Conversations With Khalli--20 Questions

Ever notice how little kids have the ability to make you laugh, even when they aren't trying to be funny?

Khalli and I went for a walk on the Iron Horse Trail tonight, a distance that was lengthy enough for us to quickly run out of things to say about the usual topics of school, movies, books, and the presence of unlabeled genetically modified organisms in the US food supply--well, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. So Khalli suggested that we entertain ourselves with a game of 20 questions. The following is pretty much verbatim of how her last turn went...

K: Okay, it's an animal. Kind of between a horse and a giraffe. And it starts with an "O."

M: Does it live in the United States?

K: Well, I think it lives in the rainforest, so if we have those here, then yes. It's exotic.

M: Hmm, we don't. Not tropical ones anyway...so, it has hooves?

K: What? Oh, whooves? Yes.

M: Uhhh. It eats plants?

K: I think so..and it cleans itself by licking its own eyeball!

M: Ew! Uhmmm...I really have no idea! I give up!

K: Well, I don't remember what it's called. But it starts with an "O" and it's exotic. And it licks its eyeballs!

What?! You can't just leave me hanging like that!

So I suggested that we look it up on the computer after our walk. She agreed, but Google wasn't very helpful. Although, it may have had something to do with my search engine skillz...I typed "exotic animal licks eyeball o" into the box and the first result I got was for a leopard gecko, which is so NOT similar to a horse OR a giraffe. And it doesn't start with an "O."

I will have to be sure that she remembers to ask her teacher about it because I simply cannot go through life without knowing what kind of rainforest/jungle animal licks its own eyeballs. Although, it's more than likely she'll come home afterwards and tell me that it's actually some carnivorous marine animal that starts with a "b" and has stripes.

I'm a Hungry, Hungry Hippo

I started college when I was 18 and at 23, I am still going at it...with about another 2 years to go. How does one manage to do this, you ask? It's easy when you spend 2 years studying social work in NYC, then take a year off to share a bed with your sister in LA, only to transfer to a school in San Jose as a nutrition major. Until finally, you realize that by the time you finish the list of chemistry classes that you need to graduate, you'll be too old to work. So you study English instead, praying to God that you don't change your mind about anything regarding school EVER again. Because to be honest, it's just too exhausting.

So now I find myself in my second semester at San Jose State as an English major, living at home in Danville in my old bedroom, and generally wondering what went wrong. If you had told me in 2005, when I was graduating high school, that this is where I'd be in 5 years, I would have laughed. And then cried. But unfortunately, crying never accomplishes much. And I know that I have so much to be thankful for: I'm in school, working toward an education and a career, and I am surrounded by a wonderful family and amazing friends.

Something that it has taken me a long time to learn (okay, let's be honest, I'm still struggling with this concept) is that it's okay to just enjoy where you are in your life at any given moment. We all have goals, we all have places we want to go. And while it's important to think about and plan for the future, if the future is all you can see then you'll be missing out on your actual LIFE. If you're always waiting for something that isn't here yet, your life will never start. Lately I've been trying my hardest to keep this in mind. No, I may not feel super successful right now, but so what? I have to start somewhere and I can't wait on my future to arrive before I allow myself to be happy.

My goal is to try to enjoy my life everyday, with gratitude, while still considering the future and what I want mine to be. This is my blog, where I can write about my past experiences, my present journey, and my future goals. Welcome to my blog, where I remember why I am hungry for life!