Do It All, and Do It All At Once

That's my new motto. Whether I took it all on willingly, or I suddenly found myself in the middle of all of these wonderful things - and sometimes I wonder which one of those answers is right - that statement has become a sort of mantra for me.

pachecophotography

Being busy is a blessing. Especially when you're busy doing things you love. This semester has been so filled with things that I love. People that I care about. Causes that I can get behind. All of it is leading me to something very important - My own self-worth. Through the challenges I've faced through organizing Phi Upsilon's many events including our trip to the conference, being apart of a dynamic team such as Seeds, and learning to cross cultural lines with the Niraula Family, I've been able to confront of a lot of doubts I had within myself about myself. And I've broken them down.

Sometimes, it's my doubt that if I'm not solving the issue right at the moment, I'm failing. That's not the case. Sometimes, all I can do is what is possible in the moment. Sometimes, I have to wait for an email response or confirmation before I can go forward. Or, I have to wait for it not to be 2:00 in the morning. I've learned patience, and through that patience, the knowledge that I will take care of things as I am able to.

Other times, the doubt manifests itself in other people's belief (or assumed lack-thereof) in me. After making so many new friends at Northeastern, I began to see that these people cared about me. They wanted me to succeed. They set amazing examples that I was eager to follow. I began to reassess how I looked at myself.  Most times, when I believed someone was judging me, it was mostly because I was judging myself.  When I release myself from that self-inflicted judgement, I can see that everyone is on my side. Including myself.

Most times, the doubt stems from this deep-rooted idea that all things will go wrong. Why must that be the case? No way. I choose to believe that all's well that ends well. And how things end is really up to my perspective. If things don't go perfectly, that's alright. If things blow up in smoke, that's alright too. If I fail, I'll fail hugely, with as much heart and spunk as I can muster, being grateful for every lesson learned along the way. And that is a small success in itself, I think.

Happy Living, all!

P.S. As much as I was keeping up with NaNoWriMo before, that's how little I am now. I will catch up... Somehow... I have a feeling it'll involve lots of Orange Soda. And I'm okay with that.

All My Best Teachers Have Been Friends

Sometimes, I just want to write a love letter to each and every one of my friends. The ones I've had for years... The ones I've just made... The ones I no longer have...

I've heard it said that friends are the family you choose. So, fittingly, I chose to have a huge friend circle, much like my huge Greek family. Now, as much as I've tried to remedy this feeling, I've always had the nagging suspicion that I just didn't fit in with my "big fat Greek" family. I was the baby for a long time, and when I grew up, people didn't quite know where to place me any more than I knew where to place myself. I was a self-admitted oddball. And I was cool with that. So, instead of dwelling and feeling like an outsider, I simply focused on my chosen family. My friends. Who always made me feel like I was right where I belonged.


And my friends... Well, as the title states, they are my best teachers. I learn so much from them everyday. My admiration for them is quite endless, and I feel like I truly have the best friends ever. I feel like I got to the market early and picked the best apples before anyone else could snatch them up. But that's how everyone feels about their friends. Because everyone's friends fit them differently. If I asked you, you'd say that your friends were the best people in the whole wide world. And what's wonderful is that - for you and your own personal world - you would be right.

My friends are extraordinary. They hold in them attributes that I long to have for myself. They reveal in me the person that I want to be. And what's more: They support me in becoming that person.

As I continue on this journey through my Peace Corps application, I can't help but think about how much I'm going to miss them when I leave. But I am grateful that, through knowing them, I might carry with me their drive, tenacity, creativity, and kindness. And hopefully, I will convey those traits as I go abroad and extend my friendship to others, so that they might extend their friendship back to me.

Happy Good Feelings, all!

Preparing

I like picking out clothing for the next day before I go to sleep. There's something about it that just makes me feel like I'm oh-so on top of things. It's kind of like writing every thing down in my planner. Makes me feel one step ahead. Which is probably good for me, because I'm pretty slow when it comes to races. Having a head start will probably mean that I'll finish just on time!

Speaking of being on the ball, NaNoing has been going quite well this year! I suppose I have Aaron to thank for that. I wasn't even going to do it until he used his Jedi Mindtrick logic on me. I'm glad he did. It's going well. My character's name is Hester Finn, and she's unlike anything I've ever written before. I think I'm fairly in love with her and the story she's been leading me around. She's very kind. She introduces things slowly, always making sure to hold my hand. Much different than Andy Hayden, who threw me into scenes and demanded I get everything down at once, before it transitioned clumsily with great speed into the next scene.

That there's my NaNo hat.
It keeps all the good ideas from flying out through my hair.

My Bhutanese family adventure has been going well. I'm so grateful do be doing it with Arielle, who continually proves herself to be the sweetest and most enthusiastic partner throughout our visits. Last week, we only got to visit with Hadi, but that was nice. The other times, there had been more focus on Govinda and the other family members. Now, Hadi speaks little-to-no English. So, as to be expected, there was a lot of silence. But when we managed to exchange a few English and Nepalese words, there was also a lot of laughter. And laughter is a language everyone can understand! We showed her pictures of our family, which she really enjoyed. Arielle and I are going to take pictures with the family in the coming weeks so we can give those as presents for the holiday season.

My goal for the coming week is to either get a Nepalese phrase book or to write out some important phrases I want to convey for our next visit. I want to ask Hadi if she needs any help around the house. Can I help prepare a dish of food with her. Would she like to go for a walk. Also, when we left last week, she seemed a bit disappointed, like she wanted us to stay longer. I'm going to call Durga to see if we can come earlier, this way we won't have to rush to beat the traffic.

No PC updates just yet. This here is limbo time, and I know I should get used to it now, because this is nothing. Just wait for medical and dental clearance... For the time being, I'm doing my darnedest to focus on school, NaNoWriMo, and my visits with Govinda and his family. It shan't be so hard, as those are all wonderful things to be focusing on, I think.

Happy Weather, all!