Have a Big Year Life Munchkins
I wrote this for one person. She knows who she is.
But in the spirit of sharing in 2024, I’ll put it out there to all the teenage girls, or anyone really, who wants a big year life.
Please believe me when I tell you – You don’t have to have a big bank account, a big group of friends, a big city job, a big house, or a big following to have a very big life.
I don’t remember what I thought a big life looked like at your age, probably not much like the list I’m about to share with you but here it is; the small things that allow me to have a big life:
Nov 2023 – Vietnam
I have a small number of friends that I don’t get to see very often. I try to do some big acts of love for them when I do see them and they do the same for me.
I have a small number of friends that I don’t get to see very often. I try to do some big acts of love for them when I do see them and they do the same for me.
March 2023
Kayla took me on an amazing trip for my birthday. Glenwood Springs then on to Arches National Park in Utah.
May 2023
Kit paid for our 2023 camp supplies. Castle and I made here a gluten free FEAST when she came to visit us in Aurora.
The number of parties or events I get invited to is small, but students, family, friends and I make our own traditions and we think they are pretty damn fun.
June 2023
Garage Sale Bingo. Big fun for my favorite price!
February 2023
Phuket Thailand. Annual taco party birthday.
I have a small family and no partner or children, not necessarily by choice. Please don’t wait until you have a partner to start your big life – I would have missed out on most of mine if I had.
August 2023
St. Louis, MO with the fam.
May 2023
Stepping Up to the Plate Award from the Aurora MO Chamber of Commerce.
July 2023
Spingfield, MO at my Master Gardener’s Graduation.
I have a small income from small jobs that I piece together.
I have no house, just a small room in a small town in someone else’s. I live with my parents when I’m in Missouri and at school when I’m in Thailand.
I have a very small (mostly free) wardrobe that I fit into a small backpack so I can carry my home on my back and travel the world.
January 2023
Phuket, Thailand. Don’t miss out on amazing places like this because you don’t think your wardrobe / body is beach ready. Just go, have a blast. Don’t delete pictures of yourself in a swimsuit, you’ll want them later.
December 2023
Mt. Batur Indonesia. Never have I ever received so many compliments as when I took the airplane blanket off an Air India flight and repurposed it as clothing for months.
I have a small non-profit, Make Our Day, that remains the heartbeat of my life. We do not have a big following or a big donor base but it’s still enough to change the trajectory of people’s lives and bring meaning and purpose to mine.
January 2023
Children’s Day at The Good Shepherd
I have a very small online following. Don’t get discouraged if not a lot of people care about what you are doing. You don’t need spectators anyway, you need participants. And in my experience, a single participant is way more valuable than a million spectators.
You’re probably like, when does this list stop being depressing. Fair enough, but make no mistake, it’s because of these small things that I have a very BIG life, just like I always wanted.
June 2023
We Can Build It Camp.
In 2023 alone I:
Put on a camp in Thailand that I made up for hundreds of students with volunteers from around the world. https://makeourday.org/
Took 10 teachers on a Valentines Day island hopping staff trip because they hadn’t gotten a break since COVID.
Raised money for my Youth Group of Burmese students to ensure they would continue to have access to school, internships, safe jobs, and vocational training for 2023. https://goodshepherdphukettown.com/
February 2023
Make Our Day Camp at The Good Shepherd
February 2023
Koh Mook with Sister and The Good Shepherd staff.
Took Kite Surfing Lessons in the Philippines. https://www.kitefreedom-santafe.com/learn-kitesurfing
Planted a huge garden and invited people from the community to cook from it, share in the harvest, and participate in cultivating the beauty of it. https://makeourday.org/
Won a national Plant a Seed Day contest that brought $25,000 to Make Our Day to continue construction on our Missouri classroom. https://biggreen.org/plant-a-seed-day-2023-recap/
May 2023
We WON!!!! I still can’t believe it. This wasn’t a random draw of a name, Make Our Day collected the most pledges of any nonprofit in the competition. If you are reading this post you probably pledged and told others to, THANK YOU!
April 2023
Come visit our greenhouse garden classroom in 2024 and learn to cook from the garden with us!
Opened a Farmer’s Market stand with products made with love by me and my students.
Met Kimball Musk at a National Conference I was invited to about changing lives through garden education. https://biggreen.org/
Officiated my first wedding.
October 2023
This internet ordination has been burning a hole in my pocket for 5 years. Thank you to the happy couple for understanding that my robes must be animal print.
October 2023
Big Green DAO Conference Denver, Colorado
May 2023
The Garden Exchange Aurora, MO. Come get your salads, salsas, pickles, blueberry buttermilk breakfast cake and more.
Was a guest teacher at another camp in Nepal where I got to teach yoga to 300+ students, experience my first and second earthquake, and learn how a school can be designed to run off grid. https://blinknow.org/
Took a motorbike trip across a part of Vietnam that is thriving with agriculture and learned to cook from their very abundant garden. https://vietnameasyriders.com.vn/
Finished the year in Bali by completing my Yoga Teacher Training and hiking above the first layer of clouds on New Year’s Eve to celebrate. https://aayaayogainternational.com/bali/
December 2023
Even a year ago I would have never believed I would be doing this.
November 2023
Surkhet, Nepal. Kopia Valley School Dashain Camp.
November 2023
Surkhet, Nepal. Kopia Valley School Dashain Camp.
A series of small things that added up to a big year of life. Do small things with BIG love and your life will get bigger.
If you want to set a New Year’s Resolution, let it be that; more small things done with BIG love.
Have a big year life munchkins.
I love you mak mak,
Teacha Katie
PS – I am writing this on New Year’s Day from a very cute coffee shop and a woman walked in, looked around and said “ughhhhhh this place looks like the Anne Frank house” and left. So just remember, beauty is very subjective. Let people who don’t appreciate you move on.
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