sailing through this world

As you grow up, life seems to get faster. Days are jam packed full of activities. You rush from one thing to the next and barely have time to breathe. During these days, it’s important to ask yourself, are you living with intention? Are you fully experiencing each moment God has given you? Too often, when life gets full, the answer to the above questions is no. We simply fly through life, living on the surface, not fully experiencing it. How can we change this? We can try to live with intention and thank God for each moment He sends us. St. Gianna Molla says that “the secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day.” This means we need to appreciate everything God sends us. Appreciate the small daily joys. Appreciate the daily hardships as they allow us a chance to grow in holiness. Appreciate everything ! Thank God for everything ! I’ve always found it very difficult to live in the moment. I tend

I fear nothing for God is with me. --St. Joan of Arc Strength. A word that can be used a variety of contexts. Strength of body, strength of mind and intellect, strength of character, strength of heart...  I've felt a significant call to be strong these past few months. On my 20th birthday this past September, as I turned the page on my teenage years, I decided that my goal for this new part of my life was to become stronger. I wanted to grow in strength. Physically, mentally, emotionally, but especially spiritually. At the time, I wasn't sure why I felt so certain I needed to work on growing stronger. I just felt like that was the thing I should focus on. It's clear now, however, that God was preparing me for the challenges that were ahead. I want to be strong in my faith. I want to be strong in my beliefs. In essence, I want to be strong enough to let go of my fears. I want to be strong enough to trust in God.  Trust. Seems like a simple concept but unfortu

This past Wednesday, my university, St. Gregory's University in Shawnee, Oklahoma made the announcement that the university will be suspending operations after this semester. They did not receive a loan they had been counting on. Students have a month before finals. We must find elsewhere to continue our education. The faculty and staff, many of whom have families are now faced with the daunting prospect of finding new jobs. As the only Catholic college in Oklahoma, this news is tragic.  It was a normal Wednesday. I was in the middle of Ballet class, when it was suddenly interrupted with the news that all students, faculty, and staff must attend a mandatory meeting. I had no idea what was happening. Upon arrival, we were read a letter with the news. My first thought was disbelief. How could this happen? Why? What was I going to do? What about my friends? I finally found a wonderful group of people who have changed my life. I am comfortable with them. They bring m

For my American Literature class this semester I was given the assignment to develop my own philosophy of aesthetics in essay form. Aesthetics is the philosophy of art. My professor wanted the class to spend some time thinking about why they like certain books or movies. Is beauty relative?  Though the assignment seemed kind of strange and abstract at first, I actually really enjoyed writing my essay. I had never really thought about why I thought something was beautiful, but it's an interesting question. What makes a certain art appeal to someone? Can you separate beauty from truth and goodness? I attempt to answer these questions in my essay. Remember, this is just my personal opinion.  “How beautiful!” Though I have muttered these words countless times over my twenty years, I have never spent much time considering why I come to this conclusion. Do I like this movie simply because of the cinematography? Or is it the acting? The storyline? Deciding on whether somethin

Before I even got home from college in May, I had goals for the summer. They included things like praying, being able to run slightly longer distances, dancing at Nationals, etc...and they also included reading. I've had a goodreads (promise I'm not sponsored) account for a while but I haven't been consistent out using it. This summer I wanted to keep track of how many books I read so I decided to use it! It was a great tool for finding new authors and books. I really recommend it. Find me on Goodreads here. Nella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries of 'Housewife 49 was one of my many summer reads. Nella Last wrote a diary for the Mass Observation Archive from 1939 until 1966 as the British Government encouraged regular citizens to document their lives during the war. Her work was originally published as a book in 1981 and was republished in 2006. Nella Last was a regular housewife who lived in  Lancashire, England. Her diary provides fascinating insigh

source Current book: I've been soaking up the last few weeks of freedom where I have time to read whatever I want. I've still been into historical fiction and I recently finished Nella Last's War and The Girls of Ennismore. Nella Last's War is the actual diary of Nella Last, a housewife in England during World War II. It is fascinating to read about her day to day life during the war. I loved it! The Girls of Ennismore was very enjoyable, reminiscent of Downton Abbey, The Girls of Ennismore is set in Ireland and explores very fascinating themes regarding class and birthright. Another enjoyable read! Current music: I haven't actually been listening to much. When I do listen to music, lately it's been musicals like Hamilton. Current guilty (or non-guilty) pleasure: Hmmm...can't think of anything... Current food: MANGO. And cookie butter from Trader Joes. Not together of course... Current obsession: Morning walks with Molly (our dog). It

As I explained at the beginning of the summer , I was given the amazing opportunity to be an intern for the Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas. This summer, I have worked as a sidewalk counselor and worked alongside other counselors in the Texas heat in an effort to offer help the women entering and exiting an abortion clinic. This job has taught me more than I ever imagined; it was the hardest and most worthwhile thing I have ever done. There were days that the sun shined in my face and I wondered if I was doing any good. I would be sweaty, hot, and sometimes wonder why the heck I didn't choose an easy, low stress, indoor job. There were days when I would say countless Hail Marys in a row, hoping God would give me or others the right words and the strength to say them. There were days when it seemed like there was no hope, no one would walk over, they would ignore help. They would head inside where surgeons would kill their child. But there were also instances wh

Alas it is Monday. I'm feeling the effects of this weekend, as I arrived home from Austin yesterday evening after a two day Irish dance competition. The competition went fairly well, it was my first time competing in a year and I was mostly happy with how I danced. My competition is insanely difficult so I wasn't expecting to place very high. But now it's back to real life. I have three weeks before Nationals in New Orleans! Anyway, in case you too and in need of a little motivation this week, enjoy these quotes!

This past week, I started an internship. I am an intern for the Catholic Pro-Life Committee and I am working as a sidewalk counselor this summer. My job is essentially to provide support, help, and options, for women entering abortion clinics. The goal is obviously to save the life of the baby and help the women and their families through whatever difficulties they are facing. I have been Catholic and Pro-Life for as long as I can remember. It was how I was raised. I always knew abortion was wrong because it takes an innocent life. It hurts the woman, it kills the baby. However, I also knew that the women who turn towards abortion often do so out of desperation. I always felt empathy for these people. However, after working two days this week, I realized that being aware of abortion and its heartbreaking effects and seeing it with my own eyes were two different things. It's honestly so hard, watching the women walk into the clinic. I imagine the circumstances which lead the

Just a quickie post today, outlining several reasons why I decided to start this blog. :) 1. I wanted to practice writing. Since I ended up switching to an English major (more on this later) I wanted to get into the practice of writing regularly. I enjoy writing but sometimes struggle with the motivation. 2. I wanted to share my faith. I wanted to illustrate my life as a Catholic college student and hopefully inspire others to live out their faith with confidence. 3 . I wanted a place to share my love of health. I'm kind of a health/fitness nerd and love reading others' blogs on nutrition tips, workouts, recipes, etc...I wanted in on that community! 4. I wanted an outlet for my thoughts and ideas. I'm always thinking up new ideas and I wanted a place to share them. Crafts, recipes, book reviews, you name it! 5. I wanted a place to share my love of Irish dance as I feel that many do not realize the fascination of the world of dance in general and Irish

The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day. -- St. Gianna Molla This quote by my patron, St. Gianna, strikes a chord with me right now. Recently, I've been contemplating the nature of our society (warning: contemplation can be dangerous). I've started to feel that it's really hard to enjoy life in the moment because for as long as I can remember, I've been taught to focus on attaining our next goal. The goal in high school is to get into college, the goal in college is to graduate so you can get a job, and then the goal will be to get a better job and so on.  I don't think setting goals is bad. On the contrary, goal-setting is great, it's motivation to work hard. However, don't forget to enjoy the present. Savor life as it is now. Don't obsess about what's to come. Thank God for today and worry less about tomorrow. As St. Gianna says, live moment by mome

Welcome! Wilkommen! Bienvenu! Aloha! Benvenuto! Out of all the places in the internet you could have clicked to, you wound up here. I'm amazed. Impressed. Flattered.  It could be FATE. Or DESTINY. (Do I sound like a cheesy movie trailer yet?)  If you're not scared away yet, congratulations! I promise I'm not scary person. What I am is a Catholic, a college student, a dancer (my specialty is Irish dance), and a lover of books, tea, and chocolate. I also enjoy various crafts, especially jewelry making! I decided to start a blog mainly so I had somewhere to write down all my random ideas. I'm not really sure what genre you'd call this blog. Some mix of Catholic college girl + chocolate + dance + books? Let's go with that.  The name sailing through this world is from one of my favorite quotes, by one of my most beloved saints, St. Therese of Lisieux.  The world is thy ship, not thy home. Anyway, I do hope you'll come again. :) This p