Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Share something inspirational!
Sadly, there seems to be a lack of inspirational things in my life lately. I don't exactly know why there is this lack, maybe it is as simple as the fact that I may simply be blind to it. Inspiration is only effective if you are receptive, and lately I don't know if I have been receptive to any inspiration that may have been offered. So instead I am going to talk about a movie. Yes I am using a Hollywood movie to share an inspirational story.
There is a movie from 1979: Breaking Away that is truly inspirational and important to me. The plot of the movie is very simple: boy is obsessed with cycling, boy is son of stone cutter and supposed to work hard and forget fun and education, boy races against university students, boy enters university and parents overcome prejudices. By now you should realise just how much cycling means to me - not to mention why. The first time I saw this movie was years ago with my dad, who loved it because it was about cycling and in many ways mirrored his own life. Then almost exactly a year ago I tracked it down on dvd, and watched it with my dad. It ended up being the last movie that he ever watched, which is part of why it is inspirational to me.
So why is this movie inspirational? What makes me think it is worth sharing? Well it is a story that not only reminds me of my father, but it reminds me of the fundamental importance of living life with passion. We must always fight for what I believe in, push life's boundaries, and never release passion or love.
Where are you growing right now?
Right now I am testing and pushing my academic pursuits so that I can determine how best to shape my future. A great deal of this is related to my plans to return to University in September to do my MA. I will be taking two years to do my Masters, spending this year doing coursework and then my thesis next year. Choosing courses and planning my thesis is forcing me to think deeply about what my precise interests are, and how they relate to what I want to do in the future. This process is reminding me just how passionate I am about history, and making me realise that there is nothing else in life that I could love as much. While this intellectual growth will not really transpire until I start classes, it is certainly starting now, and it is a fascinating experience.
What's the first pair of shoes you remember?
The first pair of shoes that I remember could be one of a dozen first pairs of shoes for me. See, for the first decade of my life most of the time I wore very basic Mary-Janes. They were always navy, were always a brogue, and always had a t-strap. The youngest I remember wearing them was at about age three, the oldest was about nine, although I am sure that I wore them both before and after that point. Although they looked absolutely adorable with my white knee socks and flowered dresses, I absolutely HATED these shoes at the time. I always felt that they were wide and ugly (not to mention nothing like the cool kids wore). I remember buying them in England, I remember wearing my sister's hand-me-downs, I remember them as being a fundamental part of my childhood.
I must say though, I had a good chuckle when I noticed this zaadz question. I am so obsessed with shoes, and have justly earned the nickname Imelda. While the question only asked about the first pair I remember there have been so many pairs across the years that I remember because they are associated with firsts. I remember the first pair I chose for myself, I remember the pair I wore on the first day of juniour high, I remember my first pair of adult sized shoes, my first pair of good quality shoes, my first fashion boots, the first pair I bought with my own money, the first pair I got at Winsbys, and on and on forever. It could be said that I love shoes :-) Of course right now I am over the moon because I own my first pair of Frye's, but that is a whole other entry!!
Sadly, there seems to be a lack of inspirational things in my life lately. I don't exactly know why there is this lack, maybe it is as simple as the fact that I may simply be blind to it. Inspiration is only effective if you are receptive, and lately I don't know if I have been receptive to any inspiration that may have been offered. So instead I am going to talk about a movie. Yes I am using a Hollywood movie to share an inspirational story.
There is a movie from 1979: Breaking Away that is truly inspirational and important to me. The plot of the movie is very simple: boy is obsessed with cycling, boy is son of stone cutter and supposed to work hard and forget fun and education, boy races against university students, boy enters university and parents overcome prejudices. By now you should realise just how much cycling means to me - not to mention why. The first time I saw this movie was years ago with my dad, who loved it because it was about cycling and in many ways mirrored his own life. Then almost exactly a year ago I tracked it down on dvd, and watched it with my dad. It ended up being the last movie that he ever watched, which is part of why it is inspirational to me.
So why is this movie inspirational? What makes me think it is worth sharing? Well it is a story that not only reminds me of my father, but it reminds me of the fundamental importance of living life with passion. We must always fight for what I believe in, push life's boundaries, and never release passion or love.
Where are you growing right now?
Right now I am testing and pushing my academic pursuits so that I can determine how best to shape my future. A great deal of this is related to my plans to return to University in September to do my MA. I will be taking two years to do my Masters, spending this year doing coursework and then my thesis next year. Choosing courses and planning my thesis is forcing me to think deeply about what my precise interests are, and how they relate to what I want to do in the future. This process is reminding me just how passionate I am about history, and making me realise that there is nothing else in life that I could love as much. While this intellectual growth will not really transpire until I start classes, it is certainly starting now, and it is a fascinating experience.
What's the first pair of shoes you remember?
The first pair of shoes that I remember could be one of a dozen first pairs of shoes for me. See, for the first decade of my life most of the time I wore very basic Mary-Janes. They were always navy, were always a brogue, and always had a t-strap. The youngest I remember wearing them was at about age three, the oldest was about nine, although I am sure that I wore them both before and after that point. Although they looked absolutely adorable with my white knee socks and flowered dresses, I absolutely HATED these shoes at the time. I always felt that they were wide and ugly (not to mention nothing like the cool kids wore). I remember buying them in England, I remember wearing my sister's hand-me-downs, I remember them as being a fundamental part of my childhood.
I must say though, I had a good chuckle when I noticed this zaadz question. I am so obsessed with shoes, and have justly earned the nickname Imelda. While the question only asked about the first pair I remember there have been so many pairs across the years that I remember because they are associated with firsts. I remember the first pair I chose for myself, I remember the pair I wore on the first day of juniour high, I remember my first pair of adult sized shoes, my first pair of good quality shoes, my first fashion boots, the first pair I bought with my own money, the first pair I got at Winsbys, and on and on forever. It could be said that I love shoes :-) Of course right now I am over the moon because I own my first pair of Frye's, but that is a whole other entry!!