SUNFLOWERS AND SPRING TIME AND QUESTIONS

Sweet Alana has nominated me for an award, guys. That's pretty cool stuff around here, you know. So, sunflower award...right? It's kind of like the Liebster award but without as many rules. You know the drill, 11 facts, answer the questions, nominate the bloggers you love and then ask them seven questions. It's really a fun little game, but I'm warning you in advance that I'm not nominating anyone. 

First, the people that I would nominate have already been, so. Redundancy. And second, I'm lazy. Ergo, no nominees. But I will open it up to the public - if you feel like it, then answer the (probably) random questions I'll spout off without thinking at the end of the post. Enjoy!

The Facts:

1) I'm a high school art teacher. This blows peoples' minds because I look like I'm about 17 or 18 years old myself. 

2) My favorite color is blue. (Does this even count? It's so simple...but yeah. I'm gonna make it count. It's a thing and it's about me soooo.)

3) I feel very strongly that having to come up with 11 things about myself that aren't already appearing on this blog ad nauseam is maybe harder than it should be...

4) I'm learning to hula dance with my mom and sister. Remembering the steps and getting the correct form are the biggest obstacles for me. It's been a long time since I learned a routine for anything (gymnastics) so I'm really out of practice. But this has so far been one of the funnest things I've learned to do. 

5) It's hard for me not to take it personally when someone corrects me in front of other people. Like learning to hula - when my mistakes get pointed out I get a little defensive about it and I have to remind myself that it's really alright and they're not picking on me. 

6) Personal space invasion is maybe what you would call my biggest pet peeve. Do not pop my bubble without permission or I may hurt you. Just kidding, I'll just be super tense while we're interacting and then as soon as you back up I'll relax a little bit. 

7) I lose myself every winter. It's like I can't figure out who I am anymore once the sunshine disappears. I have only noticed this recently, but I went back and read some of my old journals and whenever I find entries where I'm transitioning back into spring and summer, I always talk about how much more I feel like myself and I remember who I am. 

8) My dream job is to travel the earth and write articles about my experiences, including photos, and publish them on a travel website (so they can pay me and I can keep traveling). I'd also like to teach art at a community center or out of my house so that my students will consist of people that mostly actually want to be there, not have to be there. 

9) Sometimes I really miss being a barista. Free coffee tastes better. 

10) I have some of the worst cabin fever I think I've ever experienced. I am so beyond ready for it to be summertime that it's not even funny. So many cool things are happening this summer! I can't wait!

11) Perspective is important. I get bogged down in the monotony of routine and I often forget that this is life. This is just what I do, day by day. I don't need to be in a hurry. I don't need to worry about what's happening in the next ten minutes, per se, but just to be myself in this moment that I am in now. I feel like I'm in hyperdrive or autopilot occasionally and I have to take a step back and remember that life is a lot simpler than I imagine it at times. The sun is still going to rise in the east and set in the west. Time will pass whether I'm paying attention or not and I can't just sit here and watch my life go by while I'm constantly waiting for tomorrow. Tomorrow will never come, as they say, we only have today. 

The Questions:

1)What's a musical instrument that you've always wanted to learn how to play, but haven't yet? 

I would love to the learn the drums because I seriously love how they sound. I just haven't had the means or the time to put in any effort. Plus, I always get nervous about messing up so I tend to shy away from any opportunities for fear of immanent judgement. 

2)If you could live inside the world of your favorite book, what would it be?

Well, this is probably one of the toughest questions in the history of ever. I really, really enjoy the Hunger Games but I don't think I would want to live inside Panem. I just read a book about a woman who lived in Tuscany, and that just made me want to move to Italy with all the parts of my being. So, Italy it is then? Sure. 

3) What was your favorite thing to play with when you were little?

I played a lot with my stuffed animals when I was little. I had barbies and polly pockets that I would play with too, but the stuffed animals and beanie babies were my favorite. 

4) If you could decide what the weather was like all the time, what would it be?

Sunny and about 80 degrees with some fantastic thunder and lightning storms. Easy. 

5)If you had to chose between being a wife/mother and being a career woman, what would you chose?

Speaking as a woman who doesn't necessarily feel called to be a mother, I don't feel like that's something I would choose. On the flip side of that, I don't think it means that I want to be a career woman either. I'd rather just travel around the world with Nathan and get paid for it. 

6)What's your biggest regret?

I feel like anyone who reads my blog would already know this - because I've talked about it quite a bit. I don't regret dating Matt - that experience helped show me what I wanted out of a relationship and how I needed to be treated in order to be happy with another person who shares my life. What I do regret is holding on so tight and so long after it was so blatantly over. I kept thinking that I could "fix" it, that I could make it work out how I wanted it to and that Matt would come back to me and love me forever and it took something major to make me move forward from that. But the thing of it was that I'd never broken up with anyone before - I mean, not really. So I just plain didn't know how to let someone go. I'm so glad I eventually figured it out because Nathan is so worth it, but I wish it hadn't taken me so darn long. 

7)Who is your hero and why? What could you do to make yourself more like that person?

I don't know if I could pick, but gun to my head, most likely I would choose my mom. She's pretty rad and she knows basically everything. Her and my dad make a great pair and I'm pretty lucky to have them as my parents. In order to be more like her I would just have to be the most awesome person ever. She's selfless, loving, caring, maternal, wise, and wonderful. And she raised four kids. And one of those kids was me, so.

My Questions (for those interested):

1) I love to hear new music. What's your favorite song right now? 

2) Favorite place you've ever traveled and why? 

3) Who is your favorite artist? (fine arts, modern arts, performing arts, musical arts, whatever)

4) Favorite blog that you love to read? 

5) Who was/is your favorite teacher? What about them do you love? 

6) What is the top thing on your bucket list? (I know we all have bucket lists, don't try to lie about it.)

7) If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?