so i stood there...shaking...waiting to talk to one of my personal heros...and words began to fail me...at one point, i believe i actually told blake that i loved him. i really can't remember. one of the best and most embarrassing moments but i enjoyed it nonetheless. if you can't laugh at yourself then why bother laughing at all?? i was just in awe of this man, who started a shoe company based on the belief of "one for one". simple enough. this memory will be forever engrained in my mind alongside of the memories of the dominican republic, where i first found out about TOMS.
after listening to blake speak about his endeavors...i began to think of what i will do with my life. i'm 21...a spring chicken....i should really only be thinking about when will i ever get to that dang bar *ahem retro rocks*!?...but no, i'm not like that. i thrive for helping others and giving back. i want to travel and experience other cultures and how they live day to day and possible give back anything i can to them...whether it be time, words, money, food, or manual labor, i really don't care, i'll do it. they need it. so maybe working for a nonprofit organization is in my future...helping to spread the word of their cause through my graphic design abilities...
it's time to move on to better things...set my mind on the right track. get in touch with those around me and do the best i can in whatever i do.
it's funny...every time i go home and see my sister in-law's family, her mother always says the same thing to me; "jenna, you are doing wonderful things in this world. i am so proud of you and you should be proud of yourself" and my own mother tells me "you have done more things for others and the world in the past 3 years than i have done in all of mine" and recently a colleague and mentor of mine has told me that i should be proud of everything that i have done for this world...
now mind you, i don't take compliments well, never really have. so my gut reaction is to just brush them off with a simple "thank you". but thinking about it, i am proud of what i have done...and i want to continue to do this as long as i can whether it be in michigan or anywhere else in the world.
i believe that it's important to surround yourself with those who support you and understand your motivation and i most certainly do. blake would have never come to this little university sitting in the middle of three large cities if it were not for *agd*. this girl is amazing, no seriously. we both found out about TOMS in the dominican together and she has the courage to contact headquarters to find out how to get involved. i would consider her one of my very close friends. so nanner....keep on trucking and doing what you do, don't lose that spirit that inspires those around you.
so now it's back to reality...back to the same old grind of school, work, resident assistant, homework, programming, etc....and i'm kind of bummed...but i know that God has put me here for a purpose...and i'm just one step closer to finding out what that purpose is.
song of the day: "so much more"-mark robillard
