As I sit here in my apartment, candles burning, and only a few lights on, I'm thinking about life. And what 2014 taught me, and what I want 2015 to teach me. The past 5 years have been an uncertain time for me. I've left my heart in so many places. Lately, I've been thinking about how that's what it means to live life fully... Loving people and places so much that when you leave, it hurts. That's a sign that you're doing things right. I've left more places than I care to share... Because I had to do "what's best," or because my time was simply up there. But every time feels the same... Like I want more time with the people I fell in love with at that spot.... And I guess I've just come to be grateful that I've had experiences that I'm sad to leave, as opposed to experiences that I can't wait to get out of.
There are little places of my heart all over, and I'm happy and sad about that.
There's a piece in a little pre-school classroom in Webster where I worked for a month.
There's a piece of my heart Hogar de Vida in Guatemala, and specifically with a little boy named Oscar.
There's a piece of my heart at a private school in Rochester with a group of kids who love to learn, laugh, and play. They're creative and feisty and hilarious.
There's a piece of my heart with the volunteers at the Red Cross that I had to leave because of organizational problems.
There's a piece of my heart at a little house on Main St. in Marion where I learned some of life's toughest lessons, and where did most of my growing up.
There's also a piece down the music hallway in Marion High School where I learned to deal with those lessons through crying, laughing, singing, dancing, and playing.
There's a piece in North Chili where I read books, drank coffee, worked hard, and played harder through three years of college.
And a huge chunk of my heart is in Hunt, NY on a 125 acre plot of land on Short Tract Road that most people call Camp Cherith, but I call home.
I'm so thankful for each and every one of these experiences, and in some ways, 2014 felt like a year of leaving: of being ripped from places that I felt deep roots in. But it was also a year of hope, of new beginnings, new friends, and love. I'm learning to appreciate the fact that we can have good experiences, and move on... It's a hard process of leaving and learning new rules, but it's a good one.
So here's to 2015: a year of appreciating what I have before I have the chance to miss it.
