the one with random little moments.

I am a big believer in life’s “random little moments”.  Whenever I eat a Dove chocolate, I feel the need to carefully salvage the wrapper to read the few words of advice as if they are predicting my future or unearthing a secret (sometimes neglecting to eat the chocolate).  I always make a wish on fallen eyelashes or as a response to the clock striking 11:11.  I am a frequently lucky penny picker-uper.  And more often than not, my music choices can predict the mood I’m in.  But these are the small moments, and every once and a while a bigger once comes along that challenges me to pause for a second.

These are life’s “random bigger moments,” when that light bulb clicks or something in your head tells you to pay extra attention to the next few seconds of an experience.  These are the moments that create new ideas for the exponential bucket list developing on a wearing page of my yellow leather journal.  These are the moments that contribute classifying my character as a dreamer.  For example, while running my first half marathon, I had a “moment” on mile 11 as I passed by random stranger after random stranger like a blurry watercolor and realized my next step was to run 26.2.  The countless campfire jam sessions during my time abroad escalated my passion for music and sparked a curiosity to expand my knowledge of instruments.  Simple dinner chatter that escalates into a deeper conversation of hopes and fears and interests always exemplify the value of friendship.

With the holidays coming and going and the final few days of the year not far behind, I can’t help but reflect on the moments of the year, as well as the moments to be made.  

the first one.

Blogging is a lot like working out.  If you’re like me, you really want to do it and know you will enjoy it, but it takes that extra push every now and then, and sometimes a post-it reminder or a line on the to do list.  Once you finally decide to act, you face the next obstacle in the process: choosing what to do…the classic route, the change up, or every now and then something outside the lines (such as going for the 12 lbs. free weights while the baseball team surrounds you in in the gym bench pressing more than your weight…this has since become my typical Tuesday morning routine).  Then you find your groove – to me this is the best part and where my best work results from.  In exercise, this may be hitting mile 4 of a trail run and realizing you could confidently go for another 4; in blogging, it would be crafting the witty comment to transform your post, or discovering the perfect way to describe what you are feeling.  When you finally reach the end of the workout, you feel rewarded, a sense of accomplishment, and wonder why it may have taken that extra push or that post-it to get you going in the first place.

Blogging is a lot like working out.  I love to write, but sometimes it takes a little extra push to sit down and transform my jumbled, creative, widespread thoughts into words to reflect on and phrases to live by.  The most tangible form of creative writing I have is my quote journal, filled with song lyrics, phrases from the Pinterest quote board and random thoughts read in books that caused me to read them more than once.

While on Pinterest recently scrolling through random photos as part of my pre-bed time routine that also includes checking Instagram, losing all my lives in Candy Crush and setting multiple alarms for the morning in anticipation of overusing the snooze button, I came across a simple quote photo that stated, “Be Fearlessly Authentic”.  For the past 2 weeks, I have wanted to begin blogging but had no idea what to name my blog.  I began with the classic google search, “good blog names,” assuming somewhere out there in the world wide web would have posted something helpful.  Instead, I came across a website asking me to type some of my favorite words and activities into a box, and suggestions would be generated.  My high expectations shortly disappeared all together when my words including running, music, curiosity, travel, and life to name a few became Flavored Running and Lively Musicmania.  Nothing against blog name generators, but I wasn’t feeling the first round of results.  I wanted something unique, original, and general enough to cover whatever I will end up writing about.  Needless to say, the Pinterest quote was the clear winner.

I plan to blog as a curious intellectual, a child at heart, a passionate sports fan, and an artist who sees the shades of grey and colors outside the lines.  I plan to blog as a fearless authentic.