where would I be now, if all of my dreams had come true?

I've accepted that plans are meant to be broken.

For me, crafting some notion of how I want my future to look and feel and weave into the fabric of the world is necessary and comforting -- but if the past year has taught me nothing else, it's that my vision, exactly as I see it, will not come to fruition. It won't. The 'path' I choose will inevitably be littered with challenges, detours, and an ebb and flow of faces.

The upshot is that life has turned out to be more beautiful than any vision I could've crafted.

That cute little black blob to the right is my dear, dear Chloe. Photo taken by Sara, another precious piece of my heart.
This is what happens when life doesn't go as planned! Not bad, I'd say.

My summer wasn't 'supposed' to look this way. My heart wanted me somewhere else. Turns out two people are even harder to coordinate than one, so I made new plans.

I flew to the UK to research Shakespearean friendship and found myself surrounded by love more incredible than anything I've found in literature.

Then I moved to Manhattan, where I've done and seen more than I could've fathomed. I'm having an amazing professional experience -- I'm inspired by my coworkers, the human rights mission to which they've dedicated their lives, and the people I've met at the UN. I've found a renewed sense of purpose.

In May, I promised myself that I would make the most of this sleepless city. I live as if every day is an adventure. Turns out, that's exactly what my life here ended up being. Last night, for example, a friend canceled happy hour plans at the last minute. Challenge accepted. I ended up snagging a free ticket to the US premier of a Japanese film and shared a classy, cultural evening with one of my best girls -- we walked the red carpet and shut down the local sushi joint after three hours of post-film conversation.

As wild as it sounds, that was a 'typical' night for me: defined by the unexpected and sublime. How did I get so lucky?

Luck certainly plays a part here. But I've also found that living, not merely surviving, requires a certain boldness and 'go to hell' attitude. Plans don't work out? Screw it. Make new ones. People leave? It happened for a reason. Know when to fight and when to leave it alone. Take care of you first, always. Most of all:

"Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray." 

Rumi

I began the summer without expectations. I can't believe how blessed I've been since. The photo above captures how I've felt the vast majority of my time. Do I sometimes wonder what would've happened had my summer plans all 'worked out'? Of course. But would I trade what I have now? Not for the world. 

L