Here's to 2013

A lot happened in 2012. A Presidential election, scandals, new music, movies, shootings, and most importantly, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez's breakup. Devastating. Earth shattering really. 

Anyway,my point is, Happy New Year!

Here are some things the I did/ happened to me in 2012:

• I discovered and then fell in love with the Hunger games, Downton Abbey, Bones, American Horror story, She&Him, and Zooey Deschanel. 
• I crocheted a hat.
• I camped on two different islands.
• I started a ukulele band with a friend. 
• I finished high school. That was kinda cool.
• I ice sailed in Michigan.
• I found the Fountain of Youth.
• I went to an Aerosmith and Jason Mraz concert.
• I read a few Stephen King books. 
• I started this blog.

 See, I think it's not really about what you did that matters, it's how you let those things affect you. And that's that. Looking back, it was a good year.

 I guess it is that line of thought as well as the onslaught of "hey, let's review everything that happened in 2012 and talk about it again" from the wonderful world of American mass media that makes me wonder why it's always such a big deal. It is a new year. Symbolically a fresh start. Really time just moving forward. And yet, there's parties, the ball dropping, the reviewing, the counting down of the best of the best and so on. But however you see it, as a big deal or not, the important thing is to learn from the previous year and use that to go forward. As long as when you look back, you like what you see, that's what counts. A new year just means more time to experience and try and do whatever it is you want to do.

For me, that is doing a WWOOF program and travel a little bit and then head off to UVM. And to start a YouTube channel for my gap year. I want to do that very soon too...

So here's to 2013, and that it is an adventurous, productive year for me and a good one for all of you. 

And this year, I will be spending new years eve hanging out with my cat. And family. Because I am just that cool. :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope it was a good one for all. My family and I spent it in NH, which was very nice because we had a white Christmas. This morning we woke up to a light fluffy snow falling. My little sister had been up for hours at that point... She was very excited. Then we just did the whole giving/exchanging/ receiving gifts under the tree routine. With the snow, the same Christmas CD we listen to every year playing it the background, it was a very nice day indeed. Especially considering that once we were all done with the gift portion of the day, we were able to skate and my dad and I even sailed a little bit. A perfect ending to a perfect day. (Hmm...that line sounds familiar...)

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope everyone had a good day!

The last post ever.

Hi everyone, please pay special attention to this post. This is a very important one. This is the very last post I will ever be doing. Never again will I write about my gap year. Never again will I write about anything anywhere. Or do anything anywhere for that matter.  Why?

Because the world is going to end tomorrow. Duh. Tomorrow, December 21st 2012, the world will end. How do we know this you ask? Well, it is because the Mayan calender ends tomorrow.  After a 5125 year long cycle in their calendar, it ends. And as we all know, the end of a calender kept by an ancient civilization dictates everything in the present and obviously, the future. We are not entirely sure what is going to happen, but it could be anything from being sucked into a black hole, being hit by the rouge planet Nibiru, or being attacked by zombies. All are a high risk and are things that may happen on the 21st. 

Some have called this phenomenon of this sure to be cataclysmic event merely a pseudoscience. For example, NASA says that Nibiru was an Internet hoax and will not crash into the earth. If NASA knew anything, they would know that the Internet can always be counted on as being a highly credible and reliable place in all fields. No hoaxes every originate here. And since when has NASA been credible?

Clearly, the Mayan calendar ending marks the end of us too. I have enjoyed writing here quite a bit, but now I say goodbye. 

 Obviously, I was being slightly satirical. Or a lot so. I guess you can figure out for yourselves what I really think. 

But, all this end of the world talk really got me thinking though. What if we knew that the world was definitely going to end? What would you do? And I don't mean go to EMS and stock up on survival stuff so you can survive and eventually bring humanity back in a place called Panam that consists of 12 outlying districts and a capitol... hunger games. Not like that. I mean what would you actually do? Would you travel somewhere? (Pick somewhere close so you could actually get there before the world ends.) Or be with a certain person? Or rob a bank? (That would suck if the Mayans were wrong of course...) Or try something you have always wanted to?
 You get the idea. But, it just really got me thinking about it, so I decided to use some sarcasm to eventually get to a valid point. And that point is:

Try and live everyday as though the world is going to end the next day. Live in the moment.

That is probably the oldest anecdote in the book, but the more I think about the possible Doomsday, the more I desire to really live my life that way. 

Anyway, those were just a few thoughts. Happy end of the world. Talk to you never. And learn how to use a bow and change your name to Katniss if you really want to survive it. But let's enjoy things until the end comes.

'Tis the Season

So, now that Christmas is only 6 days away, most of my friends are back from college, which has made these past few days very eventful. Quite a change from the work,hike,write,relax type of life style I have seemed to taken up. At fist, weeks before their actual return, I thought about how insignificant I would feel beside them, knowing they had just completed their first semester of college and I had really just worked. Then when they actually got here, I was too excited to feel that way. Not to mention, also within the last week or so, I have really understood that that line of thinking is...well, out of line. For a long time I  knew that rationally feeling such a way was not how I should see it, but it is what I felt. And unless you are Dr.Brennan (from Bones. I love that show so much.Okay. Off topic.), and you can separate your rational mind from emotional feelings, then it is hard to just go with that rational thought. And yet, I now know and believe that I am just as good as them. I took my path and they took theirs. I realize that it seems as though knowing full well I would be taking a gap year, that is a fact I would have digested long ago. But I have only just started to truly believe it. And not just think it. And I also think that that is all apart of what a gap year is supposed to bring to the table. It may have taken me four months, but now I know that I made the right choice. 
I guess what I am trying to say is, that we can learn a lot from inner reflection, so long as you don't get lost there. (As Dumbledore once said ""It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.") (yeah, I went there. Harry Potter quote. :D 

 Wow. I rambled waaay more up there than I had intended to. Anyway, I went to the Boston museum of Science today with a good friend. It was awesome. We figured out the seemly complex network of trains and subways and successfully got there and back with no problems. I am actually very proud of this, especially considering that I feel more at home alone in the middle of the woods than anywhere else. Score one for the lowly country bumpkin. Here are a few picture from the end of the day. 

 

Then yesterday after work I was able hang out with some other very good friends. One friend gave me a hat she had crocheted. She's going to a school in Vermont...so. That explains that. It was wonderful to see them all. Then on Sunday my best friend got hang out with me while I worked the little shop at the local farm. 

They are all back and are going to be here for the next month or so, so I am excited. Then maybe it is off to Finland for me. (Still working out some issues with that.) And if not, definitely WWOOFing in the UK. 

Anyway, Happy Holidays to everyone and thanks for reading this blog!

12-12-12

Happy 12-12-12!!! Is anything supposed to happen on this day? I don't think so. I just thought I should mention it because it IS really cool and this is the last time the three numbers of the date will be aligned like this until....January 1st 3001. Woah.

 Thinking about this whole 12-12-12 business got me thinking about how close we are to 2013. Which of course got me thinking about how fast this year going by. Lately I have really been stressing out about my plans for the winter and spring portion of the gap year, and thinking about how close we are to the new year only added the pressure. 

Then, since it's almost the holiday season, my friends will be coming back from school ready for a well needed break. They have spent this past weak studying hard and finishing up their first semester, and I am just here. Ready to greet them. That though gives me a severe feeling of inadequacy. I feel as though I copped out of doing that kind of academic work. I have never been one to do that, so it has been very weird for me to not be doing anything in that academic sense.When the teacher said read this and write about it, I did, no questions asked, so I guess it is only natural to feel as though I should be doing something. 

So here I was worrying myself over this and researching apartments in Finland (Nothing definite on that yet, but a plan is coming together) during this past very rainy weekend, when yesterday-WHAM! Epiphany. Well actually more like reality slap. 

Last night my family and I went over to have dinner at the house of some very good friends of ours. Their son and I went to elementary school together and have always been really good friends. He too is doing a gap year, only he  does not have the safety net of knowing where he is going to school next year. And yet, he is following his passion of web design and just living and experiencing  his gap year without feeling guilty for being self aware and taking time to just relax and grow (as I had been doing so much lately). Having dinner with them just talking, laughing, and discussing everything from Adele to Siri to gap year plans reminded me why I chose to take a year off. 
I had been loosing faith in my choice, and yesterday I just realized that it was totally crazy. As my friend said, "Be a student of life and all it's nuisances. It is far more valuable than any education an institution can give." (I took that from his twitter, but I give credit where it is due). That quote is incredibly true. From what I have experienced so far from my gap year (which has been comprised of mostly working) is that life can indeed be nuisance. Day to to day that same repetition can be boring and bland. But it's something you have to do. And the trick is to just enjoy it and make the best of the day.

Before I start to ramble on too much, my point is  that I found renewed faith in my gap year choice thanks to a visit with an old friend. Even though at times it may seem as though I may not been doing much, I know that day to day I am indeed learning, even it's not E=MC2.

I leave you with this inspirational quote of the day that perfectly relates to how I feel right now. 

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

                       -Henry David Thoreau

Day 6 N.S. trip recap

This is how we spend out final day in Nova Scotia. I know this post is incredibly delayed... and I have no real valid excuse. I just haven't given myself the time I suppose. And I have been contemplating other matters that I wish to write about, but I want to get this out of the way first. So enjoy!

(oh and be prepared for lots of photos)

On this chilly overcast morning, We set out to go find another "local gem" according to the handy dandy map we had found a few days before. It was called Gaff Point. And it was spectacular. Probably the prettiest view I saw the whole time there. We drove for what seemed like a lot longer than it actually was, we turned onto a very bumpy paved road littered with chuck holes. The farther we went down the road, and the more secluded it got the more we began to question our directional skills. Perhaps We had turned to soon... and then the road bore to the right and boom. There we were. The earth dropped away into the ocean in massive brown cliffs. It was incredible. I knew we were in for a good hike. We pulled into the dirt parking lot packed up and set out.

As soon as we get out of our car, this was the beginning of the hike.

Off to a very good start.

Our goal? Out across the beach and out to the end of Gaff Point and back.

Someone else enjoying the chilly day on the beach.

About halfway across the beach. All these smooth, round rocks the whole way.

Hiking yay!

The ocean reclaiming the trees.

Weird space houses. Very modern.

 After a pretty long trek across the smooth stoned beach, and a lunch stop we made it to the trail head. Right away after heading out onto the trail and up away from the beach, the moss came back and the pines spread out in every direction. Back to the wild woods.

First glimpse of the trail after leaving the beach and beginning to head out to Gaff Point itself.

This is what a majority of the trail out to the point looked like. This stuff is supposed to only exist on nature shows...totally amazing.

The woods receded and this was the view. Then back in for a little while longer.

Another path view. I just can't get over it.

Some cool cliff side rocks out at the tip of Gaff Point.

"AHH IT'S SO PRETTY" that's what I was thinking in my head. yup.

 The point was awe inspiring. Crashing turquoise waves, jagged shale cliffs, tidal pools, old washed up lobster traps, and drift wood. Just a few of the things apprent during the hike. It was a wonderful walk with astoundong views of untouched Canadian maritime nature. Awesome. I just wanted to sit out there and watch the waves all day. I want to go do that now actually...

The sun came out on the return leg of our hike.

How the HELL am I going to spend the rest of my year?

Now that we are into December, it has been a few months since I began this gap year. I started off not entirely sure of my choice and not really knowing what I was going to be doing. I mean, I had "the plan" that I would deliver to people whenever the skeptically asked " a gap year...?"  Really my only solid plan was that I was going to work. Which I have done a lot of. But now, I am starting to worry. Back in June my dad when to Finland to help re-setup a company called Kitewing (www.kitewing.com). It is a product that I use and ice sailing is a sport my family participate in every winter. Check out this video to get a clear idea of what it's all about. It's really hard to explain so I find just telling people to watch a video is the best way for everyone to understand what it's all about.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IfQEmq5kOM&list=UUkkipXwvRJJFD8VadMwWIzA&index=20&feature=plcp

Okay, are you done? Cool. I filmed, edited, and sailed in that video and it is probably the best one I have ever made. Anyway, while my dad was there he found out that the company needs people to work during the winter months in the factory putting together the Wings because it is their busiest time. And that, if I so desired, I could work there and have that job. So working and living in Finland from January to March was my big plan. The glue that held together the rest of the year. And now, it's almost January, and I still don't have a place to live. That was the one catch in the idea; finding me a place to live in Finland for three months. Apartments are CRAZY expensive. All the people that we know in Finland have either not gotten back to us, or don't have the room. It is a lot to ask of someone, but we are still searching for that place. I know how amazing and beneficial a trip this could be, so I really hope that we can figure this out in the next month. 
Because of this uncertainty considering what was supposed to be the creme dela creme of my gap year experience, I have be fervently searching for other options as well as ideas for the spring time. I have had some luck so far. I found a super amazing website called WWOOF.com. It stands for World Wide Opportunities for Organic Farming. It is totally amazing and there are hundreds of farms in almost every country across the world. Basically you work at a farm in  exchange for free room and board while being in a new country and the opportunities to explore.  I have been reading farm profiles for the past few weeks and it's so overwhelming. There are just so many options in so many countries. I can't decide. But where ever I do decide to go, I am going to try and plan it so I can " farm hop". Spend a few weeks one spot, then on to the next and the next. This is going to take a lot of planning, but it is something I really want to try and do, so I am going to do my best to make it work. 

As great as that is, there is just so much more I want to do. So many places that I want to see and things I want to experience. And I am starting to worry that it won't all happen this year. I am afraid that I will have barely done anything cool and adventure by the time August rolls around. I will have missed out...

BUT. Just as I begin to get myself thinking like that, I have to stop. I have to put away the worry wart and find that inner hippie. I need to give myself a break. Whether or not I am trekking through the Himalayas, the point of this year is that I took it. I followed my initial instinct of not being prepared for school. I took that risk and now it's my job to make it the best it can be. That, of course, is easier said than done. See? I am my own worst enemy. I'm going to drive myself crazy. Really. I think I need to just give myself a break and relax and enjoy my year.