Live now... not later (Pt. 1)

How often have you gotten coffee with a friend, but have been simultaneously planning how you're going to get homework done or what you're going to do between getting coffee and work?  We all experience things like that every day.  When you're with someone talking, but you're thinking about something else, you're really just talking to yourself.  Don't spend all your time planning what's going on in the future, or you'll miss what's going on now.

Be in the present, be here, not there.

Change... can be good

Lately, I've been thinking back on high school.  Honestly, it was fun, it flew by, and now it's gone.  I played music with friends often, we went to Wendy's several times a week and hung out, we all hung out at church events regularly, we played video games for hours, we went to football games, we went to movies, we would show up at each others' houses unannounced, andwe just hung out and did anything and everything.

Now, I spend very little time with my friends (which doesn't meant I'm lame and don't hang out with people at all), I do school work most of the day, I'm working, planning for something, or reading.

What happened?

A lot has happened to me in the past 5 years since high school.  I moved out of the house I lived in for 18 years and moved roughly 4 times after that, my mom got a DUI and lost her job and everything that came along with that wreaked havoc on my life, I went to and graduated college and now am attending grad school, I was in a serious relationship for 2 years that ended awfully, I began and have been in a great relationship for a year now, I've lost friends, gained friends, changed churches, started new hobbies, learned Spanish, and so many other things.

No wonder things aren't the same, my experiences have changed my responsibilities and my ambitions in life.  I would love to do all of those things I did in high school, but honestly, they aren't top priorities.

I want to serve God fully with my career, at my church, in my community, and in my family.  I want to have a job where I can make peoples' lives better.  I want a job that challenges me to be a better person.  I want to graduate with my master's degree in counseling.  I want to marry and then support my family and love my family with all that I have to give.  I want to travel and meet people who are in need and meet those needs and I want to stay here and do the same.

Yeah, things have changed since high school, but that's because I have.  I've had so many experiences that shaped me and I know I'll have many more.  Really though, I'm fine where I am.  I'm more than fine.  I know that God has been working in my life for years, and has set me up to do some awesome things.  All of those experiences have enabled me to be where I am and to be doing the things that I'm doing and that I will be doing.

I love where I've been, where I am, and where I'm going.

Choose your 'tude

If someone is "upsetting" you, you are allowing them to.  Typically, unless someone is punching you in the face, they aren't making you upset.  You are allowing what they say and do hurt you.  They aren't physically making your brain hurt.  You can choose not to allow other's harsh words hurt you.  Today, choose not to let other people affect your emotions so much.

Chill out bro

Never yell at anyone.  When you yell, the other person automatically becomes defensive and will listen to nothing you say.  Chances are, they'll yell back, and you will become defensive. Then communication is pointless and won't happen.  Chill out.  Inside voices.  Listen.

My "Wisdom"

When you and another person have a problem, go to them an apologize.   

I have found that if you are in a fight with someone, and you go to them and apologize for all that you did wrong or that the other person perceives as what you did wrong... then they in turn will realize what they did and apologize.   

I don't mean make up a bunch of stuff that you did wrong... seriously, you got in a fight, you played some role, even if it's small.   

Account for your sins, and the other person will account for theirs.

Everywhere

Thought I'd share a great song with you guys.  I heard it a few years ago, and I just love the style and love how joyful everything about it feels.  The artist is Evan Wickham, and the song is called Everywhere.

Enjoy!

Life is starting

Play this and read along!

Wow, so much going on.

Well, I'm finishing up my fifth week of school right now.  Let me explain quickly how this works, because I know it's a little different.  I need thirty credits to graduate.  The semesters are done as sub-semesters.  Each sub-semester is eight weeks long, and during each eight weeks I take two classes.  Therefore, I'll be done about december.  I'm taking 2 classes now, so 6 credits this semester, and then 12 over the summer and then 12 in the fall.   Point is, I'm doing a lot of school-work in a very short amount of time and I'll be done with grad school in about 8 months total.  I'm loving it.  I love being in school and learning things.  I'm especially loving what I'm learning right now because it has so much to do with how people work, and people fascinate me.  I know my calling in life is to get my hands muddy in other people's struggles.  I know my calling is to help people fight through rough times.  This is totally preparing me for that.

I have two 15 page papers due in three weeks.  Almost all of my research is done.  For Human Growth and Development I'm writing about Language Acquisition and how it happens to children their 1st language and how it happens to adults and children for their 2nd language.  For Intro to Human Services, I'm writing about the struggle of being a Latino in the United States.  I'll mostly be covering poverty and discrimination and how those affect Latinos.  Research is always a pain, writing won't be hard though.  I really love how the goals for my classes aren't to study for hours on end, but rather, learn a lot and then apply it to things in my research papers.

Good news, I have something else that might prepare me for the future.  I had an interview at Intercept Youth Services as a Therapeutic Mentor, which is basically a mentor/life-coach/counselor kind of thing... I'm so excited.  Anyway, the interview went great and I was offered the job.  Now, they're doing background checks and checking my references.  I know nothing will turn up bad, but I've gotten my hopes up before about jobs and nothing panned out, so I'm just hoping with the knowledge that it still might not happen.  If it does happen, I'll be giving one on one mentoring to kids and helping them overcome big behavior issues they have.  They told me that if I stay with them until after I graduate they will help me become QMHP certified.  That means Qualified Mental Health Professional.  I found out that it means a clinician in the human services field who has experience and training providing mental health and psychiatric assistance to people with psychiatric disorders.  I will qualify when I have a year experience.  I don't even need the master's to get that certification, but the master's will definitely help me in life. So, that's really good news, and I pray that it works out well.  God always provides, so regardless, I'm going to be fine.


I'll try to write more, even though we all know that means I probably won't.