Sadness or, perhaps, discontentedness, puts our own eyes on our own selves more often and more concentrating than we may even desire to. While dwelling on our sadness might be the immediately just thing to do, becoming further engrossed in ourselves, I believe, will never be the answer to long-term justice. Perhaps the happiest of happiness lies in becoming comfortably able to rest in the valley between distractingly content and desperately longing.

"Things don't end unless they end badly."

The nice thing about the blog-world is that if you want to remain inconspicuous, the myriad of people it contains makes said task completely and utterly possible. I was always into journal-writing or scholastic writing. Now, the journal thing isn't working for me. And well, my schooling is done for the moment. I've always been taught society embraces the exotic. Perhaps the same is true on a scale less-grand. Perhaps, by indulging myself into a blog for a bit, will get me back into what I really love: penciling on a illusionary 'simple' sheet of paper. In short, I am trying to trick myself into becoming tired of typing my words, and by default, re-learning the love of writing my words. I am going to assume no one is reading. I's prefer it that way for now.

There are, it seems, three ways to occupy the mind. It can dwell in the past, the present, or the future. However, only one can possibly encompass all three. When I dwell on the past, I find it impossible to simultaneously mull over the future. When I dwell in the future, I find it difficult to think of the past (I assume some would argue this is a viable option, for how could dwelling in the past move me forward?) When I am fully encompassed by the present, however, is the only time I am able to be present and active in all three worlds, which I would argue, is necessary. Being fully and actively present...in the present allows for multitask-thinking. This bring be to one of my favorite quotes,

"And as my very essence is a verb...I am more attuned to verbs than nouns. Verbs such as confessing, repenting, living, loving, responding, growing, reaping, changing, sowing, running, dancing, singing, and on and on. Humans, on the other hand, have a knack for taking a verb that is alive and full of grace and turning it into a dead noun or principle that reeks of rules: something growing and alive dies. Nouns exist because there is a created universe and physical reality, but if the universe is only a mass of nouns, it is dead. Unless "I am," there are no verbs, and verbs are what makes the universe alive."

When I am active in the present, I have time to be reminded of the past and hope towards the future: two things I cannot do when I am thinking in either of the other two realms. Each is equally valuable, simply not equally attainable.

Ushering in fall

Life in Athens is in full swing for me this Fall.

Week one of classes has come and gone and I thoroughly enjoyed the get-out-of-jail-free card as far as homework goes. It's picking up and along with it, so is my procrastination. I am a senior this year and am still convinced procrastination is they way in which to produce the best work. There's no two ways around it. If any of my professors read this my chance, I'm not talking about your class, of course.

This semester marks a first, I have scaled down to 4 classes. Though I'm still getting the hang of managing empty time (there's something about being filled to the brim with things to do that get things done), I am confident there are plenty of things that could fill my time in place of those one or two missing classes, a few of those being a very cute little future guide dog puppy (her name's Irish), Athens church small group, being 21 (modestly, of course ;-) ), etc.

I am excited to announce I'm doing a few things to beef up my resume in my last two semesters that will hopefully send me into my career path with a few more weapons...tools? I am getting back into writing for the University of Georgia's newspaper, the Red and Black and am editor for a class-produced magazine (in the works). Excited :).

But for now, I'm off to try one of Athens best, Cali and Tito's.

Love.

Coffee and Newness

I'd love to get the hang of writing a blog. It makes me feel poetic, pensive. I feel like it would somehow solidify my calling as a writer.

I'm sitting in the best little coffee shop I've found in Athens thusfar. It's called 2story and as far as I can tell, 2story and I are going to be buddies: study buddies, blog buddies, prayer buddies, laughing buddies, date buddies?

It's cute; makes me feel a little more anchored with all these changes going on. I always thought I'd be someone who is relatively accustomed to change, like maybe I'd greet is more like a welcomed guest than an unwanted cable guy. And so far, I have. For the most part, I have found myself welcoming the new apartment, new town, new responsibilities, new job, new school, new food, and new atmosphere with wide open arms. I'm leanring what freedom is and what it isn't, how there is One who offers freedom inexpressible. I feel myself tapping into it. It has very little to do with the tangibility of newness and much more to do with the opening of my heart. I'll keep you posted.