11 of 111: Goal 101

9 days, 1,900 miles, and over 24 hours worth of driving. 

Every mile was worth it.

There will be much more to come about this Spring Break adventure...
after I catch up on all of the homework I didn't do.

How was your Spring Break? Let me hear about it!

10 of 111: Goals 80 & 81

I have an announcement to make.

Frankly, it's important.

It may or may not be relevant to anything I've ever talked about on this blog.

I tried calling a press conference. Apparently, though, when you announce something on a website, there isn't a need for the press, since this whole "internet" thing exists.

My announcement is this:

After a month and a half, my mourning has ended. My tears have dried. I have stopped losing sleep (for the most part). 

I have stopped mourning the end of Monk.

Seriously.

March 13th is Always a Good Day for Reflection

Since the day that I launched this blog from Taiwan, I've wondered one thing: would I regret making this blog "themed?" After all, doesn't that limit creativity and keep me from posting about a lot of things that I would otherwise be glad to talk about?

About eight months later, I'm about 97.565% sure that I don't regret the decision. And I'm sure you're curious as to why - and trust me, you are - so I'm going to share.

Having a blog that is "themed" is tricky. However, without a theme, and therefore, a purpose, this blog only becomes about one thing: me. So, by not choosing a theme, I automatically would be choosing the default them of, well, me (for lack of a better term; see how this could get old quickly?).

This was never and will never be the purpose of my writings and ramblings. I might do this for myself to a point, but I don't want it to simply be about me. I want to encourage you. I want to inspire you. I want to make you laugh and help YOU to enjoy life a little more fully, even if just for a few seconds every few days.

Having a themed blog has actually forced me to become more creative, not less. Writing about my life goals has truly helped me to find more direction and purpose as I live. It has helped to keep me accountable. However, there are days when I want to post about subjects that don't involve me cliff-diving (it will happen) or flying an airplane (it will definitely happen). This is where the creativity comes in.

Take this post for instance. It was about giving to a great cause: The Adventure Project. However, giving to them wasn't on my Bucket List anywhere, and my 111 in 2011 didn't exist yet, because, well, it wasn't 2011. But I made it "fit" because it matters to me. And frankly, it's my blog, so I can bend the rules a little if I need to.

I'm saying all of this to eventually get to the point of this post. And I promise we are about to arrive. Just stick with me and my unnecessarily circular tangents for a few more moments...

My 111 in 2011: Falling Short

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you may have noticed a trend. I have this really bad habit of going on what I have officially deemed "blog spurts." And they're just what they sound like. I get in the mood to blog and come up with 70 ridiculous ideas in a row to blog about. And then... nothing.

So, for the last 9 days I've been wanting to blog, but my fingers haven't let me. I'm not really sure what that means, except that I haven't been motivated in the least bit to blog. I'm pretty sure I know why, though. I knew that this post I'm currently composing would have to come eventually. I've just been avoiding it at all costs.

I know I tend to be pretty light-hearted when I write here, and that's purposeful. I believe we take life entirely too seriously. However, there are definitely times in life where reflection is good. This is one of them. Sort of...

8 of 111: Goal 63

It's the first day of March! Finally! 

No more snow! 

No more snow! 

No more snow!

As you can see, I'm excited about the beginning of this new month and a bit optimistic. Probably a little too optimistic. Isn't it supposed to snow next week or something?

I'm so excited about March I want to blog! And en route to actually blogging about what I'm going to blog about, I want to play a little game. We'll call it "Word Association" (because that's what it is).

I say a word, and you say the first word that pops into your mind...