PHOTO BY Hillary Ehlen
FROMTHEEDITOR kara@spotlightmediafargo.com
"You don't HAVE to.
You GET to."
J
odi Roper, the owner of the Cyclebar located in Fargo, said this during the 5:30 a.m. cycling class our photographer and I participated in for this issue (check out page 22). It was a reminder that we don't HAVE to push our bodies to the extreme for the purpose of working out, but we GET to while knowing that some people don't have that luxury. Her words stuck with me for the rest of the class, as I left and went about my day, and even to now, weeks later. It was a good motivator for not only the exercises we were doing but also became a daily motivator for the perspective I want in living my life. This past month was a crazy one, especially throwing the holiday season and some travel plans into the mix. A lot had to get done and I constantly felt as if I was running out of time. The rushed tone in the air was
taking the joy out of what I was doing — whether it was work, friends, church or community involvement — and I wasn't feeling present. "You get to" was a wakeup call for me. Really, I don't HAVE to do any of this. Do I have responsibilities in different areas of my life? Yes, I do. Would it be awful if I ignored those? Yes, it would be, and I'll always, to the best of my ability, follow through on my promises. But when you start to live your life out of obligation, your passion and drive don't have room to motivate you anymore. Preparing January's issue was a different process for me and involved a lot of work in a short amount of time and without Jodi's reminder, it could have easily turned into a chore. But instead, I'm thankful for what this process has shown me: FargoMoorhead is full of awesome business leaders and innovators that have some crazy
dreams. I have an incredible opportunity to connect with these people, hear all about how their dreams have come to life within the past year and share their stories with you. I'm sad to say, though, that I don't know if I would have ventured out to see what these places had to offer if I hadn't done this issue and it makes me wonder what else about our wonderful community I've missed out on. I can say with certainty that I'll never make that mistake again. I hope this issue encourages you to try new things — even if you think you won't like it, even if it's scary, even if it's outside of your comfort zone, even if you don't think you have time. We don't HAVE to love, serve or participate in this community. We GET to. Be kind and go explore,
Kara Jeffers, Editor