Thank You

Thank you for working your ass off this past year, and still managing to be there for me whenever I need it. I'm so proud of you!

Making the Time

I realized recently that I have deprioritized most every aspect of mental sanity time, such as working out, theater, art, dance...and man, it has been taking its toll. I didn't realize how much I've depended on one or all of the above things to keep the stress level down until I took them each out of my daily routine little by little.

My excuse was: I have no time. Every time I tried to pencil time for myself, I thought of the hundred other things I needed to be doing instead. After some much needed conversations with people that mean a lot to me, I have realized that I have to prioritize my health and my sanity, or else I just won't be happy doing anything that I am doing.

So today, I made time for the gym. Yes it's ramadan, yes I had classes, and a conference call, and a meeting, and yes I have a quiz tomorrow, but I made the time. And man, it felt so good. I am now penciling in free art Friday before class this week, some much needed time with me and a ball of clay. I think I'm liking this...

Attempts at a monologue

For our first coach groups today, we had to bring in three objects that told a bit about our personality. I grabbed two of the objects with ease: my sketching pencils and mi caja de cigarros de Nicaragua. The latter is where I keep a plethera of pictures, old letters, postcards, notes... As I sat there emptying the box of its contents, I stumbled upon an crinkled old sheet of paper. I carefully unfolded it and read its contents. On the long forgotten sheet, scribbled at the top in my handwriting, were the words "first attempt at a monologue"...I read on. Performed in front of my entire high school with Multico my senior year of high school, this monologue spells out the gray line between culture and religion, between family and personal beliefs.

In my hand lay a monologue, a snippet of my life, spelling out my first attempts at grappling with what I truly found important. Today, reading over words that had once taken incredible personal courage to write, and were an incredible personal feat to perform, I sat and thought about how far I have come in the past three years. While I still haven't found that perfect balance, and still have questions that remain unanswered, I know I've come a long way. That, my friends, is a good feeling.

Reflecting with Helen C

As midterms surprisingly sneak up on my unsuspecting self esta semana, endless spanish vocab streams through my vains, mezclando con el cafe que ya esta circulando. I'm starting to feel productive. HK was a lot of play, and not so much work. Weird to say it, but I had missed the feeling of productivity. And now, while at times exhausting, a busy schedule keeps me going. It keeps my sangre flowing.

On a different not: Rowdie ROKS this weekend.
New members are rocking my world.
But right now, tis time to rock my espanol.