Day #9112 - Esther Day

In the English language, we're taught at a fairly young age that four letter words have the tendency to be very powerful, but none is more powerful than love.

It's a word that gets thrown around pretty liberally sometimes. I love this song or that movie or your haircut. It's a word that we know has big implications when you're romantically involved with someone. To tell a significant other "I love you" is usually a big step in the relationship, or maybe not a big step because maybe you're saying something that you both already know is there. (I'm just assuming here - I've never fallen in love so I can only guess.)

But the term 'significant other' is so misleading in a few ways. I'm not dating anyone, but that doesn't make the people who are in my life at the moment insignificant. And I love them, certainly not in a romantic way because that would be weird, but I love these people who make up my family and friends.

It all brings us to Esther Day. August 3rd was the birthday of Esther Earl, a Nerdfighter who unfortunately passed away when she was far too young at the age of 16 due to cancer. However, before she died, Vlogbrothers John and Hank Green told her the community would make her birthday a Nerdfighter holiday and the day would celebrate whatever she wanted it to. Wise beyond her years (or at least much wiser than I was at that age), she decided the day should be one to celebrate all the kinds of love that Valentine's Day looks over. The non-romantic love. The family and friends and platonic loves that shape our lives just as much, yet how often do we really stop and tell those people?

I'm guilty of not saying "I love you" very often. I feel it, I try to show it, but considering how much words make up my life, saying "I love you" is hard. But yesterday, for Esther and just because I should, I was at a baseball game with my parents, brother, and future sister-in-law. It was a beautiful summer night, we were having a good time, and I was weirdly nervous, but I said it. I told them all that I loved them.

And it was SUPER AWKWARD. Nice, yes, but also kind of FREAKING WEIRD. My parents were very touched, but it was especially weird to say to my brother (we both made a face, honestly) and then we went back to our evening just as it was before, only now I could feel good about the fact that my family knows for a fact that I love them. I used my words.

It shouldn't be hard and it shouldn't take an unofficial holiday to make it happen, but it was and it did, and I'm grateful for it. So thank you, Esther, wherever you are, for making such a fantastic choice. My family and I appreciate it.

Day #8115 - Veteran's Day

In honor of our nation's veterans and those still serving to keep our country free,

Thank you for all that you do.

Day #8079 - Few but Faithful?

So it has brought to my attention recently that what I affectionately refer to as you, my "readership", is most likely no more than five people tops. Not that it really needed to be brought to my attention - I had kind of figured that the whole time. Maybe it's just me needing to play pretend a little bit, wishful thinking that what I write reaches others and makes people think or laugh or even roll their eyes.

So though this readership community may be a small one for now, I just wanted to say that if you do take the time to read this blog, thanks. I know it's silly, but it's nice to know even five people might take the time to read this thing from time to time.

Happy Wednesday, and until next time... :o)

Day #8053 - The Bigger Picture

You'll have to pardon me, readership. I'm not usually one to get up on a soapbox and tell other people what they should believe or how they should live their lives. But today's a little different because there is a worthy cause which deserves the attention.

Right now, WTMX is sponsoring the 11th annual Eric & Kathy 36-Hour Radiothon for Children's Memorial Hospital and this is my 11th year listening in. Year after year, the stories they tell are heartbreaking and yet so full of hope. Hour after hour, I listen and am reminded of how blessed I am with health and that it is therefore my responsibility to help those less fortunate than myself. These children are my heroes - some of them are only hours old, yet they are already far braver than me and fighting for their lives. Medical issues like cancer are already fighting for research funding, and pediatric cancers get even less. They have tumors and cancers and challenges greater than I could ever imagine, yet these children fight day after day. Surgeries and chemo and radiation and test after test after test, yet they consider Children's their second home and continue to fight with a smile on their faces and a courage I've never known. The doctors, nurses, administration, everyone at this hospital believe in what they are doing and want nothing more than to treat these truly inspirational kids.

So I encourage you to take a half hour and listen in to 101.9 FM or on the WTMX website- the message is strong and these kids are resilient. If you're not in a position to donate money to this cause right now, then at least take a moment to take a look around and count your blessings, to appreciate what you have. These families do that every day their children are still with them. And who knows what tomorrow will bring? The radiothon ends at 6pm on Saturday, and I sincerely hope that everyone takes the time out of their busy lives to listen in and take it in - it's a cause that's worth all our time. What's more important than taking care of children? It's so easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day headaches and think we've got it bad, but just think of the bigger picture.

Day #7985 - Oh Say does that Star Spangled Banner yet Wave

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Well said, Thomas Jefferson. Well said indeed.

While on most any other day I would ordinarily be expressing my frustrations with how crooked the American government has become over the course of the last 234 years (particularly those who hold office in Illinois), I will be doing no such thing today. On this, my nation's Independence Day, I'll admit the fact that I actually really do love this country. Does America have it's fair share of problems? Yes. Is our current condition our proudest moment in history? No, there's certainly room left for improvement there. But this country has also come a long way in 234 years in other ways and I'm very proud of that. This pluralistic society truly was revolutionary at the time of it's inception and look at how it has managed to stand the test of time.

So Happy Birthday, United States. God Bless America and God Bless our Troops, wherever they may be.

Day #7972 - The Longest Day

Happy Summer Solstice!

Now for those of you who either don't know me or haven't been paying attention, I have an awkward love for anything to do with either solstice or equinox - they make for four wonderful times of the year to celebrate. June 21st means different things to different people - it's (technically) the first day of summer, it's the longest day of the year in terms of hours we have of sunlight, it's the anniversary of the release of the 5th Harry Potter book, etc. Whichever you choose to acknowledge, from now until December 21st, the days will be getting ever so slightly shorter. Also, I know that the whole myth about being able to stand an egg on its end is something that actually goes along with the Spring and Winter Equinox, but I did it today during dinner. Pictures will be coming soon, never fear.

Let me just fill you in a little bit on the crazyness that has been this weekend. Friday there was a storm that came through - not a huge one, but apparently enough to knock out our power. After 56 hours of no electricity, it finally came back last night (of course, right after I had brought my computer and phone over to my grandparents' house so that I might charge everything up, update this for you the readership, and check facebook. Clearly I have my priorities in order).

On a brighter note, Saturday was a day for the ages. While at Woodfield Mall with my mom in search of an acceptable Father's Day present for Dad, we could not help but notice the huge crowd that had formed outside Field of Dreams and the entorage of mall security flanking the door. Seriously, I did not know that Woodfield even employed that many guards. Anyway, upon reading the sign outside the storefront we saw that they were expecting two athletes to come and do autograph signing. About two minutes later who should come down the escalator but Andrew Ladd and Kris Versteeg of the CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS!!! I was quite excited, I've never seen any members of the team before other than on tv because I've never been to a game. It was really cool. As if that wasn't enough hockey goodness for one day in the off season, later on Mom, Dad, Steven and I went over to Elk Grove for the Rotary Fest parade. I ran into some people from high school which was awesome because it wasn't awkward and then we staked out prime spots on the curb for the main event. As part of his designated day with the trophy, John McDonough decided to share it with his neighbors. I could barely contain my enthusiasm as I saw the STANLEY CUP with my own eyes on a float with "Chelsea Dagger" playing in the background. Yes, pictures were taken - my current facebook pic is me standing in the street grinning like a fool with the Cup behind me. And it wasn't just me - the street was full of Hawks fans and even the rest of my family could not deny how it cool it was to be so close. When the float stopped, the mayor said some nice words as did Mr. McDonough and then that was that. It was nice to have something fun happen in the middle of our power outage.

Father's Day was yesterday, and so I must give a shoutout to my own amazing DAD - You Rock! KB!! We were supposed to have people over here, but we were still without power so instead we brought the party over to Grandma and Grandpa's where the Curtis "funeral" took place, Bocci ball was played, we rolled down the hill, and all around good times were had. Finally after we got home, the lights came on around 9:30. A nice way to end the weekend.

So that's all that's been happening really in my world, loyal readers! Please keep the comments coming - it makes such a difference to know if anybody is looking at this thing. And if there's ever a topic or random factoid on which you'd like to hear my ramblings, please let me know! Bring on those emails and enjoy the rest of your solstice!

Day #7428 - Silent Night

I literally haven't left my house today. Down at school this past week during finals, me and my roommates would make sure we at least went outside once a day. The closest I got today was answering the door for the mail lady because someone had to sign for a package. That doesn't mean I haven't been in total awe of it's beauty. It's been snowing pretty consistently all day. Like I said the other day, though, I know it can be dangerous and I know that so many people find it annoying and a pain to deal with. Pardon me if I start to sound like Charlie Brown, but this season is supposed to be all about Love and family and hope, with peace on earth and goodwill toward all men. However, all of that, no matter how hard we may try, becomes secondary to the commercialism that consumes us. People genuinely don't believe me when I say I don't care so much about Christmas presents. Sure I want things, but I'd rather have a few days with my family and friends with no drama or fighting than any material things. So even though scraping the ice off the windshield of your car in the sub-zero windchill is never fun, take a moment to just appreciate what we do have. And come on, it's hard to deny that the power of weather is pretty awesome. All of this snow fell from the sky. It was just evaporated water, turned into a cloud, and now our landscape has been completely transformed. Come on, it's a little bit cool =)

Another thing I just want to take the time to comment on is surprises. I love it when things in this world can surprise me. People, places, things. For example, I'm not sure if I can remember the last time a movie made me cry. It rarely happens and I think the first time it did was when I first saw Finding Neverland. Tonight I watched Dan in Real Life with my brother and dad. Now for most of the movie, I just felt awkward and uncomfortable (probably because I could identify with the protagonist more than I wanted to). However at the end when Dan was talking to his daughters, I felt a tear on my face. I never watched this movie before because I thought it looked awful, and I ended up really enjoying it.

And I love it when books can surprise me. I'm currently re-reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time in a few years and wow, I forgot so much of the story. Usually I'll just pop in the dvd if I want a bit of Lizzy and Mr. Darcy, but the book, wow. Austen really knew how to tell a story. I never really appreciated Mr. Darcy's side of the story before - the movie just makes him seem like a jerk because you're only seeing her side of the story. In the book, you really get to see how tormented he is and we can all relate to the idea of falling for someone that our friends don't approve of. I never fully saw that Darcy starts falling in love with her the night they meet. It's like I'm reading a whole new book - what a great surprise.

And with this night being the eve of Christmas Eve, I now close this post while wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday. Travel safely and just try to remember the real reason for the season =)

Day #7250 - Heading Home

I can honestly say that even though I leave for the airport in less than two hours, I cannot believe that my time here in Italy is already over. The past 6 weeks of my life have flown by so incredibly fast and while of course I am excited to see all my friends and family back in the US, the past few days with all of their good-byes have really made me see how much I got out of this whole experience.

To back up a bit, though. Monday we had Art History - classroom portion in the morning, saw Bascilica di San Fermo and some Veronese gardens in the afternoon. Beautiful. Tuesday and Wednesday in Florence were amazing. I had so much fun with Brenna, Colleen, and Krista - we saw a lot (including The David!), but there will still be plenty to see when I go back (and I do mean WHEN, not IF). So in addition to seeing the David, we climbed the bell tower and got a beautiful view of the Duomo, went to Santa Croce, and I got a gold cross from Ponte Vecchio. It was a great final trip for the semester.

Yesterday's goodbye dinner was bittersweet, which was really to be expected. I feel like we all connected in one way or another, and it's just so interesting because some of these people I never would have known at U of I otherwise. We went to the same restraunt we had our welcome dinner at not so long ago, then afterwards went to the very same German bar. It made our whole experience feel like it was coming full circle. Today I walked around for a while and just said goodbye by myself to this city, this place. People keep asking me what my favorite city was that I've been to and I always start going through the list of the cities I would visit. In all honesty, though, while I liked visiting other cities, I loved coming home to Verona. Tonight when we were all at the opera Aida (yay! It didn't rain!!!), we kept saying that Verona really was our home now. Only 5 of us stayed the whole 5 hours, but we still got to say goodbye to some of the others whose apartment was near the Arena. I'm already looking forward to the reunions I know that we will have because we share so much now. I didn't cry, but my heartstrings were being pulled to their limits.

So I should probably wrap up this post for now, seeing as it's 3am here and the bus picking me up to go to the airport is coming at 4:30. I'm done packing, just got to clean up a little bit and get changed out of these opera clothes.

Ciao ciao, Italia! Ti amo! Sono Libera e felice! Grazie!!

Day #7225 - Rome wasn't built in a day, but I saw it in 3

This past weekend in Rome had so many ups and downs to it, but mostly I can't believe everything we were able to see just in one long weekend. On the other hand, I kind of wish we had a little more time.

The real adventure started on Friday night while I was packing for the trip. It was around 10:30 at night and decided I was hungry, so right then would be a perfect time to learn how to make pasta by myself. Oy vey. Once one of my roommates came and showed me how to light the stove the old-fashioned way, I proceeded to make enough spaghetti for about 3 people and only heated up enough tomato sauce for a small child. It all tasted good, but needless to say my proportions were a bit off. And since we don't have tupperware here and I was leaving the next day, I ate all of it by myself.

Saturday I woke up at 5:30 to get ready to meet a bunch of the other girls at 6:45 for our 7:15 train to Bologna. However when I called them, they told me that they were already on board a 6:10 train and they had tried calling me but my phone had been off and we don't get voicemail on these phones. Not to worry, though. About 10 other people from the program were on the 7:15 train with me, so all of us got to Bologna and made the same transfer to our train to Rome.

Once we got to the city and found our new hostel (the one we had made reservations for was overbooked, so they moved us someplace else), we had lunch, saw the Trevi Fountain (BEAUTIFUL!!!!!) and did some shopping before our pub crawl that night. This pub crawl was intesne - it's a whole business. They go on the same crawl every night, starting from the Spanish Steps and charge a flat fee that includes cover at all the bars and cost of drinks for the night. I had some vino but mostly just enjoyed being out with the whole Verona group.

Sunday started bright and early at the Colusseum. Four of us decided to take a guided tour which ended up being extremely helpful. After that, we stopped at a caffe for something cool to drink. It was only late morning, but the sun was already brutal. Then we went back and took a tour of the Roman Forum which are all the ruins right in the middle of the city. Again, having a tour guide was really helpful otherwise I would have no earthly idea what I was looking at. It was also at this time that I got the majority of my weekend sunburn haha. After the Forum, Krista and I proceeded off to the Pantheon. I've read all about these different sights in books before and have seen a lot of them in movies, but to see it with your own eyes is just incredible. I was constantly blown away by how BIG it all is. After the Pantheon, we were all exhausted from the late night before, the early morning, and the toll the sun was starting to take on us. We went back to the hostel and took a several-hour nap, after which I felt infinately better. All 10 of us girls then got dressed up, went out to dinner, and headed back to the Trevi Fountain to get some night-time pictures. Again, I was blown away.

Then came Monday, the day I was looking forward to more than any other day for this whole trip. Vatican City. As luck would have it, the weather was completely dreary and after 2 days of the most incredible sunshine, it was raining. We made the best of it though while we stood in line for 2 hours for the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel and in the end, it was completely worth it. I also felt like if it had to rain any of the days, Vatican day would be the best one because everything was indoors. It would have been miserable to see the Colusseum like that. Once we finally got inside, I feel like I was just in a complete state of awe. Every inch of that building's ceilings and walls are covered in the most detailed art I have ever seen. The Sistine Chapel was everything people always say it will be and more. After the museum, we walked to St. Peter's Square. Nothing on earth could have prepared me for it. The sight put an instant smile on my face and also moved me to tears - I couldn't believe I was finally seeing this with my own eyes. Being there also gave me a huge sense of belonging as a Catholic because the Church's history is very much a part of my history as well and here was our own seperate nation-state just for Catholics like me. The inside of the Basillica was absolutely astonishing; beautiful doesn't even begin to describe how it looked, but also how it made me feel. As you can see if you looked at the links I posted last night, I took a few pictures =) The only thing that could have made this weekend better would have been to have my family and friends here with me. Don't worry - I prayed for all of you, so it's kind of like you were there.

Anyway! So that was Rome. There's more to be said about the journey home, but I need to close this up for now and get ready for school. Of course because some of us had planned on going back to the pool today, today's weather is looking like a high in the middle 70s and nothing but rain for the next week and a half.

Day #7174 - Little Things

It truly is the little things in life that can make things turn themselves right again. Less than 24 hours ago, I wrote here about how some things and some people never change, refering to the negative aspects of both. Earlier today, however, I remembered that that can be a good thing sometimes, too. I got a phone call from a friend back home who really just said such nice things and it reaffirmed my faith in people. It makes me grateful for all of my friends, even the ones who ignore me. Though they drive me crazy most of the time, when it matters the ones who truly care about me step up to the plate and make me feel like I really do matter.

So here's a toast to those of you who support me - it matters more to me more than words can say =)