Blog — Windrose Magazine

Posts in Dreams

Redefining Failure and Moving Forward

Redefining Failure and Moving Forward

It’s been six months since I graduated from university and if I’m perfectly candid, it’s been a rough ride. People keep telling me that it’s okay to not know what you’re doing at this stage in life. “You’re so young, take time to figure it out!”

I have been told some variation of that statement hundreds of times since April. As reassuring as it is to hear, I haven’t felt content with what I’m doing since I was in school. I miss writing every day. I miss being challenged, studying, learning new things and that fly-by-the-seat-of-my pants adrenaline rush I get anytime I’m working under a strict deadline.

Dreams, CareerMegan HoeglerOctober 25, 2016Featured Comment

Let This Be Enough

Let This Be Enough

“Let this be enough.”

I heard those simple words this morning as I sat quietly in my living room beneath the “Inhale” and “Exhale” artwork that reminds me to breathe. In my left arm sat my cuddly grey cat that I never intended to own; in my right hand steam rose from the coffee in my Be Brave mug. My jealous Poodle, deeply offended that I could love any creature apart from herself, had crawled into my lap and curled up on the pillow. A soft Target blanket was tucked around my legs, and my feet were warm inside fuzzy socks. A pumpkin candle glowed and fall’s weak morning light shone through the windows. Be still, I urged my mind. Be still and know. Stay quiet and listen.

Life, DreamsAlly WillisOctober 22, 2016FeaturedComment

On Moving Across the Country and Being Content

On Moving Across the Country and Being Content

When I got the email, I knew I didn’t really have a choice. I was growing bored of my small college town and the fear of remaining there forever was stronger than ever as all of the people around me were graduating. I hated that I had already stayed this long after my own graduation. I was feeling stagnant; I was getting restless. I loved everything about my life as it was, except for the fact that there was no way it would stay that way. I had the urge to leave before everyone else did.

Life, DreamsHannah ReedOctober 20, 2016Featured Comment

When Purpose Wavers

When Purpose Wavers

But difficult classes, loneliness, discontent, and failed experiments quickly overshadowed the idyllic concept I had of this season of life. What had once felt so solid in my mind began to crumble and it's only now, one year later, that little buds of insight are poking through that shattered concrete of some of the blocks I'd built upon my foundation.

Career, DreamsBree WatkinsOctober 18, 2016Comment

Being Present Where You Are

Being Present Where You Are

I bought a painting today to help my room look a little more homey, to help ease the tension of being here and wanting and waiting to be home. It’s the New York City skyline looking towards Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge. I walked across that bridge in the pouring rain last year; I looked up into that skyline on the anniversary of 9/11, so scarred with pale blue lights marking what used to stand tall. I flinched as planes roared over the hundreds gathered around the memorial. I bought books and drank coffee and rode the subway; I fell in love with a new city, unexpectedly.

But I knew the feeling deeply, as if written in my DNA, because I had felt it before, six years ago, walking much different streets, drinking chai, not coffee, and taking autos and overcrowded buses.

Dreams, Life, TravelKatie RouseOctober 4, 2016FeaturedComment

Lessons from an Eraser

Lessons from an Eraser

Nothing can prepare you for feeling unprepared in the “real world.” There’s no glossary, no professorial advisor, no syllabus, and, perhaps the most disorienting, no grades. I don’t know how I did during my last tutoring session. I’m not sure of my strengths in my last interview (although, I can confidently report many weaknesses).

Career, Dreams, LifeC. CarrollSeptember 27, 2016FeaturedComment

Finding Happy One Year Later

Finding Happy One Year Later

Last Thursday, I got an email from my company’s CEO.

“Congratulations,” it read, “on the most important decision of your life thus far. You’ve been with us for an entire year!”

The email was a little presumptuous; I found it a little off-putting. But it reminded me of a milestone I would have marched right past had it not been for a standardized company email and nice little bonus gift in my paycheck—I’ve been living this adult life for 365 days.

Dreams, Career, LifeAmanda BeadlescombSeptember 25, 2016FeaturedComment

Home Is Where You Find Yourself

Home Is Where You Find Yourself

I sat in the corner of the empty bedroom in my apartment trying to get that perfect picture for Instagram. It was my last chance to take in the view before I subleased it to someone else. It had been my home for over a year and a place where many happy memories were created.

Dreams, Life, RelationshipsRegan CunninghamSeptember 22, 2016FeaturedComment

I Don't Know What I'm Doing With My Life

I Don't Know What I'm Doing With My Life

“So what are you doing? Like, why are you here?”

“I’m taking some time off, you know, waiting until the end of the summer to find a job.”

“But like… what are you doing?”

I don’t know, okay? I don’t know.

Dreams, LifeKatie SerenaSeptember 4, 2016Comment

The Art of Sitting: Filling the Time In Between

The Art of Sitting: Filling the Time In Between

My last college deadline was to be completely packed up and checked out of my on-campus townhouse by 4 pm on graduation day. Yes, after the nervous excitement of placing my cap just-so, figuring out how the mysterious hood was supposed to sit uncomfortably around my neck, waiting to be called to claim my diploma, successfully navigating my way across the stage without falling, and after waiting through another speech and another send-off, I had to rush back to my room and leave my four-year home in two short hours.

Graduation, Career, DreamsC. CarrollAugust 25, 2016FeaturedComment

Living Well Between the Goodbyes

Living Well Between the Goodbyes

I wasn’t prepared for the high-speed film reel of memories to hit me the second we drove off the 405 onto the 101 highway.

Two hours of driving through my tears on the day I said goodbye to a boy my brain had grown accustomed to telling “I love you,” when my heart just wasn’t there yet. An entire CD of Lady Antebellum Christmas songs my sister and I played on repeat on our way home for winter break. A 40-mile trek with three girls who shared my apartment and the label “best friend” just to walk into a Target.

Dreams, Life, GraduationAmanda BeadlescombAugust 21, 2016FeaturedComment

A New Blog, A Better Blog

New things, better things.

That’s been a go-to phrase for me for the past several months, a reminder in a rather transition-heavy and emotionally-turbulent time in my life to keep my eyes set on the good things to come rather than the worries I usually burden myself with needlessly.

And in the spirit of new things, better things comes along That First Year getting a makeover.

Travel, Style, Money, Life, Health, Graduation, Grad School, Dreams, Career, RelationshipsAlly WillisAugust 9, 2016FeaturedComment

Not What You Want, But What You Need

Not What You Want, But What You Need

I saw the finish line. It was close. I never thought I would make it but there I was: six weeks from wearing that awkward too-small cap and oversized gown. I was pages away from closing the book yet with the strongest desire to call it quits and throw it away.

I felt lost. I was anxious and ready to move somewhere new and exciting. I was ready to walk away from everything I worked to build and everything I chased after just for something new. I wasn’t secure in myself, where I was going in life, or the standing I held with the people around me.

Dreams, Graduation, CareerCaitlin SoileauAugust 3, 2016Comment

Today I Am On A Plane: The Move to New York City

Today I Am On A Plane: The Move to New York City

Today I am on a plane.

I have just moved to New York City. I have listened to "Empire State of Mind" 7 times. I have had 2 mimosas. I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't know how I got here.

Five days ago I was in Nashville, TN. My home for the past 4 years, my city, my happy place.

One day ago I was in Long Lake, MN. My home for the past 22 years, the only home I've ever lived in, my safe haven.

Today I am on a plane.

I have realized there is a difference between dreaming your dreams and living them.

I have also realized how hard it is.

Dreams, LifeKatie SerenaJuly 24, 2016Featured, Archive 16Comment

How to Fit Your Life into Two Suitcases: Tips for Moving Abroad

How to Fit Your Life into Two Suitcases: Tips for Moving Abroad

Two months from now, I will be living 3,700 miles away from home in a country I’ve never visited before.

My boyfriend and I have decided to move to Holland, where he is finishing his degree in The Hague. Several months ago, he asked me to come with him and after much deliberation, planning and money-saving, I’ve decided to take the plunge and come along for the ride. When he first asked me, I was terrified. I’ve never ever visited Holland, how could I move somewhere I’ve never been? I don’t speak the language, how would I get around? Or get a job? What could I do as a job? Where would we live?

Being the planner that I am, I started tackling my list of fears one by one.

Travel, Dreams, LifeMegan HoeglerJuly 14, 2016FeaturedComment