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trip

I can feel it in my fingers; this post is going to be fun to write. Do you want to know why? Because last week I went road-tripping across the North Carolina and Virginia Piedmont. And I had fun. I don't typically blog day-by-day recaps of my life, but I had a really, really good time. So I'm going to write about it.

My spring break began as many college students' do—at my parents' house in Apex, NC. I spent Monday and Tuesday sleeping in late, spending time with friends in the area, and watching movies with my family.

Then it began. Wednesday, March 17th: Taylor's Epic Road-Trip of S.B. Twenty-Ten.

963 miles.

5 days.

4 universities.

2 states.

1 concert.

And a giant gorilla named Allen

(or Elliott, depending on your level of intoxication).

From Apex I drove west to Elon College (you can follow my route on the map above) where I pretended to be an Elon student for a while and then met up with a few friends from high school. Watched Aladdin. Spent the night with one of my best friends. Woke up the next morning for another full day of road-tripping.

Thursday I drove to High Point University for coffee with a good friend from camp, pretended to be a HPU student for a while, and then met up with another friend from camp for dinner. After a quick bite to eat that thankfully did not include any Chili Cheese Tots (barf), we set out with two other Carbon Leaf fans for The Visulite Theater in Charlotte for a "St. Patty's Day Show: Pt. II."

We hung around chatting with the band for a while (yes, we know the band; we're kind of a big deal), and eventually I made it back to Elon via High Point. (If you've chosen to follow along on the map, I am now at point F.)

Then it was Friday. I went to UNC-Chapel Hill to have a quick (but absolutely delightful) lunch with more camp friends. And then I drove up to Roanoke Rapids where I dropped off my car, D.W., and teamed up with Jen Thomas (and her unfortunately nameless Jeep) for the last and longest leg of Taylor's Epic Road-Trip of S.B. Twenty-Ten.

Now, this isn't to say that any of the other parts of my trip were less special or important to me, but when I hopped into Jen's car and we popped that CWR boat mix into her CD player, I could hardly breathe I was so ecstatic. I had been looking forward to our trip up to James Madison University for weeks and finally the day had come. Windows down, music up—we were on our way.

3.5 hours, 2 Lady Gaga CDs, 2 boat mixes, and a whole lot of giggles and squeals later, we arrived at Exit 245, JMU; just in time for InterVarsity large group.

It was so good to see my friends.

After large group, Jen and I got a brief tour of the school and its surroundings. Apparently all of the houses at JMU have names, which I love. Jen and I stayed at Uptown. There's also The Toolbox, The Pink House, The White House, The Lighthouse, The Rough House, Full House, Treehaus... I think you get the picture; there are a lot of houses. Jen and I were most excited to get to visit The Zoo. I had been singing the Raffi song about it all day:

It definitely exceeded our expectations. I worked at camp this past summer with 3 of the 5 guys who live there, and I had a blast getting to hang out with them in their element. What was even more cool, though, was witnessing the genuine brotherly love that these men showed toward each other around the house. I was so encouraged by the obvious way that they really cared about stirring up one another to love and good works. They built each other up and held each other accountable. They communicated and loved on one another. It was a blessing to see such Christ-centered friendships while I was there.

I experienced some awesome Godly fellowship this past weekend. To be able to go grocery shopping and cook a delicious dinner with my friends in Harrisonburg was so much fun. (And the teriyaki chicken, grilled veggies, and instant mashed potatoes were delicious!)

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common…And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47

All five of our hosts up at JMU were wonderful. Really, really wonderful.

On Sunday, after I embarrassingly nodded off during an 8:30am church service, napped off my drowsiness, and grabbed lunch with my friends, Jen and I headed home. We were not excited about the drive we had ahead of us, but ended up making it home in good time.

Arriving home after such a fun trip can sometimes be depressing, but I'm glad I'm home. For now.

Days 'til summer at Camp Willow Run: 53

road

Spring Break 2010: Trek across central NC. And VA. Extravaganza (ganza-ganza-ganzaaaa).

Tomorrow it begins.

✓ Cell phone

✓ Keys

✓ Camera

✓ Packed duffle-bag

✓ Sleeping bag

✓ Pillow

✓ Full tank of gas

✓ Carbon Leaf ticket

✓ Short Stories by Edgar Allen Poe on CD

✓✓✓✓✓ Enthusiasm

waiting

[Twiddles thumbs.]

[Takes out laptop and checks facebook.]

[Checks email.]

[Checks facebook again. (You know, just in case.)]

[Takes out the Independent crossword.]

[It's too hard; puts it back.]

[Begins blog.]

I'm sitting at the bus stop wishing that I had finished that darn adolescent psychology midterm five minutes earlier.

You see, after 6:00, the busses stop running every 12 minutes and start running every 48. It's currently 6:18 and the next bus won't get here for another 30 minutes or so. So I must sit and wait.

I just did a little research and Google Answers says that the average person spends 45-62 minutes a day waiting. Which means by the time we're 70 years old, we'll have spent about 3 years of our lives waiting in line, waiting while we fill a gas tank, waiting on an elevator, waiting for a file to download... and the list goes on and on. That's 4% of our lives. Waiting.

remember

Summer, get here quick.

I have spent the past few days driving with my windows down and my music up, drumming to the beat and singing as loud as I can. It's finally spring. But all I can think about is summer.

And as I think about this summer, I realize how much I've already forgotten about last summer. Today I found myself racking my brain for reasons why I'm so excited to go back to Camp Willow Run, but the memories that surfaced were disjointed and fleeting.

I remember how refreshing it was to ride with the windows down and feel wind rush through my hair as I rode home from end-of-year staff party at the Harris' house. I remember finding out that the Ed Hardy notebooks in Wal-Mart were made by Lisa Frank. I remember looking forward to the 5 minutes of socializing I got to do during Sunday's swim test. I remember sitting in front of my boxcar until way too late at night for no reason in particular.

I remember taking a boat out on weekends and basking in the sun.

I remember laughing about who ended up folding who's clothes.

I remember the smell of Lakeside.

And yelling "Off the porch!" a million times.

And Grandpa's Barbecue.

And singing during high school week worship.

And the weightlifter skit.

And sitting in the back of the Crossing during the end-of-week slideshow.

And plotting to commandeer a sailboat.

And star-tripping.

And eating an entire fun-fetti cake in 2 hours.

So many little memories of last summer mean so much to me, but it sort of scares me to know that I've already forgotten most of what happened in the summer of 2009. I hate thinking that I'll forget the beautiful moments that made me smile and taught me more about the One I worship and the person I am.

But it also makes me super excited for memories to be made in the summer of 2010.

When I think about it, I can't help but smile.

wings

I apologize in advance for the extreme girly-ness of this post, but I'm a woman. It's my prerogative to be really girly every once in a while.

I just finished watching the season finale of The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (laugh if you want, I didn't come up with the title—I just watched the show) and I think I've heard enough cheesy jokes about "flying off into the sunset with my copilot" to last me into my 40s. Seriously though, I would like to share a few of my thoughts on the show.

First off, the whole premise of the show is ridiculous. One guy, 25 women, a few months (if that—I'm not really sure how long it takes to film the show) and BAM! a proposal. Now, I'm not saying that getting engaged after only knowing someone for a few months is a bad thing; people have done it and it works out, but I do think that there's something a little strange about agreeing to marry someone that you have never had an exclusive relationship with. Not only that, but agreeing to marry someone who has been dating other women simultaneously. (And by dating, I mean dating... if you catch my drift.)

Second, most of the women who make it onto this show are crazy people. The reason for this is pretty obvious—how can you expect the directors of a national television show on a major network to cast 25 emotionally stable girls as the potential fiancées of a guy as studly Jake Pavelka? (It's okay, I laughed at his last name, too.) You can't. Who wants to watch a bunch of really nice girls be really nice to each other while they all go on really nice dates with a really nice guy? Unfortunately, no one. That's just not good TV. People want to watch cat-fights and choose sides. They want to pull for their favorite girl. And everyone loves to hate that one girl nobody can stand. Knowing this, why would you willingly put yourself on this show? I just don't understand it.

Third and lastly, shows like The Bachelor mess up people's perspective of what God intended love to be. Sure, these shows are entertaining, but what message are they really sending? They define love as a feeling—and not just any feeling—the feeling. The end-all be-all, purpose of life, I'll-never-need-anyone-else-ever-again feeling. I know that being in love is awesome, but sorry, if that was what life was all about—I'd be disappointed. The love that people in shows like The Bachelor are looking for is myopic and selfish. Most of the contestants (yes, they are contestants competing for a man's affection) are looking for someone who makes them feel desired and loved, regardless of shared interests, morals, or goals.

In no way am I trying to say that these women shouldn't be looking for someone to love them fully, for exactly who they are. That's the kind of man every girl should be looking for. But these ladies were looking for their "other half," someone to make them whole. They want that famous Jerry Maguire scene to play out in their own lives:

But that shouldn't be the role of a boyfriend, fiancé, or husband.

We need someone to complement, not complete.

If you watched the finale, you know that Vienna was proposed to and poor Tenley was sent home brokenhearted. (Even though by the end of the series everyone knew that Vienna was bad news. She always looked a little crazy and said ridiculous things like, "I'm on cloud Jake right now." Blech.)

If Jake had any sense, he would have chosen Tenley. Why, you ask? Because she was mature, classy, positive, and kind. She was looking for someone to commit to and to grow along side of.

Vienna was just the opposite. She made it clear from the beginning that she was there to win the hot guy. Well, she did, but I think that she lost her opportunity to grow as an individual in the process.

Proof? "When I found him, I found myself."

I have a lot of thoughts about what love is, what it should be, and how people should find it, but I guess I already made the point I wanted to with this post.

When looking for love, we need a complement. Not completion.

Completion is found somewhere else.

Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

underground

I think He will come soon.

And nobody knows where we will go;

either underground or high up.

Some are unfortunates,

others have the bag [to get high with].

We are all poor souls.

Good or bad,

only God knows.

He helps us.

He brought us up,

this is his path

and we live it as best we can.

—Mihai Alexandru Tudose, age 12

Underground Children