I Make my Dreams Come True.

What is a dream? Is it an aspiration? A hope? Dictionary.com can't even provide me with a concrete definition of to dream. One definition says it is a goal, an aspiration, or an aim. The definition continues that a dream is a wild or vain fancy. The website also states to dream is to form in the imagination or to devise. Dream in the adjective form means most desirable. There are so many options for such a small word! To dream can mean anything! One word holds a person's deepest wishes and loftiest goals. The word dream can be anything it wants to be. But can you?

I remember being in second grade and writing a letter to myself to open at a later date. We were instructed to write two things: (a) what we wanted to be when we grew up, and (b) where we saw ourselves upon high school graduation. I opened that letter the day I graduated high school and read this sentence: "I want to go to Brigham Young University and be a financial planner". Not I want to be a fireman, or I want to be a princess, or I want to be famous. No. At the age of eight years old, I found myself being frighteningly realistic for a child. Now here I am -- 12 years later -- trying to decide what to do with that dream. Through high school the dream evolved to include New York and working on Wall Street. Then it changed to a cupcake shop, then a wedding planning business, then a life in San Francisco. I have faced more uncertainty about my future since opening that letter then all the time before it. Life gets more unsure every day, yet more exciting. Some days I crawl in my bed longingly for my easy 8-year-old life. But now, as I write this a week before my 20th birthday, I am excited with all my options. I know that I could be anyone I wanted to be and if I don't like it, I have the options to stop and start again. I could be an accountant, a wedding planner, a cupcake baker, and any other thing I want to be, because I have the drive and determination to find my passion. Those two qualities are how you make a dream your reality. Dreams are conquered through a person's own willingness to sacrifice and get where she wants, not through luck. So just keep dreaming and make your dreams your reality.

-Kate

It's Time for Fall

Why is it so hot? This past week has been filled with sweaty, unbearable heat. I hate heat. It is uncomfortable and should be reserved for the months of July and August. It's September! I want 70 degrees, rustic colors, chunky sweaters, thigh high boots, and butternut squash soup. I love this time of year. However, living in Utah, I feel like we never get enough of this season. We skip right from 90 degrees to a snowstorm on Halloween. This is not acceptable. I need time to experience a life full of trips to see leaves, pumpkin harvests, corn mazes, and apple cider. My birthday is during this time; instead of beautiful colors and perfect temperatures, I get grey skies and chilling rain. To get a full season of what I fully enjoy, New England needs to be my new home. I'm not quite ready for that though. I love fall but home is home. It's hot, dry, and dead. Nevertheless, its full of family, friends, and a town I love. Now which to choose- people I love or a season I love. Home wins, as always, but that will not stop my plea to the weather gods. Please, oh please can we have a longer Fall? It would be much appreciated. Thanks.

My birthday last year at Sundance.

Are you ready for some football?

A sign at my house reads, "we interrupt this family to bring you football season". No statement could be more accurate about my family. My family eats, breaths, and sleeps football. Fall is my favorite season because it's football season! With only one brother, more time is spent talking sports than anything else. I can tell you the greatest quarterbacks, running backs, and teams to watch for. I grew up watching and learning about football at my brother's games! Football is one of my passions. The Philadelphia Eagles are my team. I can not be considered a fair-weather fan. My team has definitely been struggling the past few years. Two years ago I sat in a frigid blizzard in Philadelphia to watch my favorite players get pummeled. They were playing the Seattle Seahawks, and the gamed ended with a score of 0-42. Even after that, my faith did not falter. Now, this season, Donovan McNabb has left to play for the Redskins. With a shaky roster and an unknown future, I stand strong for my team. If I don't stay committed to my team, then they might have no fans left. Press on Eagles, Press on. A good team and Superbowl hope might be just around the corner! Now grab a blanket and some popcorn, and sit with your family to watch Sunday Night Football. Because if family time isn't football time, then what is it?

Midway 10k!

I am not spontaneous. My life is a series of well thought out decisions and choices. Enormous consideration goes into every item in my life from what I eat to which color of highlighter I use. Thursday night I was itching for something different, a spontaneous act. Suddenly I was looking at two different websites, the Midway Swiss Days 10k registration page and the webpage for Skydive Utah. The 10k was a measly twenty dollars, while skydiving ranged from $170-185 for a single flight. Due to cost reasons, the 10k became my impromptu event. At midnight, my roommate and I found ourselves signed up and mentally preparing. I was feeling a mixture of anxiety and excitement. Throwing off my "normal" Saturday plans with a random race was messing with my head. At this point in the story I feel like I need to set one thing straight. I knew I could finish the race. I ran my first half marathon two weeks ago, so completing was not an issue. It was the early wake up, hour drive, long run, and wasted time that were making me nervous. I knew if I ran I would have to start my homework later, clean the apartment later, and be tired from an exhausting 6.1 mile run. My OCD self was in override by this startling change in plans. Needless to say I ran the race. My roommate and I stuck together and I ended up getting a new personal record, an 8:44 average mile. My worries rushed away as I was finished the race with the sun rising over the mountains. Running through an astonishing mountain valley as the day began was the best start to my weekend. Being spontaneous and random can take an exhilarating turn in life. Running is a release in my life and I need to take time to race more often. Even though I was nervous, getting out of my comfort zone and leaving my normal plan behind was refreshing. I am more than relieved that I learned this lesson without having to jump out of a plane!