New York
November 10, 1958
Dear Thom:
We had your letter this morning. I will answer it from my point of view and of course Elaine will from hers.
First—if you are in love—that’s a good thing—that’s about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don’t let anyone make it small or light to you.
Second—There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you—of kindness and consideration and respect—not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn’t know you had.
You say this is not puppy love. If you feel so deeply—of course it isn’t puppy love.
But I don’t think you were asking me what you feel. You know better than anyone. What you wanted me to help you with is what to do about it—and that I can tell you.
Glory in it for one thing and be very glad and grateful for it.
The object of love is the best and most beautiful. Try to live up to it.
If you love someone—there is no possible harm in saying so—only you must remember that some people are very shy and sometimes the saying must take that shyness into consideration.
Girls have a way of knowing or feeling what you feel, but they usually like to hear it also.
It sometimes happens that what you feel is not returned for one reason or another—but that does not make your feeling less valuable and good.
Lastly, I know your feeling because I have it and I’m glad you have it.
We will be glad to meet Susan. She will be very welcome. But Elaine will make all such arrangements because that is her province and she will be very glad to. She knows about love too and maybe she can give you more help than I can.
And don’t worry about losing. If it is right, it happens—The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.
Love,
Fa
19 Reasons to Tell Someone You Love Them: By Sophie Martin
1. The best part of being with someone you care about is knowing that they know how important they really are.
2. There is no reason to be afraid of loving someone, because the worst thing you can face is rejection, which is nothing compared to being the kind of person who never tells anyone how they really feel.
3. Even when someone rejects you, you are still gaining something from being a more compassionate, open and honest person.
4. We all know how it feels when you are waiting for someone to tell you-there is no reason to inflict that torture on someone else
5. There is no such thing as gender norms, anyone can say that they love someone first, and it doesn't make you a "pussy" or "too mail" for not following the right order.
6. If someone is making you happy enough to feel that you love them, they deserve to know all the good that they are doing.
7. A lot of the time we think that telling a friend we love them would be weird or creepy, but thats only because society has a lot of stupid rules about platonic love. Friend love is one of the greatest emotions in the whole world.
8. Your family. The people who raised you- only want to hear how important they are and how much you care. There is no reason not to repay them with your affection.
9. The older we get, the more clear it becomes that loving and being loved are the only really important things in life. The rest is kind of just filler.
10. We never hear enough how much we make life worth living for other people, and letting someone know is one of the greatest gifts we can give to them.
11. There are a million ways to tell someone that you love them. You can write them a letter if you are too nervous to say it face-to-face, and it will be something that they can keep with them for the rest of their lives.
12. We often leave relationships wondering if we were ever really loved at all, and it's a terrible feeling. You can stop that kind of pain in your own relationship if you want to.
13. The world will never lose its meaning if you always say it with as much emotion and honesty behind it as the first time (if not more).
14. It's easy to forget with someone you have been with for a long time - friend, partner, or otherwise - that they are the one of the best parts of your life. It's important to tell them.
15. We love people for a million reasons, and it's important that we start making it okay to tell people who you love for more unconventional reasons that they matter just as much.
16. Sometimes we are trapped in tough situations and we know that there is only one person we can call and that person needs to know that you love them. Seriously.
17. You're really, really drunk.
18. The one thing we remember with people we are years and years with is how much we loved them and how loved they made us feel. It should be as big a part of your time together as possible.
19. We all know at least one person who we wanted to tell, who we told ourselves over and over again would always be around and who eventually disappeared from our lives before we go to say how we really felt.
There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life. -- John Lennon
"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
Steve Jobs
I have been the absolute worst blogger in the entire universe. Studying for the bar exam is 100% taking over my life, really though, you should see my apartment. It's gotten so bad that I didn't even post that one of my best friends got married 2 weekends ago! That's just sad (pictures to follow). But while I've been studying for this huge make-it-or-break-it test I have coming, it has me thinking a lot about my future and what the last 3 years has really meant. To me, the last three years have been about finding something that I legitimately love to do. Let me break it down. In college, I wanted to be a housewife, not gonna lie. And then law school came along and I can honestly say, I cannot wait until I get to start working. I finally found my passion and it's so awesome. So, while I absolutely hate studying for 8 hours a day for a test, I'll continue to work hard, put in the hours and then come July 31st, I'll be rejoicing that I finally get to start living my dream job. My dad sent me this amazing email today, and I thought I'd share it with you: So to those who have yet to find their passion, their desires, their dream... have no fear, God has a plan even greater than we can imagine and He knew what our lives we're going to be way before we were even a thought. Happy Thursday peeps, it's almost the weekend :)
Psalm 139:13-18: "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul know it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God? How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you."
As you carefully review these words, it becomes even more apparent to us that God knew all about our lives well before we were conceived. How amazing is that? As you sometimes ponder and struggle with where life may take you, God already knows. The more we trust in him and his direction, the better our lives will be.
She's a married lady! ah!
Since studying the bar exam is taking over my life, here's a brief little insight to my life currently :) Happy Sunday Everyone!
1. Graduating and having my family and loved ones there to help me celebrate. 2. Girls nights out my with B, Lys and Lynds. 3. Studying for the bar exam. 4. Graduating! Still not over celebrating this. 5. A long weekend with Calista. 6. Texts from my mom. 7. Graduating (again!) but with Adam too. 8. Becoming a lawyer, finally.
Loving: That it's June :)
Reading: Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes by Shauna Niequist
Watching: Bachelorette & Deadliest Catch.
Anticipating: Birthdays, weddings, bar exam, new house and New York City!
Listening to: All country all the time.
Planning: Nothing really :( Damn bar exam
Working on: Studying for the bar exam and not procrastinating (this is NOT helping)
Favorite quote: "Be in love with your life, every minute of it." Jack Kerouac
Zack Sobiech, thank you for the most beautiful outlook on life.
I hope I can shine as bright as you did. Rest in Peace.
Grab a tissue everyone. This is the most beautiful video ever.
I did it. After 3 long years, tests, papers and the ultimate test of endurance, I finally finished law school! I graduated law school. Whew, honestly there were times I thought I would never be able to write that sentence. But I did it! I couldn't have done it without my wonderful family who supported me, let me cry on the phone, vent, take on my frustration on and never stopped encouraging me to do my best. I couldn't have done it without my wonderful boyfriend (and his family) who let me take out every frustration, happiness, up and down on him over the last 3 years while he was going through the same stuff (Congrats Babe!). And my wonderful friends in Arizona, California and Colorado, who called me to check on my, skype with me and believe in me. And, my ladies in Omaha who drank copious amounts of wine, coffee and energy drinks with me. The girls who saved me from this mess called law school and with whom I built amazing life long friendships. I'm here because of the people who believed in me and I am forever grateful that I got to celebrate with those people. Graduation weekend was amazing and here are some pictures to document it.
My gorgeous family
My ladies
And this amazing man who graduated with me!
So blessed and thankful to have all these people in my life.
I did it.
Happy Monday! This week is my last full week of school ever. As of today, I have 2 classes left. 2. ever. And then I will no longer be a student and instead I will be a lawyer (at least trying to pass the bar, and then becoming a lawyer). It's hard to imagine but so so exciting at the same time. I never try to rush my life, but I cannot wait for August, when the bar is finished, when I can take a fabulous trip to new york with my mom and when I sit and wait to become an official lawyer. I just can't wait. So, to my gals and my guys, good luck with finals! Good luck with your last 3 weeks of school, ever! I cannot wait to celebrate when we're done! 26 days till graduation. We're almost there!!
When I think about the events that occurred in Boston yesterday, I literally have no words. My heart sunk, panic set in as I thought of all the ones I know and love in Boston and I instantly started wondering why and how. I can't shake the fact that at least for the past couple years, every 4-5 months something terrible happens in this country. And I can't figure out why or how people can have this kind of hate in their hearts to do such terrible things. But the thing that gives me hope in these kind of situations is the goodness that random strangers show others in the midst of all these tragedies. Runners, running back towards the blast yesterday was such a powerful image that it brought tears to my eyes. Watching strangers running towards the blast to help other runners and bystanders. First responders running towards the blast when they were unaware of the potential danger. Because, it seems like in the midst of evil, goodness and hope will always prevail.
Today, I will take a minute to tell those I love, I love them. I will cherish every good and wonderful moment I am given. And my prayers will always be with those in Boston and all those affected.
"So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will.'"
A great letter to the Boston Bomber (from Thought Catalog)
So, to the boston bomber, who thought you could get your 15 minutes of fame, you failed. Goodness prevailed yesterday and will continue to do so in the wake of this tragedy. So suck it Boston Bomber, because yesterday, strangers helped strangers, there was light irregardless of your attempt to create darkness and at the end of the day you were forgotten, but the strength of the human spirit will never be forgotten. Hope and goodness will always prevail and you will not.
"So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will.'"
A great letter to the Boston Bomber (from Thought Catalog)
What you get by reaching your destination isn't nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals - what you will become is the winner you were born to be!- Zig Ziglar
so so excited for this month. I've been MIA recently, but this weekends is the culmination of a very long semester and then, I promise, I'll be back. This is my last full month of school (ever!!) and I plan on enjoying every last bit. So here's to the sunshine, the blooming flowers and the joy of graduation on the horizon. Hello, April, I've been waiting for you.
"Live daringly, boldly, fearlessly. Taste the relish to be found in competition - in having put forth the best within you."- Henry J Kaise
I took this idea from Thought Catalog, per us, but I love this idea.
So, here are my 13 most important things that I have learned in my life this far.
1. Pray often, pray continuously, pray hard.
2. Don't apologize for being who you are.
3. Work the hardest. There will always be someone smarter than you, but always be the one who works the hardest.
4. Say you're sorry.
5. Follow your heart. This is tough because there are so many outside forces that affect our daily decisions, but if you listen to your heart and your instincts, you will never go wrong.
6. Fall in love, hard.
7. Always be kind.
8. Be the best friend you can be, always.
9. Be the one who's always overdressed. Never be the one who's underdressed.
10. Love what you do. Be that, school, your job, your relationship. Love what you do, it will make the hard days so much easier.
11. Call your mom and dad, often.
12. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
13. Don't bash what you hate, promote what you love. (I stole this from Thought Catalog, but I think it is absolutely imperative).
So, here are my 13 most important things that I have learned in my life this far.
1. Pray often, pray continuously, pray hard.
2. Don't apologize for being who you are.
3. Work the hardest. There will always be someone smarter than you, but always be the one who works the hardest.
4. Say you're sorry.
5. Follow your heart. This is tough because there are so many outside forces that affect our daily decisions, but if you listen to your heart and your instincts, you will never go wrong.
6. Fall in love, hard.
7. Always be kind.
8. Be the best friend you can be, always.
9. Be the one who's always overdressed. Never be the one who's underdressed.
10. Love what you do. Be that, school, your job, your relationship. Love what you do, it will make the hard days so much easier.
11. Call your mom and dad, often.
12. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
13. Don't bash what you hate, promote what you love. (I stole this from Thought Catalog, but I think it is absolutely imperative).
Thought Catalog has done it again.
This time with the 10 Kinds of Pop Songs we Had in the 90's.
This time with the 10 Kinds of Pop Songs we Had in the 90's.
Just to preview what you'll see when you head over to Thought Catalog.
Enjoy :)
I am very bogged down right now. Normally I'm a great multi-tasker. If I write it in my planner, I get it done and there's no fuss. However, this semester, school is absolute madness. I'm busier than I've ever been and I'm getting bogged down. It feels like there's no light at the end of the tunnel, but I just keep telling myself the best is yet to come. Yes, I'm stuck in the middle of my last semester, deep in trial team, legal writing, work and then all the fun social things that come with being 25, even though I feel like those things are limited due to all the things I "have" to do. But, in 47 days I'll be in KC for my bests bachelorette party, in 82 days I graduate, in 103 days my best gets married (and its my bday!) and in 157 days the bar exam will be over! I just keep telling myself, the best is yet to come, because it's easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day. But, the best is yet to come, I promise, the best is yet to come.
Today, my best friend Whitney starts her new job as a nurse!! I'm so proud! She's going to be the cutest nurse around town. Good luck Whitty! You're doing what you were made to do and I am so proud of you! I can't wait to hear all the details!
To succeed... You need to find something to hold on to,
something to motivate you, something to inspire you
- Tony Dorsett
- Tony Dorsett
So, last Thursday we had the craziest snow storm everrrr (at least in my knowledge of snow storms). It was super fun. Everyone knew this storm was coming, so there was a lot of stocking up with groceries, classes were cancelled, even work called people off as they prepared to tuck in for the evening. The snow started around 1130am and didn't stop until the next morning! Overall we got about 10 inches! It was crazy, but oh so fun, to know I had nothing to do and nowhere to be all day! So, Adam and I made dinner at home, caught up on TV shows and ate way to much junk food. I hope all the mid-westerners who were snowed in had fun, and all those who aren't, I hope you get a snow day one day :) I hope you all have a great week!
This is the view from my apartment about 4 hours into the storm!
I love this quote. I think it is powerful in the sense that it gives us the ability to control (some) part of our path, our lives and our outlooks. I've been pretty sick (nothing serious) this past weekend and it's easy, when you feel like crap, to act like crap. It's easy to look at happy, healthy, smiley people and be angry. It's easy to play the "why me" game. But tomorrow, though it's going to be rough, I'm going to wake up and chose to be happy. Because, at the end of the day, I've got friends and family by my side, I live in a great city, go to a wonderful school, have the best dog and don't have much to complain about. So, here's to everyone choosing to be happy despite circumstances that might lead us elsewhere. We have the power, we just have to chose to use it.
"Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it."
"Do you think I'm wonderful? she asked him one day as they leaned against the trunk of a petrified maple. No, he said. Why? Because so many girls are wonderful. I imagine hundreds of men have called their loves wonderful today, and it's only noon. You couldn't be something that hundreds of others are."
-- Jonathan Safran Foer
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Regardless of relationship status,
I hope you celebrate the love you have in your life!
To Adam, my family and my friends;
I love you all and am so blessed to have you in my life.
I thought this vintage Valentine was super cute :)
Enjoy this classic by Ella Fitzgerald.
Happiest Birthday Natalia!
Natalia, my love, my kindred spirit, have the BEST day!
I wish I was drinking wine with you today!
I love you!
My brother, being awesome, sent me this email with a link to a letter written by John Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath) and I love it, so I thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy :) Here's the link too!
Today also happens to be two of my closest friends birthdays!
To you, Alyssa, Happiest Happiest Birthday!
I love that I got to celebrate with you this weekend and
can't wait to continue the celebration tonight!
Today is my best friend's 26th birthday!
Calista is my sorority sister, roommate, traveling partner, Tahoe love and one of my closest friends.
We've been through 4 years of college together and I'd be lost without her.
She's hilarious, smart and beautiful and I'm blessed to call her my friend.
Happy Birthday Calista! I love you!
Thought Catalog never ceases to amaze me. I love everything about what they write. Especially this one. Enjoy :)
You said at dinner, "I'm curious what your favorite moment with me was." And I said- No favorite moment. You are my favorite moment. If that makes sense? I mean, everything you are is just this huge beaming circle of light in my mind, and I can't parse that or define its contours; it's just this boundless warmth beyond any sort of linguistic reason. I can name good moments. But those would be so arbitrary. They would just be what came to me first when I thought of you. So right now the first memory that surfaces is the last time we had dinner together, and your soft face, and then because I just said 'soft face' I'm remembering this beautiful moment in a cab with you when we're coming back from some party and our faces were locked into one prolonged kiss the whole time. The night of my birthday, back when we first started dating, comes to my mind too (because my birthday is close). Sexually, I liked the moment on the dock in Italy. Spiritually, I like the moments when I'm sick and I need you so bad, and I hold you with all of dear life like you're medicine and how that actually makes me feel better. Biologically, I like the moments of smelling you and you smell, maybe, bad. But I like the smell - because I love you and everything about you is good to me, so I continue to sniff you. And I like that the fact that I'm probably one of the only few people that thoroughly enjoys that smell. You know love is infinite and impossible to detail, that's my answer. I imagine if I see you 50 years from now, without seeing you for 50 years, at first you would be foriegn, and it would be hard to invoke the way I feel about you right now... But after one glass of wine, a few hours of conversation, all these feelings would start to rush back like a deja vu that can't be shook off. It's time lost, and memory never serves properly, but I'm pretty sure I fell in love with you after spending only five hours with you. And I'm pretty sure I can't ever not love you.
I'm not one for new years resolutions, but I am one for goals and dreams. I understand this post is a little late but I don't think it's ever to late to make positive changes in your life. I'm a dreamer and I think that's all you really need. So, this year I'm going to love bolder. I'm going to love in all my relationships more. I'm going to laugh. Because for one reason, this is my last semester as a student, and I'm going to bask in the joy of my law-school loves, and I'm going to laugh. I'm going to be brave. I'm going to be making some life altering decisions in the next couple months and in doing so I'm going to hold tight to the people I love and to those who support me and I'm going to be brave. 2013 is already a great year and I can't wait to see all the things it has in store for me. So, here we go. I've got my law school graduation, the bar, two of my best friends weddings and oh, so much more. I can't wait. I hope you all enjoy the adventure with me.
A simple but wonderful reminder from Britt.
However, every time you choose to love someone despite the bullshit, you are making it stronger, you are painting a fuller picture. By choosing to love, you are accepting the flaws and the ugliness that comes along with something beautiful. You are understanding just how life works. (Thought Catalog, absolutely genius)
The night before I left Arizona to head back to Nebraska and law school, my bests, Whitney and Coti came over to watch the Bachelor. Whitney, per usual, gave me the sweetest card, full of encouraging words and prayers. And, her mom gave me a wonderful daily devotional called "Jesus Calling." I try to be good on reading my Bible, but I have to admit that in the midst of everything, I don't read it as often as I'd like too. So, I'm super excited to have this devotional that keeps me in the Word daily. On January 15, the day I left I was reading my daily devotional and it was just what I needed to hear.
My Face is shining upon you, beaming out Peace that transcends understanding. You are surrounded by a sea of problems, but you are face to Face with Me, your Peace. As long as you focus on Me, you are safe. If you gave too long at the myriad problems around you, you will sink under the weight of your burdens. When you start to sink, simply call out "Help me Jesus" and I will lift you up. The closer you live to Me, the safer you are. Circumstances around you are undulating, and there are treacherous-looking waves in the distance. Fix your eyes on Me, the One who never changes. By the time those waves reach you, they will have shrunk to proportions of My design. I am always beside you, helping you face today's waves. The future's a phantom, seeking to spook you. Laugh at the future! Stay close to Me.This winter break seemed to revolve around where I'm going to live post-graduation, what job I'm going to have and all the stress that comes with those decisions. After reading this, it put me at ease. God knows all the answers to my questions and I have to find peace in that. Because even when I don't have a clue where my life will lead me, He does and that gives me all the Peace I need.
"Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young (highly recommended!)
My adorable card from Whit.
"The Three Amigos"
I haven't been very blog oriented this break and for that I apologize. However, I've been enjoying my last (month long) break from school and avoiding the computer at all costs. This break was such a great time to spend copious amounts of time with my friends and family. We had such a merry christmas and happy new year and now it's time to head back to Nebraska. On Thursday I start my final semester of law school (and school in general). It's crazy to think, that in just under 5 months I will never be a student again! (Kind of exciting too). But as I prepare for this crazy semester of school, trial team, vacations, bachelorette parties and much more... I know I have to remember to take a minute to breathe it all in, because before I know it, it'll all be over. I was reading through old blog posts and I found the one where I decided law school was in my future, here it is, so enjoy! So here's to making each moment count, remembering the small details and enjoying the big ones. I hope everyone who's going back to school or has already started is enjoying every minute because it goes wayyy to fast. My dad sent me an email the other day with this quote in it and I just love it. Enjoy!
"No matter what your passion is, don't let the negative outweigh your drive and determination to make it happen. In the words of Chad Reed, "dream big and go after what you want in life."
Some of my favorite pictures from break.
Christmas Eve.
Family celebrations.
New Years Eve!
Best Friends.
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