Sunday, March 27, 2011

Birds of a feather


College is all about change, right? Well, I’ve quickly found that to be the number one truth of this whole first year of college experience. And rather than point and criticize and get stuck in a rut, might as well join them.
            So this weekend, I made a change. This is pretty radical for me, and if you know me, you know that means it’s not very radical at all. And of course after about six opinions I took the dive.
            I got feather extensions added to my hair.
            This new trend has been taking the West coast by storm the past few months, and is barely getting off the ground here in the East coast.
            I first heard of them when I went to Boise, Idaho, for spring break. I thought they were an interesting thing that I didn’t even consider for myself.
            Some people pierce their belly buttons; some get tattoos; some dye their hair; but I get feathers in my hair.
            And so far, I love them. I have two red and one orange with black dots in the under layers of my hair, so if I’m feeling crazy one day I can proudly display them by pulling my hair back, or if I am feeling a little more conservative, I can hide them in the thick layers of my red hair.
            The great thing is that these feathers can be treated just like my natural hair. I can wash them, blow dry them, and curl them. And in two weeks to seven months I can take them out.
            So let the craziness begin. Well, as crazy as I can get.


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

One year later...


DISCLAIMER: Not that I have any readers from Holy Family younger than me, but if you are from HF and have not attended Kairos yet, please don’t read this.

I already did a blog post about my year 2010 wrapping it up and reflecting on the year as a whole. But I want to reflect again. Today two years ago, I was on my first Kairos experience. And one year ago, I was on Kairos as a leader.
            For most of my readers who are unfamiliar with Kairos, let me give you a quick run down of what it is. Kairos is a religious retreat that many schools put on. At Holy Family, traditionally seniors would attend Kairos, with a select few juniors who went in the spring of junior year. Kairos is more than just a retreat though. It really changes lives. I’m not really sure what it is about Kairos that can make even the most skeptical kids break down to all their raw feelings, but it does, and that is why it is so powerful.
            On Kairos there are ten “talks.” These talks are speeches around a basic theme given by each of the six student and four adult leaders. Last year I gave a talk about values.
            I can’t believe that one year ago I was sitting in the beautiful Colorado mountains with a group of people I barely knew, on a mission to change their lives and experience the magic of Kairos. Now here I am, sitting in my dorm room in Boston experiencing the thrill and exhilaration of college.
            I reread my Kairos talk recently to see just who I was and what was important to me one year ago. The change in me is undeniably remarkable. As a self-study, the things I included in the talk (and the things I remember consciously leaving out) intrigued me.
            Only those people I shared Kairos with and a few close friends have read or heard my talk. I hope those people know what a true gift they have, because what I put in that talk is not something I share with everyone. The talk was “me” in words. I was exposed right down to the emotions and thoughts that made me who I was then.
            The best thing about looking back and reading my talk was seeing what was important to me at the time. Everyone used to tell me that ten years after high school no one would care who was class president, who got what superlative in the yearbook or who gave the speech at graduation. What I know now is that they lied. No one cares about that even ten months after high school.
            My talk addressed the devastation I felt when I didn’t get into Northwestern, the relationships I have with my best friends and my parents and the obstacle I overcame when I didn’t win class president, among other things.
            The truth is that everything has changed. Most of the things I wrote about don’t matter anymore. I still love my parents and best friends, but to say our relationships haven’t changed would be naïve. Both obstacles I faced in student council and not getting into Northwestern shaped who I became last year, but now I can simply call them hurdles I cleared, and in hindsight they don’t look so big.
            The most interesting thing I stated in my talk was “I don’t have any idea where I’ll be a year from now, but I’m ok with that because I trust it is exactly where I am supposed to be.”
            Well, here I am, and that is the absolute truth. I really do feel I am where I am supposed to be now. But the crazy thing is I can still say that.
            There is something about being in this formative stage of life that is scary and uncertain. I really don’t know where I’ll be next year, what I’ll be doing, where I’ll be living and who I will be. But it is safe to bet, it will be very different from who I am in this very moment.
            I’m glad I have my Kairos talk as a time capsule of who I was as a senior in high school. It is a good way to track my progress as I grow into a young adult.
            And now I have this blog to archive my first year in college. Thanks for reading this much this time around. I hope you enjoyed my reflections.

P.S. Happy St. Patrick’s Day! The best holiday of the year. ;)
The Kairos leaders of Kairos 32 on Mar. 16, 2010. 

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

My Lenten Resolution


Tomorrow begins one of the most dreaded seasons of the year for Catholics: Lent. Sure it’s a great time to self-reflect, and to challenge ourselves to go without some things that make life a little more enjoyable, but I still dread the somber season.
            During my childhood it was always a true test to give up sweets for 40 days. The task made Easter morning that much sweeter to see a basket full of Peeps and a chocolate bunny since it had been such a long time since I had consumed processed sugar.
            I still like to give up sweets just for that reason, and it is still difficult to go without the occasional mindless dessert.
            Last year I wanted to try something even harder. Try and guess what it was. I’ll give you a few hints first. What do teenagers spend most of their time doing? What is important to a high schooler? What would most teenagers do without this particular thing?
            Before I give you the answer, I’ll answer those questions for you. Teenagers spend their time on the Internet. A social life may be the most important thing when you’re 17. And most teenagers I know would self-destruct without this precious commodity in their life.
            You guessed it…Facebook. I gave up Facebook last year, and am attempting to try it again this year.
            It was hard to resist the temptation of one small click on the computer to see what everyone in my inner and outer social circles were up to. I slipped a couple of times in the first few weeks, but I got a little better as the 40 days went on. I did however spend a lot of time on the site on Sundays (which don’t count towards the 40 days).
            I love this challenge. As a college student I spend a superfluous amount of my time on my computer. As unwilling as I am to admit this, I probably spend at least an hour of my time a day on Facebook, and much more on other various sites.
            I think the next 40 days will be a good cleanse of my horrible habit of Facebook creeping, playing Family Feud and browsing the news feed. Thank you Mark Zuckerberg for such a great time waster, social connection, game forum and small visual model of my world. But I need a break from my silly and harmless addiction. Lent is the perfect opportunity.
            So goodbye, Facebook, I’ll see you on Sundays and we will be fully reunited on Easter.
            Maybe God didn’t have these kinds of sacrifices in mind when He sent His Son to die for our sins, but in my mind this is a big sacrifice that will be good for me.

P.S. Since most of you read my blog from the posts I put on Facebook, I might sneak on to put up my newest posts in the next 40 days.