Gotta Love the...

...nice cool breeze today. It's a small glimpse into my favorite season...Fall or Autumn depending on how politically correct you would like to be... But there was no better feeling on my bike ride this morning than this same cool breeze cooling me down as I huffed up the three hills on my route.

www.boston.com

Today on my commute into Boston, we passed the two of the newer wind turbines on route 93. These huge structures serve a purpose; they are a clean way of collecting renewable energy for consumers in the suberbs of this historical Massachusetts city. To some they may be ugly strcutures, defiling the Boston skyline. To me they give me hope that we, as a society, are opening our minds to new and innovative ideas; today the turning of the blades gave me hope that things will continue to turn, move and change.

Last night I was a little down in the dumps. Just one of those moods. I was a little upset that my plans to go for a bike ride with a friend were canceled. And this lead to feelings of discouragement at the fact that I was still living at home. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and am so thankful that they let me come home after I graduated college. I just saw myself living in Boston if I had a job there. And I'm not...A girl can get sad every now and again right?

But this windmill on my way to work this morning opened my eyes...life keeps going, moving, changing. It creates different expereinces, memories, and energies. And I need to stop thinking about how my "life plan" isn't playing out like I thought it would. I need to float, be flexable, move with the changing winds. Stay positive, stay strong, and keep the hope that I've had all my life; everything will work out!

Your Mission...

"Be so busy loving your life you have no time for hate, regret or fear."

- Karen Salmansohn, notsalmon.com

Follow her blog... It's spectacular and so helpful!

My Life-Long Dream...

This week I was a stalker. Yup, that's right. I was a full-fledged, Facebook-creeping, blog digging psychopath. And not with an old crush or ex-friend, with someone I barely know...

When I was a freshman in high school, there was this older senior. She was a star basketball player and wanted to study Communication. Yet, she did what many from my small town are scared to do; she left. And not just go away to college, but full on took the world by storm. She went to school in California, did a semester at sea, traveled the world. Now she is living her dream, working for one of the top women's magazines in New York City. As an outsider looking in, she is living her dream; she has surpassed her goals and seems to have found something we all strive for, happiness. 

Sifting through all of her posts on her blog, I came to the realization. I must, need and most of all want to travel. By seeing the world, my former schoolmate was able to find out who she was and what she wanted out of life... I feel stuck...I have a job with people that I love, working to make a change in my local community... But what else is out there? What am I missing out on? 

As a result, here's my list. The top 10 places I want to visit. Absorb. Touch and be touched by the cultures and the sights. These are by no means in an order of attainability. Just the top 10 places that intrigue me:

1.  Petra, Jordan

2.  London, England

3.  Tuscany, Italy

4.  Grand Canyon

5.  Botswana

6.  Bermuda

7.  Panama Canal

8.  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

9.  Santorini, Greece

10. Great Wall of China

It's a random list yes, but a girl can dream can't she?

1910 Map of the World
(emersonkent.com)

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

One of My Favorite Women...

For those who know me well, you are aware of what I am about to say. I had magazine covers and spreads hanging on my college dorm walls all four of my undergraduate years. In middle school and high school, my friends and I would try to perfect her booty pop. She is still a consistent presence in my six-disk CD changer in my '05 Pontiac G6 and will always be one of my favorite ringtones.

Beyonce has to be my favorite celebrity. I love her music, her confidence, her ability to make her private life private and the way she holds humanitarian work so close to her heart. When she sets her mind to something, she will complete it. She is a great business women and at the end of the day seems to put her family and friends before her work. I have heard her say countless times that she is in the music industry because she not only loves music, but wants to make a difference in someone's life. I hope for the same one day...but I have a feeling Beyonce is completing this dream on a much larger scale.

Any way, in this drastic change from college student to young professional, I use her music as a tool. If I am having a rough day at work I will listen to one of her most popular tracks with Destiny's Child, "Survivor" to give me a confidence boost. If I am in a care-free state of mind one of her newest singles, "Love On Top" will be blasted in my car with the windows down. And any time I need a good laugh at work, the "Single Ladies" SNL skit with Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, and Any Samberg will be viewed during my lunch break. Nothing better than grown men in tight black leotards!

Either way if you have not already seen her video of "I Was Here" that premiered this past week please feel free to take the next couple of minutes and watch...You will not be disappointed!

"I was here, I lived, I loved..."

Fresh Flowers, Fresh Hope

I have this obsession with flowers. I tend to buy them every other week at a farm in town. I do love the stereotypical favorites like roses, daffodils, or daises. But when it comes down to it, I am in love with all flowers. Peonies, violets, sunflowers, hydrangeas, even the dandelions (I know they are weeds, but I can't help it!). I feel a special connection to flowers... Some people may have bad memories with flowers; they are one of the most common gifts for the loss of a loved one and usually present at funerals... Others may not see the value in them; what purpose do they actually serve? Here is what they do for me...

Their spectacular earthy smell, the unbeatable splash of color in any room, and their elegant structure are some of the most common reasons for flowers being present in a home. For me, they serve as hope and simplicity. Coming into a room and seeing flowers immediately puts me at ease. These blossoms, which were previously growing on a larger stem and plant, are still beautiful. They hold their shape even though they are no longer connected to their root system. In some cases, they keep blooming for days and days. How is this possible? They are not receiving any more nutrients from their roots, other than a vase of water. They receive minimal sun, only that of artificial lights or the rays sneaking through windows. No insects (hopefully) will grace their petals and leaves. Essentially they are dying, their lives shortly coming to an end. Yet, they are still so magnificently beautiful....

The world these flowers knew is over as they knew it, yet they still blossom, bloom, and keep their fragrance. They display their beauty to the world around them showing just what they are made of. They are stripped down to nothing and they still shine. They don't know that their world is over, or if they do, they don't let the world know it... I want to be like a flower and seeing them gives me hope. Even in my darkest days, I want to bloom. I may see the end of the road that I am traveling on, but I will not act like it. I will hold my values and beliefs close to me while blossoming all along the way. I will be a flower for the world to see, be positive and strong through the ugliness of the world. Hold true to who I am, simple, a bud waiting to show its true colors!

 So buy flowers for people who are important to you with these thoughts in mind. Buy flowers for those that you may not like, it may brighten their day and give them hope... It would work on me!

(All photos were taken by Sarah Viafora.)

Batman! Spider-man! Why NOW?

I think we can all recognize these two theme songs. The man in a black bat suit and the young teenage boy in a blue and red spandex onesie. Both of them using their power of flying and superhuman strength to save their respective cities. Both of these characters extremely popular on the silver screen today...

 

But I want to pose the question, why are these films being made now? Starting in 2000, there have been over 50 films making over ten million dollars at the box office, many of them pulling in more than one-hundred million dollars. It is easy to say that these film attract audiences. The old and young, the geeky teen and businessman. More than likely if someone were to ask you who your favorite superhero was, you would pull from the films you've seen or comics you've read and answer. But why now?

I don't know if Marvel Comics is just really good at marketing their superheros or if DC Comics hit the lottery having Christopher Nolan direct the "man in black." Either way there is no denying that these films are hugely successful right now. Even the not-so-well made movies with weird plot points, 2011's Green Lantern or this year's sequel Ghost Rider:  Spirit of Vengeance, were successful. So why now? Why can these films be shoddily made and still rake in millions? How come this was not the case in the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's? Why is there an influx now? Is this the movie industry's strategy of trying to make as much money as they can in the dying age of theaters?

Here's my take. People want change. They want hope that someone out there can change their community for the better, especially in the world's economic state. Yes, the actors, special effects, and directing are impeccable. But at the end of the day, don't we all wish we were doing more with our lives? I know I wish I had the nerve to stand up for others being bullied, or stop a robber, or even stand in the way of a bullet. But I don't....So I'm posing an answer. We like to see people rise above the world portrayed in these films, which is some cases is eerily close to our own (you can ignore the pun involving this weekend's Batman film).

So go out and support your favorite superhero. Love them all just the same. Vicariously live through them. And if you are brave enough, take something from these films out into the real world with you. Be brave, be bold, and do what ever a spider can, if you see fit...

Full on Dancing

Like the majority of Americans who pay attention to movies and the actors that appear in them, I am infatuated with Emma Stone. When I saw her on the cover of Vogue this past week, I could resit picking it up, flipping through the pages memorized by her couture outfits. Needless to say, I bought it.

On my way to work this week (I take the bus into Boston every day from my home in New Hampshire), I read and absorbed every detail of the interview. What really caught my eye was something she "borrowed" from fellow actor (and in  my opinion, one of the most promising actors in Hollywood today) Ryan Gosling...

"Picking roles is like listening to songs the radio:  there can be a lot of really great songs in a row, but then one comes on that just makes you want to dance."- Stone via Heller, 75.

Yes, this was in reference to how she picked her slew of non-comedic roles this past year. She rose to stardom in hilariously, witty roles like Jules in the wild party-planning film Superbad, Olive in classically inspired Easy A, and Hannah in the dryly humorous House Bunny. She stated that her most recent roles, including Skeeter in The Help and Gwen from this summer blockbuster The Amazing Spider-Man made her "dance." She saw these characters as empowered women, something she personally respected and roles that may not have fit what she was known for in the world of movies.

Yet I think this mind set is perfect for new grads out there. We just spent two, four or more years of our lives, spending extreme amounts of money, and learning about the world under one specific umbrella. But for what? Where will it lead us and how will we know what job is best for us? Will we ever reach the level of success we believe we can reach?

According to Emma (whose real name is Emily, who knew?) and Ryan, we can only be "successful" if we choose the jobs that make us want to dance. Not sway or bob your head. Full on DANCE!

I know this is how I made the decision for my current job. I work for an affiliate of a national nonprofit. I wanted to help people, make a difference in my city, state, community, the world. Helping people made me happy, made my work worth it. It made me dance.

So dance people! Find that job that makes you want to shake that booty. Fist pump until the cows come home. Grapevine into the future. It is possible to love what you do, but only if we follow Stone and Gosling's advice and find that job that makes you want to dance.

Emma Stone