If there’s ever a moment for you, where you’re overwhelmed with joy, gratitude and a mixture of other emotions as you recognize “this is why I’m on this planet. This is why I’m here,” I hope you relish it and pursue more of it.

For me, that moment started nearly three years ago when I had an opportunity to travel to Ukraine to serve a community of disabled children and adults. The past three summers (2009, 2010, 2011) I’ve returned to re-engage with this community of the most selfless, patient, joyful and loving people I’ve ever met.

People who have special needs in Ukraine are pariahs to society. They’re not welcome. Their interaction with humans outside of their parents or caretaker is at a minimum.

So, for over a decade, an organization called Mission to Ukraine (MTU) has relentlessly pursued the ostracized, provided them with medical resources, physical therapy, financial assistance, and more. They invite these people to summer camps where they will enjoy time spent with people just like them. They’ll have people outside of their immediate families and MTU staff spending time with them for quite possibly the first time all year (maybe the first time in their lives).

So I go to Ukraine with a team of high school students every summer and we share the camp experience with these people.

My friend Maxim, and I this past summer

Part of what I do while I’m there, is blog and tell the stories of people we meet over there.

This past summer, I went back to Ukraine and met a man who has probably never won anything in his life, but should certainly be rewarded “father of the century.”

This past summer, I carried people who couldn’t walk up the ladder of an inflatable slide so that they could experience the rush of sliding down a slide for, quite possibly, the first time in their lives.

One reason last summer’s trip was so special was because to these Ukrainians, they began to understand just how important they are to me – how important Ukraine has become to me. They started joking this year that I’ve become an honorary Ukrainian, since I’ve come three summers in a row. I had a conversation with a woman who began crying just from talking about how much she believed I loved Ukraine. The parents of these campers with special needs are blown away that Americans would take time off of work, pay thousands of dollars to travel across the world and spend time with their child who is disabled and alienated by people in their own communities.

This past year’s trip was particularly special to me. Not just because I was returning for a third time to spend time with people I care about, but also because I was able to share it with my sister.

My sister, Trisha, and I in Ukraine this past summer

Through these experiences and more, I’ve come to realize that I experience true joy when I’m around these people. I get a glimpse of what real peace looks like. I am reminded that happiness isn’t dependent on chasing the American dream. This trip has become immensely important to me and has made me feel like I’ve discovered a bigger purpose in my life – one that involves helping others and making myself available to causes and movements that are greater than me.

Truthfully, it was what was initially most attractive about joining the team here at SmallBox. SmallBox’s work within the community, the work and events we do for non-profit organizations, and the collective and contagious energy that lives in this team when there’s an opportunity to engage in helping others is something I love and a huge reason I was excited to be a part of this company.

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.

Sometimes it’s just two of us, sometimes the group can be up to 15-20 people. Every Friday, my friends and I will get together at either Fox and Hound in Carmel or at someone’s house and catch up on the week, enjoy some beverages, watch sports, play games, etc. We’ve been doing this for 3-4 years now and unless there are circumstances that prevent us from doing so, at least a few of us are there each week enjoying each other’s company.

I think it’s good to establish traditions like this. I’m at the age where a bunch of people around me are married and having children. From what I understand, once stuff like that starts happening, schedules, priorities and routines change. It’s easy to lose touch with people we care about when things get really busy.

The thing I like most about knowing my friends will be hanging out on Fridays is that no matter what stage of life we’re in, so far, we’ve made this continue to feel normal. No matter how busy our work week was, or that some of us have to get up early on Saturdays, hanging out with the same people in the same setting each week just makes life feel comfortable.

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.

Bates-Hendricks Neighborhood

I live in the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood (just south-east of downtown), in a house that was built in 1890. Like many homes in my neighborhood, my house has been through quite a bit. It used to be smaller, a kitchen was added on the back, it was a duplex for a while, it burnt partially and then was re-built.

Since I moved in (in 2005) the house has seen everything from 8 or 9+ roommates in tiny closet bedrooms, raccoon invasions and cell-phone clogged toilets to knocked down walls, torn out floors and finally – to peace and quiet. All of that history is part of what makes it home.

I live where I do for a few reasons:

1. Location. Fountain Square is a short, 5 minute walk away. Everything from Peruvian and Thai food to groceries, art galleries and music venues – are all just a few blocks from my front door. Downtown Indy is also close, 2 minutes in the car, 10 on the bike or 20 by foot.
   

   My House

2. DIY. I like fixing things, improving things and watching things grow. Both my house and neighborhood are perfect for this.
3. Affordability. Not much else to say here – it’s a major plus.

I suppose someday I might move, maybe to a house with a bigger yard or an attached garage. But for now, I like where I live, I love that I get to share it and improve it with my husband, and I love that I get to call it home.

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.

Where do I go to find inspiration?

Inspiration. Inspiration. This word has been engraved in my brain. This is a tough question for me to answer. Not because I cant come up with a place or thing that evokes strong inspiration within me, but simply because there are so many things that inspire me.  It’s hard to pinpoint a select few that represent the most inspirational. I am going to give it my best shot by just listing the top 3 off the top of my head this morning.

1. Friends- Friends are an endless source of inspiration for me. Whether my friends at work or my friends around town, every single one of them is amazing and super talented. When I see them performing music live, painting, formulating an amazing idea for SmallBox, writing, or taking pictures, I am inspired in my own projects. I am blessed to have so many sources of inspiration within my group of friends.

2. Art – Art is a huge source of inspiration for me. Whether it’s video, music, traditional art (painting, photography, etc) or a logo design for a client, capturing art is automatically going to garner a strong inspiration to create art of my own. Hopefully my creations will, in turn, inspire others.

This week I went on vacation to see one of my favorite paintings. This is my favorite Rothko that is currently in the The Art Insitute of Chicago it is called Untitled (Purple, White, and Red)

3. Learning – Learning simply inspires me. I love learning and finding out something new that I did not know previously. Learning new things is an integral part of my life. Every time I learn random facts (like how many light-years a cloud nebula might be from head to toe), I feel a sense of understanding that I didn’t have before. Constantly pursuing learning strongly shapes my worldview and inspires me to think about my work in a totally different perspective. It then creates new connections and possibilities that I did not necessarily acknowledge previously.

Well I could probably go on and on, but I am more interested to know what inspires you! So please free to list some of your sources of inspiration in the comments section!

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.

I’ve had two stand out locations that truly inspired my creativity at important times in my life. Unfortunately, they aren’t exactly down the street, so I find another way to escape there when I need to. Like a lot of people, I tend to associate certain music with specific times and locations.

Boiler Up.

Back to school

When I was trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to do with my life during my freshman year of college at Purdue, I tended to walk around campus a lot with my headphones on. The most poignant moments or worthwhile epiphanies seemed to occur while I was listening to Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile. To this day, whenever I want to come up with something new I put my headphones back on and throw on that album. Suddenly, I’m back sitting against a tree at the Memorial Mall with all kinds of options in front of me.

Beantown

A few years later I graduated and had several freelance projects lined up while I was trying to pinpoint what company I wanted to work for full-time. I had the opportunity to live in Boston with a friend for a few months to get a change of scenery and some new networking contacts. While there I took a lot of inspiration from the history and diversity of the city itself. The contrast of so much modern culture next to so much history caused me to start to see different sides to everything in front of me. Of course, I took all of this in while walking around and listening to music. This time though, it was The Shins – Oh, Inverted World. While I used the previous album to come up with new ideas, any time I want to build off of an existing idea I find I’m much more creative with The Shins.

Quiet

Take away my music though… and I’ll find my inspiration from complete peace and quiet. Find me a back porch overlooking a body of water, and I’ll come back with “my next big idea” as soon as I return to society.

This post is part of Think Kit 2011.