Change

Today's thought comes from the popular show How I Met Your Mother.  The show's premise is that this man, Ted Mosby, is telling his kids the story of how he met their mother.  Now I won't spoil the entire show, but I will say that fate and the yellow umbrella he's holding are both major parts of the story.  He asserts that no matter what the day, something could happen to you that will change your life.  You don't always have to go out making change.  Sometimes you just have to wait for it to arrive at your doorstep.

Looking back on my short life, the most important things that have happened to me had very little to do with choices I made, or action I took.  I remember back to December 2012.  I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with my summer.  I knew I needed something to change it up.  Somewhere to move away to.  New scenery and new people.  At the end of that month, a friend of mine encouraged me to apply for this internship with an organization in Kansas City.  After dragging my feet a bit, I finally filled out and sent in my application.  Long story short, I interviewed and received an offer for my internship that I am currently on in Kansas City, MO.

Looking back, I didn't do anything to get the opportunity to apply for the internship.  It just sort of happened.  Granted, once I heard about it, I had to apply, interview, and accept the internship, but I'd like to focus on the part before that.  Looking back, I am so happy that I ended up taking action on the opportunity.  This summer has been a blast, giving me a whole new outlook on life and a fresh start.  It was just one of those things that happened.  I was able to step out the front door and recognize something that has changed my life forever.

So often we get caught up in trying to make change happen.  Sometimes, you can't force it.  Change happens.  Will you let it happen?

Chaos

I've found that sometimes when I sit down to write this blog, I have barely an idea of what I want to say.  It's like I just start typing, and somehow it all comes out.  I think today's Thought really embodies that feeling and the feeling I get being out of school.  While school is all neat and compartmentalized, life outside of school is anything but.  It's a hodge-podge of everything.  It's chaos.

Looking back on my agriculture classes, I have been set on the right path to deal with this chaos.  A metal shop became much more than just welding.  It became a place for measuring, calculating, and creating.  A landscaping design became a lesson in geometry, a lesson in visual design, and a lesson in biology all at once.  It's this requirement for embracing a bunch of things at once, chaos, that truly prepared me for life.

Many times, we want to control the chaos in our lives.  I know I am a control freak that has to be in control as much as possible.  Rather than controlling, we should be embracing.  Rather than trying to bring this crazy thing called life back into our control, we should be acknowledging and moving on.  In truth, I don't think anyone knows what they are doing in life.  It's all a scene of trying to do what feels right.  Sometimes that feeling leads us astray.  And  yet sometimes, that feeling gives us the best opportunities we ever could find.  How will you embrace the chaos?