My mother taught me to always send hand-written thank you letters. I still do. I have my own stationery, a drawer full of unique cards, notes and letters so I am equipped to write at anytime. For example, I wrote 20Things I love about my friends, in list form, from the inspiration of Operation Nice and sent the handwritten lists around the country to my friends. Think about how good it feels to find a card or letter in your mailbox amongst the mundane bills.

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Funny coming from a blogger, right?

Well, it worries me, because we’re the first generation to have no written record of ourselves. An article on the importance of writing humorously asks, “If Jefferson had sent text messages to Adams, think what would have been lost to history.” A valid thought, no doubt.

I find it ironic that we e-mail and text and all the massive amounts of information shared through YouTube, television, cameras, phones, networks and blogging which record every second of our lives, however, it can all be deleted or lost in translation. Newsweek author, Malcolm Jones finds the root of this problem “is sifting through the set of data. The most common complain of our time is that we are overwhelmed by information, unmediated and unstoppable.”

I agree with Jones when it comes to lack of writing in our generation: “The decline in letter writing constitutes a cultural shift so vast that in the future, historians may divide time not between B.C. and A.D. but between the eras when people wrote letters and when they did not.”

Writing isn’t only a nostalgic feeling for us but “when we read a letter, we develop an image of the letter writer unavailable to us in any other way.” We are transported to the writers words, voice and personality. The written word is alive to me. It’s like comparing your favorite book, eloquently written and envisioned, to a movie. The two simply do not compare.

Writing is important and writing is real.

I write to clear my mind. I write to understand how I feel. I write to express myself. I write to show my love. I write love letters. I have a box of love letters I’ve received over time, from crushes, the big love, high school, college and this year. I will keep them forever. I write to give. I write lists and notes, everyday. I write what I want in life.

I write and I don’t want to stop writing. Pretty soon (if not already) we will be comparing our eras – where people used to write and to now and the future, when we stopped the art of physically writing.

Have you thought about the historical context of hand-written versus online? Do you still write letters or cards or is completely obsolete to you?

This week I was interviewed by Your Hidden Potential, a great resource (check ‘em out) on helping young entrepreneurs to stay educated, informed and motivated to reach higher goals. I spoke on blogging, mentors, what keeps me inspired and a little more about me in general. You can read the interview here.

Enough of that, let’s jump to who is doing it right!

• Learn To Duck: Location? Location! Location.
• Corn On the Job: The New Hire 20
• Modite: Resource Guide: Best of Generation Y
• Life After College: Empty Spaces (and Moving Past Loneliness)
• Life Without Pants: As you might have seen here, Matt released The Epiphany Moment project. Watch all the great videos here.

It began with writer and director, Andrew Shapter as he hit the road in his van asking Americans, “What is it that makes you happy, what is your pursuit of happiness and how do you achieve it?”

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In the three years Shapter and his team were on the road filming, he said, “I looked for people that are really satisfied with what they are doing in their lives.” The end result showed touching stories of the rich, the poor, rockstars (e.g. John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson) and the famous (e.g. The Dalai Llama). I like how Shapter covered big cities and rural America. I feel he properly covered a diverse group of people that told a story.

The end result and somewhat conclusion came from one of my favorite terms and beliefs, “Giving is living.” We find great gratitude and of course, happiness from giving and your community that is a subset of natural giving. Although the film wasn’t groundbreaking or new news to me, I still felt touched by each story and liked the (simple) conclusion of sharing, giving and community, creating more happiness.

At the Boulder screening, Shapter talked about his 20 year background in fashion photography (pretty superficial world) and his uncertainty on how to end the film or find a conclusion. Finally he asserted, “The more I went around and had these soul-searching conversations, I realized the people who were happiest were those who tried to make their community better. Those were the happiest people around.”

One of my favorite stories was from a life-long shoe shiner. He believed in giving to a children’s hospital and through his shoe shining career he gave over $100,000 in donations (little by little, a couple dollars at a time). What a meaningful amount for a shoe shiner, who believed that even the smallest donation could make a difference and give back. His story was so touching.

Finally, through the conclusion to the film, Shatner realized “what I truly wanted–and needed–to do was to use the film as a tool to try and achieve that happiness goal by turning each screening into a fundraiser for a charitable cause.” Very admirable and kind. This screening I attended was for the Colorado Coalition to End Hunger.

Below is the trailer, take a peak. You can check out the website here and see if your city is on the screening tour list.

Simply put, what is your pursuit of happiness? How do you define and find happiness?

Dare to be true. It’s not easy – we live in a society where deceit, betrayal and dishonesty are prevalent. You know what I’m talking about – averted, downcast eyes, believing someone so much only to find out their words were tainted. I cringe at the thought, at the lies that have hit me in the chest and that place where those lies come from.

But dear George Herbert is so right. There are few instances in which I can think a lie is warranted and even when you bend the truth a little, to speak the sweet truth, I still feel a pinch.

With that being said, I am a human. I have lied. You know little lies, that you don’t think are a big deal, or not the whole truth.

Or is lying really a lie when no one asks you, but you also don’t tell? I want to keep certain things to myself – secrets that don’t need to be surfaced, but rather harbored, until they are ready to be opened up. It depends on your definition of lying, but I’m raising my hand, here’s my truth, I’ve told a lie. Or two…

Lying is one big black hole, isn’t it?

Okay, so I’m simplifying it. I still firmly believe in daring to be true. My best friends are refreshingly honest with me, I know I can always count on that and in return, I will give them the same respect. And really, if you live in an honest world and tell the truth you don’t have to back peddle or try to remember your lie(s).

I feel better living an honest life, where I trust what I say instead of looking behind my back, trying to cover my lies and wonder who will find out.

After all, truth alone triumphs. It always does. That’s the truth.

So, I dare you, to be true. Tell me about your lies and your truths. When have you slipped up? When have you been honest?

[Note: In the spirit of truths and lies, here's some full disclosure for you: This post is connected to the Athenos Two Truths and a Lie Party in Denver, where they're giving away lots of cool stuff, including a free trip to South Beach! I love their hummus and I'm going, so if you're local and thinking about attending, you can RSVP here.]

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Fast forward, five months to today – Matt released the video collaboration, The Epiphany Moment, that involves 27 amazing individuals, from all walks of life talking about their moment. Matt describes the moment as “life changing – it’s one of those moments in your life when everything comes together – when it all “makes sense” – a true moment of clarity.”

Sharalyn says it best: “moments” is the key phrase, that we will have many epiphany moments, not just one throughout our lifetime.

Although it was hard to choose just one of my “moments” the one I filmed was more recent and relevant to my life, currently. It has to do with not settling, with taking a big risk even when nothing was set in stone and believing that happiness is a choice and a choice that I wanted to be part of.

Watch my video below, to understand what I’m talking about*

The Epiphany Moment – Grace Boyle from Matt Cheuvront on Vimeo.

I highly suggest you watch every single epiphany moment video. They’re all interesting and different. Matt did a great job collaborating, bringing in Tim Jahn and Courtney Olson to do the editing and beautiful music, respectively.

*Note: Just ignore that I’m saying “aha moment” instead of “epiphany moment” because not only am I that curious little girl, but I also sort of walk to the beat to my own drum. Oops.

So I want to know? What’s your epiphany moment? Did a light bulb go on? What’s that moment in your life when everything was clear?

Note: The following is a guest post from my friend, Beth Oppenheim-Chan.

Being in the nonprofit world is sometimes a thankless affair. Long hours, lower pay scales, and not always seeing the direct impact on your work can be some of the challenges. BUT it’s my love. Somehow, through all of the different paths and directions my work interests have taken, I have remained faithful to this one.

Being on the fundraising side of things, I have constantly been bombarded with articles declaring these days to be the dark days of philanthropy. When the economy goes down, common sense leads people to think that giving goes down too. To a certain extent, they are right. But these folks forgot about my colleagues in Generation Y. All of us working in entry, mid-level, and entrepreneurial positions play a role in the innovation of philanthropy – and I have been impressed with what I’ve seen.

Innovative ideas like Project 7 and Changents have taken what we know about giving, and caring about the world – and changing that to reflect Gen Y’s particular tastes. Networking, and the NEW buzzword on the block – social entrepreneurship – that has everyone talking about new ways to help, all reflect Gen Y’s changing ideas of what it means to “do good.”

For me personally, I think I’ve encountered both sides. Philanthropy is an entrenched idea – one that doesn’t change overnight. The majority of nonprofits still get their funding from traditional grant sources such as foundations (community, private, public) and government grants.

In the fundraising business, people value age and experience. Sometimes, it’s a challenge to bring out the new voices and ideas. But in my opinion, it’s a must.

New and innovative ways of thinking are cropping up everywhere – and I applaud it. The more we get people involved in changing the way people give, the more people whose lives we can ultimately affect through our work. Having the privilege to post on Grace’s blog is a testament to the way people our age value philanthropy – volunteerism and reaching out to others are both great ways to do good.

So how would you lend your voice to this evolution? What can we do as entrepreneurial Gen Y-ers to reinvent this wheel?

Bio: Beth Oppenheim-Chan is a blogger over at 25 and Trying, where she writes about her career in the nonprofit world, life, and a bit of international development sprinkled in. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter too!

As a clarification, my intent wasn’t to be exclaim: this way is right and the other way is wrong, but to write from my perspective and experience, how I have come to respect each individual’s lifestyle and needs, while simultaneously learning to understand how I operate to better understand others. That is really the bottom line. So to everyone who shared, thank you for contributing, listening and pushing me to think even further.

With that being said, I actually plan on doing not much this weekend and I can’t wait

• Not So Literal: Keep Your People Up
• Live the Charmed Life: Searching for Serendipity
• Girls Around Chitown: The Power of Silence
• Restless Like Me: You Aren’t Qualified
• Good Magazine: 15 Things You Should Know About Breasts (Come on, I know you’re going to click on it. It’s important!)

I also wrote a guest post this week for my friend, Beth Oppenheim-Chan over at 25 and Trying:

• 25 and Trying: There Is No “The-End” In Passion

My mom was voted most athletic in high school but she says that’s just because she was the lead cheerleader and actually played tennis, the one sport offered to women “back then.” Apparently, she wasn’t excited as I was when I found out her award. Pshh.

I still draw inspiration and ideas from the things I learned on my yoga mat, with my championship-winning basketball team and coach that I still visit with today, my horse and hours of tireless training or finally, the leadership and inner strength you gain from challenging yourself physically, period.

My horse and I, Keep The Wind

A new study from two economists shows that besides better grades, lowering the rate of teen pregnancy and self-esteem, sports actually “offer some answers, providing the strongest evidence yet that team sports can result in lifelong improvements to educational, work and health prospects.”

Betsey Stevenson, an economist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, found “that increasing girls’ sports participation had a direct effect on women’s education and employment.” This very line in the study is why I chose to blog about it. This portrays a powerful impact and we’re not just talking about sports improving your general life at the time, it affects you for the future.

Furthermore, Dr. Stevenson says, “It’s not just that the people who are going to do well in life play sports, but that sports help people do better in life,” she said, adding, “While I only show this for girls, it’s reasonable to believe it’s true for boys as well.”

I myself am a photographer, deeply invested in the arts, theater and music (I played piano) which is why I think sports aren’t for everyone. I’m not preaching sports (these studies are, but hey, it’s just science). I’m preaching being active (in some way). Our bodies need to move – it’s enlivening and healthy.

How do you choose to be active? What were you involved in growing up and how did it affect you?

I say that all the time and it’s true. I’m down to do (almost) anything. My downness has created jobs, friendships, new opportunities, worldwide traveling, unique experiences and of course, perpetual dimpled smiles.

For a metaphor, I think to Sharalyn’s beautiful post on Elisa’s #AllYouNeed series comparing love to beekers (yes, like from Chemistry class). Sharalyn talks about how her beeker is always full and overflowing – the size of a 500 mL beeker. Men she has dated in the past had 250 mL beekers and although their beeker might be full and overflowing, they simply couldn’t give as much as she always was willing to give. No one’s fault, just a lesson in learning about who you are, what you need and what you can offer.

I resonated with this in my past relationships but also relating to being down and the friendships in my life.

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I’m a doer. I’m active, social and love to travel. I’m on the move. I carve out time for my passions and enjoying life because it’s part of who I am. I must. That being, I’m always down. Maybe this has to do that my interests are broad, but I also think that keeping my mind open like a parachute will not only help me grow, but learn and find new experiences.

My down beeker is overflowing. It’s way bigger than 500 mL and it’s hard for me to find friends who have their down beeker in tow. In turn, I’ve sourly turned this into mistrust, frustration or thinking friends don’t really care. When really (Grace, be rational) that’s not the case. I have to understand their beeker, understand that maybe going to bed early is something they need so they can’t attend the gallery opening or movie I’m going to or maybe they prefer to be social only one day a week and they still love me, but their beeker won’t allow more.

I’m not talking about previous engagements, when you’re sick, working, just don’t feel like attending this time, etc. All those are legitimate excuses. I say no, too. But I digress – you probably know what I’m talking about. You know those people that rarely take you up on your offer when you invite them all the time: e.g. “Hey, getting together a group of people for happy hour” or “Free movie night at our house, we’re baking, just bring your cute self” and they say, “Can’t make it,” or don’t respond, even when they might have nothing going on.

You know why I know this? Because I would bet lots of cash-money, that I’m just as busy or busier than most people. I volunteer with two organizations, I work full-time, I go to the gym and yoga at least four times a week, I maintain this blog and always regularly update it, I meet with people looking to learn about social media or Boulder regularly and average two guests a month that stay with me. Yeah, I’m busy, but I make time for my friends (and my alone time) while still allowing my beeker to be down. Of course, those with smaller beekers can be extremely busy as well, but they likely treat their social or free time differently.

Here’s the kicker: not everyone’s like me and it should be that way. Not everyone can do as much as I do (this isn’t to sound haughty, it’s the truth). We each have our own paths and needs to get by in life. Respecting that is part of the non-linear life we all lead.

Luckily, by knowing myself, I have found friends whose down beeker’s are overflowing too. We suck the risk, goodness and fun out of life and maybe we do “more” than the average person, but it works for us and makes life so damn enjoyable. On the flip side, I’m learning. I’m stubborn, I know, but I truly love my friends even if their down beeker is smaller. I appreciate them for what they offer me, what I can offer them, and who they are.

After all, being down doesn’t constitute a true friend…but it does make for a good time.

How down are you? Have you experienced this in friendships/relationships on either side of the fence (you’re down, or do less than most people)?

• Ophelia’s Webb: Love Your Self (my guest post)
• National Gen Y Examiner, Gen Y Dating Disaster Series: Meeting the Family (great series, check it out)
• Be Happy Life Coach: Happiness Decreases Cardiac Risk (this is my mom’s blog, she’s so smart, you will like her)
• The Rest Is Still Unwritten: Miss Independent (David makes me proud in this brilliant post, comments are also juicy)

“The Epiphany Moment is a time in your life when everything makes sense – when you have an “ultimate realization” when for, even for a brief moment, you “get it.” There’s a great group that is part of the video. It launches March 2nd.