Life has really been super crazy hard, yet awesome this year. I haven't had too much time to think much about anything besides two things: My master's thesis and traveling. Aside from the stress of changing my thesis a second time this summer and trying to meet the deadlines for a December graduation since then, I haven't given myself much time to do anything except visit the people and places I love. And I'm okay with that. In fact, I think I may have my priorities all mixed up. For some reason, school has never come first in my life. And right now, I care more about figuring out how I can visit friends and family and see more of the world at the same time.
This year I have traveled more than I ever have before. I have been to twenty something states (if you count driving through a few) and three new countries. And next year, I hope I can travel even more. I feel like I didn't truly get to enjoy my travel experiences with this thesis hanging over my head, but next year I'll be free to fully experience wherever I may go. Hopefully I can even get a job in the travel industry so I can continue being involved with travel for my work as well.
It is so important to me to experience life. I want to see for myself what the world has to offer instead of read it in books or analyze it on a computer in SPSS. And it's such a sad prospect to think of experiencing life alone. Thus, I use the excuse of visiting friends and family to travel. I thoroughly enjoy getting together with people who have been a part of my life at one time or another. I am a sentimental person (hey, I'm a girl after all!), and it's so refreshing to remember the people and places that led me to where I am now. With all the people I've known and places I've been, the opportunities for travel are endless with this rationale.
In short, my goal in life right now as I am graduating and have not yet found a career is to enjoy and experience life to the fullest. I want to do everything I can to maintain my friendships all across the world while making new ones all the same. And once I finish this blasted thesis project soon, I hope to start a travel blog full of my experiences and any tips I've learned along the way. This will be my way of sharing my travels with even more of my friends who aren't able to come with me.
Traveling is my passion. It involves cities, history, geography (and even a little sociology). It is the essence of both people and place coming together. I really hope I have the opportunity to travel throughout my life, but for now, I'll do as much as I can while I have the time and (some of the) means to do so.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
About Me
I don't really have time to sit down and write a well thought out post these days, so I guess a short one will have to do. I apologize that this is also a departure from the more academic theme I've tried to make, but hopefully this may help others better understand me when I do make my more academic arguments. Here's a list of things I have learned about myself so far in 2012:
1. Through taking a picture of something I've experienced each day this year, I have learned that it is much easier to document and remember what happens in my life through one or two short sentences each day (which are the captions for my photos) rather than the detailed journal entries I love to write but never have time for. It's also better than the short lists of random words I use to define my day which I write on sticky notes hoping they will jog my memory when I finally have time to write.
2. By taking pictures everyday, I have also realized that the highlight of my life these days really consists of food (seriously, almost half of my pictures are of things I've eaten or places I've eaten at!), school work, hanging out with Nate, and admiring the scenery. I never knew food was such a big part of my life before!
3. I always knew I get anxious when I have to call somebody on the phone, but I really don't like sending out emails either! Especially because I've always had bad luck with technology.
4. I came to the sad realization that the older I get, the more I realize that I don't like everyone I meet.
5. I have a very unique life background based on a very unlikely combination of my race and ethnicity, my religion, my experiences growing up in Hawaii, my experiences traveling the United States and parts of the world, the random jobs I've had in dozens of different industries, the eclectic mix of friends, acquaintances and colleagues I have, and I could go on and on. I think a lot of people don't understand me because of it, but I like to think it helps me relate to others better as well.
6. I also realized that I love to exchange stories about life perhaps a little more than most people would be comfortable with. In short: I talk too much :P
7. I do enjoy a good TV show, but no matter how many shows and movies I have on my list of things to watch, I really do think it's the biggest waste of time.
8. I feel guilty for having so many Facebook friends, but I really do love them all! I'm not just a "friend collector" but I am genuinely interested in their lives. And I do go through delete people I don't feel like I would ever talk to again and stuff like that, but I still have so many people I care about that I want to keep in touch with. Because I have lived, worked, and traveled around in so many places I do know a lot of people. I love being able to see where people are at and meet up with them whenever I travel. That's been the most valuable thing about Facebook for me. And after all, it's supposed to be a social network.
9. I am starting to realize that I am a gift giver. That's one of the things that brings me so much joy in my life. I am pretty good at saving my money, but when it comes to Christmas and other celebrations, I love having an excuse to spend money on the people I care about. If I see something that reminds me of a close friend or family member, it takes a lot for me to not make that purchase.
10. My ideal career choice would be something in the travel and tourism industry. I have always had a plan for what education or job I wanted to get somewhere in life, but I never felt very strongly about any particular career path in the past; I would be happy with whatever job I ended up with and I would be able to learn to do my job the best I could. My past career goals were always to achieve more broad, general end. I wanted to be a diplomat to influence education policy somehow. I wanted to work for UNESCO to work with historical places somewhere. I wanted to work for an NGO to help people in need across the world. I could never think of any one particular job that would make me happy in the past. These jobs were all a means to an end. I wanted to be a positive influence in the world and I needed to have a career path, but I didn't think any of these would be so much fun or make me particularly happy in my personal life or anything. I mean, a job is a job. However, the more I study tourism in sociology and the more I want to travel and see the world, the more I am beginning to realize that I would have so much fun with a job that allowed me to do research relating to maps and travel schedules and cultural reports, not to mention the most amazing benefits that come with it all. If I can find a way to fit urban planning and sociology into such a career, that would probably be my dream job.
1. Through taking a picture of something I've experienced each day this year, I have learned that it is much easier to document and remember what happens in my life through one or two short sentences each day (which are the captions for my photos) rather than the detailed journal entries I love to write but never have time for. It's also better than the short lists of random words I use to define my day which I write on sticky notes hoping they will jog my memory when I finally have time to write.
3. I always knew I get anxious when I have to call somebody on the phone, but I really don't like sending out emails either! Especially because I've always had bad luck with technology.
4. I came to the sad realization that the older I get, the more I realize that I don't like everyone I meet.
5. I have a very unique life background based on a very unlikely combination of my race and ethnicity, my religion, my experiences growing up in Hawaii, my experiences traveling the United States and parts of the world, the random jobs I've had in dozens of different industries, the eclectic mix of friends, acquaintances and colleagues I have, and I could go on and on. I think a lot of people don't understand me because of it, but I like to think it helps me relate to others better as well.
6. I also realized that I love to exchange stories about life perhaps a little more than most people would be comfortable with. In short: I talk too much :P
7. I do enjoy a good TV show, but no matter how many shows and movies I have on my list of things to watch, I really do think it's the biggest waste of time.
8. I feel guilty for having so many Facebook friends, but I really do love them all! I'm not just a "friend collector" but I am genuinely interested in their lives. And I do go through delete people I don't feel like I would ever talk to again and stuff like that, but I still have so many people I care about that I want to keep in touch with. Because I have lived, worked, and traveled around in so many places I do know a lot of people. I love being able to see where people are at and meet up with them whenever I travel. That's been the most valuable thing about Facebook for me. And after all, it's supposed to be a social network.
9. I am starting to realize that I am a gift giver. That's one of the things that brings me so much joy in my life. I am pretty good at saving my money, but when it comes to Christmas and other celebrations, I love having an excuse to spend money on the people I care about. If I see something that reminds me of a close friend or family member, it takes a lot for me to not make that purchase.
10. My ideal career choice would be something in the travel and tourism industry. I have always had a plan for what education or job I wanted to get somewhere in life, but I never felt very strongly about any particular career path in the past; I would be happy with whatever job I ended up with and I would be able to learn to do my job the best I could. My past career goals were always to achieve more broad, general end. I wanted to be a diplomat to influence education policy somehow. I wanted to work for UNESCO to work with historical places somewhere. I wanted to work for an NGO to help people in need across the world. I could never think of any one particular job that would make me happy in the past. These jobs were all a means to an end. I wanted to be a positive influence in the world and I needed to have a career path, but I didn't think any of these would be so much fun or make me particularly happy in my personal life or anything. I mean, a job is a job. However, the more I study tourism in sociology and the more I want to travel and see the world, the more I am beginning to realize that I would have so much fun with a job that allowed me to do research relating to maps and travel schedules and cultural reports, not to mention the most amazing benefits that come with it all. If I can find a way to fit urban planning and sociology into such a career, that would probably be my dream job.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Year of the Dragon
2012 is off to a great start. This year will be the year to make things happen. This year will be the year that dreams will come true. I don't know what it is about the new year, but something is definitely in the air, and it seems that I'm not the only one who feels it.
While 2011 was a very productive year for me, I'm not sure that it was the best it could have been. The last 4 or 5 months of the year passed so quickly - moreso than I've ever felt time fly before. It was as if the minutes, hours, days, and weeks slipped by unnoticed until they were absolutely gone. However, at the same time I simply couldn't wait for 2011 to be over and done with. I had many wonderful opportunities and met many amazing new people, but something just seemed to be lacking in the quality of time I was using. Yes, it was exciting for me to publish a book in March and to successfully present my research at several wonderful conferences in amazing cities. I started running which is a miracle since I never ever thought I would ever become a runner in my entire life. I can't believe I ran four half marathons, including one at Disney World in Florida! And that gave me the opportunity to visit the Harry Potter theme park in Universal Studios. What a dream! And I was able to visit more than 4 new cities, which was my goal for 2011. I went to Seattle, Portland, Boise, Calgary, Edmonton, and Orlando, and I'm so glad I finally had the chance to use my new passport I've had for a while.
On another note, I was not able to keep up this blog as regularly as I had hoped to. I do actually have dozens upon dozens of half written blog entries, but in the last part of the year, I found it difficult to finish them thoroughly. If I hope to continue this blog as an effort to keep up my writing skills, I think I need to start writing shorter posts.
After reviewing my resolutions for 2011, I have several things I hope to accomplish in 2012. As a continuation from last year, I do hope to stay more active. I want to continue running as much as I can, and I want to travel to at least 4 new cities, which definitely includes Chicago (where the 2012 Rural Sociological Society conference will be held in July), as well as 1 or more new countries. I really need to get out and see the world, especially Europe, like I always dreamed I would. In the past, every time I planned a trip my travel buddy would bail on me. This time I am determined to get there no matter what. Airline fees are only going to rise in the future, and I have enough friends in different places that I should be able to get around even if it's by myself. I am utterly determined to get to Europe! I have also already purchased a handful of tickets to attend several events at the summer Olympics in London this year, so wish me luck in finding a way there!
The most important thing I must accomplish in 2012 is to graduate from BYU with my MS degree in Sociology. I need to focus my writing efforts on my thesis project daily (rather than on a blog haha) and hone my statistics skills in order to finish. This will be the greatest challenge of the year.
With the exciting nature of events to come this year, especially regarding my travel plans for the year, I hope to have many new adventures as well. This is my last year living in Utah as far as I'm concerned, and I really want to take advantage of all the magnificent things I can do here. So my ultimate goal is to try 10 new, fun things here in the West/Rockies. I hope these things will include learning to ski, white water rafting, hiking the Grand Canyon, and attending at least one showing at the Sundance Film Festival.
I realize that accomplishing all these things will probably take both a lot of time and money, so this year I'll have to work harder than ever and take more risks in my life. And I'm willing and ready to do that. I have a certain clarity this year about what I want, and I'll do whatever I need to do reach my goals. This year I am decisive (for once)! I'm so excited to see where this year will take me. Hello, 2012!
On another note, I was not able to keep up this blog as regularly as I had hoped to. I do actually have dozens upon dozens of half written blog entries, but in the last part of the year, I found it difficult to finish them thoroughly. If I hope to continue this blog as an effort to keep up my writing skills, I think I need to start writing shorter posts.
After reviewing my resolutions for 2011, I have several things I hope to accomplish in 2012. As a continuation from last year, I do hope to stay more active. I want to continue running as much as I can, and I want to travel to at least 4 new cities, which definitely includes Chicago (where the 2012 Rural Sociological Society conference will be held in July), as well as 1 or more new countries. I really need to get out and see the world, especially Europe, like I always dreamed I would. In the past, every time I planned a trip my travel buddy would bail on me. This time I am determined to get there no matter what. Airline fees are only going to rise in the future, and I have enough friends in different places that I should be able to get around even if it's by myself. I am utterly determined to get to Europe! I have also already purchased a handful of tickets to attend several events at the summer Olympics in London this year, so wish me luck in finding a way there!The most important thing I must accomplish in 2012 is to graduate from BYU with my MS degree in Sociology. I need to focus my writing efforts on my thesis project daily (rather than on a blog haha) and hone my statistics skills in order to finish. This will be the greatest challenge of the year.
With the exciting nature of events to come this year, especially regarding my travel plans for the year, I hope to have many new adventures as well. This is my last year living in Utah as far as I'm concerned, and I really want to take advantage of all the magnificent things I can do here. So my ultimate goal is to try 10 new, fun things here in the West/Rockies. I hope these things will include learning to ski, white water rafting, hiking the Grand Canyon, and attending at least one showing at the Sundance Film Festival.
I realize that accomplishing all these things will probably take both a lot of time and money, so this year I'll have to work harder than ever and take more risks in my life. And I'm willing and ready to do that. I have a certain clarity this year about what I want, and I'll do whatever I need to do reach my goals. This year I am decisive (for once)! I'm so excited to see where this year will take me. Hello, 2012!
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