Life's too short

For some reason I've been thinking a lot today about everything that I want to accomplish in my life. I don't really keep a timeline and I don't think that one should feel defeated if they don't accomplish things but this is just my ideal perception of the future. So, here it goes in no particular order.

-Live in a big city (London, L.A., New York, Austin, Paris) where the world is at your fingertips and anything and everything you've ever dreamt of is within your reach.

-Fall in love...I mean real love. None of that fairytale storybook bullshit that we've had engrained in our impressionable minds since gradeschool.

-Love self-lessly...some people know what this is, for instance, my parents who have been married for 34 years and love for the sake of their spouse. But this is something that I can only pray to exprience.

-Make a difference. Now I know that is a bold statement, but I'm not trying to create a revolution, I just want to impact at least one person's life positively. It could be something as powerful as helping them find faith, or something as simple as them meeting their favorite band. I just want to know that in some way, somehow, I made a positive impact on them.

-Love my family. No matter how much they drive me crazy, no matter how many miles apart we are, no matter what I do to dissappoint them, I want to know that our love is stronger than any obstacle that may arise.

-Exude happiness. You know how some people always say that they love their life? Well I don't want to be one of those people. I want others to know that I am living a happy life by the manner in which I present myself. I hope people can look at me and automatically know that I am happy with the decisions that I have made.

-Live up to expectations. Not the expectations of others, but the expectations of myself. I want to look back on the decisions I have made and either be proud, or else have learned from the not so great decisions I have made in my life. How else can we grow?

With that, I will close. But I challenge you all to examine your own situation. Because we don't measure our time on this earth, it is a gift that we are privelaged to be a part of every day.

We Gonna Party Like It's Your Birthday!

A birthday shot to kick off the night

I spent my Saturday night celebrating the 22nd birthday of my amazing friend April. She studied in Wales the same semester that I did and we have become so close. She is the only person in Missoula who truly understands how amazing my semester abroad was.








She was with me to celebrate my 22nd birthday Welsh style.
















(I realize I spelled Celebrating wrong..oops)



And I prepared a gift full of Wesh memorabilia to ring in her 22nd year on this earth.





We went out on the town for drinking with friends and dancing the night away...I, of course, was the designated drive though since it is lent after all.


Happy Birthday April!

Across the Universe

All you need is love. And I think I'm in love. His name is Jim. He's from England. He's got the most amazing voice. His eyes are filled with passion. He's an actor. He's about 28. And he's perfect in every way.

One little problem...I haven't met him yet and he doesn't technically know I exist.

I'm stalking....I mean talking about Jim Sturgess, the gorgeous boy who plays Jude in the film Across the Universe. It is such a good movie. It's based in the 60s but all of the issues that it covers are issues that we are currently going through right now. AND, all of its songs are Beatles' songs re-done by the cast. With a tagline like "Within the lyrics of the world's most famous songs, lives a story that has never been told. Until now." How could you not be intrigued?

The songs are amazing. I bought the soundtrack right after I watched the movie in the theaters and haven't been able to stop singing and thinking about the songs since. I'm falling in love with the Beatles in an entirely new way. The cast does such a good job. There are even guest appearances by Bono (of U2) and Salma Hayek.

This film touches on war, love, friendship, music, art, absent parents, losing a love, losing a child, and almost every human emotion you can think of. I will admit that a few scenes are a bit odd (like when the colors are inverted to simulate an acid trip), however, given the time it is portraying and the music that goes along with it I felt that it was a perfect fit for this film.

They lived without rules. They loved without fear. But as the world changed, so did they.

Jumpin' on the Rehab Train

Well, since every celebrity under the sun is going to rehab these days I figured I might as well try it out. Sort of. Actually, I'm just giving up alcohol for 40 days...and then I'll start drinking again. "Why?" you may ask. Well, today is Ash Wednesday and the season of sacrifice is upon us. Lent=No Alcohol for me.

I wouldn't say that I drink in excess or anything; but I do enjoy an adult beverage here and there. I can be found relaxing on my couch with a nice cold beer, or cool glass of chardonnay, or out on the town with a flask of vodka in my purse (okay, not entirely true...but it did happen once or twice). Anyhoo, as a college student most social events involve alcohol and I'm always up for a challenge so I want to see if I can make it 40 days without consuming a single drop. I gave it up for lent 2 years ago and made it about 36 days. Close, but no cigar. Then last year I was living in Wales and not drinking while in the UK is basically a sin. They would've had me committed probably. So I gave up potato chips (crisps if your British). In the past I've given up caffeine, soda, Mountain Dew (I was addicted in high school), candy, and the probably something like giving up hitting my sister when I was little...which I'm sure I broke around week one.

I'm thinking of this as a cleanse for the body, mind and spirit (punny if you think of it in the Trinity sense for any Catholics out there.) But seriously, my body is cleansed of the alcohol which is a poison that I willingly consume, my mind has clarity without the fuzziness of alcohol, and my spirits will be lifted from knowing that I am strong enough to resist the temptation of the forbidden fruit (literally, I like hard cider and that is made from apples.)

So what are you giving up for lent? Anything you feel you can't live without? Come on this journey through the next six weeks and test yourself. Come on, what's your guilty pleasure?

I've Been Inspired

After a long hiatus from the blogging world, I've decided to start it up again. It's a great way to keep in touch with people or at least keep them up to date on what I'm doing and where I am. This is my final semester at U of M and I'm sure that my life will be changing a lot over the next year. I'm starting the post grad job search, I'll graduate in May, Raylee gets married in June, and when my lease is up in August I'm hoping to have a new city to move to. Can't wait to see what the future holds.

This year won't be nearly as exciting as my year of traveling the world in 2007. But I'll hopefully still get a few trips in to see friends in different cities. And I can always make time for concerts. I feel like things are changing and this is such an exciting time in my life. I'm not tied down to kids or a family so I really can do anything or go anywhere if I so choose..and if money allows. I see so many people my age getting married, having kids, and getting sucked into a mundane job that I just want to break away. Real world, here I come.