Excrement!

Why do we feel the need to analyze everything to death? We like everything in our lives to fit, to balance. We definitely don't want to think of our lives as mathematically based, but in essence, that is what we desire.

A poignant scene from Dead Poets Society dismisses the idea that poetry (or any form of art) can be reduced to a mathematical formula.



One thing I hope and pray that I grasp about life is that it cannot be analyzed and forced into linear equations. While God gave us reason and intellect, he also gave us emotions. Sometimes life just can't be put into words.

One day I will have clouds on my wall

At Bob Jones, every student is forced given the privilege to take a long tour through the Museum & Gallery, which is actually a "prime" Greenville attraction. It is one of the largest collections of religious art in the country. I was nerdy and loved it, but I had enough sense to pretend like I hated it to stay cool. Anyway, fourth semester Spanish required this huge project on Spanish art, and I spent a LOT of time in the M&G. I can't say I regretted it; it only deepened my respect and appreciation for the arts.

In art, the color blue represents hope (very understated definition, I know). It makes complete sense. I used to stare up into the sky and wish its blueness would just envelop me. I felt like the sky was its own world, and we earthlings were only allowed a glimpse into its depths.

My love of the sky and clouds continues. It's so strong that this afternoon I hung up on my friend and nearly wrecked my car trying to take pictures of the gorgeous sunset with my phone.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

dreaming out loud

I stumbled upon this site that is a goldmine of w.c. pelon's poetry and immediately fell in love. I want this poem written all pretty and placed on my wall to make me smile every day:

there is no justice
no truth no forgiveness
no getting around it
and no turning back

there are only shadows
of you and me

and splinters of light
where hope breaks between

Axel Haunts Me Everywhere I Go

One of my lifelong dreams is to have a library in my house. Just a small library, nothing huge like the Stockholm Public Library:
Am I a total nerd for putting this on my list of places to visit? Victoria Falls, Grand Canyon, Stockholm Public Library... (And I even loathe Scandinavians).

Yes, please

This picture is calling my name. I have 41(ish) hours of PTO I need to take before the end of December. Beach, anyone?

Prayer

There is a moment between intending to pray and actually praying that is as dark and silent as any moment in our lives. It is the split second between thinking about praying and really praying. For some of us, this split second may last for decades. It seems, then, that the greatest obstacle to prayer is the simple nature of beginning. . . . How easy it is, and yet-- Between us and the possibility of prayer there seems to be a great gulf fixed: an abyss of our own making that separates us from God.

--Emilie Griffin

Aerie Changed My Life

My store manager at aerie recently turned in her two weeks' notice. Even the thought of her absence at the store brought me to tears, because Lauren is the heart and soul of aerie. She is aerie 24/7. For a while now I've been thinking about writing how aerie has impacted my life, but the more I thought about it, especially in light of recent events, I realize that it hasn't been a company that has changed my life. Companies are merely things--nebulous groups. But those groups consist of people. And while aerie did change my life, the truth is that it happened through Lauren.

I started working at aerie about a year and a half ago, and more than my wardrobe has changed since then. I have had a wide range of work experiences, and have found that generally a company is either action oriented or people oriented--never both. I found that seeming contradiction of both at aerie. I still remember immediately evaluating the company as goal oriented, because "at the end of the day, the numbers tell the story." And I was right in that evaluation. But what I found to be more and more true was that the story behind the numbers is people. Relationships are crucial, because people are loyal to people, but through that relationship, you find the way to the numbers. One is not more important than the other--they go hand-in-hand. The reason aerie is so successful, the reason aerie creates brand-loyal customers is that people are loyal to people, and at aerie we believe in fostering relationships.

Aerie girls are able to invest in customers because time is invested in us. Lauren was not a leader who merely corrected our actions--she also corrected our attitudes and thoughts. She taught us how to work hard no matter what we were doing--from running trash and stealing random carts to selling bras. She didn't hesitate to correct us, and she was always liberal with praise.

I learned to love who I am. I learned that it's ok if I am a nerd or if I love Hannah Montana or if I love to dance but really suck at it. I learned to take risks to ensure my happiness. I learned that it really is ok to make mistakes and to learn from them. It's even ok to repeat the same mistakes--it's not the end of the world. I learned that we eat salads so we can eat pounds of chocolate. I learned that I can love my job, and I should love my job. Sometimes I won't love my job, but no matter what, I should have a job that I am passionate about and believe in.

I hope aerie doesn't lose that focus. I hope it doesn't become more of a goal-oriented workplace and less like a family, because that will be the day that they lose half their focus. But no matter what happens, what I've learned and how I've changed is irreversible.

Thank you, Lauren, for the impact you've had on my life. For making me realize who I am and embrace that, just by being yourself and living in front of us. By making mistakes and admitting them and by believing in yourself but trusting in things bigger than yourself. I've grown in ways I can't even explain, and a big part of that has been because of you.