Overcoming Fears

As I look through my life every week for my Passion Blog, I’ve been trying to pick things that I want to do or experiences that I want to have. Shockingly, it has been harder than I’ve thought. It’s tough to really think about what I want to do and see.  So, I took to Google and tried to see what other people put on their bucket list. I guess that I wanted to find the craziest thing and maybe become inspired to think of a crazy goal of my own.

The thing is, I didn’t find anything crazy. Well, I did. But what I decided that I want to talk about this week is something that most five years old have done: do a cartwheel. I have never been able to do one and my friends always joke about it. It’s frustrating because it is something so simple that I have always held myself back from. I’ve become caught up in the fear  or just letting go and doing it; I guess that I’ve always thought that I would fall and break my neck or something like that. I’m sure that it is more dangerous to drive a car or even walk across the street, but I do those. Irrational? Yes. But I can’t help it.

So, question of the week: do you have irrational fears that you wish you could get over? Something simple that most people can do but, for whatever reason, you can’t?  Some fears are easier to get over then others. I’m also afraid of taking my garbage out at night but I don’t plan at changing that any time soon. But this I think that I can change. My goal for the summer is to learn how to do a cartwheel (as you can tell, I’ll have plenty of time on my hands). If you see me next falls in any type of cast or neck brace, you’ll know why.

Messages in the Mailbox

This week, I entered into a Pen Pal relationship with one of my friends. It is funny, because right now we are not too far apart (well, I live in East and she lives in Pollack, but still). In our defense, it started while I was in Moldova so I sent her a postcard that reflected a considerable distance. But it may not make too much sense to become Pen Pals while we are still at Penn State. It will mainly be for the summer since we won’t see each other until school begins again. I love getting mail so it will be fun to see postcards about her summer and to send her stories from my own.

Okay, so it isn’t like I won’t talk to her in between each of the letters. This is the Age of Technology so, with Facebook and texting, we will likely be in constant contact regardless of sending postcards. But I think that there is something nostalgic about writing. My family jokes because I like the way that books feel and smell and I rather have a physical book than an electronic one. When thinking about our and future generations, I think that we are losing something important through technology - maybe even more then we are gaining.

So, how does this reflect things that I want to do or continue in my life? Whether it is with this friend or with another, I want to have a continuous correspondence through writing. I usually hate writing but I think that there is something special about looking back and having something physical to laugh about. I have many letters from my Grandparents, everything from birthday cards to “just checking in!” cards and they are fun to look back on.

The question becomes, what have you lost from technology? Do you have something special, like letters or pictures, that future generations might not get the same experiences from because technology has changed society so much? Most importantly, is there anything that we can do about it?

Taking on the World

I know that I have spoken about this during class, but I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Kishinev, Moldova over Spring Break 2011. I went through a program with Penn State Hillel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) along with 17 other Penn State students. During the week, I had the honor of helping to renovate a building of the Community Center, going on a home visit during International Women’s Day, and spending time with our Moldovan peers. I don’t even know where to start to try to describe how incredible this week was. I could truly go on for numerous blog entries describing the week, but I will try to quickly get to the point of this post (but if anyone is interested in the details, I’d be happy to share!). 

I love traveling. And, even more than just going to a different country, I like absorbing myself in it. My favorite parts of the week were spending time with people and getting a feel for what the country is really like. It was a bizarre moment when I looked up at all of the billboards and realized that I was looking at Russian and Romanian. I actually liked not being able to read the language - it made me appreciate that I was really in a different country and made me want to learn these languages. 

Something that I have always wanted to do is travel. I want to study abroad and I want to travel to really see a country and its people, not just touristy things. I spent a week the flew by too quickly in a county that I had only heard of once before (I read a book that spent a chapter speaking about Moldova as the most unhappy country in the world) and I absolutely fell in love with it. Have you ever heard of Moldova? I'd be pleasantly surprised. But now I'm in love with it and I want to go back to see and do more. 

Is there a country that you want to experience? If you had the opportunity to travel to a “random” country, would you? I suggest it, you never know what you will find. 


Our last night with our Moldovan peers

Thousands of Feet Above

Before my sister graduated Penn State she and her friends went skydiving during Senior Week. My parents were not entirely happy since they asked her not to go and she did it anyway without telling them until after, but that is another story! I, on the other hand, was secretly told that she was going to do it and I excitedly waited to hear how it went. After hearing about the experience and later seeing the video, I immediately wanting to try this for myself. 

I am not afraid of heights; I love roller-coasters and enjoy flying. I also love taking risks and doing things that others might consider crazy. But, for whatever reason, skydiving honestly freaks me out a little. By definition you are jumping out of a plane to fall and hope that your chute opens in time. It sounds both completely terrifying and absolutely enjoyable at the same time. 

Since I am always trying to look at things that I would like to do during my life, have you found that there are either fears that you would like to confront or activities that may sounds crazy but you secretly would love to do? 

I was recently discussing this with a friend when he told me that I should, “learn how to ski and ski off the edge of a cliff with a parachute and base jump down to a boat that will take your parasailing!” I doubt that I will be trying that any time soon. I’ll probably start small and simply jump out of the plan and hope that I land safely.


                                                                      My sister skydiving