Today I went to China. Yesterday I was walking along the streets of Dublin. I am not sure where I will end up in the morning, but wherever it is, for God's sake let it be warm! 

          I've always been "different" I suppose. From the time I was a young girl in grade school till now I've always stood-out for one reason or another. Standing-out became my "thing", its what made me cool through high school and through the early years of my college experience. Though, I've come to realize that while I tried so hard to be "different" I was missing out on a lot of who I was. I spent so much time trying to choose the exact opposite of what everyone else did and do odd things to stand-out when really all I ever needed to do was... be myself. Heck, I'm different, or shall I say weird, enough to share some with everyone who comes along. 

          When I was in high school I took a Creative Writing class to fill the void in my class schedules. Not really thinking much of it I went into the class expecting to squeeze by with a B and leave every bit of alliteration talk at the door when I left the classroom. Yet, this was not the case. I first fell in love with the writing of William Wordsworth. His poetry sang to me and lured me into the fantastic world of nature writing. I have always loved exploring forests and parks, but I had never written or read anything that matched my sense experiences every time I set out on an exploration. Wordsworth's words flow in tune with the river when he speaks of the river and too his words whisper like the wind on a cool autumn day. When I read his work its as if I am in that moment with him observing the earth from his view. Reading the work of Wordsworth is purely spiritual for me, I connect with it as I connect to nature. He once remarked in his poem "Lines" that, "Nature never did betray the heart that loved her", and yes my friend she never has. When reading a piece of poetry or literature becomes more than just reading words off a page, the sense of wonder is restored within us. May the words we encounter each day restore the wonder within us all