andrew

What life looks like these days

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What life looks like these days:

1.) Grace: A Memoir. A book I have wanted for far too long + filled with notes and pictures from Amirah. One of the greatest gifts I have ever received. It made me laugh and cry (in public. + at a restaurant. thx love).

2.) Official business cards for Grace Farson Photography!

3.) Packages//letters//notes from many of the wonderful, beautiful and inspiring people in my life from home and all around this big world.

What life feels like these days:

1.) Warm. Sunny skies and a full heart.

2.) Tense. I’m tired of using the word busy to define any part of my life. We’re all busy. Little kiddos are busy, old people are busy, college kids are busy, yes! We’ve all got a right to say we’re busy. That said, I have been a little tense lately. I am overbooked, overworked and tired. School is real and it is a big part of my life, yes, but so is planning for the summer, working (two jobs), taking care of myself, my house, my friends. . . etc.

3.) Inspired. I cannot even begin to comprehend just how inspired and motivated I am to do EVERYTHING right now. I have received so many incredible emails in the past few days with opportunities that are beyond belief. Life is happening all around me and I want to absorb it all. . .

Plus, this little email from Andrew in Morocco made me happy:

“Props to you for giving me the best travel advice I’ve gotten yet: candied ginger. Life saver and friendmaker” – Andrew. February 11, 2013

[Photos: What life looks like these days. Birthday week//Grace Farson]

life lately, according to my camera{s}

i’m here these days. this is my life. . .

“the secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.”

– siddhartha gautama

. . .

thanks siddhartha!

. . .

1.) the bell tower at sunset

2.) this lady gets around

3.) i think i have had more ice cream and gelato in my diet than ever before {okay, well. . . maybe not italy, but close! in venice, k and i found ourselves eating pistachio gelato at least 3 times a day}

4.) ananda’s art

5.) still warm enough to wear chacos

6.) ananda at open studio day

7.) roygbiv. . . an almost complete rainbow.

8.) the messes i make – text books, posters for gappl, clean sheets of paper to doodle on, a pencil, tea, my headphones, pile of clothes and shoes. . . you name it. . .

9.) asia’s superior handstand outside of davis

10.) sunny spot outside of ehaus

11.) giz and i skype with emily in jordan

12.) tunnels under ch

13.) andrew doing what he does best

14.) the lovely meg & margo on our “treat yourself night“

15.) the girl with the flower in her hair

16.) an epic dinner at talullah’s

17.) yoga days

18.) work outside

19.) yellow trees

the crazies

“make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. so many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. the very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. the joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. if you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. but once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.”

– john krakauer, into the wild

. . . i’m terribly fond of crazy people.

+ andrew just shared this link with me – alex hannold and free-soloing. this dude scales rock faces  taller than the empire state building without anything but his hands and feet.

+ sarah and i were talking about our values lists last night at open eye and we both agree – we need to find more adventures { *i will do this one day}

+ my life list is up {although still a work in progress!} got any suggestions or more things i should add to le list? or care to join me on some of these?

+ i really want to go on a road trip with a motorcycle to this part of the country

{photo from bapatla, india where i first learned to drive. . . need lots of practice, but one day. . . }

the andrew alphabet

ambition: become homeless

bad habit: reckless bike driving

city: chapel hill, n.c.

drink: arnold palmer {*in his creepy nalgene}

education: yes

food: steak and apples

guilty pleasure: creating awkward situations for others for his own enjoyment

hometown: charlotte, n.c.

ice cream: dairy frost soft strawberry

jonesing for: a natural disaster {*a hurricane, tornado, and earthquake weren’t good enough for this kid}

kryptonite: christmas carols

look-a-like: the guy who played gilbert blythe in anne of green gables

movies: “fiddler on the roof.” “saving private ryan.” “the emporer’s new groove.”

nicknames: carrot cake. bubba. stinky pants. andew.

obsession: gold bond

perfume: hmmmm. . . natural flavors

quirk: getting distracted from brushing his teeth by making faces in the mirror

regrets: never been in a fistfight. never learned an instrument.

starbucks: stealing grace’s chai tea

talents: unicycling. climbing. dancing.

university: uni of north carolina at chapel hill {studying arabic & asian studies}

vacation: escaping from the château d’if and winning a knife fight with a pirate, then stealing a ship and sailing to an island where he would discover sunken treasure.

wine: welch’s

x: x grace farson {*for making him do things like this}

years: nineteen years

zen: sticking head out of window in the car

. . .

here’s the fourth alphabet!

i’ve known andrew since i was in the seventh grade. when i think about it, we’ve both changed a lot. . . but. . . at our core, we are essentially the same people we were at age twelve.

we really haven’t grown up much.

i can always count on andrew to help me get out of my ruts in life. he helps me to live life to its fullest. he is always there when i have the need to – climb a building, climb a tower, climb a tree, climb a mountain, climb through a tunnel or two, go on a scavenger hunt, take a spontaneous trip, etc.

he helps challenge me to think outside the box and find a creative solution to most anything.

andrew, thanks for being you. . . for putting up with me at my best and worse. . . and for ending up at unc too!

. . . here’s to a fun, crazy, memorable year bro!

{p.s. if anyone else wants to contribute to my alphabet series let me know! i’d love to share them! just post a comment with your email and i will contact you . . . fariha & anna’s coming soon!}