If my 9 year-old self could see me now, she'd think I made our dreams come true.

Yesterday I was asked to visit one of Breakthrough's middle school sites located in the neighboring city of Manor. I was to be a guest speaker for their First-Generation Speaker Series. One of the qualifications to become apart of Breakthrough is that you must be a first-generation college intended, meaning neither of your parents graduated from a college in the States. Because all of our students share this commonality, we invite people from the community who were also first-generation college graduates to share their stories with the students.

At the end of my story-telling session I invited the room full of 6th graders to ask me questions; I was not prepared for what happened next. I was blown away with how perceptive they were to the finer details of my story, their questions were truly amazing. I answered each of their questions, the q&a portion lasted as long as the story-telling did, and I couldn't help but boast a smile that threatened to not leave my face for hours after. We finally came to an end and the students were dismissed to their tables for snack time. As I was about to leave the room a girl rushed up to me and shoved a notebook and pen in my face. Written on the sheet was one sentence- "People who inspire me:_____________________." She then asked me to sign on the line. 

 I have plenty of reasons to be thankful this holiday season. I must confess, I have been putting off writing this particular entry for quite some time now. It's not for the lack of inspiration, I just couldn't quite bring myself to write this. However, when this young girl asked me to sign that sheet of paper I knew that I had to celebrate it. No, I am not celebrating my awesome story-telling abilities, however awesome they may be, I am celebrating that some part of my story resonated with an 11 year old girl I had never met prior to that moment. I can't quite explain what feeling overtook me, because I'm still trying to understand it, but the gift of sharing has made a profound impact on me.

Three weeks ago today I learned that out of 47,000 applicants for Teach For America only 11% were accepted and my application made the cut. I was shocked. I had been audience for many an anecdote re-telling sad stories about candidates who, in my opinion, were more than qualified for a spot in this competitive program yet had not received admittance. I am blessed to have this chance to help what is considered the civil rights movement of our time- education reform. I will do my part and 'fight in the trenches' to try and make a difference. I am thankful for this. I'm sure it will be a humbling experience, to say the least, but it will also mark the introduction to a new chapter in my life. I don't know what that chapter holds but i'm excited.

While i'm on a roll, I would also like to express my love for my family and friends. That they continue to be in my life now and as I continue further is a true testament to love. I'm also thankful for the new friends in my life for what good is it to live if you can't laugh?

This entry is a lot longer than I wanted it to be, but what did I expect, I have been putting this off for a month now. This'll show me to never put off writing an entry again..then again I do have a track record of being a procrastinator. I have great friends, a supportive and loving family, a mission to work for, and have been granted the opportunity to be apart of something much larger than myself. I'm humbled and grateful this holiday season. I signed my name on the line for that student in hopes that she one day strives to become someone who inspires others.

 Until next time,
RTIII

I know who John Galt is.

This is a blog about personal celebration.  

The events that unfolded today inspired me.

In previous blogs I mentioned picking up random hobbies in hopes of fulfilling newfound free time. Allow me to elaborate on this concept a little further for it has much more depth than excessive free-time. 

About a year ago, like September '10, I decided to start pursuing minor personal goals. Things that I have always wanted to do but never had time to do. Some goals were on-going and some were not reoccurring and some were added as I went along. The list included scuba diving, flying alone, skydiving, getting my CHL, learning how to ride a motorcycle, ACL, living in a different city, so on and so forth. You get the idea. I'm still on this personal journey but I had to shine some light on my accomplishments of today.

Close to almost a year ago, I was gifted a book called Atlas Shrugged by my now boyfriend. After several minutes of conversations he recommended the book to me because he said I shared similarities with one of the main characters. Naturally, this book was added to my list of personal goals. I finished it today.

This book, for me, could be considered life altering. I recommend this book to people who understand the value of the mind, of one's own passion for living, for those who understand what value is, and the thing that makes value, well, valuable. Atlas Shrugged has made it's way to the top of my favorites. From the time that I started reading this book, my perspectives have evolved and they now have the capacity  to consider more factors; which in turn, has challenged me to check my premises. That is all I will say about this book. I do not wish to anchor anybody any further than I probably already have. If you're interested, just read it. Don't ask me who John Galt is; one should never live off the assumptions of others. Speaking of objectivism, the moment I finished Atlas Shrugged I drove to the library and checked out The Anthem. I'm a chapter in and excited. 

With the ending of one personal goal, I started a new one today. I joined a social cycling club. Yes, if you know me this may be slightly comical. My bike is slightly too big for me and watching me stop is like watching a train wreck; you know it's bad but you can't help but stare and feel sorry. The ride for today included a 45 minute to an hour bike ride around town, followed by a yoga class for about the same amount of time, ending with a ride to a local bar to become zen-fully intoxicated. 

Well, if you know Austin landscape, you know that we are DEFINITELY in hill country. Three and a half miles of flat land and you're sailing pretty. Three and half mile of some intense I-must be-training-for-a-triathlon- otherwise-why-the-heck-am-I-doing-this, not so much. However, I endured and was proud of myself. Then came the yoga. Easy peasy. It was nice to stretch again, goodness knows I've gone way too long without. It was everything a yoga class should be; a group of strangers meeting in the dark to do yoga outside. What more could you ask for? 

The difficult part came when it was time to go back. The group picked a bar to go to; however since I wanted to go home, I needed to figure out how to get back. Luckily I made a friend. The journey back home started off great. We exchanged the normal small talk, who are you, where do you come from, what is your purpose in life. You know, the usual. We then got trapped behind a red light which was followed by the biggest hill ever. Needless to say, the rest of the group made the light and was in front of us. I must say that I tried my very best to conquer that hill and am not ashamed to say that at the 2/3 mark I walked the bike the rest of the way.  I thought by the time I reached to top of the hill I would be reunited with the group. I was wrong. 

The group was nowhere to be found and here we were, two girls in the dark cycling in the 'ghetto' of Austin. Their less affluent area might be adorable when compared to other big cities ghetto's but it's still not the ideal place to be given the circumstances. We biked a couple more miles until I recognized a restaurant and we pulled in. She immediately called her husband and left. I called my friends to gather me as I ordered myself two giant slices of pizza and enjoyed their eclectic music selection.

Even though I was dropped on a 'no drop' ride, I look forward to next Tuesday's ride.

I wonder what personal accomplishments this time next year will bring.

Until next time,

RTIII

The Live Music Capital of the World

..At least that's what they say. Did someone actually travel the world to cross-check that? Who knows and honestly, who cares. Once again ACL has come to shower the city of Austin with a weekend long music adventure that never fails to bring enlightenment and inspiration to those who go. Okay, so that does sound slightly hokey, I must admit. 'enlightenment and inspiration'? That makes it sound more like an over-the-hill couples yoga retreat in order to prevent them from getting a divorce (or making a gross profit from the targeted wealthy and UN-happy audience, your choice). But no, enlightenment and inspiration is what ACL does for me, in a relative sense. Allow me to explain, briefly of course, I'm writing during my lunch hour.

One city, one park, three days, lots of bands. The weekend has already passed yet it still excites me to think about it! Music enthusiasts travel from all over to attend. (ACL is among the biggest music festivals along with Bonnarroo, Coachella, and Lollapolooza.)  The more seasoned veterans know to buy the coveted 3-day pass early. Others, not so lucky. That, naturally, is the category I fell into. I was the only person in Travis county, it seemed, that did not have tickets to ACL.

side note: I did have to opportunity to buy them early, but I did not think I would be able to take a vacation in the middle of September to visit Austin. Who'da thought I'd actually be working in Austin? I sure didn't. Water under the bridge. Moving on.

I began my frantic search for an ACL ticket early last week. I imagine that's how searching for Wonka's golden ticket would have felt like. It was that intense. I even began doing creepy things like Facebookin' random people who claimed to have a ticket for sale.All trails stopped short; all hope was lost. I was desperate. Matthew was coming down for ACL and assured me, as is protocol for best friends, that I would be able to go and to not worry about it. < paraphrased. Little did I know, Matthew had decided to give me a 3-day pass as my birthday/graduation gift. BEST GIFT EVER. When he first told me he had a gift, I'm not going to lie, I thought it was going to be corny. Then, as he pulled out this tiny wrist-let, I thought he was playing the cruelest trick ever. Finally, as I processed that he was not joking with me, I became ecstatic.ACL, ACL ACL. I wouldn't be the only person in Austin left out, yes!

So where does the 'enlightenment' and 'inspiration' come into play? Well you see, unlike my fellow music festival goers, I usually only know the headliners. Often times not even all of them. ACL is a great way for me to learn about different music the way the musicians intended for their sound to be interpreted. Live. With the full force of their passion out on display for the world to see them. I get a healthy dosage of inspiration every time I hear a band giving it all they got while being immersed in a sea of people united only by the sound that band creates. It might be the naivete, but it inspires me to put my life in perspective, to think about it as objectively as possible, and to then shoot for what inspires me. That band rockin' that stage in front of me had to start somewhere. And so do I.

All in all, ACL 2011 was a success. Thank you, again, to my biffle Matthew! I'll post a list of the bands I saw when I'm not at lunch.

Until next time,
RTIII
'

The Story of Self.

Today was the first day of my professional career. Officially. Astonishingly, it was great.
Before arriving on the site, I anticipated a long day of paperwork, reviewing policy and procedure, and sitting awkwardly next to strangers that were to be my colleagues for the next year. What I received, however, was far from that.

We had a morning of laughter, team collaboration, and organizational development; all while getting to know these wonderful strangers. The thing that impressed me the most was the fact that the executive director, the head honcho, and all current staff members, worked side-by side with the new college grads. The entire team benefited from this workshop!

One of the assignments given to us was to write a "Story of Self." Basically, we needed to reflect on the choices that brought us to where we were today so that when others asked us about who we were, we could recite a succinct synopsis. Our stories today, however, were to be as detailed as possible. We were given 20 minutes to write this story.

When I applied for this position, a letter of intent was required in order to be considered for the job. I wrote, what I felt, was the most detailed story of who I was by means of telling where I came from. When looking at the assignment given to me today, I tried to avoid rewriting that letter of intent. Today, my 'Story of Self' went like this:
~Let's go back to one year ago. I was starting my last year in college. I had completed every leadership position I pursued on campus and I was now facing a year of being a regular student. An unfathomable concept. In addition, I hadn't the slightest idea of what my purpose would be outside of my academic safe zone. I knew that I was going to graduate with a business degree but what did that truly mean? What was I going to do? What was my purpose, aim...destiny even. These questions were my constant companions. So, naturally, I did what any normal 20 something-year-old would do.  I took up a frivolous hobby; I began to scuba dive.

This, incidentally, was one of the best decisions I could have made for myself. Not only had a found a new love for the extreme sport but I got the opportunity to meet and interact with a whole new culture of people. From this new friend base I was connected to even more friends. This, in fact, is where I indirectly met a very inspiring person who shared with me her story of service with Americorp.

She, her name will remain unknown, was part of a literacy readiness program in the D.C area a couple years ago. Upon telling me her story, I noticed her demeanor which revealed to me the type of person she was. On the surface, we were very different, her and I; and yet we shared some commonalities that I wouldn't have detected had she not shared her story. (Incidentally, the purpose of this assignment.) She was soft-spoken, yet created an air of openness and friendliness. Not an inch of shyness could be detected anywhere; which, in my experience, was unusual because usually soft speakers possessed a severe case of shyness. After hearing her story, I had found that tingle of inspiration that had evaded and bewildered me for months. I wondered if I too would be able to reach a similar experience as she had, for you see, we had backgrounds that were as different as night and day. ~

I wrote for another ten to fifteen minutes about my background and how, despite the odds dealt to me, I was able to rise above them and fulfill any venture I chose. And how, given my background along with the inspiration my new friend gave me, I arrived to where I am today.

I am very pleased with my choices thus far and am excited to face the new challenges this new job will bring me. The beginning of this chapter is looking very promising.

Until next time,

RTIII

I think this is what they call limbo.

There are several times in life when you reach a fork in the road.
I do not mean the casual encounter where you merely choose between an obviosly pleasing choice and a not-so pleasing one. No, i'm talking about a true-blue what the hell should I do decision. There isn't a clear 'right or wrong', 'good or evil' option.
This decision-making period is what I call limbo.
I am currently not in this particular position, but one of my best friends is.

I felt compelled to write about it. I can offer no solution or suggestions to him.
I just wanted to express that it is something that happens to everyone at least once, right?

I find myself in a limbo-like state as well. I am slave to my current plan; however, if said plans were to suddenly fall apart I would be left with the pieces only . It is unlike me to be without a contingency plan, but alas, this is where I am. Limbo. It wouldn't be as daunting if it were fact that limbo had an end. Sadly, this is not so and limbo could last a lifetime.

However, I'm confident it won't. Let's hope it won't last for my friend either.

Until next time,

RTIII

Um, hello world.

After much consideration, 95 percent of which was persuasion, I have decided to start writing. I must first start off by confessing that writing has never been my strong suit. Talking, yes. Writing, different story.

I do not pretend to know what 'blogging' is about nor why people blog; however, I am going to use this as a tool to improve my writing skills. Why online? Why not. I have no other answer than that.

I do not intend for people to 'follow me' or 'like me' or whatever other tool this website uses to show frequent visitors. This is purely writing for the sake of writing.  For people who do wish to read my attempts at conveying my thoughts in the written form, I cannot promise you anything consistent. I'll write when the mood strikes and when I have the time. I will attempt to use this kind of like a diary, minus the secrets one would find in such a personal object.

I think this is sufficient for my first post.

Until next time,

RTIII