Today, I am...

Today, I am 50.

My day was long and filled with the goodness of messages―messages in texts, on phone calls, video, and in person. I’m grateful for all of them.

There are experiences and people that change you. I’ve learned that regardless of whether those experiences are good or bad, they make you. They can make the good inside better, challenge you to make decisions, and cause you to pause long enough for a chance to choose differently. One of the most important things I have learned in my life is how important it is to block out the noise and stand still. Wait, and then keep moving forward. There will be times when we are hit with hard things, sometimes many things, sometimes all at the same time, but… if you keep moving forward, you can meet with the most beautiful things life holds.

You meet people that have learned to be what you want to become, students who inspire you, and experiences that break you and then force you to either stay down or rise. And so, we rise. We have choices. We get to decide where our camera turns to focus. Today, I turned my camera and focused on love. This is what love looked like for me today.