I need to be up in four hours. Whoops. Ew. This is going to be bad. I have to work with small children. I am going to die. I want sleep. I want eight long, luxurious hours of sleep. I want to nap in the noon time and be happy. UGHGH, nooooo to work. NOOO!

In my Heart and on my Mind

Love and inspiration.

Love is on my mind. I just watched Twilight (yesss, that movie), and although the film itself is rather lacking, it's difficult not to become immersed in the love story. After watching it, I found myself thinking about love. Not just romantic love, but all kinds of love. I love love. It feels so good. It makes you happy, but more than happy. Joyful. Love is a wonderful thing.

It comes in so many forms. Love between you and a significant other, a mother and child, friends and God's love too. It stirs up intense emotions. It makes you feel something far greater than simple happiness could ever do. Love is beautiful.

Inspiration is on my mind tonight too. I always feel so inspired after looking at great artwork. I find it especially inspiring to look at artwork created by people who don't feel so distant. It's much more enjoyable to see things made by "real people". For example, pictures on flickr or things on etsy.com. Today I visited Anthropologie, one of my favorite places to look (and unfortunately, for the most part, not buy). There are so many beautiful things there. It's just an inspirational place to go. It makes you want to make things. There are so many unique things there, most of which feel so handmade. Everything seems like it has been handled with care from the minute the idea was conceived. I wish that I could someday be able to create things.

-feeling very in love and inspired.

Words About Topics

Laying here thinking about things in the wee hours of the morning is forcing me to feel so many mixed emotions.

I really miss Ohio State. I loved that place so much. I made a countless amount of wonderful memories there. I knew I belonged. It was definitely a sense of family, much more so than this world I'm living in now. Having that huge group of comrades around at all times was such a comfort. Right now, I miss that school more than anything.

On a similar (but not really) note, I've been thinking about people I miss and don't miss. How is it that you can bond so deeply with some people, yet others you couldn't care less what they thought or had to say? I'm so grateful for the few people in my life with whom I share a deep connection. Only a select handful of friends know the real me. It is hard to open yourself up and give yourself away to others, and after you do, you form an unbreakable bond with that individual. Or so I'd like to think.

I love God so much. I want so much more of Him in my life. I try to let Jesus into my life more and more, but I know that often times I ignore Him. God knows me, He knows my heart and I trust in Him. I know He loves me, because I am His child. I want to love Him more. I need to. How can I live in such a way that I am becoming more like Jesus? I want to, I really do, but I keep getting caught in worldly matters. It's frustrating and difficult. This isn't an easy place to live.

Happy New Year!

I'm not sure how to react to this new year. It's officially 2010, about 4 hours into it now. I feel a little...weird. I don't know why, but all of the sudden I'm having a little shock to the system. I'm 23 years old, as of yesterday. I'm a real, live grown up now. Oh-em-gee, I'm a woman!

Seriously, though...I think that I started getting a little depressed, because I started thinking about the decade that lies ahead. (I hope my next statement isn't true) It seems like 2000-2010 was such an amazing decade, so I'm just not sure how I will be able to top it. I don't want that to have been my life peak, but I can't help but wonder. "They" say that your high school and college years are the best of your life, aka 2001-2009. I really hope not! Not that those years weren't amazing, but I don't want it to get icky from here on out. I hope I will continue making wonderful, happy memories with the people I love. I want to be able to love the next decade as much as I loved this last one.

In closing, here are my wishes for 2010:

To all my friends, family and loves, I hope that this year will be the greatest of your lives so far. I want the best for each and every one of you. I pray that your lives will be happier than ever before. I want that you take time to enjoy even the simplest of things and realize all that is good in your world. Even the smallest token of kindness should be appreciated and reciprocated. Love like you've never loved before, and live with the same attitude. Become a better person, because no one is perfect. Live well. Be merry. Have fun. Life is too short to dwell on the past or worry about the future. Be part of the present, because it's gone in a flash.

Peace and love in the new year.