We all have dreams...

First, this was the first time in 5 years that I have had this day off. It was lovely to just sit around and not really do anything. I got to take a fantastic nap (which for those of you that know me is something I LOVE!). It was just nice to feel relaxed, and not to have to go through the motions of a work day. 


Today is a day to honor and remember all of the work that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for our country, for humanity, and for generations to come. MLK started talking about dreams and what he was hoping to see from society. He had very clear ideas of what he wanted to see. MLK's dreams are slowly coming true, but there are still obstacles in the way. Coming up to these obstacles can be disheartening, but it is important to keep at it. I was looking through this book of quotes from MLK that I have, and this one stuck out to me, "we must never lose infinite hope." This idea of staying positive and never giving up is what initially grabbed my attention because it is something that is so incredibly important. After looking at it for a while, this idea of infinite hope is what really got me thinking. Hope is something that is vital in order to survive the daily bombardment of news. Oftentimes, hearing what is talked about in the news or in meetings can crush hope, but if we have an infinite hope...it is as though our hope can never completely be diminished. I just feel like that is so important to realize. No matter how shitty life gets our hope will be renewed. With hope it is possible to move forward and to persist when things are not going so well. 


Today has also been labeled as a day of service. Being someone who is committed to community service, that is fantastic! It is great to see groups of people come together to make something happen. 

Anyways, I hope that everyone had a lovely day today and that you maintain your sense of infinite hope!

Bear Down

Well, technically it is tomorrow, but oh well. It still counts in my head because I have not gone to sleep yet. Relating to my title of this blog, I would like to say that I am quite happy the Bears won their football game today. My dad and brother actually got to go to the game, so that was really exciting for them! I won't necessarily say the Bears win is the positive thing today because I live in Wisconsin, and all of those people probably won't agree with me. It should make for an interesting weekend when the Bears play the Packers. 


I laid in bed for a majority of the day and watched the shows Parks and Rec...boy, it is a hoot! Then I was lucky enough to get to coach some wonderful athletes in basketball. I am not really skilled in basketball as one of the other coaches reminded me when he said, "wow, Lauren, you're their worst player." It was all in good fun...I mean it was true, but it was still funny. After that, I ate Panchero's, played Bananagrams, and saw Social Network. It made for quite the positive evening (in case you haven't yet...check out bananagrams). 


While I have no particular story that stood out today, I will leave you with the World's Second Funniest Joke. It made me laugh out loud (and to those who were in the movie theater with me can attest to is very loud).

Day 1...

Well, let me start by saying, I am not a very good writer. I get distracted, and I struggle to put words together in clear way. However, I am an optimist, so I know it will be okay. It was that optimism leading me to start this blog. Last night, I was driving home from a lovely evening with some work friends and I was listening to NPR. I highly enjoy NPR, but I find myself being weighed down with the frequently upsetting news. A majority of the  evening was also spent venting about the terribleness of the day (now don't get me wrong, I enjoy a great vent after a long day), but it sometimes takes over the mindset. I am going to try to write everyday (like I said...I get distracted) about something positive and happy that has happened. When I am feeling really motivated maybe even post something fun to enjoy!


I will write about two positive things that happened to me yesterday and today to begin. Yesterday, one of my hardest kiddos behaviorally and academically had a huge success! This kid has stolen my heart, but can be very naughty. He also is  quite behind academically. At the beginning of the year he only could recognize the four letters in his name and he is first grade. He and I were working on some work he was doing, and without any prompting he came up with a sentence on his own and wrote the word like! For many this seems like not very much, but he has never been able to look at a word and tell me what it is or come up with his own sentence. I was blown away by this happening! 


As for today, I FINISHED MY APPLICATION TO UW MADISON! I am applying to graduate schools for social work, and I just finished this one! It was quite exciting. Also, it is a 3 day weekend! First time in 5 years I will get to enjoy MLK Day!!!!!


Happy item of the day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU