Blessed.

More often than naught as of late, my response to most questions has been "meh."  

"How's work going?"

"Meh."

"How's Pittsburgh?"

"Meh."

"How's the weather?"

"Meh."

A combination of factors led to a moment of clarity this evening.  In my sweet little sheltered life, where for the most part I have been shielded from anything bad for my 22 years, yes, things seem very "meh" right now.  Have I felt a lot of frustration lately? Yes. But look at what I have going for me, most inspired by current events (poli sci nerd coming out in 3...2...1):

-I am fortunate enough to live in a country where I could cast my vote in a free election for a man who would have been subject to a lifetime of slavery 140 years ago.  I could also express my opinions with friends, colleagues and family members, and have a respectful debate without fear of retribution for supporting a minority candidate.  If you haven't been following the outcry regarding the aftermath of the Iranian election, you MUST look up the "Neda" video on youtube.  And if you're looking for more information, the New York Times' Lede blog is a great source of information.  

-By the grace of God, I haven't had any family members die far too young.  Obviously, today's big news was Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson dying before their time, but another story also hit me with a "WHOA life is fragile" moment.  A young woman who was a fellow '08 SU grad died after falling, hitting her head on a rock and drowning.  She was walking alongside a lake with her niece.   We never know.

-One of my best friends is beginning her stint in a teaching program, and after talking to her earlier this week, I had a deep appreciation for my upbringing.  Her 15 year-old students (who are certainly not exclusive to the high school she is teaching at) have children and they have jobs where they work the late shift until 2 am, only to report to class exhausted at 8 am.  I am so blessed to have grown up where I did, to be able to attend a private school and be raised in an environment where it was expected that I would attend college and have a career.  Such a lucky victim of circumstance.

When you look at all this, my everyday problems are a lot of nothing.  I think coming to this realization really helped my run today.  For the first time in a while, I wasn't running to escape my problems and I didn't feel like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders.  I was running to have fun.  And isn't that what this blog is all about?