2017, a Reflection

I honestly can't believe that 2017 is almost over. It's crazy that yet another year has flown by.A few friends and I were talking, we couldn't believe just how fast time was flying. "Is this what it's like to get older?" We all pondered. We weren't sure, but we did know that we wanted to make the most of the time that we had.Looking back on 2017 I'm filled with so much excitement, love, happiness, sorrow and joy. It was as equally amazing as it was hard.I started the year as a college graduate, something that I never would have thought was possible when I was younger. But I did it! I graduated from an amazing University where I grew more into who I was, I learned to dream, I learned to work through hardships and disappointments and I met some amazing friends.I worked hard towards one major dream that final semester of 2016 and it came true in January of 2017- I got an internship with Thirst Project. An organization working to educate and activate the next generation on the global water crisis. Working together to make it a part of our history rather than our present.Those four months on the road were an incredible dream come true. Even when I take off my graduation goggles, it was still amazing. Sure, it was hard at times, if it wasn't I wouldn't have grown, I would have stayed the same, and where's the fun in that?I got to see parts of the states I have only dreamed about. I got to see the Pacific Northwest, the West Coast, the desert, the South and some beloved parts of the East and Midwest. My teammate and I are forever friends after all that we went through, heck we're more like sisters. I learned to take chances, I learned to speak in front of crowds of 5 to 5,000. I learned that I can be my serious and my goofy self all at once. I learned to be transparent and vulnerable and to allow my story to help others.Coming home was rough. I wanted to stay there, I wanted to continue to be apart of their team but it just didn't fit. I realized that even if I'm not on their payroll, I still want to help END the global water crisis. It is something that is near and dear to my heart, something that I will always be working towards.

Home was different this time around, I didn't want to stay long-term but it seemed like I was going to. I had no major idea of what was next for me. So I started writing. I wrote more this past summer than I think I ever have. I wrote about these past years adventures and things that I have learned. I blogged some, and I had the opportunity to start writing for an amazing online magazine, Evade.While I started to get the feel of being home, I lost my Grandpa. Just a month or so after I had talked to him on the phone, it felt like a knife was slicing into my heart. I didn't know this kind of grief, it was deep and strong and painful. A few months later my Granny joined him in Heaven. That opened a whole new round of pain that I hadn't experienced. One that brought questions and uncertainty but was masked by the thought that they are no longer in pain nor suffering.

But as the circle of life works, that summer we also welcomed my third niece into this world and my best friend got engaged. I couldn't be happier for her and her fiancé. I realized that while my heart and feet were longing to go elsewhere, my soul needed to be home. I needed to renew friendships, make time for my family and friends, and make time for myself. Relearn what it was that I wanted my next steps to be. Relearn how to start my days in the Word, pull out the weeds that had grow in my foundation, restore what was there and refresh myself for what I wanted my years to look like down the road.

As summer turned into fall, I realized that home was just where I was needed. I made time for friends that I hadn't seen in years. I went to Ohio to visit some and Washington to see others. I drove a few hours and a few minutes to see even more. I made my friends a priority. I set to work, working on myself too. Something that I hadn't done much of in the most recent months. It was painful, messy, but the end result was so worth it. I learned to truly rest once more. I learned to enjoy the little things again. I learned that Now is all that we truly need to worry about. The future and all the uncertainties that it holds is important but not one to dwell on.As 2017 has come to a close, I am reminded of just how many ups and downs a year can hold. It is so easy to look back and only see the the big events that happened. While some were bad, and hardships were endured, there were still bright moments of love, laugher and joy. I am reminded that while some parts were painful and jagged it's good to remember the good; the love, the times of faith, the times of friendships that grew stronger, the moments of laugher, surprise and fun.2018 for me will be a year of renewal, of hope, of joy, of working hard towards some larger dreams.We must allow our pasts to help us refine our future, not define it. We have the power to change what our futures look like. We can choose to stay in our mentality of 2017, one that for me was quite rough, full of times where I was hit down and stayed down, only to get up on my knees and fall once more. Now, I'm working on standing, I want to stand tall in 2018; sure, I will stumble, it's part of life. But as I fell each time in 2017, I got back up and I will continue to get back up each time. I will remember what I learned through the pain and hardships as well as all the good that happened. 2018, let's do this.

Desensitized

Travel has a lot of ups (and downs) and sometimes you have a few seconds to look back and take a second to realize where in the World (no pun intended) you are.Today marks being on the Road for three weeks and heading into our fourth week.Each week has been eventful, let alone each day. They all tend to blend together when I look back at each week. I sometimes have a hard time remember which school was which week. Which students from each school were most interested in doing something. But all around, each school we visit is the amazing in it’s own way.As we left San Francisco today, I was struck with the fact that I was still awed with driving over the Golden Gate Bridge. In just the six days we have been here, we have driven over the bridge probably well over three times a day in and out of our hostel to our presentations and back again. At first, I was Awed, I couldn’t believe that I was seeing, in person, one of the most iconic sights in America. It seemed so Unreal. Then it quickly became the bridge that we had to travel daily to get wherever we were heading, simply a mode of transportation.Then today, as I was leaving our hostel and heading South, I looked out toward the Bay from the mountain and realized that this very well may be the last time that I ever see the Bridge in person. Sure, I would love to come back out here, but I’m not sure if I will any time soon let alone ever.As I drove across, I moved to the right-hand slow lane to drive and look. I looked to the left and there was the Bay Bridge in the distance, Alcatraz, Treasure Island; all with the morning fog and clouds almost lifting but still giving a small shade to the morning. In front of me was the city scape. To my right was the water, where even squinting and searching the horizon you couldn’t see where the water and sky met.I realized I became so desensitized to driving the Golden Gate, to travel. It’s just my way of living in this season.Each week we are in a new place. Each day we speak to hundreds of students. By the time late March and early April come around, we’ll have driven not only up and down the United States, but also across. Something that many have only dreamed of doing. That I dreamed of doing.By the end of this internship I’ll have driven across America twice. It blows my mind, not only how lucky I am, but that I get to call this my job, my life at this moment. Even though I have many more weeks of travel ahead of me, I don’t want to become complacent with what I am doing. I love it, don’t misunderstand me, it is honestly a dream come true. But I don’t want my mentality to switch and no longer be enthralled by the fact that I get to do this.I want to stay amazed each time I get to take the bridge, or I get to see a national monument or even get to speak to students each day.I want to Live in that Excitement, that Awe, that Joy. Here’s to the random adventures that await me at each state and city that we go to. Here’s to the moments of Awe that all I can do is laugh and smile and stare in Disbelieve and Joy that this is my Life.  

Wonders of the New

I've been in California for 18 days.Within the first 24 hours we had been on the ground, we went to a dance party, ate delicious tacos, met some incredible people and got some much needed sleep after a long travel day. We got groceries, went to the water (yes, within 24 hours I was at water) and I rested.My soul is so happy. There is something about New things that I love. It's like the amazement when you open all of your Christmas or Birthday gifts; everything is new and different. Part of you wants to open up all of the boxes and use them right away and another part of you wants to wait and savor the Newness by only using what you 'need' or 'want' in that particular moment.For me its the same sensation as putting on a pair of pants and finding money in the pockets. It's the Wonder of Wow, the Wonder of New.Right now, it still seems surreal that I am here. I'm wasn't sure if I would feel Normal here, but I feel New. All around New.This is a new season for me, a new season of Wonder, a new season of Joy, a new season of Life. One that is meant to be Lived, Experienced, Loved.Maybe it's just because I'm somewhere New, somewhere I have never been before. But I think it's something more than that. It's a different mindset, a different way of thinking. Instead of looking at this internship as a job, it's more than that, it's a chance to travel, meet new people and help encourage students to make a difference in the world. It's everything I love all wrapped into one.New is good, but at some point it becomes Old. It becomes that gift that you got months ago and now you barely use; or you've used up. It's that same pair of pants, maybe even your favorite pair of pants, but they're just pants. No surprises in the pockets this time. So how do we keep things as New, or at least Old and Good?My way of thinking is to find the New, find the Magical in the Mundane.When day in and day out you do the same ol' thing, it gets boring. Let's be real: It's hard to be motivated to go and do the same routine that we always do. We know that the day is going to look like, we know exactly what we'll have for lunch, who we'll text. We know it all. So where's the New in it? What will keep us on our toes?I challenge you to change one thing about your day:Take a different route to work today. Go for a walk in your neighborhood and find something that you don't usually look at.Leave your phone at Home and just be in the moment.Talk to someone new in your office or class.That restaurant you've always wanted to try but haven't yet, go there! Try it out!Old isn't bad, it can be good. New can be good (scary too). Just change the way you look at something, look at it through someone else's eyes. Try it and see how your outlook changes.Find the Magical in the Mundane.   

One Year.

We measure a lot of things by time. Classes, work schedules, distance traveled; all in time. We celebrate many occurrences in time: birthday and anniversaries.This year, I have many things to celebrate as November 25th comes around. One year ago I landed in the JFK airport in New York, New York, United States. Minus a quick layover at LAX, it had been 11 months since I was on US soil and boy was I happy to be home.I remember the day we found out when we would be back in America. We were all called into the house the 30 of us were staying there for big meeting. Some people had already guessed it was for us to know when our flights were but not everyone knew, myself included. When our squad leaders told us, I didn't get it at first until most people started shouting with joy and crying of the impending end of this wonderful journey.My first days back were a blur.My first drive: I was by myself and actually drove on the wrong side of the road in most of my neighborhood.My first breakdown: I had just had dinner and coffee with a friend and got back to my car where there was a thin layer of ice on it. I freaked out, started crying and yelling; I was no longer on the sandy warm beaches of South Africa but in the cold winter of Indiana.My first trip to the store: I wanted to buy enough food for 7 people, since that's what I was used to buying. I couldn't believe all the options and prices. I was a bit appalled.My first day back at school: Didn't happen on the actual first day of classes. A huge snow storm had blown through the night before, I had a panic attack on the drive in and had to turn around. The next day I tried again and made it. It was a blur of remembering how to take notes, talk with people, make small talk, study.This year hasn't been exactly what I imagined it to be when I was on the field dreaming about Home. It was more and less than I expected. I value family and friendships more than I ever have. I make sure to keep promises that I make. I value the words I say and think. I value my time more than anything.I have learned to truly dream once more, like I did in those days when I would sit in my hammock in Costa Rica staring at the fields. I have begun to sing and dance like I did on the rooftops of the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. I have continued to seek the Magical in the Mundane like I learned in Asia.Life is still life. It doesn't stop just because you leave.Crazily enough, I knew this season of coming home was one of Rest. No matter how much I wanted to keep going and traveling Papa was calling me home to Rest in the Nest before I caught flight once more. It's amazing how when we look back at something we see just how much God has been planning since the beginning.As this season of rest is coming to an end, as I count down the last few days of school until I graduate; I am remembering just like a year ago, how much I have learned this year. This year was one full of dreams, boldness, and love.My dreams of Resting came true. My dreams of understanding Home can true. My dreams of putting down Roots came true. Now I am taking my dreams into this next year of being Fully Alive, Being Bold, and Loving like there is nothing to Lose.One Year. So many memories. So much more to come. Remember where you've been, it will guide you to where you will go.

Like a Fall Leaf

Fall is by far my favorite season.I love all the colors, the way the weather changes, the way my heart feels.This year, Fall seems to be hitting me differently. Sure, I love it. It's beautiful and magical, but this is also a season of immense change. In just a few short weeks, I will be graduating college (PRAISES!!). After the holidays I'll be heading out to Los Angeles, which is truly an amazement. I have dreamed of going out West and now I am, plus partaking in a stellar internship!But among all of these changes, I am struck with one thing, Fall Leaves.The other day I was in a hurry. Almost everyday I am in a hurry. As soon as my alarm goes off in the morning, I hit the ground running and hardly stop until I am home after work and going to bed.Much like any other day, I hit the ground running when I woke up on my day off. I decided to go to Starbucks (yes, sorry, but I was in a hurry, and what is Sbucks known for? Speed) to get some coffee before I went to see family. After one of the longest times waiting for my coffee, 20 minutes to be exact, I was out the door and heading off to see my nieces. While I was waiting, I strangely wasn't in a rush. It was just seemed to be how my day was going, "So I'll be a little late, that's not new by any means." I thought as I drove off.On one of the most beautiful tree lined streets in Fishers I was on, I just couldn't help but stare in wonder at the all the trees and their changing colors. It seemed like just a few days ago they were all bright green and I was wearing shorts and a tank top and we were heading to the pool. Now I was bundled and the trees were bundling inside, getting ready for winter.As I was driving, I distinctively heard God whisper in my ear, "Just as the leaves draw in their nutrients for the coming months, what are you drawing deep into your soul?" This hit me so hard. What am I drawing into my soul? What does this next season mean for me? How am I wanting to grow? I don't have the answers, but I know one thing without a doubt: I want to stop hurrying. I want to be able to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee without looking at my watch. I want to enjoy stopping to talk with a friend I haven't seen in a while without having to worry about being late for work. I want to go out with my family and enjoy my time with them and not worry about all the homework that is still waiting of me to finish.Here's what I am going to do:I'm going to stop planning all that I have to get done. It's overwhelming to be honest and just makes me stressed. I'm going to live each day as it comes, sure I'll still plan to do things, but I'm not going to plan every moment of the day until I fall into bed too weary to even enjoy a meal.As the holidays are quickly approaching, think about what you are taking into your soul for the next few months. Maybe it's preparation in seeing family, or a change of a job or location. Whatever it is, set yourself up well for what is to come. Make time for the small things, like watching the sunrise; but don't forget to take time for yourself, for your soul.