How do you like the new layout?

I absolutely loved the picture I used for the background (I snapped that postcard shot while I was in Germany one spring), but I didn't like how it was multiplied, so I decided to give the ol' blog a fresh redesign! I hope you all like it! :)

Family Weekend

This past weekend at college was Family Weekend. Baylor planned a full schedule for families, making sure that everyone could spend quality time together. There was even a football game that weekend; the band planned the most kid-friendly show that we (I'm in the color guard, you know!) could possibly do: Pixar. (You don't even understand how excited I was when they announced the theme.)

It was the best show ever. One of my all-time favorites, really. Only one problem, though. My parents couldn't come down. However, since my cousin is a freshman here as well, I did get to chill out and have lunch with my aunt, uncle and cousins, so that was pretty enjoyable.

Here's the thing, though. When you live ten to eleven hours away from home, you don't get to see your family much. I haven't seen mine in a month. Believe it or not, this is the longest time that I've been separated from my parents and little brother. That's not too much of a problem, because I'm pretty busy with guard, LEAD, and a few other clubs. Not to mention the piles of homework I get every night. But...I miss my family.

At the game, I watched as all the other band members left with their families, or chatted excitedly about where they were going to eat, or what they were going to do next.  Kids were everywhere giggling, throwing footballs, chasing each other around, tugging on their parents' or collegiate sibling's shirts. I felt more lonely than ever.

But this little depressing tale does have a happy ending. I got to Skype with my family that night. It was refreshing to see their faces again. Even though I have a month left until I'm reunited with my loved ones, I know that the time's just going to fly by. In the meantime...I'm going to work on my swing dancing.

*Picture doesn't belong to me. It was stolen from  found on Google. Just giving credit where it's due!

Faraway Kindess

I am naturally not a very open person. I don't show too much emotion most of the time, and I don't share things with others unless I really want to. As an introvert, I have more of a reserved personality. However, at the beginning of the summer, I read a chapter in a loaned book from my mom about being vulnerable and opening up to others. I stopped reading that book after that.

I knew right then that the chapter had been written for me. But I was having none of that. I don't want to open up! I thought. I'm fine just the way I am. Nobody needs to know about me.

Dead. Wrong.

This summer, God put me on a mission to open up, to reveal more of my true colors instead of the stoic personality that I wrap myself in.

I became a junior counselor at a camp, I went to a foreign country to supply clean water to a village. People wanted to know what happened to me there. They wanted my stories, my pictures.

I was scared. I still am.

But let me tell you a story. This story really knocked my world into perspective.

It was raining on the first night of the job in Cambodia. My teammates were giggling and running into the storm. Not I. I was curled up on a cot, shivering with fever. I couldn't move, my eyelids were fighting to stay open. Eventually, after a sponge bath, my fever broke. That didn't mean I was better. Oh no. I was bedridden for three days, to weak to do much but sit up and eat. Even stumbling to the doors of the girls room for a breath of fresh air was a challenge.

What saved me? God's grace, Tylenol, and a couple of ladies I like to call the Mings.

The word "Ming" in the Khmer language is a term of respect that you use when you speak to a woman of superior standing. The English equivalent would probably be "aunt".

But over the course of the ten days I was at the job site, the Mings became so much more to me than aunts.

These ladies didn't even know me, but they jumped to my rescue anyway when I first became sick. They were the ones who gave me a sponge bath that first night. They helped me with things that I normally could do myself: bathing, eating, walking, even going to the bathroom was a struggle, yet they were patient as I struggled with basic daily activities.

They even held me as I sobbed in frustration, shaking with the fever and the effort. But one more thing.

The Mings couldn't speak my language, and I couldn't speak theirs. 

Even today, the thought still blows me away. They loved me like one of their own, even though I had never spoken much to them before. Just the amount of kindness poured out amazes me. I was forced to open myself up to complete strangers...and I was blessed beyond all I could have ever expected. The actions of the Mings inspired me.

I shared more. I talked more. I breached the boundaries of my shell.

It still isn't easy to talk to people I don't know, but if I can bring comfort and peace into someone's life like the Mings brought into mine, I could consider my days well spent.

 I haven't seen the Mings since this picture was taken. I miss them both very, very much. 

Childhood Dreams

When I was a kiddo living in Japan, there were many things that I got to do that many of my American peers never had the opportunity to experience. Riding a MAGLEV, for example. Or walking by a Power Ranger battle on the way to get groceries. I've never encountered Godzilla, though. But I digress. 

Near my house in Tokyo was a sports center. It was a place where you could drop by and work out. I'm thinking that it's similar to a YMCA here in the U.S. of A. Anyways, when I went, I would always peek into the windows of the gym to see if the local club was practicing the combat art of kendo. I would always wish to myself that someday, I could try something like that too.
What is kendo? Since I'm horrible at explaining things myself, I'll let Wikipedia fill you in. "Kendo is a modern Japanese sport/martial art, which descended from traditional swordsmanship and uses bamboo swords and protective armor. Today it is widely practiced within Japan and many other nations across the world."

Never beyond my wildest dreams did I ever think that I was going to get an opportunity to try kendo. On the way back to my dorm tonight, my heart was swelling in joy. 

Sometimes the things that are the most simple are the most beautiful. Even when they involve combat (did I mention that I also enjoy fencing?) 

Pictures copyrighted to their respective owners.