Sunday, December 22, 2013

The Rest is Still Unwritten

As promised a few weeks ago, I am once again here to leave you with a final note for the year. As a lot of us spend time with our family and some of us put the lights on the Christmas trees, it is never too late to try something new or try something you have been wanting to try for years, but have been neglecting it. I have two examples of this.

As I said a few weeks ago, I was waiting on a proposal for Cleo and I to possibly speak at a statewide conference put on by an organization called the Arc. For a year and a half or so, speaking with Cleo was just a dream, a hope, and a wish for the future, but now we can both proudly say that it has become a reality. They said yes to our proposal and with that yes a new business has unfolded. I am so happy that I didn't let this dream go dormant, because I was about to. 

My other example is a touchy subject for some people and at first I didn't know how to go about this one because there are many different ways to go about it and many different approaches to achieve the same peacefulness. Due to all of my struggles this year, I have decided to turn to my faith once again and consistently go back to a synagogue. So, I decided to look at a synagogue that felt right to me. I like the Oak Park community, because, in general it feels excepting. It has a wide variety of people with all different ethnic backgrounds and classes. A perfect example of the ethnic background scenario that I am talking about is when I attended my first service at Oak Park Temple there was a man converting to Judaism from Mexico. That is a perfect illustration of open mindedness and an excepting community. Another thing that I was attracted to from the very beginning was that their synagogue is on a sliding scale. Which means you are only required to pay what you can afford and they won't turn you away. Even though it will be awhile, my ultimate dream is to move to Oak Park. So I knew that besides my dance community, I would have to build more of a community in Oak Park and I thought that this would be a great place to start. 

With all of that said, however, I am a big believer in tradition and family bonds. So I will always continue to go to my synagogue in Northbrook for the high holidays which are Rosh Hashanah, our New Year, and Yon Kippur, our repentance day. With a combination of reconnecting with my faith and creating a stable profession for myself all in the matter of a few weeks, it has made me believe that this year will start out to be a good one. I hope that all of you have a wonderful celebration of the New Year and that it will bring to you happiness, health, prosperity, and success in all that you do. Don't give up on those dreams that you have been putting off! As the song by Natasha Bedingfield says, "the rest is still unwritten". 


I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, oh, oh

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, yeah, yeah




Start the New Year off right! Love to all, write to you in 2014!
-Jessi

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Patience is a Virtue

Even though the saying, "Patience is a virtue" is very much a cliche, I believe it is very true even in today's society. I was reminded of this in this past month, which I believe is ironic especially because it is the time of year in which people spend more time with one another and give gifts to one another. I would like to share with you two stories in which I most recently received two of my favorite gifts.

The first one was when I was having a meeting with some family and friends to discuss my future. I had expressed some frustration that Cleo and I hadn't really gotten our business up and rolling and I felt defeated. I didn't know how to stay motivated with this idea and I didn't want it to be gone with the wind, but I needed some advice. At the meeting, my co-worker suggested I write a proposal to speak at the upcoming Arc conference in April.  I called Cleo days before the proposal was due explaining my situation and asked her if I did this on my own, would she be interested in doing the real thing with me because we hadn't talked about this in months. A few days later I got an email from my co-worker saying, "I'm afraid I have some bad news, Jess. I believe the deadline for the application to the Arc has passed, but if you call the person below you might be able to pull some strings." So, immediately after that I called the number. She said the deadline was last week, but she was willing to extend it to that Wednesday. I was very pleasantly surprised but very nervous at the same time. One, because this was Monday and the deadline was that upcoming Wednesday. And two, I knew Cleo was out of town. I knew that I would have to do most of this on my own and if I had questions I would just have to talk with her through text. I had an idea of a basic outline but never imagined that I would be doing my first proposal as a professional speaker alone. Especially, since we agreed to do this together. I don't know the end result but I do believe that we definitely have a shot. Despite having to wait for our first big break to come at the right time, patience is a good virtue to have. 

As for the second gift, I got to go to my Chi Chi's 80th birthday in St. Louis. See, we kind of have a unique relationship. When I was 7 years old, my Poppie was dating a woman that basically became a part of our family. She basically has always seemed to fit into our family like a glove even before my Poppie and my Chi Chi were married.When he decided to marry her, my brother and I knew we wanted to call her something other than Grandma, because she is not technically my Grandma and she also seemed too upbeat for that name. It just didn't fit her. So we were tossing around names, similarly to how you do when you are about to have a baby or get a new dog. I don't know how we ended up with Chi Chi, but it has been that way ever since. Because I never met my real Grandma, Marsila, she has felt like a real Grandma to both my brother and I. She is always there for us when we need her and my favorite part about her not having an old spirit is that we can talk about boys and it doesn't seem awkward. She tells me about her boyfriend she is dating because unfortunately my Poppie is not with us. We discuss life with Poppie and everything else under the sun. So, I was beyond thrilled when I found out that her sons were having a party for her 80th birthday. I couldn't think of a more deserving woman! She is very accepting of all people and she embraces every one in her life. It was a marvelous thing to look back and see how many people were there from all different walks of life and from all different connections she has made through her life. In my past writings I have talked about connectors and she is a wonderful connector. She had family, friends, our blended family, cousins, her current boyfriend's family, and many many friends from her childhood. She has been through a lot, but she is a perfect example of what happens when you truly believe that patience is a virtue. Happy Birthday Chi Chi! Thank you for wrapping us into your life!

Stay tuned for my second post for the month to help close 2013. Write to you in a few weeks.
-Jess