An Introduction

“Little garden how do I make your flowers grow?
When I already do everything that I know.
I bring you sunshine and I bring you rain, but still you refrain
All the other gardens are so full of flowers

They're so colourful yet I spend all these hours,

Trying to make you as beautiful as them, but still you refrain.”

                                            “Little Red” –Kate Nash

Bravo Kate Nash.  Bravo.  I’ve listened to this song dozens of times and have always loved it but I never looked beyond the literal meaning of these lyrics.  Not until I found myself smack dap in the middle of the terrifying reality of being a twenty-something college grad trying to find her place in the world. 

A little about me.  My name is Ruby. [Insert clever remark about my name involving a song reference, or how I’m a gem.  Don’t worry, I’ve heard them all ;) ]  I’m 23 years old and almost a month ago I moved to Oregon after spending my entire life living in the stifling grasp of Kansas.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some good things about Kansas and I’m blessed to have had some really amazing people in my life during those 23 years.  But it’s not exactly the land of opportunity for a dreamer like me. 

So I set off to Oregon to chase my dreams.  There’s only one problem……I have no idea what I’m doing.  But as terrifying as it is, there’s something refreshing about it.  A clean slate.  A fresh start.  Endless possibilities.  Now I just need to figure out where to begin.  I have no idea where this journey will take me but I hope someday I can look back and describe my life with a different set of lyrics:

“This little girl, she grew up and moved away and she,  

She lived her life full of risk and full of play and she,

She lived her life with so much to say,
And her flowers they grow more beautiful every day.”