Today I am enjoying a Cafe Latte (a real picture above) at Helena’a Creperie & Cafe in Carlisle, PA. The smooth consistency and creamy foam was just what I needed after a slow week and a tough swim practice. Helena’s is a popular place in town that serves a variety of foods, desserts, crepes, and coffees. I was going to go for the regular cup o’ joe…but I had to splurge. I have actually never had a cafe latte and I am pleasantly surprised! I would absolutely order it again. Feel free to enjoy one with me!
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[This may be a good time to start the music in the left hand column…very fitting song.]
I am 22 years young and as I look back I realize that I have lived a full and experienced life and really, I have no complaints. I went to middle school, high school, played a sport, made some friends, traveled, am now in college, and now I am looking for a job to continue the rest of my life. The majority of my friends are doing the same, we are all on the “normal” path society has subconsciously laid out for us. Yes, my friends and I have had the “ten year talk” (scary) about what the next ten years hold for us in regard to…everything. All of the sudden ten years doesn’t seem so long and instead of 22 I am 32…and thats only 20 years behind my parents! In the past few weeks I have come across different things that have forced me to stop planning and start doing. To deviate from the normal plan and keep my eyes and heart open to a plan that might come my way. Mom and Dad, I am still looking for a job and attending class, but I want to live and take spontaneous opportunities when they arise. This may mean trying something new every day or spending a large sum of money on a spur of the moment trip, but I am 22…who is to say what I have to do?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessicajensen/20somethings_b_3989979.html
Don’t feel you have to read this whole article, but I would highly suggest if. For those who don’t wan’t to, I will give a short summary. Jessica Jensen says that she always looked forward to being older and continuously had a life plan with goals to fulfill. She states that when you reach a certain age people start asking about specific things over and over…the “normal” things to do, and all of the sudden life changes. Jensen suggests that you do what you want and not be controlled by our ages. I am sure life is going to go by as fast as this cafe latte is! When I was little I was always looking to my past and certainly my future (usually my future mirrored my cool babysitters’ lives that I had to have). I could list numerous things that I am jumping out of my skin about regarding the future, and then there are days I look back and think, ‘man, I wish I was 5 again running around in my PJs and staying up all night at sleepovers.’ The funny thing is now I am in bed at 9. As I write, there is a little girl running around doing whatever she pleases happy as can be in her polka dot shirt and big bow. Hey, I am 22 but I can do that too! Now, I am not actually going to do that, but what I am trying to say is we should take Jensen’s advice and forget molds and try something that makes you scared and uncomfortable. On a college campus sometimes we tend to do what others are doing and what the campus thinks is “cool”, and certainly some get lost in the mold that a campus can create. As a college student we should be doing the opposite of molding,a and instead we should be letting experiences, people, and ideas shape who we are. We all think of getting older as “calming down” and living with the hobbies, interests, and molds we have created for ourselves at a younger age. For many people, everything after 40 is just “adulthood”. Forget that! Live in the now when you’re young and older. As a senior in college everyone asks what my plan is. My plan is to be 22 today and 23 next year and to not think about when I was 15 or what life will be like when I am 33. At one age I wanted to be 22 and now I am here and am going to live. I have dreams and aspirations but I also have passion and opportunities that I am ready to explore.
For inspiration please watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_81MWUO45wc
So, it’s a jeep commercial….but for some reason it inspires me (also, now I want a jeep). I have shown different people and gotten mixed reactions, so I am curious to see what others think. It sparked something it me. The commercial reminded me of what we were and how society and the people in it have told us what we can and can not do. As the commercial says, we are still “us” and the horizon lines are still there regardless of what molds we are supposed to fill or what ideas we are supposed to form. Opportunities are still out there regardless of your mold or age. Get uncomfortable.
To fit the “theme” for today’s cup I asked Jenny, the barista at Helena’s Creperie & Cafe, what her piece of advice on life would be. She took a bit of time to think, but replied saying, “I think the number 1 piece of advice I can give is to live compassionately. Remember, we are all in this together. Share a smile, keep your view focused on others as well as yourself, and remember there is something unifying about being human.”
Keep others in mind, take chances, get uncomfortable, live your age and live it to the fullest. Be spontaneous, be excited, and don’t let life pass you by. Make your own mold and fight the “norm”. And for Pete’s sake…try a cafe latte! They’re great.
