the inconsistency of my life has led me to neglect this blog once again. busy working, being social, mapping out my next few months in Kenya while letting the confirmation of moving back to the states sink in.
It has almost been exactly a year since I graduated from uni and my thoughts have been consumed with looking back on the series of events that have led me to this moment right now. It’s funny, everyone always told me “be sure to live up your undergrad years because before you know it they’ll be over before you know it” ha I laughed that one off numerous times and now I’m finally understanding where they are coming from.
This entire year I have continued a college-like/vagabond lifestyle in hopes to hold onto whatever youth and memories/good times there are left. I find it funny that I was still clinging to the idea of being so young when I know that it really doesn’t matter what my age is. Many peoples lives are defined by where they went to college, who they hung out with, what their parents do, where they’re from, etc. And these people lose sight of what really is important. It is irrelevant where you went to school, how much you spent on this or that and where you’re located at the current moment. The point I’m trying to make here is that your job/whereabouts should not define you-you should define your job. Paving the pathway to what you believe is the best choice to do in your life and following this pathway seems to be the most important lesson I have learned thus far. Finding a passion seems to be the largest battle of all. Who knows exactly what they want to do immediately after graduation? How could we? What have we experienced in our lives that has left us with an impression that we definitely know what we’re destined to do? The world teaches everyone who is willing to learn from it-and I must say the world has been one of my greatest teachers up to this point in my life.
This past year has taught me to live my life-not talk about things I want to do unless i'm going to follow through with them. I know a lot of people who constantly spew out these ideas about where they want to live, what they want to do, and so on, but very few of those people are actually doing anything about it. Personally this becomes frustrating because when people don't follow through with their words it takes away from their credibility in my opinion. The most important lesson life has taught me is that in the end we make our own happiness. We cannot rely on anybody else for this or else it takes away from the sincerity of the emotion. If we are genuinely happy with ourselves, then organically everything falls together.
1 year ago i was living in Pittsburgh unsure of what was to come. And here I am today, sitting in an office in Nairobi working for an awesome organization and loving my life. But like everything in my past, this time must come to an end...
the decision has been made-i'm returning to the states in July then picking up and tackling a new city: Boston. I will be moving there in August and starting classes at BU in the fall so I can now officially refer to this past year as a 'gap year' since I have a plan now. I'm nervous about a few different things but assuming (hoping) my fears will dissipate as soon as the adventure begins. I am currently stressing a bit about finding housing, taking classes again, really having to decide where my life is going...and the list continues-even writing this is causing an uneasy feeling in my stomach...
since my last post-paige has left for the states, about to take on quite the fundraising tour for AYP! Hoping to over 20 cities in a little over 1 month, I want to acknowledge her for spreading the AYP love and inspiring thousands of people around the world! The day before Paige left we took on quite an adventure-Paige, Billy, Hasan (our driver) some AYP teachers and I adventured to Naivasha for a quick little photo shoot. The grounds were lush and green and had wild giraffes, zebras, water bucks, and tons of other wild life just roaming the area-definitely not like any other place i've ever seen in my life!
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| the ladies! |
The week following Paige's departure was busy and full of exciting developments. AYP started our first yoga class at Jessica's school (The Kibera School for Girls). Close to 50 little smiling, curious ladies and 2 boys packed into the community center in Kibera. 4 AYP instructors, Moses and myself led an hour long playful practice and at the end the positive energy could have radiated to the moon and back (unfortunately my camera was broken and being fixed so i couldn't get pictures). All the kids were giggling, being goofy, dancing around, and even the school teachers participated-it was such a great experience and I am so happy I was there to witness the first class! Partnering with Jessica's organization (www.hopetoshine.org) has opened up many opportunities and I am really looking forward to the Seva Safari retreat where we'll re-build one of Shining Hope's community centers in Kibera!
The rest of the week was a jumble of meetings, yoga classes, and just typical nairobi life. Over the weekend I taught the Saturday yoga class, took a visit to the Tribe Hotel, and on Sunday hosted a get together for some of the AYP ladies and the women who beaded for us. The house was full of children, loud music, the smell of sukuma and chapati, and bursting with energy. Most of our guests that day live in the slums in very small homes and it just felt really nice to be able to have them over where they could let their kids run around and not have to watch their every move.
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| some ladies at the house! |
This past week has been full of a lot of mentorship calls, a few visits to the UN to present AYP, and office time. The office has been bustling and AYP continues to blow me away. The latest awesome development is Paige's fundraisers from Florida this weekend are titled 'Live from Africa' and we are skyping in from Nairobi to help teach her event! This is hands down one of the most unique ways to reach people to teach them about AYP and I cannot wait for it! I will update after they have completed in the next few days.
Also, I'm traveling to Diani Beach with a few ladies this weekend and really looking forward to a weekend away from my computer, the internet, and Nairobi. Not to say anything is wrong with those but it will be nice to relax, read a book, listen to music, enjoy the Indian Ocean and this beautiful country I'm residing in.
one last thing: I, Krissy Glauser, am officially climbing Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, in June...Melanie, Emily and I are doing a climb together to raise money for AYP...all of our details have not been worked out yet, but PLEASE support us by donating here:
https://www.z2systems.com/np/
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