just some random stories to start the week

I've grown to like flowers. I used to despise the idea of receiving an overpriced plant from a pompous flower shop, because in high school my sister's boyfriend used to buy them for her every single week. He had the money to do so and because of that, the florists named him the best boyfriend in the world. I thought the gesture was nice, but after that relationship ended I realized that flowers could not make up for the person he truly was. Now in college, I see a cheaply made bouquet stuck in a makeshift vase (water bottle or solo cup) for my roommate from her boyfriend who is struggling to pay rent. I think the gesture is beautiful because he's going beyond what he can afford (not that regular financial carelessness is cute). Also in my dorm that miraculously barely fits me and my two roommates, I like that they don't last; they die so they don't take up space for long. Permanence is unnatural. The "S" in Sunday is for 'sanity'. Sunday is not an acronym and I have no idea what the other five letters would stand for but I do know this: during college I decided to make a conscious effort to keep the sabbath day as a day of rest, and it had greatly improved my life. For the other six days of the week, I'm hustling for 12-15 hours -- barely having time to eat, running from place to place, lugging my full backpack and work bag around with JOY -- because I know I'll have a day to do absolutely nothing but send praises up for my blessed life. I highly recommend giving yourself a day of rest. I've become more motivated and hardworking for the rest of the week so on Sundays I truly have nothing to do. I've become more relaxed and ready to get up every morning no matter what the work week demands. My mental health has improved. We're all busy. We all have insane lives. But we can get more joy and energy out of all 7 says when we leave one to revitalize ourselves. A world wakes up before you. The clock struck eight and I tore the headset from my ears. My busy work night could not have ended any later. I grudgingly checked the schedule for next week to find that my first shift would be at 5:45am on Monday. I internally let out a long sigh then a frustrated scream. I am grateful to have nice job that fits with my schedule and allows me to pay for my world class education. My job is awesome, and I have a lot of downtime so I can do awesome stuff like writing, reading, & googling random facts while getting paid. Seriously blessed. BUT I was definitely not excited to get up at 5 to work. I pretty much got over it when my alarm went off. And my delusional early morning self came to a profound realization as I walked into the medical center. As early as it is, there are always people who are already up and running way before you. And I would take an early morning shift before a late night shift any day. I remember having this thought awhile back. When I was little, our family travelled quite a bit and I found it exciting to wake up at 4am to catch a flight or begin the journey on the road. Seeing other cars driving and people flying that early made me so happy because I though they were on an adventure too. Then in high school, once I started working, one early morning my sweet Dad was driving me to the airport and it clicked that pretty much all those people on the road had been working the night shift and all those people in the planes were on business. The disillusionment broke my heart a little bit. This morning I found so much gratitude for the life I've been given. I know that waking up early & long days sometimes feel like a real trial, but I believe that every challenge now is slowly preparing us for harder and better things ahead. I'm a firm believer that whatever is to come will always be greater than anything we leave behind. That's what drives me. What drives you?