Living a Life of Purpose

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Living a Life of Purpose

 

Emily Gardner

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Graduating from a Jesuit university, the students are taught to seek an education of the whole person; an education of the mind, body, and spirit. As I enter into the working world, I hope to maintain a lifestyle of continuous growth and learning.  I believe that this will not only aid me in my pursuit to become an event planner, but also in my desire to be an informed professional, benefiting the society I live in.

To feed the body, I hope to continue a healthy and active lifestyle. On a weekly basis, I enjoy going to yoga, pilates, barre (Pure Barre is amazing!), and spin. Currently, I am training for a half marathon. I’m going to be honest, I do not think that I was built to run. Every mile my body says, “Nope, you can’t do this. This is a nightmare. This hurts. Why are you doing this to me?” But I’m at mile eleven in my training, so I can’t stop now…right? You can catch me running the Tinker Bell half marathon on Mother’s Day this year. Hopefully a little bit of that Disney magic helps me through the race. I have been inspired to keep physically healthy by two women in Manhattan Beach named Karena and Katrina. They started a series called Tone it Up. On their website and blog you can read about daily workouts, lifestyle tips, recipes, and more! This is something I read daily to keep learning about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

To educate and feed my spirit I have found two books extremely helpful and encouraging. I would recommend them to anyone looking to grow in their faith. The first is called Love Does. This is a book written by Bob Goff, an incredible man who has worked his entire life to love through actions. Goff believes that love does not stop at thoughts and feelings, and he proves this through the stories he tells in the book. The second book is called Jesus Calling. This is a 360 day devotional written by Sarah Young. Each day is written as if Jesus is speaking to you through the author’s words.  It is incredibly impactful to read and hear Jesus calling to you with words of encouragement, joy, and reassurance.

Finally, I work to daily educate my mind. Remember that big, old, and dusty book sitting on a shelf in your room called a dictionary? Yup, that’s the one! Well I recommend opening to a random page, finding a word that you don’t know, learning it, and practicing using it in sentences and writing it throughout the week. One of my close friends recommended this practice to me, and it has definitely boosted my vocabulary. Now this might sound out of the ordinary, but I also want to read all of Jane Austin’s novels someday. English literature is packed with witty humor and intricately woven stories. My mom has probably read Pride and Prejudice over eighty times, and she is one of the most brilliant people I know.  Now here is my action call to you: go out and educate your whole self! Become the best version of you.