Slowing Down

I had a cold two weeks ago, got rid of it, and apparently didn't get enough of it the first time, because it came back this week. I also had a day and a half spell of being light headed which is no fun... Annnnd, the show must go on! I took it as a sign that I needed to slowwwww downnnnnn. I've been on the run constantly this year so it was actually a welcomed break to be forced into rest.

There's a very high chance that I'll be teaching a health class, starting after Thanksgiving. I'm super excited about this opportunity! I may be teaching with another volunteer or on my own- it's not clear yet... but I think it would be another great learning experience. I've been thinking a lot about my last blog and the origin of issues I discussed. I've decided a lot of it comes down to personal health! Healthy eating habits, self-respect, respect for others, taking care of your body physically, emotionally, sexually, spiritually, mentally, etc. With that said, I've gotten really excited about the idea of teaching health. It's definitely something I'm passionate about and can be fun to teach/learn about... I'll keep you posted as this unfolds :)

With Thanksgiving next week, I wanted to say a little bit about what I'm thankful for. My list could probably be pretty lengthy... Sooo I'm going to make a list of the first 10 things that come to mind:

1. My family: My Mom and Dad, Kate, Nathan, Joe and Lucy... I love you from the bottom of my heart

2. My faith and God: I would not be here without the Lord, and my faith is what gets me through each day

3. My friends: I am speechless. I have been truly blessed by each of you.

4. This experience in Wickatunk: truly life changing

5. Food and shelter

6. New experiences, challenges and adventures... as well as all of the experiences, challenges and adventures that have lead me to where I am now

7. Little joys: ex: tiny bubbles coming out of a soap bottle or getting a letter in the mail :)

8. The support from my immediate/extended family and friends: I am so humbled and hope I can reciprocate what you have given to me

9. The peace of a new day in the morning

10. Life

I feel like my blogs have been pretty scattered recently but hopefully you can still follow them... God bless you all this coming week with the holiday! Safe travels to all travelers! Happy Thanksgiving!

The Past Week in Photos...

Fall at Collier

My Mom and Dad and I at the wedding

Uncle Pat and Aunt Nancy (my godparents)

A few cousins and aunts/uncles with Nana

Cousins/Kids Table

Lovin' in Philly (not the real thing but close enough hehe)

My roommates and I took a day trip to Philly today!

The first Senate room

Liberty Bell

City Hall-- Also the home of another "Occupy" protest

Each of us handcrafted

November? Already!? Weeks continue to fly by... I probably post a sentence about how fast time flies in each blog haha... last weekend I got to go visit my Aunt Cathy, Uncle Jim, Kelly and Nana in PA. It was such a great visit! We got snowed in on Saturday... Saturday evening the power went out so we ate dinner by candle light and played Rummikub by candle/flashlight-- it was qutie the scene ;) Sunday, Kel and I got lunch out and ran a few errands. It was definitely too short, but a fun and relaxed visit!

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 :)

Somethinnn'. Somethin' about this place...

Last week flewwww by! We had Monday off for Columbus day. A few of us went to the beach because it was free (no fees after labor day!) and it was sooo nice. The weather was beautiful and there was barely anyone where we parked it. Then we had school Tuesday-Thursday. Thursday afternoon we went to our Community Retreat at a retreat center conveniently located 1/4 mile from where we live :) The weekend was centered around our community and how we relate/clash with each other. We took the Enneagram test to find out our personality types. I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the test because it puts people in a box and can be focused on negative things, but it was a good test for becoming aware of differences between me and my community members. We also got to see the other Good Shepherd Volunteers from NYC... it's always fun to see them! :)

Mid summer, I made a comment in a blog about wanting to feel healthier by Christmas. I think I've definitely made some positive changes. First, being at this school and working with these kids has been such a blessing. I can tell that my heart is happier here and I'm doing something that really makes me happy. My thoughts and relationships are all a lot healthier. Also, while it's a work in progress, I've definitely had a better perspective on self-image recently. We have to learn to love ourselves. Lots of prayer and self love and acceptance are key recipes for happiness within.

So, here I sit, listening to country music on my computer (through my headphones cuz my roommates don't like country music haha), sipping tea and reflecting on the year so far in NJ. I've already thought about how sad I will be when I have to leave (although I try not to dwell in that and just enjoy the moments). I feel spoiled to be here. So many learning opportunities and experiences. The joy I have has lead me to believe that this sort of work may be what I've been called to all along. Why I didn't turn to this sooner, I'm not sure. But I do know that all things lead us to where we're meant to be. Our ways are not always God's ways! We may feel uncomfortable or like we're not happy at times, but truly, with faith in the One who loves us, we can have hope for good things to come.

Let nothing trouble you,
Let nothing frighten you.
All things are passing;
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who possesses God lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.
-St. Theresa of Avila

A word from Ms. Skrobacz in the Rec Room :)

The rec room is a place the students can go after their done eating during lunch. They love to go in there because they can use their phones, play pool, play ping pong, and just hang out. I was on duty in there today and had a strange and awesome feeling. I just felt really alive and happy. It's not really explainable.... because rec room duty is probably one of the more stressful jobs of the day. Most of the kids like to go in there and it gets loud, crazy, and out of control. But for some reason, I was overcome with a ton of love and so much joy. Philippians says that after prayer and petition with thanksgiving, "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will be with you". Maybe that's just it. Pray, pray, and pray some more. I'll admit, I'm really not the best at keeping a consistent prayer life. But I know that when I DO make time, my day is so much better, I'm a lot less stressed/anxious, and my view of the world is a lot less cluttered.

Do you have those moments in your day that make you happy? What makes you feel alive? Do you follow your heart or the world? If you asked me a year ago (when I was sitting in a computer lab coming up with design ideas) if I thought I'd be hangin out in a high school rec room in New Jersey, trying to love kids who want to push ur buttons as far as possible, ummm I probably would have chuckled. I'm so thankful to be where I am and for all the people who have lead me here. I pray that you and I would follow the plans of the Lord and what makes us truly alive. That plan may change unexpectedly in a couple days or maybe even years down the road. Own it and follow it! :)

Happiness is in the heart, not the circumstances

OKAY PEOPLE... In case you didn't know, tearing up in spinning class is definitely RIDONKulous!! haha nevertheless I DID! ;) The teacher probably thought I was working so hard that I cried or some sort of crazy wacko. Moreso the later hehe... but in all seriousness, I think I'm feeling my first wave of homesickness today... Lucy got homecoming queen last night and I so badly wish I could be home to help her get ready for the dance tonight. I'm really close with my siblings and fam so things like this are hard to miss. Kate, I can totally appreciate how hard it's been for you to be gone! We all need to get matching underwear or SOMETHING to have on these days so we're all connected hahahaha ok so maybe underwear is a littttt-tle bit weird... ;) these are definitely eye opening learning opportunities!

I'm going to visit with my Aunt Bern this afternoon, and then go to confession and mass with her and my uncle so hopefully that will distract me. I was thinking about it this morning and realized that I scheduled our visit during the time Lucy is getting ready for the dance... I got really upset because it would be fun to skype in for a bit but as I write this I'm realizing that it's probably better that I don't... it may add fuel to the fire. There will be plenty of other opportunities to skype with her :) look at me, trying to counsel myself baha ;) My mom always says "your mind is a dangerous place to go by yourself"... thus, I share this all with youu! Thanks for reading and not judging me for my crazy thoughts :P!

Things are going well at school! The students are more and more challenging and humbling each day. Each day I also realize I have more and more love to give. Jillian Michaels has work out DVDs (which I own and highly recommend... they kick ur a$$ if you're interested in a good work out!) and at one point she says "You know I expect a lot from you, but I know you've got it to give." I think that's so true- it's a lot about mental power and determination. While we give, it's also important to feed ourselves (mentally, physically, etc). Someone once told me we should have our cups constantly full so that what we are giving is the overflow- ie. not emptying our cup, filling it up, emptying, filling, etc.... sooo I took this weekend to do some things for myself that I've been putting off, because I think I've been giving a little bit from inside my cup... from the little things of doing my nails and relaxing to bigger things like finding a young adult group, I'm really cherishing this time to myself.

So here I am, writing about how I want to be home with everyone, but I'm loving some time to myself. haha sometimes I make myself laugh. I guess we always hear that we need to laugh at ourselves.... "A day without laughter is a day wasted".... find a way to make yourself laugh today! :) Enjoy the weekend! I'll write more again soon!

PS-- as always, sending lots of love to my Mom, Dad, Kate, Nathan, Joe and Lucy! miss youuu! xoxoxo

The Tao of Christopher Robin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tRepZdoRmY

(you'll have to copy/paste the link into ur browser... i'm still trying to figure out how to add youtube videos to my blog)

Watching clips like this reminds me how inspiring some children's shows are... I didn't realize what they were saying when I was younger ;) I probably just ran around in front of the screen pretending to catch fireflies hehe

This clip holds the theme for the year at Collier. The vice principal picks out a theme and this year, it's based on this quote:

"You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

You and I should hold onto this as the theme of our lives ;) you are BRAVER than you believe you are, STRONGER thank you seem to be, and SMARTER thank you think you are. Believe in yourself :)

Speaking of Pooh, I've always loved this song... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ao9NUITRoE) It makes me think of Jen... we've known each other since we were so little and I remember watching the Tigger Movie with her. "Just think of your friends, the ones who care. They all will be waiting there, with love (and huge smiles!) to share, and your heart will lead you home." :)

Happy weekend everyone!