Fall Goals

Every year, when the leaves begin to turn into flashes of crimson and orange, a sense of renewal embraces me. Typically, the Fall brings a new semester of college or signifies that it's time to decorate my apartment with new decor. I simultaneously embrace change and experience fear of it. This particular semester has been unlike anything I've had to face in my life. Every day is a challenge, pulling me in unnatural and uncomfortable directions. However, I know that it's what I must do in order to obtain something that's very important to me.

Luis and I are moving into a new apartment at the end of the month; this change I completely embrace. I never moved around much as a child, three times at the most, and it was only to the next city over. Luis, on the other hand, hates moving, as he admitted to me the other day. He did it much more than I did growing up. Either way, I must admit that I enjoy the moving process. It forces you to look at each item you own and come to terms with its importance or relevance in your life. . . We've already made a few trips to Salvation Army this week. Then, you get to pack it all up, move it, unpack it, and organize it! My grandma always teases me about my tendency for this very thing. As a child, apparently I would tug on her shirt and beg her to come see my "rearrangements," at which point she would discover that I had completely redecorated her dresser in a way that I thought was best. Some things run deep.

Elise's Fall Goals:
1. VOTE!
2. Bring a (homemade) dessert or side dish to our family Thanksgiving dinner.
3. Buy a hot glue gun for DIY projects.
4. Complete my list of said DIY projects.
5. Go to a pumpkin farm.
6. Write ten more pages of my thesis.
7. Organize my finances and prepare for Christmas.
8. Go on a hay-ride!
9. Since my new apartment will have a full sized oven (thank God!) I want to bake my first pie.
10. Prepare my thesis presentation.

Wishing you all a fantastic rest of the week, and if you are looking for something to read, may I suggest My Berlin Kitchen by Luisa Weiss? It's an incredible story of Weiss' search for belonging and passion, while she finds inspiration through travel and lots and lots of food!