Holy moley there are a lot of things going on these days, all while not much is going on. (For a perfect example, right now I've settled into the lifestyle of my 63 and almost 77 year old parents - waking up early, running errands, going to the gym, making dinner, in bed by 9:30. It's not a bad life, but it's also good when I can break out and have some social time with people who don't qualify for senior citizen discounts…)
That said, there a life change that is coming (details have to be ironed out before I tell them all, but it's going to be pretty cool, I promise), and because I have some time before that opportunity starts, I've made a few goals to be completed in the interim.
I've got about 100 days to be here, in Lacey, spending time with my parents, and being able to focus on some things that sometimes fall by the wayside when I'm living elsewhere. These goals are pretty damn optimistic, but that's at least partly why I'm putting them out there on the interwebs. Group accountability, or peer pressure to not fuck up, as it's also called.
So today is September 10, and 100 days from now is December 18. By then, I would like to say that I have achieved all these goals, and I do truly believe that if I do, I'll be in a great (and way better) place, mentally, emotionally, and physically to begin the next adventure. Ready? Here we go…
By December 18, 2015, I will:
1. Finish the School Nutrition class I am currently enrolled in
2. Begin and finish the Childhood Wellness class that is the second in that certificate program
3. Plan, write, and layout my coffee table book - get everything done except getting it published
4. Post all the pictures that I took from my trip over the summer on facebook
5. Send out the letters and cards that are on my "send these things to people" list
6. Spend 50 hours improving my Irish and old-timey fiddling
7. Spend 50 hours practicing the guitar
8. Complete a 100 day burpee challenge
9. Complete the 100 Happy Days challenge on Instagram
10. Do one thing every day that I have never done before
11. Complete my LinkedIn profile (and make it absolutely kick ass)
12. Write and publish 35 blog posts
13. Write 7 food-based articles/papers
14. Read 5 books of at least 200 pages
15. Sell 100 pieces of Silver Hilltops Designs jewelry
16. Write and send 5 letters to inspirational women in the world
17. Go to the gym 35 times
18. Complete 30 swimming workouts
19. Run 150 miles
20. Master 5 Julia Child recipes
Now these are certainly not going to be easy - definitely some of them, I'm already wondering if I can get them all the way completed in that space of time. But 100 days isn't nothing - and I'd like to think that if I can stay motivated, I can do all of these things. (I mean, look at this - already today, I've done 1 burpee, I've gone to the gym, I've written a blog post, I've instagrammed my happy moment, and I've learned something new.)
WHEW!
Let's see how this next 99 days goes….keep me accountable, internet!
-Bethy
Showing posts with label Lacey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lacey. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2015
Sunday, February 3, 2013
who would have thought...
8 years ago today, I was a senior in high school. I had just decided that I would be going to the University of San Francisco for Performing Arts and Social Justice in the fall, and I was excited...and absolutely terrified. I had never lived anywhere except Lacey, WA, the only international trip I had ever gone on was to Canada, and I had never flown on a plane by myself.
I would have never guessed that 8 years later I would be sitting here, in Boston, in graduate school - after living in and loving California, Ireland, Mexico, Alaska, New Jersey, and North Carolina. How could I have imagined moving myself, my life, my things across the country - and world - so many times, and finding the most excellent people on my journeys. I had no idea...
That 17 year old senior had no clue what it was like to get her heart broken (like REALLY broken), though she thought she had a good idea...she had no idea how her perceptions of herself, ever growing, ever changing, would make her a stronger person. She didn't realize that not everything is black and white, and that just because it's not right for her, that doesn't mean it's wrong for someone else.
But most of all, she had no way of knowing just how strong she could be. Lacey, it turns out, didn't push her much. But the other places did. And she responded to the pushing and the pulling by being more flexible than that 17 year old ever thought was possible. (And then, when the time for flexibility was over, she stood up strong, and took no one's crap).
Some of the things that used to make her heart dance still do, and she had discovered a whole host of other things that bring her joy. She couldn't have known that the joys would get better, and the disappointments would get worse, but that, after a while, this wouldn't be a surprise anymore.
She would be able to advocate for herself in times of stress or confrontation. She would still feel like crying if she felt confronted, but she would eventually stop being embarrassed about it, and would be able to own her tears, and stop them from weakening her. She would find that the emotional freedom that comes from crying is worth its weight in gold.
And she didn't realize that time goes so fast, and that's not a reason to hide inside and hoard it, but instead to take it all in and make as much of it as she can. Cause life - it's happening. And you never know when that's going to end. Carpe Diem, 17 year old Bethy. These last 8 years have been fucking amazing. Here's to a whole bunch more...
Love, Bethy
PS. There is one thing that the 17 year old was really good at, though, that the 25 year old is very good at too - procrastinating on homework, hahaha. No, but seriously. Ugh.
I would have never guessed that 8 years later I would be sitting here, in Boston, in graduate school - after living in and loving California, Ireland, Mexico, Alaska, New Jersey, and North Carolina. How could I have imagined moving myself, my life, my things across the country - and world - so many times, and finding the most excellent people on my journeys. I had no idea...
That 17 year old senior had no clue what it was like to get her heart broken (like REALLY broken), though she thought she had a good idea...she had no idea how her perceptions of herself, ever growing, ever changing, would make her a stronger person. She didn't realize that not everything is black and white, and that just because it's not right for her, that doesn't mean it's wrong for someone else.
But most of all, she had no way of knowing just how strong she could be. Lacey, it turns out, didn't push her much. But the other places did. And she responded to the pushing and the pulling by being more flexible than that 17 year old ever thought was possible. (And then, when the time for flexibility was over, she stood up strong, and took no one's crap).
Some of the things that used to make her heart dance still do, and she had discovered a whole host of other things that bring her joy. She couldn't have known that the joys would get better, and the disappointments would get worse, but that, after a while, this wouldn't be a surprise anymore.
She would be able to advocate for herself in times of stress or confrontation. She would still feel like crying if she felt confronted, but she would eventually stop being embarrassed about it, and would be able to own her tears, and stop them from weakening her. She would find that the emotional freedom that comes from crying is worth its weight in gold.
And she didn't realize that time goes so fast, and that's not a reason to hide inside and hoard it, but instead to take it all in and make as much of it as she can. Cause life - it's happening. And you never know when that's going to end. Carpe Diem, 17 year old Bethy. These last 8 years have been fucking amazing. Here's to a whole bunch more...
Love, Bethy
PS. There is one thing that the 17 year old was really good at, though, that the 25 year old is very good at too - procrastinating on homework, hahaha. No, but seriously. Ugh.
Monday, January 14, 2013
settle?
Sometimes I get really exhausted.
I was thinking about North Carolina last night, as I was falling asleep, and it occurred to me that the 10 months I spent there - living, working, doing online classes, hanging out with friends - in some respects it doesn't feel very real. I remember leaving New Jersey after my JV year, and thinking that I couldn't possibly be moving again, and that although I didn't know what the hell I wanted to do with my life, or where I wanted to be, I was getting so. damn. tired. Just so tired of moving, of uprooting myself, and that the excitement of packing everything up and going on yet another adventure was waning.
And since that move away from Newark in 2010, I've done it 3 more times. Newark to Bethel, Bethel to Boone, Boone to Lacey, Lacey to Boston.
I'm tired.
I still love the adventure, but as I begin 2013 (with a little better idea of what I want to do with my life, but with the same amount of hopelessness in regards to where I can find a job like that), it also occurs to me that making friends, feeling at home in each new place is getting harder. And for me, who exists the best with expansive support systems, feeling that isolation, even in the midst of a super busy life, is hard.
I have this incredibly full life in Boston - school (classes at BU and online classes) and work are enough to take up more than 30 hours a day, but it's hard not to romanticize the days when I felt more included in a social group and less like someone who has friends at work and friends at school and friends who I can call occasionally to get a drink (if I ever have the time) but no one who can fit in all these places. I miss having people around me who know enough about all the different facets of my life to understand stories I tell about my horrendous day at work, or that time I got blackout at the bar and fell down on the sidewalk, or how I'm having a hard time handling the workload in Anthro. (true story - this class hasn't even started yet, but we got the syllabus, I'm terrified.)
And this work is probably of my own making. And I hope that as 2013 surges ahead, I'm able to help myself do this - I can't hide under the mask of "this is my first semester and I'm just trying to get the lay of the land" anymore. I'll need to own up to the feelings of "I miss my sister" and "I miss my boyfriend" and "I miss my high school/college/Ireland/Bethel/JVC friends" because they have existed in their contexts, and perhaps I just need to buck up and create a context for Boston. I know that there are people out there in this big city that love me, and I know that, in this respect, I need to push past the exhaustion - maybe just this one more time. (hahaHA ok, let's be real - one more time?? Even I'm not delusional enough to believe that...)
Forever on the run,
Bethy
I was thinking about North Carolina last night, as I was falling asleep, and it occurred to me that the 10 months I spent there - living, working, doing online classes, hanging out with friends - in some respects it doesn't feel very real. I remember leaving New Jersey after my JV year, and thinking that I couldn't possibly be moving again, and that although I didn't know what the hell I wanted to do with my life, or where I wanted to be, I was getting so. damn. tired. Just so tired of moving, of uprooting myself, and that the excitement of packing everything up and going on yet another adventure was waning.
And since that move away from Newark in 2010, I've done it 3 more times. Newark to Bethel, Bethel to Boone, Boone to Lacey, Lacey to Boston.
I'm tired.
I still love the adventure, but as I begin 2013 (with a little better idea of what I want to do with my life, but with the same amount of hopelessness in regards to where I can find a job like that), it also occurs to me that making friends, feeling at home in each new place is getting harder. And for me, who exists the best with expansive support systems, feeling that isolation, even in the midst of a super busy life, is hard.
I have this incredibly full life in Boston - school (classes at BU and online classes) and work are enough to take up more than 30 hours a day, but it's hard not to romanticize the days when I felt more included in a social group and less like someone who has friends at work and friends at school and friends who I can call occasionally to get a drink (if I ever have the time) but no one who can fit in all these places. I miss having people around me who know enough about all the different facets of my life to understand stories I tell about my horrendous day at work, or that time I got blackout at the bar and fell down on the sidewalk, or how I'm having a hard time handling the workload in Anthro. (true story - this class hasn't even started yet, but we got the syllabus, I'm terrified.)
And this work is probably of my own making. And I hope that as 2013 surges ahead, I'm able to help myself do this - I can't hide under the mask of "this is my first semester and I'm just trying to get the lay of the land" anymore. I'll need to own up to the feelings of "I miss my sister" and "I miss my boyfriend" and "I miss my high school/college/Ireland/Bethel/JVC friends" because they have existed in their contexts, and perhaps I just need to buck up and create a context for Boston. I know that there are people out there in this big city that love me, and I know that, in this respect, I need to push past the exhaustion - maybe just this one more time. (hahaHA ok, let's be real - one more time?? Even I'm not delusional enough to believe that...)
Forever on the run,
Bethy
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