Alphabet Meme

I got this meme from Mike: "Write ten words beginning with that letter in your journal, including an explanation what the word means to you and why, and then pass out letters to those who want to play along. " He gave me the letter N.

1. Nice - this is typically how I'm described. Not that it's bad, but it is boring. Whenever I try to break the mold, though, I fail. Guess I'm doomed to be nice.

2. Niche - thought I'd found mine; turns out I haven't. That's a good thing, I believe, because I'd hate to think that life couldn't change after the age of thirty-five.

3. NASA - from Mercury to Apollo, Hubble to Cassini, grad school funding to E/PO grants, NASA has had an effect on my life that's almost impossible to describe. Perfect? No, but where would our understanding of the cosmos be without NASA?

4. Nebula - birthplace of stars, birthplace of dreams. The cycle of life and death playing out on an unfathomable scale. Seeing this image of the Vela supernova remnant when I was a young girl marked the beginning of my journey towards being an astrophysicist.

5. Nerd - gee, ya think?

6. Nature - you might be sensing a theme here. Taking the time to appreciate the universe around me is very important to me - looking through a telescope, touching a moon rock, sitting on an cliff overlooking the ocean, pressing my nose against the airplane window to peer at volcanoes, hiking in the cool mountain air... It isn't that I don't appreciate man-made works of art and literature, but nature awes me.

7. Night - I love the darkness, the cool air, the silence. I love the stars, Moon, and planets all shimmering above. I love moonlight streaming through the window and the last lingering stars before dawn.

8. Never - I never thought I'd fly alone on a plane. I never thought I'd lose 60 lbs. I never thought I'd drive across country alone. Never is a word that I will attempt to use more judiciously in the future.

9. Nine Inch Nails - the last few years been rough, and I don't know what I would have done without Trent Reznor - new album, concerts, and lyrics that speak to me like no others.

10. Next - mmm...the possibilities are endless.