I recently ran into a former student of mine. He is now in kindergarten but will be moving onto first grade this fall. He asked me: “Is first grade hard? Will they be giving me a lot of homework?” I looked at him and could clearly see that he was worried about moving onto first grade. But the tone in his voice hinted towards a bit of stress too. I was kind of taken aback…how is it that a 5 year old can already be stressed out about school?

The thing is that this particular student is extremely bright and eloquent. So I was just kind of baffled that he was even worried. I reassured him that he was super smart and could totally handle all the homework he was given. But I’m still kind of worried about him. I don’t want him to give in to all this high stakes testing nonsense.

1. I was watching a show and there was a thirty year old woman in it and she had three children already. I was like well, she is old enough. Then I was like woah, I’m going to be thirty in five years. Then I was like…um..hell no I’m not having kids in five years. I simply just can’t imagine myself having children in the near 5, 10, or 15 years. I want to accomplish so many things and having children will simply just stop me from accomplishing my goals. Is that mean? I don’t think so.

2. I’m thinking of creating my own bucket list. I want to do so many things and I’m not getting any younger. It’s time to really do what I want to do and not worry about what other people might think. If I want to try it, do it, go there…then I should. I need to start living. Not dangerously or recklessly. Just live. Just travel whenever I have the chance. Just dye my freaking hair. Just run. Just have a picnic. Just stop being self-conscious and just be me.

It’s amazing how I can be surrounded by a room full of people yet still feel very isolated.

I was driving down Burbank Blvd. today in the morning, on my way to work, and I saw this gardener who was mowing the lawn of a church. I had my defroster on, so I could smell everything from outside — especially the smell of the freshly cut grass. It was awesome! I love that smell…it reminds me of home. It reminds me of my dad when he cuts the grass at our house. The thought of my dad cutting the grass made me smile and it just made me realize how such a simple thing — like the smell of freshly cut grass, could make me so happy! Then I started thinking about how much I love the smell of a park too. I love that smell since I associate it with running now, which made me smile even more because I got into running because of my mom, dad, and brother. Sometimes it’s the simplest most unexpected things which make me happy…I love that!