The first post always makes me a little anxious. I place too great an importance upon the first post of our new blog. Do I have enough interesting things to say? Will anyone actually read this thing and reflect upon our musings? Does it matter?
Suffice it to say that I'm (Joy's) in a contemplative mood while reading a wonderful book about a fellow late twenty-something in pursuit of herself and of deeper meaning along the circuitous journey of life. She writes beautifully, starts a blog, wins a readership following, and pursues what started as a solitary goal into the blossoming of herself and her potential and embraces life through risk, courage, and plenty of determination. I think people who set goals for themselves are the true dreamers of our society. Dreamers can appear to flop about their adulthood from one idea to the next, but in reality could they be the ones who truly suck the marrow of this life for all the experience that it is worth? Dreamers are doers, doers who refuse to settle into the commonplace routines of existence and instead march forth into the unknown with the light of a solitary idea, an idea that when nurtured may grow into something profoundly meaningful.
Now I apologize if I sound too philosophical. I promise I'm not talking about the miracle of life here. I just can't help but feel so small in this world full of dreamers. I respect the dreamers. I admire and envy them - not their success, I applaud them for it, not their dream for it is theirs to hold - I envy their courage and determination to follow through with something that started as a great risk, a single step forward along the tight rope walk between the sane and the crazy. I respect those who chart a new course for themselves with whatever resourcefulness they can muster.
Too often I think people get caught up in themselves, in their feelings, in the incessant waves of emotion that threaten to engulf you when you're in your twenties and you can't quite figure out whether or not you're satisfied with the postgraduate life you're living. Some of us go ahead and leap ahead into the quarter-life crisis, change our jobs a handful of times, move states, travel, date, explore as many new interests as we can stomach. Others of us contine the plodding, satisfied with our choices and are somehow free from the downtrodden threats against our contentment. If you haven't noticed, I'm the one who leapt off the plodden path and moved across the country... now three times... shifted jobs like loose change from one pocket to another... and enrolled in two different master's programs... about to finally finish one... the one.
Andy and I have experienced a great deal in this past year and nine months of marriage. We've grown closer together as a couple. We've grown individually into more flexible yet focused people. We're adventurous yet still deciding when we want to do that settling down thing. We've moved around a lot and have no idea where we'll end up once I finish my M.Ed. degree. Our families are across the country from each other. Do we pick one to live near? Split the distance? Go with a cool job someplace new? We're both kinda tired of feeling isolated from a community of friends. The Northern Virginia scene doesn't exactly lend itself easily to community unless you're willing to drive 45 minutes in any direction (plus traffic) to get anywhere. But it's glorious being so close to the nation's capital with its great monuments and history and pomp. I look forward to spending a week at the Outer Banks, where my mother's side of the family will come together to live, laugh, and revel in the oceanfront beauty of North Carolina. Then, I'll be looking to the fall when the leaves are ablaze in my favorite colors of autumn. Next spring I'll be student teaching (finally!) and then will have completed my one goal of having my career path and master's degree set. YES!
In the meantime, keep reading to learn more about what we discover along the way. It's the journey not the destination that's important, right? Thanks for reading!
~Joy
