Feed My Starving Children

Yesterday I had the privilege of volunteering at a non-profit organization called Feed My Starving Children. Located in Aurora, this organization fills food packages to send to third world countries to feed children who are suffering from starvation. Six girls, including myself, volunteered to be apart of this inspiring organization. In just two hours we (and the rest of the volunteers) packed enough food to feed 60 kids for a year. Not only was it rewarding emotionally and spiritually, but it was so much fun! At each station there was a bin of chicken flavor, dried vegetables, soy, and rice, a funnel, bags, a sealer machine, and a packing box. Each person is designated a job and together the packages are filled. There were people of all ages there--from the ten year old boy, Elijah, who worked next to me, to the 80 year old man who scooped the rice, anyone can do it. So today I challenge you to go out and help. Be apart of Feed My Starving Children. Or any organization at that... “Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.” Proverbs 22:9.

If you're interested here's more info on FMSC: www.fmsc.org

Try Something...Again

Here’s something I never thought I would do again...play basketball. My roommate Linnea, who has played basketball for more than half her life until she tore her ACL last year, plays on a co-ed intramural basketball team every Tuesday night at 9. Last week when I went to watch her game they were short a girl, and guess who volunteered to play next time? This girl. Mind you, the last time I played on a competitive basketball team was 8th grade. (I don’t think Faith Hoops counts Freshman year of high school). Needless to say when Tuesday night came around, I was kind of freaking out. All the guys on my team had played all through high school, and kept up the game in college. I was the new girl, and a girl at that.

I stepped on the court not know what to expect or how my body would react. An exhausting 40 minutes later I had exceeded my expectations, despite the fact I hadn’t ran like that since I was 13 and I’m pretty sure my lungs are going to collapse, the basketball gene is still buried within me. I scored a three point shot, played decent defense, and the other times I shot the ball my aim was right there. All I need is a little more practice and I will be on my “A” game, that and my offensive dribbling skills need major work. All I know is that it feels good to be back in the game.

Meeting Someone Unexpectedly

I walked into my Sacred Texts as Literature class on Friday expecting nothing more than the usual hour long lecture from my animate and chatty professor, but as I sat down in my regular seat I noticed something, or someone was different. There in the back row was a strange figure. He was not of college age, but NCC has a handful of adult students, so that wasn’t it. Maybe it was his purposely disheveled jet black hair that threw me. No, that wasn’t it either. Maybe it was the fact that he was dressed in a full black suit with a vibrant orange and green tie, accompanied by a matching orange pocket scarf. The tie was a trippy, almost psychedelic pattern. But, no that wasn’t it either. I sat there puzzled, wondering who the man was that looked like he stepped straight out of a Rolling Stone Magazine. My professor walked in and began the class, like it was a normal day, like there was not some strange man sitting in the back row. Low whispers were buzzing through the room as we all wondered if the mystery person was going to be addressed. Finally my professor said, “Oh, you guys are probably wondering who our guest is today. This is Sesu Coleman.” Silence. “You know, the drummer from The Magic Tramps?” A few people nodded their head. It wasn’t until Sesu started talking in his slow, rich voice that we knew we were sitting in the presence of greatness. Although most of us didn’t know the band Magic Tramps, we did know the people Sesu was associated with. He talked of a place called “The Scene.” It was an underground gathering place where all the up and coming artists hung out in the sixties. People from Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Blondie, and Steven Tyler all hung out at The Scene. Sesu sounded like he had one too many nights he didn’t remember, but the things he did remember were experiences people would kill for. Some of the most iconic people in music and art history he knew personally, and probably had their cell phone numbers (those who are still alive). Meeting Sesu was something very unexpected, but it was such an amazing experience. So go out and enjoy your day because you never know who you’re going to meet today.

Pinterest In Real Life

One of my greatest past times in the past couple of months has been Pinterest. For those of you who do not have the privilege to know what Pinterest is, it is an addicting website that is filled with hundreds of simple and easy DIY crafts, recipes, home ideas, fashion, hairstyles, makeup, and so much more. Basically it is an online cork board where people pin pictures of their favorite things and people can re-pin ideas and create their own collage of wondrous creations. Miranda, my roommate, and I are obsessed with Pinterest, and recently my mom has even become hooked on the world of pinning. Over the weekend Miranda and I decided to do Pinterest in real life. Between the two of us we have a sickening amount of necklaces, but we were both tired of them getting tangled and not being able to see them displayed. So we went to Target, bought a small rod, two command hooks, and a pack of twelve "S" shaped shower hooks, and voilá! This is our finished product.

From now on there will be many more Pinterest Posts to come :)

Enjoy Your Own Company

Today I decided to enjoy my own company. After class this morning, I got in my car and drove to the mall. Yes, I have been to the mall by myself many times, but what made this time different is that I leisurely shopped. I didn’t have a purpose or a specific thing I needed. I roamed the mall at my own pace, tried on clothes and valued my own opinion when I thought something looked good. Shopping, to most girls, is social. We go together, ask each other’s opinions, and bond over clothes and accessories. But today I did not have Miranda or Linnea to help me, instead Colette, the sale’s associate in the shoe department at Macy’s, helped me pick out a gorgeous pair of chocolate brown boots. After my purchases (don’t worry mom I used my Christmas gift cards), I ordered a soup and salad from Panera where I sat by myself until every last morsel of my lunch was eaten. While taking the last bite of my caesar salad, I looked up and saw another girl around my age eating alone. We made eye contact and smiled as an understood silence passed between us.

It got me thinking about how much we fear being alone in society. For what? The label? Fear of ourselves? We fill up conversations with mindless chatter in order to avoid surreal silence. But have you ever seen a couple who is truly in love out in public? Not the new kind of love, but rather the old kind. They are not holding hands, stealing kisses, or babbling about what they ate or drank that day. Instead they are still; silently enjoying each other’s company. This brings me back to when I was a little girl. Saturdays were a magical day for me, not only was there no school, but both mom and dad were home all day. In the morning, before I entered into my sleepy teenage years, if I got up early enough I would see my mom sitting at the dining room table in her worn out teddy bear bathrobe, and next to her was my dad. They would both have steaming cups of coffee along with the weekend paper. Dad would most likely be doing the crossword and mom would be intently reading the stories. Sporadically mom would read aloud something that was worth interest to my Dad and he would listen and nod his head in response. Fourteen years or so later when I come home from school on the weekends, I wake up and round the corner to the dining room---there is my mom in that same old teddy bear bathrobe, reading the newspaper and my dad is finishing the crossword next to her. There is a true comfort in returning home and seeing that things have not changed. Sometimes I just like to watch them be still together. When I think of love that’s what I picture. Peace like that. Now tell me what’s to fear about that?

As I write this entry in Starbucks, I am now accompanied by Miranda. My afternoon by myself has ended, but I am pleasantly surprised by the calmness I feel at being alone. Looks like enjoying my own company will be a reoccurring thing because as it turns out I make pretty good company. :)

Start A Blog

As a writing major, my professors constantly hound me to get my work out there. “It doesn't matter how--just make a name for yourself.” As many can attest, this is a scary thing! Putting your deepest thoughts, ideas, and muses for others to read and judge at their own expense is intimidating. Tired of their good mannered nagging, this term I decided to follow my professors’ advice. This is when I decided to start a blog. With Facebook, Twitter, and every other social media sites running half the world, I thought what better way to share my writing then to start a blog. “But wait,” I thought, “blogs are only for nerdy people or high school girls to lament about their latest boy obsession. I can’t possibly start a blog. Nope. Not happening.” So I pushed the idea out of my head, but like most good ideas--we push them away only for them to deviously resurface.

I thought about a stupid blog every day. I was tormented by the idea, so I did the only sensible thing--I asked two of my best friends what they thought of the idea. To my utter surprise they loved it. Their encouraging words gave me just the extra push I needed. “Ok, now what?” I asked myself, thus began a two week process of researching how to even enter into the blogging world. One thing I knew I wanted my blog to have was a purpose. Writing about my self-obsessive thoughts is something my journal looks forward to, not the online world. After several sleepless nights, numerous coffees (probably what attributed to the sleepless nights), and squeezing my creative juices raw, I came up with this idea: I am going to start a blog about “Finding the Joy in Life” (yes, pun intended). Too often we get stuck in our mundane lives, myself included, so why not start by experiencing the little things; complimenting a stranger, turning off your phone for a day, taking a cooking class....you get the idea. At first I wanted to try something new everyday for a year, but knowing myself a little too well, I was only setting myself up for failure. Instead I am going to start off with once a week and work my way up. What I record will be things I have never done before; some will be challenging, some will be fun, some will be silly, and others will push me to face my fears. So thanks to Alyssa and Amy I am venturing out on my first experience...starting a blog. Here goes nothing! :)