Really?!

We all know these people, right?  The mama's boy who "doesn't eat vegetables."  The girl who thinks reading isn't cool and therefore "doesn't read."  The list is endless. They don't watch the news, they don't study, they don't want to move more than a block away from their parents' house.  I have a few words for these people.

REALLY?! When was the last time you ate vegetables?  Do you think your opinions haven't changed at all?  Isn't there ONE out there that you like?  When was the last time you read a book?  The last time you were transported to another world in your imagination.  There aren't ANY books that you like? NONE? REALLY?!  What about when the Boston bombings occurred?  You didn't turn on the news for a MINUTE?  Did you hear about the explosion in West, TX? ...REALLY?!  Aren't you A LITTLE curious about what's out there?  Don't you get sick of this bubble you've created for yourself?

Maybe it's the family I grew up in or the fact that I didn't grow up in the Midwest.  I'm not sure what, but there's an endless world out there of possibility.  To close yourself off to any part of that just seems strange to me.  Why is it not cool to be smart or different?  What do we have to do to make this generation see that these things are important and that it's okay to know things.

COME ON.

Trusting Your Gut

Well, I've got two weeks left of undergrad, and I keep having to reassure myself that I know what I'm doing.  There comes a point in your life where you don't rely on anyone else to make decisions about your life except yourself.  For me, that's right now--when my parents no longer finance my life.  So how do I know what's right for me when my parents have been influencing my decisions for the past 22 years?

The answer is, of course, that there's no way to tell for sure.  You just have to trust your gut and know that no one else had their life figured out at this age either.

I'm someone that's always striving for more and pushing harder and never settling, and it's hard to grasp the concept that I've settled...for now.  I've dreamt of New York City for a long time, and to have closed that door for now wears on me every once in awhile.  I'll make it there someday.  I know it in my gut.  I also know that if I'm going to get a job in my field, I need to be in Nashville.  I need to work my way up in Music City, pay cheaper rent, pay off loans, and my path to New York will carve itself out somewhere down the road.

I love Nashville to death, but my soul will always wander to New York until I can be there.  Wait for me, please.