Defined

Desire and Effort. These two components set everybody apart from each other. These are the items that fuel the society in which we live in. Some people say, thoughts and action must happened for the world to function. I would argue that thoughts are different from desires and actions different than effort. Unlike a mere thought, desire denotes passion and motivation.  If I desire for something to happen, some form of emotion good or bad is behind the thought.  Then once your desire can be set into motion by not just an action but real genuine effort. Desire without effort is simply another strong belief that comes from our hearts strings. An action can be so small as to lift a finger, but an effort means that the action takes time and an amount of struggle in order to be achieved. Effort is the driving factor to create change.

I believe that these two words desire and effort can be put together can transform our outlook on a lot of areas in our lives, one being relationships.

A relationship without desire and passion is dead. Nobody wants to hang out with anybody that they don’t like. If you do not desire to be with somebody, then clearly the relationship is over before it began. However the next part is a little trickier. How do you manifest your desire in the form of effort? How do you continuously give effort? Showing someone that you desire them everyday, that is true love. I can get told everyday that I am loved, but if you put effort into showing me. Then I know it is real.

The lesson that I have learned today is that emotion fueling desire with effort will allow me to transform my complacent relationships into fruitful communion with others.

Travel

Normally when I think of traveling it gets me super excited! The places that I have had the fortune to go see and the experiences that I have gained that will last forever. Somehow the thought of traveling after spending two weeks out of town at conferences for work seems excruciating. I have still not made it home safely to my dog and house, both of which I miss terribly.

When traveling the idea of home often comes to mind and for the past couple of years the image that comes to my mind when I say home is blank. I grew up in the same house for 18 years and as soon as I went off to college my mom bought a new house down at the lake. Therefore it was the lake house and my home as I knew it vanished. Ever since then I have been struggling to find my idea of a home. Even though I bought a house a couple of years ago it still wasn't home because it had furniture I didn't pick out in it and I wasn't to sure how long I was going to be there so I didn't want to get to attached.

Now that I know I will be in the house for a lot longer with my new job and the idea of it becoming my home has become a reality. Being gone for two weeks has solidified my thinking of my house as my new home that I love.

The lesson that I have learned is that change is a good thing. Something that you may find enjoyable like travel can turn out to be stressful and something that has been lost can be found, like a home. I am however still waiting to build a house of my own that can be a real long lasting home and what an adventure that will be!

Older

Dancing on a brick wall and making the neighborhood kids come and watch. Sliding down a long steep driveway in the snow on a makeshift sled. Painting pottery poolside in Mexico. Trying limoncello while dreaming about tomorrow. These are some of the fond memories I have with a childhood friend that told me that she is getting married! I am a first time bridesmaid and I am super pumped! I received the news while at my first business conference among coworkers and it came as a shock.

I love the life that I have chosen for myself and it is even more apparent while I sat next to a screaming child on the plane on my way back home today. I am incredibly happy for those moving on into the married part of their lives, but I am not ready to continue on into the children realm quite yet. After the business trip that consisted of being up before six most days and continued on well past dinner, I was less than thrilled to be seated next to said child.

Lesson for the day be happy for others and be happy for your decisions. At the end of the day I am glad I made the choices that I did and I am glad to be a young professional trying to make her way in the world.

Learning

It never stops. I am constantly learning new things. When choosing a profession, you are dedicating yourself to learning above and beyond the average person's knowledge about a particular topic. This week I have dedicated myself to learning about insurance, because that is the profession that I am getting my license in. However I would like to be knowledgeable in a lot of different trades. I would love to take cooking classes, obtain a green thumb and be able to make the perfect latte.

It is impossible to think that you will ever be able to obtain the knowledge about every topic in the world. That is where people come in. The more people that you meet that have different backgrounds and way of doing things, the more you learn about life. I am constantly meeting new people, and like my father it is hard for me to meet a stranger. I find enjoyment from hearing stories and am passionate about gaining knowledge from others. My lesson for today is to be open. Always be open to learn something new. Life will be a much smoother ride if you are open minded and willing to soak in what the world has to offer.

Growing

This past weekend, I spent time with my grandmother. She is the only grandmother I have alive and she flew down along with my aunt from Virginia to see me. It is fascinating to think how much she has seen over the course of her lifetime. Also this weekend, one of my best friends Holly's sister had a baby shower. I enjoyed getting to see people I haven't gotten to see in a long time and celebrate the new life that is shortly going to be coming into this world.

In one weekend, I experienced growing old and growing up. Both of which scare me completely. At the baby shower it was talked about how Holly and I are the next in line to have children because we are the oldest. It is true we are, but it is crazy to think about such things. At the age of 24, if I was my grandmother I would have had two children already ages seven and five. If I was my mother I would have been married for three years already. I know that nobody should compare themselves to anybody else but part of me is screaming that I need to hurry up and do something!

The part of being a young professional is setting yourself up to have a great life to give your future spouse and children. The question is how long do you have to wait? How long do I have to wait until I am set up as much as I need to be? Will anybody be waiting for me when I am done with this journey? Those are the questions that I constantly ask myself, but I need to quit. The lesson I learned today is that everything will come in perfect timing, because it is not up to me. God will decide my fate. What I have to do is prepare my life and mind for the right things to fall into place.

Taken

Today it was simply taken, ripped out of my grasp. It was just sucked out of my account without warning. I was perfectly happy when just the normal bills would come out but this time it was different. This time it was a huge payment, the mortgage payment. It was finally switched over to come out of my account. In this simple moment of noticing the drastic decrease in my checking account, I knew I was embarking on a new journey. My life as a young professional has begun.

I wanted to create this blog to document my journey through adulthood and some of the lessons that I will learn along the way. The first lesson is my mother can never be replaced. Not only has she financially supported me for the past 24 years of my life but the emotional support she has provided out weighs any dollar amount. I was really sick last week and she drove up almost three hours to take me to the ER. She loves me like nobody ever will and for that I am thankful.

I hope you join me in this crazy journey and feel free to comment with your own tales.