I am home. It will never really be my home--it belongs to more than me. My Grandpa built this house, and it is a house that has to be loved in order for it to continue to exist. I do love it: when I wake up and look across to the golden hillside in the… Continue reading home
Forget about being a good or bad parent . . .
How many times have you told yourself that you're a good mom/dad or a bad mom/dad? You've probably done it a lot--and if you are like me, you are usually saying to yourself that you aren't good enough. The thought of being a good parent or a bad parent is not very useful. First, who… Continue reading Forget about being a good or bad parent . . .
Pain can be good
In the city finals course during an episode of American Ninja Warriors last year, Jessie Graff was trying to finish the course but was exhausted and didn't have the strength to finish. She fell, knowing she had reached her limit. But throughout it all, she was smiling. When asked about it during the interview after… Continue reading Pain can be good
It’s okay to make a decision even if you are uncertain
Recently, I've been making some decisions about my life. If you know me well, you know I am not the most decisive person in the world. I feel a lot of uncertainty sometimes, and it's difficult for me to make a decision. Part of this is that I see pros and cons without being able… Continue reading It’s okay to make a decision even if you are uncertain
Happily Ever After
And they lived happily ever after . . . It's the ending to children's stories, and it's of course entirely untrue. They don't live happily ever after, because they will eventually die. That's life. Coming-of-age stories end with the main character supposedly finding out who they are and starting on the direction they will continue… Continue reading Happily Ever After
Life is not a roller coaster
I have often thought that life was like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs. And then I realized one day that life isn't a roller coaster at all. I'm not simply heading up or down--it's way more complex than that. It's a journey, taking lots of different paths. When it snows, the… Continue reading Life is not a roller coaster
Problems
I'm lighter when I'm lower, I'm higher when I'm heavy. ("Nico and the Niners," Twenty One Pilots) So there was a diagram in a book I just read (Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life) about how we respond to problems. We all have problems. But there were two ways to respond to… Continue reading Problems
humility
Humility is not about thinking less of yourself, but thinking more about everything else. It doesn't require putting yourself down, but lifting others up. Humility means that you have confidence, but you are honest about what you can and can't do, and you see how others can help you. Humility is realizing your place in… Continue reading humility
reality
reality is never quite what you expect more full of joy than you imagined yet pulling back at you is the struggle everything is bigger than you imagined complicated what do you want to be when you grow up becomes a fairy tale because your dreams are merely fantasy and you are instead left… Continue reading reality
enjoying the pain
This is hard to explain, but I will try. Probably my whole life, I have hated feeling certain things: anger, guilt, confusion, and discouragement. I would try to avoid feeling, but you know what happens when you try not to feel something? You might end up feeling it a lot more intensely. So because I hate… Continue reading enjoying the pain