The One About Social Media (Yes, I said it.)

I feel like the biggest hypocrite on the planet for typing these words, but here they are. 

Story: I saw Moms' Night Out (which I have opinions about, but for this sake, I'll keep it short and sweet) and watched this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtvPlFty1rE) and this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY) and listened to my Pastor's sermon, and can you say CONVICTION from all of those places, cuz I certainly can. The conviction has to do with social media.

And THEN I got to thinking, which is never a good idea.

Why can't a hobby be what it is anymore: just that, a hobby? I don't care that you read a book with a cup of tea. I don't care that you ran 15.6 miles on Saturday morning. I don't care that you're planting a garden. What I really care about is that YOU care about what you're doing.

That's really it, isn't it? All of this social media junk is us searching for validation. Well, wanting to know how many "likes" we get on Facebook or how many hearts we get on Instagram (is that what those little things are called? I never got into that) is a pretty crummy place to get it. And hey, like I said, I'm right there with the rest of the world. The moment I think of a funny thing, I want to put it on Facebook or Twitter and have people realize how funny I am. (Winky face.) But, seriously, is that what we're driven to? That we don't have the time or the energy or the guts anymore to actually tell someone, "Hey. Yeah, what you're doing is awesome. You're going to impact the world in great ways," or, "Hey. What you're going through is crazy hard. No one should go through what you're going through, and I'm sorry," or, "OHMYGOSHI'MSOEXCITEDFORYOU." Okay, you get the drift.

Is this some crazy, mixed up unending circle?! Can we break a link in the circle and stop the cyclical effect? (I like that word.)

Don't find validation from the superficial. Find it in real conversations with real people.

And yes, I realize the irony of putting this into the great cosmic universe that is the world wide web. But hey, I'm gonna do something about it. I'm gonna unplug and enjoy life for all of the crazy, mixed up, awesome moments that it is. And if people only hear it come from my mouth instead of from a scroll on their Smart phone, I'm okay with that. And if my Facebook page becomes obsolete (because yes, I'll still keep it) and if my Twitter page drops down to 2 followers, but I enjoy life more and maintain a shred of privacy in this information-overload generation, I'm okay with that too. After all...

;)

So, feel the sun kissing your face but don't feel like you owe the world a status about how great it is. Tell someone about it later. Enjoy time with friends without feeling like you need to upload pictures about what you did. Because if you do just sit and soak it all up, you're finding confidence in you being you, being in the exact place you're supposed to be in at that exact moment. Realize life for what it is, and fill yourself up. Drink it in, and then let it ooze out to others. In person.

The One Where We Graduate

You drive up, car packed to the brim, mom swiping at tears and dad trying to keep it together. Suddenly, your car is swarmed by football players who starting grabbing suitcases and lamps and boxes from your car. You silently say goodbye to all of those things because chances are, your boxes will end up three halls down from where they're supposed to be. You begin carrying things in and hesitantly you approach the doorway to the room you'll call yours for the next ten months. Your roommates are inside. You knock at first and they whip around. Smiles. They have smiles on their faces. You take a deep breath and walk in.

You meet your orientation group, thankful that you will know some friendly faces when it all begins. You play games and learn too many names to possibly remember. You don't know it yet, but some of your best friends will be made that in that orientation group and all of the awkwardness and mildly scary moments will be worth it. You meet Mariah, Rebecca, and later, Britta and Elizabeth. You think your orientation leaders, David and Amanda, would be cute together, and you'll find out two years later that despite the scoffing and ridicule, you're actually right.

You begin to navigate this thing called college. As a freshman, you find all of your classes two days before they actually begin, just so you know where they are. You plan on eating all three meals on campus. After all, you need to spend $1400 on food that semester, but you don't actually know how much that is, so you ration it in the beginning. You go to your classes and make small talk with the people next to you. Some of them you know from your orientation group (and by some strange fate, this will lead you to Morgan). The first few weeks are filled with Friday night movie nights, laughter, and navigating the having-roommates thing. You learn that it's really, really fun living with Kendra and Emily, and later you'll live with Megan and Nikki, and that's really fun too.

You'll question whether being a teacher is what you were meant to do, but you soon learn that you'll thank God you stayed with it because you couldn't imagine doing anything else with your life. 

You'll learn that making mistakes becomes more frequent but doesn't get any easier and that humility is necessary but your least favorite value to practice. You'll learn how to balance working, a social life, sleep, and academics and that one of those things will suffer (and it will be sleep). You'll learn that you can whip out 8 page papers in no time and that staying up until the wee hours of the morning is easier when snacking is involved. You'll learn that taking long walks with Moriah is very beneficial for your soul.

And you'll learn that coffee is very, very, VERY important. (Especially because Shanae gets your obsession too.)

You'll learn that Sue was right: College passes in the blink of an eye, and if you're not careful, you'll miss it. You'll learn that sometimes, you need to forget about your homework and go and make memories. When you don't, you'll regret that you didn't, but when you do, you'll be so, so glad you did.

You'll learn that friends will be going in different directions, and that you'll be going in a different direction too. You'll learn that the most common question after graduation is, "So, do you have a job lined up?" and it will give you a mini heart attack every time you hear it. You'll learn that graduating college doesn't mean you stop learning.

"One day you will blink, and it will be graduation day; you won't understand how you could have ever wanted to leave this place. So appreciate everything, even the bad stuff, because it is the bad, scary, anxious, lonely parts of college that teach you how to take advantage of the happy, fun, exciting, amazing parts. And when you think back to that wide-eyed freshman staring at those ivy-covered walls, you'll realize you were right all along. Everything from that moment on was truly remarkable."

I recommend the following, written by a fabulous author who can say the words much better than I. The last paragraph in quotes is from this article. View it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/molly-sprayregen/reflections-on-college_b_4064675.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false. 

The One Where I Say "Until We Meet Again."

So long, farewell, to you my friends.
Goodbye, for now, until we meet again.
I say, so long, farewell, to you my friends.
Goodbye, for now, until we meet again.

                                        -"The Goodbye Song" Out of the Box

I've tied 136 shoes laces.
I've picked up 324 pencils off the floor.
I've graded 54 papers and have written 678 smiley faces.
I've eaten 59 bagels while running out the door, and I've spilled approximately 4.2 cups of coffee both on myself and in my car.
I've said goodbye to 23 students over 70 times, and today was my last.

At one point, I asked myself, "Will I miss them when I am gone?" because despite the funny quotes I've collected, this semester has been challenging. Will I really miss them? I've decided that I will. 

Will I really miss the way E throws things and sulks in his desk when things don't go his way? No, but, will I miss his impish grin as he tries terribly hard not to smile when I make a joke I know he will laugh at? Yes, I will. I'll miss the times where I could see straight through to his heart--his vulnerable, beautiful heart where no anxiety is allowed to live, and he can just be an eight year old boy.

I'll miss the way they get so sucked into reading stories and how the simplest ones mean the most to them. I'll miss the silence that occurs during those heavenly fifteen minutes. I'll miss the looks on their faces when I catch them soaking it up like sponges. 

When I sang them the song on my guitar today, I was expecting the general silliness that accompanies things like this, but I got something I never expected: tears. Honest to goodness. One started, then a few more joined, and then we all started, and I barely got through the rest of the song before I found my own eyes filling. How can your wrap up sixteen weeks' worth of life into a few sentences when someone asks how my placement ended? You can't do it justice.

In the end I can only accept it for what it is. I had sixteen beautiful weeks with my students. Sixteen very tiring, long weeks filled with apologies and humility and mistakes and re-dos, and now it's time to move on to different things. Their school routine will go back to normal. The teacher who makes them sit for 45 minutes for reading will be gone. Ms. E will be back to her calm self and will be able to take care of them like she always did and will continue to do. They will keep growing, and, like the butterflies we so carefully observed and cared for, they will soon fly off to 3rd grade where they will learn cursive, explore the exciting world of geometry, and realize that writing a story requires writing paragraphs. (That last one's gonna be hard.) The sun will keep rising and setting as it always does, and all will be right in the world.

I said so long, farewell, to you my friends. Goodbye for now, until we meet again...

Why You Should Watch Old TV Shows.

I'm going to tell you a fact about me that most people don't know.

Ready?

Here it is. I love old TV shows. 

"Really Jessica? All of those boring, black-and-white reruns on PBS and TV Land that everyone channel surfs past because they're... well... boring and in black-and-white?"  

Yes. It's true. To me, there is something so mystical and wholesome about times past, the by-gone era, that is absent from television today. There is goodness and laughter and morality. And I love it. I love all 25 minutes of ancient entertainment. 

I love how The Brady Bunch is so maddeningly predictable but oh so relatable. And if this just isn't your jive, I hope you can at least appreciate it for it's quotability. Who hasn't heard, "MARSHA, MARSHA, MARSHA!" said at least once in their household? Oh. Just me? Okay. I can accept that.

   

I love the canned, audience laughter of My Three Sons and the raw, masculine role models portrayed on the show.   

  

I love growing up with The Waltons.  I loved the history of a family growing up in The Great Depression. I loved Grandpa's friskiness and his thirst for adventure. I loved Livvy's strength and Elizabeth's pluck. And I loved thinking that if I ever had an older brother, I'd want him to be just like John-Boy.

I love learning with Laura and watching her muddle through her sixteen-year-old life as a teacher because I knew that someday, I was going to be a teacher just like Laura was.

I love the humor of The Cosby Show and that no matter what, Cliff and Clair's love for each other and their kids never changed. 

 

 I love the life lessons I learned from Life Goes On and how a television show can promote the sanctity of life. 

I love the beauty of Eric and Annie's imperfect family.

There is something so unmatchably brilliant about old TV shows. I often wonder why I find myself so drawn to shows like Bonanza, or Green Acres, or Full House over the popular shows I find on television today. I could give you a good-sized list of why that is, but I won't burden you with those thoughts. Instead, I'm going to offer you a challenge. The next time you're looking for something to watch on TV, instead of flipping past Mary Tyler Moore or Lucille Ball or Mr. Ed, pause the channel-changing and appreciate television for its simplicity and charm. I think you're going to like what you find.

Exciting News.

Check out some exciting news in my life here. :)

Welcome Aboard

For me, nostalgia is a beautiful feeling. It's warm and sentimental. It captivates the mind. It secures the memory. It remembers.

Nostalgia is hipster compared to other emotions, because it is like a blend of bitter and sweet that functions together to perfect and transform and seep into the most divine flavor known to man.

      nostalgia |näˈstaljə; nə-|
      noun
      a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy       
      personal associations

Those Wonder Years. A place to revel in sentimentality and relive memories. It isn't the end of a journey but rather a stopping place on the road to the future.

Welcome, weary traveler.