Don't wait...LIVE

(photo by Brittany Buongiorno)

Do you ever feel like you live in your own little world and instead of being fully present in the world you're living, you are almost existing in this "happy place" or "bubble" you've put yourself in? I have days like this once in a while where I go about my day through the eyes of a little girl: curious, thoughtful, and full of an inner giggle. I enjoy these days because I giggle at the impatience of a cab driver honking constantly down the street, or the angry person shoving me out of the way when exiting the subway car right behind me because I'm not moving fast enough for them. It doesn't affect me because I have my music playing or just my thoughts. It's in these days that I don't worry so much if I'm going to be five minutes late, and I take a minute to remember how lucky I am to have what I've been blessed with...until something snaps me back into reality and I'm forced out of my blissful state suddenly aware of all the craziness I am amidst.

Amidst my day jobs, auditions, and rehearsal lately I have been fortunate enough to have a few days where I am given the luxury of taking a [literal] break from the day to eat lunch at home while watching Obama's State of the Union speech on DVR, or to be able to go to dinner at Tao with friends (best lychee martini in the city there), or watch "The Hours" on DVD for the first time since getting it as a gift for Christmas. Nicole Kidman had a great line in that movie which was "You cannot find peace by avoiding life." This really spoke to me because the easiest way to take a [figurative] break is to pretend I'm elsewhere....or resort to my thoughtful state. However, I must live every moment and savor every moment for we never know how much longer there will be. Meryl Streep's character has a moment in the film where she tells her daughter that when she was young she would wake up at dawn and be so excited at the possibilities of the day, thinking life would always be that way. It then dawned on her that it was not the beginning of happiness she was experiencing and rather was happiness. It is about finding what makes you happy and keeping it around. I love my friends, family, and boyfriend and hope to nurture long-standing relationships.

I'd like to thank my friends, family, and boyfriend for all that they do for me and hope I have or will do the same for them.

With very much love,

Carolina