Question 9: On the Mind/Heart in 2023
Published August 12, 2026
Question: What has been on your mind and/or heart recently? (Note: this was asked in 2023).
Rachel’s Response from 2023
As I draw near to graduation, I keep thinking about what I want to do with my life. I want to spend time with those I love, I want to fall in love and become a wife, I want to do what I want…even if not necessarily for a living. I want afford to keep loving music, film, food, watching performances, and enjoy the magic it all brings. My education has given me skills that will help me find a job that I will enjoy, but won’t consume me or my life. I’m strange, but I love office work, and I can see the Mon-Fri 9-5 life becoming very satisfying for me. It allows me to make the money I need to survive, but thrive in my personal time. A stable job will help me justify more concert tickets or trips to Disneyland, but it will also give me a routine to where I can leave work at work and be present in my loving home. It will be interesting to see what God does with all of this, it is something I think about often. As I think about all of this, I can’t get the song Make it Big by The Beach Boys out of my head. Enjoy these lyrics:
You can make it big
You can make it bigger than life
See your name spelled right
Up on the bright lights
(Bright lights) Ooh
Have a little faith in yourself
And everything that you do
I know you're gonna make it big if you want to (big, if you want to)
If you really want to
You can make it big
Baby, you're a superstar
Lookin' like you're going far
Do what you want
Why don't you do what you wanna?
You could be my little movie queen
Up there on the silver screen
Do what you want
Go on and do what you wanna
Catch a plane to Hollywood
And right away, you're best buddies with Johnny B. Goode
And he says, "Baby, welcome to the neighborhood"
Now you can do what you want
Do what you wanna
Community Responses
“Figuring out how I’m going to afford to move out of the dorms next summer.” ~ Nonbinary, 21.
“Recently, I’ve been struggling dealing with how to stay positive and lower stress when things happen that are out of your control. I tend to overthink sometimes, and I’m always trying to find the best solution to a problem, but sometimes there’s really nothing you can do. This year I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. I wish there was a better cure for it than just managing it with medication that could cause side effects that may or may not work in the long term and could randomly stop working someday. I wish insurance and pharmacies were less stressful and didn’t cause missed doses and errors that are out of your control. I’ve decided that I’m going to do my best to not worry about it. I don’t know what the future can hold and worrying about it will do nothing to change whatever happens. So the least I can do for myself is to stop negative thoughts from happening when they start, and try to relax. Surround myself with supportive people who love me, take a rest day, listen to yoga or meditate.” ~Female, 24.
“Ashamedly, this last week I allowed myself to get ‘tied up in knots’ over an acquaintance's behavior. My frustration and guilt unsettled me (for several days). I was finally reminded that I was not extending mercy to that individual that is extended to me everyday by our Lord, and peace washed over me. Another lesson learned.” ~ Female, 78.
“I recently got into a big fight with one of my best friends. It’s a worse feeling than getting into a fight with a partner. We don’t live together, and no officiant has made us vow to work things out in front of witnesses. What makes it worse is that we both have different conflict personalities. I shy away from conflict, and she embraces it. I want to work things out in person, and she wants to do it over messages. Neither of us is right or wrong, but we’re different. So, for now, we’re in a state of navigation. How do we hold each other's feelings when ours feel too big to contain? Will a combination of time, sleep, and perspective get us back to the place we used to be? … To be determined” ~ Anonymous.
“My beautiful love, he already has my heart, which he has taken very good care of all through our relationship. I have no doubt that he will continue cradling it until my last breath. He is also on my mind all throughout my day.” ~ Female, 63.
“Vulnerability. As someone who has recently been back on the dating scene, I forgot how much dating makes me feel vulnerable. But instead of being like the old me and dwelling on the negative, this recent go-around has shown me how strong and how much growth I’ve gained as a person.” ~ Female, 26.
“Recently, I've been thinking about the time I've spent with my friends. Or rather, the lack of it. Now that we're out of high school, there's nothing to force us to be together. We can all go our separate ways. I'm desperately trying to hold on to the things I remember about them, to keep them somewhere I won't forget. It makes me think about how much our society puts pressure on the concept of moving on, and how sometimes taking your time to grieve a small loss like this can really help in the long run.” ~ Genderfluid, 18.
“I've been focusing on my health - eating more fruits/vegetables, less processed foods, less sweets and sugar (this is the hard part for me). Drinking lots of water every day. Trying different varieties of exercises. I started to realize my lifestyle choices were starting to take a toll on my health so I knew I needed to do things differently - even small changes that build up over time. But in doing this, not being hard on myself or aiming to be 100% ‘perfect’ in my choices. Being patient with myself and happy with the steps I'm taking.” ~ Female, 27.
“GRATITUDE!!! For my life and for God's many miracles!!” ~ Female, 52.
“We — as a community, country, world — are frantically rearranging the deck chairs as the Titanic sinks. Distracting ourselves with possessions, politics, one-upmanship, and spouting self righteousness from the comfort and safety of our cultural tribes will not change the fact that the earth is dying and that we are at the beginning of a mass extinction event — the human race.” ~ Female, 60.
“The importance of friends and family. We are meant to be in relationship with others and with our respective communities.” ~ Male, 42.
“That it’s OK for friendships that have run their course to end.” ~ Female, 42.
“The passage of time. Recently my middle grandson (I have three) and his wife & daughter arrived in Washington, and I was able to meet my granddaughter-in-law and great granddaughter for the first time. Since then I’ve been flooded with memories and been made keenly aware that time has slipped away. They are grown men now, and good people. An answer to prayer.” ~ Female, 64.
“Lately I’ve been going through a rough season. It feels like my life has been turned upside down. With so much uncertainty in my life, I keep myself anchored to my faith in God. I think about how as humans we all make mistakes and no matter who you are or what position/title you hold, or even how spiritually connected you are, you will make a mistake. A lot of times it’s the expectation from everyone around you that puts so much pressure to be perfect and leave no room for error. Because when you do finally make a bad choice, everyone around you seems to be more disappointed and devastated than you! Why is that? Why do we hold people to unrealistic expectations? I think what I’ve learned is, we are all human, and everybody (even the most spiritual ones) are tempted in this world. We should not be shocked, we should not put shame on others, and we should be empathetic towards people who are going through a rough season in life. You never know the whole story, you never know how long they have suffered in silence, you never know now they are finally feeling free (while you are completely devastated by their actions). Be compassionate, is what has been on my mind!”~ Female, 40.
“I am answering this question late, but will not endeavor to answer based on what was on my mind/heart the week of July 27th (I can pretty much guarantee I will not be able to accurately recall all of those details). Here's what is on my mind & heart NOW: Gratitude for my job and my home; Increased awareness of how important it is to live for each day/ each moment; Gratitude for my progress in being able to deal with some of my ongoing worries and anxieties; Wishing I had more time each day for creative projects (like learning how to do sweet stuff on my Cricut); Love for my family and my pets ♥ ... and so much more.” ~ Female, 29.