My favorite decoration is a photograph - a single photograph captures a memory that speaks a thousand words and adds infinite splashes of color to any room. My room is full of photographs - photographs that capture memories spanning all the way back to when I was two years old, running around, trying to keep …
Home Again and Onward
Walt Disney World - many years ago 🙂 An innocuous, white, sixteen-passenger Econoline van pulled into the parking lot of Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Inside, the van was brimming with excitement after an endless winter of anticipation had finally ended. As the doors opened, out spilled all eight members of my family, each of …
Life in Quarantine: Keeping Sane with Unexpected Smiles
Both of my beautiful families Some may say I am a planner. I think I would say that as well. What can I say? Plans are nice. I love being able to guess what’s going to happen and how I will react. Especially when plans work out. However, they can also be devastating when they …
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Gentle Reminders to Keep Living Life: Love a Little Harder, Smile a Little Wider, and Laugh a Whole Lot Louder
Before every cross country and track race all throughout high school, both my parents would always send me messages to ease my nerves. My mother would text me saying she heard Queen’s We are the Champions or Alicia Key’s This Girl is on Fire and would ensure me that she knew I could race my …
10 Seconds to Remember: A Week of Patience and Unexpected Treasures
Seaport, Boston, MA (2018) One click. 10 seconds. And a life changing accomplishment is suddenly right in my grasp. One click, and many months of diligence, studying, writing, a solo trip to Krakow, learning how to teach, navigating language barriers and an unfamiliar lifestyle, facing moments of inevitable loneliness, and continually learning how to live …
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The Delicate Strength of Resilience
There are 4,065 miles between Boston and ÄŒesky TêšÃn. The journey between these two cities involves a few trains, some buses, multiple planes, several time zone shifts, spurts of nostalgia, unpredictable periods of mental strength and a whole lot of coffee. When I traveled back to the United States for Christmas, this journey absolutely wiped …
Light the Way: Wicked Long, but Meaningful, Travels between Homes
Old Town Square, Prague There are about 50 European countries and 50 US states. 50 places with people, opportunities, and memories sprinkled throughout both continents that bring, and have brought, invaluable amounts of light into my life. As my love for both of these continents continually interconnect, recently I have found myself wishing for the …
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Count on Me: Racing the Inconsistent Speed of Trust
Views from Cross Country Skiing Public speaking has never been a problem for me. For somebody who can be a little shy (more so when I was younger) this was, and is still, always surprising to me. To this day I am still trying to figure out why but hey as a rising teacher, not …
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One Takeaway from Liblice: A Glass is Always Half Full
Chateau Liblice Fear and doubt have always been my most frustrating vices. Fears that keep me from meeting new people, exploring foreign experiences, and, most of all, understanding the depth of my personality. And then doubt – probably my most fatal flaw – that perpetually keeps me one step further behind than where I know …
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The Keys to My Life in ÄŒesky TêšÃn
Views from Javorovy in Trinec, Czech Republic When I was in the eighth grade I was assigned to read Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Almost immediately, I was extremely confused by the language and story. Lee's novel was definitely my most challenging read to date. Then, after slowly stumbling through the beginning of the …