Fulfillment

-F Scott Fitzgerald 

Philosophy: Remember to be grateful for what you already have. 

Light

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that receives it." -Edith Wharton

Philosophy: Be an advocate of goodness: reflect what you receive, generate what you wish you had.

The Fig Tree

“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.” -Sylvia Plath

My all time favorite quote. The first time I read this quote I imagined it was myself, not Esther, in the crotch of that fig tree; grabbing desperately at different futures under a palpable pressure of time and limitations set forth by my gender and maintained by society. I could relate. I have many interests: drawing, psychology, acting, traveling, and of course writing, to name a few, but I had to choose one. My choice to pursue a doctorate in psychology was as much a choice made out of personal interest as it was out of necessity. It was the only option that had the prospect of financial stability and simultaneous self-fulfillment, but I didn’t want my other interests to drop dead at my feet the moment I declared my major in college. So instead, I’ve tried to gather each fig as I see them slip from the tree like a frantic juggler at a carnival. To that end, I've self-published a novel, generated a decent collected of artwork, and traveled to over 15 countries. 

Philosophy: Life is what YOU make it. 

Recovery

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. - Audrey Hepburn 

This quote parallels my thoughts on rehabilitative psychology- particularly the recovery movement for individuals with schizophrenia. 

Philosophy: No one is beyond help. 

Philosophy of Mistakes:

“Sometimes I wish we could rub out all of our mistakes and start fresh, from the beginning,' I said. 'And sometimes I think there isn't anything to us but our mistakes.” 

― Paula McLain, The Paris Wife

If you're not making mistakes then you aren't trying anything new. 

Philosophy: Perfection doesn't exist. 

Humor = Health

"I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line." - Lucille Ball

Philosophy: To laugh is to live

John Lennon

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ― John Lennon

Philosophy: Happiness is the key to life