Category: Thoughts

A Year in Review: 2015

Posted on

the edge is change.
it’s what you don’t see coming…
so get out of your comfort zone
and deal with it.

Last December I left the nine-to-five data entry job that I landed at a private corporation after college and started a commission-based sales and marketing job in property management.  It’s like being a real estate agent, but selling apartments instead of houses, and moving every few weeks from project to project like a consultant.

If that sounds crazy to you – you’re right, it is.  In 2014, I lived quietly in Gainesville, Georgia. In 2015, I put everything into storage while I live on the road out of two suitcases.  By the numbers this past year, I spent 90 days at “home” and 275 days traveling.  I worked for six wildly different property management companies.  I visited eleven new states and provinces.  This lifestyle isn’t for everyone, and I won’t live this way forever.  But I’m amazed at how much of a growing experience it’s been.

Why the change?  Couldn’t I have had growth without making such drastic changes?  Was there any big-picture reasoning in this decision?  And most importantly, why should you care about all this?

The Longest Night

Posted on

This is my favorite night of the year.

Honestly, I look forward to it more than cozy Christmas Eves, song-filled midsummer nights, sweet spring darkness, or the ghoulish heaviness of Halloween…

Because for me, winter solstice is about hope. 

Spring Handsprings

Posted on

Spring is in full swing in Hagerstown right now. Most trees are sprouting tiny leaves; others bear loads of snowy, delicate blossoms. The weather fluctuates between sunny, rainy, warm or chilly, causing the locals to complain. But even for the head-shakers there’s definitely a stir and excitement in the air as the world comes back to life and so do we.

Another peerless Saturday in Hagerstown, Maryland found me at the mall. It’s like any other mall in America, with the big department stores, smaller retail chains like American Eagle, and a few independent shops trying to make it. 

With my hyper-mobile lifestyle, the things I used to shop for – home decor, especially – are no longer relevant. And I can only buy so many clothes, too, before they don’t fit in my luggage. However, I do still adore going to the mall, and for one purpose: people-watching. Paying close attention to interactions around me yields such enchanting surprises.

As I entered the big double doors, I noticed the mall was sparsely peopled on this sunny Saturday. A few shoppers hugged the edges of the wide tiled hallway; our reluctance to walk down the middle left a wide open space. Suddenly a little girl broke away from her older guardians and, curly blonde hair flying, began doing cartwheels one after another after another down the hallway.

The middle-aged lady accompanying this adorable, energetic girl was appropriately shocked. “Stop that right now!” she commanded in a moderate tones. From across the hall, though, a group of older teens broke into applause. “Awesome,” muttered a bro walking near me. “I wish I was little enough to still do that, ’cause I would,” a pretty twenty-something told her friend. It was true that the space had been perfect for a child-sized tumbling pass and someone as tall as me would have run out of room.

But we all felt uplifted; this burst of physical energy put into motion what we felt. SPRINGTIME. Time to throw off restraint and express joy in the sunshine. Or in the mall. I hope that everywhere, I can feel free enough to do just that. Because, in the words of long ago, 

If not you, then who?

If not now, then when?

Carpe diem.

-The Dauntless Princess-

Lying About a Wedding to Wear a Dress

Posted on

To celebrate losing another ten pounds, I decided to go try on a wedding dress… just to see what they’re like.

When I was little I promised myself I’d have a huge closetful of beautiful dresses: ball gowns, sparkly evening gowns, sweet summer dresses… And now that I am officially an adult, I have the means to make this dream reality – and I’m still young at heart enough to do so. 

But wedding dresses? …That was different. Wedding dresses sounded a little intimidating. Expensive. Voluminous. And to be honest, I was always afraid I might put on the dress, look in the mirror, then look and feel devastatingly unlike the models in the glossy magazines. 

But weighing ten pounds less makes you feel like you can do a lot of things. So I showed up at David’s Bridal one evening, announced my wedding date was August 13th (not true in the slightest), and asked if I might try that dreamy dress by Vera Wang on the model.

They gave me a fitting room and a cute pink heart with my fake wedding date on it. I squeezed into the corset, then the slip. They came back with the dress – the one off the very model! – and I walked out onto the mirrored stage, floating in a cloud of tulle. 

If you haven’t ever worn a wedding dress, ladies, get thee to the nearest bridal store. Not just because it will make you feel pampered and elegant, but also because you may realize, as I did, that a wedding dress isn’t like an evening gown. It’s got a heavier, ceremonial feel… It’s even more uncomfortable than most evening gowns and the fabric is stiff. It’s not something I’d want to wear more than once. Depending on your history (or lack thereof) with romance, this may encourage you. It encouraged me. 

Here’s a picture for you of the Vera Wang dress, taken by a kind stranger!