these lights will inspire you

I just got chills realizing that, this week, I'll be checking #6 off this list.

I've daydreamed about soaking up those big city lights since at least the first time I saw You've Got Mail.

But probably before that.

On the list of things I really want to do are, among other things:

Eating at least one hot dog every single day.

Eating legit New York pizza (my jersey girl roommate raves about it)

Finding a free concert.

Mets game.

Broadway!

Pretend like every night is my birthday.**

And, most importantly: live and breathe the world of advertising. visit big agencies, and little boutiques. take copious notes in the new journal I just bought, and soak up as much knowledge about this industry as my mind can contain.

And I just might buy myself a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils.

**Because, oh yeah, the day after we get back I turn 22. Madness.

I won't have a ton of extra time, apart from the business of Advertising Week, but if you only had one day to do whatever you wanted in NYC, how would you spend it?

image via google

Peter

Peter has always been one of my favorite apostles.

Maybe that's because I can see a bit of myself in him.

He had such incredible faith, and wanted to defend the Lord at whatever cost.

But he is so perfectly imperfectly human.

Because sometimes he made mistakes.

And fell short of his own hopes.

And maybe got a little scared.

And had doubts.

But he was devoted and tried so hard.

He acted on his faith. He lived faithfully and passionately and loved the Lord with all his heart.

And I think he was stronger than he gave himself credit for. He had faith in the Savior, but maybe not always faith in himself.

St. John 21: 7-8 (emphasis added)

7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.

I love that.

He knew.

And he ran to Him.

That's all there is to it.

image via this*

*The painting is from James Tissot's exhibit, "The Life of Christ". It's a beautiful collection of images from the Savior's life. And I especially loved this image of Peter. It just shows how excited and anxious he is to see the Savior. And it seems that he has no doubt that the Savior has returned.

this lovely little poem has been running through my head all day:

I went to a release party for a creative writing journal last night, and I heard the author read this poem.

It was lovely.

And so simple.

And I wanted to share it.

Because I've been thinking about it all day.

And I want to be able to write like this.

So here it is.
Go check it out.

image credit to this little blog.
there are some lovely pictures of food, and delicious-looking recipes. I'll definitely have to try some of them.

Letters to Strangers

I have always loved sending and receiving mail.

Snail mail.

I love papers and cards and stamps and envelopes and wax seals and everything associated with the handwritten word.

For my creative concepts class assignment I was asked to do something I'd never done before.

So I wrote ten little letters.

And found ten addresses, courtesy of the Provo white pages.

For ten strangers.

I wrote a favorite quote on one side, and on the other, some kind of blurb that came out of my head.

A list.

A rambling of scattered thoughts.

A someday inspirational quote.

And maybe these people will hate what I wrote. Or throw it away without even reading it.

But I hope not. I hope that it's one less thing to vent about that day.

I learned that creativity doesn't have to be elaborate, or perfectly organized, or perfect at all. If you wait for it to be perfect, or to have all the right tools, you will never get anything done.

picture taken by my roommate

Love is Not Blind

"Some stupid people started the idea that because women obviously back up their own people through everything, therefore women are blind and do not see anything. They can hardly have known any women. The same women who are ready to defend their men through thick and thin...are almost morbidly lucid about the thinness of [their] excuses or the thickness of [their] head[s]. Love is not blind; that is the last thing it is. Love is bound, and the more it is bound, the less it is blind." (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy)

I just read this speech and I loved it. It's a little long, but definitely worth the time.

It's interesting to think about the different attitudes people have about life and how it's not bad to understand the difference between reality and the ideal, but there must be a balance in order to achieve real happiness.

manifesto for the school year

"Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength."

-August Wilson

There are some things I feel like I've slacked on this summer.

Not that this summer was a failure.

Not at all.

But I feel like I was just so busy and caught up in the many things I was doing (good things, mind you), that I lost a little bit of who I am.

Just a little bit.

I slacked off a little bit in some things that are important to me.

Just a little bit.

This is not me ragging on myself or moping about the past.

This is just me recommitting to a life I love.

A life that is full of passion and character and a few blue recycling bins.

A life of living the principle that less is more.

And that books and music and writing and good quality entertainment are not a waste of time.

That these books mean so much more when I'm not half-asleep.

That playing is just as important to my health as working.

And that learning is a privilege, not a burden.

So I'm going to unpack the boxes in my room, and figure out what to keep, what to get rid of and what to put away until I decide how important it is to me.

And recommit to loving the life God gave me. And remembering what is important.

image from this fabulous girl

"i have measured out my life with coffee* spoons"

For my creative writing class, we are asked to keep a journal and read two poems a day.
I came across the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot and loved it.

"There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,

And time for all the works and days of hands

That lift and drop a question on your plate;

Time for you and time for me,

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,

And for a hundred visions and revisions,

Before the taking of a toast and tea."

It so perfectly describes the stresses of life, while assuring the reader that, "there will be time."

*though I don't drink coffee myself, i love coffee shops, really good hot cocoa, and this line of the poem.

image via deviantart