Thanksgiving continued on Sunday at SPEC when Erik, another American volunteer, and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. I have never cooked a meal that big before, but man did Erik and I have fun! I started the rolls at 11:00 am and kept cooking until dinner at 6:00 (well actually more like 6:15, but Thanksgiving dinner is supposed to be late, right?). The dinner was a big success! A shout out to Grama Sutton - I got her recipes for 'Grama Rolls' and Sweet potatoes - both were a big hit! We had a good time explaining all of our different traditions and dishes. The brits found it strange, though, when we said it was fine to put the fruit salad on the same plate as all the other food, but most went along with it anyway. We didn't discover until later that anything on the same plate, in England, is up for grabs to shove together with everything on the plate. I looked over at my neighbor who had fruit salad, roll, and turkey on one fork... we had a laugh together :) It was such a wonderful community time! To eat, laugh, and just be together as a family was so beautiful.
Another great part about this day may have been the fact that I was running the show ;) I have missed being in and around theatre a lot, and having that familiar feeling of working hard all day building up to the adrenaline rush at panic time was so wonderful. I felt alive! Everytime I get this feeling I am reminded of why I want to go into theatre - which leads me to the next big thing on my mind... UNI!
It has come time to apply for university for next fall. Discernment is a big process, though. I have gotten very overwhelmed regularly since I started the process. I am the kind of person that likes to know alllll of my options before making a decision. Well, we all know that there are thousands of universities in the US, and there is no way I could know about them all. So I have narrowed it down to 3... or maybe 5 universities. I am intending to major in theatre - either musical theatre or theatre education. I just had such an amazing time at the Morgan Middle School Drama Club that I can't imagine myself NOT doing thatre in that aspect or something similar. I don't know how I'm going to come to a decision, but luckily I don't really have to make that one until May. I am planning a trip back to the states in February to visit and audition at some schools. My biggest challenge now is the 'personal statement'. I have lots of brainstorms, but it's not coming together like essays normally do for me... maybe I just need some more 'think' time. Unfortunately, that time is running out!
Today I ran a session called 'Stranded!'. The premise is that a meteor is headed towards Earth and will destroy it in the next 48 hours. Luckily, we have known about this for some time, and have managed to build a space-station to live on. Un-luckily, there are only 3 spots left. Each young person is given a character, and throughout the session, they have to decide who stays and who goes. I was struck by how each made their case. Most began with: 'I should go because I have these special talents...' But later, when their shortcomings were revealed, the arguments turned to: 'I should go because I'm not.... (disabled, sterile, old, etc.)' I wonder how often in life we define ourselves by 'what we aren't' in comparison to other people. 'Well, I may be X, but at least I'm not Y...' Just a thought... Life would be nice if we could focus on the X - what we are and celebrate that - as well as the X in others. I guess it's sort of a 'glass half full' mentality.
I want to thank those of you who responded to my last post. The question of where God is in suffering was posed by the ELCA, though it had been floating around in my mind for some time. It's a question whose answer is always being refined in my mind. If you have any others you'd like me to think about - let me know, it may show up here!
I pray life is treating you all well in this Advent Season - Waiting time! :) Cheers!
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