be challenged and that’s why I set this goal for myself. Of course, we see other people running marathons and accomplishing other amazing feats, so we all know it is possible. But it is especially wonderful to know that your own body is just as capable 🙂 Bring it on, Potomac River Run!

Yaye & hunger in schools

The following is an excerpt from an email I received from Real Food for Kids – Montgomery, a local initiative advocating for healthy food for kids in schools. I grew up in a house that was able to provide me with three healthy meals per day, so at first I didn’t understand why having healthy school meals was so important. I always had the option of bringing a healthy lunch from home so I didn’t understand the public health implications of unhealthy school foods.

“Yaye’s Story

Sometimes people question why we do the advocacy work we do, so we’d like to share with you the story of Yaye, someone who joined RFKM last year, helped us tabling on 5% Day at Whole Foods, and is working on our statewide legislative initiative. Yaye came to the U.S. from Senegal in the 11^th grade. You can see from her “before” photo that she was a thin and healthy young lady. Her parents trusted that the government would provide healthy food for her, so they allowed her to eat breakfast and lunch daily at school in MCPS. Sitting at our table at Whole Foods, Yaye recognized many of the items we had in our MCPS junk food display that she regularly ate, including the strawberry milk and the Rice Krispie Treats. She also remembered the French toast sticks and sugary syrup. After eating this way for about a year, Yaye was rapidly gaining weight, and she saw her doctor. The doctor told her that she had hypertension and was on her way to getting diabetes. She hadn’t changed her diet at home at all – these changes were entirely attributable to what she was eating at school. He warned her to immediately stop eating the school food, which she did, bringing her situation under control. While Yaye is no longer at school and can choose what she eats, her younger school-age brother still eats the school food. She fears a similar fate for him, which is why she wants to work with RFKM to bring real, whole, healthy foods into MCPS. ”

Reading this really gave me some perspective. I remember coming into middle school in the mornings and hearing about how my peers ate pancakes and syrup for breakfast, and remember feeling that they were lucky. Looking back, I wonder how my anxiety and the rest of my life would have been affected with that additional sugar.

I recently read an article about a study that found that school meals – despite the disgusting pictures of them that we see online – are more balanced than the meals that parents are sending with kids to eat. People were surprised by the results of the study, since they assumed that parents who pack lunch for their kids do so to further the healthy eating habits they teach at home.  I’m curious how much of this is oversight on the part of the parents, and how much is related to poverty and limited access to healthy resources.

Here’s a few other interesting articles about wellness and kids:

• On the need for a truly balanced plate: here
• On a cool new board game (I really want to see this in action): here

On the protests

I came across this article and found it interesting, not strictly because of the perspective it provides, but because the author makes suggestions for change. History shows that protests can be successful in inspiring change. But I am one to question large-scale human gatherings… call me a pessimist, but I have to wonder how many of the people protesting are college kids looking to stir up some trouble (or the equivalent), and how many are genuinely educated on and protesting the situation at hand. Protests should be a deliberate act by an educated population and I guess I’m skeptical of how many people truly know what is going on and who aren’t motivated by sheer emotion. Emotion helps, sure, but it can also affect one’s ability to consider a situation objectively.

I’m not downplaying the effect that the protesters can (and will) have. But in my opinion, what really ignites change are people thinking creatively to come up with better solutions to the problem at hand. Whether you agree with the author’s suggestions or not, you have to applaud him for the attempts he made.

Check it out here.

30 Days of Gratitude – Third and Final Installment

I owe you the final part of my 30 days of gratitude exercise!

To be fair, I finished writing it on the plane on Dec 1. So while I’m behind in posting it, I did stay up with it through the month of November.

Here it is!

30 – I’m grateful for my friends. I’ve had a pretty tight-knit group of friends for the past six years, and I cannot say how grateful I am for them. Even as we grow and chase new dreams, we can always come back to each other and have fun.  We’re at a point now that we can laugh at our faults and love one another despite them. On this particular day, I happened to step away from our group and talk with one of my friend’s partners. She expressed concern about causing trouble among the friend group and gestured to the group, saying, “I don’t know how he found you all, but this is pretty special.” Looking across the room at my friends laughing, I had to agree – it is special. And even as we change, I hope our relationships don’t.

29- I’m grateful for how my parents’ divorce turned out. I spent some time earlier in the day with a single mom raising two teenagers who is now going through a custody battle with their dad. I’m glad I never had to deal with those things and that my parents’ divorce came at a time when I was better able to understand it and not try to use it against them.

28- I’m grateful for being wrong and for the changes that new life brings.  I was really nervous about something that happened today and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. I’m glad I was wrong about my misconceptions. Also, I met my new cousin for the first time today – the excitement was palpable in the room and I felt very hopeful for this new life. It’s been a long time since there was a baby in the family and I’m excited to watch my aunt and uncle be parents.

27- HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I am especially grateful for my family. Moving away has given me a new perspective on what family means. I’m happy to be sharing this holiday with them, and grateful for all the things that went right that allowed me to return home to be with them.

26- The right to vote and to make up my own mind. When I first registered to vote years ago, I registered based on what I thought would make someone else proud. I went in to update my political party to represent what I believe. Not only am I thankful that I have the opportunity to vote, but that I have total free will in what I vote for.

25- I’m not sure what the word is for this – I went to a hockey game with my dad and my mom’s dad. At first I was nervous, since I don’t think they’ve spent time together since my parents separated.  It ended up being a really great evening and it seemed like they both enjoyed each other’s company. I’m grateful that a piece of paper and one strained relationship doesn’t affect other relationships (unless you let it).

24- My bed. Oh man, am I thankful for my bed.  I really missed it. #blanketsallday

23- I’m grateful for my mom. When I finally got home, she had made my bed, bought me a new blanket and wool socks (which I’ve been wanting but have been too cheap to buy for myself), and even left flowers in my bedroom to welcome me home. How amazing is that? Thank you Mumma!

22- I’m grateful that there are places in my world that I feel comfortable enough in to let loose and have fun. I may or may not have gotten drunk and danced around a room full of people. But I had a great time!

21- My friends from college. I got to spend time with them tonight and it was awesome to see them all, and more importantly, see them all being happy in the paths they’ve chosen. Some are dating new people, others are starting new jobs… no matter what their path, I’m happy for them and I’m happy to have them in my life.

20-I’m grateful for my boyfriend. I don’t know that I have met someone that is willing to give his time and energy as selflessly as he does.  I respect and love this about him and it inspires me to do the same. I finally got to see him again today and am grateful to spend some time with him!!

19- My job. I may not be getting rich this year but I feel like I am learning so much from the position and the people I work with. More importantly in the context of the holiday, I’m so grateful that my boss is so supportive and trusts me to work from home. This freedom inspires me to work harder and present quality results. I’m grateful that she supports me and encourages me to learn more about what interests me.

18- This day was a long, long day at work. I am sincerely grateful for the board of directors at the place I work with. I have a lot of respect for them because they are competent professionals (you seriously can’t say that about a lot of people) – they stay on track and genuinely care about the organization. Having served on a less-effective board in the past, I have gained much appreciation for people that can get things done while staying united around a cause.

17- The strides I’ve made in life. This evening I met up with someone I’ve never met before, in a place I’ve never been. I was supposed to go with two friends. They ended up bailing and at first I was upset that they wouldn’t be there as buffers. But, I realized that a simple change of thinking on my end could turn an awkward situation into a great one. I was able to reframe my perspective and met up with someone that could turn out to be a great friend. I never would have been able to do that so confidently in the past.

16- I’m grateful for farmers and the good food they provide. Today we had a volunteer work day at one of our vendor’s farms. Despite the damp, cold weather, we stayed warm by huddling around a fire and eating the wonderful food they prepared as a thank you. After helping them prepare their farm for the winter, we huddled under a tent as the freezing rain came down and just enjoyed each others’ company.

15-The kindness of strangers. I’ll keep this short but I may or may not have ended up in a risky situation (to no fault of my own, I swear!) but my friend and I were helped by a kind older couple. I’m grateful that there are still nice people in the world that will give up their time to help others.

14- I’m grateful for being close to DC and having the chance to explore a new city. Tonight, my roommate and I checked out a bar that hosts standup. It was fun! I like that I can do things in DC that aren’t just “tourist-y” things.  It’s fun to learn about new places and explore.

13- I am grateful for having found my new interest of Ayurveda. There was a meetup tonight that I attended to learn more about it. What’s funny about Ayurveda is that it’s the first thing in my life that I’m ok with taking slow; I don’t feel pressured to learn everything about it all at once. Even in the meetup, I didn’t mind that I had no idea what the leader was talking about half the time. I just enjoyed the environment and was grateful for the space to relax and enjoy some ojas-building and the presence of like-minded others.  To me, Ayurveda is all about finding what works for your personal needs. And I guess my needs are to just relax and enjoy.

12-  Today, I’m grateful for the funny situations that life presents to us.  I attended a fundraiser event as research for my job.  Entertainment for the evening was supposed to be contra dancing. I really don’t enjoy dancing and was kind of dreading it.  After turning a couple people down, the girl I went with and I finally said yes and gave it a try. First I danced with a portly but gentle man in his older fifties. Then, I danced with a man wearing a tie dye shirt and socks, acid-washed jeans, a fur vest, and a pastel-colored beanie. It was unusual but I found myself laughing while I twirled around the dance hall. I definitely didn’t plan it, and I don’t know that I would do it again, but it was a fun experience overall. Plus, I bonded with one of the girls I work with and may have made a new friend 🙂

11- (a continuation) I am very grateful for those who fought for me to have freedom. The more I learn about the rest of the world, the more grateful I am for the freedoms and opportunities I am afforded. Thank you to those who make this possible. Thank you to those who fight for freedom while the rest of us complain on Facebook. You rock.

“Never despise small beginnings, and don’t belittle your own accomplishments. Remember them and use them as inspiration as you go on to the next thing. When you venture outside your comfort zone, wherever the starting point may be, it’s kind of a big deal.”

He also said, “You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.” 

Chris Gillebeau

🙂

Why do I think that moving back to New England would mean I’m settling? I have this view that moving away is the only way I can grow as a person, and that if I move home, I will be settling and never try adventurous things again. Why? It doesn’t need to be that way.

One’s comfort zone is not related to physical location.