the month of no work

 After eighteen and a half years in the public education system, I am officially (for now!) done. I can finally call myself a college graduate. It's a weird feeling to be done with something so intertwined with who you are. After I completed my last final I went about business on campus as usual--taking a nap in a beam of sunlight on the only couch in the quiet and warm Cape Cod Lounge at UMass, and after, making a list of things to do. The list was strangely short. Make homemade Christmas gifts, do yoga, practice the ukelele, read books, explore x, y, and z. Now, I know that this is not reality. Generally, you have to work to make money to pay off loans and bills and support yourself. But, for the next 5 months, it weirdly is mine. For the first time in my life, I don't have any job commitments or any schoolwork commitments. My only long term commitments right now lie in the destinations of plane tickets and bookmarked pages of Travel South America on a Budget. This cannot be real life.

So since I have "nothing" (everything) to do for the next, oh, month or so as I await my plane rides, I'm going to write it down here. Because why not.

What I have planned (telling you will help me to actually do what I say I'm going to do):
1. Do yoga every day, either in a class or on my own.
2. Commit myself to spending 10 breaths in my favorite yoga pose that day.
 3. Explore different yoga props. Currently, I have added a big bouncy yellow ball, two spongy blocks, and a hula hoop to my practice. Also socks for dancing around on my hardwood floor.
4. Make homemade Christmas presents for my friends and family. I can't tell you what they are yet.
5. Explore places around the valley. Some destinations include Mass Moca, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Katalyst Kombucha & People's Pint, different yoga studios, Peace Pagoda in Leverett and towards Albany, and whatever else comes up.
6. Make bread. I've never done this before. Also: soups, banana bread, cookies, bean burgers, etc.
7. Finish leather journals.
8. Knit. Find more patience with it.
9. Read a lot. Books on the lineup include: The Science of Yoga by William Broad, Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut, and Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.
10. Play the ukelele. At least once a day.
11. Walk around Northampton and meet people. Make eye contact and smile at them.
12. Write letters to people I love. Tell them I love them and why.
13. Try to blog everyday, even if it's just a teenie weenie little thought bubble.

So yeah. That's what I've got planned. Join me if you're interested, and don't if you're not :-)


What's on tap for today:
Favorite breakfast. Eggs, refried beans, onions, and salsa on a tortilla. yum.
Yoga time. Included: hula hooping to this throwback, laying in a supported backbend on a big yellow bouncy ball for a while, and lighting some incense.
Cookie party!
Crockpot soup--lentil & sweet potaters yum.
Dying hair with henna


a jam for your earbuds: 



until next time, amigo.

five steps to life-long happiness

What's the key to happiness? Some people search all of their lives, or just resign themselves to the 9-5 work schedule. No doubt, it can have its benefits. It can provide you with financial mobility and stability (and other things too), which is important. But sometimes we tend to put that on the front burner and our own happiness on the back. If you know what makes YOU happy (it might require a big 'ol study of yourself), then what's stopping you from following that passion and living a fulfilling life?

I'd add one more to this list: Surround yourself with people who care and help you believe in you.

Relationships with people = hugs, a loving sense of community, thought-provoking conversations (which leads to growth and change) and SO SO much more.

Okay I lied, one more: move your body (and shake your booty). Don't judge how it looks.

If you ever get lost on your way to happiness, remember this song, SING it, and believe it.

Bob had it right.

home sweet home

I ended up going home to the Cape this long weekend, both for a friend's wedding and also to work on my garden (and I suppose seeing my family factors in there somewhere too). You know those days when you get a ton of stuff done because you have to? I read a book last year, The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, that showed me it had an actual name: Parkinson's Law. It basically means that you get stuff done in the amount of time that you have allotted to do them (sound familiar, fellow procrastinators out there?). So, this being one of those times when I had a short amount of time to get a lot done (i.e. mulching my garden so that I have kick ass soil next year, locking myself in my parent's kitchen and cooking up a storm...), I was down to brass tacks this weekend. And even though I feel a little bit exhausted and my feet hurt, I feel accomplished, grateful for home, and completely in love with life. If you're interested, here's some stuff I made/did:

i took pictures of fleurs

at Ceile & Adam's wedding

and got a little jiggy with it after

i made banana-apple-chocolate chip-walnut bread

and pumpkin gingerbread muffins

 

 

 

and butternut squash & kale soup (with maple veggie sausage)

i picked a baseball bat cucumber before i pulled up the plant 

and sheet mulched my garden with stinky stuff! (seaweed and old grass clippings)

Whew! It's been a couple of long and happily productive days. I'm constantly learning and reminding myself that sometimes you just gotta do the elbow work to get what you want.

click here for a tune i'm diggin' at the moment

these happy days

In my last semester at UMass, I've begun to realize the weight of this being the end of my undergraduate career. Being in college is a great and unique time; we're allowed to run all over the place like children, hanging out with our friends all the time while occasionally doing homework (sometimes homework time > friend time...but only until you're done with the exam/paper). Lately, I've been taking a little bit of a different approach, as my 20 credits take up a lot of my time. As I continue to flow into my second month of my last semester of undergrad, I'm realizing the absolutely amazing resources that are available to me (and perhaps you) at UMass as a student and in the Pioneer Valley. Like...

1. There are lectures by esteemed intellectuals within the five college system going on ALL THE TIME. I can only speak for UMass, but I know that I've been filling up spare hours with talks by interesting people who have something important to say all over campus. Lately, I've been able to attend FREE talks by Noam Chomsky, Alex Morse (the 23 year old mayor of Holyoke), Madeleine Kunin (Vermont's first female governor), and I've got plenty more lined up. How do you find good talks that you might be interested in? Keep your eyes peeled. Message boards are all over campus, and though they look littered, some have some pretty cool messages to share. Also, check out the Five Colleges Event Calendar.

2. There's so much great yoga here! From the free stuff (for students) at the Rec Center, where I teach, to Northampton yoga studios like Karuna and Shiva Shakti, you can learn a lot about your body and the way it can move by people who know what they're talking about.

3. The great outdoors. Um, hello, have you seen the trees lately? I won't lie, I squeal in excitement a little bit when I see great patches of fiery tree goodness (especially on solo roadtrips). The colors that appear in the fall are so beautiful they make my jaw drop on the ground (I'm a huge fan of tie dye). Next time you see a bright red tree, pull off a leaf and look at it! Marvel at its beauty.

 ...While you're in the outdoors, go on a hike (Mount Holyoke Range, anyone?). Or check out the Leverett Peace Pagoda. Or just go walk around and explore in the woods!


4. Farms and farmer's markets galore! Gather up some friends and go get your hands dirty at a farm! We are so lucky to have so many in this area, and I bet each one of them could use your capable hands for a couple of hours. If not, go support them at a farmer's market! Butternut squash? Yummmm (stay tuned for squashy recipes and more foodie things).

5. Friend time and alone time. Friends are the best the best the best. They make you laugh (which is one of the best things you can do for your body, mind and spirit), they offer you shoulders when your'e sad and hugs when you need one, and they just all around rock. Being surrounded by good people probably is the most important thing in my life right now. I predict good people always will be of utmost importance to me, but it won't be as easy to go and knock on your friend's door later on down the road. I'm loving the roomie love.
But alone time is good too. I'm thankful for my quiet room and yoga practice, and those little encounters that happen when you're alone that wouldn't necessarily happen if you weren't.

Love the moment. Flowers grow out of dark moments. Therefore, each moment is vital. It affects the whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed.  

-Corita Kent

rainy spontaneity

my friend hannah cohen is a wonderfully talented photographer and just a gem of a human being. i came across this photo in one of her albums recently about strangers and was inspired to put it up here. she writes:

this couple had been enjoying a coffee outside in Amherst when a major rainstorm hit. i expected them both to flee but instead this happened.
 

ain't love beautiful?

grateful sundays

my birthday's tomorrow. i feel a little older than a lot of my peers (i've always been old for my grade and now i'm graduating a semester late), making me 23 in a sea of 21 and 22 year olds. not that i'm complaining and not that it makes much of a difference; i'm a firm believer that age ain't nothin' but a number. but in light of the changing season and approaching the anniversary of my birth, i've been thinking a lot about what it means to be getting older.

it seems that many people avoid or look down on the topic of getting older, groaning after we hit that ripe old age of 21. but in my experience, entering my 23rd year of life, it just keeps getting better. each year up to now, i've been able to meet new people, live in new places, and learn new things.

granted, i'm coming from a privileged place. i'm going to college and my responsibilities are fairly limited (maybe that's why i'm feeling this happy freedom). but i think it's all about how you look at it, too. everyone can look forward to the future if they put your mind in the right place. it helps to start with gratitude. we've all got lots of great things to be grateful for; can you think of something?


things i'm grateful for today:
1. combination of simon and garfunkel and coffee
2. friendly people
3. fresh cut flowers
4. new beginnings

openness

"I do not accept any absolute formulas for living. No preconceived code can see ahead to everything that can happen in a man's life. As we live, we grow and our beliefs change. They must change. So I think we should live with this constant discovery. We should be open to this adventure in heightened awareness of living. We should stake our whole existence on our willingness to explore and experience."

 -Martin Buber

As I begin to embark on my last semester at UMass Amherst and approach the "real world" after, I am constantly feeling waves of intense uncertainty. I'm almost 23 and I have no idea what I want to do when I grow up. I've got lots of ideas, but no definites (other than travel). While this can be freeing, it can also be intimidating. How are we supposed to choose the path for the rest of our lives at such a young age? The idea of choosing one seems to suffocate me.

When I get too anxious about the situation, I find comfort in talking with lots of people about this, and it seems that most people don't know what they want to do when they grow up, regardless of if they're 19 or 91. It makes me think about this flexible, fluid thing called life. If we're lucky, we could have 100 years on this planet--that's a long time! Why restrict oneself to a single job for a whole lifetime when there are so many options and years out there?

It's pointless to worry about what will happen ten years from now. The weight can feel crushing, but there is nothing we can do about the future except positively be here now. You might not be in the job or location you dreamed, but only you have the power to change those things. Make the best of your now, and if it isn't the best now you could be having, change it. Look for avenues. If you're open to it, you never know who you might run into, what subject might steal your heart, and what opportunities might just land in your lap. Life is a pretty crazy thing. You don't have to know exactly what you want to do, but if you don't, be open to the fluid changes of life and perspective. And don't forget to smile and even laugh, especially when you get too serious.