We Have Lift Off!

"Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." --Steve Jobs

2013 has had an unexpectedly remarkable start. Personally I think it started New Years Eve as I FINALLY had a date. Ever since I was little New Years Eve either consisted of going to bed and missing it or being essentially a third wheel. I've had good times with the people I was with, but it's a couples' holiday and I was always dateless. This year however I went to Virginia Beach with my ex/best friend Will. I feel like it was the kick start to a new and exciting year. I never thought anything could top my year abroad, but this year is just as exciting for completely different reasons.

I've decided I'm slightly off my rocker this year with goals, but I'm aiming high and I've made myself a promise to always do that. I guess you could say that's my resolution for this year. Here is a little of what I've been up to and part of the reason why it's taken me FOREVER to post again.

Acting!

I've had auditions for local short films, a local feature, 2 musicals, 1 straight play, and landed a job in 3 of those movies and a job as a production assistant. Needless to say I felt like something was finally happening. I've never been more sure that it's what I want to do with my life and I've been trying to tackle it in every way possible. I'm still searching for an agent, but it's a work in progress! I haven't heard back about a few things, but I'm hopeful that I will get something. If not, then it's on to the next audition. No matter what though I am going to take this industry by storm. You can count on that. I've never been more determined in my life.

Adventure!

You can take the girl out of the adventure, but you can't take the adventure out of the girl. After spending the entirety of my time living abroad and pretty much living my dream life of exploring foreign countries and cultures I get to go on another adventure! Where am I plunking myself down this time? MALTA! For those of you who don't know it's an island in the Mediterranean near Sicily. Its culture is a mix of almost every Mediterranean culture as it has been invaded by most. It is also extremely colorful and has some of the best scuba diving sites in the world. I was accepted into a field school there for Anthropology and I will undertake a project there where I'm combining terrestrial and underwater photography to capture the culture of the island. I'll be spending 3 weeks there and I can't even wait.

(I do not own this photo)

I work at a dive shop called Atlantis Divers and they have planned an adventure scuba trip to Costa Rica. One of my best friends of all time, Ellie, has been scuba certified for 2 years and we haven't had a chance to dive together yet. Now we will in South America :) It is 4 days of diving supplemented with ATV trips in the jungle, a hike in the national forest, zip lining in the jungle, horseback riding, and white water rafting. Needless to say it is the perfect trip for me and I'm so happy Ellie is going to be sharing this adventure with me.

(I do not own this photo)

I've also been slightly obsessed with Ben Fogle's books. Particularly The Accidental Adventurer and The Accidental Naturalist. I know my parents will be horrified at my plans, but he's just inspired me to push myself to new limits and go out there and make a difference in the world. I've particularly developed a secret love for Africa and am dying to head out there on a conservation project of some kind, but that's for later on.

Fitness!

I'm probably one of the most active people I know, which is surprising since I used to be quite chubby and one of the laziest people I knew. I go to the gym every day and am always looking for something active and fun to try. This year I'm challenging myself with marathons. Not the ridiculous 28 mile ones. I'm nowhere near that level since I might be the world's slowest runner. Not even exaggerating. I get bored really easily with running. The memes online like this:

I've taken up a form of racing that people would probably think I'm even more insane for doing. It's obstacle marathon racing. I get extremely bored if I run the same boring routes over and over. Jogging in a straight line just seems boring to me. But throw in pits of doom and rock walls to climb and mud pits to slither through and I'm golden. I will tackle it like there's no tomorrow. SO that's what I'm going to do. That being said I am taking part in a regular ole 10K called the Monument Avenue 10k. I'm super excited and it's for charity. The next one I'm doing is called Color Me Rad, which is a 5k where color balloons are thrown at you every few minutes and you end up coming out of the race looking like Alice's Wonderland threw up on you. I can't wait. Someone clean is going to get a VERY big hug :)  I have also decided to compete in a Rugged Maniac, which is the obstacle course 5k. Training is so much more achievable in my opinion when you have crazy goals ahead of you. I've already started training and I'm loving it.

All in all this year has been ridiculously amazing. It hasn't even been an entire month and I can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of the year. I feel like I've accomplished so much already in such a short time. My career finally seems like it has potential and I've got ideas in the works for how I can take on the world by storm. Watch out people. If you haven't heard of me already for one thing or another, I can promise you that you will soon :)

"Let us be about setting high standards for life, love, creativity, and wisdom. If our expectations in these areas are low, we are not likely to experience wellness. Setting high standards makes every day and every decade worth looking forward to." --Greg Anderson