Everything felt out of control last October:

• The damage Hurricane Isaac left to our apartment meant our landlord was freaking out and threatening renovations that initially would have had us out of our apartment for an extended time
• Our new dog, Bleu, had managed to chew through 6 pairs of my shoes in less than two weeks
• My first year experiencing October as a breast cancer survivor was overwhelming–I was not prepared for the over-awareness of pinktober or showing signs of PTSD
• I had co-written a travel grant for 9 students to attend a Model UN on climate change in Qatar, recruited the students and trained them to do Model UN–but wasn’t chosen to chaperone the trip
• I hadn’t created much of a support group in NOLA and was feeling very alone

This October is different and I’m proud of the work I’ve done to get to this different place. From therapy to exercise to new work opportunities to this blog, I’m feeling stronger and in a much better frame of mind. Checking out my Three Words for 2013, I realize that I have come a long way. This new self-challenge of 31 posts in 31 days feels ‘right’ and doable. There is a sense of control–FOR NOW–that I want to package and hold on to. I suppose that is what this post is doing.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fun, old school Janet Jackson video!