"We're All Making Mistakes"

..which is not to say or imply that we are not accountable for our actions. The reason I love this quote, and have since the first time I saw La Dolce Vita, is because it speaks to the one thing that seems to bring us the most shame as individuals but that we all have in common. "We're all making mistakes". All of us, everyday. I don't see it as a negative thing--far from it. I think its from making mistakes--big ones, little ones, life-changing ones, seemingly insignificant and tedious ones--and reacting to and learning from them that we come to know who we are and what we want. Or, perhaps even more importantly, what it is we don't* want.

In less than a month I'm moving to London to teach with my friend Rosanne. I still don't think its hit me yet. In less than a month, I will be living on another continent--not just visiting, living. Am I getting excited? Yes, more and more with each passing day. Am I getting nervous? Yes, more and more with each passing day. I'll talk much more about this, our Adventure, and what it means and represents to me later.

For now...Why did I decide to start a blog? Not just because I'm moving to London and want to share my/ our experiences with our friends--but also because I want to share my/ our experiences with myself. There's a quote I came across not long a go that really struck a chord with me: "I don't know what I think until I see what I say". I've never been a creative writer. If anything, I've always been more partial to structured and formal writing styles: essays, reports, that kind of stuff. Its only been in the past year or so that I've learned that personal, reflective writing is for me after all (I was totally the kid in elementary school that dreaded* journal writing, even more than French lol). But now? Now it helps me flush out my thoughts and ideas, figure out what or how I feel about things... its therapeutic, as cheesy and typical as that sounds. The only thing is, I need an audience. I still can't just write to myself in a journal or diary and leave it at that. That's not to say that I'm so high on myself to think that the things I write must be shared with the world--far from it. If anything, the idea of doing this--of opening my writing and myself up to a potentially large group of people--is terrifying in itself (please note: somtimes I get lazy with the proofreading/ editing, so don't judge me for it ;)). Maybe this will even be one of my "mistakes" lol. All kidding aside, the reason I need to know that there's an audience there--or even that there might* be--is because I'm not motivated to write, to articulate myself properly, to find the right words, when there isn't one. To put it another way, I'm not as motivated to figure out what it is I think when there's not a real reason to really* say it.

And we all need a little help sometimes figuring things out. Big things, little things, life-changing things, seemingly insignificant things...