Quote of the Day 1/10/14

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”       [Elisabeth Kübler-Ross]

2013: A year well lived

Hard to believe that 2013 will be referred to as "last year" in just a few short days. This time last year, I sat down to think about what 2013 would be like and what it would bring. I don't make some long list of resolutions but I did sit down and write myself a letter of hopes and desires, things I hoped that maybe it would bring, things I could work on, and people I could look out for. Rereading the letter a year later, some of things happened and turned out well, some things turned out completely not as expected, some didn't happen and some ill be resubmitting on my 2014 letter.

But overall, I can say that 2013 was one eventful year. What did I do? I guess I kinda did a lot...

I started back at Point Loma after re-adjusting back to life in America after Italy. Moved to San Diego officially into my own home sweet home. Went to the presidential inauguration. Saw Beyonce. Interviewed by British news. Celebrated with friends at their graduation. Landed an ideal student dream job (and paid internship). Had my first summer in San Diego. Explored Seattle. Arranged a secret flash dance mob. Watched free fireworks every night of the summer, courtesy of Sea World. Had the time of my life in the Mansour-Young wedding as a bridesmaid. Felt and turned 22. Surprised with the most incredible birthday party. Started my final year of undergraduate education.Went back home to my childhood land of Georgia. Was a bridesmaid in a childhood friend's wedding. Wished upon a star and woke up the next day with and internship offer by a Dining Magazine. Went to the Getty finally. Crossed the Mexico-CA border by food (just to go to dinner for the night). Ate food from about 100+ restaurants. Learned the ins and outs of the San Diego restaurant industry. Saw John Mayer, Train and Phillip Phillips in concert. Fell in love with exercise. Picked apples in Julian, CA. Ate a cronut. Participated in a swap meet scavenger hunt. Went to Mexico for a surprise family vacation. Traveled to Arizona, had a blast exploring Fountain Hills and seeing the world's largest fountain. Represented Dining Out at the San Diego Food and Wine Festival. Cooked my first 20 person dinner. Met Richard Blais and Sharone Hakman.Went to the San Diego Symphony. Best friend/roommate got engaged (so honored to be your bridesmaid!) Survived my 2nd to last finals ever. Raced in the mountains. Hiked in the mountains and celebrated the best Christmas yet with my wonderful family.

Quote of the Day 12/18/13

"And then I will look a little more carefully with a little more love at my surroundings, to listen to what can be heard in the depths of the wreckage. The footsteps of friends on the deck. The calls on my phone from family. The texts of kindness. The emails of opportunity. The likes and the comments and the hearts and the replies from every other broken heart. When the army doesn’t come for you, when no one chooses to fight for you, when no one dives in after you with fairy tales and promises, you write a different story. You write a tale of adventure and chaos, of survival and fortitude, and instead of wishing to be saved, you save yourself. "        [Kelton Wright]

Quote of the Day

“We cannot rely on ourselves, for we have learned by bitter experience the folly of self-confidence. We are compelled to look to the Lord alone. Blessed is the wind that drives the ship into the harbor. Blessed is the distress that forces us to rest in our God."      [Charles H. Spurgeon]

A post worth sharing

This link was shared with me today and I couldn't help but share it on my blog. I love the writer's open and honest remarks on what really matters in love and ultimately marriage. The post below is taken from the writter's blog. It is some serious food for thought.

__(insert suggestions here)___

In an attempt to name this post appropriately, I found myself on Google quest, searching through dictionaries, posts and blogs. When the dictionaries failed me, I turned to good old trusted Wikipedia. 

Originally this post was titled “content” but then Wikipedia defined bliss as: “Bliss is an emotional state that is characterized by perfect happiness (feelings of enjoyment, pleasure, and satisfaction,” I couldn’t help overlook the words “perfect happiness.” This led me to attempting to figure out what exactly “perfect happiness” means.

This led me on another Google search, to find out what the 1037345836430480 Google users around the world believe perfect happiness is. 

Let’s just say I found answers from one extreme side of the spectrum to the other. Infamous Yahoo! Questions had a user who posted the question “How to acquire perfect happiness?” and which the best answer chosen by the voters was “drugs or brain damage…. Happiness is a mish-mash of emotions, and it is loosely defined by its symptoms.” 

Google provided me with 41 million (to be exact) pages of results and skimming some of the pages, words such as nature, family, good book, house stood out, there were also debates of “god exists” and “no he doesn’t.” 

Even the Wall Street Journal had an opinion on the matter and  put a monetary value in the mix and reported that “the perfect salary for happiness is $75,000.”

Now I don’t know how happiness can be found through money or books or trees but I do know that no matter who you are, where you live and what you do, all you want at the end of the happy is to be happy and you want to be the real kind of happy. 

Perfectly Happy. 

Always Happy. 

Am I right....? 

When life gives you lemons….

    …. you make lemonade right? Well, then I am giving in and making lemonade. Lemon cayenne agave lemonade that is. Its sweet with a kick of sass, kind of like my personality ;).
     In all seriousness though, the next 2 weeks will be a challenge for me. I'd probably be happier making lemon bars or something. But after a few weeks of dwelling on it and a little push from my church's 40 day fast mission, I've decided to give my body, mind and soul a cleansing and a re-start. Call me crazy, and some of you have, but the master cleanse is something that has been put on my heart. It's not for everyone and in no way do I claim to be a licensed professional but with my past experiences, it works. 
     At first glance, it's quite illogical. Lemons, syrup, pepper, tea and water is all you get for how ever many days you commit to (the minimum amount is 10 days). Trust me, it's a mental battle above all. You feel out of touch of reality when you aren't able to delight in eating out, popcorn at the movies or a grande vanilla latte. But 10 days + 3 days of "easing out" = wow, I feel a whole lot better. I've just been feeling like, well, crap. Somethings wrong and it's time to fix it.

Roma Roma Mia

Still can't believe this was real life.

 Editors Note: Please excuse my lateness on this post, but I figured better late than never :)  

Okay this is actually Budapest… but I kinda left a piece of my heart there too!

     4 countries, 18 cities and 100 amazing days later, I am back in the grind. The adventure I had waited for what seemed like forever came and went in a glimpse. I no longer wake up to the noise of nuns protesting, run downstairs to get my daily cappucino from a little old man named Giovanni, get harassed on the metro on the way to school or pass by the Vatican on my nightly runs. It still seems crazy that just a few weeks ago, Rome was my home and Italian life became the norm. The pavement I walked held more story then the entire state of California. But as they say… "all good things most come to an end." My trip may have come to an end, but the learning, memories and friendships made have not. What happens in Rome, does not have to stay in Rome and nor do I want it to. I am proud of the journey I made and the impact my trip has made on the rest of my life. 

Yeah, all the dessert was to die for. Brought a new meaning to death by dessert

  If you knew me prior to my trip, you knew I could not wait to go to Italy. It could not come soon enough; September could not come quick enough. I landed in Florence on the evening of September 6 and despite my rough flight, late night and inability to adjust properly to time change, it all felt so unreal. I was here, in Italy, afters months and months of waiting. Yet the next night when my parents dropped me off, things became very real and actually a little depressing. I was going to be away for a long long time (or so it seemed at the time) and despite all the wonders and glories that Europe had to offer… my family would be miles and miles away. In that moment, my eagerness quickly faded and I was left standing with a room full of suitcases and a handful of Kleenex. 
     
     In true Lydia fashion, the homesickness comes right away and as fast as it comes, it also leaves. Looking back today, Italy gave me the journey and adventure of a lifetime. I lived with 5 other girls, each of us so vastly different.. in personality, in style, in belief and in daily routine. But that was the beauty of 114 Viale di Trastevere, we learned to live, compromise and communicate with each other and came to find that maybe we  weren't so different from each other after all. We all had the same fears, failures, heartbreaks and heartaches.. we all missed our families and american food and venti sized lattes.. and at the end of the day, all we wanted to be is to be understood. Perhaps some of us will cease to exist in each others lives and some of us will only strengthen our newly grown friendships, but the point is that we grew on our own because we grew together. 
    People ask me why I chose Italy and apart from the obvious response of "why not?" there is another part to the story. My political science program at Point Loma may have required a semester abroad, but it was something I knew I wanted to do long before I even went to school. I always knew I wanted to go abroad and was set on London for years but one day, something within me changed and to be honest, it wasn't my choice, it was made by the man upstairs. I had prayed about study abroad for a long time and one morning I woke up with complete peace and confidence just knowing that Rome was it. It was settled and done and doubt never again crossed my mind.

Quote of the Day 7/1/12

"Storms make trees take deeper roots."                        [Dolly Parton]

Jan/Feb/March/April Update?

I've been gone for a while and I wish it wasn't so. There has been so much I have wanted to write and share but frankly, theres just no enough hours in the day. Things have been so chaotic and busy that last time I checked, I was unwrapping Christmas presents and now I am 4 weeks away from being done with my second year of school. Crazy huh? 

Despite all the busyness life consistently entails, one thing has been present... every. single. day. Ready for it? Well, joy. Pure, unending, consistent joy. The greatest thing I have learned is to find yourself knee deep in the so many errands, assignments, and duties but to have a calm and joyful heart. Never in my life have I been happier or felt so fulfilled. Here's a brief example from today: I spent a few hours going to the bank, to the store, and other miscellaneous tasks and as I drove with my windows down, the 73 degree sun and breeze shinning down, the only thing I could do was smile and laugh. This is the day that the Lord has made, and it was just perfect.

Life Lessons With Lydia (and a Nov/Dec update)

The past few weeks have been exhausting, exhilarating, and educational:exhausting because you run on minimal sleep, exhilarating because life always throws a curveball or three and educational because well, you never stop learning. I have not written in a few weeks but in the meantime, I have been thinking and reflection about what I want to write. There is so much I have experienced and wrestled with the past few months but along the way I have discovered life lessons to abide by and things that naturally, I also struggle with. Ignore my cheesy title, I promise you will find these life lessons very applicable.

Things I've come to realize over the past year

There have been so many changes in the past year/year and a half. So much joy, excitement, pain and worry and throughout it all I have come to learn little things about myself and life and whatever else happens to cross my mind. Here's a few...


1. College makes you extremely money conscience.
    It's not like I have ever been a crazy spender. I have been working since junior high and the  money I spend is the money I worked hard for. I do have a credit card, but I pay it off every month in full. However, because I cannot be a full time student and a full time worker, I am on extremely limited funds. The kind of limited where you cannot put fruit on your fro-yo because you cant afford to pay the extra dollar... haha.


2. I cannot think in a dirty room.
    My roommate and I try to keep our room quite clean and I do not think I could not have it otherwise. Plus my mother has always told me that the state of one's home reflects the state of their mind.


3. Its not about what you do, but who you are with.
    I have always known this but this past year has really reflected the beautiful thing we call friendship. Even spending 3 hours walking around Target can provide you with the most amazing of memories as long as you are with good company. 
4. I am more attached to my family then I thought I was.


    We have always been close, yet the first month at Point Loma I was beyond homesick. Before,  I was so eager to be on my own yet eventually a life without family is a life short-lived.


5. College makes you a hoarder.
    I've almost become like my grandma who recycles christmas wrapping paper and takes ketchup packets from fast food places. Due to limited funds and rising prices, you end up taking  any plastic utensils, salt/pepper/sugar packets, plastic cups/plates, napkins, samples you can get your hands on. Its a free country right?


6. Scheduling/Planning is a must.
    Don't get me wrong, I love being spontaneous but when theres a million assignments due every week, scheduling is the only way to get it done and remain sane. I have appreciated so much the people who give me a heads up on their plans and ideas. Its so nice when I can get all my work done, fit in sleep and get to live a little.


7. Graduate school isn't really an option
    Getting my masters is not an option, it has to happen. If I ever want to be taken seriously in the world of politics, don't bother trying to impress someone with your bachelors. So what if you have spent over $100,000 on school? Everyone does that these days I guess. Graduate school, here I come...


8. Coffee is like water.
    .... even when I was drinking 16 cups a day, nothing was happening. So much for an energy boast!


9. Exercise makes me happy.
    I run about 25+ miles a week. I have really pushed myself to get in shape. Its good for you and its good for your body. Double win.


10. Nothing is possible on your own.
     No matter how strong you are, you will crash and burn at some point. The only way to live fully is to live hand in hand with our loving, supporting heavenly father. He knows what is best for each of us and if we ask, will provide us with the desires of our hearts. He has the most perfect plan for each of us. If we can just commit to trust in Him, nothing will be impossible.