i began a brand new journal today. there is something so fresh and hopeful about a brand new journal. crisp and creamy blank pages containing thousands of words, thoughts, and dreams yet to be written.
today begins something totally new for me. i feel like this trip will change something in. but perhaps, i have just grown in hope since i first acknowledged my journey in learning to hope. there are other things that i know will change me. photography. greek people. traveling alone.
i’m taking very seriously the idea of being thankful for my daily bread. as of now, my trip exists only as a skeleton– a basic structure waiting to be filled with the meat, the cells, the life. i have a basic itinerary, but i am taking it as it comes, day by day. i am getting better at it. this summer has prepared me.
while sitting on the plane to newark, where i am currently waiting for my flight to athens, i decided to set a few goals for myself.
- for my journal: to write when i need to write. to draw when i need to draw. to record the deepest parts of my mind and spirit. to wrestle with what i discover. to know God.
- for my blog: to inspire. to praise God. to share anecdotes. stories. photographs. to update others (and ease the pain of coming back and having to tell everyone everything [which i honestly dislike]) to creatively express.
- for myself: to live in gratitude and wonder. to be thankful for my daily bread. to grow as a photographer. to learn as much greek* as possible in three weeks. to be a glimmering light in the night sky. to learn and think about culture. to know people. to glorify God. to dance. to see. to live.
*there is a reason i took ancient greek in college. i don’t know what it is, but i will never forget that overwhelming feeling of peace. and for one of the only times in my life, that absolute certainty that i was supposed to do something. modern greek is so similar yet also different to the ancient. in the little bit of studying i did on the plane, ancient greek helped me soooo much. however, we will see what happens when i get to greece.
i hope you achieve all of those things. what an adventure. love you.