Dear Jesse: Set Goals In Your Life

I know I mentioned this before, but I want to mention it again: please consider reading Sonia Sotomayor’s autobiography My Beloved World. Here is a woman who lived her life with one goal in mind. She wanted to be a judge. Not only did she become a judge, she became a Supreme Court Justice.

When Sonia (since I read her book I feel very close to her and figure she wouldn’t mind if I called her Sonia) was little, a doctor told her she had diabetes and, at the time, she was told people with Type 1 diabetes didn’t live very long. Instead of giving up on any dreams or hopes she had, Sonia decided, “I better hurry up and get this done, who knows how long I have.”

Quite a few people would listen to their doctors and stop living to their full potential thinking, “why bother? I’ll be dead soon. No point wasting my time studying or learning.” But not Sonia, she buckled down and did everything in her power to attain the goal she had set for herself, a goal which originated by watching the TV show, Perry Mason, no less!

She set very specific goals for herself and, when facing a decision in life, made choices which aimed her in the direction of her choice. Right after Sonia graduated from Yale Law School, she had a choice between a lucrative private sector job where she would have made a ton of money and a job as an assistant district attorney making hardly any money. Which job did she take? Sonia took the lower paying job because it was the easiest way to get a lot of experience in a courtroom; the only real way to become a judge. She realized the money would come later. That’s focusing on your long term goal.

If you don’t set goals for yourself, Jesse, how are you going to know how to live your life? For example: if you decided, right now, to retire from work at 45 and you made that your goal in life it would be helpful to live with that goal in mind before you’re in your 40s, right? You might not spend money frivolously, like a lot of people do, if you knew you wanted to retire early and travel.

You have an advantage at your age: you have your whole life in front of you. You don’t have to decide today what you want to do with the rest of your life. But maybe, in the back of your mind, you should start thinking about what makes you happy and what you see yourself doing when you get a little older.

I’m not trying to pressure you or tell you what to do, I just want you to think about things. It may seem like a long time until you reach adulthood but you’ll get there before you know it and I just want you to be as prepared as you can be for your future. Set goals, get to know yourself a little and think about the future. You could start by reading a wonderful little book I found: it’s called My Beloved World.

Love, Mom

Things I’m Lovin’ Right Now

The new Kindle Fire HDX: Is it possible to fall in love with an object? I adore the Fire so much I named her Lanie after a character on my favorite TV show, Castle. I haven’t found anything annoying about Lanie yet; I don’t even mind the fact I had to stick out my vein-y arm for Amazon to stick a needle in. I will say her slender figure, great graphics and book readability are outstanding. I’m dying to hit the mayday button! I just have to figure out an intelligent and interesting question to ask. I don’t want to sound like a complete dork. Hey! Who said too late?

Duluth Trading Company’s extra long t-shirts: These went on sale the other day and I bought a couple for myself and Jesse (who now wants to spell her name without the “i” – just like the outlaw). They are the softest, most comfortable shirts I have ever worn. I love the length in particular: I can sit down, lean forward and not have my shirt pull out from my pants. Just say no to crack. Jesse wears them too and she’s getting to the age where she is getting picky about what she’ll be seen wearing out in public. Time will be the judge to find out how long these shirts will last but they seem thicker and more rugged than your average shirt. If you get a chance order a t-shirt or two. You will not regret it.

Sonia Sotomayor’s autobiography, My Beloved World: Janet and I bought tickets to see Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor speak about her book in Portland next March so we thought it would be a good idea to actually read it beforehand. We don’t always do that. I loved it so much I’m writing another blog imploring Jesse to read it before she gets older and jaded. If only I had read a book like this when I was twelve; my life might look different today. Although, I’m pretty lazy, it might look just the same. Her book has inspired me to not only reach for the stars but to think I can actually catch them.

Aldrich Farms Raspberry Lavender Jelly: Our farmer’s market, here in far south Seattle, only runs from April thru October. In July or August Janet found this delicious jelly and we decided to give it a try. I can’t even describe how tasty this is…when I read the title I thought, “there’s no way I will like that.” Boy was I wrong. We went back the next weekend and bought another jar and one for Janet’s mom…another jam fan. I’m not sure if I can wait until April for another jar. I might have to go online and beg them to send us a jar or two. Or a case. Their farm is located in Bellingham (up by the Canadian border for those of us who are geographically challenged). Road Trip!

Mountain Hardware Winter Jacket: I didn’t own a parka, while living in Texas or Nevada, so when I came back to the Pacific Northwest my mom gave me one to wear so I wouldn’t freeze to death. I liked it but it never fit me very well. When I saw this jacket on sale (for 60% off, my mom would be so proud) I went ahead and bought it. What a wonderful purchase! It’s lightweight, made from some warm and incredibly thin material and it has a lot of pockets. One of which I found this morning. I received my new jacket right before the weather turned really cold and it has kept me from turning into a Jenn-popsicle.

jenn