Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Struggling to Find Humility

     Life lessons always seem to sneak up on me when I’m least expecting them, but when I need them the most. Now that I’m 18, I clearly have learned everything there is to learn, and my life’s task is no longer to be a sponge to all the incoming information, but rather sacrifice myself to those who need the advice I have so intellectually attained. If you have not picked up on my sarcasm by now, be assured that it is heavily prevalent.
     Though I would love to sit back and say that I’ve never felt this high-and-mighty air, I must admit, that in certain situations, this thought has crossed my mind. When I see someone struggling with a situation I’ve already experienced and have found my way through, I take it upon myself to spend the next twenty minutes lecturing about what should be done, and what shouldn’t.
     It is so easy to think we know everything just based off of a handful of situations where we’ve been able to help a friend through a rough time, or even a stranger in passing. However, the second I was presented with a situation I had no idea how to handle, I immediately fell back into the “sponge stage”, just like I referenced earlier. My pride has repeatedly taken hits from the multiple times I’ve had to re-learn this lesson. “Surely,” I have thought, “now that I’ve attained a college degree there is nothing else to learn.” This reasoning of having nothing else to learn, I have found, is unfortunate for a couple of reasons that I will list in a short and sweet manner: there is, and it would be no fun.
     This post is no more for my readers than it is for myself. I find there is always something about myself that I’m working on, and humility often finds itself at the top of my to-do list. I have a feeling that once I find myself in college in less than a month, this virtue will not be as difficult to control.
     If anyone else finds themselves struggling with this, I will leave you with this verse.


    “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” – Ephesians 4:2

Friday, July 1, 2016

Generation Blues

     Until last week, I had never stepped foot in an antique store without my mom pulling me along with her, and if it wasn't for a friend, that would still be the case. As I walked around the shop, I didn't take much notice of the random objects that were being sold, but rather the other customers looking over all of the good deals. It didn't take long for me to notice that every other customer in the store not only didn't resemble moms pulling their teens around with them, but rather, the teens were there without their moms. While I was helping my friend look through the old records, I took notice of the other teens who were looking through the racks of clothes from previous decades, even shopping for dishes with that lovely, colorful '70s print, and while I did so, it made me think that antique stores are no longer just made for mothers and grandmothers. Instead, they are quickly becoming the trend for my own generation.
     Maybe this has only just begun, or maybe I'm only now noticing it. Regardless, I find it interesting that so many people who have access to all the current trends, choose to disregard the them, and choose from those of previous generations. It seems to me that more and more teens are looking back at past decades, trying to find something completely new, something that no one has ever found before, and make it their own. Now, whether it is for inner gratification, or to prove to their peers that they aren't the stereotypical, cookie-cutter teens, it can't be denied that they are searching. One of the biggest examples of this is ten years ago, a teen was typically only familiar with record albums if their parents had their own collection, and now, I wouldn't be surprised if a teen's collection surpasses their parents'.
     We are searching for something that has been hidden, something that maybe if we look hard enough in enough antique shops, or fall down a deep enough rabbit hole in eBay, a void in our lives will be filled by finding that one object that no one else knows about. I feel like I have been seeing small pieces of this idea come to life for years, but if it wasn't for this quote that I will leave you with today, it may never have dawned on me that there will never be an old enough antique shop holding the perfect item.

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” - C.S. Lewis