Scheduling for the Last Semester

So I made it...I am currently scheduling for the last semester of my college career. It feels weird. I've gotten all of the hardest classes out of the way and only need one professional journalism class to graduate. Should I feel accomplished? Maybe I will when i get to May.

Its so odd how forward thinking our society is! Its September 10th and I'm picking classes that don't start until January 10th! Needless to say, I'm also already getting asked the question: What are you going to do when you graduate?

Savor it, I say! And I need to accept that, because before I decided against graduating early so I could have one more savoring semester up in State College. So Yoga, photo journalism, advanced multimedia production, thesis completion work and hopefully international reporting, HERE I COME! See, now that I spell it out, it sounds sufficient enough to fill my full schedule.

I'll be busy no matter what ...its the story of my life.

Heat

Oh, how I love when its damn hot! I hear everyone around me complaining about how hot it is and how sweaty it makes them. But today I just strolled around campus, soaking up the rays and feeling like I was on top of the world.

Granted, I was wearing the great dress my momma bought me (only $19.99 at JcPenney). You'd have to see it to believe how awesome it is. :-) But anyway, does anyone share with me a love for HEAT?!

For example, it's 91 degrees right now at 5:29 p.m. and I suppose that's hot for Happy Valley! On days like today, I just think how great it would be if I lived somewhere tropical (of course, if I could transplant those I love). Africa, California, Greece, Egypt, South America...the list just goes on and on! This is why I want to be a traveling, story-telling journalist - so I can soak up the vibrant cultures and lifestyles that inhabit these hotttt places.

Penn State Students

There's something beautiful about Penn State students, granted I do have a bit of a bias as one myself, but there really is!

This semester I am taking COMM 410: International Communications, with Professor Elavsky. I had heard nothing but great things about this professor before I took him (including how good looking he was...), but from personal experience I can attest to his abilities as a professor and a critical thinking stimulator.

This is a class of 54 and normally there are a few "big talkers" with over-the-top opinions, but in just the three short classes we've had more than half the class has spoken up. And they have some great, informative things to say! Now, you can generalize about us Penn State students, as partiers (apparently that's not a word!), a cult, or a College Disney World (a great positive comment from some good friends of mine!), but we've got some very aware, knowledgeable and passionate communications students who will be graduating in the fall.

That makes me proud to be one of them.

oh August...

I know, I stink (to say the least) because I haven't written all month. I could give you a line of excuses - and trust me they are valid ones! - or I could just write about the most beautiful part of my August.

A day with family stands out in my mind. My parents and Grammy came to pick me up in Washington, D.C. on August 7th. I missed them all summer so it was such a relief to see them and be heading home with them.

We all went to Open City, a great diner suggested to me by the one and only Caitlin Dewey (fellow Kiplinger's intern), and met Rita Golden Gelman for "brunch." Delish. Took a quick trip to Trader Joe's with Rita, then trekked down to Mount Vernon.

Before I went to D.C. my Grammy would tell me stories of Mount Vernon - it really is beautiful. Grammy believes it is the most beautiful place in the whole world, and it made me happy to share it with her.

It feels as though it is frozen in time, maintaining its natural beauty and reminding us of our strong founding father and first president.

Lunch

"The only danger you ever need to worry about is not having any fun."
- From Andy Hughes' Facebook album.

Today I got to get lunch with Professor John Curley. Among many other accomplishments, Prof. Curley was the first editor of USA Today. Imagine my excitement when I found this out. I actually didn't know this until a few weeks into my intro to reporting class, and we had already developed a habit of talking after class every day. He's a great mentor and very down to earth.

The beauty of today: When I told Prof. Curley how I used to worry about what was going to happen after college, he said there's no need to. I'm thankful for my new-found contentment and I'm just going to concentrate on having fun, as I work my way to where I'm meant to be. I'm ready to soak up senior year at Penn State!!

Frescoes in the Capitol

#4 - Our Capitol building is beautiful. Frescoes adorn many of the walls and the man who painted it left empty space to paint future pivotal events in history. I felt so alive being there today in the senate and house press rooms. So cool!

Deena

I had a friend come into town today, Eric Chou. We met at Penn State Abington. The whole plan was for me to get out of work at 4 p.m. so we could get a good amount of time at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, one of the many touristy things I haven't seen yet in D.C.!

Shortly after we arrived at the museum, I got a call from my fellow intern at Kiplinger's who was going to feed the meter for us. The car was towed...

After a few phone calls we figured out that it had been moved to the 1800 block of Pennsylvania Ave. In the meantime, I received an e-mail from Rita. Deena was over who was graciously going to take a few pictures for my story on Rita for the magazine. Deena said she was going to come pick us up.

In the craziness of wondering how the car was doing in its new spot, Eric and I decided it would be best to just go get it. So we asked Deena if she would mind taking us up-town to grab the car. On our way, sitting in traffic among crazed city drivers, Deena started to tell us all that was going on with her preparation for her huge trip to London in just 3 days. And she still agreed to take us.

When we got back to Rita's, even though Deena should have left 2 hours before, she did a photo shoot with Rita, ate dinner with us and was splendid company.

Beautiful moment of day three:
Deena's patience and presence even though other obligations and priorities were pulling her away. Deena you're the greatest!

Topping it off with Pancakes....

I had quite an adventurous day...

I began by doing a run on the Mount Vernon trail that goes all the way from Washington to Mount Vernon! (However, I only ran a 40 minute loop!) Then, lunch in Farragut Park, only a block from my work, where I got to experience the "Fojol Brothers" Indian food truck for the first time...they lay silky blankets on the lawn for you to enjoy your $6 filling lunch! And then after work I headed to the Smithsonian American Art Museum to see some impressionist paintings, the Norman Rockwell exhibit and the hall where Abraham Lincoln had his 2nd inaugural ball.

Beautiful moment of the day:

#2 - I topped off the full day with a full stack of pancakes:-) When you are on a budget and running out of food, sometimes you just need to make due with what you have. It was utterly satisfying, a sweet topping to my fulfilling day.

Up Up & Away

This evening while I was writing in my diary, I sat outside to savor the serene summer twilight - finally a bit "cooler" than its been. And as I worked through the things that currently complicate my life, I came to a realization...a realization that has been yearning to be discovered.

Through the rocky waves I felt like I was riding this summer, I realized there was no point to let myself fall to into their troughs - rather I should be riding their crests. As I'm trying to grow the beauty within my dream lifestyle, why should I be "contending"? There is no one who is intentionally trying to take it from me...

In order for my dreams to come into fruition, I need to cultivate and nurture the beauty of the journey. There may be possibilities out there but I have faith that the beautiful moments of each day will light my path.

From now on, I will share one beautiful moment of each day on my path to realizing my dreams. Instead of getting so defensive, I will instead build upon the positive...after all, I've always been an optimist at heart:-)

1) I started this more positive and balanced lifestyle doing yoga this morning in Water Park - a short 5 minute walk from my apartment in Crystal City. The interjecting sounds of the morning's commute were drowned out by the fountain that my friend Josie called "absolutely beautiful" yesterday :-). As the sun came up, I felt confident and ready to start the day.

(Once you start searching for the most beautiful moment of your day, you realize how many moments you have to pick from!)

That time of the month...

There are days when I feel like I am stumbling through life. I feel disconnected from what is going on around me, forget to complete tasks, pick up my cell phone constantly to see if anyone is thinking of me and can cry at the drop of a hat.

Then I get to the end of the day and no matter what I did do that day - it just doesn't seem like enough, since my mind was constantly preoccupied. I feel ungrateful for what I have, and that makes me even more mad at myself.

Why do I feel this way? (WARNING: I'm going to make a huge joke out of this.) Its that time of the month! That stupid week where girls' hormones go crazy! I don't understand the biology behind it ( if you do, please comment and explain!), but I do know I've felt crappy about myself all week.

I think these days when we feel like we have so much control over our happiness - always having the option to pick up the phone and call mom for some encouragement, text our boyfriends who are miles away and call friends all the way across the country or on the other side of the globe - we forget about the possibility that sometimes your body can just feel downright shitty.

Excuse the language, but to save ya'll from feeling as down on yourself as I have this week, remember that you are allowed the possibility to be in a funk, to not be perfect and miss a few things. One day I'll master the art of not taking things to seriously.

Until then, I'm gonna sleep it off! Goodnight:-)

Possibilities make "presence" difficult

From Rita's final chapter of Tales of a Female Nomad :

"I'm not thinking about the future. While I'm here, wherever that may be (at the moment, its the library in New York), I want to be 100 percent here. One of the most important things I have learned during the past 15 years is how to enjoy and savor the present. When I am writing, I am inside the sound a meaning of the words, playing with them, curving them around each other. When I am eating, I luxuriate in the taste and texture of every bite. When I am alone, I listen to and communicate with the silence within me and the noises and messages of the world around me. And when I am with people, I am really with them."

I believe I have a long way to go to really grasp this concept of living in the present, but it is reassuring that a new friend has a strong-hold on its essence. And I have to admit, when I met Rita the other night - I was very in the present.

The woman I followed around the world in Tales of a Female Nomad is just as passionate and generous in person as she is her book. We met to discuss how I could help with Let's Get Global at her home in D.C. We cooked dinner together - savoring the freshness of the vegetables and herbs contained in Vietnamese Soft Spring Rolls, marveling in the smell and taste of "Chicken cooked in a Thai way" and indulging in Ben and Jerry's coffee heath bar crunch to finish. (Michael, I believe I have met someone who loves food just as much as we do!)

Today I began to research foundations (during my lunch hour) that could be interested in providing us with funding for our movement to encourage kids to take a year off between high school and college to travel abroad. I can't get enough of this research! The possibilities seem endless, along with the possible funds!

I believe truly being present in the present comes a long with doing something you love. And of course being with those you love. What often distracts me from being truly "here" is when I feel far from my dream lifestyle or far from the ones I love. I'll keep Rita's insights in my mind this summer as I work to be more in the present, ignoring "possibilities" and instead focusing on this project (when I'm not in my cubicle wishing I could be working on it).

Simone, I don't know if this offered you any insight on wishing you were somewhere else. We all miss you but I will certainly see you again in August:-) And we can start working on great projects again together with ROTARACT!

This Summer

What a debacle. What a roller-coaster ride...my spring semester 2010. As many of you know (I figured all my readers right now are friends!), I was accepted into the Penn State College of Communications Washington Program back in October 2009. I had an interview about where I wanted to be placed and talked about how I wanted to be a journalist, but I also would love to work for a passionate, world-changing non-profit or organization.

I have a bug for both of these possible professions. I remember getting calls from our coordinator asking whether or not he should send my resume and clippings to a non-profit fighting aids in Africa. I felt that it was necessary I decline to get that "vital" journalistic experience. So that's what I did.

When the new year rolled around, I found out I had been accepted into the Schreyer International Service Project heading to India this summer...Oh, how I wanted to go. I joined the class thinking I could go both to DC and then head to India at the end of the summer. I thought wrong. I had to choose. It was devastating and I didn't know if I was truly doing what I wanted to.

It turns out I can go to India with next year's group, post-graduation. But, here I am in DC for a reason, right?

I was asking myself that a lot, but the other morning as I was on the Megabus! home to Philadelphia, a lady named Cathy made me a twitter account. I looked up a favorite author of mine named Rita Golden Gelman and there she was! A writer embodying in her projects similar passions as mine - for humanity - and her current location is Washington, D.C.

I googled her, I found her on facebook and I just e-mailed her...asking if I could help with her current project called Let's Get Global and the recent release of her newest book, Female Nomad and Friends - all profits are going to help get children living in slums in India into vocational schools (via a Rotary program!).

Perhaps by fate, I was brought to DC. And that possibility that I will be the writer, traveler and lover I imagine will come true. Rita Golden Gelman - please let me help!

I'll keep you all posted on our correspondence and in the meantime check out her new book, I'm going to get my hands on a copy ASAP.

Contending with Possibilities

First of all, I’d like to thank Meg McGinty for introducing me to Blogspot(check out her blog “Invigorate the Ordinary”)...it took me two months to garner the courage to write this first entry. If you know me, you know I’m neurotic, in the oddest sense of the word. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and writing and publishing this blog with MY NAME on it, frightened me tremendously. But here I am, and I’d like to explain why.

Over the past few months, I’ve shifted from embracing all the opportunities and experiences my college education continues to offer me and become defensive – desperately trying to hold on to my dreams. Let me define those for you: I want to be a journalist. I want to be a traveling, story-telling journalist. I want to see the world and embrace people of all walks of life. I want to fight for them. I want to tell their stories. And above all, through these stories I want to help the world to become a more compassionate, understanding whole – together mending all injustices.

I know. It’s a bit ambitious, but those dreams ultimately drive me and I’m worried they are slipping out of my reach. I don’t want to get lost in the shuffle. I’m lucky to have so many opportunities continuously permeating my realm, but they have required me to make difficult decisions. What should I do? What do professional journalists recommend I do? Is this really the path I want to start treading down? So many choices! I feel as though I’m continuously contending with possibilities.

I’d like to take you on this journey, but I have to warn you it will get pretty rocky at times. I may get down to the menial choices such as which metro to take, whether or not to eat another cookie; but I’ll also rant and rave and advocate ways to not lose sight of your dreams. Hopefully, at the end of all of this, I’ll succeed and some of these dreams will come into fruition.

I sure hope not all of you are as frightened as me of your dreams just withering away…

My inspiration for the summer (printed on the cover a beautiful diary Michael Mercuri and I found in “The Islander” on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk):

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” - Eleanor Roosevelt