Welcome.

I hated AP U.S. History.
As a Junior in High School, I already knew what I wanted to do with my life. I was involved in countless activities, and I didn't have it in me to read and memorize and make the class the priority my teacher told me it should be. So I just got through it. And as I've gotten older, I realize that instead of retaining the major parts of our country's history that I wish I did, I am left with strange bits and pieces, flashes of facts from our weekly quizzes. Take this, for example--I will always remember the Supreme Court case Gibbons vs. Ogden. While studying for the AP test, I came up with funny ways to remember the cases. My favorite was an image of gibbon monkeys running over a map of the U.S. Gibbons vs. Ogden = interstate trade.
But of all those little facts that surface while I'm watching Jeopardy or trying to hold my own in Trivial Pursuit, there is one that has become my favorite. This one buried its self much deeper inside me and surfaced not just as a tidbit but as a new inspiration and philosophy for my life--Manifest Destiny.

Here's a little Wikipedia action to fill you in:

"Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic Seaboard to the Pacific Ocean. Advocates of Manifest Destiny believed that expansion was not only wise but that it was readily apparent (manifest) and inexorable (destiny)." 

Last year, I began to feel this pull Westward. I don't know where it came from. Sure, I could name many reasons I could do well out West... just like I could about going back East. I like to question--everything, including my own reasoning. The more questions I ask, the more answers I get. I can justify my choices that way. But when faced with a choice, there are those times we get a feeling that outshines anything on a pro/con list. And one day shortly after the pulling feeling and I became acquainted, every question had an answer.

In popped an old friend--Manifest Destiny. 

I began using the phrase more in humor than actual belief. I'd say, "Sure, this feeling is telling me that West = happiness & opportunity. But I can't help myself. In fact, all Americans should feel the need to venture West. It's Manifest Destiny at work."

Joking faded to inspiration as I thought of all the choices that have led me around the country to where I am now, ready to make something new happen for myself. Joking faded to a new outlook as I gained confidence in the idea that through choice, I will create my future. Naming my next life step is just for fun. But repeating the phrase -- Manifest Destiny -- that is what helps me each day to work toward a goal. 

My destiny is calling me to some place near the ocean, and I can manifest that destiny.