It's the Climb.

"Ain't about how fast I get there.

Ain't about what's on the other side.

It's the climb."

-Miley Cyrus, The Climb

I've been at a loss of words the last 4 1/2 months. All it took was a Miley Cyrus song to inspire me to write again! I don't know whether to be embarassed or grateful.

The past four months speak more for themselves through pictures than words at this point. From Denver, to Seattle, to Coeur d'Alene and back to Denver, here's a glimpse of my "climb" this fall. But first, a few highlights...

1. I HEART the Zac Brown Band. I had their album before it was released to the public and have been chasing them around the past year. Just missed them in the Northwest, then just missed them in NYC. Finally caught up to them in Denver. Not only did I go to the concert, I was chosen to be one of 12 Z-Team members to rep the Denver area. Got to meet the band and help out the day of the show, had fried chicken with their chef, free ticket to the concert and front row seats! Happiness IS.

2. Remember "MmmmBop?" I work in an office in the Student Center at DU. The window by my desk overlooks the DU Bookstore. As I was sitting at my desk one day in October, I heard a commotion. Looking out the window, I saw a parade of BAREFOOT people of all ages streaming out of the Bookstore. Leading the parade with a loudspeaker was none other than the band formerly known as the Hanson Brothers!? Apparently they were leading barefoot tours all around the world to promote awareness of their work against poverty and AIDS in Africa. The 1-mile walk before each concert was to represent what a typical African child goes through on a daily basis. From MmmmBop to Africa, who knew?!

3. Ethiopia READS. The first thing the first person I met within the first hour of the first day of orientation here at DU (back in Sept) was, "Is that Amharic on your shirt?" Amharic is the national language of Ethiopia. Ethiopia inspired me to go down this path of graduate school to prepare myself to manage a nonprofit that is both Ethiopia and US based. And YES, I was sporting a shirt with Amharic writing that had been given to me as a going away gift when I left Ethiopia in 2007. Turns out this woman Lisa had just accepted a job at Ethiopia Reads. A Denver-based Non-Profit supporting the programs of its sister organization in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. How perfect! After a quarter of Non-Profit Management classes, I have connected with Ethiopia Reads and discovered a new-found PASSION that incorporates my knack for writing....GRANT WRITING!!! I love it! And I'm now volunteering with Ethiopia Reads as a grant-writer. Know of any foundations you think would support the work of Ethiopia Reads, let me know!!!

Ethiopia Reads promotes literacy in children from various communities in Ethiopia. The founder is an Ethiopian man named Yohannes who didn't learn to read until he was 19! He has since co-authored several multi-lingual children's books that are the first of its kind to contain English, Amharic and various tribal languages all in one! Those of you who have just had babies, now you know what to expect as a gift from me! To learn more, visit www.ethiopiareads.org.

And without further ado, PICTURES!!!