Success in Life

Someday, I will be able to tell how successful I have been. I will reach a state of ultimate happiness and satisfaction. Okay, maybe not, but it's nice to dream.

All houses have door knobs, because all houses have doors. My house will have beautiful door knobs. Hand painted, or made of glass. It is by this that I will be able to measure my success in life. 

I would love to have my own piano, and I don't think any house is complete without them. When I have my own piano, in tune, in the perfect corner of my house where it can resound beautifully, then I will know that I have been successful.

I want clocks. Many analogue clocks on many walls and many shelves that tick and tock and look perfectly beautiful and maybe some that chime. I love clocks. I have a Clocks board on Pinterest. I need the clocks to know my worth.

I also want things like a hot tub, a big yard with a vegetable and/or flower garden, a mattress to sleep on, and enough food to feed my family, but all I need to feel like I've done a good job in life is pretty door knobs, a nice piano, and lots of clocks. This is my version of the white-picket-fence-with-a-dog-and-2.5-kids Great American Dream.

Just thought I would let all of you know that for no good reason at all. Maybe I just like to see myself write like some people like to hear themselves talk.


God bless.

How to Ask Questions

I have heard people say, and I totally agree with this theory, that one of the best things you can do to build relationships is to ask questions.

I'm not exactly a master of this but I am usually trying to get better. I think the key is to ask good questions and listen to their answers. Quiz people relentlessly, because they probably love talking about themselves.

Here is what I have so far. Some examples.

The Deep Questions:
1. How's your soul?
2. What has your relationship with God (if any) been like lately?
3. Why? (after anything and everything someone says) Why do you think that? Why did you say that? Why do you follow that religion? etc.
4. What is your favorite part of _________? (your family, your life, your boyfriend/girlfriend, your religion, your religious book, your religious group, your home, your day, nature, eating a cookie)

Odd-ball Questions (inspired by Phil):
1. How does your t-shirt reflect your world-view? What do your shoes say about you?
2. What was an interesting article you remember reading in the newspaper once?
3. If you could live in the mountains or by the beach, how many pets would you like to own?
4. If you were a vegetable, what would you be and why?

Offensive Questions:
1. Do you believe in Jesus? Why or why not?
2. Do you believe in our president? Why or why not?
3. Aren't you going to pick that up? Are you really going to waste that?

Annoying Personal Questions:
1. What are your parents like? How are you similar to or different from them?
2. What are you looking for in a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend?
3. Do you like kids? How many do you want?
4. What weird bathroom habits do you have?
5. What do/did you do that always annoyed your siblings?
6. What was the cutest thing you did as a baby?

Would You Rather Questions:
1. Would you rather be a carpet or a tile floor?
2. Would you rather walk on your hands on a carpet or a tile floor?
3. Would you rather eat your grandma's homemade cookies or your mom's?
4. Would you rather eat a beetle or drink gasoline?

Riddles:
1. What gets wetter the more it dries?
2. What goes around the world but stays in one corner?
3. A woman gave birth to two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year but were not twins. How is this possible?

Try asking questions next time you talk to someone. That's all the advice I have for today, folks.


God bless.

Ghazal

I was required for my creative writing class this past semester to write a poem in "ghazal" (pronounced "guzzle") form. It is a strict form originating from Arab culture. You will be able to tell what some of the requirements were just from reading it, but I should probably tell you that virtually all ghazals are about unrequited love. So naturally I wrote about an crush I had an high school, on a guy two years older than me, strikingly handsome, and totally not interested. His name is the title of the poem, which I am not including in this post. Enjoy!

He kills bamboo and breaks the holy song

Eyes alone, the silence sings the song

The dying butterflies of his red lashes

Blink and past me see the ancient song

Eyes of bamboo green and growth decay

His perfect voice croaks out his lonely song

But I, the master of th’impossible

Whisper sleepy tears and sob the song

His heart of gold is locked in iron ribs

The trumpets blare their icy loving song

Living Fragrance of this time now gone

Recalls and Bitter crawls to bring the song.

God bless.

The Happiness Project

The idea came to me from Pinterest: get a huge stack of notecards, write the date at the top of each one of them. And over the years, every day, write the year on the date-card and one short sentence or thing you did. What you will have in the end is hopefully a beautiful collection of memories.

I was going to do it. I had a goal: go to Walmart, buy four 100-packs of notecards, and spend an hour writing the date at the top of each one. Then on January 1st, I would begin my journey. It would be like a New Year's Resolution thingy. That would last many years. If it worked.

But today, my uncle and aunt got me a little notebook called The Happiness Project. It's a "five-year record and one-sentence journal." It's basically a little book with the format I just described with the notecards. It's based on a best-selling book by Gretchen Rubin who apparently invented and did the project in order to find happiness through her memories.

Now, I don't intend to find more happiness, as I feel I already have quite enough, thank you. But any of my close friends or family members will be able to tell you that my memory is horrible. I would like to remember better what I have done, and even if this project doesn't help, I'm sure I will still look back and say, "I didn't know I did that! How interesting!" I think future years will be more rewarding than this first year when I have nothing to look back on when I write each day, but it will still be fun. I'm not exactly sure why I want to do it so badly, but I'm very excited about this little book.

The book instructs me to write one sentence a day, basically to "capture the essence" of my day. Well today I started it and wrote four fragmented sentences. Maybe I will get better at narrowing my thoughts to one sentence. Maybe it doesn't matter. I wanted to start on January 1st but I couldn't wait. Here's what I have written for December 25th:

2012* Wonderful Christmas. Got several puzzles and a TON of books. How am I going to read them all?? Found out I can't go to ________ tomorrow for the concert. :(

So that's the beginning of a personal journey/adventure for me. If anything regarding it gets more interesting, I may let you know, but it may just wait until 5 years are up and I need to let you know how it went. So stay updated! Haha.


God bless & Merry Christmas.

Goodbye, FA12 semester!

This semester, the fall of my junior year at the uni, is probably going to be my most missed semester. Despite the stress of exams this week, I am actually sad to bid it goodbye. Therefore, this post is a tribute to this semester.

I have loved all my classes this semester. Except one, but we're going to ignore that one.

I loved taking creative writing with one of the best writers and professors my school has to offer. I learned a lot about writing poetry and short stories, both fictional and nonfictional. We had nonjudgmental class discussions about one another's work and we all learned from each other, although the class was full of already very talented writers. I loved growing so much in something that I love to do.

I loved my biological psychology class. Now, I'm not a very biology-smart person, but this is the one professor that you can't go wrong with. He made all the subject matter interesting and strengthened my love for psychology. He's a compelling man with a great sense of humor.

I loved my ASL 1 class. ASL (American Sign Language) is a beautiful, as well as very useful, language. I loved talking to people without them having to hear my voice. I loved moving my body to express my thoughts. And I absolutely loved my professor. He taught very well, was so patient with everyone, and took a genuine interest in all his students. He also was very funny.

I took band again, and loved it again, but we had a new old conductor teach us, and I really look up to him. He is a very thoughtful, caring, and wise man.

This is not an exhaustive list of my classes this semester, but it is the highlights.

It was a huge blessing to take so many classes in things I was interested in, and all with the most amazing professors my university has to offer.


There were other things that made this semester amazing. I got a great, enjoyable, well-paying job as a mother's helper type person for a beautiful family in my town. I made some amazing new friends through Cru. I became a discipler (meaning I mentor someone just a little bit younger than me). I have an awesome roommate that I've known for a very long time (okay, my whole life...) but have gotten to re-connect with very well and who [still] is one of my best friends. I got a great boyfriend whom I treasure, and who treasures me. (We don't go to the same school, but I'm counting it into my "semester" because it falls into the time frame of these last four months.)

I also grew and expanded a lot as a person. I came more out of my shell than perhaps I ever have. A lot of my newer friends might actually call me outgoing! I stepped way out of my comfort zone for applying for mission trips this spring and summer. I'm pumped. And... I took a leap of faith by changing my major. I am no longer a music major, only a music minor. I am still a psychology major, and I also added a creative writing minor. Scary, but I already feel rewarded by the switch, even this late in my college career. I mentioned these things in my Trusting God post too, in case you're looking for more reading material.


I'm sure you all didn't need to know all this about my life. But I needed it recorded, and I wanted other people to know about the joy and the many, many blessings that God has given me these last few months of his life. I know that he is good.


God bless.

News

Guys.


I am going to Jamaica.


Really.


On a mission trip this spring.

Updates to follow. Or I may just keep my mouth shut until I get back. Mwahaha!

God bless.