Baggage

Have you ever sat and 'people watched'?

Watched the expressions they have on their faces? Watched what they do with themselves as they wait in a line?

It makes you wonder, what are they thinking? Why do they look sad? What did they see that made them smile? Where has life taken them so far? What baggage do they carry or do they even have any?

Some people seem to always be happy no matter where their life takes them.  Others get knocked on their feet too many times to count. For me life isn't about how or why you get knocked down... it's about how you get back up.  There is nothing in life that you can't handle.  There is no baggage that is too heavy... even though at the time it may seem unbearable.  Maybe you failed an exam, lost a family member, made some big mistakes and you're trying to fix it.  The point is it all happens for a reason and you may never know that reason... but picking yourself up and moving on is the only place you can start.

Whatever your beliefs may be... this is where the key to life and happiness lies. 

In the bible it says:

God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but along with the temptation he will also make the way out in order for you to be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Oprah said, "Turn your wounds into wisdom."

John F. Kennedy said, "When written in Chinese the word "crisis" is composed of two characters - one represents dancer and the other represent opportunity."

And my little book about believing said, "Only in the darkness can you see the stars." - Martin Luther King Jr. 

So are you dragging your baggage behind you?

Are you letting it defeat you?

Or are you pushing it with you?  

Are you getting back up?

Flying forward. Living in the moment.

I will leave you with this quote by Phyllis Diller.

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight."

believe

Today is the day that I move back to my dorm room for the remainder of the semester.  Spring Break is over and classes are about to resume. I got a book that is called 'believe' from a company called Peter Pauper Press.  It is a little pocket book with daily inspirational quotes.  As I have been reading the beginning pages I have been contemplating the word believe. People always tell you to believe, but believe in what? Is it in the things that I can do? In my faith? In those around me?

The introduction to the books says:

"Magic is believing in yourself," said 

Goethe. "If you can do that, you can 

make anything happen."  Let this little 

book of wisdom help you work that 

magic.  Take its words to heart as 

you pursue your dreams.  Believe, and 

live by your beliefs.  Persist, and make 

stepping stones of stumbling blocks.  

The key to your life is within you 

right now.  Take it, and unlock the 

door to life's possibilities.

I don't know that the word believe really has to be focused on simply one thing.  To believe is to have faith in everything.  It is hard to believe that we leave for Sierra Leone in 56 days. As the time gets closer and closer I am beginning to get more and more excited! I am ready to take advantage of this possibility. Actually it is no longer simply a possibility that I will be able to meet the children and people I have heard so much about this year in a country so far away.  It has become a reality and an opportunity and I BELIEVE in the change I will be able to help make.

Now... 

Are you living by your beliefs?  

Are your blocks still stumbling? 

Where is your key?  

Are you ready to believe?

Lucky's Clovers!

I have been spending my Spring Break helping out in my mom's first grade classroom! AND she let me come up with my own math lesson plan! So what I decided to do was create 30 fourth leaf clovers with math problems on them and hide them around the room.  When the students came back from lunch they found clovers and completed the math problems! It was a ton of fun and a nice way to incorporate St. Patrick's Day.

A funny quote from the afternoon:
Student: "This is fun!"
Mrs. Wilson: "Yup, you just need to add or subtract it."
Student: "Oh! It's a math problem!"

I guess he was learning and didn't even know it! :) Here are some pictures from the afternoon as well as a quote of what the worksheet that I created said:

"Lucky the Leprechaun has lost all of his four leaf clovers! Can you help him?  There are clovers hidden around the classroom.  Find a clover and bring it back to your seat.  Complete the math problem on the clover and put your answer in one of the gold coins below.   When you are done with the clover hide it back where you found it so that another friend can help Lucky! You need to find at least six clovers and do the math problems."

In the midst of midterms...

Attention all readers... ATTENTION ALL READERS! We have plane tickets!!!

We have our plane tickets for Sierra Leone! I cannot express the pure feelings of joy, excitement, and bliss I have been feeling this whole week even though it is the week of midterm exams.  I will be heading home this evening for Spring Break and I cannot wait to see my friends and family along with the added blessing of being able to purchase plane tickets at a much cheaper price than we ever expected!

In only 66 short days we will be flying out of the Des Moines airport and into a life changing experience!
Thank you again to everyone who has been able to contribute to this amazing opportunity!  

"We Must Because We...CAN!"

WARNING: this post is long one! hang in there with me :)

As you all know from my last post, we have started a fundraiser selling tshirts.  I posted a link to my blog as my facebook status and the feedback was utterly AMAZING!  I spent last summer traveling the country and going to leadership conferences and the responses from people who I met while attending them brought tears to my eyes!  I was able to go to Seattle, Washington with the Alexander Hamilton Friends Association and Washington D.C. with the FFA organization.  At both of these conferences I met some of the most amazing people.

Here is a rundown of the two weeks I spent devoted to learning how to better myself as well as my community, country, and world.

In  Seattle I worked with 26 other graduated high school students from around the country.  We worked on personal development plans, learned about Alexander Hamilton, spent time getting to know each other, and saw a lot of the sites in Seattle.  During this week we talked about where we want to go in life and how we are going to get there.  We also learned a lot about goal setting and why it is so important.  However, I think that the most important thing I got out of the week was the friendships I made with the 26 other students as well as the awesome adults who run and work at the organization. 

In Washington D.C. I spent the week seeing some of America's most famous monuments, learning what it means to be a true citizen, and meeting some of the most dedicated FFA members I will ever know.  I also walked away from this week with some absolutely amazing friendships that will last me forever. You may be wondering what the title of this post has to do with what I am actually writing.  Well, before we started any session at WLC (Washington Leadership Conference) our group leaders would take turns starting our chant... they would say "We must because we..." and we would respond with a thunderous "CAN!" Nothing gets you more fired up about helping people like being in a room full of 500 FFA members who are learning how they CAN make a difference!

After posting information about my trip to Sierra Leone on facebook I received emails and facebook messages from some of my friends in both of the organizations.  My heart was genuinely touched by their generosity and spirit for helping others.  I think that it is absolutely outstanding that there are other young people out there with a passion and desire to help those whom they have never even met or heard of before.

While the leadership conferences that I attended may have only lasted a week... the friendships I made while I was there will last me a lifetime.  I would like to say thank you to the following people from the Summer of 2010 for the way that they impacted my life by instilling in me the passion to continue helping those in need simply because it is the right thing to do.

From Alexander Hamilton Friends:
George and Puddin
Joslin and Evan
Melanie and Teyloure
Arthur
Erika
Meredith
Connie
Chris
Jenelle
Bea
Brad
Kelly
Mackenzie
Steve
Carter
Brittne
Zack
Mitch
Georgia
Hannah
Caitlin
Eileen
Elena
Abhiraj
Avni
Cindy
Brady


From WLC:
Kirby
Dillon
Addie
Charlie
Nicholas
Hallie
Megan
Margaret
Ashley


Thank you to you all for your love and support! Because of you my Personal Development Plan from Seattle is coming true and my Live To Serve plan from D.C. has definitely begun its process!

I will end with another poem/song from my week at WLC:

Authentic Leaders
Know your purpose... it starts with me.
Value people... it moves to we. 
Take action... means to do.
Serve others... take me, we, you!


Now how are you going to be an authentic leader?

Yay!

Well everyone, yesterday we went out to a place to see  about ordering t-shirts for a fundraiser for Sierra Leone and what a blessing did we receive!! The place we are ordering the shirts from offered to sell them to us for nearly half the price! I cannot express the emotions I was feeling while we were in that office! What a heart that woman had to eliminate the extra fees it would cost for us to order children's shirts in color!

Here is a run down of what the fundraiser is all about;

      We will be selling children's shirts that people can buy for a child at the Covering orphanage in Sierra Leone.  The shirts will cost us $3.75 a shirt and we will sell them for $10.  The extra money will go to our trip in May.  There will be Pella Dutch t-shirts, Pella Christian t-shirts, and Central College t-shirts available to purchase for the children.  Then when we get to Sierra Leone we will put the t-shirts on all of the children and take pictures for those who helped support the cause! There will also be an opportunity for people to attach a note card on the shirt for the child.  If anyone is interested let me know! My email address is wilsonh1@central.edu

Have a wonderful day! It is rather rainy here but it is still a very very WONDERFUL day! :)