My #OneWord2016: Well

Since 2012, I have chosen to mark each year with the choosing of One Word. The idea behind this movement is that, instead of setting resolutions for the new year that you may (or may not) keep, you choose one word that signifies what you want to focus on for the year, what you need more of in your life, and what needs to change for you. In 2012, my word was "Believe;" in 2013, it was "Center;" in 2014, it was "Simplicity;" and in 2015, I chose "Gratitude." All of those words turned out incredibly meaningful for me, especially considering the many events and changes of the past four years. 

And now, the page has turned into a new year. The earth has taken off on her course of another revolution around the sun, and I sat myself down and thought about what I want, what I need, what I hope for in 2016. 

Let's look at the facts: 2016 will mark my 28th year on the planet. It will see the completion of my first year in my new job, and my fourth professional year post-masters. This year will mark 10 years since I graduated from high school, and 6 since I graduated from college. It will see me celebrating a year as a North Carolinian. 

When I think beyond these facts, though, and envision where I want to be in 366 days (because, of course, let's not forget that 2016 is a leap year!), I picture myself happy. I picture myself more confident. I picture my faith having grown, as well as my care for others. I picture stronger relationships. I picture a grown woman who may not know where she'll be at the end of the following year, but one who knows from where her strength comes, and one who finds joy in each day.

Really, considering this goal, there was only one word that can guide my 2016: well. 

To be "well" means to be in good health, to be of sound body and mind. It means that something is satisfactory and pleasing and good. "Well" means gratifying. "Well" to me is almost a synonym for "whole" - not a thing is missing, and if it is, it doesn't matter (or, one is strong enough to seek out the missing thing).

Doesn't that sound good, to be well? I would love to end this year feeling that I grew in wellness, that I became more holistically sound and satisfactory and gratified and whole.

So, I'll be focusing at different times this year on the six different dimensions of wellness: occupational, physical, social, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. I haven't decided yet if each month will be a focus on a different dimension, or whether I'll set small goals for each dimension each month; stay tuned for that plan. But I thought that this approach would touch every part of my life - my body, my soul, and my mind, as well as my external world and my relationships.

Well in 2016 means I want to worry less, and procrastinate less. It means I want to eat better and get moving more. It means I want to spend less money in the short-term to save up for the long-term. It means I want to invest more in my relationships and strengthen them. It means I want to re-focus on my relationship with God, to return fully to Him and to rely fully on Him. 

This January 1, I'm making a commitment to be well in 2016. I invite you to keep up with my journey, as well as to ask me about my progress throughout the year. 

I have a good feeling about 2016. How can I not? This morning began with coffee, with prayer time, with writing, and with sharing my hopes and dreams for the coming year. 

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

Musings on an October Day

Sometimes, one gets the urge to write, and so one must indulge oneself, no matter if one's thoughts are cohesive. (One also occasionally sounds like the Queen of England. We are not amused.)

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It's FINALLY feeling like fall in Indiana, and Mother Nature isn't the only one dealing with changes. It seems as if everything is in flux right now, but not necessarily in a bad way. I've made a few life changes on my own account for which I'm VERY proud of myself:

FIRST: I started taking a modern dance class once a week. It is the day when I leave work at 5 p.m. like normal people do, and it is the day when I pretend to be Jody Sawyer from Center Stage and just dance my little heart out (regardless of my feet!).

SECOND: I was invited, accepted, and initiated into Gamma Phi Beta sorority as an alumna initiate, and I couldn't be happier about my new sisterhood. I am thrilled to join a long history of women who believe in inspiring "the highest type of womanhood," and I am already so impressed by the alumnae and undergrads that I've met who are now my sisters. I can't wait to get more involved with the chapter here at IU, and to get to fully experience being a Greek!

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Work continues apace. I am in the midst of my second year as a professional at IU, and my fourth year (SO weird to think about) in a student affairs role as a para/professional. On the one hand, there are moments when I am 1000% confident in who I am as a colleague and advisor; I relish the times when I (finally) know an answer to a student's question or when I am able to provide historic or institutionally contextual perspective to a discussion. I'm expanding my network and deepening my friendships on campus, and I'm FINALLY feeling like a Bloomington "townie." On the other hand, and I have been assured that I am NOT alone in this, there are moments when the dreaded "impostor syndrome" still plagues me, and when I feel like I have been working at this job for a little over a month instead of a little over a year. Thankfully, I have a supportive supervisor and encouraging colleagues, and so I strive to make it through each week a little wiser and a little more equipped professionally.

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Nerd Alert: the GREAT news is that I'm getting the chance to take part in some awesome professional development opportunities this fall - not only is IU hosting this year's Indiana Student Affairs Association Drive-In Conference (yay day-long pro.dev.!), I also had a presentation proposal accepted at an upcoming regional conference in Ohio! ACUI, one of my professional organizations (the Association of College Unions-International, for those of you who are curious), is hosting my region's conference in a couple of weeks, and I'll be presenting on how to talk with and teach college students about fiscal responsibility in programming (using my own students as a case study). Yeah, I know, I'm a big nerd. But I really like my job and my students are really smart, and I can't not brag on them! I'm also excited to get to talk with other professionals in the midwest about the work they're doing, and see if I can't get some really great ideas to bring back here to our Union.

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I'm getting the travel bug again. It happens every couple of months, so I'm right on schedule. While the bug will be partially satiated by the aforementioned conference in Ohio, I'll REALLY be getting my travel fix for Thanksgiving, when I get to make a grand return to the motherland for some turkey with good friends and another best friend's WEDDING festivities! (Which will be held at The Salt Lick. Yes, you may indulge in jealousy, while I indulge in delicious barbecue.)

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I realize, at the end of all this, that it's like a newsletter for my life. But I really have gotten the blogging itch today, and I realized that it's been two and a half months since I last updated this blog, and so I felt some routine life updates were in order. I've been pondering some deeper issues that will hopefully become blog posts sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, I wanted to put it out to the universe that I'm alive and pretty darn content with life.

(As a treat for making it all the way to the end of this post, you now get to watch what must rank as one of the cutest videos of all time. You're welcome.)

And Then There Was Softball

I've written about summertime often before on this blog, because it's my favorite time of year, associated with my best memories. These include, but are not limited to:
- my birthday and the "lower middle-class pool parties" my parents would throw when I was little (a.k.a. a slip-n-slide, two or three two-foot-deep kiddie pools, and a hose)
- celebrating one of the greatest holidays, July 4th, as well as growing up believing that the 4th of July fireworks were in honor of my birthday (which I know for a fact my older brother, whose birthday is in December, is still bitter about)
- trips to the greatest water park in the entire world, Schlitterbahn (the hottest, coolest time in Texas!)
- trips out of the sweltering West Texas heat to Ruidoso, New Mexico, with good family friends
- from my time at Texas A&M, summer meant two words: Fish Camp
- perennially good summer things such as baseball, BBQ, cookouts, beaches, swimming pools, floating the river, "The Sandlot," "Heavyweights," "Dazed and Confused," lightning bugs, thunderstorms, watermelon, ice cold Shiner Bock, Blue Bell ice cream, et cetera

As you can tell, summer is associated with lots of good past times and pastimes for me. And now that I'm on my own in the wide world, it's time for me to make some good memories of the present. Many good times are definitely nigh - this summer's plans include a trip to Portland, OR; a roadtrip to Texas and two good friends' weddings, and a family vacation/wedding in Puerto Rico. And aside from vacations, I've got some great things rolling here in Bloomington, including working on summer projects with fellow staff and our students, cleaning out my Netflix queue, and... softball.

Now, for those of you who know me well, that last word may seem a little... incongruous with your image of me. And you would not be incorrect. Team sports have never been a "thing" that I do. Ever. In fact, I made it from sixth grade through senior year of high school without taking an organized physical education class (still a point of pride for me, although my mother would tend to disagree with you as my lack of P.E. credits almost prevented me from graduating). One time, when I was in fifth grade, my brother tried to teach me to play tennis, and five minutes in I hit him in the face with the tennis racket (accidentally, I promise!). Let's let my history with organized sports boil down to this little gem - a few years ago, I asked my dear father why he and my mom never put me in tee-ball or soccer when I was a little kid; why I grew up taking dance as opposed to being able to catch and throw a ball and have some semblance of "normal" athleticism. His answer: "Well, Cassidy, when you were a baby, we put a ball in front of you, and a dolly. You went for the dolly, so we pretty much just went with it." Thanks, Dad. Thanks a lot.

Now, all of this isn't to say that I'm a nightmare at athletic things; I can (occasionally) catch a football, baseball, and/or softball and have been known to throw with some accuracy (thanks to my brother for the front yard catch sessions!). I can (occasionally) make a basket playing basketball, and can play decent defense (again, thanks to my brother for the driveway guarding lessons). Soccer isn't really a strong point; hand-eye coordination is hard enough so you can kiss feet-eye coordination goodbye. I knew from a young age I'd never be an Olympian, but I'm not completely hopeless at sports in general, and base/softball in particular, thanks (as always) to my brother's sports career/obsession/tutelage. Even so, it should be a surprise to everyone that a) I was approached to be on a summer co-rec softball team (God bless my coworker Megan for having such faith in me), and b) that I agreed to play.

And, in the end, I'm kind of enjoying myself. I'm playing the best position for me: left field. (The league we're in asks the men on the team to bat with their weak hand, so almost all of the batters have to be lefties, which means right field sees a LOT more action than I do... which I have zero problem with.) I'm getting to meet some great other young professionals here in Bloomington (although, in a hilarious twist of fate, I am the youngest person on the team). Our team even had our first win this past Sunday, a sweet, sweet victory that I tried my hardest to contribute to (unfortunately my stats were not quite up to par; I had one really solid hit in the three times I was up to bat, but it went right to the shortstop). I'll grant you, it's sometimes a little hard to muster up the enthusiasm to go out and do something that I'm not really good at, which I'm sure everyone can sympathize with - why play a game where your skills are mediocre (on a good day) when you can stay home and watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"? (which I'm really very good at). But, in the end, I'll admit it - I'm having a lot of fun. And there have been a couple of really beautiful moments - where I make a good catch, or actually throw the ball the distance it needs to go, or make good contact with the ball when I bat, or can make a REALLY awesome "Rookie of the Year" reference in play - that have made some of the less Hall-of-Fame/more bonehead moments worth it.

Overall, I think we have to face facts: in my mid-20s, we're not going to be able to make me into the next Jennie Finch. But if, by the end of the season, I'm able to be a pivotal part of at least one play, and I'm walking away with some good friends, I'll be satisfied. (Our team coaches may have something else to say about those outcomes; I blame their competitiveness on those darned team sports.)

Supposedly, next up for our team is a bowling league for the winter. I managed to bag a passing grade in my bowling-by-correspondence course I took in high school (I really, truly am not joking), so we'll see how this goes. In the meantime, if you happen to find yourself in Bloomington, come cheer for our softball team. We're the ones in the awesome baby-blue jerseys who, hopefully by our next game, have the most awesome walk-out songs on the field (DJ'd, of course, by yours truly - that I can do).

It Keeps You Runnin'

Good morning, readers! Another summer day is upon us, but with prospects of a LONG and HAPPY Fourth of July weekend ahead, this week is just flying by.

To tell the truth, this SUMMER is flying by. With Florida State's Orientation officially over (hooray!), my year with the Student Alumni Association is officially over, and my feelings are definitely bittersweet. I learned so much in that assistantship, and am thankful for the relationships I built and the skills I gained. Even though I'll miss it at times, I have so much to look forward to--I have started an internship with the Career Center here at FSU, working with the Garnet and Gold Scholar Society, and then the second week of August I begin a NEW assistantship for my second year in grad school with the Student Activities Center!

In the meantime, I'm also taking time for me and looking forward to some personal things; namely, at the end of July, I'll be attending (as a bridesmaid :)) the wonderful wedding of my college roommate/best friend, Sarah, and her fiance/my friend Chris. This wedding will not only be a time to celebrate their relationship and bright future together, but it's also the ONLY time I'll be returning to Texas this summer and an opportunity to be reunited with some of my best friends from undergrad!

Like I said, I'm a bridesmaid for this wedding (my first time as an attendant! I'm pumped!), and I know there will be LOTS of pictures taken, so needless to say, I'm being completely shallow and decided that I want to make sure I grace the pictures with the greatest of photogenic ease. On top of that, I've been feeling like a lazy bum lately, and so this weekend I decided that the time had come for me to bring working out (running, mostly) back into my life. Ever since I improved my lifestyle and learned to be healthier last summer, I've noticed a change in the way I feel physically AND emotionally. I liked the way I looked, I liked the way I felt, and I liked the way I felt about how I looked (does that make sense? It does to me).

This spring semester was challenging, and unfortunately, part of that challenge was me LOSING aspects of my self-care such as exercising, and just plain feeling lousy. But luckily, with the motivation of this wedding looming ahead, and the unexpected partnership and participation of my cohort buddy Jason, it's time to get back into shape!

This past Sunday, Jason and I were discussing how we missed working out and how we wished we could find the motivation to do it. All of a sudden, we realized--what if we ran TOGETHER? We'd not only have a buddy to keep us motivated, we'd also have someone to keep us accountable and to kick each other's butt when we needed it. So Monday evening we embarked upon our first run, and I think our routine is going to be a resounding success. We run on a track, and so we warm up with 2 laps (half a mile), run one mile straight through (4 laps), and then cool down with 2 more laps, bringing it to 2 miles total.

I know that all the fitness experts say you're supposed to work out with a buddy, but really, listen to them. When my legs want to quit towards the end of our third lap, seeing Jason keeping pace out of the corner of my eye helps me round the next corner and keep moving. Our goal is to eventually be able to run 3 miles straight through by the time school starts, and I think we can do it. We have each other to keep motivated, and to compliment each other when we notice how in-shape we feel :)

So look out, world! I'm back in the running business, and I'm coming to get you. Granted, my legs feel like jello first thing when I wake up in the morning, but I can already tell a difference in my mood (endorphins are the BEST) and how well I'm sleeping (although my mom has always said I could sleep through a tornado, so I don't know how different that is). Soon to follow: world domination. And by the world, I mean Jason's and my little corner of the track. But I think that's enough to start with!