A new semester begins, and, as I've always said, as long as there is God and coffee, life is good!
Well, I've always wanted to say that, anyway.
Now, here is the part where I hit the fast-forward button so you all don't have to read through any incessant whinings and grumblings about not getting any respect about not going to college: pffffffftttttttttyyyyyyyyyyssssssssllllllllllllllllllllltheyjustdon'tunderstandjjjjjjjjjjjrrrrrrrllllllllccccccciIamreallydoingthingsdfdjjjjjjjjjjjjjttttttttdddddddddddslslsllslslsllllllliiiuuuuuuandtheycanjustgetoveritkjkjkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkjjjjjjjhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmaybeIshouldjustgetoverthemtttttttllllllwwwwwwhhhhchangemymentalityvvvvvmmmmmqqqqoooooppppptttttttttbetterpersonjjjjjjjttttttlllllllllnkkkkkknotdoinganythingdifferentkklllleeeooootppppppccvccccdddddddddddohgoodgrief.
Now, with that behind me, I would like to say I am going to start blogging more. For real this time. For real real this time. For REAL real reall this time!!!
Look, I'll start right this moment (Jessica, you are already blogging) (shh, be quiet, I'm blogging!!):
This bright, sunny, beautiful morning, I rose out of bed with a shout of glee, for life is beautiful, just like the sunshine. However, when I really woke up, it was dark still. The Beatles CD that has been sitting in my CD player/clock alarm for the past two weeks woke me up AGAIN, reminding me I had stayed up too late AGAIN. I fell back asleep for 20 minutes, woke up on my own accord and remembered that I wanted to be awake. To read and drink coffee.
Thrown out of bed by this delicious prospect (which never ceases to be the best thing EVER to do upon first waking up), I dashed to the coffee maker, ground my favorite dark French roast from Trader Joe's, turned the pot on, and went back into my room for Kiss and my fuzzy blanket. The coffee brewed, I poured myself a cup, and snuggled up with my doggie to read. I am trying to read this book slower than I really want to, because I don't want to start a new book until Thursday when we leave for the beach. Soooooo I have to stop being obsessed with what happens next. Wow, the first time in my life I want to be slow at reading. Weirdness.
I worked out some, ate breakfast, and made up my mind to blog. Which is what I am doing now.
Somehow I had gotten into my head that all of my blog entries must contain deep philosophy, theology, or something else of that nature, so I guess that, along with not having a ton of time...
If my mother gets hit by a car going 55 mph because she is standing in the middle of the road talking to somebody who was driving by, then I am going to be very angry at her for doing something she would have told me not to. Humph.
....caused me to not write much at all. And still, this entry does not seem complete without philosophy. So! I will make a little list of philosophical musings (aka plaguing questions and chin-stroking thoughts) on my mind recently, and maybe I'll pick one to elaborate on in a later entry:
1. Why do people think they have the right to give anybody and everybody advice? Especially if they barely know that person...and they don't know they whole story? I meet new people all the time who ask me what I am doing with my life. I begin to tell them, and then the immediately solicit advice that I never asked for and don't want to hear. I don't care if I'm having a bad attitude.....okay, fine.
Better attitude thoughts:
2. God opens doors only at the moments when they are supposed to be opened. Not a moment before. There's no need for them just to stand open. But if I come to a door and it's closed, I just need to keep moving down the corridor of life till I come to another open one, right?
3. God puts us through pain to draw us closer to him and make us more fit for heaven. Bad things happen so he can mold us for the betterment of ourselves for this world and the next. It's all in his plans. God can stop Satan, but sometimes he sees that if he lets Satan have his way, God can use it for much better good than if God never let it happen.
4. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. He doesn't do this for no reason, and he doesn't do it cruelly. He doesn't give us a glimpse or a teaser at something wonderful and then snatch it out from under our noses. That is what I thought this verse meant for a long, long time. But that isn't what it means at all. There is a time for everything. There was a time, almost 4 years, in fact, where God let me swim. I swam three days a week, and I swam meets. I won races. I had a wonderful time, found a hobby I love, stayed in shape, made some of the greatest friends in the universe, developed a good competitive spirit, discovered an interest in health and fitness, figured out my siblings and I have a magical genetic bent towards swimming (thus getting my entire family involved on the team), among other things. Most importantly, the whole experience made me grow closer to God. Had I never joined swim team, I might be in an awful place now, because even at 15 I was heading down a rotten banana peel path full of rebellion and hatred.
But, like I said, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. I'm officially aged out of competition now. I'm too busy to attend more than one practice a week. I won't get to see my friends as often. I'll get slow. I will pray I don't get fat (even though I continue to work out at home, I need that swimming cardio). But now is not the time in my life to swim several days a week and compete. That time has passed. And, while it makes me sad, God has other plans for me now, and that is comforting.
Do not worry, dear readers (if you're still out there after a very long break). I will soon get back into my this-is-what-happened-today-and-this-is-what-I've-been-thinking-lately blogging mode. It will take practice and perseverence, but it shall come about. After all, if I can't do it now, you'll never hear how Oregon goes.
So long (hopefully not very long)!
~Jessica
5 comments:
I hope it's Tuesday, otherwise I'm way behind on my homework (which I really ought to be doing).
Still here, and looking forward to more posts. The philosophy posts are my favorite, of course, so I hope you post some more of them.
By the way, I was NOT standing in the middle of the road. I was standing in the driveway! What, do you think I am an idiot or something!?!
Glad you are blogging again...
Hmm,
Reading this blog post, it looks like your question about people giving you unsolicited advice relates to the issue of your decisions re college and lack thereof.
I will respond by giving you unsolicited advice!
Point 1: men, in particular, offer advice and proposed solutions to problems as a way of listening. Sometimes, when you are venting to a man, they just don't realize you need them to listen. Most men will listen, but we "actively" listen, offering advice to try and help the person.
I think men sometimes perceive the female need to "vent" (get emotional release) as "whining." I think this because I used to feel that way until I learned differently after a lot of heartache.
Point 2: I don't care what anyone says - going to college is not for everyone, nor should it be. My mother knew she wanted to work in insurance from the time she was a teenager, which doesn't require a college education, so she didn't waste money getting one. The decision of what to do with your life is yours, and you would be wise to make it based on your goals, not the advice of loons who think everyone must get a "higher" education.
Point 3: Advice never hurts, because you don't have to follow it. My advice re advice is to listen to it, consider the source, consider the logic/merits behind it, then follow it or don't. It's your life and your call.
;)
J - Don't worry, I will post more philosophy. I'm not completely abandoning it....just trying to blog more. :)
Mom - Well, I couldn't tell exactly because of the trees, but from where I was it *looked* like you were in the middle of the road.
John - On point 1: I am very aware of this, and actually my complaint about receiving advice is mainly due to catching up with casual friends I don't see often, or meeting new people. We'll strike up a conversation, and I will either say something about not going to college (like you suspected) or about wanting to be a wife and a mother. Then, without even asking what I am doing in lieu of college, they start asking me "Why aren't you going to college? How could you not? You really should go to college if you expect to..." and they go on and on. I just change the conversation. The typical reaction to the wife/mother thing is usually some combination of "Don't get married too soon/don't have children too soon/don't have more than two or three children/why would you want to be a lowly *housewife*??? Get a real career and LIVE." All of this from people I am not very close with, or people I've even just met. They don't know the whole story, and what right have they to tell me these things (also, most of the latter advice comes from people my age, not people who are actually married and have children).
Like I said, I completely understand about the men giving advice thing, and women thinking they aren't listening, etc. I guess I'm more androgynous or something, because I really don't mind advice, and I don't typically talk about something just to vent. So this isn't the issue for me, as long as the man and/or person giving advice is someone I know really well and who knows the situation because I've confided the whole thing to them...not just the surface.
On point 2: Thanks for understanding and respecting my choice. It just brightens my day when somebody "gets it."
On point 3: Well, now that you have read my above rant about the sources of the advice, I am sure you understand. I try my best not to be stubborn when receiving advice. But that is from people I know. I just do not like unsolicited, egotistic-ish, here-say, half baked advice from people who barely know me. That is all. :)
Jessica,
Regarding the college issue, I feel convicted to encourage you not to let these silly people (and I am calling these people silly, lol) who barely know you pressure you into such a huge financial investment (higher education).
I dated a LOT in college, but when I was in law school, even though I went to a Christian school, I couldn't bring myself to date many law students - I tried once or twice, but it seemed silly to me, by that point in my life, to date a girl I knew I wouldn't marry. I knew I didn't want to be married to a woman whose priorities were career first, then me as her husband/family.
You said you want to get married and have a family. There are a few jobs out there that you could do (like teaching) that do require a college degree that also allow you time to be a good wife and/or mother. However, there are also many jobs that will work around your family priorities that do not require a degree at all. And, bottom line, nothing says that you have to work at all.
Bottom line, you are wise to pursue only that education you need to meet your goals. Your priorities also seem very wise to me. I respect full-time housewives/mothers. People who ask you if you want "more" than that don't realize what an importnat undertaking, Biblically, that is. Parenting is the most important job that needs filling in our society, as most parents seem to do a pretty poor job (sorry - calling it as I see it), and I wish more women wanted to invest in the job full-time. I don't think that being a full-time mom is a Biblical mandate, but I do believe it's an honorable and worthy goal.
If anyone tells you differently, then just remember Mary, mother of Jesus: was her life lacking? Joeseph was a carpenter, as was Jesus, but Mary was, first and foremost, a wife and mother. It is a noble calling, and you deserve to be applauded, not harassed, for seeking it.
Of course, I don't know you, so feel free to ignore all of this ;)
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