Birthday book

From a pantone colors birthday book I came across in an Urban Outfitters in Georgetown

Priorities vs. options

What makes something a priority or an option?

This question is relevant in all facets of life - whether it's in organizations, friendships, relationships, the workplace or religion.

Decisions in the business world are not taken seriously without a rationale, which forces you to make a smart decision. But the further we progress in the real world, the more normal it is for people to answer "it just felt right" rather than explaining or even feeling confident in their reasoning on certain decisions.  With access to constant knowledge of what very one else is doing through social media, I think it's important to understand what makes certain plans important. Whether it's going to church, managing a relationship or making plans with someone - what makes it integral vs. optional?

Is it...

• The amount of attention you'll receive?
• The perceived amount of fun you'll have?
• Dedication to the people you are with? 
• Sharability & sociability? 
• The allure of new opportunities? 

What do you think? 

Importance of catching up

I saw this picture hanging up at a co-worker's desk last week. Magazine ads are always powerful, but this one was particularly notable and ahead of its time.

Turning the print advertisement around, it's an ad for Visit North Carolina in 2009, but carries on a different meaning now than it probably would have then.

Wisdom is realizing that catching up is more important than keeping up.

In a world of constant updates & social media, it was a great reminder that you don't have to keep up with everyone's online statuses, photos, etc. But when you see them in person, talk on the phone or talk in detail, you can hear those things then.

Inspiration from Hillary Clinton

"I think that relationships are at the core of any political system and economic system - any family - and I think we drifted away from understanding that in our country. The people-to-people level is critical. It is ironic, though - we can text with anybody in the world, we can have a videoconference with anybody in the world, but [there should be] an even higher premium on showing up and getting to know someone. Looking them in the eye, listening to them, trying to understand where they're coming from."

-Hillary Rodham Clinton, Glamour, September 2014

What do you strive to be?

What do you want your title to be in three years?

This is an interesting question that I've received a lot in meetings or training sessions over the past few weeks. Knowing the nature of the role you aim to be in is an important question to answer, but I believe there is a more significant question that this one doesn't encompass that everyone must answer to themselves first.

What do you strive to be?

Instead of looking at what you’re doing, it looks at the nature of how you will go about tackling it. What do you want your impression to be at a given work place? What impression do you want to make on friends, family and in relationships? What attributes do you strive to “own”? What type of person do you want to be?

For me, the answer to this is accountability. I want everyone I interact with to leave and know that I will follow through & get the job done. I value accountability over ambition because you can be a go-getter without delivering on every promise.

It is definitely possible to strive for more than one attribute as well, but choosing a primary and secondary quality helps you prioritize actions in many components of your life.

So what do you want to be? Actionable? A leader? Expert on a specific subject? Whether it’s a noun or an adjective, narrow in on some attributes and set goals around them. 

History from our era

I mentioned Hannah and I went to a history museum yesterday, and as we walked through, one large question continued to linger in my mind.

What will history about our era cover?

There are issues and events like 9-11, privacy and security in persona and online, the technology age, device growth, but what else will be discussed? Have its story told in a future museum exhibit?

As we explored an exhibit on controversial issues in U.S. history, we continued to be shocked at the timing of some movements. Women's suffrage was not legalized until 1919. Slavery still existed in the 1960s, when our parents were young children or just born.

Yet another story arose in the news today where the timing was a surprise. Mizzou football player Michael Sam admitted to news outlets that he was openly gay, and it was a story across platforms and publications. The New York Times, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and many more covered Michael Sam coming out.

When we consider that this even is a story to be released, it shows how the gay rights movement has progressed as our generation has opened up the conversation toward gay marriage and acceptance overall. I'm happy to be part of a generation where these topics can be discussed, and look forward to seeing how history books portray this.

The art of making decisions

A simple phrase on the radio caught my ear:
"The most important decisions are often the easiest."

As the campaign tagline for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, I am moved by this simple phrase that guides the power of making decisions. Naturally, I looked up Blue Cross Blue Shield's creative advertising agency of record, which is McGarry Bowen in Chicago. The campaign's video ads linked here are not my favorite, since I don't think they deliver on the insight as well as the audio spots do, but check them out and see what you think yourself.

The truth in this statement teaches a consumer more than how to overcome the overwhelming decision of where to get health insurance (wait, Healthcare.gov isn't working?). It allows individuals to relate to Blue Cross Blue Shield brand's position by considering the other decisions they make daily and in the grand scheme of their lives.

As humans and not potential consumers- where to live, what industry to work in, who to be friends with…should be simple decisions. These do not have to be complicated matters, because if you are truly confident and going to buy into your own decision, there will be no hesitation. This nicely-crafted tagline will stick in my brain as I strive to see the big picture in important decisions.

Appreciate who you have

Do not be anxious to keep company or even appear in public and in the company of others for no reason. You should instead dedicate your precious time in the company of your wiser and more prudent relatives, priests, and seriously-minded people, young and old alike.

-St. Gregory the Theologian

I read this in the church bulletin recently, and this passage resonates with me as a student. It is written in the context of advice for Christian women from St. Gregory, especially to new brides. In college and over the weekends, a lot of people go out to bars and parties to do what we call face-time. Apparently, this term isn't so widely used outside of Mizzou, but face timing is going out so people see that you are out. Walking a lap around the bar to say your hellos, making an appearance or talking with a classmate over a quick drink at a party all constitute this definition. 

It's a temptation that's easy to fall into. Rarely do people keep eye contact in a conversation anymore, especially in a bar or party setting, because everyone seems to be waiting for more. Who's going to text you next? Who's walking in the door next? Who else do I need to establish myself with by saying a quick hello? People are missing out on spending time with their own, real friends because they're too busy paying attention to the 'could-be' friends that are in and out of the social setting. 

As a senior, I want to be spending my last semester at Mizzou with people I care about and want to see, not the faux notion that there is an obligation to "have to" see everyone else I've met in college. It's nice to see St. Gregory reinforce appreciating what and who you have, instead of dwelling on the 'coulds' of life.

Sorority Experience

As the end of the school year approached, one tradition common in most Greek chapters is that the upcoming graduates are given an opportunity to say one last goodbye before receiving their alumni status. Phi Mu holds a ceremony for this, typically at our last chapter meeting, and it is always very emotional. You reflect upon your memories, sorority leadership experiences and what your membership has taught you over the years. 

The Phi Mu seniors before our ceremony

The week this happened, one of my friends in another sorority said something very meaningful about this transition. She explained, “The person you were freshman year when you joined the sorority is completely different than who you are now.” After hearing this, the statement constantly ran through my head as I thought of how I and my friends had changed since Bid Day the Saturday before freshman year of college. It was so accurate- I AM a totally different and developed individual than I was in August of 2009. 

Some friends and I before my last Phi Mu formal

Then, I thought I would graduate in four years. Everyone in my pledge class's potential had yet to be measured, and leadership opportunities were free reign. Where one would go, what she would pursue and what direction it would take her in was all up for question. Who your core "group" of friends would be within the sisterhood had yet to be determined. And three years later, with these speeches, it all comes together.

You wish your friends the best in their transitions, reflect on accomplishments and head in new directions. I can leave Phi Mu knowing how I can help serve in the future, knowing who I want to stay in touch with and having an amazing pledge family I never would have thought I would be blessed with. I can walk around the house confidently, happily take photos by the mantle and sit in the dining room without hesitation of not knowing the name of the girl next to me. I am the one answering younger members' questions and not asking. I can talk about my experiences serving on dozens of committees and working as public relations chair, vice president and sisterhood relations chairman in job interviews and explain how much I learned about work ethic and more. 

me, Alex and Emily smiling in the Formal Living Room

As you progress through your years in a sorority or Greek chapter, or any organization for that matter, think about how you've changed since Day 1. Did you accomplish what you set out to? Gain what you wanted from your membership? Did you fulfill the organization's mission and represent the group well? If not, go do it. You'll only have limited time before your active years go away and alumni status begins :).   

StrengthsQuest

Today, I took a StrengthsQuest, a test for students and staff to identify and apply talents for teamwork and career success. StrengthsQuest has a good reputation and has always produced accurate results, and I was very impressed after taking it last summer. My strengths after these results were:

Communication

Focus

Woo (Win others over)

Responsibility

Individualization

And all of the descriptions were fitting. But today I received an access code to take the exam for an organization I'm involved in at school and received pretty different results. Drastic in my mind, but still very relative.

My 5 strengths in order were:

Learner

Input

Arranger

Responsibility

Achiever

Note: Only one of these is the same. I guess I'm no more or less responsible than I was a year ago. Kidding, but glad responsibility is a trait that I've maintained.

But analyzing the results and reading the personalized descriptions, I realize that my strengths have changed in part due to my experience in the past year- specifically studying abroad in Argentina. My sophomore year was a big one- I solidified my college friendships, became vice president of my sorority, gained positions on numerous committees, traveled and decided to graduate a year early. Studying abroad was after all of that, and living in one of the world's biggest cities and working my first internship are probably other things that contributed to a development in my strengths and weaknesses. Taking 12 credit hours in 10 weeks really did make me a learner, my need for productivity and continuous improvement does make me an arranger and my desire to get a word into everything does in fact fit with input. A need for achievement outlines a competitive sense. Below are the five 'strengths' and some descriptions. Reading them might teach you what you might be!

Learner

People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want

to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome,

excites them. By nature, you occasionally promise yourself to do certain things better in the future. Perhaps

you study the linkages between final outcomes and the factors leading up to them. As a result,

you may identify a few enhancements you need to make in yourself, in someone else, in a

process, or in a plan. Instinctively, you probably started asking people questions as a child

and continue to do so today. Others quickly notice you are genuinely interested in what they

say. Your inquiries turn tense frowns into relaxed smiles. The warmth of your presence can

transform a timid person into a talkative one. You intentionally offer compliments. Few

things delight you as much as hearing a stranger say, “I really like you — and I’ve just met

you!” It’s very likely that you may ponder options rather than react without thinking through

things. Sometimes you weigh the ramifications, consequences, outcomes, or effects.

Sometimes you aim to understand the basic “whys” and “hows” of a situation, problem, or

opportunity. Individuals might trust you to be cautious. They might expect you to raise

important issues that require further consideration. Driven by your talents, you have the extra

energy to work hard whenever you are acquiring information to broaden your base of

knowledge. You desire to deepen your understanding of various topics, opportunities,

problems, solutions, situations, events, or people. Chances are good that you thirst for new

ideas and knowledge. Often you lose yourself in a book. You pore over the ideas contained

on its pages for long stretches of time. Why? You want to absorb as much information as you

can.

Input

People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often

they like to collect and archive all kinds of information. By nature, you can simplify the most complex, convoluted, or intricate procedure. People usually rely on you to offer clear and easy-to-comprehend explanations. Driven by your

talents, you may impress others as well-versed in a certain subject. Maybe you have invested

time acquiring the sophisticated or technical vocabulary used by experts. When your

teammates hear you speak or read your writing, some assume you know more than they do.

Occasionally this is the case. Specific people may allow you to run meetings, make decisions,

or solve problems. Sometimes they just step back and let you take charge. It’s very likely that

you sometimes use academic-sounding words to talk about your ideas or areas of expertise.

Perhaps you have invested time in broadening your vocabulary by looking up words in the

dictionary and committing their meanings to memory. Chances are good that you are

determined to push for changes that will benefit humankind or Earth itself. Your desire to

have an impact motivates you to enter into conversations with intelligent people. Drawing on

their wealth of knowledge and ideas as well as sharing your treasure trove of wisdom is

exciting. These discussions frequently cause you to think in new ways and to reexamine your

purpose in life. Because of your strengths, you like systems or rules because they produce

uniform, consistent, and predictable results every time. This is especially useful when

individuals must perform the same task in the same way over and over again. Being an

organized thinker, you are apt to lead others through step-by-step presentations about

processes or regulations.

Arranger

People who are especially talented in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a

flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and

resources can be arranged for maximum productivity. Instinctively, you may gravitate to activities that require teamwork or collaboration to get the job done. Perhaps you enjoy coordinating the schedule or managing available human and material resources. You sometimes enjoy immersing yourself in your work or studies. By

nature, you are impelled to deliver on all of your commitments. You are determined to meet

all of your obligations. Doing so is your badge of honor. It is one reason why people describe

you as trustworthy and dependable. Because of your strengths, you exhibit a heightened

awareness of your talents. One of your top priorities is building upon these natural abilities to

create strengths. You undoubtedly find opportunities to practice using your talents in new and

different ways. Chances are good that you are aware of what you do naturally and well. You

prefer to leverage your talents rather than spend time trying to overcome your shortcomings.

You expect excellence from yourself and others. Being average at best and mediocre at worst

is unacceptable to you. Driven by your talents, you might derive pleasure from being on

certain teams. Why? Sometimes you just want to help your partners figure out what they can

contribute to the project. Sometimes you lend a hand coordinating human and material

resources. Sometimes you step into situations where one more pair of hands means the

difference between success and failure.

Responsibility

People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership

of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and

loyalty. By nature, you do much more than just try to live up to your commitments. You persist

working until you can deliver on your promises. This certainly enhances your reputation for

being trustworthy, reliable, and dependable. Driven by your talents, you are naturally open

and honest about who you are, what you have done, what you can do, and what you cannot

do. Your straightforward explanations and stories help listeners see you as you see yourself.

You reveal your strengths and limitations. You are forthright and plainspoken. People

generally seek your company and want to work with you. Many are impelled to move into

action by your words and examples. Instinctively, you yearn to be given additional duties.

You expect to be held accountable for your productivity, profit, behavior, comments, and

actions. It’s very likely that you may enjoy hearing people describe you as more serious than

some of your colleagues, classmates, teammates, friends, or coworkers. Because of your

strengths, you might shoulder your obligations and duties with relative ease. You might be

motivated to behave in ways that cause individuals to say you are dependable.

Achiever

People who are especially talented in the Achiever theme have a great deal of stamina and

work hard. They take great satisfaction from being busy and productive. Instinctively, you might expend more physical or mental energy doing your job or pursuing your studies than some of your peers do. Perhaps you need to make measurable progress toward one or two goals each day to feel successful as a human being. Because of your

strengths, you possess the physical and mental endurance to withstand hardships as well as

stress. Characteristically you work harder and longer than most people are capable of doing.

Driven by your talents, you regularly dedicate your energy and personal time to various

issues, causes, or projects. You harbor a deep-seated desire to have a good influence on the

planet and its people. Your goal is simple: “I want to leave the world in a lot better shape than

I found it.” By nature, you tend to be a very good adviser to many individuals. When offering

suggestions or asking questions, you probably are much more engaged, intense, and involved

than usual. Chances are good that you repeatedly go out of your way to support, inspire,

motivate, or embolden various individuals. You likely regard this task as worthy of your

effort and time.

Día del Amigo- Friend's Day!

Friendship is one of my favorite things in the entire world. There is nothing that makes me happier than spending time with and keeping in touch with the people I love, and knowing that they are happy.

Wikipedia accurately sums up the values of friendship as the following, fitting very well with my definitions:

• Tendency to desire what is best for each other
• Sympathy and empathy
• Honesty
• Mutual understanding and compassion
• Trust
• Positive reciprocity

Today, South America is celebrating Día del Amigo, Friend's Day, ironically enough, on my half birthday! I wasn't too familiar with what the holiday was except from advertisements, until a lunch conversation at work yesterday. My co-workers were shocked to hear that the USA does not have anything really comparable to this, at least societally-noted and celebrated.

Wikipedia describes it as the following:

Día del Amigo (Spanish, Friend's Day) is a celebration of friendship, held annually on July 20 in South American countries including Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

In Argentina, Friend's Day is often a good excuse for a common friendly gathering, though people also employ the day to get in contact with old and seldom-met friends and greet them. …The gatherings tend to happen during the evening.

Friend's Day has in recent years it has turned into a very popular mass phenomenon. In 2005, too many well-wishing friends led to a temporary breakdown of the mobile phone network in the cities of Buenos Aires, Mendoza, Córdoba and Rosario. …Seats in most restaurants, bars and other establishments are already booked out completely a week before the celebration.

The idea for Friend's Day goes back to Argentine teacher, musician, and dentist Enrique Febbraro, who lobbied to turn the anniversary of the first moon landing into an international day of friendship, along with his Rotary Club de Once, Buenos Aires. He argued that on this particular day, the whole world had been friends of the three astronauts. The first official recognition of the day came with decree No. 235/79 by the government of Buenos Aires Province, which authorized the celebration and gave it official nature.

I say this a lot, but I have the best friends in the world. Looking at these pictures does not fully explain how special each and every one of you is to me, and how nice it is to know I always have someone to talk to. Whether I'm skyping someone from Argentina, making plans at home or school, talking on the phone or going on adventures, it's the people and not the conversation or events that make it for me. Having people to trust with your thoughts, share experiences and listen to is a special thing. Excited to observe how Friend's day is celebrated, I reflected on some of my fondest memories with my friends. I might be crying of happiness as I post this, but here we go.

FRIENDSHIP IS...

Going to St. Louis together Labor Day weekend to catch up from the summer

and cheer on Mizzou at the Illinois game

Building houses at Project Mexico for a month

where you meet and forever keep in touch with

some of the greatest people in your lives

Eating with your sorority sisters after chapter

to debrief and comment on everything that just happened

Sleeping in a hotel room in downtown Chicago with 17 girls,

because you want each one of them there

Celebrating New Years' with your best friends

then forever lying to your friend's mom

Traveling through Argentina together

and picking each other up while you fall

the first time you all try to ski
Going downstairs on midnight on your birthday

to see that your best friends trekked over to your house

in the snow to sing Happy Birthday and share some cake

Having all the people you love come to your birthday

dinner on a school night even after the original reservation

was cancelled because of snowstorms

Coming home for Sts. Peter & Paul's 50th Anniversary

and Greek dancing all night with all of your church friends
Road tripping to the Michigan Dunes for

ultimate relaxation and an annual catch-up

Having the opportunity to celebrate Orthodox Christian Easter

not only with your family, but also three of your best friends

who care enough to go to Chicago and attend a midnight church service

Valuing every minute you have together, even if it's

the one day you see each other all summer before taking off

for different countries, summer and future lifestyles

Love you all!

Feliz Día del Amigo &

Happy Friend's Day

to all of my best friends out there!

Lent begins!

We are almost approaching the one-year anniversary of this blog!

When Lent begins, I think of something I can give up that will help me as a person. Unfortunately, giving up meat and dairy won't do that. So for the past two years, I've given up Facebook. Not just to not be there, but because of the time it gave me to do more valuable things. It made me less focused on what was going on with people I might not be close with and more focus toward the people I am. It was a sacrifice and a disconnect, but it helped. Many people looked down upon me for creating a blog during this time, but you can see now what that has done. Given me an outlet to express thoughts and feelings, share news (and pictures) with the world and helped me improve my writing. Selfish? Moderately, but helpful? Yes.

As much as I would love to give Facebook up again, I can't. It has become a huge means for communication for college students. Organizations I'm with such as Relay For Life share information and reminders on Facebook, people don't know how to publicize an event without posting it there and inbox messages are sent instead of e-mails about important things. Because I cannot fully take this sacrifice, I'll be going on Facebook just once a day (this is improvement).

When thinking of what I wanted to give up for Lent, I thought of what my weaknesses are and what I spend too much time doing. I discovered something that was making me rude and inattentive....text messaging.

I've made this a goal before, but Lent just provides more inspiration to do so. I found myself texting about situations in which I could call just because that's what other people did, and I don't do that--I'm a caller. My group of friends tends to text each other across the room to share 'secret' information--that everyone will find out anyway. If I received a text message about something moderately important during class, my focus in class greatly diminished and I would freak out about the message's content. So I believe the sacrifice to stop texting will help me focus more on the tasks of being attentive to the people I am with and the things I am doing.

Note: This is not meant to be a burden on other people. I'm just trying to decrease overcompensation and lack of focus so my responses may not be as immediate as before, but they will be sent at appropriate times.

Below is what I have hanging up in my room as a daily reminder. I encourage you to do the same thing!

Recap of the past few weeks

Last weekend, Kathryn, Laura, Shaina and I went to Kansas City and stayed at the Davison residence!
The middle schools in Shawnee had a mixer at Shawnee Mission Northwest, and we went to chaperone as Laura's mom is PTA president!
Sunday morning, I went to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Kansas City, Mo. and was shocked at its resemblance of Sts. Peter & Paul! Red carpet, open altar, the iconography- it was scary how alike they are. The service was ran the exact same in terms of English-Greek too!
Laura and I celebrating Mardi Gras!
Saturday morning was the Mizzou-Kansas border showdown for men's basketball. As this picture shows, we got ahead of Kansas at one point! We easily could have won, but only made 22 percent of our baskets. There's always next year....or every year in football.

At the game

Amy and I went to Les Bourgeois Winery for one of the nicest meals we'll eat...ever! It was a great birthday present and a nice time to enjoy rural Missouri.

That's that!

Inspiration of the Day- 3/2

I have this theory that if I save the paper slip from fortune cookies at Chinese restaurants, the fortune will come true.

That being said, I found this fortune in my wallet today:

"The world will soon be ready to receive your talents."

If that's not inspirational, I don't know what is.

Also this afternoon, I saw a friend post a link to my sister's Facebook profile, titled list of children of clergy on Wikipedia. I don't know who or why someone felt the need to create this page, but it is now one of my goals to do something worthy enough to be on it!

Leadership

At my sorority's executive board training, we read this poem. It will essentially be a motto for this semester. I just want to pass it along for some inspiration because it is 100 percent accurate and I respect the anonymous person who wrote it!

A Wish For Leaders

I sincerely wish you will have the experience of thinking up a new idea, planning it, organizing it, and following it to completion, then have it be magnificent successful. I also hope you go through the same process and have something fail terribly.

I wish you could know how it feels to run with all your heart and lose horribly.

I wish that you could achieve some great good for man and have nobody know about it except for you.

I wish you could find something so worthwhile that you deem it worthy of devoting your life.

I hope you become frustrated and dissatisfied enough to begin to push back the very barriers of your own personality limitations.

I hope you give so much of yourself that some days you wonder if it's worth it all.

I hope you make a stupid unethical mistake and get caught red handed and are big enough to say those magic words "I was wrong."

I wish for you a magnificent obsession that will give you a reason for living and purpose and direction and élan and life.

I wish for you the worst kind of criticism for everything you do because that makes you fight to achieve beyond what you normally would.

I wish for you the experience of leadership.

Endorsement

Attention all journalism students, people who like to read and information-hungry citizens:

I have a solution for how to keep yourself updated on current events without necessarily Twitter, Facebook or a social networking aspect. It's called Google Reader.

A friend (shoutout Kara!) has used this for awhile now, but I tried it out at the beginning of winter break. I follow the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Columbia Missourian, Columbia Tribune and blogs of choice--such as the Missouri Journalism School, MOJO Advertising Agency, my sorority and the blogs of my close friends. It's been very effective and allows you to read not only the headlines, but essentially the nut graf and most important part of the story. When I'm at school, I will feel more informed about what is going on at home, without having to put in the additional effort to read through Chicago publications' website.

Living in a world where people prefer brief updates rather than lengthy stories, it is a perfect tool to get the headlines but read more if you are interested. Comparison and various viewpoints can be analyzed by scanning and reading multiple articles on the same news story, such as the recent Arizona shooting. I've read news and opinion pieces on safety of citizens, what this means for politicians and the story itself of what happened, and have never felt more knowledgable about one simple occurrence.

It is also a much better use of my time than reading Facebook, because it immerses you in what's going on in the world rather than the complaints, postings, feelings and photos of your Facebook network. Thus, I endorse Google Reader and highly recommend that all of my fellow Mizzou journalism students use their Gmail accounts to start a page for current event quizzes and more!

2010 in numbers

When I returned from school, my dad looked at the car for his usual inspection. He was ready to take my CRV for an oil change, car wash and more random things that help the car function that I can't even understand and would not do alone. But he noticed something alarming.

The Honda has 6,200 more miles on it than it did when I left for school in August. "You could have driven from New York to California, and back," my dad said. This shocks me even more because I do not lend my car to others. Due to its standard transmission, I am the only one that drives it, and it shocks me that I have spent 103.3 hours in the car (assuming I drive at 60 miles per hour, a good assumption considering street and highway driving combinations). "That's four straight days, plus some," Laura adds from my room right now. All of this lost time!

While some people believe in paying cabs, trains and airplanes for the time they receive by sitting on them and not driving, I evidently do not always vouch for this tactic. Where did I go in these 6,200 miles?

• From Chicago to Columbia and Columbia to Chicago two times each (beginning of the school year, winter break, back and forth in October)
• New Buffalo, Mich. to Chicago the day before I left for school to go to the Michigan Dunes
• Chicago to Cincinnati and back to pick up Yiayia for Christmas
• Columbia, Mo. to Ames, Ia. and back to visit Helen

That's at least half of it, and some travel at school. But I haven't taken any spontaneous rides to St. Louis or Kansas City to waste miles. Incidentals apparently take this much of my time. So I thought, how else can I define my year in numbers? It describes a variety of aspects of my life, but let's see!

14 states visited this year, of 16 vacation destinations

• Mexico and Washington D.C. as destinations
• States= Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia (cheater: only drove through it), Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Kansas, California

6 one-way flights booked this year and 8 one-way tickets total

• Including flights from Chicago to Pittsburgh, San Diego, Washington D.C., Kansas City, Boston, and out of St. Louis
• Buses and trains from Cincinnati to Chicago and D.C. to Newark, New Jersey on the Amtrak

2000 minutes average I spend talking on the phone per month

4000 text messages sent in the month of November (this is pathetic, I know), a record

104 blog posts since Lent when I started this blog

1928 friends on Facebook

2379 tagged photos

6108 photos on my iPhoto library from 2010

97 Facebook photo albums, 23 of them published this year

73 followers on Twitter, with 96 pages I follow

5 school activities- Phi Mu, MSF, AAF, Relay For Life and OCF

2 conferences attended- College Conference and the Leadership Academy

I think this is pretty fun to keep track of so at the end of next year, I can compare them! I don't regret how I have spent my time, but seeing the numbers themselves definitely makes you think about things.

The Nativity

Apparently, the thing to do this year is modernize the Nativity. I can't decide if this is the greatest thing in the world or the strangest thing in the world.

The Christmas Story: This video, as found by my friend Anna, shows a group of young kids explaining Jesus's birth in their innocent voices.

The Digital Story of the Nativity:

My dad sent me a link to this video a few weeks ago and I have shared it with many people, because it is so amazing. This creator uses current Internet technology screenshots to describe in today's world how a story could possibly be told. Some programs he uses include Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Four Square and iPhone text messaging. I was even more fascinated as I had just learned what Four Square was the day before watching this video: a program where you check into your current location and have the incentive of seeing who else is there by checking in, or being labeled the "mayor" of that location for being there the most. Social media and religion are something I never would have thought to combine, but the video works well.

The advantage is that these independent groups are spending their time and effort into putting the Nativity and Christmas story into the rest of society's terms, and it might even enhance knowledge. A teenager who grew up without a religious background and comes across these videos might better comprehend the story of Christmas. Both videos focus on simplicity, and when information is presented so clearly, humans are more inclined to listen. It's great that people are spending their time analyzing the Bible and parables, then wanting to share the lessons and stories with the rest of the world.

But are we diminishing the significance of what happened by almost mocking the scene? This potential disadvantage arose in the digital nativity video. The Virgin Mary types this on Gmail in a message to joseph.carpenter07@gmail.com: Joseph, we need to talk. I will be pregnant. Call me ASAP. xoxo, Mary. The Three Kings exchange messages about what gift to buy the baby. Generally, I think this mocks our priorities of gifts and impatience more than the Nativity story itself, hitting home, but some might see it as a sign of disrespect. For now, I remain in favor of such videos and hope to see more arise in the future.

I wish you and your family a great Christmas and holiday season!! Merry Christmas!

Inspirational Message of the Day

The Lord said, “And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from who you hope to receive, what credit is that to use? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expect nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

--Luke 6:31-36