It has been years since we managed to get away outside of our usual rotation of local places we like to go for the day. Somehow, it all worked out this past week to spend the day before the holiday in Shipshewana, Indiana. My parents and I love going there because it is just far enough away to feel like we have been somewhere, but not too far that it requires packing and planning. Another reason is simply for the food and the liquid gold that is Amish peanut butter that would inevitably make its way home with us. I would not necessarily consider a day trip to Shipshewana a vacation, but it was the closest thing we were going to get this summer. Having summer classes and going in a hundred different directions at once made me welcome an unplugged day. Cell reception, or lack thereof, made it impossible to be attached to my phone and compulsively checking in with reality. I was completely in the moment, and I have not been able to feel that free in a long time. Our day started early and being the “not a morning person” that I am, iced coffee was a requirement if I planned on making it all day (spoiler, I definitely slept on the way home). The ride there always seems like it takes forever, but once we got there, the first stop was to the flea market. We normally are not big into flea markets, but we make an exception for this one. From weird household things and hardware to hats and sunglasses, they have it all. Once in town, I loved going to the mercantile building. There, it was mandatory to get a fresh soft pretzel. I will argue that Shipshewana has the best around! My favorite store is a music store. I could have spent all day in there looking at music and playing instruments. That is one place that never gets old. A trip is never complete without making our way to the E&S bulk food store where you can find just about anything you need and then some as well as Yoder’s store, where a hat fashion show almost always takes place. I cannot help myself. We rounded out our trip at the Essenhaus, our favorite restaurant when we go to Shipshewana. After a long (and hot) day of shopping, seeing the Amish ways, and being with family, it always feels good to sit around a table, eat real comfort food, and enjoy each other’s company. I know I would never survive living as the Amish do, but it is always nice to go and temporarily get a sense of a change of pace. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019
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If you were to ask me to do something, chances are, I would have said yes in a heartbeat to avoid saying no. I never wanted to let other people down or disappoint, so I almost always said yes if it meant doing something for someone else. Once I became more rooted in figuring out the direction of my life and the goals I had, I learned that at this point, being selfish with my time and dedications was okay. In the last year, I do not know how many text messages I have sent that say ‘time is of the essence’ to my friends or say it in conversation. My perspective of time is totally different now that I am in a grad program, and time waits for no one. One minute, I have my life together, and the next, I have no clue how everything will get done, but it always does. But time is the most precious thing we all cling to, and anything that does not have a direct and positive impact on our goals and help us get to the next step, some things just are not worth the time or effort. Realizing this took time for me to come to terms with. From outsiders, I am greedy with my time. There comes the point where reaching my goals means more than being busy just to be busy. I cannot be all things to all people or be expected to squeeze stuff in just to say I did something. If it does not relate to my goals or mean something to me, I have to stand up for the future I want by prioritizing commitments. Until I made these priorities a true priority, I would take on way more than I could handle, and everything suffered. Since being stricter with myself, I can dedicate the needed time to my studies and research first, and what I do with the sparing extra time I have, I do things on my terms and not others. Life is short, and time is of the essence. I am always on a time crunch, and as much as a motivator that is, adding to the time crunch is unneeded stress and torture I do not need. I still feel a little torn when I say no to something, but I know it is for the best. Until my goals are achieved, and my dreams come to life, I must pick my priorities. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 The halfway point. It does not seem possible. I think I blinked. Here I know from this day forward, I am farther from the starting point and closer to the homestretch. Grad school has been a whirlwind of deadlines, experiences, and emotions. It has been the hardest thing I have done, but it has been an indescribable journey that still continues. In recent weeks, my friends and I have spent a lot of time together and reminisced about undergrad memories. Although some memories are fuzzy, we still laughed as hard as we did the first time it happened. At points, we were in amazement, realizing something just happened a year ago, and it felt more like an eternity had passed. The essence of time is a weird concept; some things fly and others are as slow as molasses. Last week, we especially welcomed the midpoint’s arrival. Group projects had us at everyone’s good, bad, and ugly. We set up camp in a research lab that we have claimed as our home on campus and did not leave until the project was complete. Let me just say I have not been on campus that late in a long time. We got the job done and have decided that a celebration is in order. It is still hard to wrap my head around how far I have come, and the future of not having to study religiously is not so far off. I probably will not know what to do with myself when that day comes. All of the years of school and hard work is paying off; I may not have always seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Slowly but surely, it is starting to shine a little brighter. As a kid, I dreamt of my future. That future is here. Soon, I will be dreaming of a new future, but for now, I am living my dream. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 There are always going to be mountain-sized challenges that arise in life, and it may seem impossible to figure out how to maneuver around, through, or up the metaphorical mountain. Regardless of how we end up doing it, the main thing that matters is that we do not allow defeat to conquer us. Much like anything else in life, the mountain has been placed in our path for a reason. The world is our stage. No matter what we are doing, people are watching. Some of those people are waiting to see you fall, while others are going to be your biggest cheerleaders. Then, there is a group of people who you may not know is even watching. This is the group that needs to see how you react to your own situations. We have an influential force, and our actions, reactions, and processes are reflected to others. I have met a fair share of mountains, both real and figuratively. I had some graceful triumphs and some less than flattering tumbles. The moral to the story here is that however the journey twists and turns, there are going to be hard moments, but remember, you are never alone on this journey. There will always be people to hold your hand, and there may be people who hope to see you fail, but that is when, more than ever, you must prove them wrong. For those who are placed on your path to see how you handle things, those are the people who need the reassurance that this is temporary. They may be facing their own mountain and need insight as to how to figure out how to climb it. They need to see that there is hope to be stronger than the obstacle they are facing. With faith and determination, we can move mountains. We have what it takes to conquer life’s mountain. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 As I look back over the last few years, I still find it hard to wrap my head around all of the opportunities that have come my way. Some I went searching for, while others found me. I have met some of the best people whom I now have the honor of calling friends. Traveling has opened doors to things I did not even know I even wanted. Side hustles and passion projects keep the excitement going. Whether I went looking for it or not, opportunities were all around me. Not every opportunity seemed like a good idea, and that is when some discernment comes into play. From this, I learned that not every opportunity would bring good to you, and more times than not, a better door will open when one closes. Working hard and keeping our eye set on your goals make receiving these gems of opportunities all the sweeter. I have been asked to do things or get involved with organizations having no clue how to do the tasks I would have to do, but after taking that leap of faith and being open to learning, I now have the experience under my belt and the new skills to prove it. Opportunities will come knocking. At least once a year, I think we should embark on something new. This year alone, I feel like the new things I have done could last a lifetime, but that will not limit me from collecting as many experiences as I can. No matter where we go in this life, the road will lead to opportunities if we are ready and willing to take on the load. Today is a new day with abundant opportunities. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 The life cycle is more than being born and dying. What we do during the hyphen comes in cycles too. These cycles teach us about life, and the experiences can either make us crumble under pressure or build us stronger than ever imagined. Our mindset determines which one it will be, and while our mind can play tricks on us, the spirit of our heart can guide us when our minds are masked. Fall. I lost track of the number of times I fell and skinned my knees as a kid. For every skinned knee, there was a lesson to be learned. Do not run in flip flops. Do not carry something so big that you cannot see where you are going. Do not be in a hurry when walking on ice. Do not use the front wheel brake on a bike. See a pattern here? So, I was not swift on my feet as a kid, or even now, for that matter, but I remember those lessons still today. And the falls from childhood helped prepare me to handle the falls of my teen years and now into adulthood. While I have managed to stay on my feet in the literal sense, in a metaphorical sense, the tumbles of life look differently now, but the way of dealing with them remain the same. No matter the cuts and scrapes, we have to dust off our knees, stand back up, and not repeat the same actions the next time. Break. No matter how strong or invincible we think we are, everything has a weak spot and a breaking point. When we are young and, quite frankly, sometimes stupid, we think we can take on the world and never meet our weakness. Well, I thought the same thing for a while. I took things by storm and figured I could always keep the same high-speed momentum in everything I would ever do in life. I learned this lesson the hard way, and I met a breaking point quick. Not every break is a bad thing, though. It taught me to slow down, how to say no, and that I did not have to do everything to prove anything to anyone. I eventually put all the pieces back together, but it took a lot for me to admit that the fear of something bigger than myself was chipping away at me. Feeling broken is okay. Staying broken is not. Fail. People say that failure is not an option. But, in all reality, failure is an option. No one plans on it; sometimes, it just happens. When I was in my younger years of schooling, the thought of failing a test was the absolute worst thing that I ever thought could happen to me, and while getting a bad grade on something still makes my heart flutter a bit, I know it is not the end of the world. Failures teach us to do better next time. Failures show us areas to improve. Failures make us appreciate our successes. Failing one thing does not define us as a failure, and that is where I think people get stuck in feeling that way. When things do not turn out the way we think they should, it should motivate us to achieve higher in the next attempt, not defeat us from trying the next time. Rise. When I hear the word rise, I think of two things: a quote by Maya Angelou and a song by Audra Day. “We rise by lifting others.” We have somehow equated life with competition, and no one can do things better than we can. Success is defined by what mainstream thinks of as success instead of making it on an individual basis. For us to find success in this life, we have to be willing to celebrate the success of others when we have not found ours yet, as well as being there to pick someone up after their falls and failures, and not rub our success in their face. “I’ll rise up, and I’ll do it a thousand times again.” Too many times, when we are knocked down, we feel like we do not have the strength to stand back up and stand tall. In our vulnerability, we see life through a new perspective from the ground up, and the view is always better after we rise from the valley. Heal. When we are torn and broken down by the world and the people in it, we owe it to ourselves to leave the past in the past and heal from whatever hurt we endured. I hate to say it, but sometimes it takes getting hurt by people, and even those we thought could never do such a thing, is a necessary experience we must deal with to have an understanding of character and learning what true friendship means. Being hurt by people we may have once cared about is a tough lesson to work through, but knowing when to cut ties for our healing can be the only option remaining. We cannot stay in a place with people who are willing to hurt us and expect us to stay when they would not either. It means more to leave and heal than to stay and continue to bleed energy and commitment. There will be pain either way, but time will heal wounds eventually. Scars may last, but they will fade as the years go on, and as we let go of whatever hurt us in the first place. Overcome. Without having struggles, the triumph would be meaningless. If the things in life came easy, there would be no chance for growth, and that would be to our detriment. When we fall, we must get back up. When we break, we have to put the pieces back together. When we fail, we will find a better way. When we are down, we will rise. When someone hurts us, we will heal. When obstacles stand in our way, we will overcome. If the cycles of life teach us anything, it is that we will always overcome. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 It is a new day and a new dawn. With that brings the opportunity to be a student of life. While you would think I get enough practice being a student in my ordinary life, I would be tired of being a student in life’s classroom, but that just is not the case. I think I will be a lifelong learner, and although they may not always be the lessons I want to learn, embracing whatever comes is half of the learning experience. Being in school makes it easy to learn a lot of new things every day. I hope the same will be true when I enter the working world. In fact, that is probably where the most learning will happen, and I cannot even imagine how much learning will take place. And as crazy as it seems considering how long I have been in school now, I have only scratched the surface of things learned. How is that even possible?! Taking on the role of a beginner every day is exciting and gives a freeing essence of innocence. Being a beginner means it is okay to make mistakes and ask for help. A beginner has the joy of seeing and doing things for the first time and remember what that thrill feels like. Life begins throwing real lessons at you the minute school ends, and learning will never take a back seat. No matter how far we get in life, there will be new adventures to conquer and experiences to be had. At no point can we neglect to endure life’s lessons and see the world through beginner’s eyes. It would be of great disservice to ourselves and the foundation of organized learning set for us. From that point, education is abstract and has no rules. The world is our new classroom. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 Keeping up with the Joneses is highly overrated. Trying to stay up to date with every trend and sticking to the status quo is exhausting, and the programming to fall into that trap is an unfair pressure we think we have to uphold. We want to be unique in so many ways, but somehow, when we begin to deviate from expectations, the uniqueness factor fades to the thinking that we are doing things wrong. Life’s timing is not a finite timeline of events. The time it takes us to get where we want to be in life should not be compared to someone else’s journey. Even if our end point is not exactly where we planned it would be, it is okay. The path we take is ours to explore and wander as life guides us to where we are meant to be. To go down a path just because everyone is doing it would be a great injustice to our dreams and individuality. There are far greater things in life to place emphasis on than comparing ourselves to someone else. Successes look different for people at different times and places. A roadmap for success is nonexistent and having twenty-twenty vision can only be acquired in hindsight. We will reach our peak when we least expect it, but in the meantime, we can support others and celebrate their journey as we trek on our journey. There will be a day for us to realize it is our own time to shine. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 I head back today to Toledo to begin my summer session of classes, and the rush of getting back into the swing of things reminded me of the hustle that excites me. I think we get caught up in the Monday slums because the freedom of the weekends (or having an extended break from reality) makes us lose momentum to keep going and not be as productive as we could be. I know I need the time off here and there (and trust me, I count down to it), but I also give completely into it and neglect any sense of responsibility when I am in off mode. My Mondays can be as hectic as they come, and I let that happen in a way. No matter how prepared I think I am or planned ahead for the day or week, I am still usually running late, running around like a mad lady, and hoping I did not forget to pack something. Let me not forget to mention that even though classes begin tomorrow, I have yet to have notebooks designated, let alone have access to the textbooks I will probably need. My younger self as a student would be mortified by this. There has to be a constant sense of organization, even if it is organized chaos. That must count for something too, right? Here is my plan. I have twelve Mondays standing between me and the end of this benchmark of time. Each Monday moving forward can be dreaded or hoped for; life is too short to have that constant dreadful feeling, so a hopeful outlook has to be the answer. I may not always love facing a new week with who knows what thrown at me, but that is part of the adventure. I can only take one week at a time and do whatever it takes to make things happen and get other things done. Monday does not have to be the negative stigma of the week; Monday is a mindset. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 Music has had a significant presence for as long as I can remember. My entire childhood, music was always playing in the house, and genres spanned the ages. I thrive on the melodies and live by the lyrics. No matter the mood, day, or reason, a song is always the right choice to express some feelings that words simply cannot do on their own. My musical giftedness is not the greatest, but that has never stopped me from belting out some jam sessions in the privacy of my car. As long as I was commuting every day, I have forty-five minutes each way to get my praise on in the morning and cover some of the greatest hits through the decades and Broadway’s best in the afternoon. Now, I have to get a little creative with my car ride concerts since I only cross the street, but the time spent circling in the parking lot gives me at least five extra minutes. Music is an expression of the soul and emotions. I love nothing more than to listen to music and feel refreshed and in-tune with the elements of a song. Some days more than others, I can sit for hours and let myself drift away in song. It feels so good to get carried away by the melody and get lost in the era. I am an old soul when it comes to my song preferences. Letting the music do the work of expression is freeing and the best release of pent up stress. There are some days that I wish I could just pound out some songs on the piano like some of the greats, but since my piano skills end at finding middle C and running scales, I resort to my musical outlet of expression by playing my flute. And while I am not the best, my four years of band served me well enough to be able to read music and play some hymns. I find it so relaxing. While I do not play as often as I would like, the times I do play carries me to a place where nothing else matters. Hearing is not the only sense that goes into the musical experience. Seeing and feeling are every bit just as important. Each sense can stand alone, but when we allow ourselves to compile our senses, music blooms into so much more. I am usually not the person to be free enough to dance and sing in any public setting, but few rare times I have, the music seems to elevate in meaning and intensity, and it feels like I am floating in the air. When we let the music sweep us off our feet, it is as if the world stops spinning and life is held in a perfect snapshot. Music is life’s perfect song. Music reminds us of life’s perfect timing. Stay Curious, Kayla ©Inquisitive Perspectives 2019 |
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