The other day I was talking with a friend, and we realized that we both do the same thing on a daily basis. Its a daily activity, but I'm not talking about how we both realized that we wash our hair every other day and cut our sandwiches into triangles instead of squares. What we realized is that we both make "to do" lists everyday, and write things down on these lists that we have already done -- just to cross them off to make ourselves feel better. Funny huh? I guess as friends, it would make sense that we would have some of the same quirks; I know that she and I aren't the only two people within our circle of friends who do this, as I am sure that there are a lot of people who do also. But this got me to thinking about goals and how people, including myself, have a need to set goals for ourselves.
These different ambitions that I set have an independent meaning. Sometimes, it is solely to feel like I accomplished something--if anything. Like getting started on a project for school, or taking extra initiative when cleaning the house by vacuuming the stairs. I also set goals for myself that work toward the larger scale of things. For example, I plan on blogging every Monday from here on out and reading articles from various magazines and writers that are associated with what I want to do post-graduation, and then write about them on a second blog that I (again) plan on starting. Hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, these experiences will help me to eventually become a writer for a larger publication.
These are some of the things that I want to achieve. Why? Because I am laying out the foundational groundwork for my life. Having a goal in mind helps me to stay focused.
I'm human though, we all are. And with being human, comes the struggle of actually achieving some of these goals and not beating myself when things don't go the way that I had originally planned. However, last week, I came across a really interesting quote by a guy named Joe Sugarman. Well, to say that he is just a 'guy' wouldn't give him the sort of credentials that he deserves, as he is (as I discovered last week) a very well-to-do copywriter and made a very good life for himself in the 1970's by doing ad work. I suppose you could call him one of the original "mad men." All of these things aside, he said was something that will keep me from losing sight of what is important. He said:
"
Monday, September 26, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Contrary to popular belief, I am not wonder woman...
At the VERY beginning of the summer, I was feeling very motivated. I felt like I could DO anything after coming off of a successful spring semester in school. So, knowing that I would be working full-time hours at caribou alongside with babysitting to continue to work toward buying a car (which is still a work in progress), I thought "oh what the heck, I'll take some summer classes too, it would be good to get ahead in my studies and to finish all of my liberal arts credits." what I should have said to myself was, "Slow down, sister."
Getting ahead in school sounds like a great idea. But this alone might have been what attracted me to taking these two classes in the first place. I thought that it was the right thing to do, and that I would be better for it in the end. Sure, I'll have 6 more credits completed by the time fall semester rolls around in about a month, but I don't think that this was the right decision for me. Things always look different in hindsight, and now, I am really beginning to believe it.
What I have learned (and I always seem to end up learning things the hard way...) is that you can go through all of the right motions--or what seem to be the right ones--but you're not guaranteed to get to where you want to be in the end. In fact, sometimes I feel like its going to take me forever to get to where I want in life because I am a perfectionist, I want to do everything the right way, when in fact... I'm doing it all wrong.
I've noticed that when people try to do everything according to plan, to what is laid out for them (by society? their parents? their friends? themselves?) that they end up losing sight of their goal because they are so concerned with doing things the 'right' way. And they are so infatuated with this idea, that they get in over their heads and end up falling behind.
I lost sight of many of my goals for this summer. I have ONLY finished ONE book this summer, and that was BEFORE I started summer classes. Along side with stressing over my classes, I've been working, and seeing my friends and family as much as I can...exhausting me in the process. I was supposed to go camping with my friends, go to Chicago, learn how to sail... none of which has happened. I was also supposed to be researching different PR firms, see what it is that they look for when hiring, and learning those skills. Has that happened? Nope.
I am a little disappointed in myself.
In my attempt to get ahead this summer, I feel like I've lost a flair for what it is that I like to and want to do...because Ive been so concerned with going BY the BOOKS, literally. These two measly summer classes have cost me a lot more than what the word 'measly' lives up to. But I think its time that I take that back.
Summer is going to go out with a bang, you just wait and see...
-Court
Getting ahead in school sounds like a great idea. But this alone might have been what attracted me to taking these two classes in the first place. I thought that it was the right thing to do, and that I would be better for it in the end. Sure, I'll have 6 more credits completed by the time fall semester rolls around in about a month, but I don't think that this was the right decision for me. Things always look different in hindsight, and now, I am really beginning to believe it.
What I have learned (and I always seem to end up learning things the hard way...) is that you can go through all of the right motions--or what seem to be the right ones--but you're not guaranteed to get to where you want to be in the end. In fact, sometimes I feel like its going to take me forever to get to where I want in life because I am a perfectionist, I want to do everything the right way, when in fact... I'm doing it all wrong.
I've noticed that when people try to do everything according to plan, to what is laid out for them (by society? their parents? their friends? themselves?) that they end up losing sight of their goal because they are so concerned with doing things the 'right' way. And they are so infatuated with this idea, that they get in over their heads and end up falling behind.
I lost sight of many of my goals for this summer. I have ONLY finished ONE book this summer, and that was BEFORE I started summer classes. Along side with stressing over my classes, I've been working, and seeing my friends and family as much as I can...exhausting me in the process. I was supposed to go camping with my friends, go to Chicago, learn how to sail... none of which has happened. I was also supposed to be researching different PR firms, see what it is that they look for when hiring, and learning those skills. Has that happened? Nope.
I am a little disappointed in myself.
In my attempt to get ahead this summer, I feel like I've lost a flair for what it is that I like to and want to do...because Ive been so concerned with going BY the BOOKS, literally. These two measly summer classes have cost me a lot more than what the word 'measly' lives up to. But I think its time that I take that back.
Summer is going to go out with a bang, you just wait and see...
-Court
Sunday, May 15, 2011
verano, l'été, estate, aestas....
Summer; a sweet word to many.
There are a lot of things that I can say about summer. For one, a break from classes. For another, I finally have time to read a book that I am NOT required to analyze, discuss, or write a paper on. I can sit and read at whatever pace I please. Summer, for me, means no more 630 am wake-up-calls from my alarm clock, because I have an 8am class to drag myself out of bed for. Summer means that I can stay up late with my friends, doing whatever and wherever....as long as we don't have to work early the next morning (although, I'm sure a couple of exceptions will be made...).
Summer means relaxation, meditation, and reflection. Time to take a break from the busyness of life and spend time with not just others, but with oneself.
Summer means my Birthday! :) Faire la fete!
Summer means early morning sunrises, hot summer nights, and more time during the day to play at the beach, (hopefully) getting a tan. Sunny afternoons spent shopping will certainly be an occurrence, and doing more of the things that I love, with the people that I love, will be something that I hope I never take for granted either.
I have no idea what is to come of this summer. It is still (very) young. I am sure mistakes will be made, laughter will be shared, and tears could quite possibly be shed. But I hope that by the time September comes along, I can have new stories to tell, more friends to share laughs with, and memories that will last forever.
There are a lot of things that I can say about summer. For one, a break from classes. For another, I finally have time to read a book that I am NOT required to analyze, discuss, or write a paper on. I can sit and read at whatever pace I please. Summer, for me, means no more 630 am wake-up-calls from my alarm clock, because I have an 8am class to drag myself out of bed for. Summer means that I can stay up late with my friends, doing whatever and wherever....as long as we don't have to work early the next morning (although, I'm sure a couple of exceptions will be made...).
Summer means relaxation, meditation, and reflection. Time to take a break from the busyness of life and spend time with not just others, but with oneself.
Summer means my Birthday! :) Faire la fete!
Summer means early morning sunrises, hot summer nights, and more time during the day to play at the beach, (hopefully) getting a tan. Sunny afternoons spent shopping will certainly be an occurrence, and doing more of the things that I love, with the people that I love, will be something that I hope I never take for granted either.
I have no idea what is to come of this summer. It is still (very) young. I am sure mistakes will be made, laughter will be shared, and tears could quite possibly be shed. But I hope that by the time September comes along, I can have new stories to tell, more friends to share laughs with, and memories that will last forever.
Monday, March 28, 2011
One Day at a Time. Easier said than done.
I am sitting here at my computer, it is 11 o'clock at night and I am NOWHERE near being ready to go to sleep. I've taken all of the necessary steps: brushed my teeth, washed my face, put on my pajamas...but my brain just won't quiet down! I keep thinking about events that have happened in the previous week, and what is to happen in the week to come, let alone the busy schedule that will in fact be taking over my life for the next couple of weeks! AY-AY-AY, so is the life of a busy college student, right?!
After all of these thoughts crossed my mind, I thought about how great of a day I had today, and the fact that sometimes, amidst the busy life that I lead, I don't take the time to just...relax. In fact, I think I had forgotten HOW to sit back and just enjoy the present. Luckily a special visit from one of my very best friends, Kaitlin, has reminded me of how important this is in ones life. A quality that I think many forget about, actually.
We live in a society that is going, going, going all of the time, and it is rapidly changing while doing so. Twitter and Facebook certainly don't make it easy to stop either. Think about it, constant facebook status updates and twitter feeds popping up on the home screen 24/7--it never ends! I'll admit, I am just as guilty of tweeting from my phone just as much as the next twitter addict, and I know I am not alone in updating my facebook status because something funny has happened to me, a friend has said something absurd, or simply because I'm bored out of my mind. Facebook and twitter have now become my go-to-device, instead of sitting back and thinking and reflecting on said events. This wouldn't be such a bad thing, if it didn't stop at the tweeting and updating. Unfortunately though, it does. And as an English major, developing writer and (maybe??) journalist, I am ashamed of myself.
It is time to flip the switch on these bad habits that I have now come into possession of. Whether I keep up with my writing and reflections, here on my blog, or in my personal journal (yes, I have a journal...and you should too), it is going to happen every single day.
Part of the reason I created this blog was to meditate, energize, and grow both mentally and creatively. I'm not naive, and life does get the better of me sometimes, but the point is to keep trudging through whatever it is that is keeps me from reaching my end goal. What is my end goal? ha. In the long-term and the short-term, I guess that would be happiness. What makes me happy besides family and friends? Knowing that I do everything that I can to grow, to become a better person, and stay true to who I am (sorry...I'm the queen of cliches...). How do I plan on growing and succeeding in this? To think about each day, and write about it!
I encourage you (whoever you are...) to do the same. You don't have to write about your day (although I do suggest it, you'd be surprised at the results), but take some extra time to just sit and think, be with a friend you haven't seen in a while, draw, take pictures, call your mother--whatever floats your boat.
love,
ME.
oh yes... I have another column coming out tomorrow, its on plagiarism. Feel free to check it out if you want :)
After all of these thoughts crossed my mind, I thought about how great of a day I had today, and the fact that sometimes, amidst the busy life that I lead, I don't take the time to just...relax. In fact, I think I had forgotten HOW to sit back and just enjoy the present. Luckily a special visit from one of my very best friends, Kaitlin, has reminded me of how important this is in ones life. A quality that I think many forget about, actually.
We live in a society that is going, going, going all of the time, and it is rapidly changing while doing so. Twitter and Facebook certainly don't make it easy to stop either. Think about it, constant facebook status updates and twitter feeds popping up on the home screen 24/7--it never ends! I'll admit, I am just as guilty of tweeting from my phone just as much as the next twitter addict, and I know I am not alone in updating my facebook status because something funny has happened to me, a friend has said something absurd, or simply because I'm bored out of my mind. Facebook and twitter have now become my go-to-device, instead of sitting back and thinking and reflecting on said events. This wouldn't be such a bad thing, if it didn't stop at the tweeting and updating. Unfortunately though, it does. And as an English major, developing writer and (maybe??) journalist, I am ashamed of myself.
It is time to flip the switch on these bad habits that I have now come into possession of. Whether I keep up with my writing and reflections, here on my blog, or in my personal journal (yes, I have a journal...and you should too), it is going to happen every single day.
Part of the reason I created this blog was to meditate, energize, and grow both mentally and creatively. I'm not naive, and life does get the better of me sometimes, but the point is to keep trudging through whatever it is that is keeps me from reaching my end goal. What is my end goal? ha. In the long-term and the short-term, I guess that would be happiness. What makes me happy besides family and friends? Knowing that I do everything that I can to grow, to become a better person, and stay true to who I am (sorry...I'm the queen of cliches...). How do I plan on growing and succeeding in this? To think about each day, and write about it!
I encourage you (whoever you are...) to do the same. You don't have to write about your day (although I do suggest it, you'd be surprised at the results), but take some extra time to just sit and think, be with a friend you haven't seen in a while, draw, take pictures, call your mother--whatever floats your boat.
love,
ME.
oh yes... I have another column coming out tomorrow, its on plagiarism. Feel free to check it out if you want :)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
"With love, with patience and with faith, she'll make her way"
I am smiling from ear to ear today, there is no better way to describe my excitement today other than saying that I am just about the happiest that I have been in a very long time.
The past couple of weeks have had me in a frenzy, running around in every direction, and very stressed. Let me just say, that is certainly not going to change for at least the next week, since it is midterm season. On the bright side my friends, all of that stress and freaking out and uncertainty has (so far) paid off, and today is a day that I will never forget. I am published.
Here's the background story:
Last December I learned of a few openings at the Minnesota Daily, the student-run newspaper at the U of M. I wasn't sure if I should apply or not, this was mostly in fear of not getting the job. But with some encouragement from family and friends, I went ahead and did it anyways. What did I have to lose?! Long story short, I had a couple different interviews, but since I am not a Journalism student, I lost the job to those who were. I was okay with this though, I knew I interviewed well and was honest and true to who I was--both in person and in the writing I submitted. Then, a few weeks ago, I got a call from The Daily! They wanted me to submit another application for a couple of spots that had RE-OPENED up. So I applied, I interviewed, and I waited to hear back from who is NOW my editor. :)
So, here I am. I am sitting in the library with my backpack (which is stuffed with about 15 copies of the daily) TRYING to contain my giddiness while also trying to ignore the looks I am getting from the guy sitting next to me, because I am basically jumping around in my chair...the coffee I had this morning might not be helping the situation either (nothing new there though).
Today is a big day. And for those of you who are curious.. here is a link to the Daily's website. I have conveniently (he he) navigated to MY column for you to read. But, feel free to look at other articles as well, there is some good stuff in there today!
http://www.mndaily.com/2011/03/08/ultimate-spring-break-checklist
xoxo,
Courtney
Monday, February 14, 2011
"you should be kissed, and often by someone who knows how.."
Happy Valentines Day, friends!
(...or for those of you who are not so much of a fan of this 'scam' of a holiday, or could really care less: Happy Monday, the sun is shining and roses are overrated anyways!)
However in light of this commercially puffed-up, lets-buy-my-sweetheart-some-overpriced-chocolate-in-the-shape-of-a-heart "holiday", I thought I would devote a special blog to the art of...kissing.
If you've seen the movie "Gone with the Wind", you know that it is about a bewildered love affair. There's love, there's hate, there is everything in between. However, this movie has one of my absolute favorite quotes of all time. This is when Rhett Butler says to Scarlett, "You should be kissed and often by someone who knows how". Rhett sure had the right idea in saying this, but little did he know at the time, that there is an actual scientific explanation to the 'know-all' of kissing. While I am sure that this is not news to some of you, in honor of Valentines day, lets re-explore these ideas that have dated far, far back into the history of man...even before Rhett declared his love to Scarlett, the first time.
So as I was perusing on the internet this morning, I found a very interesting blog post written by a writer for The New Yorker, Jenny Hendrix. In this blog post of hers, she discusses an interview she had with Sheril Kirshenbaum, the author of a book titled, "The Science of Kissing". I found this to be very interesting, it definitely caught my attention and unfortunately, it also bore some details about kissing that I didn't necessarily want to discover. Don't worry.. they're not THAT bad. :)
If you happen to have special plans today with your Valentine, go ahead and read this article...I am sure it will bring a whole new meaning to smooching on your special someone. If you don't have plans, read it anyways, its a fun and quick read.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain...
Standing at the cold and windy bus stop early this morning, coffee in hand, I smiled at the thought of summer. But these days, what Minnesotan isn't?!? After my shortly lived daydream, I snapped back into my bitter reality and I grudgingly climbed over a mountain of snow, stepped up onto the bus, and went to class. Then, when I was online tonight I was talking to a friend and mentioned my anxiousness for summer to come. He then referred me to the link below. It reminded me of why it is that myself and other Minnesotans bear these very long, cold winters. He thought I would enjoy it, and I did. So here I am, sharing with you... enjoy!
http://vimeo.com/19115634
http://vimeo.com/19115634
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