My Inspiration

So it seems I'm having trouble writing as often as I had planned to, however my blogs are lengthy and I'd like to think this makes up for it. I've also had some circumstances that have kept me busy. The circumstance being I had to return home to Ontario for a week because my Oma passed away. I've thinking about what to write my next blog on and was having trouble because I don't want to dwell on the fact that she is gone and my grief. I started to write about my days with family  and work, but was feeling uninspired, and it was then that I realized that my Oma inspired me in so many ways, what better topic to write about.

A. Hodge x 2

When I was nine years old, my Oma flew my older brother and I to her winter home on Sanibel Island in Flordia for our March break. She planned every moment of our trip because she wanted us to experience the most we possibly could while we were there. We walked along the beach at sunrise looking for sand dollars,collected coconuts, went to museums, swam in the ocean, and every night after dinner we played Jenga. On the day my Oma had her one on one time planned with my brother she took me to her friend Hunny Boonstra's house. Hunny was a local art teacher and artist. I stayed with her for a few hours and she gave me my first painting lesson. When I arrived home from Florida I started in art classes and art became a passion. My Oma was so impressed that I had taken to art. One day she arrived at my house with  the art portfolio she had used when attending art school in New York, and told me that every true artist needs to keep their work in a portfolio and she gave me hers. I have her to thank for exposing me to something new, for sharing her passion with me, and for inspiring me to create.

When I was 12 my Oma bought me my first journal. I didn't write in it everyday, but started with poems and poems turned into teenage rants about how life is unfair. I used that journal until I was 18, at which point I had filled it and I was ready to write on a more regular basis so I bought a new one. Once that journal was full I kept buying and filling more journals. Now I am 25 and about to enter a career where the majority of the work is writing. When I first got that journal I thought it was a lame gift, I was 12 I wanted makeup or C.D's, but that was never my Oma's style. Every gift had a purpose, and handing me a journal at 12 years old inspired me to write.

Aside from art and writing, my Oma has inspired me to live the life I want to live it. I moved to Banff for the summer because I love being surrounded by beautiful scenery, and spending another summer working part time in Burlington would make me miserable. I thought about what would make me happy, and I did it. My Oma did what she wanted when she wanted to. It could seem selfish at times, but she understood something that a lot people don't. You shouldn't have to sacrifice your happiness for another person's. She was able to live by that philosophy because of her independent life. She wasn't married, she had three grown children, and she had made choices that suited her pursuit of happiness. She lived the life she wanted to live.

My Oma is one of the greatest inspirations I have ever been given. I feel fortunate to have her looks, personality traits, and creativity. 

By now I hope that you are all thinking about the person that inspires you, and realizing how lucky you are to have them.

Until next time!