What do you enjoy doing most in your leisure time?
Since the pandemic, I’ve been watching a ton of TV. While I realize it’s not the most productive thing I could do in my free time, I’ve gotten hooked on several series that I tune into regularly. I can change it up, though, and spend hours reading a book, too.
Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting.
I lived in NYC for almost 18 years. While there, I never made it to see Niagara Falls. While it is quite a few hours from NYC, it’s still a lot closer than where I’m at now in Iowa. In fact, I’ve been to Iguazú Falls in Brazil and that’s certainly a lot further away.
I think it happens a lot that people often don’t see places that are in their own backyard. While in NY, I met a lot of people that hadn’t explored the many great attractions in their own city. I’m thinking my chances to seeing Niagara Falls are likely better now that I moved back to Iowa!
List five things you do for fun.
Here are my 5 things I do for fun, in no particular order.
1. Play with my cats.
2. Get together with family and/or friends.
3. Go to Iowa Hawkeye football games.
4. Tailgate before those football games.
5. Chat or text with friends from around the world.
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
I have two cats: Zelda and Linguini. Linguini is the youngest one and very vocal as well as playful. Both cats are very loving, but Linguini has a habit of waking me up very early every morning by meowing at my door and scratching it until I open it. Zelda, on the other hand, is content to sleep in my room until I get up.
I’ve tried to see if both cats would be calm during the night by keeping my bedroom door open, but Linguini always decides he wants to play, bringing toys onto the bed, and pouncing around. So I close the door when I go to bed.
He has no problem sleeping around the house at different times of the day and night! If I could make him understand that I’d love to sleep in a little longer, it would be fantastic and I’d get more rest.
Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
Today’s prompt needs no research for me. I know the meaning of my name. My first name is Barbara and the name comes from Greek, meaning foreign or strange. I assume that the word barbarian is derived from that, and I can assure you I’m not a savage! Ha!
I think it’s fitting that I spent my professional career in international education and traveled to many countries and did many cross-cultural workshops along the way. The name suits me! In fact, I took this photo in Spain.
I was named after a great aunt on both sides of my family and that name is also the middle name of one of my grandmothers. That has more meaning to me that the origins of my name.
What’s your dream job?
As a kid, I always wanted to be a singer and held onto that desire for many years into adulthood. I dreamed of it and would sing in front of the mirror holding a hairbrush, pretending it was a microphone., Those were the days before singing contests like American Idol or The Voice and even before karaoke machines. (Maybe they existed but I had never heard of them in my small town where I lived.) I did every singing opportunity throughout school that I could, joining the chorus, musicals, and our small group called The Minstrels. I did singing state competitions and also was selected to sing in a three state vocal event with high schoolers from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. I entered county fair performing events and also sang at weddings and at church. Singing was a passion and my dream job for many years.
As a first generation college student during a time when academic advising was not professionalized as it is now, I didn’t have the guidance I needed to pursue it. I listened to the outside noise about how hard it was to make it, and how difficult the music program at the university was. When I told people I wanted to study Music, they always said or assumed that I wanted to be a music teacher. Or they would encourage me to get a teaching certificate “to fall back on.” But I wanted to perform. When I entered the university, I let those voices influence me so I was “undecided” and didn’t take a single music course. I only sang when I played my guitar.
When you’re passionate about a subject, that’s a sign that it’s something you should pursue. I was very passionate about singing and music in general, but also had other interests and eventually ended up in a very rewarding career in international education. I loved working with college students and with people from all over the world. I loved my study abroad experiences and loved seeing students take that leap to explore the world. I am happy with the career I ended up pursuing but deep down, I often wondered what would have become of me had I pursued my dream job of singing. I have no regrets, but it is fun to imagine a career in singing. I used to say to people, “Don’t be surprised if you see me out there dropping everything here and performing when I’m 60.”
The lesson in all of this is to listen to your passions. Follow your dreams and don’t listen to the outside noise convince you otherwise not to pursue that dream job.
What makes a good leader?
A good leader has several qualities that make them successful. Good leaders inspire others to do their best. Good leaders can make decisions when necessary that others may be fearful of making or when decisions are difficult. Good leaders listen to the people they’re leading. Good leaders lead by example. A good leader will uplift and support the people they lead to be better: never keeping them from rising to the top or advancing in their careers. Good leaders have integrity, ethics and are accountable for their actions. I appreciate good leaders and have had a few in my life that I admire.
If you could un-invent something, what would it be?
Today’s prompt asks us to un-invent something. I am choosing nuclear weapons. We wouldn’t have the horrific effects from the bombs in Japan and we’d save a lot of money by not building up arsenals. While conflicts and wars would still be out there, there wouldn’t be this threat and fear of annihilation that exists today.
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
Today’s prompt is interesting to me because love is always a positive thing! So I have many examples of when I felt loved,including from family, partners, friends, colleagues and pets! I’m not going to describe the details of just one, but know that it’s a great feeling to be loved and to give love. If we all shared our love with each other, the world would be a better place.
Where can you reduce clutter in your life?
Today’s writing prompt is about clutter. I see reducing clutter as a habit to be appreciated. Clutter never really ends so it’s good to develop a habit of dealing with it as it comes along.
I’ve participated in a few decluttering programs from various people to help me sort through the physical things I can declutter in my place. Moving from New York back to Iowa helped in that, as I had to downsize for the move and into a smaller place. As with moving, getting rid of a storage unit I had kept for way too long forced me to deal with clutter. Some things I threw away, others I donated or gave away and other things I took to a consignment store.
I once got rid of thousands of emails I had in a gmail account. I even wrote about it on a blog post. Emails can clutter your life in the same way that physical clutter can.
There are some things that are best to deal with daily, like the mail or emails. If you don’t deal with them daily, the paper and the items in your inbox pile up.
The tricky things when reducing clutter have been photographs and sentimental things for me. It’s always a work in progress!
Since clutter never really ends, I believe the best way to reduce it is to develop a habit of it. The feeling you get from reducing clutter is freeing. As George Carlin has said, it clears a space to get more stuff!
Appreciation Magic 