I ran across this photo last night during the wee hours, after I had finished some work and was doing what I do best when I’m tired, which is mindless Facebook wandering, and occasionally cyberstalking. Hey, whatever. Once in awhile, everybody needs to know what’s going on in the life of the girl who sat next to you in the 2nd grade, wore a pink corduroy vest and stuck her tongue out at you every day. Wassup, Desiree Williams!
(photo via mon ami, Mathilde)
Anyhoo, this snapshot was a friend’s post-Chinese-takeout iPhone upload with the caption, “I’m framing this one.” And I thought to myself, you go on with your bad self, girlfriend. It struck me as extraordinarily poignant since said friend is currently FLOURISHING in the face of what has been a legitimate train wreck in the middle of a tsunami in her personal life… the mind-numbingly painful kind that would’ve sent most people straight to the couch with some Ho-Ho’s, fried chicken, and Bridget Jones’ Diary on repeat for a year. But this girl picked herself up, dusted herself off, made an ocean of sweet lemonade out of some crusty, RANK lemons, and is embracing everything around her with childlike enthusiasm. I’m currently in awe of her.
Another friend of mine found out last night that he got into one of the top MBA programs in the country; one that has a 15% acceptance rate… YIKES. It was a longshot, and a year-long, grueling application process, but one of those things he said he just had to gun for, even if he came up short. And, whatta ya know! In a few weeks, he’ll be shopping for a new Trapper Keeper and some #2 pencils. Giddyup, Big Red!
The fortune cookie quote reminds me of something my pseudo-big-sister and co-blogger, Karrie, used to say to me when I was in college: “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” …and something one of my college volleyball coaches yelled to me one day during a vomit-inducing set of I’m-going-to-keel-over-any-minute-now marathon sprints: “Your body is capable of so much more than you think it is.” It’s all part of the same ball of wax, and it all boils down to the same thing: If there’s something you want, GO FOR IT. You only live once, and you really ARE capable of so much more than you probably realize. Put yourself out there, and give it your best shot. You’ll NEVER know unless you try, and almost every time, you’ll be surprised to find out what you’re made of.
xoxo,
