You Make Lincoln Good

So back in 2011, on the Fox Hole 100 ride, Patrick and I were riding along together. The weather was perfect, we were in pretty exuberant moods cruising down the canopied Jamaica Trail en route to Wilber with about 45 other riders. We were having this great conversation, then this long pause, then Patrick turns to me and just says...

"You make Lincoln good."

It was a perfect moment. I couldn't think of anything other than saying it right back to him. 

I've been thinking about this concept quite a bit, as I'm about halfway through my graduate program and looking at where and how to invest my energies, knowledge, and passions. I had an incredibly productive meeting with one of my professors today in which she remarked that I really had such unique and extensive knowledge about my city and state, and (while I'm not holding my breath) I think I have found a really productive, engaging, and moreover useful project to undertake for my thesis that goes way beyond something to turn in for a degree. And it involves being here. 

Back to the point...

Look around you. It's easy to get lost in the overwhelming pieces of our work, school, social, and emotional lives. It's easy to get frustrated. It's been really tempting to want to throw in the towel, pack up, hide away somewhere, or who knows what else. It's easy to push out those negative feelings onto the people around you, blame the environment you're living in, and do nothing about it.

But, DAMN. That is such a terrible way to look at things. There are a whole lot of people around that MAKE LINCOLN GOOD. Thanks, y'all.