So You Can Wake Up & Rise

rise

/rīz/

verb

  • move from a lower position to a higher one; come or go up.
    • "the tiny aircraft rose from the ground"
 noun
  •  an upward movement; an instance of becoming higher.
    • "the bird has a display flight of steep flapping rises"  
Many a time, I find myself sitting on the futon in my "living room," (my place is a studio, so more like living space) with fingers sprawled across my laptop keys seeking ways to rise. It seems as if Solange's "Rise" came at such a perfectly introspective time in this chapter of my life story. Lately, this futon scene hasn't been complete without a beginning-to-end listening of Sol-Angel's A Seat At The Table. "Rise," which so adequately opens the album, is a push. An affirmation. A love letter. A declaration of self-accountability. 



Before we become 'Weary,' before we can reach up to our 'Cranes in the Sky,' before wondering and accepting 'Where Do We Go," we must rise. I must rise. And so my fingers often sit sprawled across the home row in search of what rising means for me. 

And right now, instead of thinking big picture, around what rising means and how it could happen, I rather think concretely and challenge myself on rising specifically. 

 I rise. 
There is nothing new under the sun. The concept of "rising," of continually becoming a better you has existed for decades. We reinvent it with every generation. We reinvent it everyday. We rise with rising.
Today, tomorrow, and on forth: I rise. I accept that growth is not linear. I accept that falling is necessary for rising to exist. I accept that I may rise in ways that I can be ignorant to.
  • I will actively work towards enjoying my time abroad. I work past flight anxieties, language nervousness. I am going across the world because I deserved this opportunity, this time is mine to make the most of.
  • I refuse to adopt the job-related stress of my peers. I refuse to settle for anything less than what is destined for me. What is destined for me job-wise is prepared for me. "Not knowing" is only as bad as I create it to be.
  • I will love fiercely.
  • I am secure in my skills and my talents. I expand my "can-do" out of desire, not comparison. I can be a techie, regardless of my editorial experience. I learn at my own pace.
I have a lot ahead of me, all of which brings such great opportunities. And, honestly, I can't wait for what's to come. I am ready to rise.


 

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