Here's a little taste of what makes my school weeks fly:
Last Monday, my roommates and I dressed up as winnie the pooh characters for Halloween at school. I blogged earlier about the theme for the school year (it was a quote from christopher robin), which is where we got the idea for the costumes (see my FB for a pic of me as pooh). In the evening, I went to my Aunt Bern's and helped her hand out candy.
Tuesday, we went to NYC for a dinner fundraiser all evening after school.
Wednesday we had another day of training on the ropes course to get zip line certified.
Thursday we left right after school for an alternative school conference in Atlantic City and stayed over night through Friday.
Friday evening, Aleks and I caught the train to NYC and then came back Saturday afternoon. When we got home, I went for a run, ate dinner and then we had spirituality night.
Today Christina and I served all afternoon at one of the school teacher's parents' 50th anniversary party.... needless to say, the days fly by faster than I can type.
Being so close to NYC has definitely provided lots of opportunities to go into the city. Along with this comes a ton of fun as well as the realization of the brokenness of the city. It makes me so sad to see how addiction to food, sex, alcohol, drugs, etc. has consumed a lot of our society. I'm reading a book from a friend about cravings... everyone craves and everyone is tempted. It goes all the way back to Eve being tempted by food in the garden. I believe everyone craves a relationship with God and unconditional love (whether or not that's how we recognize it), but we're tempted and choose to fill it with other things that we think will satisfy this hunger. We've all fallen guilty to it at one time or another at different levels. I know I have. How do you satisfy your hunger? Choosing to fill the hunger with these worldly things will only temporarily fulfill us. I think a lot of the media feeds us messages about focusing on "me" and "now". How can I be satisfied in the fastest way possible? I posted a FB status quote today from Ingrid Michaelson's song called Everybody. The quote is: "Everybody, everybody wants to love. Everybody, everybody wants to be loved." I think she's trying to get a point across when she repeats the word 'everybody'. Everybody wants to love. Everybody wants to be loved. Just as you and I crave and are tempted, so are our neighbors. Just as you want to be loved, I want to be loved. I pray for the courage to live my life in a way that would reflect the dignity of each person as a son or daughter of God, loved unconditionally by Him. All of this definitely ties to our GSV tenant of social justice. Social justice goes much deeper than it appears... we visited the UN recently and talked with some religious sisters who are connected to the UN and advocate for justice, particularly with women and children. I'm so inspired by people who choose to live radically for the betterment of our world. It's one thing for me to be uncomfortable with these things I see in NYC. It's another thing for me to do something about it. I'm gonna think about what to do and I'll get back to you :) In the mean time, let me know if you have ideas! ...Sorry about the rant... I just felt inspired to write about it :)
(Photos from top to bottom: A quote at the UN; An artsy take on the Human Rights; One of the Human Rights; the General Assembly)
Last night for spirituality night, we made collages of our experience so far and the things that have inspired us or been part of our growth. Here's a picture of mine... not my most artistic piece, but fun :)
Woops this post is a little long! I may not write for a little while... Next weekend is my cousin's wedding so I get to see my parents!! I'm so excited! I'll write more when I can :)
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