Start of a good thing...

I never really considered creating a blog until recently. In the past, when I wrote anything outside of papers for school, it was because I was upset about something and needed to vent to an anonymous source. I always figured if I had a blog, I would have nothing to say that I'd feel comfortable making public. But recently, I've been turning to my beautiful journal that I got from Andi (thanks, love!) to write about things going on in my life, and instead of just writing about specific events like I used to write about back in the day (e.g., how upset I am that I haven't been asked to homecoming yet, how mad I am at my brother for putting soap on my toothbrush, how mad I am about my epidemiology grade) I find my writing has changed. Now I tend to write less about specific events (although that still slips in, mostly to serve as a reference point for what I am actually saying) and more about what these events have made me realize.

Although the events of our life tend to shape us dramatically, I am not sure it is really the events themselves that matter so much as what we take away from them. Therefore, while it is important to think about and remember the events that have occurred, it may be even more important to think about what we learn from these events, especially when they are negative ones (the ones I used to be so fond of writing about).

In this blog, I hope to try to document these types of events and the impact they have on me, in hope of gaining more clarity and perspective in my life. Changes in my life right now are rampant and I feel I am constantly being molded into a different, and hopefully better, person.

That being said, I want to send a special thanks out to my lovely classmate Sapna, whose amazing blog was the last straw that convinced me to start my own. Mine even kind of looks like hers because it was just so beautifully designed -- plus, I love bright colored writing on a black background, it just looks so chic. Also, I love the way pictures look with a black background. In fact, I just love pictures in general and will therefore try to post a relevant picture or two with each of my posts.

This one is pretty simple, like I said above, change is a major theme in my life right now that is [ironically] pretty constant. I expected my life to change when I moved to Philadelphia, but I don't think I ever could have predicted all of this! However, I did know change was coming, and one of the only framed pieces I planned on taking with me to my new room was a framed picture of a tree that changed seasons depending on the angle you viewed it from. Under the tree is the word "change". Unfortunately, my dad accidentally broke the glass when we were loading it into my car. I tried not to see it as a bad omen, but it was an emotional day and it got to me a little bit (Holly, Andi, Caitlin, I'm sure you guys remember). Anyway, the picture it is still at my house so until I can convince someone to deliver it to me, this picture of a fall tree will have to suffice. Just pretend it changes seasons as you look at it from different angles, wont you? :)

Well, that concludes my first post. I'm sure there will more to come soon, as long as I'm more committed to writing than Rachel from FRIENDS was in her diary-writing resolution. :)