Three Minutes Can Save A Life

Last year during National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, I opened up for the first time on the blog about my nearly decade-long struggle with an eating disorder. The theme in 2015 was ‘I Had No Idea’ and in a way, that encapsulated my story perfectly. I was able to keep it together on the surface enough to seem like I was totally fine, succeeding in many aspects of my life, while on the inside I was a wreck. I won’t rehash the whole thing here, since you can read about it in that post, but this year I’m raising awareness again by focusing on the idea that three minutes can save a life. 

 

 

 

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Learning As I Blog Along

I’ve been lucky to have some time over the past few weeks to dedicate to blogging as if it were a full time job. While I’d love it if that were a reality, for now blogging is a hobby that I really enjoy and hope to continue with as much as I can. There’s so much to learn, about running a blog and a website, using social media, and developing whatever passion you blog about, which in my case is mostly running and recipes but has also become more about my life in general. And I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how most of the important tools, tips and tricks I’ve picked up are courtesy of other bloggers. 

 

 

 

Experiences Versus Stuff

I’ve been thinking for some time now about the value we place on experiences versus stuff. Over the past year, I’ve tried to take an honest look at my life in an attempt to figure out exactly what the parts are that make me happy, and what’s just extra that really doesn’t add much to an otherwise wonderful existence.I suppose it’s a question of experiences versus stuff, and how much value we place on each. I talked about this a little bit when I first started the blog back in December. If there’s anything I’ve learned since leaving home to go to Oxford and coming back again for law school, it’s that the people in my life, both family and friends, and the ability to enjoy things like reading, running, and cooking, are much more important to me than the “stuff” that money buys. My recent trip to England brought me much more clarity than I’ve had in awhile.

 

Hiking and thinking a lot in the Lakes

 

Pond Hopping Part 5: Oxford Revisited

There’s something I’ve wanted to share for the past week, but wanted to take the time to properly sort out how I wanted to share it! Last Thursday, I went back to visit Oxford for the first time since leaving more than three years ago, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the differences in me and my life from then to now, and the role that Oxford played in making me the person I am today. 

 

The Old Quad of Brasenose

 

Pond Hopping Part 1: London Run and Brunch

Greetings from England! I thought I wasn’t going to post while here, but I have so much I want to jot down so I can remember it for myself that I changed my mind. It’ll be a picture per sentence kind of day since I’m writing on my iPad and have spent all day out and about, but here’s a look at the first three days of my trip across the pond 🙂

 

The Pond Hopper Returns

Good morning! Today is the first day of the return of the Pond Hopper, aka what I used to call myself when I was flying back and forth across the Atlantic 3 times a year for my 3 years of college. The Atlantic Ocean is the “pond” and I am the “hopper” in case you were wondering 🙂 It was also the title of the novel I wrote my senior year of high school, before the actual hopping commenced. Of course, I’m a not-so-teenage Pond Hopper now. More like a twentysomething Pond Hopper. Anyway, I’m headed back for the first time since the end of Oxford and I couldn’t be more excited! I was on a flight leaving NYC around 10pm Tuesday evening, for an arrival at Heathrow this morning.

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles in August and Beyond

As promised yesterday, I’m ending July and kicking off August with a post featuring my plans for post-exam travel! As is traditional, most law firms have their first-year associates start working at least one month after the exam in late July, and typically closer to two. Everyone needs the time to unwind and relax before diving in to a demanding new job. Most recent grads take some sort of “bar trip” which can mean anything from a six-week-long backpacking trip in Southeast Asia, to three weeks of luxury globetrotting, to a week down the Cape with friends and family. Some people even use it as the perfect time for a wedding and honeymoon. Others choose to go home and do absolutely nothing. I’m planning a bit of a grab bag, beginning with my August adventures.

 

I’ve pounded the pavement right out of NYC for the next couple of months!

Turning the Page to Chapter 24

It’s a beautiful morning, and I’m about to head out for what I hope will be a glorious run. It’s raining at the moment but it will have to clear up soon and the weather will need to match my mood. You know why? It’s my birthday! 

 

 

 

I’ve always thought of life as a book. Everyone has a unique story, so their book is a little different, but no matter what, every day is a new page and every year is a new chapter. The thing is, every page beyond the one you’re currently on is stuck together, so there is no peeking ahead to see what happens next or how the story ends. You just have to keep living to find out. 

 

Five Ways to Shake Off Study Stress

This Friday, I’m sharing a few ways I’ve realized are great for taking a step back when studying for a big exam and putting everything in perspective. I don’t often “stress” about a test, but I can get bogged down in the midst of preparing and start to feel generally gloomy. Each of these things helps me to feel what I rationally know is true – that this test, right now, might be dominating the present, but it’s really just a blip in the grand scheme of life. That’s really helpful to me, a forest-through-the-trees kind of girl. Just a quick note that I left eats and exercise out of this little roundup – while long runs and rising early to greet the dawn can do wonders for the soul, and there’s nothing like a healthy helping of dessert in the form of frozen treats as comfort food, the following list focuses on other things 🙂

 

Ringing in 2015…with a run and a resolution!

This morning was all about ringing in the new year, and of course for me that meant my first run of 2015, and a New Year’s resolution. My three R’s, if you will…a personalized twist on reading, (w)riting, and (a)rithmetic!

My New Year’s resolutions in the past have run the gamut, from making more of an effort to keep in touch with faraway friends to finally finishing a few of the weightier tomes on my shelf (Middlemarch, anyone?) This year, I decided to keep it simple with a single resolution: to focus on the forest through the trees. It’s an apt phrase for what I want to do this year – it means keeping the big picture in mind even while spending time on different and disparate aspects of life. It’s something I’ve mastered when it comes to school, the ability to consider broad historical themes even while getting down to the details of a particular person or event, or to think about a court case in the context of our legal system as a whole. But I think it will be even more valuable if I can do it in my life.

Running shoes, racerback tank, and hair ribbons for the Disney Half Marathon… all New Year’s “R”s!

Take running, for example. I could make a resolution to run a certain number of days per week, or achieve a certain time in my next race. I could set a specific goal for my upcoming half marathon. But instead, I’m going to take every run as it comes, enjoying the opportunity I have to be outside and moving down the path, the wind in my hair and the sun shining down (even on a brisk 23 degrees Fahrenheit morning like this one!) This morning’s run was just a branch, running is just a tree, in the forest of life.

 

 

 

Friends mean so much to me. Of my dozen closest friends in this world, about half live in New York City with me. The others? Well, they’re scattered across two continents and three countries, time zones ranging from California to Continental European. They’re in London and Leicestershire, Tennessee and Texas, and I miss them terribly (Skype is just not the same!) So I’ll make an effort to stay in touch (or reach out and resume contact with a few who seem to have fallen off the radar recently), and keep in mind that we’re all human and sometimes it will be hard to stay connected. My friends are all very important trees! Without them the forest would be pretty empty.

 

Both wonderful reads…on to another enchanting find!

I’ll do my best in my last semester of law school and my spring internship at Lincoln Center. I’ll take read a few more of those books on my list, embark on more adventures in cooking, and hopefully travel. One of my dearest friends just moved to Nashville – over spring break, hello to Music City! At the end of the summer I intend to return to England and Oxford to visit past haunts and see my wonderful college friends. The whole time, I’ll keep in mind that life is a journey, and the important thing is to not lose sight of all the knowledge I’ve gained thus far, and stay open to new things. I’ll focus on the forest, and not let a particular tree falling down get in my way.

 

 

So without further ado, happy trails in 2015!

 

Running past the river this morning

Raspberry ragamuffins (recipe coming soon!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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