Tonight I find myself doing laundry, returning some things to Target, packing and trying to get to bed at a decent hour because ... I leave for San Diego in the morning!!
I am beyond excited for many reasons. Among them are, I get to see the Vu's, I get to see a city I've never seen before, and it's a vacation! My goal is to not take anything terribly school related with me. This will be easy because my carry on is not very big. I am bringing Brave New World with me to read, because I'll be teaching it to my seniors after break. But I don't really consider reading too school-worky.
Last year Maggie told me about this thing that goes on in November called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), where, in effect, you write a 50,000 page novel in a month. Of course, the given is that it will be total and utter crap, but the thought is to get the writing juices flowing. Rachel has also told me about it this year, and so I've passed the info on to my students. I have a few who are seriously considering. And frankly, I'm seriously considering it myself. I have nothing to write about and it will probably end up total drivel, but it'll be an experience!
I just finished reading A Wrinkle in Time with my Freshmen. I read it for the first time this summer on my own, just for fun and I loved it. There's so much religion, Gospel and doctrine mixed in with it. Two of my favorite quotes are:
For the things which are seen are temporal.
But the things which are not seen are eternal.
I loved this quote because it's so true. Faith is believing in the things which are not seen. And those things that we can't see are eternal. They are never ending, and they are beautiful. And that makes me giddy.
The second quote comes from Mrs. Whatsit to Meg. Mrs. Whatsit is comparing our lives to a sonnet. How a sonnet has these strict guidelines; it has to be 14 lines, it has to be iambic pentameter, it has to have a certain rhyme scheme. And when these things are not present, then it ceases to be a sonnet. Then she says:
"You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.
What you say is completely up to you."
Many people who don't know a lot about our church think that it's really restricting. That we have so many things that we cannot do that it's stifling. But truly, we're like a sonnet. There are these guidelines that we have to stick to, but the rest is up to us. We have the ability to make our lives what we want. I've never thought that our "rules" were suffocating. They're liberating and they've made my life so much better. It's when we're bound by sin and addiction and all things that are "dark," that we begin to be stifled. It's the "light" that sets us free.
1 comment:
I'm happy you're doing NaNoWriMo! I'd do it too, but my thesis is taking precedence over that kinda stuff until I finish.
And speaking of faith, the BF and I had a discussion last night about the same topic, and I like the way you put it, using the term "guidelines" instead of "rules," considering that so many people get it wrong when they think of faith or god as a presence looming over them saying, "Do this or I'll effing spank you!" I think it not only gives people in general the wrong idea, but those who have faith and look at it that way can stifle themselves and others as a result. I wonder if that made sense....
Anyways, your Homecoming blog absolutely cracked me up. Always good to be mistaken for a HS student, but not to be freaked by one.
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