Why this? Why now?

Why this?
As long as I can remember I am happiest when helping others. From age 12-18 I was extremely involved in my church youth group and I thrived on community service events. We did several things locally throughout the year and took a 1-2 week mission trip every summer. I grew up with high hopes of changing the world someday. While others wanted to be lawyers, doctors, and teachers, I wanted to join the Peace Corps or work for a non-profit organization fighting world poverty.

Once high school ended I went to college, and like a lot of young adults became less involved in things outside of school. I was a college athlete working part-time so free time was genuinely hard to come by, but most importantly it was easy to make excuses. I still attended two mission trips while in college, one of which was to New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina clean up, and to this day it still leaves a lasting impression on me.

Those of you who know me personally, know that after college I did not go on to serve in the Peace Corps or work for an organization that fights world poverty. I am now one year out of school and have been working in marketing for a local credit union. And to be perfectly honest, I really enjoy it. It is not where I thought life would take me, but I am thankful for it, the people I've met, and the experience I am gaining.

While I may not have taken the career path I had originally planned, who says I can't still change the world in my own little way? I have come to the realization lately that I don't have to look far to find someone who needs a helping hand.

So why now?
"Intention without action is useless." - Caroline Myss

I saw this quote in a presentation given by a coworker of mine and it has a lot to do with the "why now?" part. She teaches through her life story that life is short and there may not always be a tomorrow. She is beyond inspiring and I always think to myself that I want to have that motivation/fire/gumption that she has in her life. While she is an amazing speaker, and I leave feeling ready to conquer the world after hearing her story, it took me THREE times of sitting through it before I finally decided to take action! I am embarrassed to even admit that, but it's the truth. All that being said, I figure it's better now than never.

Why blog?
When I was younger I used to do whatever I could anonymously because I felt like if I told anyone, I was doing it for the wrong reasons. When I finally decided that I wanted to make a change in my life I had originally planned on doing this secretively for fear of people thinking it was all for show. After doing a lot of thinking though I came to the following conclusions: (1) there probably won't be a whole lot of people reading this and (2) two sets of hands are better than one. If I could drag just one reader along just one time then it would all be worth it.

The point of this blog is to hold myself accountable and stop wishing I could make a difference. I am going to follow my heart and stop waiting til tomorrow.

And if along the way someone wants to join me... well I couldn't ask for more.