A life of purpose

I'm entering a new chapter in my life and it feels great. I wish I could get a tattoo that symbolized every new chapter in my life, buuuuuut seeing as I won't get that, let's just stick to writing my feelings on this blog. Here's a video by Rick Warren called "On a Life of Purpose", that has me inspired to be real. to be authentic. to be different. to challenge myself to live a better life.
Enjoy.

http://www.ted.com/talks/rick_warren_on_a_life_of_purpose.html

Dear Stephanie

This is my promise saying I will try my hardest to write on my blog everyday. I want to keep up with it-but let's face it, I don't lol But I will do my best to write something AT LEAST 3 times a week.

And seeing as I have a 5 page paper due on democracy on Thursday. I will end it here. BUT...I will paste something I wrote a few days ago. It's not finished, but I know you will appreciate it.

Signed,
Your best friend till death (dramatic? lol)

Enjoy it in all it's rawness (I didn't edit it all so you are WELCOME!)

Every Thanksgiving, my mother’s family join hands and everybody goes around and says what they’re thankful for. This has been a tradition for as long as I could remember, and responses has varied from winning the state championship in soccer or getting into medical school, to thanking God for a new members of our family and thanking God for past family members who have passed. As the year comes to end, this is the time when I reflect on my past year, and on my life. Thanksgiving is around the corner and for the last week, I’ve been really thinking about this past year. Since January 2011, I’ve experienced an assortment of feelings and emotions. I’ve had the opportunity to be involved like never before, and I’ve met some amazing people along the way. I’ve had moments of loneliness, and moments of companionship with people who mean the world to me. In the beginning of the year, I knew 2011 was going to be a year of learning and growing in the Lord. 2010 was a year of celebration between graduations, parties, engagements, and my brother’s return back home. But 2011, was my time to grow and experience life. Below are a few of 2011’s memories in which I am thankful for. It’s these moments and my other experiences from my young 22 years of life that have made me the person I am today.

·         My best friend’s Stephanie and Ronnie both got engaged in 2010, and were both married in 2011. Stephanie has been a backbone (dramatic, yes, but go with me) and has had a major influence in my life. I’ve known her since the 1^st grade and over our past 17 years together as friends, her sincerity and desire to help others is incredible. I believe that anytime you have contact with someone, the other person should leave with a smile, and in some way, inspired. Maybe not in a small-talk-that-suddenly-made-me-want-to-save-the-world kind of way, but rather uplifted and happy. And unknowingly, Stephanie has this affect. On EVERYONE. She has a way with communicating to people that can make any grouch turn soft. Ronnie has been my big brother/mentor/therapist/body guard/best friend for the last 10 years, and to see him marry the woman of his dreams was not only a heartfelt memory, but I was proud of him. Ronnie will give you the shirt of his back. Period. He will always be the last guy to leave any event because he is packing up the chairs, or cleaning up tables. He even stayed an hour after Stephanie’s wedding to help them clean up! (For the record, Ronnie and Steph have only known each other for maybe a year, if that. High five for best friends who get along instantly!) Watching my best friends become better friends, people, believers, and spouses over the last few months has been so awesome. Both Ryan and Chantel make my best friends better people. And for that, I love them SO MUCH MORE. These 2 couples are beautiful examples of Christ’s love and they make me look forward to marriage when I find my other half.

·         School has never been such a pain in the arse as it has this year. With honor societies, club events, holding an e-board governing position, attempting to fundraiser over a thousand dollars in two quarters, oh ya..and ACTUALLY TRYING TO PASS MY CLASSES; school has dominated my life. But you know what, I love it. I love it because after days of crying and self-sabotaging myself by saying I will fail my classes because of x,y,z…I come out stronger. Because after having 5 panic attacks before a huge presentation that I am 100% sure I will bomb, I get an A. AND a thumbs up from my professor. Because after questioning my own worth and value as a human being, and wondering why I should even apply to research programs, I get it. I am one of the 20 students out of 20,000 on campus who has been chosen. This isn’t a time to brag, Lord knows He has saved me a bajillion of times through my academic career. But this is my time to be thankful for my education. For my ability to BE EDUCATED.  To be thankful for those professor who believe in me and see something different in me. To be thankful for those fellow colleagues who understand the pressure of school but are still rooting for me. In a way, I make myself the underdog, only to prove myself wrong. Confusing, yes, but that’s how I roll. I’ve met some really amazing people over the last few quarters that make me love Cal Poly a whole lot more!