I'm going to go ahead and say that sometimes I really think I know all there is to the best way to live your life. Not that I do it right, but there are times that I am fully aware of what my goals are in living. I don't mean being a Dean of Students. I mean why we're here interacting. All that crazy life question crap. (I say it's crap in an attempt to make it look like I believe in it a little less because somehow even though I really do believe in it, I also find it a bit unrealistic, etc [I say etc because I'm not sure of the correct word here]).

I had a semi-intense conversation with a Weymouth teacher yesterday at a baby shower. We were sitting in the back row, neither of us engaged in conversation, when she congratulated me on my graduation. This launched into a conversation about Italy and world travel, teachers and their influences on students, connecting with people and the importance of knowing that you make a difference, and so on and so forth. I recognized this woman because I went to school with her son for a bit, but she didn't really know me other than these family parties we'd both been at numerous times.

I'm just never sure exactly how much to take out of conversations like these. I feel a bit like an emotional sap, talking about teachers who have impacted my life in such a way that I am a completely different person. Talking about the importance of traveling to Italy by myself and how I would have much less confidence and courage in my independence without that experience. All of this fluffy stuff that I feel almost embarrassed about the weight of importance I'm giving.

Am I crazy? I mean, I know I'm crazy. But is it really that out there to believe that the most important thing in life is your experiences with people, your connections to people, and how they develop and change and grow?



Tomorrow I'm having lunch with Lois and her grandson Charlie. Lois is one of the best people in my life. I am extremely grateful for her, as I am for many. Janet told me to make sure people know the difference they've made. I promise that I will be more active in letting people know what impact they have.