And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been

I’ve always liked the idea of making resolutions to start off the new year. It’s a way of turning the page and starting anew. But I don’t think January 1 is the only time of year to make plans and set goals for ourselves. I’m a big fan of starting fresh when you say you’re ready to, whether that’s on January 1 or June 21.

Usually my New Year’s Resolutions are pretty vague and very general and generally unattainable. This year I wanted to be sure to make resolutions I would actually stick to, ones that would actually make me happy and proud of myself. I also made a promise to myself to revisit my resolutions on the first of every month to check in and see how I’m doing with each of them. March 1 is here, and it’s time to sit down and evaluate where I’m at with my resolutions, now two months into 2019.

I'm making space for the unknown future to fill up my life with yet-to-come surprises.

Wow, it feels good to be back! As you probably noticed, I haven't written for the blog in quite a while. In fact, it's been about two months since my last post. To be honest, I didn't feel the most inspired and creative this summer. I was working full time and usually wanted to do absolutely nothing when I got home at the end of the day. I know I'm going to have to get over that soon, as I'll be (hopefully) working full time after graduation in a few months, but for now I'm glad to headed back to school soon!

I wrapped up my summer internship at the Greater Des Moines Partnership on Tuesday, August 8 and had a lot of mixed feelings about being done. The experience wasn't necessarily what I thought or hoped it would be, but I still learned a lot and met amazing people and worked on incredible projects while I was there. I'm very grateful for the opportunity I had to work there this summer.

I think one of the main reasons I was a little bummed during the first few weeks of my internship is that I missed nannying! I missed my kiddos and hanging out with them every day and doing fun kid things and just having a fun summer with them. Ok, that bummed me out the whole summer and still does. I just really loved nannying and would honestly do it my whole life! But as Mary Poppins knows so well, kids grow up and don't need their nannies forever. I absolutely loved the three summers I spent with the Niggs and would not trade them for anything at all. I'm incredibly excited that I get to see my good ol' nanny kids before I head to school, so we'll get to catch up on everything just like old times.

Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere! I want it more than I can tell.

Yes, this was the title of my last post, and it's a phrase that's been on repeat in my head lately {and not just because I've been listening to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack on repeat for the last few weeks}. I've really been feeling a sense of wanderlust and craving for adventure lately, and the feeling just won't go away {nor do I want it to!}.

The last few nights, I've laid awake in bed just thinking about all of the things I want to do in my life. I want to travel and explore and experience the world in so many different ways.

Honestly, I think Beauty and the Beast is part of the reason I've been feeling this way. It may sound silly, but that movie just really got me thinking about adventure in the great wide somewhere! I really relate to Belle and her longing for grand experiences. It's not that I'm unhappy or stuck where I am; I've never really felt that way at all. I absolutely love where I am and where I come from, but I really want to experience new and exciting places.

Childhood and adulthood were not factors of age but states of mind.

This week I celebrated my 21st birthday. Holy cow. Can you believe it? I certainly can't!

Every year I seem to get emotional on my birthday. It's not that I'm sad about growing up, though that may certainly be part of it. I think the emotions are more of a combination of excitement and fear and anxiety and happiness and sadness. That makes total sense, right? You may say that I have no right to feel some of those emotions about turning just 21, but I do! I feel them every single year. There's just something about growing up and leaving another year behind and entering a new year in my life that just gives me butterflies and a pit in my stomach all at the same time. I know, I'm overly-emotional; it's just who I am!

For the most part, though, I'm SO excited to be 21! It's a number that means something. In a way it says "I'm finally an adult," but also, "You're still young and have a lot to learn." And I'm perfectly okay with that combination of sentiments. I do feel myself getting more mature and growing up a little bit, though I've always felt pretty mature—maybe it's my old soul. But I also feel like I have the whole world in front of me. There are so many possibilities ahead! I could take this path or that one or one of these over here or one of those over there. Endless possibilities, each one as amazing and exciting as the next. And it's so comforting to know that no matter which I choose, my life will be full of excitement and experience and learning and love.

We all get the exact same 365 days. The only difference is what we do with them.

My first blog post here on sarahndipity was January 6, 2016, and it was all about my resolutions for 2016. It was a great way to start off my blog, and it's been so fun to write my way through the year. Now, however, it's a brand new year! New resolutions are in order.

Everyone has a different take on resolutions. Some swear by them and make them every year while others don't even like the idea. When I was younger, I always made resolutions, simply because I thought that's what you were supposed to do for the New Year. However, I never really took the time to understand what resolutions really were or why people were making them.

I've decided that I love the idea of resolutions. Some people say they don't like resolutions because we should work on bettering ourselves throughout the year. I totally agree! However, I think there's something so magical about the New Year, a time when we feel fresh and new and as though we have a chance at a fresh start. Resolutions are things we can work on throughout the year. If you think of a new resolution in June, there's no reason to start working on that right then in June! We don't have to wait until December 31 and January 1 to think of resolutions and begin them, but this is the prime time to make these changes!

She was blindly following whatever impulse moved her, as if she had placed herself in alien hands for direction, and freed her soul of responsibility.

It is a time to refresh! There are many reasons to let go and relax a little bit right now, which always helps me to feel refreshed. While I'm not the biggest fan of change, as you know, endings and beginnings can be good and exciting. I've got three exciting and refreshing changes happening right now, so I wanted to share a little bit about them with you.

The semester is over

Another semester at the University of Iowa has come to an end. It's hard to believe that I've finished five semesters at Iowa and only have two left. Having only two semesters left technically makes me a senior, and I've got many mixed emotions about that.

This semester went by so fast, and it may have been my busiest semester yet. While I took fewer semester hours, I also had an internship this semester. Logging on and working during those set hours during the week meant there was less time during the day to do homework, which meant I was doing more of it at night. Overall, my internship was an amazing experience, and I'm so happy that I did it. It's hard to find internships to do during school, so being able to do it remotely worked out perfectly. I didn't post much of my work throughout the semester, so if you want to check out everything I wrote for Her Campus (nationals) during the semester, you can check out my author page.

People are their most beautiful when they are laughing, crying, dancing, playing, telling the truth, and being chased in a fun way.

This weekend I laughed really, really hard, and it was so great. Not that this is unusual because I really do laugh a lot. I laugh often because I surround myself with joyful, funny people who make me laugh because I think laughter and joy and happiness are so important. Plus, I'm pretty funny myself, and I've been known to crack myself up. Ask anyone.

But this weekend my laughter came from a slightly different place than usual. This weekend my mom and I went to see The Book of Mormon at the newly reopened Hancher Auditorium here in Iowa City. First of all, Hancher is gorgeous. Walking up to it that night, it was all sparkly and lit up, and the moon was huge behind it.

We got inside and sat in our seats and enjoyed some prime people watching. And then, it began. It. was. hysterical. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

You can't stop the future. You can't rewind the past.

Move in day freshman year of college was the worst day of my life. I knew that day, and the days leading up to it, that it would be one of the biggest changes of my life, and I have never been very fond of change. I loathe it, I dread it, I hate it. Change is the worst.

Well, that's how I used to feel. I'm still not a huge fan of change, but I've come to appreciate it more than I used to. I now think that, sometimes, change can be good.

When I first got to school, people kept talking about how much I was going to change in the next four years. I would change, people would change, my thoughts and opinions would change, my relationships would change, everything would change. And I didn't want that to happen. I was very happy with the way things were, thank you very much.

Your deeds are your monuments.

Recently Starbucks changed their sleeves to reflect their new Upstanders series. The sleeves show a definition of the word upstander {as shown above} as "a person who acts to make positive change." I absolutely love this. Needless to say, when I first saw the new sleeves, I freaked.

I didn't know much about the Upstander series, so I decided to do a little research. The following is written on the Starbucks Upstander website:

"Upstanders is an original collection of short stories, films and podcasts sharing the experiences of Upstanders – ordinary people doing extraordinary things to create positive change in their communities. Produced by Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran, the Upstanders series helps inspire us to be better citizens."

How wild it was, to let it be.

A couple of weeks ago, my mom and my sister and I went to see Cheryl Strayed speak. Cheryl Strayed is a writer and the author of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which is about her experience hiking the PCT. I loved Wild when I read it, but after I heard Cheryl speak, I discovered I relate to her even more than I had previously realized.

Cheryl decided to hike the PCT a couple of years after her mother died. In those years between when her mother passed and when she hiked the PCT, Cheryl's life kind of spiraled out of control. She cheated on her husband, used drugs, and just lived a life she wasn't happy with. As Cheryl put it in her talk, she had decided to continue her life after her mother died in a way that would best honor her. She had decided not to thrive because she couldn't bear the thought of living without her.

Cheryl's absolute love for her mother in as portrayed in Wild is something that I so deeply connected to when I read the book. Simply put: I absolutely love my mother and can't imagine how I would go on without her. Without her mother, Cheryl is simply broken, and I would be the same way if I were to lose my mother.

Be a little kinder than you have to.

Happy September 1! The beginning of a new month means lot of things. First of all, the first of September means the Hogwarts Express leaves today! Yay for another year at Hogwarts. But the start of a new month always means new beginnings and a fresh start. I can't think of a better way to start fresh than to be kind. And kindness is so easy! It's probably one of the easiest things in the whole world because kindness is free. To prove that to you, I've compiled a list of random acts of kindness that don't cost a thing. I dare you to try one out today!

One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.

Today is a very special day. Today, my sister and her husband have been married for three years. Happy Anniversary, Holly and Seth!

My sister and I made a pact a long time ago that we would both be each other's maid of honor when we both got married. I imagined our wedding days a lot when I was little, but I never expected hers to come so soon.

I remember the day Seth told me that he wanted to propose to Holly. We were in Minnesota for my cousin's graduation party. Seth and Holly were going to Disney World with some of his family the next month, and he wanted to propose in front of Cinderella's castle.

When he told me, my stomach dropped, and my head started spinning. Of course I was so excited for her, so happy for her. But this was my big sister, and everything was about to change for her. If you know me, you know I'm not the biggest fan of change, so while this news was super exciting, it also made me uneasy, nervous.

This had nothing to do with Seth, though. Seth treated my sister so well, and I could tell that they both really loved each other. Again, I'm just not the biggest fan of change, and a wedding is about one of the biggest forms of change there is.