encouragement via rudyard kipling.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son! 
—Rudyard Kipling

a year in review.

   Most beginnings start with reflection on what recently ended. Not that the ending always has to be bad, but usually there are joys and possibly some remorse over what takes place. 2015. It has begun and without a warning we have been swept into a new year. Maybe it is the lack of events, or the sub-par television broadcasts that take place, but the new year has never felt like a special event. My memories are summed up by time with family or friends and banging on pots and pans when the clock struck 12 AM. I cannot lie and say that I never think about attending glitzy parties and wearing the fanciest dress I own for New Year's Eve. My experience with these parties even leads me to believe that they only happen in the movies. More than a fancy dress, a New Year's kiss, more than anything, a new year brings opportunity.
  In reflection upon the past year, I am overwhelmed by the events that have passed. The beginning of this year provided Jason with the opportunity to work on music full-time. He played shows, completed his second full-length album and had a successful album release show in Atlanta, Georgia. We were able to take fun road trips to Asheville, NC and Nashville, TN to see some of our favorite bands play. We packed up our belongings from nine months worth of marriage and said goodbye to our first apartment to make the move up to New York City. For the past five months we have been juggling four part-time jobs, one internship, and a classes at The King's College. What can we say about where we are now? We feel absolutely blessed by the gift of living in such an amazing city with the hope of budding friendships and growing knowledge of our neighborhood. I have been working on being more mindful lately; mindful of things I have, things I have been given and things that surround me daily. Instead of becoming angry over missing a bus and another not coming for a half hour, I chose to walk most of the way to work and found myself so full with the beauty that accompanied me that morning. A lot of this life is making a choice.
  So this coming year, 2015, I choose to live well with days full of joy and adventure. I choose to work on something so simple as calligraphy, yet travel with my husband throughout the NorthEast. Cheers to a happy and healthy new year.


Currently Listening: "Bold" by Mountains and Valleys