Touch the Stars

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a while. I feel inspired to do so today, perhaps because I've been thinking about my friends quite often as I drive around Cortland without them.

My inspiration today lies with the drive I just took out to TC3 (Tompkins-Cortland Community College). I drive around the parking lot with two new friends, Megan and TJ, aiming towards Marathon's soccer game--a completely different destination from where we headed a few years ago.

We used to just drive around as our night's activity. When we were bored, the road always provided something to do, something to look at, some place to get away from the everyday sights we always were stuck with.

We must have been sophomores in college... We drove out to TC3, stopped in the parking lot and looked at the stars. We selected another road behind TC3, which was better because we got away from the parking lot lights which took away from the view. Honestly, I've never felt so close to the stars before. The stars seemed right at our fingertips if we stuck our hands out in the air. Maybe it was the country setting, but I've never felt so surrounded by the sky.

I think my girls remember this experience. You can't forget experiences like that.

Anyway, I reminisce here, but the main reason I came was also to post the following pictures. I cannot post these without giving a shout out to Miss Jenna DeMayo, the rightful owner and photographer of these pictures. I love them. They're very artistic and unusual. But that's us--out of the ordinary. That's why I think we all came together to be friends. We each had bizarre and opposite qualities from one another, and we all compiled them to become probably more bizarre, but smarter from acquiring the knowledge we learned from one another. Jenna is Miss Creative, and I think you can take that away from these pictures.

Here's to senior year and my college years.

Inspiration

I haven't really been inspired to write as much as I normally do lately. I apologize for all who read and actually look at my blog every so often.

I've felt more comfort in physically writing in a journal than via computer; somehow it feels better to let my ideas flow through my hand onto paper. More fluid motions. Typing is punching. I don't like to punch ideas lately--more let them flow.

I'm curious. I have a question for the listeners, when the listeners are actually the readers. I guess I'd prefer to think of you as listening than reading in some way. Maybe it's both.

What inspires you?

Not only do I ask this for selfish purposes of curiosity, but I want to see what types of things inspire people. Inspire to do what, you might ask? Anything. Anything at all. I'm curious also for students. What is it that just inspires you to do anything... create, or just do something out of the ordinary?

Inspire me with something. Inspire intuition.

Looking Forward

What are you looking forward to?

Think about it. Think of your answer before you read my small response.

I like to ask this question to people because I am interested in how they will respond to it. Do they answer about tonight or tomorrow, living in the moment, living in the now? Or, do they answer about five years from now, about having children or moving into a new house, living in the future and not the moment?

So, without my skewing your answers, what are you looking forward to?

Prospect Mountain

I love finding new spots when you least expect it.

Before I came out here to Cortland for this semester, I discovered a new place where I could center myself, somewhere close to home where I could get away and really think. My dad randomly introduced me to the mountain, Prospect Mountain, in Lake George.

I have some excellent pictures that I hope capture how I was feeling.





We're standing on top of a mountain. It feels really cool to be up so high, looking down, thinking that no one else even imagines that you're up there looking down on them. I know this because I normally walk around down there, and you never think about who's really up there looking around at where you are, thinking that it's the most incredible sight that made their day.























Serene. Where do you like to go?

Ideal Life

What is your ideal life?

I talked about it with my friends today, and it's sort of difficult to imagine, but I think that deep down inside, you really know what it is you aspire to. It just might be very different from the life you currently live, but you're afraid to admit what it is because you didn't strive for it when you had a choice. We went for what is safe--didn't we?

Anyway, use this space to talk about what it would be for you. I almost feel bashful admitting mine, so I will leave it out for now. Maybe if I'm probed... but that's a story for a different day.

Enlighten me with your dream life.

Escaping from Noise

One thing I miss about this Central New York area is the beautiful outdoor hiking trails they offer. Now that I'm back for the semester, I decided that I needed to return to the woods to center myself. My good friend Megan and I went on a fun trip the other day to the upper part of Buttermilk Falls. It was really breathtaking and refreshing. We brought along her little puppy who really had some great adventures with herself.

One reason that I love hiking, the woods, and waterfalls is that they provide such a calming experience away from the noise associated with everyday life: cars, sirens, screaming, crosswalk beeping, etc. You really get a great chance to clear your mind and think, and you're not bothered by outside noise. Instead, you hear really cool noises of the outdoors, like running water, wind through the leaves, and sticks crunching under your shoes.

The atmosphere provides for great thinking and conversation. Megan and I really had a great chance to sit down and think outside the box at a beautiful clearing near the water. Everything does happen for a reason.

I am going to post an array of pictures from the experience. Feel free to comment on any picture or my above post on the calmness and thinking atmosphere of the woods. Where is your calming place?







Here's Megan and the puppy (adorable shot)











The swimming series (her first attempt at swimming!)













Check out the puppy posing for a portrait shot (minus the fact she was scared and partially crying/wimpering...)





Megan found a heart-shaped rock. She has a really good eye for finding really cool things...



Awesome shot of Megan--one of the best taken that day



This is the best picture though, by far. A good one to end on. This is what I love.