Les Joyfuls

The Swiss have it good, let me tell you... castles in the water... sheep wandering with cheery little bells ringing from around their necks... chocolate so dreamy and creamy, I can't even explain...

Loving it here, enjoying the internship, the people. We've made a lot of friends... it'll be sad to leave it all. After this we'll be visiting family in Berlin, friend in Stockholm, then back home to Hawaii. No matter how amazing we're finding everything, we're really looking forward to going back home. Not homesick, we just miss our little apartment, friends, and life there.

Over the last month of being here, I've had a lot of time to reflect and think. I've come to the realization that I take a lot for granted. It's hard to explain exactly what I've noticed... so I'll give it a go...

Most of the time 'the life of Katie' is all giggles and tickles and I am in an almost surreal-floaty-dream world, unconscious... verge forgetting that I am ALIVE. "Ironically" it takes a trial or a stressful period to pinch me to wake up and then not too long after, I naturally sink back into the blissful floaty world I'm (dis)engaging in. I don't want to keep sleep-walking. I want to become more aware of my surroundings, people who I encounter, and the circumstances I find myself. I want to be present.

Because of this realization, I've started on a personal regime to "smack," not just pinch, the reality back into me. More than being present personally, I want to be present for others...

From meeting people from all over while here, hearing and seeing that there is a lot of hardships going on all over the world, I have nothing to complain about, nothing to hold grudges against, no reason to fixate on the past. God has given me so much, allowed me to grow in nearly-magical circumstances.

So what do I have to give?

I will start by being present now and in the future, so to truly be in touch with those around me. I will appreciate life, mine, and all others'.