Separate Worlds

As I anxiously await the arrival of my best friend, Kenna, this evening... I have been thinking about the total separateness of my life in Ohio & my life in Florida... Kenna is the first person to come visit me, which will make this whole journey seem more realistic. A lot of the time... my life down here feels like a dream. It's hard to believe that 6 months ago, I packed up all my belongings in my car & set off for an entirely new life, totally alone, basically broke. While I know that everything I do down here is indeed real, it's crazy for me to think that no one from back home knows what the hell I'm talking about. I can call someone and tell them that I'm walking down the street, but they can't imagine it, they have no idea where I am. Maybe that's just me.. but I find comfort in being able to visualize certain things, like where my friends and family are going.

That being said, I am beyond excited to finally share the world that I've told people about down here with my soul sister! The intersection of my two worlds is going to be really cool, then I get to head back to my world in Ohio, where my life in Florida will again feel like a dream. When I went home in October, it was so hard for me to believe that all my belongings were sitting in a house in Florida.

In other news; It's my favorite time of year; I love love love Christmas. While Southern Florida really tries to encompass the joy of the season... I can't wait for my white Christmas. My family. My friends. Snow. Pine trees. Irish coffee. Egg nog. Fires. Brisk air... I miss the seasons. I need to prepare myself for the weather, my blood has thinned out down here, and the cold is gonna be frigid. In honor of my trip home a week from today, here is a song by two beautiful men... singing the tale of my life! :)

Have a great weekend all.
All my love :)

Perception

Good evening & Happy Monday all. Today I spent the day cooped up, sick... The unfortunate thing about eating out with a gluten allergy is that no matter how safe you think you're being ... you're never truly safe. I've been fighting off the post-gluten cravings... thinking about all the Krispy Kreme donuts I could be eating, but instead... eating sugar sugar sugar. We're now on to the detox aka chugging liters on liters of water... getting all the nastiness out of my system.

While in today, I sat down and watched all of White Christmas for the first time. I was really struck by this song  (not just because I couldn't sleep the whole night). It really made me think about how in our world, we often perceive things to be worse than they are. Can't sleep? Count sheep... but why would you count sheep... dwelling on the fact that you can't sleep when you could be counting the things in your life that you are blessed with and truly reflecting on how much they mean to you...

Today, I am reflecting on my blessings :)

• The fact that, despite my gluten allergy, I caught the signs & symptoms before it led to greater bodily damage.
• The team of beautiful & brilliant young adults I work with have become my best friends & my family. A day without them feels wrong & foreign.
• The fact that I can pick up the phone & call my loved ones. Whenever, for however long.
• The incredibly strong students I work with every single day... and their million different nicknames for me. 
• Every new person that has come into my life; everyone brings something different to the table, I love that.
• My health.
• My brain.
• My teeth.
• My car, despite it's smashed bumper. The ability to just jump in & go anywhere is something I take for granted.
• My incredible friends.
• Laughing. Laughing. Laughing. One of the biggest blessings.
• I'm blessed to have a positive outlook.
• My amazing sister.
• My equally as amazing brother.
• The most magnificent & hard-working parents.
• To have any money at all. I may belly-ache about how difficult it is... but I am lucky. 
• I get to pour coffee into a cup every morning, that's a blessing.
• My bunny rabbit.
• Two super amazing, intelligent & supportive roommates. 
• Plumbing, housing, warmth, water, food.

There are so many more things I could say... but I just want to leave you with this... When life presents you with a situation, you can either run from it or embrace it. You have full control on how you see the situation, good or bad, & how you handle it. I believe that every hardship is a blessing in disguise. For instance, I within the past month have: gotten in an accident & had my wallet stolen... Due to a lack of picture ID, I can't get on a plane to go home in 2 weeks for Christmas... but the silver lining is always always always present. I now get to see two of my best friends as a result of this bump in the road. 1) A friend, Kenna, is flying down for a week, then riding cross country back to Ohio with me. 2) I get to see my friend Kate in Texas because I then had to switch my flights.

So count your blessings... they're there, even when it doesn't seem like it.