The Grass Is Always Greener on the Other Side - Or Is It?

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0cG-uib2-Y

Life Update: Oh my goodness, this week has been crazy! Crazy awesome. Crazy strange. And just plane 'ole crazy. Last Wednesday night, the Passion tour came to Athens. I had the privilege of volunteering with some other fine people and had a blast. But, more importantly, I am so excited for what God is doing on this campus. He's bringing life y'all! (And just get used to it...I'm going to randomly insert pics when I feel like it.)

Merch Table at Passion

Thursday night I started something that I'll probably talk about later. Afterwards, I went canning downtown with some other people to get donations for an organization called Pencils of Promise. It was definitely an experience. It takes a lot more than you might realize...you get some interesting comments and stuff. I worked on Friday. I went home-ish over the weekend. I spent Saturday with my grandmother and went to see my sister's play that night. She was so great!!!

Me and Lauren, the Fairy Godmother "Rose"

Sunday, I got the day off work to help volunteer with Pet-A-Fair, a fall festival put on by the Humane Society. More pictures!!!

Some of the Pet-A-Fair Crew

Pet-A-Fair

Stewie the Baby Dino!

Me and MJ

I headed back home / to Athens afterwards, and my house-mates and I had our Sunday night dinner together. Oh, and I should mention. I got "stung" by / had an allergic reaction to a caterpillar over the weekend too. My leg is still swollen and itchy as I type this. It was one of those white fuzzy ones with the black spikes in case anyone was wondering. I found one attached to my leg...yeah, fun stuff. 

Monday was pretty busy. I had class, DT, worked on a paper at 2 Story (my new home), and held a review for the class I TA for. Today has been pretty long too. I met a friend for brekkie this morning, went to class, went to work, worked with my sheep (I named her Button) out at the farm, and then went to dinner with another friend at Butt Hutt. I'm so excited for Halloween and fall break this weekend!

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Bird in Melbourne, AU

"The grass is always greener on the other side." It's a phrase I grew up hearing, and I can bet you did too. I looked up the origin just because I was curious, and I found that no one really knows the true origin. There was a similar Latin phrase used around the 16th century that talked about the land fertility on the other side of the fence being better. But the important thing about this phrase to see, I think, is what it's actually saying. 

This is a saying derived from envy and from comparison. Not ok. I'm going to use the above picture of the bird to kind of describe the saying. Imagine the bird is you. You started out on the right side. But you noticed the grass looked greener on the other side (right). So you stepped over. But it was actually no different, and now you find yourself looking back. 

Ok, so let's say that the grass is representative of your circumstances.

I'm not at all trying to say that there aren't better things out there for your life. In fact, I'm saying the exact opposite. But you aren't going to find those things by wishing you were somewhere else or by comparing your situation with someone else's. First, you've got to learn to accept and love who you are right where you're at and not let you circumstance define you.

Each circumstance comes with it's own new set of challenges. And I'm not saying that to try and dishearten, but it's the truth about life. The key is learning to really make the best of each situation, dealing with things as they need to be dealt with, and surrounding yourself with people who will support you and have fun with you! 

So if you were to get one thing out of this entire post, hear me say this. The grass may look greener on the other side, but it's may not really be. Yes, you should be excited about great things you expect from your life, but don't waste time wishing you could go back in time or wishing you had somebody else's life.


Enjoy being yourself!
Megan

Fun Fact: The largest Greek population in the world besides Athens, Greece can be found in Melbourne, Victoria, AU.

What I Want to Do - And Why I Want to Do It.

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA_eU7b2waQ

Life Update: Some of my highlights from this past week are learning to play Scopa, Wesley last Wednesday night (awesome.), a drive through the country to get to DNR for Thursday's lab, ISM Pumpkin Carving Snack and Chat on Friday night (so good.), Noah's Ark on Saturday to install a toy in the tiger enclosure with pre-vet club (what, what!), UpStreet and church on Sunday, getting FroYo with some friends Sunday afternoon, DT and IMPACT on Monday, and the regular class and work schedule. Here are some pictures from throughout the past week:

Learning to Play Scopa

Snack & Chat 

Pumpkins at Snack & Chat

Tiger from Noah's Ark

Suki and Shelia Playing

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This past Saturday inspired the blog post that you are currently reading. I went with members from the UGA Pre-Vet club to a place about 1.5 hours away in Locust Grove called Noah's Ark. Noah's Ark is an animal sanctuary that many different animals, including emus, tigers, and wolves, now call home. 

If you happened to read my post from a couple of weeks ago (that one where I listed out my passions in life), you can probably guess where this is going. For those of you who didn't get the chance to read it, I'll fill you in a bit. Basically, animals are one of the biggest passions in my life. I love being able to help animals and especially love when people are positively impacted through animals. That's why I love organisations like Noah's Ark.

I don't really think I've yet taken the time to share where I see my life in a few years, so that's hopefully what I'm going to do in this here blog post, Jack. For those of you who don't know, I'm currently a junior at the University of Georgia. I just found out I'm graduating a semester early which is awesome, but a little scary at the same time. That means I'll technically be a senior next semester (pause for dramatic effect). What is this madness?

Yeah, so after I finish undergrad, I hope to go on and get my Masters and PhD or go in and straight up get my PhD...or however that works. Basically, I'll be in school for quite a while more. I really hope to stay at UGA and go to grad school in Warnell or the Vet school, but it really all depends on funding and other opportunities I find. I would love to do research with Aussie dingoes in how captivity influences reproduction and stress and what not, but we'll see. I'm also currently looking into an Animal Behavior program out in Arizona (that's so far away...). And now I literately have less than a year until I'll actually be applying for these things. I sense a GRE coming in my future.

After all the schooling comes to an end (aka: by the time I'm 30 and broke...), I'll hopefully get a job with an animal sanctuary doing care and a little bit of behavioral research type stuff. AND eventually, I hope to transfer this over to the grand continent of Australia. I wouldn't mind working with an organization like the NSW Animal Welfare League because I LOVE what they do and their purpose but I would also like to work with wildlife.

That's pretty much where I am at this point. I'm trying to keep myself from literately planning out every year of my life because, you people who know me, know that I will try and do that. But, to be honest, things may change. For example, if you had asked me 11 years ago what I wanted to do with my life, I would have told you that I wanted to be an astronaut. Obviously, that's not what's in the stars for me. (GET IT!? Twas a pun.) But for real. 

I'm kind of trying to still work on the whole letting God work through me kind of thing. So my plans might not really be his plans for my life. But it'll be good - that much I know for sure. I do know that He's given my my passions for a reason, and if there was some way I could be a traveling animal photographer - sign me up!

And now I'm going to continue to work on my report on sharp-tailed grouse cause that's what I do with my life, and I love it. Righty-oh!

(And for those of you who are picky and think I didn't actually answer the last part of my title, here's the reason for why I want to do what I want to do. It's because I love it. Simple as that; nothing fancy, really.)


Happy Fall!
Megan

Fun Fact: If NASA sent birds into space, they would die. Birds need gravity to swallow.

Is Kindness Contagious?

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-2EVoBAnQI

[Since last week's blog post was a list AND I love watching WheezyWaiter videos, I thought this video was quite applicable.]

Life Update: Gosh, where to start!? Since my last blog post happened on a Wednesday, I'll start with Wednesday I guess. Hump Daaaaaaay! Class and Wesley. The end - on to Thursday. I got to see my cousin! He was up here with the rest of his junior high school class touring our awesome class. Here's a pic:

Me With the Famous Mr. Bradley

He's such a cutie. More class and meetings; then, Friday. Class. Work. The daily grind. Then I went home and got to hang out with my beautiful sister. Here's another couple of pics:

Hanging With the Sis

We, of course, got ice cream and went to Target. I got to catch up with my best friend at Starbucks on Saturday. And one of my friends and my cousin's wife's brother got married that afternoon. Of course, here's some more pics!

Michael and Kayla's Wedding

Me, Bradley, and Lauren at the Wedding

Cray, cray. Too many people I know are getting married and having kids! I had to work on Sunday, so I came back for work and got to see some of my friends at work. Monday morning was a little rough though...I woke up to a flooded bathroom and disfunctional toilet - the utmost desire of any college student in a rush to get to class. I routed the leak to a huge tub container thing in my room, called a maintenance plumber guy, and ran off to class (and managed to make it on time, might I add). I had DT (which is always great) yesterday afternoon. After that, I went off to help make toy balls out of fire hose for tiger enclosures. My life. 

And that brings me to today. I had breakfast with a friend, went to see the KANGAROOS at Tate, went to class, and went to work. I also found out which IMPACT trip I'm going to be going on for Spring Break, so that's exciting. I'll be in the Everglades for a week with a focus on environmental awareness and sustainability. My first meeting is next week, and I'll get to meet some of my other trip members and my leaders. I can't wait for that!


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"Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."  - Mark Twain

Question of the [insert time period of your choice here] - Is kindness contagious? Well, about a week ago, I took part in this kind-of movement that has been happening lately. You might have heard about it. It's called the "Drive Through Difference." Essentially it is a random act of kindness that involves you paying for the person's meal behind you and spreading some sort of kindness to that person in the car behind you. 

When I first decided I was going to take part in this, I was hesitant because I knew I wasn't ever going to know the reaction of the person behind me. But when I thought about it a little more, I realized that if that was my concern, I was doing this for the wrong reason. 

I got to talk to the manager (who was working the drive through at the restaurant I was at), and she told me that she has seen some pretty great things happen through this movement. Some people leave notes for the person behind them; she's even seen one person start a chain reaction that went back either six or seven cars. And, to be honest, I don't know if this action more of a benefit to the person behind you or to the giver. As S.H. Simmons once said, "Kindness is never wasted. If it has no effect on the recipient, at least it benefits the bestower."

Kindness is such a powerful tool we posses, and it is one that perhaps wouldn't hurt us to use a little more often. Whether it be in the form of a compliment to a random stranger or spending time helping out a friend who needs it, kindness is a fashion that's meant to be spread. And one of the beautiful things about kindness is that people who receive it tend to be the next people to give the gift.


Keep Smiling!
Megan

Fun Fact: The Lincoln County Jail in Nebraska has 2 cats that live with the inmates to keep them company.

What Are Your Passions? Here Are My Top 10.

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ7Y1-0bNeQ

Life Update: Well, obviously I failed to post this on Tuesday, but I had a major test today that took precedence. But - the midterms and tests are over for a while! I've been quite busy over the past week. I had 2 midterms last Thursday and then worked on Friday. Saturday morning was the Gilbert Cup which is a soccer game among the UGA language department (Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese speaking). That afternoon was the Tennessee game, but first I went with some of my friends to Washington farms, a local corn maze and pumpkin patch. Here's a couple of pictures!

Giant Washington Farms Chair

Reliving Our Childhood

Lost in the Corn Maze

After fun at the farm, we went to eat some Mexican and watch the end of the game (overtime...). Pitch Perfect was the perfect (see what I did there) way to end the day! Sunday morning I did my thing in UpStreet, the children's ministry at Athens Church, went to the 12, and then went dog food shopping with M.J. and a friend. I played some v-ball Sunday night too. Monday was a nice little mix of a beautiful farm and repro studying, and yesterday was pretty much the same thing. Here's some more pictures to finish off my weekly recap - 

Cows on the Hillside

Sunset View From the Back of the Truck

Taking Over 2 Story with Our Studying #twins

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Passion - life just wouldn't be the same without it. I've been spending some time lately thinking about the things that I'm truly passionate about in my life. Since I'm such a fan of making lists, that's exactly what I'm going to do to tell you about some of the things that I'm passionate about in my life. But first of all, what is passion?

On a personal level, I like to define something I'm passionate about as whatever I'm excited to be over-invested in. In simple terms, it's whatever I'm so in love with that I'm more-than-willing to go the extra mile for. It's that thing / those things in life I could be happy if I did them for the rest of my life.

The word passion itself comes from the Latin word pati that literately translates as "to suffer." I find this interesting, since today we usually associate passion with a more positive connotation. Webster defines the term as "a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something." Another definition, however, is "a strong feeling (such as anger) that causes you to act in a dangerous way." And still yet, a third definition refers to strong romantic feelings of attraction. 

While it's important to have an understanding for the word itself, I'm going to focus more on that first definition and how it applies to my life. I believe that the strongest indicator of passion for something is action. This could be vocal action, giving of your time to a cause that reflects the particular passion, or maybe come in another form like monetary giving. You can usually tell when somebody is passionate about something when it's brought up in a conversation. Their posture might change, along with there speech pattern, speed, and enthusiasm level. 

Also, be sure to note that passions aren't mutually exclusive. Having a passion for one thing could inevitably lead to you becoming passionate about something else. I mentioned above that I was going to develop a list of what (/who) I'm passionate about in my life. These 10 items are in no particular order by the way, and I'll try to develop each main point a little just to give you a more in-depth idea of what I'm talking about. 

(1) God - This is a big category for me, and is one that is in chronological order. I'm not really sure how to summarize this point, but just know that the other passions in my life that are later on in the list wouldn't be on here if it wasn't for this one.

(2) Family/Friends - Loyalty for me is a major component of my life. And this is another category that I don't think I could easily summarize. My family is my major support system and has helped me in my pursuit of my passions in life. 

(3) Music - From making music to simply creating a playlist, music is a big part of my life. I tell people all the time, I've always got a song playing in my head and you may occasionally catch me jamming out in the car. Music has this really incredible power to set the mood, serve as a pick-me-up, or provide this wonderful means of expression. And for those of you who don't know, I play the bass. 

(4) Animals - If you know me at all, you probably could have guessed this one. Growing up, the Humane Society played a big roll in my life, and I spent almost every Saturday at the shelter doing volunteer work. Those people are practically like my second family now and many of them have known me for 11+ years. I'm passionate in this category specifically about advocacy, health, human education, shelters, etc.

(5) Education - While this is a big category, I have a strong belief that everyone, no matter the age, gender, or location of the person, should have equal access to and opportunity for education. And that's one of the reasons I'm an advocate for an organisation called Pencils of Promise. (If you want a link to my fundraising page, let me know!) 

(6) Travel - From reading up on the cities across the world to actually packing my bags and flying there, I love travel. I love experiencing people's different cultural and individual outlooks on life. And if there was a dream job for me, it would be a traveling animal photographer, so that should tell you a little something. Also, traveling to ever state of the US and every continent (except Antarctica) are two top things on my bucket list. 

(7) Sustainability - This is one of those categories that I was talking about earlier that has an impact on other passions. For example, specifically for education, I believe that we should be working to create sustainable solutions to childhood education in developing countries. But overall, when referring more to the preservation and conservation side of things, I think that sustainability should be a way of life. This especially is the case when referring to progress and thinking about where the future of the planet is going in regards to our future generations.

(8) Food - Simply put, I love to eat. I mean, who doesn't. I wouldn't go so far as to call me a connoisseur (no idea if that's spelled correctly), but I love to cook and try out new things. I'm up for trying almost anythings. There are some things I put my foot down on, but that's mostly due to texture or taste - my two major deciding factors when I choose my food.

(9) Photography - As I said under the travel category, photography is another passion of mine. Most people would simply associate this with taking pictures and editing (which is probably my favorite thing to do). However, I think that looking at other people images and ideas is an important part of art appreciation and great source of inspiration. A picture, as is said, has the ability to say a thousand words and can convey a powerful message by simply being in existence. And that fact for me is enough to captive me into placing photography into my top 10 life passions.

(10) Nature - And under this, I would group things like astronomy, hiking, mountain biking, kayaking, and the like. I love my time outside which is surprisingly opposite of American culture for many families. If the weather's nice, I'm taking that as an opportunity to sip some morning coffee outside or go for an afternoon stroll by the lake. 

So there you have it. There's my top ten categories of my life passions. (I apologize for any misspellings or sentences that don't make sense; the brain often works much faster than my fingers can type.) Hopefully if you know me, you already would have been able to guess my list. And if not, then I have some work cut out for me. I invite you to take the time an think about / write down your passions. Take a look at your life - are you living out your passions? Or another question for thought - Are your passions healthy? Are your priorities where they should be?


Do whatever you do with the desire to see Heaven invade this world.
Megan

Fun Fact: If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months, and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

Doing Life - "Those" Times

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z8OP8LIHho

Life Update: This past week has been almost a blur - I feel like it went by so fast! And here I am now in Midterm week (baaaaaa). I was thinking that I might not have time to make this post, but I'm going to do it anyway. So, yeah, here we go. Last Wednesday was full of class, officer meetings for some clubs I'm involved in leadership with on campus, and Jesus time (aka: Wesley). Thursday was pretty nifty (yeah, I'm from the 50s). I had speech class and then lab. For lab, we got to visit and tour an organic farm in the area. I included two pictures below, but learning about how he integrates aspects from all over the farm was really unique and interesting to think about.

Sows & Piglets

Horses in Pasture

So, Friday I had class and work, and then I headed home. I hadn't been home for over a month, so it was nice; I went to my high school on Friday night to watch part of a football game. It was our first televised game AND we beat Prep! #movingonup (Boom. Hashtags just invaded the blog world.) Here's a pic, cause I'm just a picture-taking kind of gal.

Westminster Football Game

On Saturday I went to Home Depot for a Mustang Show where the humane society had a table. I've been a volunteer there for over 11 years now...essentially the people there are like my second family. Here's another pic :)

Mustang Show @ Home Depot

That afternoon, I watched the GA v LSU game, and in case you happened to miss the best game ever - the Dawgs won! That night, I went to see Les Mis put on at a local theatre - one of the cast members was a girl I graduated with, Maggie Salley, and she was phenomenal! The cast really did an awesome job! I had to drive back to Athens on Sunday for work, so it was a short time at home, but a good weekend nevertheless. Last night I went to the "open house" for IMPACT (an alternative service spring break in various US cities), and I found some really cool trips that I'm going to apply for. Now I've just been studying for my midterms *cringe* and slowly dying. But I'm powering through - it'll be over soon enough! 

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I wouldn't be telling you the truth if I said that I love every second of my life. Now, don't take this the wrong way and think that I'm the cynical, depressed person who hates everybody and everything. I've got a lot of joy in my life and I've learned a lot about myself throughout my time thus far on this earth. But, to be honest, there have been some moments when I've wanted to throw in the towel; however, that's just not the kind of person I am. I keep striving and keep persevering no matter the situation. I might not be happy in the moment, but I'm going to make it through. 

Tough situations are a part of life. They'll be thrown at you in so many different forms - death, depression, illness, lack of self confidence, etc. The key is to keep going whether these situations last for a day, a month, or a year. But the whole "keep going" thing is a whole lot easier said than done. There have been times when I've literately screamed at God to take the bad things away, but that's not necessarily how he works. A lot of times He'll allow us to go through a certain situation and, to be honest, sometimes I don't know why. Other times, I might be able to look back on the situation and see how I grew through it. And in other situations, He's used smaller challenges to prepare me for something bigger coming up. It's almost like training in some ways. 

I kind of touched on this earlier, but I've discovered that it's in the tough times that I've discovered a lot about my character and who I am as a person. I'm a big believer in the fact that our situations have the power to shape who we are. If we let ourselves, we can learn so much from the things we face and conquer.

So, no matter the situation you're in right now, remember that it will come to an end. He does ultimately work all things for our good, whether or not we can necessarily see or understand that right now. We have to trust that His timing is best and that His plans for our lives are amazing. But know this - don't give up the fight, keep persevering, and know who you are in Him.


Happy October!
Megan

Fun Fact: Apparently bats only turn left when exiting a cave.