The Reality of Growing Up.

It has been brought to my attention recently that I am, in fact, growing up. I'm starting to have to make these semi-adult decisions about where I am going to go after I graduate college, what kind of job I want, where I want to live, what kind of dog I will get when I have the space...you know...that sort of thing.
It's a very strange experience. I don't feel like I'm old enough to be having to make these decisions, but recently I have been trying to find the answers to these grownup questions.

I will be graduating soon (*hopefully*) with a bachelors degree in Anthropology. What do I want to do with that, you ask?....nothing. Yeah, I'm getting a degree in a field that I don't really want to go in to full time. The story behind that is kind of long, but basically I found out a bit too late that I didn't want to be an anthropologist, or anything of the sort. I find the subject very interesting, but I don't think it's the career path for me. So, when people find out this little tid bit of info, then next question usually is, well...what do you want to do then? Good question. That is one of the things I have been asking myself. Now, I dabble in photography, and those who know me then usually assume that I want to purse that as my career. I thought I might want to go into that field, but I'm starting to think that I would rather keep that for myself. I'm starting to find that the more I force myself to do "professional" jobs, I beat myself up over the result and it, at times, causes me more worry than it does anything else. I like taking photos for friends, so I won't stop doing that, but I think I would rather keep this as a hobby. So, what AM I going to do? Well, I've been thinking about going into counseling. It's something I had thought about before, but didn't really look into it too much. Over the past few years, I have held a job that has, at times, put me in a kind of counseling role, which I have found that I really enjoy. I like helping people, which I know sounds like a fortune cookie response, but it's the truth. SO with this, I have been having to look at Graduate school, something I NEVER thought I would do. I will probably end up staying at my current university for Grad school due to a few different reasons. Sadly, the biggest reason being that it will be cheaper for me to stay where I am. I looked at possibly applying to Oregon State University's counseling program, but sadly I know I a could not afford to go out of state. I've never been to Oregon, but I always had this kind of day dream of living there, or possibly Washington. Which, if you want to see video that will make you want to move to Washington tomorrow, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-sBnepbX1rY

So with this, it has lead me to think about where I might want to end up. Where do I want to live once I have figured out what I'm going to do with my life? Now, this isn't necessarily a question that has to be answered right away, but it's something I should think about. Do I want to stay in Georgia, or do I want to try and go out of state? Do I possibly want to try and move out to Oregon, or Washington, or somewhere of the like? I have a tendency to day dream, so I've had these images running through my head about where I see myself in a few years. It usually ends up with me living in or near the mountains, in a small house with a garden with some extra land, and a dog. Sometimes there is a boy included in that, but I can't really control that part of my life. I would like to be able to share this with a boyfriend/husband or whatever, but that's not really something you can plan. I can hope I will find someone to share this with, but that's another blog post for another day. Now, as for a dog, I'm itching to get one. I have had this bad habit recently of searching around town at different dogs. I LOVE big dogs, so as for a specific breed I'm not sure about. However, the top three breeds I have been looking at a lot lately have been Huskies, Great Danes, and Great Pyrenees, which if you don't know what a Great Pyrenees looks like, just imagine a Polar Bear in dog form.

But anyway, this has been the kind of theme of my life as of late. I'm not sure exactly how things will pan out, but it will interesting to see.

yeah...another video.

I realize that I post videos a lot. I recognize and accept this about myself.


I really hope this is a true story because it's pretty funny.

Lollipop Moment

I thought this was a pretty awesome TED talk. So, I thought I would share.

Inspiration Deficiency

So it's been a while since I have written anything. Now, this is not to say that I haven't started a good many blog posts, because I have. I have started some, then deleted them. I have completed some, then after reading them, decided that they didn't convey my thoughts properly, or thought they were too personal. Who knows, I may even delete this one after I am finished.

I have noticed an unfortunate pattern as of late. That pattern being that I have been having a lack of inspiration lately. I don't know if it comes from feeling to forced to be creative, or if I have just been pushing too many personal and work/class projects together, but its really starting to get to me. I don't consider myself a "artist" I don't think my work is really worthy or that title, but I would rather say I'm a participant in the art process, and lately, my participation grade has only been so so. I'm currently taking two art classes and I haven't really been feeling the spark of inspiration. I can't seem to produce anything that I'm really proud of. Now, I have only had one project in both of these classes so I could have some sort of come back, and be struck with the inspiration stick, but for now it's nowhere to be found. Even in my personal projects, I have not been happy with the product. I have been trying to edit some engagement photos for a bit of time now, and I'm just not particularly happy with the photos I'm producing. I have had other people talk to me about possibly want me to take some photos for them, and as of right now, I don't really have much faith in my ability to do so.

I'm not quite sure how to wash away this funk. I've been debating if I just need to get away; go on a mini vacation, take a short trip, go for a long hike, or maybe just go home for a weekend (although I don't think that would clear my head any). Anyway, I'm going to try and keep positive, and just hope that I can shake this funk.

On a different note, for those out there that are fans of the Hunger Games series, this song by Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars has been released. Now, normally I am not a fan of Taylor Swift, BUT I am a big fan of the Civil Wars, and if feel like they have a stronger influence on the song, even though Taylor is the main voice on it. 

And here is one of my favorite songs by The Civil Wars if you want to check them out.

I posted this a bit ago, but I accidentally deleted it so I'm posting it again.

Emily- Professional Adventurer at your service!

If only one could make a living as a professional adventurer! Unfortunately, I have yet to see a college course entitled adventuring 1001.

A friend of mine and I were talking tonight about places we want to go, and things we want to experience. Over the course of the conversation I started to daydream about a life where I could go to amazing places, and have once in a lifetime experiences. I constantly find myself looking at images, and reading about exotic destinations and the things that make life extraordinary. There are so many things our world has to offer, and so many places where you are in complete awe of the things that surround you. I want to see it all. I want to experience it all. I want to go sky diving, and hang gilding, and scuba diving, and climb mountains, and see... a bear in it's natural habitat, and not behind glass in a zoo. I want to see deserts, and fields, and mountains, and marshes, and lakes, and oceans. I want to absorb different cultures, and people, and sights, and smells, and food! I want to experience it all! Or, at least as much as I can. I feel like at times we take our world for granted. I think we can easily get wrapped up in the mundane day to day nonsense, myself included. We get wrapped up in problems at work, or with friends and family, and we forget to look around and see the kind of amazing place we live in. We forget to take the time and look and experience all the things that life has to offer.

There are so many wonderful places I want to go. I can only hope to be able to visit half. Hence why I wish I could be a professional adventurer, to make my living by...well...living.

The thing that kind of sparked all of this was this image.

This is Ellisons Cave in Walker County, on Pigeon Mountain in Northwest Georgia. It is the 12th deepest cave in the US, and it is over 12 miles long. How awesome is this!! I couldn't help but think how amazing it would be to go caving here. Now, I have no experience with caving whatsoever, so it's highly unlikely that I would be able to go anytime soon, but how great would it be to see this in person! 

New Year Revolution!

So, I happened to come across this challenge called New Year Revolution. For 31 days, you are sent a challenge that you must complete each day. There are three different Revolution categories. There is Stop Wasting Money, Get Fit, and Try Something New. I decided to go with Try Something New. Really, I would like to do all of them but I feel like Try Something New might be the most fun at the moment. ANYWAY. I will attempt to do all 31 challenges and hopefully blog a bit about each, or at least ones I feel that impacted me the most. I will make the effort to try to write about each, but we will see. I'm excited to see what is thrown my way and will keep you updated! If anyone who happens to read this wants to check it out, or join one of the Revoluitons here is the link http://revolution.channel4.com/

Challenge 1:
The challenge I received today is to read a magazine that is targeted for the opposite gender, or a readership very different from yourself.

I decided to pick up a copy of Esquire Magazine. I really wanted to get American Cowboy Magazine, but I actually might pick up a copy of it, depending on what kind of mood I'm in. It's all about contemporary western lifestyle, which seems kind of interesting.

ANYWAY.

I chose Esquire partly because it seemed like a dudes magazine, and partly because I really didn't want to pick up a magazine about cars or deer hunting. Also, when I skimmed through it I saw that there was a small interview with Gary Oldman, and he's pretty boss. So when I got back and started looking at the magazine, one of the first advertisements was about sportswear at JCPenny and on the side of it, it had instructions on "How To Make Your Pecs Dance" which made me laugh. Also, there were A LOT of advertisements for watches...like...a good 10+ advertisements. I guess guys like watches? I was surprised to see that there wasn't that many photos of women, or scantily clad women. Although, interestingly enough, there was a large advertisement for diamond jewelry, that only featured women's jewelry (you know rings and such). Which, on a kind of side note, who decided that diamonds are to be the poster child for the stone to buy women?  I mean, maybe it's just me, but diamonds aren't all that awesome as far as stones go. Personally, I think emeralds are a pretty rockin' stone. Anyway...MOVING ON. The big article in the magazine was an interview with George Clooney entitled George Clooney's Thoughts for Today. It was pretty basic stuff with photos of George playing basketball and sitting in a large armchair.

Overall, Esquire was a pretty basic magazine. Seemed like the guys version some women's magazines I've seen. Well, I'm interested to see what tomorrows challenge is, and will keep you posted!

P.s. this is a pretty cool song. Check it out.