The Social Porcupine

Practicing splits When I first left Stuttgart , I was very nervous for many reasons. What if my next au pair family didn't work out? What if I didn't like my new class as much as I loved my old classes? Would I be able to find friends and a church so easily again? Would I even enjoy the rest of my time?  These are such silly worries, I know. But looking back, I realize I was more stressed than I let myself acknowledge. And my health was not good at all. I've never had a problem finding things to do and people to do them with. And yet the first two months in Germany really upturned my confidence for a time.  That was good, by the way. It's wonderful learning and growing, especially once the pain is gone.  I didn't even fully realize how poor my health had become until I saw this picture taken with my new German classmates. I had become very quiet and reserved, with little motivation to share with others. I told myself it was because I felt so much peace. Which wa...

TAKE A CHILL PILL Maybe the Earth isn't destined to end in flames—all we need is a bit of cold love. Five freshmen from a small northern country school have decided that the heated debate around global warming can no longer be ignored. Together they invented the vending machine they are calling The Chill Cube. After winning the county state fair, their invention has received much attention—and speculation. Can a machine that dispenses ice cubes be the answer to curing global warming? Mallory Benton, age fifteen, the only girl and the spokesperson for the teenagers said, “I was raised Northern Baptist. People and the environment are all created by God. I was taught that everything starts in our hearts. My friends and I believe that's what's at the core of the threat of global warming—humanity's heart. When man's anger is flared everything gets heated that should have been civil—politics, theology, sports. You name it." "Humanity needs to cool down...

I've always wanted to go to college.  And to be honest, I'm not really sure why I didn't. For a while, I was very determined. And then for a time, I thought maybe it was wrong for girls to attend college, though I only thought that for a few months.  I think, mostly, I just decided college wasn't for me, and that I could be successful without it and the burden of debt that comes along with it, and that I could learn on my own as I've always done and loved to do best, anyway.  All that being said, one of the craziest reasons I was excited about being an Au Pair is that they paid for classes.  Now, money was never a problem for me. And the course I would have here would be such a small thing, a couple days a week at the most, and only fifty euros a month paid. But, even so, I was excited. And my classes turned out to be very fun.  The first course was on Monday nights. Sometimes it was a bit of a cold, dark ride on the bike, and a few times it...

Do you ever wonder what you are supposed to do with your life? How to live it? Honor and respect those that you should, balancing between doing what you should and what others (family, friends, and even the world) think you should? You don't want to be a bum. You want a successful life. But who gets to decide what is successful? Who decides what makes one educated and accomplished? By whose standards are you going to pursue a meaningful life? Even those of us that will answer "God's" still have more than enough choices. This world is not an easy place to live. And I realize this more and more each passing year. People are so caught up in a struggle of surviving that most can't breathe. But we are told we have no other choice. Society's Plan We must graduate from the designated 12 years of school, which includes all the subjects that they feel are necessary for every individual to know. Then we must go to ...

This summer has been so fun and awesome! How has it been for you all? I've been so busy with work and having a blast that I've had little time - or will - for writing. But I'll be getting back on track now :D The last two weeks of July have been the best weeks of my life. Why? I was at a place in Manitou Springs, Colorado called Summit Ministries . But it wasn't the place that made it so great. It was Summit. "Summit? What is that?" "It's a place to go to learn about what I believe and why I believe it to see if I really believe what I think I believe and if so, how I believe that and can I prove what I believe is what I actually believe." Old Testament belonging to Josh McDowell Lolol. Sorta... ;) This is a question that can't be answered in a few minutes - at least not thoroughly enough by me. I can just keep talking and talking about it forever - and then some more. :D In a short sentence, Summit is a p...