Imagine (Prompt 17)

Prompt:

Invent the Future by Cindy Gallop

A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flases across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

My favorite quote of all time is Alan Kay: "In order to predict the future, you have to invent it." I am all about inventing the future. Decide what you want the future to be and make it happen. Because you can. Write about your future now.

My Response:

I have long wanted and will probably someday actually get a tattoo of the word imagine. Not because I have any serious connections to the Beatles or John Lennon, although it is a great song, but more because I like the idea of imagining what else is out there. My whole life has been a journey to adventure and explore, simply because I imagined what else the world had in store for me.
When I think about my future I think also think about the future of our world and when I think about that I only want to imagine one thing: peace.
Before you stop reading because this just got all existential and weird, hear me out. Peace, in the purest sense of the world, simply means to live harmoniously together. With other countries. With our families. With our coworkers. With our friends. With ourselves.

I want the future to be a place where we don't make fun of each other for our shortcomings, but celebrate our individuality. A place where we think before we act. A place where we cut each other, and MOST OF ALL ourselves, a damn break every once in awhile. A place where it's okay to mess up, screw up, be a disaster for day, etc. so long as at the end of the day you still treated people with dignity and respect. A place where we don't have to watch the 6:00 PM news to find out what tragedies happened on that day. A place where "nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

Yeah...I think we could all go a little good by imagining a place like that.

Let's make it happen :)

Feeling Young & Alive in Spain (Prompt 16)

Prompt:

Wholly Strange and New by Bridget Pilloud

When good is near your, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; - the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Can you remember a moment in your life when you had life in yourself and it was wholly strange and new? Can you remember the moment when you stopped walking down a path of someone else, and started cutting your own?

Write about that moment. And if you haven't experienced it yet, let the miracle play out in your mind's eye and write about that moment in your future.

My Response:

I could barely finish reading this prompt before my mind got started with this solitary thought: SPAIN!!!!!

I traveled by myself for the first time. Felt more young and alive than ever before. Took a huge risk, got on a plane and studied abroad in a country where I didn't know a soul, still felt terrified to speak the language, and with a group of people I didn't know a thing about.

I missed my friends and family back home, but honestly there wasn't one day that went by that was anything short of amazing. I met amazing-still-keep-in-touch-with-soulmate-type friends, studied a culture that fascinated me more everyday, traveled around the country (and to Paris!), and reveled in the thought that this was my adventure.

Looking back that summer of 2007 feels like a six week dream that was over before it even started, but I know now that is where I can trace back my love of travel, culture, Spanish language, Spanish cuisine, Spanish wine, and the mentality that I am willing to try anything at least once.

I felt uncontrollably happy. Alive with energy and a positive outlook on where my life was headed. Young in the sense that I still viewed the world around me as a place full of adults running around the day-to-day while I went to class from 10 AM-1 PM, sat on the beach, traveled on the weekends, and met friends for drinks every night. I felt lucky and grateful.

Lisa and I spent this whole day on the beach just talking and enjoying the gorgeous coastal town of San Sebastian, Spain on the weekend of my 20th birthday.

My roommate Cassie and I at our favorite place to go meet all our friends for drinks.

A weekend trip to Paris :)

Visit Every MLB Ballpark (Prompt 15)

Prompt:

One Thing Right by Colin Wright

Do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Take a moment, step back from your concerns, and focus on one thing: You have one life to achieve everything you've ever wanted. Sounds simple, but when you really focus on it, let it seep into your consciousness, you realize you only have about 100 years to get every single thing you've ever wanted to do. No second changes. This is your only shot. Suddenly, this means you should have started yesterday. No more waiting for permission or resources to start. Today is the day you make the rest of your life happen. Write down one thing you've always wanted to do and how you will achieve that goal. Don't be afraid to be very specific in how you'll achieve it: once you start achieving, your goals will get bigger and your capability to meet them will grow.

My Response:

To answer this prompt I looked over to my Life List for one of my goals. The first thing I saw was item #1: See a game at all 30 Major League ballparks.

{At Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins}

I love baseball more than any other sport. I love the game, the drama of it, the beer, the hot dogs, the catchers, the 7th inning stretch, the crazy statistics, the feeling of cheering for a hometoen team....everything. I have been to 5 of the 20 MLB ballparks and my goal is to get to the other 25 sometime in this lifetime.

How am I going to make that happen?

1. Prioritize travel in my life.
2. Don't save the hard ones for last! (Hard ones being places that are further away, I don't really want to go to or have somewhat undesirable ballparks - i.e. New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Toronto BlueJays, Florida Marlins)
3. Double up as much as possible! Several major cities have two teams and some parks on the East Coast are pretty close to each other, so whenever possible see two or even three parks in one trip! (Angels/Dodgers, Yankees/Mets, Cubs/White Sox, Oakland/San Francisco)
4. Go visit friends/family who live near ballparks :)

Offers to travel with me, pay for it, or host me in a MLB city near you are welcome.

Long Walk Home* to Minnesota...er...Midwest (Prompt 14)

Prompt:

Alternative Paths by Jonathan Fields

When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name; the way, the thought, the good shall be wholly strange and new. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

The world buzzes about goals and visions. Focus. Create a vivid picture of exactly where you want to go. Dream big, then don't get anything or anyone stop you. The problem, as Daniel Gilbert wrote in Stumbling Upon Happiness, is that we're horrible at forecasting how we'll really feel 10 or 20 years from now - once we've gotten what we dreamed of. Often, we get there only to say, "That's not what I thought it would be," and ask, "What now?" Ambition is good. Blind ambition is not. It blocks out not only distraction, but the many opportunities that might take you off course but that may also lead you in a new direction. Consistent daily action is the only virtue when bundled with a willingness to remain open to the unknown. In this exercise, look at your current quest, and ask, "What alternative opportunities, interpretations and paths am I not seeing?" They're always there, but you've got to choose to see them.

My Response:

The phrase "That's not what I thought it would be" really hit me in this prompt, because that is how I feel each time I come back to Minnesota for a break. For better or worse, you cannot really completely go home again, because it's always going to be a place that reminds you of what was or who you were when you lived there. Not always a reflection on your current state of being. My friend Liz actually just commented yesterday how much my room in my parent's house still looks exactly like it did in high school. Same stars & moons theme everywhere. Same furniture. Same pictures in the same frames. Same everything.

But it's not me. At least not the me that I am right now.

But it could be.

And that is my alternative path. The one I didn't see. Or didn't want to see. Or didn't think was there.

When I graduated college two years ago I was ready to go. Not so much that "get the heck out of here" feeling, but more of a "there is so much to see. must start now." feeling. Minnesota wasn't an option because that was what I knew. The familiar, the comfortable, the place of my childhood. I wanted to explore, chart my own adventure, get out and see things. Experience them for myself.

Now, two years done in Colombia and looking forward to what will probably be my third and last year there, I wonder what is next. And maybe that path I didn't want to see two years ago is an option now. Or at least part of the discussion in "where do I go from here?" There really is nothing like a Minnesota summer to remind you exactly why the Midwest is such a magical part of this gorgeous country. And yeah, maybe I won't end up exactly here...but it might be nice to be a bus ride away instead of two plane rides and a seven-hour-Miami-airport-where-there-is-no-free-WIFI-layover. Just sayin'.

*Did you catch that Springsteen reference, Dad?

Independent Travel (Prompt 13)

Prompt:

Surprise by Ashley Ambirge

I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will trust so that what is deep is holy, if we follow the truth, it will bring us out safe at last. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Think of a time when you didn't think you were capable of doing something, but then surprised yourself. How will you surprise yourself this week?

Response:

Right now I don't think I am capable of surviving yet another delay in my flight home to Minnesota for the summer, but that is another blog post all together. What is something I didn't think I was capable of doing?

Traveling independently.

I mean, I still haven't done a lot of it. And it still makes me nervous to fly alone, take the bus alone, go out on my own in a new city, etc. However, I am getting better at it. Two years ago I took a nine hour bus ride to Pasto, Colombia by myself. Initially, I thought the bus ride would take forever and I would just be nervous the whole time that it wouldn't work out. However, I went to the bus station, got my ticket, got on the bus, chatted with my seat mate and arrived in Pasto at the end of the day. While getting on a bus doesn't seem overwhelmingly difficult, and really it wasn't, the idea of doing it completely alone was initially a little bit daunting. You have no one to turn to for advice if something goes wrong. No one is there to watch your stuff while you go to the bathroom. You have to awkwardly bring all luggage with you in the bathroom stall. You end up chatting up complete strangers while you both sit on the cold, hard ground of Chicago O'Hare Terminal E in attempt to use one of what appears to be the only set of outlets in the entire airport. (Anyone?) Basically you are just on your own - sink or swim.

With that experience under my belt I feel much more at ease traveling by myself or venturing out into new cities on my own to check things out and explore. However, I still prefer to travel with friends so feel free to visit. Let's be honest, I am still a long ways off (maybe never?) from wanting to go on a whole trip by myself.

I'm A Dreamer (Prompt 12)

Prompt:

Fear by Lachlan Cotter

There are the voices we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Is fear holding you back from living your fullest life and being truly self-expressed? Put yourself in the shoes of the you who's already lived your dream and write out the answers to the following:

• Is the insecurity you're defending worth the dream you'll never realize? Or the love you'll never venture? Or the joy you'll never feel?
• Will the blunder matter in 10 years? Or 10 weeks? Or 10 days? Or 10 minutes?
• Can you be happy being anything less than who you really are?

Now Do. The Thing. You Fear.

Response:

Prompts like this are hard for me. I am a dreamer (but I'm not the only one*) by nature. But I am also a doer. I have many life goals on my list, but in some way shape or form I am doing something to make them happen. Maybe they aren't going to happen tomorrow but I have a plan for how to get there.

So the thing I fear? Isn't so much not having my dreams come true. More that who will I be and what will my life look like when I get there?

*From the song Imagine by John Lennon

Their Best Practices in Teaching, Her Clothes & MY Voice (Prompt 11)

Prompt:

Divine Idea by Fabian Kruse

Imitation is suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down in which areas of your life you have to overcome these suicidal tendencies of imitation, and how you can transform them into a newborn you - one that doesn't hide its uniqueness, but thrives on it. There is a "divine idea which each of us represents" - which is yours?

My Response:

Areas of my life in which I attempt to imitate others:

• Teaching
• Clothing/dressing choices (pictures to come but I pretty much wore Kelsi's closet to a party this past weekend)
• Blogging

Teaching I am pretty okay with, because I use a lot of my own ideas anyway and the whole profession is basically improved when we learn best practices from each other. Dressing once in awhile I am okay with too, because Kelsi's adorable and thus I look adorbs (yes, we say that now) in her clothes.

Blogging however, I need to work on keeping my voice and not being insanely jealous of all the other awesome bloggers out there doing any number of cool things. Some days it is hard to look at, read or browse other blogs without comparing them to my own. However, having a blog is about sharing something of yourself. And you cannot really share yourself if you are trying to be someone else.

This whole #trust30 prompt thing is helping though. You cannot really answer these prompts with anything but authentic, real, completely individual answers. I am not hiding one piece of my uniqueness, but instead thriving on it. This month I am my own Divine Idea.

Take that, universe.

Share. (Prompt 10)

Prompt:

Your Personal Message by Eric Handler

To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is burning deep inside of you? If you could spread your personal message RIGHT NOT to 1 million peopole, what would you say?

My Response:

Share.

Someone told me once that our world would not be such a place with such inequity and injustice if we all followed the first lesson we learned in kindergarten. That is: share.

Share everything.

Share our toys. Share our food. Share our resources. Share our time. Share our ideas. Share our dreams. Share our experiences. Share our money. Share our beliefs.

I'm going to go out there and share something today. Are you?

Do What You Love, Love What You Do...or stop doing it. (Prompt 9)

Prompt:

Afraid to Do by Mary Jaksch

The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we loath to disappoint them. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson says: "Always do what you are afraid to do." What is 'too scary' to write about? Try doing it now.

My Response:

What the what is that quote or prompt trying to tell me?

I had to email Kelsi the prompt with the subject line "help?" before I could even get started and only after some extensive help from her and Google did I even get a handle on what that quote might mean.

Basically this - in general, we like to know who we are. We want to know ourselves. We want to be able to answer the cocktail question of "What do you do?" with a concise, wrapped-up-neat-in-a-box answer. We want to be able to write an About Me page without having an existential life crisis at age 23. (No? Just me?)

But life just isn't like that.

Life is messy. We are going to change our minds A LOT. We're going to mess up, say things we regret, say different things to try to make it better and it just keeps going.

This constant state of change is scary.

Scary to think about for ourselves. But even scary to think about our friends considering. Has the phrase "you've changed" ever started a positive conversation? We want to be who we have always been, because that's who your friends chose to be friends with, your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife fell in love with, and well...your family is stuck either way, but you get the idea.

We want things to stay the same. For ourselves and for others. So we stick to our boxes. We color inside the lines. We do what we are supposed to do. We show up for work in the morning. We play the game. We go home, go to bed (way too late for the third night in a row) and get up the next day to do it all over again.

Laaaaaaaaame, right?

Right.

I have a silver ring I wear everyday that mom got my after college graduation and it says "Do what you love, love what you do."

The addendum to that? If you don't love it anymore, stop doing it.

{this is the part where I actually make my point}

You know where there are way too many people who don't love it anymore? Education. Honest to God - I love my profession, I love being a teacher and I have all the respect in the world for anyone who gets up in the morning and teaches anyone, anywhere, anytime.

But those people who are just showing up to make it through one more day? They stink to work with. And that's hard to write about and scary to write about, because it's not very nice and it's judgmental and on some days, hypocritical. But seriously, if you don't love it anymore or if you never did or if you hate it more days than you love it, than what are you still doing here? And how are we all supposed to work together when we have so many different agendas?

The day I start making decisions based on what I personally think my students should learn and not what is based in educational research. Or when I think of my students as little devils out to destroy me on a regular basis and not young people just trying to figure it all out. Or when I think of the upcoming class period, day, week, month or school year with a feeling of dread and not an opportunity. Or I make decisions based on what is easier for me and not best for my students.

Those will be the days I know it's time to move on to something different.

Some people are teacher's for five years. Some are teacher's for a lifetime. I am not sure yet which I will be, but when I figure it out I know I won't hesitate to execute it. Life is too short to work without passion.

And it's too short to work with people whose number one priority isn't this:

What can I do right now, in this moment, today to help __________ learn ___________?

Bet you didn't think that's where this post was going, did you? Yeah....me neither.

Five Years (Prompt 8)

Prompt:

Five Years by Corbett Barr

There will be an agreement in whatever variety of actions, they be each honest and natural in their hour. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

What would you say to the person you were five years ago? What will you say to the person you'll be in five years?

{these are my people, this is where i come from}

My Response:

To the person I was five years ago...

Dear 18-year-Kristin,

See those beautiful girls in that last photo you took the night before you all moved to college? Well, you didn't realize it then, but they were going to hold you together through everything for the next five years. You might not all still talk everyday, but they are your soul mates, your 4 AM phone calls, your core. The people who remind you that home is not just a place, but a feeling. Treat them well. Cherish them. Visit them in college (more than once, even though you get busy). Do not under any circumstances let them settle for being the very best, most intelligent, sexy, kind-hearted women you know. Help them make their dreams come true.

Speaking of college - good call on choosing University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. You don't know it now, but in five years that little city on the Mississippi will hold as much a place in your heart as Minnesota does. When it comes time to leave it all behind for the next adventure you will find yourself shocked at how fast the time went by. In fact, you will probably regret any moments you didn't spend making the most of it, so revel in those times that it made you feel young and alive. Roller-blading with Anna through the marsh trail. Standing in line for Jeff & Jim's Pizza at 2 AM. Tutoring students in the math tutor center. Running into friends at Murphy Library late at night. The first sunny days of spring when the campus comes alive with activity.

As for that boy you're dating? Well, it doesn't last forever, but you will know more about yourself in two years than you ever could have imagined. I wish the whole experience wouldn't make you guard your heart so closely in the future, but someday you will open it up again. And you will still call that boy your friend in five years, so it works out okay.

As for your dreams? To become a teacher, to study abroad, to make lots of new friends and stay close to the old, to go out into the world and make it your own? Yeah, they pretty much all come true. You work hard for it, but you get a lot of help along the way - don't ever forget to be grateful for that.

And 23 is so completely the new 18 - the best is yet to come ;) See you in the future

-Kristin

To the person I will be in five years...

Oh heyyy there gorgeous,

Guess what? You probably still have no idea where the crazy path of life is taking you, but you have accepted it so much more. Plus, it helps that you have a fabulous job teaching in Chicago Public Schools with colleagues who inspire you and students you care about.

You remain eternally grateful for the experiences and people you met while teaching in Colombia, but you came home when you were ready to and it was the perfect time. These years of living closer to family and friends again have been invaluable to your happiness. Plus in a few months you will be able to get together with Joe and Michael to take Danny out for his 21st birthday...so I mean, obviously your presence in the Midwest is essential.

Speaking of essential...where did you ever end up on that whole love thing? Please tell me we married a boy who plays guitar. For obvious reasons. But seriously, is it someday yet? Did you open up a heart long afraid to feel? Cause if you haven't....well...get it together. Pronto. Cause I think we might be missing out on that one.

As your twenties come to a close, stay true to the things that got you here - faith, loyalty, relationships, laughter and passion.

And you better have already started planning a fabulous 30th birthday trip.

During which you will take stunning photographers, cause oh yeah, you're a photographer now. Mad props.

Stay fabulous,

Kristin Mauer

I Will Be A Photographer (Prompt 7)

Prompt:

Dare to Be Bold by Matt Cheuvront

Our arts, our occupations, our marriages, our religion, we have not chosen, but society has chosen for us. We are parlour soldiers. We shun the rugged battle of fate, where strength is born. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Next to Resistance, rational thought is the artist or entrepreneurs worst enemy. Bad things happen when we employ rational thought, because rational thought comes from the ego. Instead, we want to work from the Self, that is, from instinct and intuition, from the unconscious.

A child has no trouble believing the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. Its only you and I, with our big brains and our tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” - Steven Pressfield, Do the Work

The idea of “being realistic” holds all of us back. From starting a business or quitting a job to dating someone who may not be our type or moving to a new place – getting “real” often means putting your dreams on hold.

Today, let’s take a step away from rational thought and dare to be bold. What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to accomplish but have been afraid to pursue? Write it down. Also write down the obstacles in your way of reaching your goal. Finally, write down a tangible plan to overcome each obstacle.

The only thing left is to, you know, actually go make it happen. What are you waiting for?

My Response:

I want to be a photographer.

Not someone who takes casual pictures on vacation, but someone who takes powerful pictures. Pictures that mean something to someone. Pictures that I want to look at years later and not just post on Facebook. When I look at work from some of the best photographers I feel something. I want to create that feeling.

What's stopping me? Lack of knowledge, lack of experience and lack of proper equipment.

You cannot be a photographer with a hot pink Canon Powershot with 12.1 megapixels. You also cannot be a photographer without surrounding yourself with other great photographers to inspire you. Also, I am a visual learner, so I don't think I can be a self-taught photographer.

I will be a photographer.

My plan: when I move back to the States, take six months to get settled and then get started with some sort of community education class or community college class on photography. Live in a big city that inspires me to go for long walks with my camera.

After I gain some knowledge about how to be a great photographer, get myself a camera that I am proud to use. Start saving for said camera now (I kind of already am, but I need to actually decide what is "life savings" and what is "super cool camera savings")

Until then - practice, practice, practice. If you want to be a writer, you write. So if I want to be a photographer, I will take photos.

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.

Don't Waste One Minute (Prompt 6)

Prompt:

Come Alive by Jonathan Mead

Life wastes itself while we are preparing to live. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you had one week left to live, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? In what areas of your life are you preparing to live? Take them off your To Do list and add them to a To Stop list. Resolve to only do what makes you come alive.

Bonus: How can your goals improve the present and not keep you in a perpetual “always something better” spiral?

My Response:

One week, huh? Well with seven days left to live I cannot claim that I would want to spend five of them working, so I may not be doing exactly what I am doing now.

But...it would be pretty darn close. At the end of every crazy "I cannot believe my students did that today" school day I still love being a teacher. Every day my life is put into perspective by the lives of my students. I remember what it was like to be 13 and worry about what your best friends really thought of you. I remember that feeling that none of us would ever "figure it all out". I remember worrying about what high school would be like. Now, the ability to look back on those experiences fondly helps me to be a better teacher.

I tell my students not to take themselves too seriously and that things in life have a funny way of working out exactly like they are supposed to. In doing so I am reminded that tomorrow isn't guaranteed for any of us. So let's get out there and enjoy THIS MOMENT. The one happening right now.

Oh man we were livin’

Didn't waste one minute

We talked and drank and danced and said goodbye

We laughed until we cried.

-Jason Aldean, Lauhed Until We Cried

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.

One Place in the World? Try MANY places in this world. (Prompt 5)

Prompt:

Travel by Chris Guillebeau

If we live truly, we shall see truly. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not everyone wants to travel the world, but most people can identify at least one place in the world they’d like to visit before they die. Where is that place for you, and what will you do to make sure you get there?

My Response:

Ahhhhhh I don't have ONE place, I have A MILLION places. The author of this prompt says, "not everyone wants to travel the world", BUT I DO!! Here is a sampling of where I want to go.

I want to walk then run with excitement through the Alhambra in Spain.

I want to bike my way from winery to winery in Mendoza, Argentina.

I want to sail on a boat in Venice, Italy with a cute boy at my side a la the ending to Italian Job. If that boy ends up being Mark Wahlberg, well then hey, that's a bonus.

I want to road trip through all the great national parks in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, California, New Mexico and more.

I want to watch a game in every single Major League ball park in the United States (plus that pesky one in Canada).

I want to get out there and live on the Great Ocean Road in Australia.

I want to visit my friends and family wherever they end up in this world.

I don't have a single travel goal. I have life goals (or a life list, rather) that include a lot of travel.

And I am going to do them all. How? By working hard so I can play hard. By remembering that saving is important and not so hard if you put your mind to it. By investing in experiences and not in super nice things. By believing in myself, in these goals and the belief that you can do absolutely anything if you put your mind to it.

So see you out there, world.

It's going to be absolutely fabulous.

All images courtesy of Google images.

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.

Patience: My Biggest Challenge (Prompt 4)

The Prompt:

Post-It Question by Jenny Blake

That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. Where is the master who could have taught Shakespeare? Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin, or Washington, or Bacon, or Newton? . . . Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare. Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Identify one of your biggest challenges at the moment (ie I don’t feel passionate about my work) and turn it into a question (ie How can I do work I’m passionate about?) Write it on a post-it and put it up on your bathroom mirror or the back of your front door. After 48-hours, journal what answers came up for you and be sure to evaluate them.

{yes, my bathroom is rubber ducky themed}

My Response:

My mother always says, "Patience is a virtue". I usually respond with "Only if you have it". Maybe it's about time I figure out how to find myself some.

Results pending.

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.

I Needed To Do This (Prompt 3)

Prompt:

One Strong Belief by Buster Benson

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

My Response:

I had a hard time thinking about a response to this. For the most part I have surrounded myself with people whose core beliefs, those things that really shape who they are at the very heart of things, are similar to my own. Then I re-read the quote about and thought about "the independence of solitude". Doing something for yourself, and not other people. Of going at it alone, even if the going gets tough.

That's exactly what I am doing. Have been doing for two years. Will be doing for at least one more. When I was 21 years old I went to a job fair in northern Iowa and made a decision within 48 hours to leave the only place I had ever called home in search of something more in Colombia. A job, yes. But also a lifestyle of travel, of adventure, of exploring. A view of the world that expanded beyond middle America.

At the time I realized the impact this decision would have on those around me, but it is only in hindsight that I can see just how different this decision was from those of my peers. I mean, we are all searching for something...but not everyone moves to a different continent to find it. And while there are times I miss the places, the things, and most of all the people who make Minnesota home, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that I wasn't ready to just settle down and stay there.

We all have our own paths in life, and that just wasn't mine.

Maybe someday.

But that day just isn't today.

So, that's it - my strong belief that isn't shared by everyone.

The belief that I needed to do this. That moving far away from the people you need, who also need you back, isn't incredibly selfish, but rather demonstrates the passion I have for living my very best life.

As for what I have done to actively live this belief? See the last two years of my blog for references... ;)

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.

Laugh Until It Hurts (Prompt 2)

Like I said in Prompt 1, I got started with #Trust30 a few days late, so this post isn't actually written for June 1, but rather June 4. Oops.

The Prompt:

Today by Liz Danzico

Your genuine action will explain itself, and will explain your other genuine actions. Your conformity explains nothing. The force of character is cumulative. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

If ‘the voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks,’ then it is more genuine to be present today than to recount yesterdays. How would you describe today using only one sentence? Tell today’s sentence to one other person. Repeat each day.

My Response:

Today I saw the Hangover 2. I am not going to claim it was a life-changing movie or really even blog-worthy if not for this prompt. What I can say is that in all of it's smoking monkey-same basic plot as the first movie-Bradley Cooper looks gorgeous even in a sweater vest-that could never happen in real life ridiculousness, it was laugh out loud funny. The kind of laughter that comes from your belly and makes you double over in glee.

My quote in my senior yearbook included that line from Billy Joel that says, "We might be laughing a bit too loud, but that never hurt no one." So that's it, that's my sentence for today.

Today I hung out with my friends and we laughed heartily out loud together at everything, and nothing, in particular.

And it was a good day.

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.

Going For It: Trust30 Challenge (Prompt 1)

Since December I have self-admittedly been a pretty terrible blogger. The new-ness of Colombia has worn off and I just don't feel like things happen on a daily basis that I necessarily need to write about. However, on the other hand, my roommate Kelsi has gone the other way and is becoming a more impressive blogger with each new post.

I miss that. That feeling of just writing it all down, because let's face it, we all have something to say. Even if no one is reading.

So when I read this, I knew it would be an awesome way to kick start by blogging again.

"To celebrate Emerson's 208th birthday, The Domino Project is republishing a work of art that's especially relevant today. Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson urges readers to trust their intuition rather than conforming to the will of the majority. #Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey"

Although the challenge officially started on May 31, I am going to use this long weekend (yes, Monday is another of those oh so lovely Colombian holidays where I do not have to go to school!) to catch up.

Here is the first prompt with my response. Enjoy and think about doing this yourself - you don't have to have a blog; just jot down your thoughts in a journal, on a napkin or talk to someone about it. Happy writing! :)

Prompt:

Gwen Bell - 15 Minutes to Live

We are afraid of truth, afraid of fortune, afraid of death, and afraid of each other. Our age yields no great and perfect persons. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You just discovered you have fifteen minutes to live.

1. Set a timer for fifteen minutes.

2. Write the story that has to be written.

Response:

Fifteen minutes, huh?

If I had fifteen minutes left to live, the story I have to write is not so much my story, because in the grand scheme of things I don't feel that important to the world as a whole.

No, the story that needs to be written is about something we spend hours thinking about, talking about, blogging about, obsessing about; that is --- what's the freaking point?

You know that quote, I don't know who said it and with fifteen minutes to live I am not spending time to look it up, but someone once said, "Life sucks and then you die." Sometimes life feels like that, you know? All of the thingsjust pile up and you have all of the feelings and it just seems like it shouldn't be quite so hard.

It's not.

Life isn't a crapshoot at all. Life is about the connections we make and the way we make them. Life is about the people in our lives for a moment, the people in our lives for a season and the people in our lives forever. So, with my last 8 minutes, here are my thoughts on the people who have been been the point, the ones who have made me stop wondering what the point is and instead, decide to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

1. To my parents for getting me here, literally and figuratively. The consistency of your love and support is unconditional. You taught me to find the very best things in myself, in others and in life, and then hold on to them.

2. To my brothers for teaching me what it is to care so much about another person's happiness and well-being that sometimes your heart breaks with the empathy you feel for another person. For making me into a better person simply because I am your big sister and I want you to be a person you can look up to.

3. For Ilse, for being my best friend, my better half, my sounding board for all of life's decision, my anytime & anywhere phone call, and a person who not only believes the world can be a better place, but a person who gets out there and makes. it. happen.

4. For Liz, Kate, Allison, Katie, Maria and Anna, who taught me that you can go anywhere in this world, but the people who truly get you, who can understand you, who don't need five different backstories in order to understand the current one, are few and far between, so find them and hold them as close to you as you can.

5. For Kelsi, who made me realize you will never be too far along in life to meet your once-in-a-lifetime friend.

6. For Alex, who inspires me to dream with an open heart and to go after what I want. And who taught me that some friendships are worth the growing pains to fight for.

It's minute 14 now, and you know the best part?I could keep going for another 15 hours with the people in my life who have made it all matter. That's something I don't think about everyday, but I should because it makes me realize that the emotions I express outwardly shouldn't be frustration with my students, sassiness with life, or anxiety about what happens next. No, the emotion I most feel looking back on 23 years and 10 months of life with 15 minutes to write about it is most certainly grateful.

I am grateful for all of it.

#Trust30 is an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.