Of Mice and Me

“The best-laid plans of mice and men go oft awry.”

Yeah, that phrase is cliche’...
But it still rings true.

Lately, I’ve been pondering what it actually means to plan something. I’ve seen a lot of my friends frantically trying to figure out what they want to do after graduation, wondering how a certain situation will get resolved, etc. Still, most (if not all) of them have grand ideas and high hopes for the future.

I have many grand ideas of what I’d like to see myself doing after graduation, but that does not mean a thing. Economies change. Circumstances change. Priorities change. What we think is ideal doesn’t always happen. Nothing is ever certain; we just make our plans and hope for the best. That’s the best we can do.

BUT, there is hope, and that's a comfort. Having hope for the future requires one to place a great deal of trust in something. I choose to place my trust in God and what he has planned.

What’s that one Bible verse I always heard growing up? Oh yeah--

‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’ ~ Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

He has plans for me, and I have to trust that they’re better than my own.

This summer was not what I had planned. I had grand ideas of gallivanting off to some other country to meet my university’s cross-cultural trip requirement then coming back to the U.S. and getting a great internship in another city. I, instead, have been taking classes and working in my hometown because I was a bit short on the money I needed to make those plans happen. I’m not complaining though. That just goes to show that my plans do go oft awry.

So, I’m learning to trust that my plans, as grand as I usually think they are, may not always need to happen when or how I think they should happen. My original ones might not have been the best for me right now. I’ve had such realizations about other things in the past. Hindsight is 20/20, you know. I’m just glad my God puts up with me and my superfluous plans.

Staying in awe

Age changes things.

This summer, my college campus is being rented out for various camps and things. One day in the student union ladies’ room, I noticed three little girls sticking out their blue lollipop-coated tongues at the mirror while I was putting on some lipstick. I was making sure I looked my best before going to work, while the children were arguing over who had the bluest tongue (it was a serious matter, after all!).

It hit me then that age really does make all the difference in how a person views the world around them. Still, I had to wonder when exactly I lost my own sense of wonder. Me marveling at the color of my tongue in the mirror today would raise a few eyebrows because of my age. But, then again, when was the last time I let myself show such fascination with a new thing or experience?

I love the age I am right now. I wouldn’t trade my years of experience for anything.
Still, I hope I don’t forget to stop and smell the roses, look at the stars, or do whatever it is I need to do to keep myself from turning into a boring cynic who is never impressed by anything. I challenge you to not forget to do those things either. Carpe diem and all that jazz.

I think keeping a sense of wonder about you will help make life more satisfying in the long run. I know that, in order for me to live a fulfilled life, I'm going to need to stay in awe of the world God has placed me in and what He has given me.

So, do stick out that tongue of yours and marvel.

My issues with [newspaper] issues

I'm planning to go into journalism.
I'm also beginning to learn that the "planning" part
can't stick around too long.
After all, action has to happen at some point!

In my spare time (which is very rare), I have been researching internships.
I do sometimes feel like I'm getting ahead of myself.
I'm only a college sophomore!
Still, I won't reprimand myself too harshly for my high hopes.
I'm glad I've found something I'm that excited about.
There are too many possibilities!

Yesterday, I was in the Carolinas,
visiting some of my family for Easter weekend.
We ate at a restaurant in North Carolina,
and I saw a local newspaper for sale outside.
I froze.
This paper was one of my internship possibilities.
On the way out, I bought one to read on the way back to my hometown.

Back in town late last night, we stopped at a convenience store for my family's Sunday tradition of buying papers
(a combination of our appreciation for them and my mom's recent interest in the "art" of coupon clipping).
With two more papers in hand, the same thought that made me freeze earlier in the day caught my attention again.

I pulled all three of the papers into my lap and looked at them, coming to the realization that I could, in time, be writing for any one of them.
What a profound realization that was.

I often have friends ask me where I want to go
with "this whole journalism thing."
Do I have a dream paper, one I've always dreamed of writing for?
I don't think so.
I'm just praying for open doors.

However, advice a friend gave me last week is
still running through my head.
Basically, it was that I shouldn't be afraid to "go big" with my career.
"Big" referring to both my future achievements and my "ability" to write for some specific large, well-known newspapers.

It's sometimes scary having people believe in you.

I'm pondering if I would be willing to "go big"
if those doors were opened to me.
I suppose I just need to be smart enough to not let myself be afraid of opportunity.
God, give me wisdom...

Springtime: just about here

The weather reached an unusually high 80 degrees today.
Though it's only the early part of March, I think it's safe to say that spring is here.

I love this season.
Sure, the weather is wonderful.
I love the flowers and the breeze...
But there's more to my love than that.
Spring lets us see life's seasons in a new way.

All nature takes the opportunity to break free from the confines of winter cold.
It's a time for new life as birds chirp while they freely fly and flower petals unfurl despite the previously unforgiving ground.
There is new birth.
Everything is given a new start.

There are times that I need a new start myself.
My hopes sometimes get shattered;
I have to pick up the pieces.
I'm so thankful that God lets nature serve as a reminder that I too can have a new beginning.

Today, with the sun shining on my face, I was glad.
The whole irrepressible joy thing is certainly coming into play.

Boys and Girls

When I was sitting at lunch with some friends yesterday, one of them brought up something that I found pretty amusing.

She said she found it funny that, though we are in college, most of us had been referring to our peers as boys and girls instead of as men and women.

I dawned on me that I had, in fact, been doing that.
It's habit!
When you've been calling someone something for years and years, change can be hard to come by.

Plus, though I'm an adult, but there are times that I don't feel like it.
I guess I must unconsciously assume that everyone feels the same way I do.

What's a girl to do?

I suppose that I'll have to bite my tongue and refer to people as adults, even though many of us students are still getting there.

Knowing when to bite one's tongue is a sign of adulthood I suppose.

"Think strong thoughts, think strong thoughts..."

That may as well be a mantra that stirs wildly in my head as I go through each day.

I was just thinking about the title of this blog.
I meant it as a play on words (which, admittedly, may only make sense if you know me personally).
Then, I began to think about what it actually means to think "strong thoughts".

Whether or not I always focus consciously on being strong, I certainly feel the need to be that way.

And I'm not talking about physical strength here; I haven't been body building!
I'm talking about reassuring myself.

Do you ever feel the need to remind yourself that everything's going to be OK?
That's what I believe it means to think strong thoughts.
It's thinking positively!

There have been so many instances in my life when I have needed strength.
There's no way I would have made it through things like my grandfather's death or my first semester of college without God's help.

I guess the point of it all is knowing when you're not at your strongest and asking for help.
I try to think strong thoughts and allow God to be that strength.

Isn't that all I ever need to do?