Did you know....I moved to Florida?
Imagine this. A basement apartment. Hot summer days spent walking thirty minutes or so one way, afternoons of Judging Amy (anyone remember that show?) and cooking. I was always so tired after those walks home, since the heat seemed to seep inside of me and zap my energy. I liked watching the show right after I got home, though I couldn't ever watch more then two episodes before I got restless. I had to do something with my time. But what? My life wasn't interesting enough to blog about, and hadn't been since I left Wales. I have started many times to put up a post, but none of them found their way onto the blog. I felt like I was wasting away, though at the same time it was refreshing to not have to do anything for a time. It was something that I needed very badly. Anyway, back to that basement apartment. It was last year, August. My mind started thinking, which of course means that I started to plan. Started to wonder what, exactly, I wanted from life. For a long time, I told no one what I was thinking. It was easier that way, because I could decide one thing or another and not have to worry about going back on what I decided. I do this a lot with the things I cook. I'll decide to cook chicken, but then at the last minuet change my mind and cook something else.
You might be wondering what these things have to do with Florida. And the answer is nothing. Not directly at least. All I knew is that I wanted to leave Iowa. I knew this for a very, very long time. Before ever returning there, I knew I would leave again. That's why, when I began thinking about my future, I knew that my life would not continue in that basement apartment. I wanted to leave, and late in September I knew what I truly wanted was to go to college. For a long time I never thought I would. I often feel that college is a waste of money, time and energy. And while I still have strong opinions of college, I find myself attending one now.
At first I thought I'd become a social worker, and work with at-risk youths. I love children, and will put much of my energy towards them in one form or another. However, after researching this option, I realized that it was not what I wanted. It was the influence of so many episodes of Judging Amy that was getting to me. I think I knew by October that I wanted to go in a very different direction. Instead of becoming a social worker, I have decided to go into the arts. Specifically animation. And so now, a year after me and my sister moved in together, I found myself leaving to living near the edge of the US. I am now here, in Florida, pursuing a bachelors degree in Computer Animation. I am a week into classes, and already love this. It is a challenge, and a demanding schedule, but I have found something that fits me. Something that I love.
Imagine this. A second floor apartment, kept cool by drawn shades and A/C. Music- or an audio book- playing softly in the background. Currently, I am listening to Yiruma. Art supplies scattered around me on the coffee table. My sketchbook is filling up page by page. Photoshop, Maya, and other programs necessary to my degree are on my computer. The scent of fresh-baked shortbread cookies lingers in the air. I sit here and wonder: How did this happen? How am I here now?
I cannot believe that I have been blessed like this. I can only pray that I stay focused on this goal and do not get overwhelmed. This is my chance to take the gifts I have been given and hone them to become something more.
So what about you? As the new school year begins across the US, what adventures await you this year? What will you do with your life now? You don't have to have the answers, you only need to take a step in the direction you want to go. You might just be surprised but how your life is transformed by the One who Loves.
