Get You Through the Day

“Ah, I forgot my lunch this morning.”

“I very rarely eat lunch.”

“Really? Why not?”

“Well I hate buying it for one thing..”

“Oh and you hate carrying things too.”

“Yeah, so I’ll usually fill up on a good breakfast to get me through the day, but I’m usually pretty hungry by dinner.”

I overheard this conversation about 3 minutes ago as two middle-aged men gathered at the MARC exit door to Rockville station. I’m not sure if they were friends or just frequent riders. The conversation was simple, but revealed so much more about the man who was just sitting next to me in the seat too small for the both of us. It made me think about the way he makes decisions and prioritizes things in his life. When he first said he didn’t each lunch, I figured it would be followed up with some statement about being too busy because I saw him dialing away at emails on his blackberry earlier. I thought lunch was another one of those in the way steps of feeling accomplished in our to do list driven lives. His reasoning was simple really, but it’s the “to get me through the day” part that sparked my interest.

Breakfast would be his first and last meal until dinner to get him through his day. Whatever he ate that morning would have to hold him through the day because that was the decision he made from cost and comfort. Does he put extra thought into his breakfast? Does he think before pouring a mediocre sized bowl of Cheerios will this get me through my day?

What gets you through your day? I don’t mean what meals or snacks do you consume to provide that physical energy, but what gives you that spark to get through another day that could be just like the other?I know everyone in student affairs says no day is alike, but I mean really they are. We aren’t really that special. What gets you through the monotony of your fifth committee meeting where nothing seems to get done? What gets you thorough that boring one on one where you just want to through your hands up and walk out? It’s crazy to think how often people’s professional lives are eight hours of “getting through” until they can work resume their personal life or vice versa.

I’m reading this book that talks about how to live a happier life blah blah and it talks about how your work and personal life shouldn’t be separate. You should bring the same passions to your work as your do your personal. What you do for work is serving your organization and those impacted, while what you do for home is serving and providing for you family. No matter the location, it’s all service driven by some passion. If you don’t love your personal or professional or really what should be the marriage of the two, maybe think about reconsider what you’re doing to get through the day.

In a perfect world, everyone would be in their dream career with their dream lives. That may not always happen to the tee, but there are ways you can influence your life to do more than just get through the day, but actually embrace and enjoy your day. It’s always the little things that make me remember why I love what I do and who I am. It’s the little Facebook notes or emails. It’s the little laughs or moments I want to punch someone in the face. There are things that get me through the day beyond waiting for it to be over. If you can’t find this is in work, take on a new hobby or a new pet. We are charged with keeping our lives rich and fulfilled, so do something to spark your inner child and do more than just get through the day.

STFU Brittany: Shake it Up

“You keep up too much noise. Don’t you see how quiet we are around here? *points to the hallway* Do you sit up in your apartment and make noise like that?” Mother

“If I want to.” Me

“Well, that’s stupid.” Mother

So my Mom always complains that she is too old now for a bunch of noise. Whenever my brother and I play fight or sing loudly, she goes into this big speech about how her nerves can’t handle that. Oh and don’t dare go in her bedroom making a bunch of noise, that’s an immediate get out.

Now I like being respectful and all, but sometimes you just gotta shake things up.

I like to shake things up at home, work, with friends, at the bar, wherever. Why stick to the monotony of life? So often we get stuck doing just this and just that, that life becomes just living. Life is the single longest thing we do, so why only just do it. Shake it up, do it to the fullest.

When we’re “just” doing something were only doing it because we feel there’s some responsibility for us to do it or we are making it less than what it really is. I’m just a graduate so I can’t do this and that. I’m just going to work because I have to earn a wage. If we defeat the just and simply do things for pure enjoyment, imagine how much more fulfilling our lives could be.

If we shake things up and genuinely do things with purpose and fight the just, imagine how much more of an impact we could have. Do something out of your daily 9 to 5 just to shake things up and say BOOM I still got it. Do that crazy thing your partner thought didn’t exist past the honeymoon phase to shake things up. If we don’t keep ourselves refreshed and shake things up in our lives, life becomes more than the longest thing we do, but also the most boring thing we do.

My mom will tell me to be quiet everyday this summer, but I won’t. My house is generally quiet and boring. Everyone is old and in their own routine. Not I. I’m home and everyone will know. Shake it up!

People always talk about how loud I am. Well that’s me. It’s not that I like being the center attention, who am I kidding– yes I do, but I like to live loud. I’m not saying everyone has to be an extrovert, Lord knows (thanks TED) we need our introverts, but it’s so important to live you and live it loud. Live it loud for everyone to see. Your personality should never been someone’s dealbreaker that sends you through a cycle of self-defeating thoughts.

I’m really the love or hate me kind of person. I’m annoying, I know this. The folks who can’t deal with me, that’s fine! It’s completely fine! It’s not going to make me change who I am. If you don’t live out loud and live beyond the “just” what is the point? I mean there is a point, but don’t disvalue your life and downplay yourself. You’re incredible already.