Recent Reminders & Realizations

I have learned a few new things and have been reminded of some old wisdoms the past week or so.

I was reminded this week that life is short and that we must live it to the fullest everyday. Unfortunate circumstances prompted this reminder in me. First of all, another Midway student passed away about two weeks ago. The Sampson paper featured a story on him which recapped about eight of the other most recent students who have died from my alma mater. What was most unfortunate about the story for me was that it didn't even include another six or seven students who I knew personally who died in my time at Midway. The numbers are astounding. Midway seems to have some kind of "Kennedy Curse" or something.

In addition to this Midway student dying, my best friend told me that two 18-year old boys from her community, who attended the school she teaches at, died this weekend. I was with her on Saturday and we had the best day. Then when I texted her on Monday, she was attending her second funeral that day and she just said it had been an awful weekend and she'd tell me about it later. All of the feelings and memories of those horrific phone calls, wakes, and funerals flooded back into the forefront of my mind.

Life is short, my friends. We are never promised another breath. Live your life purposefully everyday and make it count.

I was also reminded this week that relationships take a lot of work and that the work must be reciprocal for it to work. Many of my friends have given up on me over the years. It seems like many more have since college because we have all moved away from our central location at school and are building our lives. It is sad but I am fortunate to have the few friends who truly make the efforts to know me and be a part of my present life, not just memories from the past.

I was also reminded this week that I do not need to give up or get jaded with people, specifically, the male species. It's a great time to be single but no so great a time to deal with the antics of 20-something men! I thought that they would be mature by now (or at least getting there), but I have realized that I am wrong. But I was also reminded that I'm an amazing catch and God is still working on me. My best friend and I renewed our vows to refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies. :)

This week I also realized that a fundraiser is a person, not an event. The event is called a fund raising. Make sure you get that straightened out in your head so that you can be accurate in the future! I won't even divulge how I obtained this new knowledge, but I will say that it was news to me and I will never again get that wrong!

Besides all of this, I've had quite a few brand new experiences over the past few weeks and I'm learning new things everyday. It's wonderful to keep your life fresh by experiencing and learning new things. :)