Life is a Journey

"Life is a journey, not a destination" is the quote I ended my very first blog post with. This is the quote that kickstarted my life changes this past year. I vaguely alluded to it again in my second blog post when I mentioned that it was the feast day for St. Therese of Lisieux, aka October 1st.

I have always loved this quote - even before it was connected to St. Therese's feast day or any major life changes for me like it was last year. I think it is a wonderful statement about how we ought to live our lives. We spend so much time aiming for this goal or that goal and once we reach those, we immediately set the next one, without stopping to smell the flowers or really thinking about what we've experienced and learned from the process.

I am all too guilty of committing this crime, and when I do so for too long, I usually end up having some sort of breakdown. I think my experiences

the past several months have been one of those times. In the spring my life became a blur of activity where my daily thought was "Just get through
this and then you'll be okay" or something of that nature. Life and it's challenges became things to plow through rather than to experience and grow from.

The problem is that when we approach life as something we just have to get to the end of, we miss all the wonderful things that happen in the middle. We are too quick to hold on to the bad things and forget the good. When we live our lives this way, we can easily be dragged down by the negativity and forget all about those good the emotions and experiences that we never processed, and it all goes downhill from there. When we live our lives as though they are a journey for us to experience, we live in the moment, reflect on our own actions and growth, and feel happier about our lives.

It has been exactly one year since I began this new phase in my life. While it has not been easy, and I definitely did not look at every experience as part of a journey but rather a destination, those moments I have been able to reflect on have been some of the most memorable points of my life. The times I saw my own journey, my own growth, my own happiness. So here's to another year on this journey we call life! Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers every once in a while ;)

"The world's thy ship and not thy home." ~St. Therese of Lisieux

Pax,
Kay

Aaaannnd...I'm back!

After a ridiculously long hiatus, I have finally found enough time and energy to get this blog up and running again! So what has happened in the 6 months (to the day) since my last post?

1) I received first Communion and Confirmation! April 12, 2015 at the Chapel of Immaculate Conception on the campus of Mount St. Mary's University. Details to come :)

2) I got a new job! I am one of the newest members of the Hall Director crew at Southern Illinois University.

3) I finished graduate school and am now the proud recipient of a Masters of Business Administration!

4) I did all the typical Maryland-y things I needed to do before leaving the state for God knows how long. I spent 2 weekends in Ocean City - both with my nana, one with Juliana (she picked crabs for the first time!) - went to 2 Orioles games, and had some time with my family.

5) I bought a new car! Meet Jack, as in Jack Sparrow, as in the name of the color is Black Pearl and I tried calling my car Pearl but didn't like it so I went with Jack.

6) I went to Europe! Many future posts will detail my escapades across the pond! I particularly loved this view from the Piazza Michelangelo!

7) I moved to Illinois *see number 2* Here's a look the community I oversee and live in as an HD.

8) I made some new friends! The photo on the left is a rare glimpse inside student staff training for Hall Directors. We had fun with Twin Day! On the right is a photo from Dawgs' Nite Out, an event for students to see what life is like at SIU!

9) Got a FitBit in the hopes that I would be inspired to be active more. That worked for about a week... But every day is a chance to try again, right?!

10) Found a new church to attend...and joined the choir! On my first day at practice the choir director said "So, you're gonna be an alto" and my reply was "oh greeeaatttt" with a look of fear stamped across my face because I've never been much of a singer outside of the shower, and I was going to be one of two altos!

I'll be back tracking a little bit over the next several posts to share some more details (and photos, naturally) about my adventures! I'm super excited to resume blogging again, especially being so far from my friends and family and wanting to keep everyone in the loop!

Pax,
Kay