Last thursday, I had the incredible opportunity to attend Invisible Children's Fourth Estate.

This is the second time I've gotten to go, and they outdid themselves. I don't know how they pull off the things that they do, but I am so so grateful for all that they did for us and all that we learned.

I don't like to share too much of this, just because it's so hard to explain to people who weren't there. They don't understand, and my words aren't enough. But here were some thoughts/ideas that I really enjoyed:


"Your life is bigger than your best dream for it." - Jason Russell

Anger can eat you up, or you can turn it into an incredible force that you can use to transform the world. - Amy Eldon

The good stuff, the hard stuff, the memories, the relationships - it all matters - Jamie Tworkowski

"'No' doesn't always mean 'no', sometimes it means 'not now'". - Dave (The Buried Life)

"It's the things that aren't supposed to exist that serve as evidence to us that the world can change, and that we can change it." - Dan Pallota

"As long as you live a life based on consumption instead of contribution, you will never find that peace." - Alexis Jones

You don't have to diminish one side of your personality, because you are awesome and ridiculous and beautiful and smart, and that is you. - Sophia Bush

"A do-gooder will do good no matter who is on the receiving end." - Linda Sarsour

Prejudice is man made, and we can undo that. - Jay Naidoo

Smash people in the face with a whole 'nother level of humility and confidence. - Gary Haugen

"There was such liberation when my dream disintegrated. All of a sudden, it was a blank slate, and it was an invitation for discovery." - Jedidiah Jenkins

(These photos are not mine. I got them off of the IC blog.)

Also, Hans Zimmer had this theme written for us. It's by Leland Cox, who is incredible. He was there with the H.Z. orchestra playing it for us on saturday night, which was also his 22nd birthday. He composed this at 22?!?! 

What have I done today??

You need to listen to it. Right now.

Some thoughts:

1. I was really upset hearing about what happened in Boston on monday, and it took me some time to recover. In times like these, it's really easy to lose faith in humanity, but this is what we need to see more of.

2. I'm not into oatmeal recipes, (recipes for smoothies and oatmeal are dumb, just put the food in already) but chia seeds are pretty good with oatmeal, almond milk, and blueberries.

3. On that note - it turns out that agave nectar is not a good alternative sweetener. Apparently it's got just as much fructose as high fructose corn syrup. Goodbye, agave.

4. Packing up for school is difficult, trying to get my bag to weigh less than 40 lbs. I already have plans to pretend to be pregnant so I can sneak my purse in because they won't let me bring it for free. Boo.

5. Maybe I'm late to the party, but I had no idea that Nina was such an insane pianist. I can't stop listening to this. What an appropriate song for me. About feelings. She gets me.
Start watching around 1:46 - things start getting really crazy around 3:06.

Be the person that others can rely on to bounce ideas off of in a spontaneous manner which is free from judgement.

Some of the best thinking -that has allowed me to grow and develop- has been within the safety of these relationships.

So often we are afraid to pose a question or verbally ponder an idea to another person, for fear that they won't try to understand. If you don't have that person in your life now, try to be one for someone else.

Even if you feel like you have nothing of significance to contribute to the conversation, maybe the mere fact that you are present is enough, for now. You can absorb these thoughts and mull them over. When timing takes advantage of inspiration and everything falls into place, you will be glad you were there to hear the original thought.