This Girl

To live in hearts we leave behind Is not to die. ~Thomas Campbell, "Hallowed Ground" Fall is my favorite time of year. I love feeling the cool breeze on my face, while the sun gently warms my back. I love the colors of the leaves over my head and their crunch beneath my feet. I love the other side of the woods revealed; having been hidden for an entire season. But just as this season reveals what lies inside the depth of the woods, it reminds me of the heavy burden of loss. For the woods to come alive, the leaves must descend to their death. Why the melancholy during my favorite time of year? It was around this time some 12 years ago, when I lost a friend whom I thought would live forever. Rayna was a first year medical student at SIU. I knew her from working in the hospital. She was never without a smile and if so, it was only for a brief second, as frown turned to smirk and smirk into smile. I always knew my shift was going to be more bearable when I walked in and

It has been said that Poland is dead, exhausted, enslaved, but here is the proof of her life and triumph. Henryk Sienkiewicz I have never read any of Mr. Sienkiewicz's works, but now that I know he is a Polish novelist, I am inclined to do so. You see, I have two loves in my life: my husband and Poland. The first, I fell for at the mere age of 16 and 1/2. The second, in July of 2010, when I first set foot on Krakovian soil. Let me back track a little. My heritage is Slovak. I know, this is not the same as Polish, but close enough. What's that they say? Same difference? One of my best friends once told me that I have a Puerto Rican soul. As flattered as I might be at this sentiment, I now believe my soul was born in Krakow. We started our trip in Hamburg, DE, visiting our good friends. What a weekend that was--perfect weather, perfect company and Germany winning their current match in the World Cup. It was there that I discovered the Sunday morning Fish Market, the "

There are two types of music I like to listen to while riding my bike. No, not Country AND Western. Happy and Angry. Seems kind of contradictory on the surface, but it really makes perfectly good sense. Carefully molding my Pandora radio station named after a song by Meredith Brooks that rhymes with "itch", has brought the perfect mixture of both happy and angry-sounding songs that has minimized the need to give song after song the thumbs down. Granted, every song has something to do with either breaking up or not being able to get what you want. But how can one be disappointed when Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" is immediately followed by Sublime's "Santeria." I mean, really. Today, my bike ride was rewarded with two Yael Naim songs. The first, the ever smile-inducing "New Soul"; the other, a song sung totally in French and completely un-understandable to me, but makes me happy, nonetheless, "Paris". Hearing those French