New York City

Sometimes when I'm bored, I'll search real estate ads for apartments in the city, reveling in the idea of finally living there one day.

I grew up (and still live) 40 minutes from the city. I can hop on a train and go there whenever I feel like it. I'm there as much a I (and my wallet) can take it. But there's still something about the city that's magical to me, something about it that's so fascinating and intriguing. Maybe it's because there's so much of it I haven't seen yet. Maybe it's because of all its diversity. Maybe it's because it's so full of surprises. Or maybe it's because it's a place where dreams can come true.

Whatever it is, I adore New York City, and I can't wait to live there someday.

Football

I've never actually understood football. I've seen my dad watch it on TV, and I've gone to school games where my sister was playing in the marching band, but I was never able to figure it out, even after multiple people attempting to explain it to me. I've said that, for me, watching football is similar to watching a movie in another language- I see it, I pay attention, I know something is happening, but I'm not exactly sure what's really going on. I just cheer when other people cheer. However, there are two things I understand- touchdowns and field goals.

Yesterday I was invited to a friend's house to watch the Jets game with her and her family, a bunch of die-hard Jets fans. I understood what I could and knew it was a good game, but most of it was advanced level Spanish. After the Jets won, I was invited to watch the game with them again next week.

So, I have created another goal for myself. Not a goal for the year, but a goal for the week. I am determined to understand football by 3:00 on Sunday. [For fun, let's call it a "field goal"!] My dad explained downs, but I still couldn't grasp the concept. It seems a visual helps, so I searched YouTube and came across this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr7Pu-Zw0Ow
It's pretty much a 4-minute, no-nonsense guide to the basic rules of football. I actually caught myself going "Oh!" a couple of times. Maybe this is all I need; I'll just have to watch and study it a few more times.

In due time, people, in due time.

Living

"Dream as if you'll live forever; live as if you'll die today."
--James Dean

I've been thinking about this quote lately. I identify with the first part, definitely. I have big dreams. There's so much that I want to do, so many places I want to go, so many things I want to see. However, I don't know about the second part. I have a great life and I've done lots of amazing things so far during it, but I want to really make something of it. I want to break away from whatever it is that's holding me back from making those dreams happen. I want to be able to say I really lived.

Someone I went to college with moved to Paris after graduation. That was his dream, and he did it. Another friend of mine is in Louisville for a year as an acting apprentice. A third is in Chicago doing a volunteer program. They are experiencing things, they are fulfilling dreams, they are living. I want to live. I want to take chances. I want to do something good.

I recently applied for an acting apprenticeship, and registered on a website for volunteer services. I feel like both of these would be fantastic experiences for me. Not only would I be seeing a new part of the country, but I'd be doing something really cool while I was there. I feel as though an experience like either of those could change my life.

For now, I'm living each day as it comes and accepting whatever life throws at me with open arms. I hope life takes me to tons of amazing places; I hope I get to live.

"There is hope for me yet
Because God won't forget
All the plans He's made for me
I have to wait and see.
He's not finished with me yet
He's not finished with me yet."
--Brandon Heath

Jane Eyre

I'm currently reading Jane Eyre and really enjoying it. It's funny how, in school, being forced to read a book makes it so easy to be critical and hate it, but choosing to read the same book of your own volition somehow makes it so much easier to enjoy. I was never assigned Jane Eyre in school, and that makes this experience so much better.

10 Things I Will Accomplish in 2010

I've compiled a list of ten things I will accomplish this year. I say "will accomplish" because doing so gives me the motivation to make them all happen. I don't "want to" or "hope to" do these things ... I will.

Here goes (in no particular order):

1. Get a New York acting gig
2. Lose at least 10 pounds and 5 inches off my waist
3. Run a marathon
4. Travel somewhere new (and preferably outside of the east coast)
5. Add one thousand more dollars to my bank account
6. Read at least five classic novels
7. Take a yoga class
8. See at least three Off-Off-Broadway productions and one ballet.
9. Go vegan for one week
10. Pick at least three TV shows and watch them in their entirety

Granted, some of these will be easier (or less expensive) to complete than others, but I'm determined to succeed. I use "at least" in a few of them so as to give myself a goal, but not limit myself. However, pretty much all of them are "at leasts" of some kind, even if not specified.

For now, the list is at 10. If I think of a new goal, I'll add it to the list. I will be updating on my progress.