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December 31st has been a special day for the last four years. It’s the day I reflect on all that I have learned since I began this blog on this day. Now I know that I’ve been pretty absent the last three months, but life does that.
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Three weeks into the new year and what a crazy time it has been! I must apologize for my absence in the blogosphere, but life once again got in the way. My mind has been a super highway lately and I have so many new ideas that I want to explore on the blog. You may have already noticed the new layout. I’ve been plugging away at #18 on my 30-Before-30 list. I’ve got an appointment to check off #16 next month and plans in the works for #5, 17, and 23.
And then there’s my personal life.
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What do you believe in? What beliefs make you you?
A personal philosophy is something that everyone should have. I’m not talking about religion. No, personal philosophies are much more complex than that. Not that religion isn’t important, but this isn’t a post about religion in the traditional sense. While philosophy and religion can go hand in hand, one greatly influencing the other, there is much more to a person than religion and that is what I want to discuss. Our experiences not only make us who we are, but inspire how we perceive situations and how we react to what happens to us. While some beliefs may be silly, others are much stronger in molding our character and ourselves into the kind of people we want to be.
And with that said, these are some of the things that I wholeheartedly believe in. Continue reading
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The mind is a funny thing. With just a sniff of a fragrance or the tune of a song, the brain brings us back to another time or place as we recall a moment of our past. In an instant, we are back at the prom wishing someone would ask us to dance or we’re replaying that fight and wondering if the hurtful things said had any truth to them. It’s as though we’ve sat down in front of our television and started streaming a movie only this time, the movie is our own tale.
Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately. Between work, volunteering, progressing toward goals, and my social life, I have been pulled in so many different directions that I often can’t tell if up is down or right is left. Days fly by in the blink of an eye and I wonder when I might catch a moment to take a deep breath and sit back to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Alas, that time has not come yet and as soon as one project is completed, three more get added to the ever-growing to-do list.
Life seems to be speeding up for me these days. Plans that have taken months are finally coming together and I can’t wait to share the results. Also, with a little prodding from readers, I have begun to check off items on my 30 Before 30 list.
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Today is my birthday. I am now 29. That’s right, it’s the final birthday of my twenties and the last of my self-proclaimed “selfish years.” I’ve never been one who is too big on celebrating an event that happens to everyone once a year, but this year, the end of an era, I feel a renewed fervor for this new time and the next 365 days.
And I’m going to live it up!
Inspired by so many of the bucket list bloggers, I have decided to embark on my own 30 before 30 list and I’ll be sharing my progress with all of you Wonderlings. You can check out the list here and I will link to posts that pertain to items as they get accomplished.
And without further adieu, behold my own personal to-do list of goals before I turn 30…
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Humans as a whole are far too willing to work themselves to death. We over-schedule, over-analyze, and over-commit to life’s flurry of events and obligations. It’s natural for use to want to be everywhere and do everything, but when do we really focus on ourselves and enjoy a day of peace and quiet?
As I have mentioned, I have been working some Saturdays lately. Luckily, I didn’t have to go into the office yesterday, but I had a 5K first thing in the morning so sleeping in was out of the question. Though it was my decision to run a 5K every month, I really wanted to just stay in bed rather than drive 20 minutes to the event and spend time out of breath and sweating my brains out. But I did it. Continue reading
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I’m not quite sure what it is about springtime. Between the subtle change in the Southern California “seasons” to the love-to-hate-it task of spring cleaning, everything feels new and different. The skies are bluer, there is the unmistakable fragrance of fresh blooms in the air, and everyone seems a little lighter. The weather gets warmer, the sun shines, and people are just generally happier. It’s like we’ve all awoken from a long winter’s slumber.
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As I’ve gotten older, certain things have become more important to me than they were to my younger self. I no longer stay friends with people who treat me poorly. I no longer care about the latest trendy gadget on the market that everyone “has to have.” And I have learned that a life without passion is no life at all.
I have met many people over the years, and the ones who always stand out are the ones with passion. Now, I’m not talking about the push-you-up-against-the-wall-and-kiss-you-in-the-pouring-rain type of passion so common in romantic films (I’m looking at you, The Notebook!), but the yearning for something more than the ordinary life. This is the type of person who cannot go a day without playing an instrument, who stay in low-paying careers because they absolutely love what they do, and who light up when they talk about something that is important to them.
Defining Wonderland 