Patriots' Day and the Boston Marathon Tragedy

My heart breaks to watch the footage from this afternoon's tragedy. The blast occurred right in the area I stood 10 years ago today, as I watched my father cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon. It's Patriots' Day - a commemoration of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, where "the shot heard 'round the world" began the fight for our freedom as Americans. Today the world heard shots again, and the response from Americans and the world over has been incredibly moving. 236 years later, even in the face of terror, Americans continue to stand for our freedoms and support one another. May God Bless America.

Change Happens

"Change is a funny thing, not everyone can handle it. It can sneak up on you. Things aren’t what they use to be. The whole world is transformed. You realize the ground beneath you has shifted. Things are uncertain and there’s no turning back. The world around you is different now. Unrecognizable, and there is nothing you can do about it. You’re stuck and the future is staring you in the face and you’re not sure you like what you see." - Alex Karev, Grey's Anatomy, season nine, episode 14. 

As the spring season is now officially underway, I take a step back and discover there are just a mere six weeks left until the semester is over, until Sine Die, until the suits all go home and new friends become mere acquaintances, and until I'm finished with undergraduate college life. 

This doesn't come as a surprise to me. No one pulled the rug out from underneath my firmly planted feet. No, rather, these feet have been shifting constantly, ready for the chance to break fast and loose. But now, all of a sudden, it feels real. The light at the end of the tunnel that was once just a twinkling, far off star has become a blinding beacon of uncertainty. 

During this time of uncertainty it's important for me to remember that I am in charge of what I see in the mirror and I am responsible for the decisions that I make. I heard the other day, "You may not think you have a choice, but you always have a choice. The trick is to live with the ones you make." While all of this change is occurring rapidly over the next six weeks, it's these words that will ground me through the experience and remind me to step back, take a deep breath and gain some perspective.

Lent, revisited

The Christian Season of Lent is a period of time spent in preparation for Easter and the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lent lasts for 40 days, ending on Easter Sunday. During Lent, Christians take time to reflect on Christ's life, suffering and sacrifice. It is common practice within the church to "give up something for Lent" that serves as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice. The purpose is to remind you of Jesus when you want to participate or consume whatever you gave up.

I can remember as a child growing up and giving up chocolate, Diet Coke and fast food, to name a few. If you follow my Twitter feed, you know that this year I chose to give up excuses. I created a motto for myself that was the center of my motivation to give up excuses. The motto is "Be present, be mindful, do good."

This weekend I was submitting an internship application, which asked me to choose a tagline that represents who I am. I immediately thought of my Lenten motto. The exercise allowed me to elaborate on what it means to me and how it defines me. Though I created it to guide me through the Lenten season, I've decided to adopt the philosophy to my life year-round. Below I've included my internship submission so that you can see my rationale for my new life motto.

I've created a personal motto to guide my life decisions: “Be present, be mindful, do good.” This motto is a tagline that represents who I am because it is a constant reminder of the values I hold. Often, I find myself making well thought out plans for the future. Preparedness is of utmost importance to me; however, I find that the phrase “be present” is a reminder that awareness and pro-activity must strike a balance with readiness in order to achieve success. This applies to both the way I approach a public relations campaign and how I live my life. “Be mindful” illustrates the importance of perspective. I try to be cognizant of relationships that may not be clearly identifiable at first glance. “Do good” demonstrates that I should guide myself with a strong moral compass and to be accountable in all that I do. So who am I? I am Morgan L. McCord: present, mindful and doing good.

The Ugly Ones

The dreaded question: "Tell me about yourself." It happens in job interviews, on dates and sometimes over drinks with that cute stranger you eyed from the other side of the bar. How do you respond? 

I hardly ever have a problem answering this question. On paper, I know exactly who I am. I know how I want to be defined. I have brains, experiences and a passion for who I want to be. I define myself in terms of milestones - look at all the things I have accomplished and want to accomplish; clearly I know what I'm doing. Some people look at me and say, "You have it all figured out." This makes me happy. People perceive me as successful, determined, motivated. 

But that answer - it's just my sales pitch. And it's a good one, yet is it honest? You could say yes. None of it is a lie. Those are my accomplishments and goals and dreams and aspirations. But it's not the whole story. It's only the nice parts. 

The whole story isn't just nice parts. No one wants to define themselves by the negative things, the ugly things, the things that hurt. But those moments are defining. Those ugly parts are just as responsible for making us who we are as the great success stories are. 

Don't be afraid to be ugly and to embrace the ugliness, because it makes you, you. It's in the dark places that we learn the most about ourselves, so long as we confront it and face it head on. I believe in standing up to the things that scare you. Find your voice and use it. When you come out of that dark, ugly place you'll be a better person for it.

The Snail Mail Project

Who doesn't love getting mail? Not e-mail of course, but good old-fashioned, out of the postman's hands mail. I love it! (Except bills. And credit card applications. Or graduate school brochures. Most of the time mail stinks.) It's incredible how opening up the mailbox to find a handwritten note can totally change my day. It makes you feel special, like someone cared enough to take their precious time to sit down and pen out a note, just for you. (And to go through all the trouble to find a postage stamp...that can be a pain.)

Receiving a real piece of handwritten mail is a joy that has unfortunately been all but lost in today's everything-in-your-face-right-this-second digital world. I'm one who still believes in the art of letter writing, calligraphy and handsome engraved stationery. That's why I am so excited to share with y'all a wonderful idea from Amanda at Sweet Tea Paperie. She's come up with this unique concept called "The Snail Mail Project."

Amanda discovered that you can mail nearly any object through the postal service without an envelope or box, as long as it weighs less than 13 oz. As long as it has an address and proper postage, the postmaster will deliver it. That leaves some pretty neat possibilities for my next note!
After her discovery, Amanda dreamed up "The Snail Mail Project. If you sign up through her blog, she'll match you with one other registrant. You receive their address and then send them the most unique, fun piece of mail you can think of. I'm so excited to receive my partner's info and start dreaming up what fun things I can send through the mail. Who knows...maybe it will even lead to a fun pen-palmanship.

I love that Amanda is connecting people from all across the country through penmanship and creativity. I encourage all of you to participate in this fun little game along with me! You never know what you might find in your mailbox!

Goodbye 2012

I'm not much of a reflector. I don't think I've ever looked back on the goals I've set for myself and determined what worked, what I'm proud of, or what didn't and how I should reevaluate that goal to make it achieveable for me. That's not to say I'm not successful. I am proud of everything that I've accomplished and of the person that I am. Sure, not all of my goals are fully realized, but in some way they've worked themselves out.

Because I don't necessary 'reflect' in the way that most people do, I miss out on acknowledging all the great things that I've done. I forget to slow down and be proud, give credit to myself. It seems that each time I start to achieve one goal I've already moved on to trying to achieve the next one. While I think it's great that I'm driven and constantly trying to move forward, I think it may prevent me from fully focusing on the current goal.

Something I've really been focused on lately is trying to stay present. I don't want to be constantly looking back on the past, but I also don't want to focus too much on the far out future. I think the forward looking part is going to be the most difficult for me, especially since in just four short months I'll be starting a brand new life! It's exciting and scary and it's hard not to think about it. But I have to continually remind myself that I'm still here! I haven't moved to the next step yet. I'll have to strike a balance between preparing myself for the next step but still living in the moment.

On that note: I'm not much for 'resolutions,' I prefer to set goals. My goal for 2013 is to stay present and soak up every moment. To let the small things go and realize everything doesn't need to be planned out. I want to be a bit more spontaneous and less worried about the little things. I know I can't let go of planning for the future and setting future goals. I don't want to. It's part of who I am and I love that about myself. I'm just going to modify it a little bit. I want to set a future goal and then create milestones that will help me achieve it. I want to focus on each individual milestone instead of the big goal.

I'm still working on my goal and each of the milestones that will help me get there. My official "New Year" doesn't start until the spring semester does, so I have a week to iron out all the details and be prepared to tackle what I know will be my biggest year yet!

Great Expectations

"We all think we’re going to be great and we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren’t met. But sometimes expectations sell us short. Sometimes the expected simply pales in comparison to the unexpected. You got [sic] to wonder why we cling to our expectations, because the expected is just what keeps us steady. Standing. Still, the expected's just the beginning, the unexpected is what changes our lives." - Meredith Grey; Grey's Anatomy

In the past few weeks I've been having an existential crisis. Okay, maybe it's not quite that dramatic, but it's seems like a big deal now, in the present, especially during the moments of my day where I'm not fully engaged, like when I'm watching a movie or trying to fall asleep at night. Until recently, I had a plan - a darn good one at that. I had my life mapped out for the next year, a five year plan and a goal for where I'd be in 10 years.

But then, that plan changed. Overnight. I won't go into the details but a string of unrelated events occured and I realized that circumstances were now different. I had expectations that my life would play out just so, I was going to be in control and it was all up to me. I discovered though that this great plan I had laid out for myself, carefully designing it to be what I wanted, wasn't something I made to be in control of. I had systematically "planned" to not be in control.

The point is, I learned something new about myself and the way I think: my whole life I have followed "the rules." I have always had a "next step." I went to high school, I made great grades, I had a job, an internship and was a cheerleader. Then I went to college where I picked a competitive major, joined a sorority, rocked my internships, assumed a leadership position in a campus organization related to my field of study and always made the Dean's List. But here's where it gets tricky - what do I do now? There isn't a logical "next step" for me now. I could start a job, I could get my master's degree or I could stay in school for a full four years of college. I could live in Tallahassee, where I've called home for eight years, or I could move anywhere in the world. That's a lot of power for a 20-something (okay fine, I'm trying to sound worldly, I barely make the cut at 20).

These are big choices and to be honest, I'm afraid of what they mean. I've never lived more than a 30 minute drive from home. I've never left my bestfriends. I've never lived in an apartment and I've never lived on my own. I've never had to make all my own meals or clean my own place by myself (living in a sorority house is a spoiled life). I've never tried to go it alone. I feel like I'm on the edge of the bird's next and I'm getting ready to jump for the first time.

It's a scary, scary thought, but each day I'm getting more comfortable with the idea of letting go of those expectations. It's not something that's going to go away easily, after all I did invest a lot of "me" into those plans and goals, but I'm starting to get a little excited to turn all of those I've never's into I have's.

So re-evaluate your expectations, because it's the unexpected that changes our lives. And remember, God has a plan: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11