Gutsy Little Intro...

In 2009, sometime around late January, a very disconsolate me sat on the couch crying to my parents about my life. Crying about not having gone anywhere, or done anything. Crying about having no real plans for the future, about being scared, about where I saw my life going or not going.

Basically, crying about being 20 years old.

That night, my parents asked me what I wanted to do, and for years my dream had been to go to Ireland. So that night I decided to go, and saved up my money, and in September of that year I went to Ireland alone for two weeks. It was the most amazing experience I've ever had.

Almost exactly one year after that fateful night in January, I find myself at the exact same crossroads, complete with tears and malaise. But this time the dream of Ireland has been fulfilled. Where do I go from here?

Sadly, another incredible trip is not necessarily in my future. Financially I need to turn my thoughts to other things, and I need to stop running away from what's important. Though it was a groundbreaking and fantastic experience, Ireland was as much an escape as an education.

Considering my options, I recalled when my mom explained to my grandpa about my trip to Ireland--how I had saved up and gone, alone, planning the whole thing myself. My grandpa is not the sentimental type, never has been. But he gave me the best compliment I have ever heard in response.

He said, with a great degree of admiration, "Wow. She's a gutsy little shit!"

It's hard to explain how a phrase like that affected me...gosh, I've never heard such high praise, especially from him. And it hit me...am I really that gutsy? Sure, the trip to Ireland was pretty gutsy. But beyond that...how gutsy have I really been? Since Ireland, how many new things have I tried? How many new people have I met? How many new places have I been?

This blog is an answer to the rut I find myself in. By this blog, I pledge to do one new thing every day and blog about it. It could be small--trying a new food, learning a new word, attempting a new hobby--or it could be large, like meeting a new person, driving to a place I've never been before, or writing in a style I'm unaccustomed to. The possibilities are endless!

And by blogging about it, I hope to experience the power of accountability to those reading. As such, if you're out there, please comment! Let me know that my gutsiness is not in vain! And who knows? You may be inspired to be gutsy, yourself.

My life is at a crossroads, sure. It could go a million different ways from here. But by January 23rd 2011, I hope that I can still claim the title of Gutsy Little Shit by being gutsy every day, in any small way that I can. Who knows where I'll be in a year? I just hope that I can still be a gutsier version of me.

Gutsy little shits of the world, unite! Let's make every day new!

Much love,
-The GLS