4 months ago, I posted a blog post titled ‘A Season for Everything’ to fill in the gaps of my brain, my life, and quite frankly the spaces of not posting on my blog. I basically gave a profound recap of the most important things happening in my life since I had written previously, and I’m back today to essentially do the same. I now haven’t posted since September and there’s a lot of blanks to fill in on the three topics I posted about in ‘A Season for Everything’. So let’s do this thing again – all things made new.
- I finished the Bible!!! Officially finished on November 7, 2020, a truly monumental day. In case America has already forgotten, that was the day they officially called the 2020 election for Joe Biden. HALLELUJAH!! Not but a few hours after they announced the election, I sat down to finish the Book of Revelations, a story that tells of the beast being cast down and a new day shining upon God’s kingdom. I’m sorry, but that’s totally fitting for the way I felt about the presidential race. But I won’t sit here and get too political. No, instead I’ll tell you how I feel about finishing the Bible. Feeling blessed and informed!!! I spent a good chunk of 2020 reading the Bible cover to cover – something in my 22 years of being a Catholic, I’ve never done! And wow, here’s what I can say – God is good!! But for real, I’ve learned more about what it means to me to be Christian. I feel more equipped than ever before to engage in conversation & be able to justify/reaffirm my beliefs and where I stand as a liberal Catholic because I actually know what the Bible says. After all, the biggest loss is coming to the stage without knowing what you’re even trying to defend. I have learned the teachings straight from the Lord. 🙌 and here’s what I was taught. I learned God is a jealous God; a God with wrath. A God so powerful; a God who formed temples in our hearts and our world. A God who strikes down enemies. I’ve learned Jesus to be a Jew who isn’t white. Jesus, who created a multi-ethnic church. Jesus, who loves the poor, helps thy neighbor, and above all said to love Him, the Lord, our God, above anything else. The greatest commandment. Jesus, who knows those filled with greed will have a harder time making it to Heaven. Jesus, who teaches that the corrupt leaders will meet their doom. And those who truly love -eternal life. I learned free will to be prevalent and true in the Bible because with what else did all those Israelites rebel against God and His promises? I learned that the misogynistic teachings and stances of Jesus’ disciples are of that historical context and, while I struggle with those words, I am to love God, Jesus Christ, Our Savior above anything else. I am to have a relationship with Him as my strongest suit. There are so many other proclamations and conversations I’ve had with family and friends about my findings from reading over the past 8 months that I can’t quite recall. But I’m so thankful for this experience. It’s been a great challenge. Numerous times throughout reading I challenged my faith, contemplated on teachings of the Church, & debated words used by fellow Christians. Being a person of faith isn’t easy. And I’m so proud of myself for this accomplishment. Here’s to the future readings of the Bible and it’s Scripture!!!
- I’ve been home in KC!! I was upon writing ‘A Season for Everything’, but now I’ve truly been home for almost 5 months!!! So crazy. And I can still honestly tell you that I love it and I’m so happy to be home. It’s fall now and while I think I will always be a woman who loves warmer weather over the cold, I’ve been so excited to get all bundled up, embrace full fall fashion, watch the colors change on the trees, go for walks in the crisp air, and all-around experience seasons. I have a great daily and weekly routine going (more on that later). I still workout every morning and have a pretty well-rounded regimen going complete with alternating strength training and walks with Toby every other day to get outside and get some cardio. I’ve spent several evenings, mornings, EARLY MORNINGS AT 5 AM, and other parts of the day going for walks with my friend Emily who lives a neighborhood away. I’ve been hanging out with my friend Kristi basically every weekend when she commutes from Lawrence to OP and then we go explore and get up to our shenanigans in downtown KC. My pals Noah and Nick moved downtown too and so I catch them every once in a while. My sister went back to Scotland for school and so it’s just been me chilling with my little brother at home with the parents. On that front, I’ve gotten into golfing with my brother and dad. I’m actually pretty good at it!! I can shoot straight but not super far but I think I’ll take that overshooting balls off the course any day. I’ve also gotten into playing tennis with Kristi. We’re decent enough at it to keep a volley going and it’s a great activity for us as friends to get some cardio and clear our heads, but still be able to chat, and also it’s free so that’s always a plus! We’ve also discovered a new favorite local coffee shop called The Wild Way which has some of the funnest flavors (really missing their seasonal Kansas peach cold brew right about now). I’m not super bummed about not having as many people around to hang out with because, well COVID, and that’s left me plenty of time to do some self-care and catch up on lots of meaningful content. Other things that have made me happy – I officially redid my room complete with a paint job and redecoration to love the space, my list of things I’ve read/watched in 2020 is almost 150 entries long, I have my guitar at my disposal whenever I want, I’ve been getting a bit more into cooking/baking, I like writing letters to people, oh and I like the fact that I get to pocket all the money I’m making because I don’t have to spend on rent or food while living with the parents! YUP…..
- I GOT A JOB!!!!! This is seriously the biggest change in my life since I last wrote. It happened back in early August and I officially started on August 17. It was the quickest, most sudden, and lucky chance of me finding and landing the job. But in fact, it was a God moment. I was having a horrible time finding a job, getting so exhausted and desperate after waking up every single day and searching/applying/interviewing for 2 hours every morning just for it to go nowhere. I was on every website I could possibly find to apply to jobs, one of which was Upwork. So this one morning, I had a very early interview with this marketing company in KC and in my opinion, the interview just did not go well. I could tell from the first 5 minutes it was not the right fit for me. After the call, I told my parents I was going to stop the search for a bit since I’d been at it for almost 5 months and I was just going to come back to it in a couple of weeks because I was so exhausted. So I went and played the piano and whipped out the song ‘Oceans’ (my fave worship song), one I hadn’t played in months. I pounded my heart onto those keys that morning because I was so tired/frustrated with the job search and called out for the Spirit to lead me. Behold! Not too long after, I checked my email to see that my now boss had messaged me on Upwork, that job site I mentioned earlier. She wanted to do a call that afternoon if possible for the PR Coordinator posting she had put on the site to which I applied to. That afternoon, we did the call, spoke for about 30 minutes, and by the end, she offered me the position with a start date in a week and a half!! The Spirit truly led me to that job!! It was so quick because I’d only seen that job posting not but a few days earlier and after one call I had the job. So, I’m pleased to announce, I work as a PR Coordinator/Account Executive for Elkordy Global Strategies. I started off freelancing and then over the past few months got bumped to full-time. It’s been the most rewarding experience with tons to learn. I said early on and I still think it’s true that the work I’m doing wasn’t stuff I had done previously while working as a PR intern but I can do it and am good at it. I’ve had some great success moments, and some not so successful moments, but through it all, I’m learning what to and not to do. I like my team a lot and all around, I’m in a great place. SO that’s what’s been filling my daily routine. Get up, work out, wash up, get to work, relax, make some din, have a glass of wine, read a book or watch a movie, go to bed at 10p and do it all over again heheh. I’m so blessed I have the parents to support me through this time while I get to earn my savings. Oh, and I didn’t mention, the company is based out of NYC so a move there is still on the horizon for my future which is super exciting. For now, I’m still super content chilling in KC in the comfort of my home, working remotely, and living my life.
So that’s the update. That’s the new things going on in my life. Lots and also still not a lot at the same time lol (that daily routine is literally what happens redundantly). I’m feeling content mentally, physically, and spiritually. Hardships of course through it all (when aren’t there, that’s life)! There are things that happen and then things are made new!