Greetings!
Advent is a time of anticipation, and a time of journey. This year I feel even more connected to this season and all its meaning than ever before, (which is saying something as it is my favorite season). As I count down to Christmas and the birth of Christ this year, I am also counting down to my departure from my church family, my home for the last 2 1/2 years and not far after my departure from this country.
As most of you know by now I am moving to Bundaberg Australia. My departure will be on January 26th, but I am taking the month of January to pack my life into 2 suitcases and a closet. Before starting my Journey and transition, I think it is important to look back to where it all began.
Since graduating college, I have been in Tacoma Washington, working as a full time youth director. I love my job, my youth and the whole church family here. I have learned a great deal about myself, as I have had to live by myself for the first time both literally and more figuratively in stepping out as an individual in the world. This job is what I thought was my dream job, in my home state, by mountains, but not so far away that I can't visit family on any given weekend. Yet, with all these great positives I couldn't help but have a nagging feeling that I wasn't really ready to settle down and create my "forever" place here. During this time, I have watched so many friends go and live in other countries, and that is the one thing I always wanted to do in college, and never did.
Then there was the fateful spring day, when a colleague shared with me a job posting in Australia. I was feeling grumpy and restless and remembered "Alexander and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day", one of my favorite childhood storybooks. So, I decided I would apply for the job. So there it is, the start of my story, the start of my journey.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Prince Charming
So I recently read an article about how Chick Flicks are ruining women's perception of love, and are causing real life romance problems. The University of Edinburgh did a study based on films from 1995-2005. I found this to be incredibly though provoking, being someone who watches a lot of chick flicks. Brace yourself, I tend to be a long winded writer.
Their main argument is that because of chick flicks people seem to think that there is fate that will bring you together, and hence people communicate in relationships less because they assume it should work out, from the beginning, and fail to recognize the effort needed to build and sustain the relationship. I agree that chick flicks perpetuate this image, and that it is not realistic. I have had the fortune of having many adult mentors in my life, and to be part of a family who models "successful marriage". None of the marriages I have ever witnessed have ended in divorce, from my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and family friends. This is incredible in and of itself. All these relationships I have witnessed look completely different, and none of them have the glamor of a chick flick, because they are reality. They are founded in deep trust, and years of working to build the relationship.
I personally feel that Chick Flicks also set an unrealistic expectation of grand gestures. They make you think that someday, you are going to be swept off your feet, in the pouring rain, and you will be forever happy. The thing is, that real life doesn’t work like this, and love comes from the little things. The looks that make you feel like you are the most important person in the world, the hugs at the end of a bad day, the understanding between two people of what the other needs. Every love story doesn’t have a huge moment of a romantic get together, they start and end mixed into normal, everyday life.
Also, chick flicks stop, they never show the after the grand gesture, or the point where the two individuals finally get together. They capture the moment of happiness and newness, they don’t address what happens next, when one of the people has to move away, or you get in a fight, or you are just tired. Chick Flicks lead you to believe that a grand gesture will always make up for it, but as they point out in 10 Things I Hate About You, you can’t just buy a guitar every time you screw up. Grand gestures may seem great, but they aren’t a functional way to sustain a relationship.
All that being said, I think that chick flicks provide some good to society. I think that chick flicks can show good examples of love, and more so great examples of characters to aspire to be, or to find. I specifically want to mention a few of the male leads in chick flicks, and why I like them.
Tyler Prince- He is the heartthrob of the movie Sydney White. Throughout the movie, he holds as an all around good guy. He is involved in his campus life, community service, and projects to better the future of his community. Yet, he is still written as a character that learns and grows. He meets a not so typical girl, and he learns that a normal guy can have lots of shapes and sizes.
Cameron- This character from 10 Things I Hate about you, is just so normal its hard not to love him. He is a somewhat awkward acting and looking boy, totally clueless on how to actually ask a girl out. He works amazingly hard to get the girl, who he stands up for, and just thinks is amazing.
Christian - This character, from Moulin Rouge, will always hold a special place in my life because the man can sing. More than that though, this character is off on an adventure to see the world. He got out of his comfort zone, to pursue a dream. He is a bit naive, but he learns and grows out in the world and becomes a man who loves with his whole heart, in little and big ways.
Mr. Darcy- He may be the fictional love of my life. Mr. Darcy, (pick your favorite Pride and Prejudice, or Bridget Jones even), is a man a depth and mystery. He is a very loyal friend, and he will bend over backwards and not worry about the cost to prove that he is dedicated. He is surly and off putting at first, but as the story develops we find he is a man of deep emotion and great love.
Captain America- Ok, I am aware that he is not a part of a chick flick, but I really love his character. He is the little guy, who is dedicated to his country, brave, cares about his family and stays good to his core. I suppose that’s why he’s a super hero.
So who is my Prince Charming? None of these guys, though some of the qualities I would take. At the end of the day, or the movie, I just someone normal who is willing to put in the everyday effort.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Worldly Adventures
Sometimes it amazes me how in some ways our world has become so small. I recently had the opportunity to travel to Indonesia, which is so very far away, yet in only 2 weeks I was able to get there and back and have relaxing time in between. I went to both Jakarta and Bali, and I must say neither of them were anything like I expected.
Jakarta was a huge city, full of pockets of development. In the more developed pockets there were sky scrappers, huge malls, everything was impeccably clean, and there was any sort of food you could possibly imagine (including McDonald's, which provided a delivery service). The traffic was absolutely crazy. I can't say that I felt scared, but I surely would not want to drive. I spend 45 minutes staring at an intersection just trying to figure out who had the green light.
While there we were greeted by many people thanks to a family friend. In indonesia they have a honor shame culture, so it was considered an honor to take care of us. It was a neat way of living. The customer service was amazing everywhere, our "tour guides" were incredibly friendly and helpful. In many ways I wish I could have stayed forever, because I just loved being somewhere where people put others needs before there own.
Bali was so much like Hawaii, but with different cultural influences. The most prevalent influence was that of Hinduism. It is a very visible religion in the culture, from statues along the street, to large temples, to the dance and performances, to small little flower baskets of prayer in each shop and car. It was incredibly cool to be in a place so permeated by their beliefs. It made me wish that in America we would live our life by our beliefs, and we would not bend our beliefs to the culture.
I thought that it was interesting that in Bali, there were few American visitors, in fact for some people I was the first American they had ever met. That was the first time I felt like I was really representing my country, and it gave me a sense of patriotism to realize that to other people I was in many ways a bigger entity than just myself. In the past my knee jerk reaction to the question where are you from has always been to say Washington. In many ways I had never thought about myself as an American, and I certainly didn't think of myself as associated with Obama, but they did.
I had a lot of time to think while on my trip, because I was surrounded by people speaking in a language I could not understand, which was just like white noise, so I was able to turn in to introspection while still fulfilling my excessively extroverted side which desires to constantly be around people. I was able to sort through some of the causes of anxiety in my life, and some possible solutions, to think about my hopes and dreams and to reflect upon my life.
I have so many more stories I could tell, and experiences I remember (like a monkey crawling up my mom's head, and elephant rides). I learned many lessons and had a wonderful time. Ask me about it if you wish to know more or the smaller details, and perhaps when I have more time I will post pictures and explain some of the experiences, but for now I am off to work.
Jakarta was a huge city, full of pockets of development. In the more developed pockets there were sky scrappers, huge malls, everything was impeccably clean, and there was any sort of food you could possibly imagine (including McDonald's, which provided a delivery service). The traffic was absolutely crazy. I can't say that I felt scared, but I surely would not want to drive. I spend 45 minutes staring at an intersection just trying to figure out who had the green light.
While there we were greeted by many people thanks to a family friend. In indonesia they have a honor shame culture, so it was considered an honor to take care of us. It was a neat way of living. The customer service was amazing everywhere, our "tour guides" were incredibly friendly and helpful. In many ways I wish I could have stayed forever, because I just loved being somewhere where people put others needs before there own.
Bali was so much like Hawaii, but with different cultural influences. The most prevalent influence was that of Hinduism. It is a very visible religion in the culture, from statues along the street, to large temples, to the dance and performances, to small little flower baskets of prayer in each shop and car. It was incredibly cool to be in a place so permeated by their beliefs. It made me wish that in America we would live our life by our beliefs, and we would not bend our beliefs to the culture.
I thought that it was interesting that in Bali, there were few American visitors, in fact for some people I was the first American they had ever met. That was the first time I felt like I was really representing my country, and it gave me a sense of patriotism to realize that to other people I was in many ways a bigger entity than just myself. In the past my knee jerk reaction to the question where are you from has always been to say Washington. In many ways I had never thought about myself as an American, and I certainly didn't think of myself as associated with Obama, but they did.
I had a lot of time to think while on my trip, because I was surrounded by people speaking in a language I could not understand, which was just like white noise, so I was able to turn in to introspection while still fulfilling my excessively extroverted side which desires to constantly be around people. I was able to sort through some of the causes of anxiety in my life, and some possible solutions, to think about my hopes and dreams and to reflect upon my life.
I have so many more stories I could tell, and experiences I remember (like a monkey crawling up my mom's head, and elephant rides). I learned many lessons and had a wonderful time. Ask me about it if you wish to know more or the smaller details, and perhaps when I have more time I will post pictures and explain some of the experiences, but for now I am off to work.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Purple Ponies and Real Life
When I was about 2 years old, I decided I wanted to grow up to be a purple pony. As I grew up and learned more about myself and the world, I discovered that I would not be able to transform into a different species and I would have to find something else.
From a young age, I knew this would mean getting a college degree, so I worked my way through school, always towards that goal. A degree and then a job. My senior year in high school, when deciding where to go to college, I decided I should also figure out what I wanted to do, and I settled on becoming a youth director, clearly then next best thing to a purple pony.
So then I went to Valpo, graduated and landed my dream job to start on September 1st after college graduation. It was almost like going back to school, but instead of moving into a dorm and writing papers, I was suddenly living on my own in a new city, and charged with the faith development of a whole bunch of youth.
The last year and a half has involved so many new adventures, moments of glory and life lessons. Time has been going by so quickly that I have completely forgotten to slow down and smell the roses a little bit. The fact is I have been living my future. I have been living out what it is I set out to do, and I have loved every minute of it. However, realizing that I am in my future now, leaves me with the haunting question of what's next.
From a young age, I knew this would mean getting a college degree, so I worked my way through school, always towards that goal. A degree and then a job. My senior year in high school, when deciding where to go to college, I decided I should also figure out what I wanted to do, and I settled on becoming a youth director, clearly then next best thing to a purple pony.
So then I went to Valpo, graduated and landed my dream job to start on September 1st after college graduation. It was almost like going back to school, but instead of moving into a dorm and writing papers, I was suddenly living on my own in a new city, and charged with the faith development of a whole bunch of youth.
The last year and a half has involved so many new adventures, moments of glory and life lessons. Time has been going by so quickly that I have completely forgotten to slow down and smell the roses a little bit. The fact is I have been living my future. I have been living out what it is I set out to do, and I have loved every minute of it. However, realizing that I am in my future now, leaves me with the haunting question of what's next.
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