Listing Extravaganza!

I'm embarrassed that I've been away for so long. Especially after paying for a blogging e-course in January. I still have yet to officially tell my friends and family about my new blog. For some reason I'm a little shy, but it's probably for the better since I've clearly lacked motivation and discipline for the past month and a half.

But, I'm back now!

And here are a few somethings I've been up to: listing for 30 days! It was so much fun to keep this little notebook full of creative lists for the month of March. I learned a lot about myself and recorded my '25-year-old-self' that I'm sure I'll love to remember in years to come. 

I also kept a gratitude journal for March, which helped me find joy even in my struggles and the daily grind. I've also started up a blog with a friend where we each post a picture and three things we're thankful for once a week. I was inspired to start it with her after reading these blogs. We're going to keep it private for a while since it's more about nurturing our friendship than displaying it for the world. She is in Colorado and I am in Rome. 

And the final project I've started on is journaling every week for a year following these guided prompts. It's always a lovely surprise in my inbox once a week to read the prompt and settle in to some intentional journaling. I've always been a journaler, ever since I received a furry pink and turquoise leopard print journal for my 8th birthday. I haven't always been consistent, but I do have a part of each year since recorded in one of my numerous journals (buying new ones is an obsession of mine). Yet I always seemed to write similar reflections or go off on the same tangent. But with the help from these prompts I'm able to reflect on parts of my life I may have overlooked. 

So, those are a few things I've been up to while I've been away. But now that's it's spring outside and the sunshine stays close by I'm more motivated to do things I've put off for far too long. 

My Roman Life::a set of goals::

1. Really MASTER my Italian! Do this by going to class three times a week, Aperitif Italian language exchange twice a month, tours of Roman sites in Italian once a month, church in Italian every week, Italian TV at home, and finish my many Italian grammar books by actually STUDYING.

2. Save 75% of my au pair earnings. This is actually quite easy to do since I literally have no monthly bills or expenses other than my metro pass, phone credit, minor class fees, and groceries for breakfast. I'm not sure what life will look like come September, so it would be nice to have a cash cushion to sit on for a bit.

3. Go to one museum or historic site a week. Record my musings and observations of the museum as a whole in a notebook. This will keep me feeling like I'm traveling within my "home" for the next six months, along with brainstorming ideas and thoughts for that degree I want to get....

4. READ, BLOG, PHOTOGRAPH. These seem quite fun to do, I know. But for some reason I tend to get caught up in other things (i.e. watch a movie or listen to a podcast when I'm feeling lazy) that they never come up as first options when I'm in the moment. Which brings me to my last goal....

5. BE IN THE MOMENT. Don't fret about the future or what others are doing with their lives. Enjoy the here and now. I know it's cliche, but why is it so hard to accomplish!?

Why blog anyway? What's the point?

My history with blogging has been sporadic, but well-intentioned. I feel inspired, so I blog. I feel stressed & overwhelmed, so I don't. I take pictures that I want to share, so I blog. I feel blocked & unmotivated, so I don't. I want to remember something, so I blog. I feel protective, so I don't. And this ongoing battle between my brain and my heart (not to mention, my fingers too) has been has been raging for far too long.

I wrote in an earlier post that I often blog for a purpose (mostly travel related) and tend to neglect other daily and "this is just my life" kind of blogging. Yet, from an early age (perhaps 5 or 6) I've kept a journal, off and on, for at least part of each year since. I want to remember little things and big things. Normal days and special days. I don't want to forget. I feel a need to record, but to do it in a creative way. I guess I see blogging as a needed venture, but also whimsical & frivolous self-expression.

So, since I love making lists, this is why I blog:

1::to reflect and to remember

2::as a creative project

3::something to keep me focused and from wandering aimlessly among other blogs

4::to learn & to improve some skills--writing, photography, messing around with design

5::to always give thanks and show gratitude

6::to glorify God in all that I do

7::to inspire others to travel and live abroad

8::to motivate & encourage myself to keep on pursuing

9::to organize my previous, current, and future travels--mostly in picture form

10::to nurture my own little space for (hopefully) years to come

Photos found here and here. 

Inspiration

I am really enjoying this class! It's keeping me creative and conscious of my days as they pass. I feel I have so much to record and remember and be thankful for, but I've always waved it off for another day. Not anymore! I want to live fully awake! (now if only this Italian internet would start working more consistently...)

What does 'Pursuing a Smile' mean anyway?

In the past I've been solely a blog-on-occasion-for-a-purpose-kind-of-girl.

I had a blog in college when I studied abroad in Florence, Italy--that lasted about four months, five at the most. I did the blogging for a volunteer group that I was involved with, when we departed for Thailand for two months. I was in charge of group updates. And finally, I had a blog when I moved my life from Florida to Prague to teach English and accomplish my dream of living in Europe (at least for part of my life). That endeavor lasted two years, but by the end I had stopped blogging regularly as life abroad can fill up one's schedule quite quickly.

Now, almost eight months since I left Prague, I am beginning up again. This time it is my sincere hope to make this home for a long time. I'm tired of creating blogs to match what I'm doing at that particular moment. I may change countries or cities or flats a million more times, but I need some permanence in my life. Even if it is only online. I clearly have some commitment issues, with four blog start-ups in the past six years. And countless physical moves since I began college back in 2006.

So, here it is, my 5th blog and hopefully, my last. Pursuing a Smile is about my journey. I've combined Pursuing (from my Prague blog) with Smile (from my previous Italian blog) to create a home that will follow my wandering ways. In spirit, in emotion, in wonderment and adoration, in gratitude, in physical adventures, and in small moments of my life. I have always been know to be a smiling person, nicknamed 'Happy Hannah' or the-girl-constantly-smiling, so I only find it appropriate that I share my smile here too.

Come, reflect with me. Voyage with me. Pursue a smile everyday.