The Me I want to Be

"Preach the Gospel at all times, when necessary use words." -Saint Francis of Assisi
I just heard the quote a few weeks ago during one of the most beautiful homilies I have ever witnessed. Father Jake, an older priest who graduated from Michigan State's Med School, spoke about what we want to be remembered as, for him- he wanted his gravestone to say "Sweet Man." I am sure my friends get a little sick of my constant advice for them and the philosophy I try to live by: be the person you want to be NOW. It is one of the hardest things to change an attitude or really step out of your boundaries to try to be that better person. I have been trying to live by my this new philosophy, but it feels like swallowing an extremely large pill without any water. But to be able to swallow, you first need to know who you want to be. So I am putting it out here on the internet, so all of those who know me and read this can call me out if I am not being that person, can challenge me, and help me grow stronger.
The Me I Want to Be
I want to be a strong and inspirational woman.
I want to understand why people act the way they do rather than judging them.
I want to be a friendly stranger.
I want to pray more.
I want to make my friends and family know how special they are to me.
I want to live by the quote above and by this quote I just recently found : "In bathrooms, boardrooms, buses, bagel shops, and everywhere else, we all need to imagine a little girl following us around, repeating everything we say and everything we do. Think about all the things you want for yourself and your daughters, granddaughters, and girls everywhere — and teach them by living it yourself.” -Nell Merlino
I want to be one of those people that you can just look at and know they are passionate and excited about the lives they are living.
I want to be constantly pushing myself to exhaustion to be the best teacher I can be.
I want to surround myself with people who inspire me and expect high standards of myself.

This is blog is not yet summed up, it is going to be a two-parter. I am going push myself to live by this for a week and get back to you then. But as my fellow (and I am sure committed) blogreaders, reflect on the person you want to be (make a list if you want to be a diehard blogger) and try to be that person. Stop saying should have, would have, and could have and start doing and being. What do you want your gravestone to say?