Age Matters

The more I talk to older people the more I realize that, at 20, you don't really know anything, not even as much as you think you do about yourself (which for me is very little, so I can only imagine how little I actually know based off this theory); at 30, you're starting to get the hang of it, but you're still young, hot, and having fun; at 40, you know a lot more about who you are, and can be pretty confident in what you know and decide, but you're also entering that crazy crisis time where you're freaking out about turning 40, (so don't trust yourself just yet); and at 50, you finally have got it down! This is mostly based off of a conversation I had with my uncle and their friend, in which she pretty much iterated everything I just re...iterated.

The good news is this: we (those of my age) can live the next, eh, 20 years or so in almost total ignorance, act younger than we should, and get away with it because no one over 35/40 is expecting much else anyways (woo-hoo, silver lining!).
The bad news: we have to wait (in my case) 27 more years until we really know what's up, not just with ourselves, but with life in general.

I know a lot of people tend to completely freak out about the idea of getting older, but I for one am really looking forward to aging. (I mean, I think after 65 I'll be ready to throw in the towel, because then things start to really get difficult, but anything prior to that seems just dandy.) Many people think that turning 30 is going to be the death of them, but I am stoked about 30! Just like I was beyond ready to turn 22 or 23 and be out of the 21-zone. Twenty-one is a great age because it allows us Americans to legally drink in our country, but actually being 21 is fairly overrated. You're a rookie, a total noob in the bar and club scene, but once you're 22 or 23, you have a sense of it all and people don't just look at you "as a 21-year old."

Yep, 30, 40, and even 50 I think will be amazing. I fully intend to be young, wild, and free my whole life, become a massive hippie-traveler and just explore the earth, and age will not limit that! Each year of my life has continued to get better, and better, and shows no signs of slowing down, so what reason would I have to dread more years to come? Exactly, I don't, and I thank the Lord for that every day! Especially when you consider all the wisdom and knowledge that comes with age. It's amazing to talk to older people and hear/see the difference. I genuinely would enjoy my life if I spent it solely around those who are 40-years and over. Plus, they're so much more sophisticated!

Age matters only in what you learn through the experiences you have in life, but I also know it is possible to be wise beyond your years. But for now, I will end with that, and likely retouch the subject in the near future (like probably tomorrow's post near-future;).

Today's Thought: Is life measured by the years you have lived, or the experiences you've had? I know some people who will surely grow old but have little to show for it because they haven't truly lived, and many young people who have knowledge that surpasses many older folks because they've done nothing but [live]. Interesting eh, how many options and ways things can be viewed?

Enjoi Life.

COACHILLEN

This past weekend I had one of the most amazing life-experiences to date -- I went to the Coachella Music Festival for the first time. Coachella is an event that I have been aware of and wanting to go to for about 4 or 5 years now, but never managed to make. Our group ranged from 2-20 at any given time, and there were about 18 of us sleeping in one beautiful house. The group was amazing, as always, and we had a splendid time.

I wasn't really sure what to expect of the weekend, but what I didn't expect was to have such a well-rounded experience. The performances ranged from different subcategories of EDM (electronic dance music), indie, rock, and more. I feared that my weekend would be completely filled with EDM and I wouldn't get my indie fix, but it was quite the contrary. Some of the highlight acts for me included The Black Keys, The Rapture, Madeon, Radiohead, Bon Iver, The Shins, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, SBTRKT, Sub Focus, Dr. Dre & Snoop, Justice, Modeselektor, arraabMUZIK, Nero, Minnesota, and Company Flow. Those are just some of the talent that performed over the three-day period at the 5 stages, and I'm sure there are many others I heard and loved, but don't know who they were.

Bon Iver is one of my all-time favorites, and the set did not disappoint! His voice is just as beautiful live as it is on disc, and they put on one hell of a show. "Skinny Love" and "Blood Bank" happen to be two of my three favorite Bon Iver songs of all time, and I was blessed enough to hear them both back-to-back while being held in a sweet, loving embrace. It was such a euphoric moment. I couldn't stop grinning and smiling and thinking, "I am one lucky gal!"

Each act that I saw brought some element of WOW to my life, and left me with such a sense of satisfaction in one way or another. The only downfall of the weekend was the 105*+ weather we faced each day. Drinking water, squirting ourselves with squirt guns, and blasting my face with my $2.99 hand fan could not eliminate the overpowering heat. I have never been so completely drenched by my own sweat in my entire life, or known it was possible to survive such heat. But, when the day started to burn off and the night creep in, the temperature cooled off so nicely, and the wind was warm and inviting.

When I think about the weekend I don't remember the terrible heat and slight bro-overdose, I remember the special and cherished times that I had with some of the most exquisite people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I am unsure if I will return to Coachella next year, but I am so grateful to have been able to experience it once in my life. I suggest that everyone try and attend at least once, it is worthwhile.

Today's Quote: "Live the life you love, like you can't get enough" -"Give Me A Sign"

I'm A Big Kid Meow

Well folks I finally did something I set out to do! I came on this massive roadtrip with the hopes of finding myself a job down here in Los Angeles, and while it may not be a permanent position, it certainly is a paying job! I am back at Disney's ABC working in the communication administration department. It's a 6-week temp job, but could turn into something more permanent somewhere. So I have moved myself down to LA, into my uncles' home, and am beginning the next chapter of my life.

It's very strange jumping into this type of thing so quickly. I came down here to go to a few interviews and meetings, catch up with people I worked with during my internship, visit close friends, and try to snoop out a job. I never in a million years would have expected that me dropping in to say hi to a few old colleagues would lead to a short-term position right back where I was only a matter of months ago. But in a way it's very fitting, and in a strange way could have been expected simply because of how things go in my life. It is full of the unexpected, crazy things happening at crazy times, and little surprises that only God knows about.

I didn't have any time to adjust to the idea of moving out of Chico, so it's probably a good thing that I will be going back this weekend to gather my wardrobe and get in one last night of debauchery with my friends! And then it will be back down to LA, where I have pretty much always belonged, to continue my "adult life" and try to really make my mark in the world. In an interview I had last week one of the questions was about my long-term goals, goal for the next 5-10 years. I answered by saying that I will have moved up in the company from where I started and all that good stuff, but my biggest focus was the fact that I will be a force to be reckoned with in whatever industry or job I am doing. It's something that I've always thought, wanted, and known would come of my life, but to actually vocalize it that way felt so amazing. I think my confidence increased a few decibels in that sentence alone.

I would like to pose a "mission" to you all for the rest of the week... figure out what your goals are in life. Make them as big and outrageous as you possibly can. Say them to yourself, write them down, or if you're feeling like letting it all out, tell someone you know. Manifest destiny is a real thing and you can really apply it to your life if you believe and try. Keep God with you and He will enable you to do all things. Life is a crazy, messy ride, but it is the most wonderful thing that we can ever do. It is up to us to make it our own and make it what we want it to be, so don't hold back and no matter if it's the millionth time you've heard it, live your life with no regrets!! And if you need a little motivation to get out there and do something crazy, here are some pictures from our wonderful triple-threat-bday-bash of a weekend in LAS VEGAS! :)

 Can you say TWINNING!?!

 Triple-Threat

Today's Quote: "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." -Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. 

Reflect Without Regret

Since we are in a new year, I find it only appropriate to look back on 2011 and compile a little list that explains why life is so good. I am sitting here, up way past my bedtime once more (but then again, can I really say I have a bedtime now that my life is "in my control" and no longer dictated by school, or much of a schedule at all for that matter?), and I can't help but be overwhelmed by joy and happiness about the things I have done, experienced, encountered, and what is to come. The future may be uncertain, but if the last 22+ years are any indication of what's to come, I know there is no reason to have any fears. And while we may be five days into the new year, I would like to take a moment to thank 2011 for being oh-so good to me :)


2011 started on a cruise ship for my family and I, and I would have had no way of knowing what this year would bring for me. Some things like my last season of water polo and graduating from college were sure to happen, but I could never have expected that I would enter into 2012 with such clarity and calmness. I started 2011 with a heart overflowing with love, in a place it might never have been before. And as the spring semester passed, it continued to fill with love and grow, and I entered 2012 with a heart overflowing with a different but equally as wonderful kind of love. Yes, graduating and completing my final season of polo are sad milestones to have passed, but it is because of the following reasons that I reflect on 2011 as being one of the best I've had yet!

• I learned to love again; to really open my heart and just let it in, and out, without holding back or fearing the outcome.
• The water polo season wasn't our most successful as far as our record is concerned, but our friendships grew so much and are running deeper than ever before.
• I rang in the new year (2011's) on a cruise ship with family that I love, and that can never be bad (unless of course it's the Titanic..).
• When I thought my summer would be spent in Chico working as a lifeguard, I ended up snagging an internship at Disney's ABC! It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and I was finally able to move down to LA, a dream I've had since I can remember. 
• Meeting some awesome Germans outside of a club, who ended up becoming my closest friends of the summer, and people I still plan to see in the near future.
• Getting to hang out with my SoCal family of friends, who are some of my dearest, and my uncles that I rarely see due to the distance.
• Expanding my family of friends through Mike CHEXXX
• Running off to EDC Las Vegas and having one of the best weekends of my life
• Random trip to San Diego with nothing but the clothes (swimsuits/cover-ups) we'd been wearing all day at Venice
• Going to the Music Box too many times ;)
• Learning about and growing to love an industry I had never considered before
• Figuring out a little more about the things I like, and those I don't
• Too many good times and so much love shared between new friends, who became the best of
• Kaitlyn Tolin (Toke) moved into our house in the fall, and it became a home.
• Ilona coming to visit from Finland
• Rhoan coming to visit, and bringing some new Aussies into our lives as well
• Arthur coming to visit from France with his luscious curly locks
• Last minute decision to go to San Bern for Halloween weekend and driving, literally, almost the whole Cali coast from SF to San Bern. --Family Reunion w/ the McGeekersons.
• Not getting worked up over school and studies, but instead investing my time in relationships and making memories that will prove to be more beneficial than any lesson they try and teach in a classroom.
• Beginning a blog, that I will use to guide me through the rest of my days

And while there are so many other things, the one that stands out most (possibly because it is the freshest in my mind) is New Year's weekend. I still cannot get over how great it was and how much love continues to flow through our group (via Facebook groups, obviously;). It makes me think, if I feel this kind of love from my friends, then the love that God has for me must be the most overpowering thing in the world. I feel crushed its weight, but lifted up by its greatness all at the same time. And if a group of people can make me feel this way, I have nothing to fear because the love my God has for me is even greater and will carry me through everything! 


Now that I have, once again, released the positive energy and love that is within me out into the universe, I hope it finds its way to you and can help carry you through any hard time you might be facing! When things start to feel hard, just stop moving for a moment, take a deep breath, and say, "We can do it." It is something I have been practicing with vigor the last few weeks, and I have never felt more stable or guided. Sleep well my little loves, we will meet again soon :)


Today's Quote: "All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on." -Henry Ellis

Word.