Fall Lights

This cute and fun piece of wrapping paper brings back a lot of memories. It's from my sister's birthday last year and when I saw her unwrapping a gift, I wanted to keep it. I decided to paste it onto the front cover of my new notebook (as of last year) that is a different shade of green of which I can't think of the name for right now. I was reminded of this when I opened this notebook recently, and use it fairly often to jot down notes, thoughts, ideas and the like. These party zebras brought me back to a time and place last year that is very vivid, and distinct, yet a place that I am no longer in.

Early September and the rest of Fall last year was an interesting time. I was trying to adjust to all the changes in my job but felt the severity of sinking rather than swimming. On the contrary, I was living up the excitement of postgrad and finally felt the weight of it all lifted, as well as behind me. My tutoring freelance was starting to evolve more after a slow spring season and everything seemed just right. I made my schedule filled with variety and I was enjoying every moment of it. My runs were filled with energy and enthusiasm, and that compelled me to have the same feelings for Fall and cornflakes leaves scattered over the ground (which I often take pictures of). This energy made me eager to continue on learning regardless of being a non student, and I was proud to say I wasn't to those I volunteered with to serve local seniors their meals. This motivation reached to a point of interest to learn more about the Holy Land and Israel, and my desire to travel there one day strengthened more. I decided to continue studying Arabic on my own and to help teach myself as well as others, I made videos of myself teaching Arabic. This has helped me to continue to stay inspired and challenged throughout this year too.

All in all, I have very fond, personal and lovely memories of this time of year last year. I'm not sure what this year will bring, but I want to savor and appreciate it for what it is. It's a special, unique and personal time that needs to be lived and embraced. Maybe the zebras with the party hats can help lighten the mood, and God will take the lead.