school break free time

today started pretty poorly, mostly as a result of the cold and rain on my walk to work. when i got to work i saw an email from my supervisor telling me that the career center at cmu basically doesn't have much for the interns to do while students are gone, so we probably won't work over break. which is cool if you don't need money, but i kinda do. no use crying over spilled milk, though, since there isn't much wiggle room as far as coming up with a project to keep us busy. it occurred to me halfway through the morning, though, that i am being immeasurably blessed with a gift that will become more and more rare as my life progresses: free time.

so upon returning from the Beitzel-Rittase wedding on december 19th, i will have 18 days of freedom before returning to work, save for a couple major holidays and a few classes. i also won't have much of an income, so saving money will be key.

knowing all of this, i started making a list at lunch today of all the things i've wanted to do since life got so busy. what would i do if i had entire free days to literally do whatever i want? well, here are some ideas...

clean my room.
write and record a few songs.
write a short story.
revise my already written story.
play with my nieces and nephews.
read!
apply for jobs.
work ahead for next semester (yea right).
cook delicious things.
paint.
blog.
visit with friends.
enjoy inexpensive nights of games and/or talking.
help my dad or matt with home improvement projects.
clean my car.
practice piano.
go to a matinee.
explore the strip district and other grocery stores.
create a prayer station for the open door.
visit museums.

this is just the tip of the iceberg. so many great ideas, plenty of time to do a lot of them, for once. my life will rarely be this way, so i need to take advantage. and now i've told all of you, so hold me to it.

so what should i make sure to do?

what would you do with two free weeks?

a second try

today i was getting depressed about growing up. it stinks, but we all do it i guess. finishing school, (hopefully) getting a job, sinking into the "real world". i even wrote a blog about it. but then i deleted the blog. it was depressing and more negative than i'd like. here's to a second chance.

instead of griping, i'll just talk about how blessed i am. i know i express my thankfulness a lot, but i don't think i can do it enough.

i have an incredible family and group of friends who have taught me how to show love in everything i do. i saw many of these friends this past weekend at rob and chelsea's wedding in philly, and for this i'm thankful. pictures and memories of times spent with these people will always bring a smile to my face.

i have an expression and an escape through music. i often overlook my ability to play music because so many of my friends are musically talented, but i am so thankful for my ability to play multiple instruments. playing an original song with two of my roommates last night was worth losing sleep for. my mood was instantly improved today by listening to hellogoodbye on my walk home, which reminded me of many of my friends, and then again when taking back sunday had a new track online. music gives me so much of the energy i need when i listen to the right song.

and i'm thankful for God. i don't always try to push my Christian agenda on people through my blog, but the fact is that i'm a Christian and i hope that that fact is obvious through my actions. but God has put these people and this music and these talents in my life for a reason. the reason for things isn't always obvious, but eventually it shows it's face and makes a lot of sense. all we can do is be thankful for every day we have and hope that the plan gets us where we want to go. little do we know that where we want to go is good, but where God wants us to go is better. i love getting to that better place and remembering that my "good" plans aren't worth worrying about.