As Bailey said in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, "Being happy isn't having everything in your life be perfect. Maybe it's about stringing together all the little things." My little things this week:
Three (yup) peanut butter sandwiches after two long classes.
More Perugia storytelling in my cross-cultural seminar.
A letter in the mail from my "little" at Comfort Zone Camp.
A Band-Aid for a bee sting (yes, I got a yellow jacket right in the arm).
Apple picking with a close friend and our families.
The fact that artists can put their pain into music, and it resonates with me.
Studying that really paid off.
More shopping for a special baby's upcoming arrival.
God knowing me better than I know myself.
Honey-Nut Cheerios.
"The Goldfish Went on Vacation." A beautiful book about childhood grief lent to me for my thesis paper.
Making some progress on said paper, exploring a topic so close to my heart.
Things working out the way they are supposed to. Leading to...
A perfect new job/internship (more about that later).
Joey turns thirteen. And he still thinks I'm the best sister ever.
An (almost) uneventful drive home to the Cape.
moreloveletters.com (look it up).
Thinking of a loved one in the midst of a painful anniversary...but smiling.
Roommates that I care about.
A comfy sweatshirt and my own bed.
The chance for a "next week."
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Noticing
"We are here to witness the creation and abet it. We are here to notice each thing so each thing gets noticed. Together we notice not only each mountain shadow and each stone on the beach but, especially, we notice the beautiful faces and complex natures of each other. We are here to bring to consciousness the beauty and power that are around us and to praise the people who are here with us. We witness our generation and our times. We watch the weather. Otherwise, creation would be playing to an empty house."
-Annie Dillard
-Annie Dillard
Saturday, September 15, 2012
THE Rules
In my psychotherapy capstone course (through which I am writing my thesis) our professor has four rules. As we are a very small group and share intimate parts of our lives, struggles, and experiences, these things need to happen:
Listen. Self-explanatory. But "hearing" and "listening" are two very different concepts. You listen with your heart.
Be in the moment. If there are any outside issues affecting someone's ability to focus, we have the permission to seek advice and deal with the problem. It is only then that we can concentrate on learning effectively.
Speak the truth without blame. Everyone has a story. Some are painful. Some seem unfair. But stressing how they have given us a caretaker's spirit rather than placing blame (if blame is due) is what matters, and that attitude will keep us present.
Don't be attached to the outcome. My favorite. It's the process.
I think these rules can apply to life too, no?
Listen. Self-explanatory. But "hearing" and "listening" are two very different concepts. You listen with your heart.
Be in the moment. If there are any outside issues affecting someone's ability to focus, we have the permission to seek advice and deal with the problem. It is only then that we can concentrate on learning effectively.
Speak the truth without blame. Everyone has a story. Some are painful. Some seem unfair. But stressing how they have given us a caretaker's spirit rather than placing blame (if blame is due) is what matters, and that attitude will keep us present.
Don't be attached to the outcome. My favorite. It's the process.
I think these rules can apply to life too, no?
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Trials and Tribulations of the Vertically Challenged
For the last week or so, I have not been thinking so much about school. Or the future. Or the Redsox (Okay. Maybe a little).
I've been thinking about being short.
Maybe it's because my height has indirectly come up several times recently. My apartment is a great kind of symmetry of blondes and brunettes, tall, average, and short. Of course, I am the shortest. But the first time I ever realized I was small? Kindergarten. The fourth graders were doing some kind of math project on measurement, and decided to use my kindergarten class as data. So they measured each of us against the wall, and later the week, came in to announce the results. Two students, a boy and a girl, tied for tallest. And guess who was the shortest. "Maria Papapietro." The kids laughed. I came home at the end of the day and cried. Yes, I can remember this. I am still only mildly scarred from the experience.
But my stature has its perks. Hide and seek? I always won. Those smalls spaces. And then there were all those years of soccer. In my case, short = speed. I certainly wasn't the most aggressive player. But if I had a breakaway, a goal was almost guaranteed because no one could catch me. A few weeks back, I bought a dress from Gap Kids. Yup. Kind of embarrassing, but considering the selection in the women's section has been lacking in my opinion for the last couple of years, this opens up a whole new world for me on the shopping front. And it's a dang cute dress.
But there are the downsides. At the bars. They scan my ID. They look at me. They scan it again. Look at me again. Scan again. About two more looks. What do they expect me to do, morph into a toddler? Yes, I am twenty-one. And 5'1. It happens.
Sometimes, being short compromises my safety. Particularly in situations involving squishing many people into one car. "Maria can just lie across everyone in the back." Essentially, this means I end up in some kind of bent headstand position.
And tonight, my roomie of average height was trying to reach glasses in the cabinet. "Dang, Maesie (my other lovely, 5'10 roommate) must have put these away!" she panted. For a minute, she understood my life as a bottom shelf-er.
But being short is only a piece of my puzzle. And I'm embracing it. I encourage all of you to love yourselves today, however you are!
I've been thinking about being short.
Maybe it's because my height has indirectly come up several times recently. My apartment is a great kind of symmetry of blondes and brunettes, tall, average, and short. Of course, I am the shortest. But the first time I ever realized I was small? Kindergarten. The fourth graders were doing some kind of math project on measurement, and decided to use my kindergarten class as data. So they measured each of us against the wall, and later the week, came in to announce the results. Two students, a boy and a girl, tied for tallest. And guess who was the shortest. "Maria Papapietro." The kids laughed. I came home at the end of the day and cried. Yes, I can remember this. I am still only mildly scarred from the experience.
But my stature has its perks. Hide and seek? I always won. Those smalls spaces. And then there were all those years of soccer. In my case, short = speed. I certainly wasn't the most aggressive player. But if I had a breakaway, a goal was almost guaranteed because no one could catch me. A few weeks back, I bought a dress from Gap Kids. Yup. Kind of embarrassing, but considering the selection in the women's section has been lacking in my opinion for the last couple of years, this opens up a whole new world for me on the shopping front. And it's a dang cute dress.
But there are the downsides. At the bars. They scan my ID. They look at me. They scan it again. Look at me again. Scan again. About two more looks. What do they expect me to do, morph into a toddler? Yes, I am twenty-one. And 5'1. It happens.
Sometimes, being short compromises my safety. Particularly in situations involving squishing many people into one car. "Maria can just lie across everyone in the back." Essentially, this means I end up in some kind of bent headstand position.
And tonight, my roomie of average height was trying to reach glasses in the cabinet. "Dang, Maesie (my other lovely, 5'10 roommate) must have put these away!" she panted. For a minute, she understood my life as a bottom shelf-er.
But being short is only a piece of my puzzle. And I'm embracing it. I encourage all of you to love yourselves today, however you are!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
First Week and the Little Things
It sounds like a Thursday night outside of my apartment. Oh, the joys of college.
But to be honest, this place has never felt more like home.
I was worried about coming back, but it has been quite alright. More than alright. Sure, there have been some hiccups this week. For example, I had an issue with parking my car. And that thesis won't write itself. And I have to find an internship-y placement in the next seven days or so. Or less...
Yet there are those moments that help keep me grounded, content, and in the moment.
Tonight, I was able to talk about my study abroad experience for over an hour with sophomores who are on the same path. That felt amazing. It completely brought me back to the city that stole my heart, my other "home."
And my real home here? Well that has been the best surprise of all.
One major blessing(s) right now is (are) my three roommates. Just three nights in, and walking into this apartment at the end of a long day is the best feeling in the world. We all actually sit down and have conversations. Even if it's just typing on the couch together or laughing about our days, there is a sort of unspoken unity.
It's the little things, really. The communal bowl of candy corn on our coffee table in the living room. The yellow flowers in the kitchen. Pictures of our families and posters on the walls. A blending of four different worlds into one.
As this is our senior year, this living arrangement is particularly important. Not to sound overly dramatic, but a whole lot will be happening in the next eight months in the confines of these walls. I'm sure one of us will burst in at dinnertime later this spring with job news. Or grad school news. Or just another funny story.
As a plaque in our living room states, "Enjoy the little things in life, for someday you will realize they were the big things."
Words to live by.
But to be honest, this place has never felt more like home.
I was worried about coming back, but it has been quite alright. More than alright. Sure, there have been some hiccups this week. For example, I had an issue with parking my car. And that thesis won't write itself. And I have to find an internship-y placement in the next seven days or so. Or less...
Yet there are those moments that help keep me grounded, content, and in the moment.
Tonight, I was able to talk about my study abroad experience for over an hour with sophomores who are on the same path. That felt amazing. It completely brought me back to the city that stole my heart, my other "home."
And my real home here? Well that has been the best surprise of all.
One major blessing(s) right now is (are) my three roommates. Just three nights in, and walking into this apartment at the end of a long day is the best feeling in the world. We all actually sit down and have conversations. Even if it's just typing on the couch together or laughing about our days, there is a sort of unspoken unity.
It's the little things, really. The communal bowl of candy corn on our coffee table in the living room. The yellow flowers in the kitchen. Pictures of our families and posters on the walls. A blending of four different worlds into one.
As this is our senior year, this living arrangement is particularly important. Not to sound overly dramatic, but a whole lot will be happening in the next eight months in the confines of these walls. I'm sure one of us will burst in at dinnertime later this spring with job news. Or grad school news. Or just another funny story.
As a plaque in our living room states, "Enjoy the little things in life, for someday you will realize they were the big things."
Words to live by.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Home
"I believe we feel safest when we go inside ourselves and find home, a place where we belong and maybe the only place we really do..."
Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter
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