Go World

I'm on a Top 10 roll....the Top 10 Things I'd Like to Do Before Summer Ends:

1. SUP...that's hardcore surfer slang
2. Hang a milk jug round my neck to pick raspberries and make homemade raspberry jam
3. Saddle up and reenact the chase from The Man from Snowy River....but I'd settle for galloping through pastures too
4. Tee off a round of twilight golf
5. Paint a watercolor and display it proudly
6. Cheer on Federer at the US Open
7. Take a romantic moonlight stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge
8. Vespa ride to get Teridank
9. Bait, wait and catch a fish
10. Hit up a morning concert....backstreet boys anyone??

I was walking down the street with my new roommate, literally mid-sentence on how safe our neighborhood is, when I felt this thing hit my shoe. It took half a second for me to realize it was a GIANT rat, less than half a second for me to let out a bloodcurdling scream while simultaneously kicking the rat up in front of our eyes. My new roommate was definitely more shaken up than I was....by my reaction, not the rat. When she calmed down and I was still taking deep breaths, she chatted away about mice babies until I reminded her once again, that I don't do rats. NYC is scary for different people, for different reasons.

I feel like dancing in the rain to R. Kelly's "World Greatest". I reached the perfect storm, brewing and churning for quite some time, until it reached a fever pitch. I felt a stress so deep that I closed up entirely, not wanting to talk about it. I do this, go on lockdown when I'm faced with a tough situation (usually that I've created) and I'm so embarrassed of "what if I fail" that I can't talk about it. So the stress builds, and builds and the problem seems so big and so critical to my survival. And I completely shut down my communication (ironic, I know) until I solve the problem. FYI, I'm sharing this experience as a "what NOT to do". With bestie out of the country, I reached the point where I realized I had to tell someone. There was just too much stress. Enter Aubrey, solver of all problems and probably the least judgmental person I know. Plus, she's highly ambitious so she totally gets my "succeed or die" mentality. It completely helped, and she was both sympathetic and gave me great advice. Proving that once again, when you have a problem, don't keep it to yourself.

When you're bad at something, it's good to realize you need help to fix it. I know that how I handle problems, by trying to solve it all by myself, is painful and not at all beneficial. Turning to people to trust, trusting them with my most personal problems is soooo hard. But the more I practice and give in, the faster I get at realizing when I need help and asking for it. By Thursday the problem was mostly solved and on Friday, I felt like I had conquered Everest..."I'm that little Bit of hope, when my back's against the ropes, hey I feel it, mmm, I'm the World's Greatest."

I made it through, and I felt like the whole world celebrated with me. The Olympics kicked off!!! Reminding me once again that life is a team sport, that even when you're competing alone, facing problems alone, the whole world is cheering you on, supporting you. No man is an island. I celebrated with late night golf on the Hudson, trying to imitate Creed's perfect form and laughing when I whiffed the ball just a couple times. Creed is extremely patient, and he helped me out a bit with some good pointers. I made three batches of cookies, quickly becoming my doorman's favorite. I watched the olympics while I painted a "Bob Ross" original. It's now displaying proudly in the kitchen for all to see. It turns out, I don't need to sign up for that watercolor class after all! Thanks Bob Ross.

Mine is the painting on the right

My favorite olympic commercial is the Visa one narrated by Morgan Freeman, pointing out that when an athlete wins, we all take part in it. Join the global cheer. The olympics after all, is a world effort. And as sport often imitates life, whether we win or lose, we are still cheered on to the finish line. "If anybody asks you who I am, just stand up tall, look 'em in the face and say....I'm that star up in the sky, I'm that mountain peak up high, hey I made it, mmm, I'm the world's greatest." If you believe it, you can achieve it. And if you're struggling, don't be too prideful to ask for help :)