Be in love with your life...

I haven't posted in a while, and I apologize for that. I am going to try and post at least once every one or two weeks. This morning I woke up around 7:30 to start studying for an upcoming organic chemistry exam, but instead I spent an hour looking through my India photos and watching this video. If you need a little bit of a smile to get your day going, I suggest watching it :) Today looks like it'll be a pretty good day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-nMIT4vJLU&feature=youtu.be

I also suggest Sigur Ros. They are an ambient/post-rock band from Iceland. I love their music... just puts me in the best mood. It's also great to listen to while sitting on the deck of your house in Dharamsala enjoying a nice rain, or even at home with the windows open to enjoy the bright sun and a cool breeze (spring please get here now!) and pondering life. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video and check out their music!

Here's two little do-das I thought go hand in hand... Set out to accomplish your dream and enjoy every minute of it, even the more boring minutes (aka organic chemistry). Make the best of each day and just remind yourself that one day, you'll get somewhere amazing. Heck, make the journey there amazing too!

Have a blessed Saturday!

Lauren

Resolutions...Part Deux.

On my way to school this morning, I couldn't help but think about my most recent post. (aka yesterday...) I had started a little tangent about happiness and I feel that it is only right if I share with you what I find to be the number one road to the best and most beautiful place of happiness :)

It came to me while listening to one of my Pandora stations. (Side note: Pandora and 3G is probably two of the best inventions ever. I can listen to ANY music I want whenever I'm in the car. Sometimes I even choose to drive alone or go on a random trip just so I can blare music and daydream. I highly suggest it!) Anyway, this morning I had chosen to listen to a Matt Gilman station over the Lumineers and this song came on...

You Are My Passion- Jesus Culture (click the song title if you want to listen!)

I'm not even going to try and describe this song. Cue lyrics:

"I'm alive to bring glory to You, King.

God of victory, You are my passion.
It's in the way you are, You don't change at all.
Great and humble God, You are my passion.
My strength in life, is I am Yours.My soul delights because I am Yours.Your will on earth is all I'm living for.
Jesus I glorify.Jesus my love is Yours.You are my heart's desire.I live to know You more.
Light that breaks the darkness, showing what true love is.Always full of goodness, You are my passion.You never do me wrong, the meekest man but strong.The most perfect song, You are my passion."

A good friend of mine once said "happy" is such a shallow term, and I think she was right. There is so much more to it... so much more depth to "being happy." Knowing that the Lord is always by my side to provide me the strength to get through tough times. Knowing that when I fall or I seem to fail, He is always there to pick me back up and has already forgiven me of any wrongdoings. Knowing that He lives to bring me joy and peace. He loves me unconditionally and nothing can ever, ever, ever break that love. All I am is for and because of Him! 
I've said before that it is important to keep track of who you are and what you are living for... everything else will spring from  what you hold dear to your heart and in the center of your life. This is what I am living for and it brings me so much joy and peace to know that God has everything under control. It also makes me super excited about what lies in my future! (Med School, I hope!)
This is what makes me truly happy :)


...and the fact that the SEC once again killed it last night in the BCS Championship *wink*


Talk to you guys soon! Lauren

A New Year... A New Resolution?

While I'm not a huge fan of making "New Years Resolutions," I have found the start of a new year a great time to revisit your goals and who you strive to be. For me, I like to think of this as a reevaluation of where I am as a person and how I feel about it. Do I like who I am? Am I proud of who I am? Would I be my own friend? Darn right, I would! I'm pretty cool.... I think? I'm just kidding around....

But really. While some people set more tangible goals such as losing weight, eating right, etc, I like to implement positive thinking and try and improve my character. What you think about yourself and how you treat those around you can determine so much of who you become and what you can accomplish! A positive attitude and great energy can do so much.

For instance, lately I have been trying to love more and treat others as I would like to be treated. This could include doing things for others just because and expecting nothing in return, arguing less, the old adage "If you don't have anything positive to say, don't say it all," offering a hand (even when I'm exhausted), saying thank you, listening without needing to give another opinion (unless they ask!), flashing a smile :).... the list could go on. As elementary as these goals may sound, it really can be hard at times and I definitely don't expect to always get it right. I'm sure we can all attest to that... but once you start to put conscious effort and time into such a lifestyle, you really begin to grow, enjoy each day a little more, and happiness increases!

There are so many different things you can do and goals you can set! Last year, I wrote out some encouraging words on a few post its and placed them right near my bed. Every morning I woke up, I saw "I am blessed" along with a few encouraging bible verses and a reminder to stretch! This is especially helpful in a busy lifestyle. When you hit those mornings where you have little to no time for a workout or your usual couch-coffee session, spending a few minutes stretching out your muscles can reduce some of your busy lifestyle induced stress. At the same time, acknowledging your blessings can help you start your day off on a positive foot. (Even when things may have seemed to be exceptionally cruddy.) That sounds like some great multi tasking to me! You end up leaving your house feeling good. Body and soul!

The great thing about these "character resolutions," is they don't have a deadline and they don't have a point of completion. They're just a check point in a journey of continual growth. When you're happy and confident, things just tend to look up, you cultivate great relationships with those around you, and in turn you're even happier. It's a a great cycle, I think.

Have a blessed day :)
Lauren

A new face, a new blog!!

No, I didn't get plastic surgery, but my blog got a little bit of a face lift :)

It's time to bring this page back to life and with a new purpose. Yes, yes, I know it is New Years Day, but this isn't just some "resolution" I decided to put forth at about 1pm this afternoon, I promise. Okay, it was about 2pm when I decided to hit the blog once more. To my defense, this is something I have been thinking about for a while... let me explain...

**If you don't feel like reading this loooong post and just want to know "What the heck is this blog about??" Skip to the paragraph at the end in purple :)

2012 was quite a year. There were many exciting moments and great achievements, but there were also quite a few steep drops in my roller coaster ride. In May, I graduated college and headed out into the real world with my degree in hand and a heart full of high hopes. I finally knew what I wanted and was determined to make every bit of that dream a reality. Then, Mr. Economy and Mrs. Real World came by with some sobering news. "Sorry, but as hard as you try, your Math degree will not get you a job working in a hospital and since you can't find a full time job, you get to move back in with your family. Oh, and since you have to work all the time to pay for school, you aren't going to get to travel much." BUM-MER. Welcome to the life of a student in transition.

There are quite a few things I learned in 2012 and the biggest is that transition is definitely a hard place to be. If you aren't careful you can fall into a rut of laziness and lack of productivity or you can push yourself to work so hard that you lose sight of what you're working for. By that I mean, you may be able to write down, say, "Medical School" on a piece of paper, but if you don't keep track of why you want to get there and who you are as a person, it's easy to lose yourself under a mountain of lab reports, highlighted notes, flash cards, work schedules, and empty coffee cups. While 2012 was a year of excitement and anticipation of what the future held, it was also a year of rediscovery and trying my hardest not to fall into an almost robotic like state of mind. Wake up-coffee-breakfast-class-study-sleep-wake up-coffee-work-study-sleep- and so forth. What I loved about college was the community. You always had friends at least 5 minutes away. They were your stress relief, your support and encouragement.  They would be right there with you at 11pm trying to finish a paper or project and they'd also be with you escaping the books and running away to the beach on a sunny afternoon, grabbing a cup of coffee after class, or making time to walk to church. My friends kept me grounded, reminded me why I was working so hard, and reminded me it was okay to celebrate weekends and give myself a night off.. or two... or three.

That's one of the tough parts of graduating college. It's that first few months when you feel like half of yourself is missing because your friends have been scattered all over the country and a walk to their apartment is now a $300 round trip ticket. It's when you're working 3 part time jobs to pay for classes  you have no time to study for because you're working 3 part time jobs. It's that moment when you're living at home again, just like your former pre-teen, pre-college graduate self.

This blog is going to be for all those students in transition, whether working towards professional school or a professional career, whether you are taking classes or gaining the experience all those darn job applications keep asking for, whether you know what it is you are going for, or if you are still trying to figure it out.... this will be a blog of my thoughts on different topics and feelings that often plague the 20-something college grad and just a hodge podge mix of fun and encouraging discoveries I come upon. It might be a good song, an inspiring quote, a great book, a fun event coming up, or even a quick and easy recipe for those of us that find time to cook hard to come by. Things that keep me grounded and remind me of who I am and what I am working towards.

I hope you stay tuned :)
(And Happy New Years!)
Lauren