Hannah Moore wrote, "So weak is man, so ignorant and blind, that did not God sometimes withhold in mercy what we ask, we should be ruined at our own request."

"A person wants to stand in a happy place, in a poem." 
-- Mary Oliver, Singapore

a second chance.

Wild Geese -- Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

This has been my favorite poem for a long time now.

Tonight I was driving home from a very fun evening and was thinking about how far I've come in the last few months.

I've traveled the spectrum of emotion over and over again and still, I am startled by happiness. Startled by confidence.

Tonight I danced and jumped and dove-in face first. I laughed and I counted the things I'm looking forward to. I won.

Back in January this poem was all that kept me going. I simply have to allow myself to love what I love. I have to let the world turn and imagine better things.

Today I consciously saw progress. I looked in the mirror and smiled. I felt funny again. I saw my personality.

I've dreamt of today; of overcoming sorrow and trials. But today wasn't a dream -- it was finally real.

I have prayed for a day when I would be excited about life again.

And it is here.

"To every thing there is a season; and a time to every purpose under heaven.

A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.

He hath made every thing beautiful in his time..." - Ecclesiastes 3:1,4,11

animal.

i feel like i should be sad for my bff jill that John Tucker took a break from her, but the last two days with her have been so fun. i'm really about to cry at the thought of how much i love that girl. we're planning a double wedding because we both know i'll die if i don't get married at the same time as her.

people do not bash t swift in my house. no no no. she is on a throne -- you don't have to like her music but you must respect her.

hello, attractive man at the dance tonight who told me and bff jill that we looked wonderful. you are at the top of my favorite list today.

applebees, your food sucks. why do i forget this? also, the waitress you gave me tonight was not impressive. the first time in my life that i did not leave a good tip.
the entire staff of texas roadhouse was there tonight and in uniform. i found this more funny than it was.

don't leave your camera unattended. i will take pictures of myself and others. i do not apologize to the stranger whose camera i obtained this evening.

i could high-five this girl who is always wearing giant English hats every day. every day. church too. you truly inspire me to embrace my quirks.
"You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." - Mary Oliver


line dancing will always be my activity of choice. cupid shuffle. cha cha slide. i love them all.

my lovely friend cut my hair today. she gave me texas hair. it was amazing.
now i need to watch gcb.

tomorrow i get to meet zac efron. mmm mmm mmm.

out with the old.

I have changed, quite swiftly, and have found myself a very different person than the past would tell.

And so I felt that it was best to start over. To make this place about Kari instead of Lime Green Movie Girl.

Maybe you've followed me here or are tuning in for the first time, but either way it is nice to see you.

I hope that you are dreaming of a future that is better than your present.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote,

Turn the key and bolt the door,
Sweet is death forevermore...
All is now secure and fast;
Not the gods can shake the past.


This is me bolting the door on the past and allowing myself to re-create any future I'd like.