An Avocado and the Future

I may have a slight obsession with avocados. I just ate a whole one by myself, and I could probably eat another if I had one. Ok, the avocado was inside a quesadilla, but still. The husband always thinks half an avocado is sufficient for a single quesadilla. Maybe it's a good thing he's still at work....

This avocado got me thinking. That's another "must have" tree for the house-of-the-future. Others include peach, orange, apple...does the lemon count even though we already have it in a pot? It would also be nice to have an apricot, maybe a dwarf lime...oh and a pear would be nice. I think I'm going to have a problem narrowing it down to fit in the yard of the house-of-the-future.

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I've been thinking a lot about the future lately. This time of year does that to me, with graduations left and right, people moving (but not us, for one of the few times since the start of college. So happy to have a home and be settled in place!) My little sister just graduated from UCSD with her bachelor's, and is heading off to get her master's degree. Changes are everywhere, which leads me to ask myself: With just one more year of my master's degree left, where exactly do I want to take my life?

So far I've been given some amazing opportunities to build meaningful connections and work on shows that really stretch me, push me to new places in my creativity. I've worked with wonderful people whom I am pleased to call friends. I'm happy with where my career is headed.

But what about the rest?

For most of my life, my focus has been on school, which would lead to a career. Sure, I always had interests and hobbies outside of that. But as my time in school approaches its last year, drawing to a close after 22 years of education, I will be doing. Learning will naturally continue my whole life, but it will be practical, on-the-job learning rather than a classroom setting.

So, in facing this change in the focus of my life, I've been developing some goals. Well, they're not all phrased in a traditional "goal" manner, but they are ideas about what I want to do to keep myself active and well-rounded. (To keep ourselves from becoming just working stiffs, as Sean put it.)

Volunteering has always been a big part of my life, ever since joining Girl Scouts in elementary school. I still work with Girl Scouts occasionally, as a camp counselor or adult volunteer at various events. I know this will always be part of my life, whether or not daughters are part of my future. Working with Village Harvest (as I talked about here) has also become a way to give back, and a way to spend some quality time with Sean.

On our honeymoon last year, Sean and I decided that we wanted to visit all of California's state parks. And we could only count the ones we visit together, starting from the day of our wedding. And we have to spend enough time there to appreciate what makes that park unique and special (this rule is subject to our own discretion). This is a rather big task, considering that there are over 200 when you count up state parks, state beaches, state historical sites, state recreation areas...But it's certainly fun, and we love that it will keep us traveling and exploring new parts of the state.

I also want to take up dancing again. I did ballet from the time I was three until around 22, when I traveled to Italy for a year long study abroad. After I came home, I started doing more ballroom. But since our wedding last year I haven't really danced. My crazy schedule has made it hard to sign up for classes, and I'm often too tired to go to the evening dance places I enjoyed. I need to get myself out there again though. Dance has always brought me so much joy, I'm crazy to not be dancing.

The future can be daunting, especially with big changes ahead. But I'm excited to see where it all takes me. I couldn't be happier about pursuing my passion for theatre, and I know that as long as I continue to explore all of my interests, I will be happy with where ever life takes me. Especially if there's an avocado tree in the backyard :)