I am not a summer kind of person. I prefer the transitional seasons: the subtle liveliness that creeps into spring, or autumn’s graceful slip toward stark, cold darkness. That being said, I appreciate the simple purity that inhabits summer alone. At the height of the season—when the days are long, the sunshine is constant, and the air is always warm—time seems to stand still. This lends a particularly uncomplicated feel to the simple pleasures that filled my childhood summers. Read more
This photo of my mom immediately came to mind when I read about this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge. I’ve already written about our trip to England from a few years back, and how much we enjoyed our time on the East Sussex coast. It was the adventure of a lifetime, and I couldn’t have asked for a better traveling companion. We had all of the same goals in mind, and each new part of our trip wildly surpassed and fell horribly short of our expectations in rapidly alternating succession. In this moment, our shared contentment is plainly written all over her lovely face.
This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge had me on the hunt for something abstractly beautiful. On Sunday, when I walked around the side of my apartment building to get to the laundry room, my subject found me. Read more
In recent months, I’ve started to focus on being happy. After years of planning and working, I’ve secured a seat at my top choice of veterinary schools. I’m no longer chasing after something seemingly unattainable with every ounce of energy I can muster. I achieved the highest goal I set for myself, and now I’m free to devote more energy to the areas of personal development that I’ve neglected while making it happen. This is the focus that will bring me genuine happiness. Read more
The other day, I experienced something for the first time in my entire academic career. A professor, addressing all of the graduating seniors in my biology program, said that it’s important to “do what makes you happy” when pursuing a career. That’s something I’ve always kept in mind. It’s what my parents have been telling me since I decided I wanted to be a forensic scientist in elementary school. It’s what they continued to tell me when I moved on to dreams of becoming a veterinarian in middle school. I’ve always had strong feelings about what I wanted to do with my life, because I’m absolutely miserable if I’m not ultimately working toward something that I want. But, I know not every one of my classmates has had the same experience. Some graduating seniors still don’t know what they want to do in terms of a future career. Read more
Where I Ought To Be 